WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM MAY 13, 2012

New subscribers this week include Christopher Bolton and Holly Ponsell. Welcome aboard! We have 1,554 email subscribers, plus 175 followers on Facebook.

This week we open with updates from Fred Lake, David Fanning and Scott Tappa. Other topics include young numismatists at Stack's, electronic books, Hans Schulman and Canada's new $10 banknote.

To learn more about DeWitt Smith's silver Getz half dollar, a theft at Gorny & Mosch in Munich, Cornelius Vermule, Norman Jacobs and the Bank of Japan, tooth money of the "Solomon Islands" and medals that flew to the moon,, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

LAKE BOOKS 111TH MAIL-BID SALE CATALOG AVAILABLE

Lake Books announces that its 111th mail-bid sale of numismatic literature is now available for viewing on their web site at http://www.lakebooks.com/current.html. The 470-lot sale features selections from the libraries of Robert H. "Bob" Yuell and David E. Litrenta. Bob Yuell was a dedicated Early Coppers fan with particular emphasis on Half Cents and Dave Litrenta is a consummate collector specializing in gold coinage and tokens/medals. Many of these books and catalogs have been inscribed by such luminaries as Bowers, Breen, Fuld and a number of other authors.

The sale has a closing date of Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 5:00 PM (EDT) and bids may be placed by email, telephone, fax or regular mail. Don't forget that the earliest bid received wins ties, so bid early !

Lake Books
6822 22nd Ave. N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33710
727-343-8055 Fax 727-345-3750

KOLBE & FANNING HOLD 125TH SALE

Kolbe & Fanning have announced their 125th mail-bid sale of important numismatic literature, which will close on Thursday, June 7. The sale features selections from the libraries of F. Gordon Frost, David J. Davis and a major coin firm, and includes significant works in virtually all areas of numismatic study.

A list of highlights would be lengthy, but some notable works offered include:

• Conring's Rare 1675 Work on Ancient Jewish Coins.
• A Bound Collection of Articles by George F. Hill, from the Library of the Author, and Hill's Own Copy of His 1927 Select Greek Coins.
• An Original Set of Rizzo on Sicily.
• The Outstanding 1702 Quarto Work by the Académie Royale des Médailles et des Inscriptions on the Medals of Louis XIV.
• A Fine, Original Set of Dalton & Hamer.
• Chaudoir's Aperçu sur les monnaies russes.
• Domanig's Die deutsche Medaille.
• Hill's Monumental Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance.
• Hirsch's Classic 1760 Bibliography.
• Several Volumes of the Trésor de numismatique et de glyptique, Including Volumes on Medals of the French Revolution and Renaissance Medals.
• A Remarkable Sammelband Compiled by George Sim.
• An Original 1875 Crosby in a Nova Constellatio Binding.
• The Rare Second Edition of Loubat.
• One of Only Ten Copies Issued of the Deluxe Leather-Bound Edition of Logan & McCloskey on U.S. Half Dimes.
• An Original Maris on New Jersey.
• A Very Rare Deluxe Edition of Prime's Classic 1861 Work.
• Several Plated Chapman Sales, Including Wilson, Jewett, Brown, Groves and Beckwith.
• Abner Kreisberg's Full Leather Copy of the World's Greatest Collection of U.S. Silver.
• An Unlisted Pennypacker Sale of the Ira Reed Collection.
• The Very Rare 1846 Cavaliere Campana Sale, Priced & Named
• Significant Runs of the Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal.

Kolbe & Fanning are honored to be offering material in this sale from the libraries of Gordon Frost and David Davis, two long-time clients well-known to many of our colleagues here and abroad. Works from their libraries are identified as such throughout the catalogue, and we are sure their new owners will appreciate them in the same way that they were valued before.

The catalogue is available for downloading from the Kolbe & Fanning website at www.numislit.com. Those on our mailing list should receive their printed copies soon. We invite bidders to peruse the catalogue carefully and let us know of any questions they may have. The sale includes an excellent variety of works and we trust that it will generate a good deal of enthusiasm.

