The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Esylum: Volume 18, Number 08, February 22, 2015

New subscribers this week include: Jeremy Cheek, courtesy of David Powell. Welcome aboard! We now have 1,822 subscribers.

This week we open with an update from Kolbe-Fanning, three new books, reviews of two others, plus a nice history of Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine.

Other topics include dealer Joseph Barnet, banknote designer Henry Steiner, the Denver Federal Reserve, another Nobel Prize medal coming to market, the Stack's Schmandt sale, and Harvey Stack's new CoinWeek video interviews.

To learn more about Nomismata, the mystery of the moving Mint Marks, Arlie Slabaugh, gun portholes, an 1815 time capsule, Underground Railroad tokens, Orphanage tokens, tokens from homes for inebriates, and saltpeter money, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

KOLBE & FANNING FEB. 28 ONLINE SALE REMINDER

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers wish to remind clients that their February 28 online sale has been posted, and that bidders may browse the sale’s contents through the firm’s online bidding portal at auction.numislit.com.

The first in what is expected to be a series of smaller online numismatic book auctions, the Feb. 28 sale focuses on North American numismatic literature, and features 380 lots ranging in estimated value from $20 to $2000. All lots are illustrated.

Thirty-one lots of pre-WWII volumes of The Numismatist, including 1896 and 1897 (lots 3 through 33).

Early ANA sales, including rare catalogues for 1908, 1910, 1922 and 1933 (lots 34, 35, 37 and 39).

A number of early Edward Cogan catalogues, a plated copy of the Mackenzie Sale (lot 121) and a lovely 1859 Cogan storecard designed by Robert Lovett, Jr. (lot 116).

A copy of the 1893 Frossard & Hays volume with a rare authorial inscription by Frossard (lot 167).

A hand-priced and plated copy of Lyman Low’s catalogue of the Benjamin Betts collection (lot 228).

A 1914 handwritten letter, signed, from Hillyer Ryder on the subject of Massachusetts coppers (lot 278).

The online sale is available now for browsing and absentee bidding at auction.numislit.com. A PDF of the catalogue can be downloaded for the convenience of the reader through the firm’s regular website at www.numislit.com. While bidders are encouraged to bid through the online platform, bids may be submitted through the traditional methods as long as any such absentee bids are received by Kolbe & Fanning by the day before the sale. Absentee bids may be placed directly online at any time prior to the lot being sold. On Saturday, Feb. 28, beginning at noon eastern time, the sale will be conducted as a live internet auction.

Customers who have participated online in any of Kolbe & Fanning’s recent sales will be familiar with the process. Others are encouraged to set up an iCollector account through auction.numislit.com and see for themselves how easy it is. Bidders wishing to participate in the live sale are strongly encouraged to register in advance.

Any questions may be directed to David Fanning at df@numislit.com or by phone at (614) 414-0855. We look forward to your participation.

NEW BOOK: GUIDE BOOK OF UNITED STATES COINS, 69TH ED.

The newest edition of the Guide Book of United States Coins (known to collectors as the “Red Book”) will debut at the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Collectibles Expo on March 26, 2015. The 69th edition, with a 2016 cover date, can be pre-ordered online (including at Whitman.com) and after the Expo will be available from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide.

The Red Book, used by coin collectors to identify and value their coins, prices 7,700 entries in up to nine grades each, with more than 32,900 retail valuations in total. Keeping up with the latest coins from the U.S. Mint, the 69th edition has the newest cents, nickels, dimes, National Park quarters, half dollars, Native American dollars, Presidential dollars, commemoratives, official Mint coin sets, and bullion coins. The 69th edition includes 94 new coin issues and 8 new sets, with information about all formats of the 1964–2014 50th-anniversary Kennedy half dollars (including the .9999 fine gold version). Mintages of modern coins have been updated across the board using the latest government data.

A team of experts led by Senior Editor Kenneth Bressett has updated and expanded the pre-federal section on Confederatio coppers and related speculative patterns, with more photographs, new research, and three times as many pricing entries. Expansions are also seen in the addition of Very Fine pricing for Shield nickels, a new entry for the controversial 1859 Indian Head cent with experimental reverse, and a description of the special Uncirculated Mint sets of 1942–1946.

As in past years, collectors will benefit from the Red Book’s recent auction records provided for significant rare coins. Listed throughout the charts are more than 170 notable auction results. Combined with the listed retail prices, the auction data help advanced collectors understand the modern market for high-end rarities.

In addition, the appendix of the “Top 250 U.S. Coin Prices Realized at Auction” has been fully updated. Since the last edition 14 more coins have broken the $1 million mark, for a new total of 79. This includes four new coins that auctioned for more than $2 million apiece since the 68th-edition Red Book debuted one year ago.

In a promising measure of the health of the hobby, the Red Book’s numismatic bibliography includes 26 standard references published within the past five years.

The cover of the spiralbound 69th edition shows three beautiful and historic American coins: a Draped Bust copper large cent, a Liberty Seated silver dollar, and a modern Native American dollar.

