WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM MARCH 17, 2013

Happy St. Patrick's Day! New subscribers this week include Aaron Packard and Juli Steele. Welcome aboard! We have 1,629 email subscribers, plus 218 followers on Facebook.

This week we open with updates from literature dealers Fred Lake and David Fanning, word of a new book by Kevin Flynn and a review of Whitman's Almanac of United States Coins.

Other topics this week include the term tête-bêche, the Peter Max Peace Dollar print, post-1892 medals of the U.S. Mint, silver dollar book author Wayne Miller, the Mansion House counterstamps, and the Holy Grail of American Numismatic Literature.

To learn more about St. Patrick coppers, off-center and multi-denominational clashed dies, the medal made from milk, a mysterious Jai a Lai medal, the 1878 Quarter Eagle pattern, the periscopic spectacled tokens of Henry Higgins, and lunch with Groucho, Jack, Elliot and Marcel, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

LAKE BOOKS' 114TH MAIL-BID SALE AVAILABLE

The catalog of Lake Books' 114th mail-bid sale of numismatic literature is now available for viewing on their web site at www.lakebooks.com/current.html .

The 471-lot auction features selections from the libraries of T. L. Shuck and Michael Kalpich and includes reference material that represent a full range of the numismatic experience. A complete set of the John J. Ford, Jr. auctions, Walter Breen's Encyclopedia, Elvira Clain-Stefanelli's nearly 2,000 item bibliography, Hawkins' work on British metallic tickets, a nice third edition "Redbook" are a few representative selections.

The sale closes on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 5:00 PM (EDT) and bids may be placed via regular US Mail, email, fax, or telephone until that time. Remember to place your bids early as tie bids are won by the earliest bid received.

Good Luck with your bidding, Fred
Lake Books
6822 22nd Ave N
St. Petersburg, FL 33710
727-343-8055 fax: 727-381-6822

KOLBE & FANNING EPHEMERA SALE TWO CLOSES MARCH 21, 2013

Kolbe & Fanning wish to remind our customers that our second sale of numismatic ephemera closes on Thursday, March 21. The second in a series of occasional internet sales featuring numismatic ephemera acquired over several decades by the firm’s founder, George Kolbe, the sale includes a diverse offering of numismatic memorabilia, letters, circulars, photos, promotional materials and other miscellanea.

A few of the highlights include:

—Rare Fixed Price Lists Issued by Rand Zander (lot 140)
—Scarce Coin Catalogues Published by Leonard Forrer (lot 141)
—Alex Farkas de Gyulafehérvár’s Rare Arts in Transylvanian Coins (lot 177)
—Schulman’s Important June 1926 Sale of Portuguese and Brazilian Coins (lot 184)
—Seaby’s Catalogue 248 on the Tudors and Stuarts (lot 191)
—Rare Wartime Issues of Spink’s Numismatic Circular List (lot 192)
—Many U.S. sale catalogues, monographs, and ephemeral items.

The usual mail-bid terms of sale apply; no printed catalogue has been issued. The sale features 100 lots and has been posted on the firm’s website at www.numislit.com . Download the sale today and don’t delay in bidding! Bids will be accepted by phone at (614) 414-0855, by fax at (614) 414-0860, or by email at df@numislit.com.

NEW BOOK: OFF-CENTER AND MULTI-DENOMINATIONAL CLASHED DIES

The Off-Center and Multi-Denominational Clashed Dies book by Kevin Flynn is now available. The book is 8 ½ by 11, 112 pages, and tons of photographs. Softcover $29.95.

The off-center and multi-denominational clashed dies are two of the rarest types of die varieties created at the United States Mint. There are only 6 verified off-center and only 6 verified multi-denominational clashed dies for all 19th century coinage. Of the 41 books the Flynn has written, this was one of the more difficult and time consuming, as it required the mind-boggling task of trying to figure out how they occurred.

The first part of the book explores clashed dies in general. This type of die variety is normally created when the working dies are in the coining presses. A clashed die normally occurs when the obverse and reverse dies in the coining press strike each other without a planchet between them. This was especially common on some series such as the Three cent nickel. It was originally accepted by most that the outline of the design elements were left on the opposing working dies from the edges of the design elements. This theory was proved invalid. The remnants of the clashing is a result of the fields being compressed. A complete analysis was done to prove this theory valid.

Off-center clashed dies required the working dies to be off-center in relationship to each other when they clashed together. In all U.S. coin series, there are only 6 validated off-center clashes known; 3 on Indian cents, 2 on Two cent coinage, and 1 on Morgan Dollars. The main question for this type of variety is whether they were created in the coining press or during some other period in the die making process. There are several coins that were believed to be off-center clashed dies, but do not have the physical diagnostics to classify them as such. For example, there have been over 40 Morgan Dollar die varieties classified as off-center denticle clashing. For the 19 Morgan Dollars examined for this book, all but one of these has been refuted as an off-center clashed die.