David Fanning may be contacted at (614) 414-0855 or at df@numislit.com.

LINK FIXED: WORLD NOTGELD 1914-1947, 2ND EDITION

Scott Tappa of Krause Publications writes:

For more information on the notgeld CD, see: www.shopnumismaster.com/cdd-gd-chklst-world-notgeld-1914-47

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NEW BOOK: WORLD NOTGELD 1914-1947, 2ND EDITION (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n18a06.html)

JOHN COFFEE 1928 - 2012

Tuesday evening David Schenkman mentioned to me the amazing longevity of John Coffee's run as editor of the journal of the American Vecturist Association. Pete Smith writes:

To read an earlier E-Sylum article, see: FARE BOX EDITOR DR. JOHN COFFEE SIDELINED BY INJURY (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n15a05.html)

CENTENARIAN JIM CHARLTON ATTENDS ONTARIO CONVENTION

Bruce Perdue forwarded this note from Brett Irick:

QUIZ ANSWER: YOUNG NUMISMATISTS AT STACK'S

Harold Levi writes:

David Gladfelter writes:

Joe Boling concurs:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: YOUNG NUMISMATISTS AT STACK'S (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a22.html)

PETE SMITH'S THREE DEGREES OF DAVE BOWERS

Regarding the latest issue of our print journal, Bill Burd writes:

Perhaps once a decade appears an article of such outstanding importance that it should be studied by every major leader in his chosen field. Such an article is Three Degrees of Dave Bowers in the current issue just received. This article encapsulates the history, the management, the major players in the numismatic field -- and the business relationships of those major players -- in 23 pages.

This article could only have been written by Pete Smith. No other person in the numismatic field has the knowledge that is so evident in this essay, with the one possible exception of Dave Bowers himself. Pete has served his apprenticeship well for the present task by compiling the biographies of 1400 numismatic luminaries in his American Numismatic Biographies, first published in 1992 (in a rare limited edition of 25 copies). Two years ago he placed his entire biographical databank, updated and modified, on the web for all to access. See: www.coinbooks.org/resources/index.html .

For this article he piled fact on top of fact. For every two words there appears to be three facts. Forget literary transition and segway, this is a massive compendium of events in the lives of some of the most prominent people in numismatics, the movers and shakers. It's like Pete was adding one fact stone on top of another to build a tower of commercial numismatic structure..

As he perches on top of this summit he has the rare overview of the entire numismatic field and possesses the rare insight to perceive what is important. He has distilled a tremendous amount of shifting alliances to present the outcome of these actions for the reader to easily grasp. Thank you Pete for your magnificent work.

But what about the numismatic field? Here is my analysis based on Pete's report:

• The numismatic field is vibrant and well.
• Auction sales and auction companies dominate the field, as auctions prove -- historically and contemporally -- the most effective method of marketing numismatic material.
• David Bowers, unquestioned leader of the field, was correctly chosen as the center of commercial activity for, what, four decades? We are fortunate to have a person of his intellect and integrity to be so active in our field.
• Once a coin dealer has some success in buying and selling he graduates by increasingly larger "deals." It is inevitable this leads to multi-million dollar transactions, ultimately to buying and selling existing numismatic dealerships and auction firms. It is a normal progression of scale.
• Many of the commercial numismatic entities discussed in this article were short lived. Operated for a brief time and passed on to new blood.
• Only a handful of the numismatic firms in America have been in business for half a century or more. Few of those established by returning servicemen following World War II still exist.
• Firms in the field tend to be limited to the life of a single proprietor.
• Mom-and-pop coin shops are many; substantial large-scale numismatic firms are few.
• There are several two- and three-generation numismatic firms in America, but not many.
• We have no family dynasty numismatic firms in America like existed in England, notably Spinks and Seabys.

I literally read Pete's article three times. I learned some new insight with each reading. With all these shifting alliances, a reader needs a scorecard. Pete Smith furnished this.