In addition to the regular editions of the Red Book, a special limited-edition hardcover with a unique design will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the American Numismatic Association. The special edition will be offered by the ANA as part of its 2015 Annual Appeal, launching in October.

A Guide Book of United States Coins, 69th edition
448 pages
Full color
By R.S. Yeoman; senior editor Kenneth Bressett; research editor Q. David Bowers;
valuations editor Jeff Garrett
$14.95 spiralbound
$16.95 hardcover
$19.95 spiralbound hardcover
$29.95 Large Print Edition
$49.95 expanded Deluxe Edition (1,504 pages)
$69.95 leather-bound Limited Edition (500 copies)
[price TBD] ANA 125th Anniversary Edition (500 copies)

NEW BOOKS IN THE MONETA SERIES: #183-184

Moneta 183
J. Ch. Moesgaard, Les trésors monétaires médiévaux découverts en Haute-Normandie (754-1514), Collection Moneta, 183, Wetteren, 2015, 308 p. ISBN 978-94-91384-51-6

Moneta 184
Documents and Studies on 19th c. Monetary History, Korea, Le commerce de la Corée selon Victor Collin de Plancy ministre plénipotentiaire (1887-1906), S. Michon, préf. de G. Depeyrot, Collection Moneta, 184, Wetteren, 2015, 152 p. ISBN 978-94-91384-52-3

BOOK REVIEW: COINS OF ENGLAND 50TH EDITION

Standard Catalogue of British Coins, 2 volumes, 50th edition. Spink, London, 2015. Vol. 1: Coins of England & The United Kingdom. Pre-Decimal Issues: 536 p., 14.3 x 22.3 cm, Hardcover. ISBN: 978-1-907427-43-5. / Vol. 2: Coins of England & The United Kingdom. Decimal Issues: 157 p., 13.7 x 21.6 cm, Paperback. ISBN: 978-1-907427-44-2. Both volumes throughout illustrated in colour. Both volumes together: GBP 30.

The cover of Spink’s “Coins of England & The United Kingdom” 50th edition features the sovereign that was struck in 1887, to celebrate the 50th reigning jubilee of Queen Victoria. Such a sovereign is the prize five readers of the new catalog can win. This is just one example of what the editors have come up with to mark this incredible anniversary.

Spink‘s Standard Catalogue of English Coins harks back to the price guides published by coin dealer B. A. Seaby before the War. These lists became quite popular with the collectors who started to use them as reference for their own coins. In 1945, the first official edition of “The Standard Catalogue of British Coins” was released. Back then, it still covered Scotland, Ireland and the Isles as well until the material became so vast that a new catalog was developed, specifically for those areas.

Hence, the current “Coins of England” deals with the coinage of England and the United Kingdom from Antiquity to the Present. The range covers Celtic coins, coinages related to Roman Britain until the Migration Period, Anglo-Saxons and early Norman coinages. The material becomes more overseeable with the Norman Kings after the conquest of 1066. All royal coinages are listed here, in the order of the succeeding kings.

On the occasion of the 50th edition, the editors treated themselves to a second volume and hence evaded the problem known from the many editions of the Royal Mint’s catalog which became heavier with each year. The Standard Catalogue is divided into before and after the decimal system, with both catalogs being distributed together (yet).

In short, the latest Spink Standard Catalogue is a must-have for everyone dealing with English coins. That this area has gained a great number of new collectors is evidenced by the considerable price increase of British coins that was to be witnessed in the previous months. To all true bibliomaniacs, Spink offers something very special: of the 50th edition there is a collectors’ edition available that features a golden frontispiece, gilt edge and other carefully designed details.

BOOK REVIEW: THE CORPUS OF THE NOMISMATA, 976-1067

Franz Füeg, Corpus of the Nomismata from Basil II to Eudacia 976-1067. Classical Numismatic Group, Lancaster (Pennsylvania) / London, 2014. 161 p., 21,3 x 29,7 cm, figures and graphics in black and white, Hardcover. CD-ROM attached. ISBN: 978-0-9898254-9-8. $125

Franz Füeg is one of the most meticulous researchers currently working on the Byzantine coinage. His new opus commands deep respect from every reader, acknowledging the care with which the author has treated the relevant material. With this impressive publication Franz Füeg provides a die corpus for the nomismata from 976 to 1067 that accesses not only the objects in museums collections but all specimens sold in auction sales as well.

The diligence and the analytic intellect that are necessary to finish such a well-wrought work have to be admired in themselves. Together with his first book that dealt with the nomismata coinage from 713 to 976 (the addenda to which are part of this volume), Franz Füeg has exhaustively researched the Byzantine gold coinage except for the semisses and tremisses of the 8th and 9th centuries.

Let’s face it: anyone writing an auction sale catalog and being in a hurry to find a reference on a coin will be out of sorts with Franz Füeg. It does take some time to identify the exact coin in his work, which makes every reader realize how complex the Byzantine coinage really is – despite the fact that the author has come up with good ideas to keep the actual catalog as lean as possible. He split it into the printed book with the die variants and their descriptions and the actual catalog containing all the accessed specimens – not in a printed format but on an CD-ROM that comes with it.