Multi-denominational clashed dies occur when working dies of two different denominations strike each other without a planchet between. In all U.S. coin series there are only 6 known off-denominational clashes known; four of which occurred in 1857. One of the primary questions for this type of variety is whether they were intentionally made or simply the result of an accident. Another issue is how they could have occurred.

Retail for the softcover is $29.95. To order, send a check or money order to Kevin Flynn, P.O. Box 396, Lumberton, NJ 08048. Please include $5 for media shipping or $10 for first class shipping.

BOOK REVIEW: ALMANAC OF UNITED STATES COINS

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines almanac as “a usually annual publication containing statistical, tabular, and general information.” Almanacs have been around for a while in various forms from the earliest times of writing to today. Early almanacs were simply calendars of coming events and records of past events. They included holidays, phases of the moon, and significant dates that related to the weather for the farming community.

Although there have been many almanacs that bridged into the modern era, none had been as famous as Poor Richard’s Almanack written by Benjamin Franklin under the pseudonym Richard Saunders. Franklin published Poor Richard’s Alamanck from 1733-1758. Amongst the surviving almanacs include The Old Farmer’s Almanac that has been published continuously since 1792, the Farmer’s Almanac that has been published continuously since 1818, and The World Almanac and Book of Facts published since 1868. These are the almanacs that all others are judged against.

Having grown up with The World Almanac, reading the Central Intelligence Agency’s The World Fact Book, and being a begrudging fan of the Coin World Almanac, I was interested when Whitman Publishing sent out a notice that they just released the First Edition of the Almanac of United States Coins.

Although I read the description, I did not read it carefully because when I opened the package sent to me by Whitman, I found a skinny trade paperback-sized book. I reread the Whitman press release and it said the book was 192 pages. Initially, I felt disappointed in my hopes that there would be a competitor on the market to the Coin World Almanac since competition makes everyone better. So I can get over my initial reaction, I put the book down for a while to overcome my initial reaction to give the book a fair review.

To read the complete article, see: An almanac that isn’t (coinsblog.ws/2013/03/an-almanac-that-isnt.html)

To read an earlier E-Sylum article, see: BOOK REVIEW: ALMANAC OF UNITED STATES COINS, 1ST EDITION (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n06a04.html)

VOCABULARY WORD: TÊTE-BÊCHE

Francois Velde writes:

Martin Purdy writes:

Martin referenced this Wikipedia entry.

To read the complete article, see: Tête-bêche (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%AAte-b%C3%AAche)

David Gladfelter forwarded this definition from R. Scott Carlton, The International Encyclopædic Dictionary of Numismatics (Iola, Krause Publications, 1996), p280:

He adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: WHAT DOES TETE-BECHE MEAN? (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n10a27.html)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 17, 2013

Another Tom Thumb Medal
Fred Michaelson writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: P.T. BARNUM'S TOM THUMB TOKENS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n10a15.html)

Bureaucracy and the Distinguished Warfare Medal
Dave Ginsburg writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON THE DISTINGUISHED WARFARE MEDAL (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n10a17.html)

More on Frank Lapa's Replicas
Bill Rosenblum writes:

Jeffrey Zarit of Wylie, Texas writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON FRANK LAPA'S REPLICAS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n10a12.html)

July 1994 Numismatic Circular Found
Last week Adrienne Mayor asked if anyone had a copy of the Numismatic Circular of July 1994, which the American Numismatic Society is missing. Bob Van Arsdell writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 10, 2013: Query: July 1994 Numismatic Circular (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n10a09.html)

Neils and Aage Bohr
Ken Berger writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON NOBEL PRIZE MEDALS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n10a10.html)

Augustus Heaton's Bibliomaniac Father-in-Law
Adrián González Salinas writes:

Here’s the eBay lot description:

To view the complete eBay lot description, see: HALF PLATE Daguerreotype Identified Harvard Almon Whiting Griswold Bibliomaniac (www.ebay.com/itm/HALF-PLATE-Daguerreotype-Identified-Harvard
-Almon-Whiting-Griswold-Bibliomaniac-/360606486640)

MORE ON THE PEACE DOLLAR DRAWING BY PETER MAX

Bill Hyder writes:

Bill Rosenblum agrees. He writes:

Barry Stallard of Healdsburg, CA was more specific. writes:

With the definitive word on the topic, David Alexander writes:

Bill Hyder added the following, taken from a 2008 2008 Legendary Auctions catalog description:

Fred Lake writes:

Pete Smith writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: PEACE DOLLAR DRAWING BY PETER MAX (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n10a20.html)

QUERY: CATALOG OF POST-1892 MEDALS OF THE U.S MINT?