MORE ON ELECTRONIC BOOKS

Regarding the CD of numismatic books Bruce W. Smith mentioned, Ken Bressett writes:

Bruce adds:

John Sallay writes:

Scott Barman writes:

Scott adds:

Bruce W. Smith writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: A NUMISMATIC LIBRARY ON A CD (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a07.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: BOWERS ON THE USEFULNESS OF REAL (PRINTED) NUMISMATIC BOOKS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a08.html)

ON HIGH CONDITION VS ACTUAL USAGE

Last week Dave Hirt asked about the relative desirability of high condition numismatic items vs. those which are worn from actual use.

Harold Levi writes:

With another view, Alan V. Weinberg writes:

Bruce W. Smith writes:

David Gladfelter writes:

Granvyl Hulse writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: WHICH IS MORE DESIRABLE: HIGH CONDITION OR ACTUAL USAGE? (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a12.html)

MORE ON ANA CONVENTION TALK VIDEOS

Dr. Ratnatunga had forgotten that he had signed a release for the videotaping and marketing of his lecture since it had taken place so long ago. I was never able to send him a copy because he had neglected to give me his mailing address. A copy is now on his way to him in Sri Lanka.

Regarding the ANA videos, all videos are available for free loan from the ANA Library to any ANA member. We list the videos for sale on Coinvideo.com along with all the other clubs and groups for whom we videotape. This includes; ANA, CSNS, EAC, FUN, PNG, TNA, and others. We have more than 1000 titles from taping for the last 25 years! Many of the older versions are still in the process of being digitized from their analog creation to be able to be made into DVD's.

We have thought about posting some of the titles for free on the Internet but this would not allow us to recoup our production costs. Ergo they are sold as DVD's to coin clubs and collectors. There are also several dealers who buy them for resale.

However we do have an arrangement with the website COINWeek.com in which I am a partner where some of the titles are available for free on a limited basis. The business model for all this is constantly evolving and keeping up with the technology is enough to make one's head spin!

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MAY 6, 2012: On ANA Convention Talk Videos (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a21.html)

DEWITT SMITH COLLECTION RESEARCH; 1792 COPPER DISME QUERY

Wayne Burt writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: WASHINGTON PATTERN COINAGE OF PETER GETZ SUPPLEMENT PUBLISHED (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a03.html)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MAY 13, 2012

Zurich Money Museum iPad App

Scott Barman writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: FEATURED WEB SITE: MONEYMUSEUM.COM (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a30.html)

Catalogue of the Medals of Scotland
Regarding W.J. Elvin's question, D. J. Rampling writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: SCOTTISH AGRICULTURAL MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n18a20.html)

Theft at Gorny & Mosch, Munich
CoinsWeekly reports that

Macedonian Kings, Philipp III Arrhidaios, AV-stater.

Parthians, Mithradates II, tetradrachm (15.98 g)

To view the complete list with images, see: Theft at Gorny & Mosch, Munich (www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=1205)

More on Cotton Gloves
American Numismatic Society Librarian Elizabeth Hahn writes:

I was reading through the latest Es-Sylum and wanted to say that I enjoy the ongoing discussion and article links about wearing cotton gloves to handle rare books and manuscripts. We also get this question a lot here at the ANS Library and I have always preferred the practice of not wearing gloves but handling with clean hands for the very reasons outlined in the articles that were linked to in The E-Sylum (especially the brief overview by the preservation coordinator at the British Library). Now I have additional resources to point to when this question arises here again!

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON WEARING COTTON GLOVES (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a14.html)

A Folded Banknote Shirt
Howard Berlin writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: EVERYDAY ART: THE BANKNOTE (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n18a28.html)

Labor rates in China
Ron Abler writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: PSYCHOTIC WOMAN TEARS UP BANKNOTES (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a29.html)

On the Usefulness of Counterfeit-Detecting Marking Pens
Joe Boling writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MAN ARRESTED FOR CARRYING A REAL $50 BILL (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a28.html)

VERMEULE AND JACOBS AND THE BANK OF JAPAN

Last week Bruce Smith asked about how Cornelius Vermeule and Norman Jacobs were said to inventory the Bank of Japan coin collection. Jon Radel writes:

Harvey Stack writes:

Joe Boling writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: YOUNG NUMISMATISTS AT STACK'S (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a22.html)

MORE ON HAYM SOLOMON

Bruce W. Smith writes:

Dan Freidus writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: WHO WAS HAYIM SOLOMON? (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a19.html)

MORE ON HANS SCHULMAN

I only met Hans Schulman once, in the early 1970's. As far as I can recall, I only had one commercial contact with him. I ordered from his fixed price list what was described as a Chinese silver cash coin. When it arrived, it turned out to be a copper-nickel jewelry item, and not even correctly attributed. I was interested in the piece, but not at the price of an unlisted coin. No problem he replied -- send it back, I have other customers for it!

A few years later when I was working at Krause Publications, Russ Rulau mentioned that he owned stock in Schulman Coin and Mint and that they had an attractive stock certificate. The stock was issued at something like $7 a share originally, but Russ had bought his at 50 cents a share -- just before it went into bankruptcy. I said I would like to have one of those certificates, and he told me the stock was still being traded and put me in touch with his broker. The stock was then at 15 cents a share, so I bought 500 shares -- the smallest trade the broker would accept. I made it clear that I wanted one or more actual certificates, but I never got them.

A few months after making my investment, the company was liquidated. Before that happened, I was in New York and stopped at the Schulman shop. The fellow at the counter was polite, a bit cold, and didn't have anything to show me. When I mentioned that I was a stockholder, I was suddenly his best friend. "Come to the backroom" he said, "have something to eat or drink." On the way down the hall, I noticed a bushel basket full of teeth. When I asked about it, he said these were the famous Schulman tooth money. They appeared in his auctions from time to time as tooth money from the Solomon Islands or some other place, but they were really from New Jersey.

The fellow at the counter also related a story about Robert Bashlow. Most collectors know Bashlow as the guy who made the last restrike of the Confederate cent. I had heard of him because of a strange incident involving the 1962 aluminum coins of Irian Barat and the Riau Archipelago -- both in Indonesia. All the coins of both sets were worth around 25 cents each, but one edition of the Standard Catalog of World Coins had a typographical error, making them $25 coins! Bashlow flew to Indonesia, went to those islands and began buying up the coins. He ended up with barrels full of them, only to learn that the price was a mistake.

In the mid 1970's he consigned all those coins and a lot of other stuff to what was probably Schulman's last sale. The company went under and Bashlow never got paid.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON THE SCHULMAN MEDALLIC HISTORY OF MONEY AND BANKING (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n19a13.html)

ABEL BUELL'S 1784 MAP OF THE UNITED STATES

It's not numismatic and it's not a book but this may be of interest to a number of numismatists and bibliophiles due to Abel Buell's role as an engraver of dies for coppers during the 1780s.

The Connecticut Historical Society, which houses one of seven copies of his 1784 map of the United States, has recently gotten a grant for curating their map collection. This will include putting images of many online. See: www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/connecticut-historical-society/
uncommonly-ingenious-mechanic Until CHS posts good images, here's an auction lot description with high resolution (but slow-loading) images: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5382260 . By the way, the NJHS copy sold in 2010 was bought by a private collector, David Rubenstein, who has lent it to the Library of Congress to exhibit it for five years. Given that it represents about 0.1% of his net worth, one can hope that he eventually donates it to LOC which would be a fitting home for it.

www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/buellmap.html
www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/1103/maps.html

For those interested in maps, another private collector with a significant collection, though he doesn't own a Buell 1784 map (Rubenstein owns the only one known in private hands) has put his wonderful collection online: www.davidrumsey.com. In addition to displaying many wonderful maps, his site shows the use of some innovative image display software.