The most important element to dealers and collectors, however, is Füeg’s thorough list of forgeries he had come to know (an alarming number, by the way). Thanks to his extensive die study he was able to identify several objects as forgeries that could not have been detected with conventional techniques. If only one single forgery is not being bought after checking with the new Füeg then the book is already worth its prize!

The publication of Franz Füeg is a catalog that will still be a reference work in 100 years’ time. For his first volume the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres of the Institut de France awarded him the Prix DUCHALAIS in 2010. We are curious about how many prizes this second volume is going to win. We would award him a prize right away if we had one to give.

THE RISE AND FALL OF NUMISMATIC SCRAPBOOK MAGAZINE

When Lee Hewitt planned his new magazine, it was going to be literally a “scrap book” offering excerpts from books published years before that were now long out of print and inaccessible to collectors of 1935. Then monthly news and notices were added to the mix when they could be obtained.

Volume 1, Number 1 appeared dated January 1935. It was a small (4 3/16 x 3 1/3 inches” eight-page publication boasting a bright yellow cover with bold scarlet sunburst enclosing NUMISMATIC/ SCRAPBOOK/ JANUARY 1935. Precisely 200 copies were printed, but by 1938 the year’s run totaled 524 pages. The first year saw new issues every two months but monthly appearance was soon the rule.

Subscriptions were $1 per year. The only serious competitor then existing was The Numismatist, journal of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), a kind of cross between an overgrown club publication and a learned journal.

Lee F. Hewitt recalled in June 1969 that in his magazine’s first year the ANA was 47 years old and had only 1,200 members. There were only 35 functioning coin clubs in the U.S. and perhaps a dozen significant, full-time coin dealers. He became an active member in the Chicago Coin Club and in 1939 helped found the Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS), first major regional coin organization.

A huge boost to Numismatic Scrapbook was the U.S. commemorative coin boom that came to a boil in 1935. American commemorative half dollars had first been issued in 1892, and continued to appear intermittently through 1934, when 50 cents was a still a respectable amount of money.

In 1935-1936 a commemorative madness erupted with dozens of subjects proposed and many actually getting through Congress on subjects ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Any modern collector has but to look in the Guidebook of United States Coins (the “Red Book”) to see how many 1936-dated commemoratives were actually issued.

Going monthly, Hewitt’s magazine grew to 5 x 7½ inch format. Its beige and light red cover now bore a fixed design with red script Numismatic Scrapbook MAGAZINE, America’s Authority on Coin Collecting over a large Morgan dollar obverse. The coin’s date 19—was blocked by a tablet announcing A monthly magazine for the Collector of Coins, Tokens, Medals and Paper Money. The issue date appeared at the bottom. This basic design was retained until 1969.

Internally, Hewitt separated editorial (written materials, articles and news) from the fat body of advertising that made the magazine marvelously profitable for decades. Each issue included a “Beginner’s Primer,” and each January boasted a “Crystal Ball” of predictions by dealers and a few collectors.

Critics sometimes sneered that the predictions were merely disguised advertising for what this or that dealer happened to have in stock. This overlooked such contributions as Miami dealer William Fox Steinberg’s mid-1950’s urging just after the 1950-D Jefferson nickel boom, “Don’t worry about how many nickels the Mint is going to make, just enjoy your coins and good health!”

Another Hewitt secret weapon was a brilliant young linotype operator named Arlie Slabaugh (born 1926) a deaf-mute whose unerring eye could tell him what space would be left blank by a story he was typesetting. His fast-moving mind and fingers would compose a short to fill the space before his type-setting reached the bottom of the column.

THE CSNS JOHN BURNS MEMORIAL BOOK SIGNING BOOTH

I am writing to ensure that numismatic authors are aware of the opportunity to participate in an authors’ book signing and sales booth at the upcoming 76th Anniversary Convention of the Central States Numismatic Society during our complimentary public admission hours on Thursday-Friday-Saturday April 23-24-25.

Inaugurated in 2014 to perpetuate the memory of numismatic literature dealer John Burns, the “John Burns Memorial Book Signing Booth” will give scheduled numismatic authors the opportunity to sell their books directly to the public without charge for the booth space. Authors will be able to have up to two separate one hour periods. Scheduling arrangements and reservations should be made by contacting me directly, either by calling (414) 807-0116 or via e-mail at kfoley2@wi.rr.com.

Our event site will be the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center, located at 1551 North Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg, IL 60173.

MORE ON THE ARAGON BALLROOM

I have some supplemental information on the Aragon Ballroom referenced on the encased half dollar that appeared in The E-Sylum, as well as Pacific Ocean Park in general.

When Lawrence Welk moved on to another venue, Freddy Martin's orchestra became the house band at the Aragon. This lasted only briefly, as by 1963 it was evident that the main audience for the Aragon had become teenagers, and they wanted rock bands. This led to the Aragon being renamed as the Cheetah, and it operated under this banner from early 1967 through the fall of 1968. The park itself was already closed by then, and access to the pier was made difficult by a massive urban renewal project by the City of Santa Monica that blocked many of the adjacent streets.