Bruce W. Smith writes:

To read an earlier E-Sylum article, see: MINT RECORDS DESTROYED BY STELLA HACKEL, NOT MARY BROOKS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v12n08a16.html)

QUERY: JAI A LAI MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT

Ralph Langham writes:

MORE DISCUSSION ON THE FIRST 1794 DOLLAR

First, John Dannreuther adds:

In response to this from John Dannreuther:

I can go along with the way Stack's phrased it. It is, indeed "perfectly conceivable" that this is the coin in question. But to make the stricter statement, that it is (without qualification) the first one ("I believe that this is the first United States silver dollar struck"), is to make an error.

I could certainly believe this is the earliest extant US Silver dollar--in fact that is very, very likely-- but that doesn't mean there weren't one or two others made before this that have since disappeared. (Hopefully not permanently.) "Earliest extant" does not mean "first made."

John wrote:

Even the metaphor doesn't say what John seems to think it says, in fact it more closely parallels what I think about this. Not having a race doesn't prove that stallion is the fastest horse on the planet, it just means he was the fastest (and only) one to show up for the race. It doesn't even matter if a couple of other horses show up.

Similarly, not having a plausible other candidate for "first US coin" just means this coin is the best candidate we've got, but you can't jump from that and say that therefore this is the first coin that was actually made, as he is inviting us to do with this conclusion to his piece.

To extend the metaphor, what we are trying to prove is that this stallion is the fastest stallion that ever existed--a superlative, an absolute, just as "first US dollar ever made" is. And having him win a race by default just doesn't do that.

John wrote:

Logic says that if they all went to Rittenhouse and he kept just one as a souvenir, he'd probably have kept the NICEST one. At least that's what I would have done, and it wouldn't have mattered to me if it was the first or 500th. It's not at all hard to imagine that the nicest one would have been among the earlier strikes before die clashing. Rittenhouse wouldn't even have known which was struck first unless the workmen involved told him.

But, the guys who struck these things were paid by the hour to do heavy manual labor and produce as many coins as they could. Would they have bothered to sort them out into which was made first, second, third, etc.? That's hard to believe. A check of my library resources indicates no evidence of a special event in honor of the striking of the first silver dollar(s), so it seems likely that the event passed without significant notice or ceremony, attended only by the workmen in the coining department. Halves were struck the same day, apparently.

As to JD's argument that precisely BECAUSE it has adjustment marks and a plug it must be special, it is completely circular and fails the null hypothesis test. As I understand it, his logic says they chose a planchet that was plugged and filed - and so imperfect in two ways - for a special strike precisely because they only had one of them, and it would make it look like they took their planchet weights very seriously. Wow. All this extra effort for a coin that nobody was ever going to spend, so the weight wouldn't matter!

JD knows vastly more about early silver and gold than I ever will, but any comment about a "first-struck" status for this coin is pure speculation. Any argument in favor has at least as many equal counterarguments. This is no horse race; it is an intellectual argument about whether or not this coin was the first struck. There is no evidence that it was other than a certain logic, some of it rather twisted, and there is just as much logical evidence otherwise. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, and none has been forthcoming.

That said, the coin is undoubtedly special. Spectacular hype and a huge jump bid went into this sale; the buyer desired that this be a $10M coin, and the buyer is a dealer who can be presumed to have known what she was doing. Of course, she wants it to be the first struck (ditto Cardinal and Stacks/Bowers, all of whom have vested interests in the coin's "special" status), but as Dick Doty said, these discussions have entered the realm of theology (or at least philosophy), not numismatic history. I'm sure Legend will, at some point, find someone who will pay enough that they make a profit on it. In the end, that's probably all that matters.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: JOHN DANNREUTHER ON THE FIRST 1794 DOLLAR (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n10a06.html)

THE FABULOUS ERIC NEWMAN COLLECTION, PART 2

Among Newman’s patterns, there are many pieces that feature proposed designs that were never adopted for regular U.S. coinage. These tend to be attractive, interesting or otherwise entertaining. Before putting forth my definition of patterns and discussing the meaning and certification of individual pieces, I mention a few of these alternate concepts to provide an impression of one major reason as to why many collectors find that U.S. patterns constitute an exciting realm apart from the domain of regular issue U.S. coins.