QUERY: ROBERT BASHLOW INFORMATION SOUGHT

Harold Levi writes:

BILL DANA'S APOLLO 17 ROBBINS MEDAL TO BE SOLD

One of only 80 Robbins medals that flew to the moon on Apollo 17 (estimate: $30,000+) from the collection of mission commander Gene Cernan and an American flag actually flown to the surface of the moon on Apollo 14 (estimate: $25,000+), from the collection of mission lunar module pilot Edgar Mitchell, are two of the top offerings in Heritage Auctions'' May 12 Space Exploration Event.

"These are both very evocative pieces and represent what collectors love most about Space memorabilia," said Michael Riley, Chief Historian and Senior Cataloger at Heritage Auctions. "They've got legendary names, important missions and they not only witnessed those things but actually made it to the moon, or very close. In fact, there are more than 50 lots in this auction that flew to the moon."

An Apollo 14 lunar module flown gold medallion, presented to and from the Collection of Comedian Bill Dana (estimate: $15,000+) - famously known as José Jiménez, "the Chief Astronaut for the United States Interplanetary Expeditionary Force" - is already creating serious buzz within collector circles. The medallion was originally created by and gifted to Dana by Alan Shepard and his fellow astronauts in 1969 as a "10th anniversary" present of his "adoption" as the honorary eighth astronaut

To read the complete article, see: Apollo 17 flown Robbins Medal, Apollo 14 moon-landed American flag, lead Heritage Auctions sale (www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=55243)

To read a related earlier E-Sylum article, see: BILL DANA AND THE MERCURY ASTRONAUT SHORT SNORTER (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n35a22.html)

WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: MAY 13, 2012

Let's start this diary with an event from LAST Sunday - I picked up the phone and spoke to Eric Newman. Actually, at first I just listened to him and his wife Evelyn until I realized I had accidentally put my phone on mute. Eric wouldn't have heard me no matter how high he turned up his hearing aid.

Once I fixed that problem and called him back, we had a nice conversation. Eric is doing well and still working on numismatic projects as he approaches his 101st birthday on May 25th. We talked about his numismatic museum and Pete Smith's recent Asylum article on the history of coin firms associated with Q. David Bowers. He'd read it all in amazement of the rapid changes in the world of numismatic business in recent years.

Eric also reads every E-Sylum beginning to end, so all of you are in good company. He's impressed with the breadth of numismatic subject matter and credited me with knowing something about everything to edit it. Well, I didn't start out that that way, but being the editor has sure been a numismatic education. Eric's probably forgotten more than I'll ever really know. It was an honor and a pleasure to speak with him.

On Monday I made preparations for Tuesday's meeting of Nummis Nova, packing a briefcase with a couple binders of ephemera related to the U.S. Mint and the American Numismatic Society.

Tuesday's dinner was a delight. It was held at J. Gilbert's in Mclean, VA. The theme was counterfeits and fakes, and a number of very interesting items were passed around. I may write more about the meeting next week - it's getting late and I'm just running out of time for this issue.

On my drive home from work Wednesday I made a call (hand-free Bluetooth!) to Craig Whitford. Craig's a longtime E-Sylum subscriber. I wanted to reconnect with him about our common interest in the work of "money artist" J.S.G. Boggs. We'd both lost touch with him. We decided to work together to draft a listing of his works.

When I checked my email Wednesday evening, I learned that The E-Sylum had been added to Click Coins, a new web page by Michael Zielinski that's a handy one-stop-shop for links to several numismatic blogs, including the U.S. Mint, Coin World, Numismatic News, Coin Week, Scott Barman's Coin Collector's Blog and others.

Nothing more numismatic to speak of this week, but it was a fun one!

CANADA'S NEW $20 DOLLAR BILL LEAVES A LOT TO THE IMAGINATION

Canadians have been left confused over the country's new $20-dollar bill which some have said appeared to feature three naked woman and the World Trade Center towers.

The government was rolling out the new banknote as part of an upgrade of the monetary system. It actually features the Vimy Memorial in northern France, the largest monument overseas for Canadian soldiers lost the First World War.

