The E-Sylum:  Volume 5, Number 48, December 1, 2002, Article 10

BYRON REED COLLECTION CATALOG

  Larry also has some followup to Bob Leonard's experiences
  with the Byron Reed Collection (which occurred after Larry's
  tenure as curator there).

  "I have quietly read my E-Sylum each week, holding my
  tongue (and fingers) from further comment or flame-fanning
  on the "Great Museum Debate," despite the continuing slings
  and arrows of misinformation, misunderstanding and ignorance.
  However . . .

  Bob Leonard used a very poor example of a curated museum
  collection to make his point that coins in museums are not very
  well organized.  In fact, the Byron Reed Collection is one of
  the most, if not the most thoroughly cataloged and numismatically
  attributed collections in the country. While there is very much
  a political problem with ownership and access to the Reed
  collection,  the collection itself is not disorganized in the least.
  The information Bob is seeking, Breen-Gillio number, weight
  and description, is properly recorded for every California
  pioneer fractional gold piece in the collection.  It is the access
  to that information that is in dispute.

  Bob should have indeed contacted the Omaha City Council,
  since they are the owners of the Reed collection.  Unless and
  until the Council knows collectors and researchers are
  unhappy about access to the collection, nothing will change.

  The attribution of the coins (and books!) in the Reed
  collection was carried out by several recognized numismatic
  experts, including Tom Reynolds doing the coppers and
  colonials, Harry Salyards on early American silver, Chris
  Connell attributing the Byzantine, etc. etc.  Charlie Davis
  looked at Reed's splendid library and concluded, after going
  through all 2,000 numismatic books, catalogs and pamphlets,
  that it is the oldest, nicest and most complete private
  American numismatic library still in existence.

  I have been addressing the issue of museums and universities
  selling their coin collections in my column in The Numismatist
  (notice the "The") over the past several months, so my views
  are well known to readers of my column.  To summarize four
  months of turgid commentary, I'm against it."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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