In this auction consignment, there is a copper 1863 Two Cent piece and 1866 five cent nickels that feature portraits of George Washington. Furthermore, Newman has an 1870 Three Cent Silver pattern featuring William Barber’s Liberty Seated design, which is much different from the adopted ‘regular’ Three Cent Silver designs and considerably different from the Liberty Seated design on regular issue half dimes and dimes of 1870. This consignment also contains patterns dated 1870 of other denominations, including dimes and a half dollar, which feature this same elegant, Liberty Seated design of William Barber. Newman also has an 1879 Washlady Dime pattern, which exhibits one of the most famous of all proposed designs for U.S. coins.

Newman’s 1878 Quarter Eagle ($2½ gold denomination) pattern in this auction represents an idea for a new design, one that was never adopted. This design is attributed to George Morgan, who designed the Morgan Silver Dollar that was introduced as a regular issue in this same year, 1878. Morgan also designed or co-designed a few U.S. commemorative coins and some U.S. Mint medals.

Another Morgan design for a Goloid Metric Dollar features a head of Miss Liberty with Coiled Hair. The “Goloid Metric Dollar” proposal embodied by this pattern called for a much higher percentage of gold, more than ten times as high, 5.43% and for a lower silver percentage, 84.57%.

To read the complete article, see: Coin Rarities & Related Topics: The Fabulous Eric Newman Collection, Part 2 — Patterns (www.coinweek.com/featured-news/coin-rarities-related-topics
-the-fabulous-eric-newman-collection-part-2-patterns/)

HARVEY STACK ON TRAVELING WITH JOHN FORD, JR.

John J. Ford, Jr. was a legend in his own time. He worked for Stack’s in our shop on 46th Street in the early 1940s before he was drafted into the Army in World War II. He was a good numismatist, sharp and a fine teacher to those who would listen and pay attention to what he was saying. My cousin Norman Stack (three weeks younger than I) and I learned a lot about the hobby from John and the three of us became fast friends.

In the early 1950s, several groups got together and formed the New England Numismatic Association, which met annually in a New England city. It was the trip to one such meeting, this one in Hartford, Connecticut, that this story is about. John asked Norman and I if we were going to Hartford. When we said we were he asked if he could get a lift and we said “Sure.”

John suggested that we get on the road to miss the traffic up toward Connecticut. He added, “I know a great diner, right off the road in New Haven, so we could rest, get something to eat, and then continue.”

Of course, Norman and I decided to take John’s advice and off we went. When we got to New Haven just off the road, as John said, was The Three Judges diner. We stopped, parked the car where we could watch from the diner’s window and went in to order breakfast. Then the adventure began.

Norman and I ordered the customary juice, eggs with bacon, toast, a piece of Danish pastry, and coffee. Then John ordered. He asked for a large glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice (no pits), half a grapefruit, a bowl of hot oatmeal (“and I mean hot,” he said), skimmed milk, pancakes (“Burnt, and I mean burnt!), coffee and a Danish. The waitress wrote down the order carefully, read it back to John who made some corrections, and off she went into the kitchen.

John took out a series of envelopes, each of which contained various pills. They were all colors and he started to explain each one -- you would swear you were in a dietary lecture. He took them in a special order, leaving one packet on the table. When his juice arrived, he found one or two small pits in it, called the waitress back and asked her for a new one. She removed the glass, got another one, gave it to John who examined it carefully, shook his head and drank it reluctantly. Next came his cereal. He opened the next packet on the table and shook something that looked like wheat germ on the cereal, boasting, “this will keep my heart in good shape.”

Next came his pancakes, which appeared to be black as coal. Not black enough for John, however, as he sent them back to be cooked more. After the waitress went back to the kitchen, John continued: “When I say burnt, I mean burnt!” A few minutes later the waitress returned with pancakes as black as could be. John tried one and was still disappointed, as he saw some white dough.

Meanwhile Norman and I were trying to slide under the table, so no one would notice us, especially the waitress who decided to steer clear of our table as much as she could.

It goes to show that you never know a guy until you have breakfast with him. John was very eccentric about food (and other things as well). The many times I ate with him I found him to be informative, entertaining, and wild as a tiger. I also always found that I was left with the check to pay for whatever we had to eat.

But it was worth it as every meal was an adventure and a source of special information, not easily available from anyone else. To be a friend to John J. Ford, Jr. didn’t mean you had to be crazy, but it sure helped!

To read the complete article, see: Remember When: Traveling With John J. Ford, Jr. In The 1950s (stacksbowers.com/Blogs/remember-when-traveling-with-john-j.html)

WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: MARCH 17, 2013

It was a busy numismatic week for me, starting with the Tuesday night dinner of Nummis Nova, my Northern Virginia numismatic social group. Tom Kays was our host, and we had what may have been a record attendance at El Paso, a Mexican restaurant in Springfield. VA.