However many Canadians believed the bill showed the Twin Towers and three topless women along with the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

The Vimy Memorial, a nationalist symbol of bravery and sacrifice, was seen on the $20 when it was unveiled by the Bank of Canada in Ottawa last week. Focus groups, typically made up of a wide-range of citizens from different generations, had examined the note before it was made public.

In fact, the two columns of the Vimy Memorial symbolise the unity of France and Canada - represented by a maple leaf and fleur-de-lis.

The group of women at the top of the statue are known as the Chorus. The most senior figures represent Justice and Peace - the latter with a torch upraised.

The figures of Hope, Charity, Honour and Faith are located below Justice and Peace. Truth and Knowledge are positioned on the Western side.

The new $20 bill is due to come into circulation in November and has a high-tech polymer design. The note is currently the most counterfeited in circulation, accounting for more than half the bills in exchange.

To read the complete article, see: 'Three topless women and the Twin Towers': Canadians baffled by picture of WWI memorial on their new $20 dollar bill (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2141825/Canadas-new-20-dollar
-naked-women-Twin-Towers-it.html)

GEORGE SELGIN'S HISTORY OF THE PENNY

Our poor penny. Half a century ago, it was a respectable, if humble, piece of money. Just one could buy all sorts of candy or a postcard; three might buy a cherry cola or a newspaper.

They were made of bronze -- copper with a touch of zinc and tin. Though not exactly precious, that metal was at least august enough for decorating brave soldiers and Olympic athletes.

But pennies have been on a downward slide ever since. By 1982, they were worth so little that people were melting them for their copper, causing the U.S. Mint to introduce today's version, made of cheap zinc disguised by a thin copper coat. Today even the zinc versions cost almost 2.5 times as much to make as they are worth -- costing taxpayers about $60 million last year. So Congress is considering another switch, to lowly steel.

Would it be better to simply give up on the penny, as Canada decided to do in March? The story of the British penny, first minted in the eighth century, offers an instructional case. It, too, came within an inch of dying. But it was saved by a handful of entrepreneurs.

The British penny started out as a silver coin. By the start of the 18th century, silver had become so valuable that pennies made from it were quickly melted down. So the Royal Mint quit making pennies except in tiny quantities used for ceremonial purposes. Halfpennies were made of copper, but they attracted enterprising counterfeiters. By 1775, the mint stopped coining copper altogether.

The hitch was that its decision came just as the Industrial Revolution was gaining steam. And that revolution called for unprecedented amounts of small change for paying workers' wages and stocking retailers' tills. Unless someone supplied the necessary coins, British economic development would come to a halt.

The Royal Mint stuck to its decision. Help came instead from some of the same entrepreneurs responsible for Great Britain's industrial liftoff. Leading the way were Thomas Williams, the owner of what was then the world's biggest copper mine, on the Welsh island of Anglesey, and Matthew Boulton, the owner of the world-famous Soho Manufactory, located just outside of Birmingham.

To read the complete article, see: When Entrepreneurs Privatized the Penny (www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-08/when-entrepreneurs-privatized
-the-penny.html)

QUERY: FRANKLIN PARISIAN MASONIC LODGE MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT

Howard A. Daniel III writes:

United States of America. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), and the Parisian Masonic Lodge "Les Noef Soers", Copper Medalet, 1783, by Jean François Bernier, bust left, rev the nine Muses strive to build a temple, DE LEURS TRAVAUX - NAITRALEUR GLOIRE , plain edge, 30.5mm (Betts 618; Fuld FR.M.MA.2; Ford 14, 344 ($9000); BDM I, 175). Surface lightly rubbed, very fine and an exceptional rarity .

The Lodge, of the Grand Orient de France, was established in 1776 and became a considerable influence in the support of the American Revolution in France. Benjamin Franklin was Venerable Master in 1779, then was re-elected for the years 1780-1783. Other distinguished members included John Paul Jones, Voltaire, Jean-Antoine Houdon and, it is believed, Danton. In antiquity, the nine Muses, the daughters of Mnemosyne, were patrons of the arts and sciences. Ford had two specimens in silver and a single bronze specimen which "Mr Ford thought might be unique". £1200-1500

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