A number of movies and television shows were filmed at Pacific Ocean Park, including the famous climax of The Fugitive, where Dr. Kimball confronts the one-armed man who killed Kimball's wife. This final act takes place atop the park's tallest ride, and the murderer meets his end when he falls to the deck below.

POP (as it was labeled in the park's own advertisements) opened in 1957 amid great publicity, with many celebrities in attendance. The park shut down just ten years later in November of 1967, for the simple reason that it was losing too much money to repay its loans. While the Aragon did burn to the deck level of the pier, as noted in last week's issue, the deteriorating remains of POP succumbed to a series of fires, the worst being in 1973-74. All of these later fires were determined to have been acts of arson, and the local fire departments eventually stopped trying to put them out, because the pier on which the park had been built was riddled with huge holes and was unsafe for both men and equipment.

It wasn't until the fall of 1974 that actual demolition of the remains was undertaken. Since the property straddled the border of Santa Monica and Venice, there were many jurisdictional disputes. Lick Pier, on the south side, was in Venice (part of greater Los Angeles), while Ocean Park Pier was in Santa Monica. Los Angeles had the money for demolition, but Santa Monica could not put up its share until 1974. There were also a half dozen federal and state agencies that needed to approve everything, as well as the land owners who argued that the cities were not paying them what the land was worth. As this dragged on year after year, most of the privately owned land was forfeited to the city of Santa Monica for nonpayment of taxes.

The only persons who mourned the lost piers were the local "Dogtown" surfers, who found that the waves created by the pier structure were superior to any naturally occurring waves in the immediate area. These surfers were local legends, and they guarded their stretch of water fiercely against any outsiders.

First of all a correction to what was presented earlier – the Aragon Ballroom was definitely located in Ocean Park. Not in Venice and not in Santa Monica, but in Ocean Park! The location information obtained from the Internet can be confusing as city boundaries are changed over time.

Over the years the Aragon Ballroom issued a number of different encased coins, all holed as made so the encasement could be threaded onto a keychain.

Let’s begin with the simplest, an aluminum frame 35mm diameter, 1953D cent, and an inscription that provides the location Lick Pier. For many encased coins the date of the coin often provides information as to when it was manufactured. In this case I’d say 1953 or 1954.

Then a horseshoe shaped frame 35x41mm that provides a bit more location information with Ocean Park the locality and a 1953D cent, but also known with a 1954D cent, so it possibly was manufactured in 1955.

Back to the round frame with even more specificity for the locality. This encasement is known with two different cents – 1954D and 1955D suggesting manufacture in 1956.

Then comes an interesting series where a half dollar is embedded in plastic with an imprinted inscription. The clear plastic frame is 41mm diameter, 2mm thick, with an extended loop. The half dollars used for these encasements seem to have been taken from circulation, so a range of dates, mintmarks and designs are encountered meaning the date of manufacture has to be after the latest date half dollar.

Now this series comes in transparent plastic, uncolored or colored, with a hot-printed colored inscription. One piece was reported to me as a reddish brown colored frame with a white imprint, but I have never actually examined this piece. Another piece has a clear plastic frame and a red imprinted inscription, and I have only ever seen a single example.

The remaining items in this series have a red plastic frame with a gold imprinted inscription. The first of these with only an obverse inscription is quite common and is what is usually encountered for the Aragon Ballroom.

Being a ballroom, the Aragon had fox trot dance contests as evidenced by these two pieces with an inscription imprinted on the reverse, the first for SECOND PLACE and the next for THIRD PLACE. I have never seen or heard of a piece for First Place!

The final piece known to me is unusual and I have only ever encountered one example. Note the obverse inscription refers to Pacific Ocean Park.

However, it seems that the Aragon Ballroom was actually located immediately adjacent to Pacific Ocean Park, but never considered to be included in Pacific Ocean Park. This is evidenced by a thoroughly documented map as shown on the site http://www.westland.net/venicehistory/mapsdocs/poppier-map.htm.

Does anyone have encased coin varieties different from those shown here? If so, I’d appreciate have the information for my upcoming revised and updated edition of California Encased and Stickered Coins.

SWEDISH AMERICAN TERCENTENARY COIN HOLDER

I was looking for a Swedish commemorative 2 Kronor coin of 1938 which commemorates the 300th anniversary of Swedish settlement in what is now Delaware. This was for a friend who is descended from some of the original settlers. He had just purchased the Delaware commemorative half dollar and asked if I could find him some of the Swedish counterparts.

And look what I found: Here is a four-coin holder put together by the Swedish American Tercentenary Association, Inc. of New York and Chicago. Swiatek and Breen mention a five-coin holder, and the Swedish coins are mentioned in the Red Book, but has anyone ever seen this?

Andy also wrote to David Lange, who reported seeing one of these in a a coin show exhibit. I collect these holders and related pamphlets and correspondence as part of my numismatic ephemera collection. The papers and packaging that organizations shipped commemorative halves, medals, etc. to buyers with were typically thrown away, but a few examples have survived, and are much more rare than the coins themselves. I wish I could say I had one of these, but alas, I do not. Too bad, since I'm part Swedish. My grandfather's name was Gustave Olof Homren.