I was about the sixth to arrive, and plopped down next to Ron Abler, who had been unable to join us for several months. When not dealing with family matters he's been steadily working on research for his book on U.S. centennial medals, and told me about his recent visit to the American Numismatic Society in New York. Curator Bob Hoge was very patient and helpful while Ron reviewed tray after tray of medals.

Ron's “shrunken die variety”

Ron writes:

For a minute I almost fell for Ron's "shrunken die variety” claim. And I wasn't even drinking Dos Equis.

Also on hand after a long absence was Howard Daniel, who returned recently from a six-month trip to Viet Nam.

Across from me were Gene Brandenburg and Dave Schenkman, who couldn't resist commenting on the restaurant's boast of winning a vote for "Virginia's Largest Burrito". He said "How come I didn’t get a ballot for this vote?" Eric Schena reminded Dave that he doesn't even live in Virginia (he treks down from Maryland).

Well, I couldn't refrain from ordering the super burrito, and it was indeed quite large. But nothing I couldn't handle. I ate chips hand over fist (my favorite snack food) and nearly everyone had a beer. The dishes looked good, and Gene declared the place a "keeper".

In the meeting invitation Tom declared:

Tom himself passed around a nice display box of Mexican coins. David Schenkman bought a number of goodies including these great Mansion House counterstamps, attributed to Alexandria VA, and a rare 1626 coronation medal of Charles I. It was the last one he needed to complete his set. Wow!

Dave writes:

Dave also brought a guest, Aaron Packard (no relation to Mike Packard). Turns out I'd met Aaron at the last Annandale Coin Show. He maintains a great web site with original articles on tokens, and he'd been corresponding with Dave. Aaron is now an E-Sylum subscriber, and an excerpt from one of his articles appears elsewhere in this issue.

I had to leave early to pick up my son Christopher from basketball practice (so no beer for me). I missed part of the event, but it was a fun evening for all.

Friday afternoon brought an opportunity to duck out of work a little early and go to the Whitman show in Baltimore. When I walked into the bourse floor I saw Julian Leidman at his table. He'd been unable to come Tuesday night, but he was busy with customers and I walked on.

I spotted bookshelves in the far corner and walked down to John Burns' table, where I found another fellow member of the Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society, Paul Schultz. Soon we were joined by Dave and Emi Hirt, who I hadn't seen in a long time either. We had a good time catching up. Dave told me he'd just stopped by Pierre Fricke's table to tell him how much he enjoyed the book he coauthored with Fred Reed on the history of collecting Confederate currency. Dave showed me a recent acquisition, George Massamore's 1889 Descriptive Catalogue of Confederate Currency.

Dave adds:

Dave and I moved on to Charlie Davis' nearby table. Charlie told us a story about a bookbinder and the Franklin Mint that he'll share with us in The E-Sylum sometime. At Charlie's table we saw Neil Musante, author of the book on John Adams Bolen. We talked about numismatic literature and Neil asked us what our "Holy Grail" would be.

I was having trouble deciding, but I think mine would be a subscription copy of Crosby's Early Coins of America. For Charlie, it would be a copy of the book inscribed by Crosby - apparently none are known to exist. Neil would want to have a copy inscribed to a famous early numismatist like Isaac Wood. I suggested William Sumner Appleton. Then I thought it would be great to have a snarky inscription from Crosby to one of the colonial book committee members who abandoned the task and left Crosby to complete it on his own.

Dave and I moved on to John Kraljevich's table, where we found - guess who - Paul Schultz! In time Len Augsburger, Dave Perkins and Brad Karoleff wandered by. John showed us a medal made, of all things, milk. Len found it a little creepy. No creepier than Bois Durci, I said - that's a mixture of sawdust and blood.

Next to John's table was Tony Terranova. The show was very busy and crowded, but John managed to snap a photo of Tony appearing to snooze in a quiet moment.

After getting something to drink I headed back to John Burns' table and sat down for a while. As we chatted someone came by asking for a copy of the Lusitania medal book. "Someone told me they read about it in The E-Sylum", he said. John didn't have one, but promised to get one in stock.

I'd come to the show partly to discuss some NBS business with our Treasurer David Sundman. We'd never really had a chance to get acquainted. We sat down at a table in the lobby for a while. Next we sat in on the John Reich Collectors Society meeting upstairs. Dave Perkins was giving a presentation on numismatic ephemera and its use in research.

