The E-Sylum:  Volume 6, Number 26, June 29, 2003, Article 15

BREEN HALF CENT MANUSCRIPT

  David F. Fanning writes: "Gregg A. Silvis asked about copies
  of the Breen half cent manuscript/typescript.  Breen first
  compiled a manuscript on the subject, a revision of the Gilbert
  book, in the 1950s. He published an article on the subject in
  The Numismatist: "United States Half Cents: Addenda and
  Corrections to Gilbert," The Numismatist, Vol. 65, No. 5 (May
  1952), pp. 461-462.

  Breen had difficulty finding a publisher for an entire book on
  the subject in the 1950s.  He admired Dave Bowers and Jim
  Ruddy and their Empire Coin Co., and made the suggestion that
  if Dave and Jim would do some editing and arranging, he would
  provide a new listing of the series--sort of an update to Gilbert,
  but a basic one (without photographs or history).

  This would get something out there in circulation to stir up
  interest in the series. At that time the only text was that of
  Ebenezer Gilbert, 1916, and copies were almost impossible to
  find. Dave and Jim wanted Walter to use his own name, but
  Walter--who was working with Harmer-Rooke, or New
  Netherlands, or had obligations to the Numismatic Scrapbook,
  or whatever--did not want his name on a stand-alone
  monograph (although, as early as 1958, he had contributed
  magazine articles to Empire Topics). Bowers and Ruddy
  agreed to publish the monograph, honoring his request not to
  use his name. The book was published as "United States
  Half Cents, 1793-1857," by Q. David Bowers and James
  F. Ruddy (Johnson City, New York: Creative Printing, 1962).
  Dave Bowers recalls that probably a couple thousand or so
  copies were printed and sold. It filled a definite niche in an
  era long before Roger S. Cohen, Jr., published his excellent
  book on half cents and long before Breen's magisterial opus
  on the subject.

  There are copies of manuscript/typescript drafts of an even
  larger work by Breen on half cents dating from this time period
  and some additional copies were circulated in the early 1980s
  by Jack Collins in preparation for the 1983 publication of
  "Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents,
  1793-1857" (South Gate, California: American Institute of
  Numismatic Research, 1983).

  The American Numismatic Society library has a copy of the
  manuscript and typescript materials for this publication and
  there are probably others in private hands as well.  Breen
  drafts were frequently photocopied and occasionally turn up
  in auctions. An example would be lot 675 in George Kolbe's
  Sale 88 (June 14, 2002), an annotated photocopy of a 1960s
  typescript (several hundred pages) of the half cent book.
  That the lot brought $50 attests to the fact that the draft is
  not unique."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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