So... have any readers seen one of these? -Editor

Archives International Auctions, Part XXIII

U.S. and Worldwide Banknotes, Security Printing Ephemera and U.S. Federal Bonds and Documents.

March 10th, 2015

Highlights include:

Lot 1034 United States Treasury Gold Coin Note

ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL AUCTIONS, LLC
1580 Lemoine Avenue, Suite #7
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
Phone: 201-944-4800
Email: info@archivesinternational.com
WWW.ARCHIVESINTERNATIONAL.COM

QUERY: ROMAN PROVINCIAL COIN ATTRIBUTION SOUGHT

We discussed a coin at our meeting of the Oxford Numismatic Society last week and it has us stumped. Any ideas?

I think there may be a tiny countermark under the ear. I have found similar portraits of Elagabalus 218-232.

The lettering of LEG is unusual. It looks early. I assume the letters are III. The design on the standard looks like a chi- rho but not sure. That would not tie in with the period.

THE MYSTERY OF THE MOVING MINT MARKS

Fans of Mel Brooks' movie Young Frankenstein know that actor Marty Feldman surreptitiously moved his character's hump from shoulder to shoulder during filming until someone noticed it. "Didn't you used to have that on the other side?" Well, mint marks can move around, too. Ken Potter has a nice article about this published February 19, 2015 in Numismatic News. Here's an excerpt. Be sure to read the complete article online. -Editor

Numismatic News reader Curtis Jordan of Michigan submitted an interesting coin in the form of a 1989-D Lincoln cent with a very low mintmark.

The Denver mintmark on his cent is positioned much further south than what was considered the normal area of placement during that era.

I use the term “normal area” because up until 1990 mintmark positions varied from die to die.

Starting in 1990, mintmarks stopped moving. They were placed into the master tools, i.e., punched into the master dies and from there transferred to the working hubs to the working dies or were engraved into the epoxy models and transferred down through the same sequence. This is bit of an oversimplification because the sequence of dates arriving at the epoxy was different for proof coins versus circulation coinage.

Up until that time all dies were made in Philadelphia without a mintmark where they were then punched into the individual working dies via hand punch. Placement of mintmarks prior to the 1990s could vary widely though there was a general target area in which engravers strived to stay within. Nonetheless, the variations in placement often strayed outside of the targeted areas and were still deemed acceptable for use.

This policy resulted in mintmarks that sometimes overlapped a bit into a date or other areas of design, or were positioned outside of a target area in any compass position, north, south, west, east or anywhere in-between. Other possibilities were mintmarks tilted way out of normal orientation. In some cases they were inverted 180 degrees from normal.

To read the complete article, see:
Mintmarks can move (www.numismaticnews.net/article/mintmarks-can-move?et_mid=726183&rid=238176646)

THE SCHMANDT SALE AND THE BLIZZARD OF 1957

While Boston and other Northeastern cities have been walloped with snow this winter, we've been relatively lucky in Northern Virginia. Although temperatures have been down in the teens, we haven't had a lot of snow.

I was personally lucky to escape the cold this week while attending a conference in sunny San Jose, CA, where it was in the 60s. But as if to avenge my escape, Mother Nature was waiting upon my return, where eight inches of snow covered my car in the Economy parking lot at Dulles Airport. Which brings me in a roundabout way to Harvey Stack's latest Stack's Bowers blog article, which tells of the hobby impact of a winter storm many years ago. Thanks, Harvey! -Editor

Stack's ran about eight to ten sales per year, in all seasons as it had for decades before (and as Stack’s Bowers Galleries still does today). In 1957 we scheduled the sale of the J.W. Schmandt Collection for New York City on February 1 and 2. The J.W. Schmandt Collection was a comprehensive collection of United States gold, silver and copper coins that included rarities and extremely choice examples.

During the two weeks before the sale dates, collectors and dealers visited our showroom to examine the lots and make decisions as to what they would bid on. Those who were planning to attend and lived out of town made hotel reservations as this was a two evening sale. Although weather bureaus were predicting inclement weather most still planned to attend this important sale.

As sometimes happened, a storm hit New York, the entire Midwest and New England late in day, on January 30, 1957. It was still snowing on the 31st, and then became a real blizzard on the day of the sale. Cars could not travel; trains were delayed by hours; planes neither landed nor took off from New York. Walking down the street could be a hazardous affair as it was a blind white mess. The subway system ran only sporadically and the city was almost at a standstill.

Ben, Norman and I had previously made hotel reservations, as evening sessions often ended too late to go home. We had also made advance reservations for our auction staff.

But the storm became so hazardous that Stack's considered postponing the sale for a better date. But, how could we? We had a number of collectors who had come for lot viewing and planned to stay in New York to attend the sale. Some people came through the snow on the first day of the sale with extreme difficulty. The telephone was the only way to communicate, and there were interruptions with service. The mailman could barely make it to our doors. The mail was late in arriving, and many bid sheets were no doubt still undelivered.