Afterwards Dave Perkins, David Sundman, Len Augsburger and Brad Karoleff stuck around while I discussed some web site ideas of mine. Later John Kraljevich, me, Len and the two Daves had a nice dinner at Sullivan's Steakhouse. It was a great evening. One of the topics was my earlier "Holy Grail" discussion with Neil and Charlie.

Len Augsburger (author of Treasure in the Cellar on the Baltimore gold hoard of 1934) said:

Dave Perkins (W. David Perkins as many of you know him), said:

That would be a Rosetta Stone as well!

After saying our goodbyes I made my way back to the parking garage and headed home to Virginia. What a fun week! Of course, I'd only barely started working on The E-Sylum and had a ton of email filling my inbox. That would be my numismatic fun for the weekend when my kids didn’t have me outside playing basketball. As you can see, I managed to pull it all together somehow. That's all 'til next time. Thanks for riding along on my numismatic adventure.

AN INTERVIEW WITH SILVER DOLLAR AUTHOR WAYNE MILLER

How does a person become fascinated with silver dollars? Growing up in a place such as Helena, Montana where Morgan and Peace dollars were a part of daily life meant that Wayne Miller was constantly exposed to the hefty coins at an early age.

“Montana was one of five states where silver dollars were used regularly,” he said. “You were considered a sissy if you used paper $1s.”

Miller set collecting aside while pursuing a BA in social work, but he returned to coins while still in school.

“I went to Washington, D.C. to get my master’s degree,” Miller said “I visited a coin shop in Washington and started getting the bug again, and I began taking orders for customers. Silver certificates couldn’t be redeemed for silver after June 24, 1968, so I spent a year buying them.” Even though he was a small fish in the coin business at that time, Miller made a bold and historic decision in 1968.

“I decided build the finest Morgan dollar set possible,” he recalls. “It took 12 years, then I decided to go for all the proofs. The set had all four of the recognized branch proofs – 1879-O, 1883-O, 1893-CC and 1921-S. The ’93-CC was blazing.”

Most of the coin photos in Miller’s first book on silver dollars came from his collection. Information from the Redfield hoard was included.

“I knew I was going to write a book someday when I was 6 years old,” Miller said. “I didn’t know it was going to be a coin book.” With more than 20,000 soft and hardcover copies sold, An Analysis of Morgan and Peace Dollars was a blockbuster by numismatic publishing standards. Issued in 1983, The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook was also a strong seller.

The surging rare coin and bullion markets of the late 1970s helped provide Miller with the funds to build his collection. The numbers from 35 years ago are staggering even by current standards.

“We sold $198,000 worth of coins in one day at the 1978 ANA convention, and prices were a quarter of what they are today,” he said. “You could make $30,000 in a day at a show. It was a wild time. Prices dropped to nothing in 1982.”

Some might say Miller unloaded his famed collection too soon, as many of the coins soared in value after the set was dispersed. Aside from the natural tendency to sell a collection once the goal has been achieved, there was an important reason to promptly convert the coins to cash.

Half the proceeds of the sale went to build and fund the God’s Love homeless shelter in Helena. The charity is run by Miller’s wife Ann along with qualified staffers. God’s Love is in its 28th year of operation, and it was the subject of a Religion & Ethics segment on PBS-TV. That program is available for viewing on the internet.

To read the complete article, see: Silver Dollars and Charity – An Interview with Wayne Miller (www.coinweek.com/us-silver-dollars/silver-dollars-and-charity
-an-interview-with-wayne-miller/)

THE PERISCOPIC SPECTACLED TOKENS OF HENRY HIGGINS

Henry D. Higgins was one of the earliest settlers of Mishawaka Indiana. Born on his father’s farm near Syracuse New York in 1822, Higgins was a grandchild of a Revolutionary War veteran who emigrated to America from England.

Higgins, like many other industrious Americans, decided to try his luck at prospecting and moved to California in 1850.

Unsuccessful with his mining efforts, Higgins returned back to Mishawaka a year later, and opened a jewelry business.

In mid-19th century America, jewelers didn’t just specialize in precious metals, rings, and gemstones. Oftentimes these craftsmen also practiced clocksmithing and optometry. Much of the same expertise and materials needed to make jewelry, were also the same skill-sets necessary to build clocks and fabricate eye-wear. Higgins’ new jewelry venture was no different.

For the next decade Higgins’ proprietorship prospered. As the town of Mishawaka grew, so did Higgins’ business.

H.D. Higgens issued 19 different varieties of Civil War tokens during the early and mid-1860s. Like other Civil War storecards of the time, the tokens were issued as change to customers, and had a face value of one-cent.

