The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 10, March 6, 2005, Article 15

LIBERTY SEATED COLLECTOR'S CLUB E-NEWSLETTER ARTICLE SEEKS LOCATION OF AHWASH BOOK COPY #001

Len Augsberger reports that "the Liberty Seated Collector's Club
now has an email newsletter, which can be subscribed to via this
address: wb8cpy at earthlink.net."

Len writes: "I thought the item below about McCloskey's copy
of the early Ahwash book might be worth mentioning in the
E-sylum."

[The item is by John McCloskey, President of the LSCC
and Editor of its Quarterly Journal. - Editor]

"My search for information quickly led me to Kam Ahwash
who was one of the few dealers of his time who actually
studied his coins and noted their special qualities. We
exchanged information on Seated dime varieties for several
years and I worked with him in identifying new varieties.
I remember one time in 1974 when he came to my home
and we studied the dimes in my collection and compared
their characteristics to the notes that he had gathered over
the years. I then had Gordon Harnack take close up pictures
of the dates for coins representing new varieties that Kam
had not yet identified. Most of these pictures appeared in
the Ahwash encyclopedia when it was published a few
years later.

In recognition of my contributions to his research, Kam
gave me a copy of the Premiere Edition of his encyclopedia
when it was published in 1977. This book has a padded blue
cover that is stamped with the title Encyclopedia of United
States/ Liberty Seated Dimes/ 1837 - 1891 in bold silver
lettering. The author's name "Kamal M. Ahwash/ 1977" is
printed below the title. In the lower right corner of the cover,
my name "John W. McCloskey/ LSCC 89" is stamped in
the same silver lettering. The books in this edition are
numbered in the lower right corner of the first page in the
text. My book is designated as "No 002."

I presume that book "No 001" was Kam's personal copy
of the encyclopedia. Does anybody know who owns that
book today? Does anybody know how many numbered
copies were printed in the Premiere Edition of the
encyclopedia? Did you buy a copy of the Premiere Edition
when it was published in 1977? If so, what is its number?
Did you buy a copy of the Premiere Edition second hand
from another collector or dealer? If so, who was the copy
initially registered to and what is its number?

Kam Ahwash passed away more than twenty years ago but
he is still remembered for his important work on die varieties
in the Seated dime series. His books are undoubtedly still in
the numismatic library of many currently active club members.
I would like to recommend that we document the location
of these classic reference books on Seated coinage. Any
information that you can provide on the Premiere Edition of
the Ahwash encyclopedia will be greatly appreciated by the
collecting community."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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