However, we felt that those who had made the trip should have a sale to attend. So we made the difficult decision that the sale must go on. We agreed to postpone the start of the sale one half hour to 7:00 pm, and hoped that would make it easier for some bidders to make it. We closed the shop at 6:00 pm, walked outside the best we could, as it was still snowing and the sidewalks were covered. On the curbs the snow was piled six feet or more, as shovelers tried to clear a passage so people could cross the street and get through to where the sale was being held. As traffic was hardly moving, we were able to make the crossing. The sale took place in the Great Northern Hotel, directly across the street from Stack's at 123 West 57th Street -- now rebuilt as the grand Parker Meridian Hotel -- and we had engaged the main ballroom for the event. We were concerned who, if anyone, would show up!

As we entered the ballroom where about 150 seats had been set up, we were surprised to find a crowd, close to standing room only, waiting for the sale to begin. We made our apologies for the weather, and ordered another 100 chairs set up which were filled by 6:30! “Wow,” we said. "This is going to be a great auction." People arrived in boots and snow gear, carrying umbrellas to shed the snow and wet. We ordered extra coat racks and tried to make all those who attended comfortable.

While at that time, the auction license commission did not allow the service of anything but water, considering the weather conditions outside we disregarded the regulations. (The Commission felt that the services of food or beverage were considered "an inducement to bid.”) Nevertheless, as we were in a hotel, we ordered lots of coffee and sweet rolls to make our bidders a bit warmer and more comfortable.

To read the complete article, see:
Snow Versus the Collector, Part One (www.stacksbowers.com/NewsMedia/Blogs/TabId/780/ArtMID/
2678/ArticleID/64988/Snow-Versus-the-Collector-Part-One.aspx)

SLAVES, UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TOKENS AND 1799 CENTS

A notched cent was recently submitted to a treasure magazine, as a piece used to identify slaves on the underground railroad. Further research revealed the attached information, from Greenback: The Almighty Dollar and the Invention of America by Jason Goodwin. I do not believe the comments on the notched cents. I was wondering if there was any truth to the comment on the 1799 cents, which also seems doubtful.

THE BOOK BAZARRE

SELECTIONS FROM THE JOHN HUFFMAN LIBRARY: Browse and Shop Approximately 3,000 Numismatic Books from the Respected Library of John Huffman—All Books Recently Discounted 30%. Click here or go to www.SecondStorybooks.com click on “All Subjects” and select “John Huffman Collection”

THE BOOK BAZARRE

FOR THE MORGAN DOLLAR COLLECTOR WHO HAS EVERYTHING: Karen M. Lee’s award-winning Private Sketchbook of George T. Morgan, America’s Silver Dollar Artist. 192 pages, coffee-table, richly illustrated and including never-published photographs and family documents. Order online for $29.95 at Whitman.com (or call 800-546-2995).

ARTICLE FEATURES BANKNOTE DESIGNER HENRY STEINER

He has been dubbed the father of Hong Kong design, and 80-year-old Henry Steiner's works are all around us, including some of the banknotes in our wallets.

Besides many famous logos, including those of HSBC, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Wellcome, Hongkong Land and Lane Crawford, he has designed the banknotes issued by Standard Chartered Bank since late 1979, after earlier designing notes for HSBC.

Hong Kong allows the three note-issuing banks - HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong) - to appoint the designers for their notes.

Steiner was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1934 and moved to New York with his parents to escape Nazi persecution.

He came to Hong Kong in 1961 to work for a magazine on a nine-month contract but fell in love with the city. He stayed and developed his career here for 54 years, also marrying and having two sons.

Steiner initially studied painting but later shifted to design, which he said was a better fit.

"A painter tries to solve his own problems while a designer tries to solve the clients' problems," he said. "I kind of like to help other people solve their problems, so design suited me better."

Steiner said the process of designing a banknote was no different from other corporate design work, with the first step being to talk with the bank's top executives to know what message they wanted to send out through the banknotes.

"They generally would like to have their corporate image as well as the image of Hong Kong and its culture reflected in the banknote's design," he said.

When he designed HSBC's banknotes in 1973, he introduced the iconic image of the bronze lion statues, something other designers have since followed.

His Standard Chartered banknote designs have been updated several times but have always featured five animals from Chinese mythology, a theme he is very proud of, believing they add character to the banknotes.

There is a clear hierarchy. The more important the note, the more important the animal. There is a fish on the HK$20 note, a turtle on the HK$50, a chi lin (unicorn) on the HK$100, a phoenix on the HK$500 and a dragon on the HK$1,000 note.

"However, people should remember the Chinese legend that when a fish jumps over the gate, it becomes a dragon. I like all my banknote designs, but I like the HK$20 fish the most as the fish could become a dragon one day," he said.

The reverse side of the current series of banknotes features a theme combining Chinese heritage with new technology, which Steiner said showed Hong Kong as a city where East meets West.