Below is a H.D. Higgens’ Civil War token. Listed as Fuld IN630A-2a, the token is Choice EF, and has a rarity rating of R-4 on the Fuld Rarity Scale. It is plain edged and struck in copper.

To read the complete article, see: Henry D. Higgins & His Periscopic Spectacled Tokens (www.novanumismatics.com/numismatic-sketches/henry-d-higgins-his
-periscopic-spectacled-tokens/)

DICK JOHNSON ON CHINESE MEDAL COUNTERFEITING

I received an email this week from the widow of a sculptor who died recently. She forwarded an email from China she did not know how to answer, wanted my advice.

The writer from China was so knowledgeable about the sculptor and his medals I assumed he was one of the sculptor's former students.

He wanted a medal the sculptor had created of Chinese interest. He said he even wanted 300 to sell to American tourists who came to China. If he could get at least one medal he could have it cast in China. Cast in China? Read that he wanted to counterfeit it to sell to naive tourists.

The widow called me after I sent a long email explaining that her husband's medal was an issue that had sold out. Further that it was copyrighted. Also that American medal collectors had feared that this very situation would happen.

The Chinese had copied U.S. coin rarities so closely it was nearly impossible to detect them from the originals. Now that some 20th century American medals are reaching the $1,000 price range these become attractive to the Chinese counterfeiters.

I pleaded with the widow to refuse to supply him with the medal and note the issue was sold out and that it was a copyrighted design. Instead of copying an American medal, Chinese artists should create their own medal to sell to tourists. She informed me she had no idea how he learned of her, or of her husband's creation. And he certainly was not one of his students.

It does point out the Chinese have no respect for American copyright. They have a mindset that they can copy anything they wish.

For American collectors it means vigilance in what you acquire and who you acquire it from. Overseas sellers are suspect. Prices far below current market value is also a red flag.

Medal collecting had generally been free of counterfeits in the past. Olympic and U.S Presidential Inaugural medals are the only ones that come to mind. Now it is evident any numismatic item more than $100 must be examined closely and guaranteed genuine by the seller. Protect yourself!

CHINESE COIN FOUND ON KENYAN ISLAND

Scientists have found a rare, 600-year-old Chinese coin on the Kenyan island of Manda that rewrites the history books on international trading. Researchers say the copper coin, which has a square hole in the center so it could be worn on a belt, proves trade existed between China and eastern Africa decades before European explorers set sail.

Scientists say it was issued by Emperor Yongle of China who reigned from 1403-1425 during the Ming Dynasty, and his name is written on the coin.

A joint expedition of scientists led by Chapurukha Kusimba of The Field Museum and Sloan Williams of the University of Illinois at Chicago found the 600-year-old Chinese coin on the Kenyan island of Manda.

Scientists from Kenya, Pennsylvania and Ohio also participated in the expedition. They also found human remains and other artifacts predating the coin.

Emperor Yongle, who started construction of China’s Forbidden City, was interested in political and trade missions to the lands that ring the Indian Ocean and sent Admiral Zheng He, also known as Cheng Ho, to explore those shores.

'Zheng He was, in many ways, the Christopher Columbus of China,' said Dr. Kusimba, Curator of African Anthropology at The Field Museum.

'It’s wonderful to have a coin that may ultimately prove he came to Kenya,' he added.

To read the complete article, see: The 600-year-old coin that proves China was trading with East Africa BEFORE Europeans arrived (www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2293189/600-year
-old-coin-proves-China-trading-East-Africa-BEFORE-Europeans-arrived.html)

NEW FIVE EURO NOTE LAUNCHED

Amid the historical and fascinating surroundings of Frankfurt’s Archaeological Museum, officials from the European Central Bank unveiled their new €5 banknote to an international audience of dignitaries and the world’s media. This is the European Central Bank’s second series of banknotes authorised for issue to the EURO-zone’s more than 330 million users and the occasion was an opportunity for the ECB to reiterate their commitment to the world of both the stability & longevity of the €URO as well as the safety and overall security of the continent’s premier currency notes.

Attending the ceremony was the current ECB president, Mario Draghi as well as the designer of the new note series - Reinhold Gerstetter among other invited guests. After the note’s unveiling, Mr. Draghi approached a large facsimile of the €5 note and applied his signature to a deluge of photos and applause from the audience.

To read the complete article, see: Interview with Ton Roos, Director of Banknotes at the European Central Bank (news.coinupdate.com/interview-with-ton-roos-director-of-banknotes
-at-the-european-central-bank-1890/)

HOW GROUCHO'S GRANDSON SAVED ‘YOU BET YOUR LIFE’

I was the last to arrive that day and as I entered the dining room, Nicholson, Gould and Marceau were already seated.

As I took my seat next to Nicholson, he immediately raised his wine glass and offered a toast to my grandfather. As everyone lifted their glasses, Marcel Marceau turned to my grandfather and asked, “Groucho, if you don’t mind, is it okay if I mime the wine?

My grandfather nodded in approval and sure enough, Marceau, probably the greatest mime since Charlie Chaplin, proceeded to open a non-existent bottle of wine with a non-existent corkscrew, then pour the non-existent wine into a non-existent glass. Next, he lifted the glass to toast and then took an imaginary sip. I must admit, it was one of the greatest things I had ever seen, proving once more that lunch at my grandfather’s was always full of suprises.

As Nicholson began telling everyone about his latest movie, “The Last Detail,” which would be released in a few months, the phone rang and my grandfather, never one to have his lunch or a good story interrupted, asked me to answer it.

I walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

“Is Mr. Marx in?”, the voice at the other end said.

“Who’s calling?” I asked.

“I work at the NBC storage warehouse in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,” the man said. “We’ve got several boxes of 16mm reels of film from ‘You Bet Your Life’ and we were wondering if Mr. Marx wants any of it. If not, we’re going to destroy all of it tomorrow.”

“Destroy it?” I asked incredulously. “Why would you do that?”

“We’re trying to clear space for the newer shows. There’s a lot of stuff from the ‘50s and ‘60s that we’re getting rid of. If Mr. Marx would like it, we’ll be happy to send all of the reels to him.”

“Tell him to burn them for all I care,” my grandfather said, eliciting laughs from his guests. These days it was hard to tell if he was just doing his grouchy act for his invited audience or truly didn’t care.

“Grandpa, you don’t really want them doing the same thing they did to Oscar Levant’s show,” I said, referring to what had happened to all the copies of his good friend, Oscar Levant’s classic show from the ‘50s, “Information, Please,” when all of the kinescopes that existed were destroyed.

“He’s right,” Nicholson chimed in. “Groucho, that stuff is classic. Listen to your grandson. Let them send the reels to you.”

“Alright,” my grandfather said. “Maybe it’ll be fun to watch them again.”

Excited, I ran back and told the man to send the boxes to my grandfather’s house.

As it turned out, it would take more than an afternoon to watch the episodes. Two weeks later, I got a call from my grandfather, who sounded more than a little angry.

“Get over here right now,” he growled. “There are five UPS trucks in front of my house. Each one of them is filled with boxes of 16mm reels of “You Bet Your Life.”

I rushed over to my grandfather’s house and sure enough, there were five UPS trucks parked in front. Each driver was wheeling dozens of boxes of film into the house.

“Where would you like us to put all of this?” one of the drivers asked me. “There are over 500 boxes and each box contains ten reels of film.”

5,000 reels of film, I thought to myself, as I watched the small army of UPS drivers putting boxes in any empty space they could find, including a now-vacated bedroom that once belonged to Groucho’s last wife from whom he was now divorced. I couldn’t help thinking this was beginning to resemble a scene from a Marx Brothers film, as boxes of film were stacked to the ceiling, literally taking up entire rooms. I also thought back to the man from NBC, who told me there were “a few boxes of film,” an understatement if ever there was one.

By the time the UPS drivers left later that day, my grandfather’s house – which was quite large – was filled from end to end with boxes of “You Bet Your Life” reels. And even though I knew my grandfather was angry, I was grateful that we had managed to save “You Bet Your Life” from extinction by NBC.

To read the complete article, see: The Day My Grandfather Groucho and I Saved ‘You Bet Your Life’ (boingboing.net/2013/03/12/the-day-my-grandfather-groucho.html)

SURGERY SAVES CENT-SWALLOWING DOG

A Jack Russell terrier, while lacking in common sense, was brimming with common cents.

The beloved pet pooch inhaled a mini-mint of 111 pennies behind its Manhattan owner’s back, and veterinarians had to rescue the ailing dog after its sudden change in diet.

Doctors at BluePearl Veterinary Partners, working methodically on 13-year-old Jack, removed all the coins from the penny-popping pooch’s insides during a two-hour operation.

The coins were fished out five at a time, said Jack’s owner, Tim Kelleher. The Wall Street worker said he knew something was wrong last Friday when Jack began vomiting in their home.

The dog grew progressively worse over 24 hours after ingesting the coin collection while licking up crumbs from a leftover bagel.

To read the complete article, see: Manhattan dog Jack saved after eating $1.11 in pennies (www.nydailynews.com/new-york/dog-saved-swallowing-111
-pennies-article-1.1286895)

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