In 2009, Steiner also designed a special HK$150 banknote issued to celebrate Standard Chartered Bank's 150th anniversary in Hong Kong. That note did not feature an animal, but instead a mix of people representing the city.

To read the complete article, see:
Designer's work lives in our wallets (www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1715774/designers-work-lives-our-wallets)

PLACES ON VIETNAM'S BANKNOTES

When it comes to the custom of li xi – giving lucky money – during the Tet holiday, Vietnamese always try to put into those symbolic red envelopes the crispest, newest bills they can find.

This explains the presence of so many brand-new polymer banknotes before and during the New Year holiday.

The blue bill features the 400-year-old Chua Cau (Pagoda Bridge), a popular destination in the ancient town of Hoi An.

The bridge, 18 meters long, was built by Japanese traders who once made up a large part of the town’s population and is better known as the Japanese Bridge.

It is also a pagoda that was meant for subduing a dragon monster whose head was in India and tail in Japan. Legend has it that when mamazu, as the creature was known, wiggled its tail, earthquakes would happen.

Chua Cau is famous for carrying a mixture of Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese architecture styles.

Phu Van Lau, a historic pavilion in the central city of Hue, and the neighboring communal house Nghenh Luong Dinh have been featured on the VND50,000-bill since 2003

The complex was built some 200 years ago with the pavilion used as a venue to post up Nguyen kings’ edicts, while the house as a royal camping site. Both the sites are part of the Hue Imperial Citadel, a UNESCO world heritage.

Here's the image of a thousand-year-old Confucius complex in Hanoi and consists of Van Mieu, or the Temple of Literature, and Quoc Tu Giam – Vietnam’s first national university.

One of the capital city’s most popular destinations, the complex attracts millions of visitors and hosts a variety of cultural events every year.

As one of the country’s most famous destinations, Ha Long Bay has twice been featured on Vietnamese banknotes – the former VND10,000 paper note and the current VND200,000 polymer note.

Against the red background of the bill is a limestone that looks like a giant incense burner. In fact, the iconic stone is locally known as Dinh Huong.

The banknote with the highest denomination features a five-room thatch roof that is part of Kim Lien, a museum dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) in the central province of Nghe An.

Located in Sen Village, the museum displays items related to him and his family.

Smaller bills feature modern sites like Hai Phong Port on the VND500 or a textile factory in the northern province of Nam Dinh on the VND2,000 bill.

Tri An Hydropower Plant in the southern province of Dong Nai graces the VND5,000 note.

The VND10,000 has the Bach Ho Oil Field, about 145 kilometers off the southern beach town of Vung Tau.

AUSTRALIA AGREES TO PRODUCE TACTILE BANKNOTES

A 13-year-old blind boy's year-long campaign to ask the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to print tactile banknotes has finally paid off.

Connor McLeod's idea was sparked when he was given money for Christmas, but could not tell the amount he had.

"I received some notes at Christmas time and I kept having to ask Mum what they had given me," said Connor, who has been blind since birth due to a congenital disorder.

"I didn't touch notes because it was really annoying and embarrassing that I couldn't differentiate between them, but I could differentiate coins so I used to go around with only coins in my wallet getting stuff from the canteen with them.

"And then it just sort of hit me that my life isn't going to be all coins, so I thought I'd better make things a little easier, and easier for others as well."

The young New South Wales teenager - who has represented his school at state level athletics, rides a push bike, abseils, rock climbs, swims, and plays the drums and keyboard - started a petition to allow vision-impaired people to be able to tell the difference between denominations.

The Human Rights Commission and Vision Australia supported his campaign, and 57,000 people signed the petition.

The campaign culminated with a meeting last November with the RBA, where Connor lobbied the main decision makers for change.

"Words cannot explain how proud of my young man I am," his mother Ally Lancaster said.

"He spoke intelligently and passionately and factually and Michele Bullock from the RBA, during our meeting, actually said that she was suitably impressed at how well that he had done and she certainly didn't expect that from a young man of his age."

In a statement, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said the new tactile features of banknotes will help vision impaired people tell the difference between denominations of Australian bank notes, along with the bright colours, large and bold numbers, and different sizes for bank notes.

ISRAELI SCUBA DIVERS FIND GOLD COIN CACHE

Scuba divers have inadvertently discovered the largest trove of gold coins ever found off Israel's Mediterranean coast.

About 2,000 pieces dating back more than 1,000 years were spotted on the seabed by members of a diving club, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said.

At first the group thought the coins were toys, but quickly realised the significance of their discovery.

Divers were exploring an ancient harbour in Caesarea when they came across the gold. They collected several coins and quickly returned to the shore to inform the director of the club.

Experts from the authority called to the site uncovered "almost 2,000 gold coins in different denominations" circulated by the Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled much of the Middle East and North Africa from 909 to 1171.

The haul, which weighs 9kg (20lb), is believed to have been exposed as a result of winter storms.

Kobi Sharvit, director of the marine archaeology unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said excavations would be carried out in the hope of shedding more light on the origin of the treasure.

“There is probably a shipwreck there of an official treasury boat which was on its way to the central government in Egypt with taxes that had been collected,” said Sharvit.

“Perhaps the treasure of coins was meant to pay the salaries of the Fatimid military garrison which was stationed in Caesarea and protected the city.

“Another theory is that the treasure was money belonging to a large merchant ship that traded with the coastal cities and the port on the Mediterranean Sea and sank there,” he said.

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY RECEIVES $300M RARE BOOK COLLECTION

Princeton University has been gifted an astonishing trove of rare books valued at nearly $300 million that includes the first six printed editions of the Bible and the original printing of the Declaration of Independence.

The Ivy League school in New Jersey said Tuesday that the book-loving philanthropist William Scheide, a Princeton alumnus who died aged 100 in November, had bequeathed the university some 2,500 rare printed books and manuscripts. The collection's enormous value makes it the largest gift in the university's history.

"I cannot imagine a more marvelous collection to serve as the heart of our library," Princeton president Christopher Eisgruber said.

"We are grateful for Bill Scheide's everlasting dedication to Princeton and his commitment to sharing his breathtaking collection with scholars and students for generations to come."

The vast collection includes the first six printed editions of the Bible, starting with a 1455 Gutenberg Bible; the original printing of America's Declaration of Independence; handwritten music by Beethoven; and Shakespeare's first, second, third and fourth folios.

COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL SELECTIONS FROM BALDWIN'S

Anne (1702-1714), Capture of the Citadel of Lille 1708, Copper Medal by J Croker, crowned bust left, ANNA. D: G: MAG: BRI: FRA: ET. HIB: REG:, rev turreted victory holding the shield of Lille above a plan of the city walls, INSVLÆ CAPTÆ. MDCCVIII, 44mm (Eimer 435; MI ii 338/169). Minor cabinet-wear, extremely fine with chestnut patina.

Anne (1702-1714), Capture of Tournay 1709, Copper Medal by J Croker, draped bust left, ANNA. D: G: MAG: BRI: FRA: ET. HIB: REG:, rev Britannia seated, TORNACO . EXPVGNATO., in exergue MDCCIX, 39mm (Eimer 437; MI ii 354/190). Nearly extremely fine.

Anne (1702-1714), The Capture of Bethune, St Venant and Aire, 1710, Bronze Medal by J Croker and S Bull, bust left, ANNA AVGSTA, rev trophy of captured French arms and standards, BETHVNIA,. FANO. STI VENANTII. ET. ARIA. CAPTIS., 48mm (Eimer 447; MI ii 374/220). Extremely fine.

Anne (1702-1714), Battle of Almenara 1710, Copper Medal by John Croker, bust left, ANNA. AVGVSTA, rev a cavalry battle, PVGNA EQVESTRIS, in exergue HISPANIS AD ALMENARAM VICT. IVLIIXVI. MDCCX, 48mm (Eimer 445; MI ii 373/218). Extremely fine.

CORNWALL BOY FINDS TUDOR SIX PENCE IN SNOWBALL

A schoolboy who made a snowball literally hit the jackpot and scooped up a rare 16th Century coin worth almost £1,000.

Brandon Sara, 10, was playing in the snow when he knelt down to prepare his latest weapon to hurl at friends. But in his new ball he was shocked to discover a 500-year-old Tudor coin.

He had been seeking cover in ground that had recently been disturbed by building work at Robartes Junior School in Bodmin, Cornwall.

After cleaning it off Brandon realised it was an old coin, and took it to his teacher, Paul Rigby, for further help identifying the find.

Mr Rigby was quickly able to identify the coin as a Tudor six pence piece, dating back to 1562.

Brandon, of Bodmin, Cornwall, said: “I felt really lucky, it’s exciting. It was snowing, so I picked up a snowball and it was just sticking out.

“It’s a six pence piece – everyone was using it in 1562. I have to speak to the headteacher now to see what I want to do with it.”

The school are hoping it may now be sitting on a treasure trove of long-lost Tudor coins.

Paul Rigby said: “We’ve put the coin under the microscope and it certainly seems genuine.

“Brandon found it in the soil where we’ve had some new posts installed in the grounds.

Perhaps everyone ought to check snowballs for coins!

To read the complete article, see:
Schoolboy finds Tudor coin in snowball (www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Schoolboy-finds-Tudor-coin-snowball/story-26040533-detail/story.html)

FEATURED WEB SITE: ANGLO-SAXON COINAGE

Tony Abramson has studied the small, early Anglo-Saxon silver coinage, referred to as sceats for the last twenty years. He has organised a series of symposia held at both the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds. These have resulted in the publication of papers presented at the symposia together with other material in Studies in Early Medieval Coinage, edited by Tony and published by Boydell & Brewer. Volume 3 is under preparation.

He has also published a number of stand-alone books. The first, Sceattas: An Illustrated Guide, sold 1,500 copies and was short-listed for the inaugural North Book Prize. This is now complemented by the much more detailed Sceatta List, a radical re-arrangement of the sceatta coinage extending the number of main varieties to 570 categorized in 114 groups, organized into 10 themes.

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