The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 32, July 24, 2005, Article 12

LANGE'S MERCURY DIME BOOK UPDATED

David Lange writes: "A new and highly revised edition of my
book, The Complete Guide to Mercury Dimes, is expected to
arrive from the printer on Thursday of the ANA Convention
in San Francisco. Of course, the publisher and I had hoped to
have it in hand before the show, but there was a last minute
addition prompted by a coin I saw at the Mid-America show
in Chicago last month. There may be a few copies available
during the final days of the ANA Convention; check with me
or John Feigenbaum (David Lawrence Rare Coins). Also, the
ANA booth may have them, assuming they arrive on schedule.

Of interest in the new edition is an exhaustive history of this
coin type's conception and the long trial-and-error process in
creating usable dies. I spent several days last winter at the
National Archives regional office in College Park, where the
records of the Philadelphia Mint and all the correspondence
between it and the branches are stored. Many letters not
previously published are included in the new book. Among
the revelations is that the two pattern Mercury Dimes held by
the Smithsonian (both J-1981) are actually two die states of
the same die pair. The many differences in appearance between
them has confused generations of researchers, but these are
simply the result of severely lapping the original dies. Adolph
Weinman had prepared his models with sculpted, textured
fields, this being in favor among medalists at the time. Charles
Barber and his superiors had a difficult time seeing the virtue
in this style, and so the dies were lapped to give them the
smooth, reflective fields to which the Old Guard were
accustomed. Large, sharp photos by Tom Mulvaney of both
specimens are included in the new book, along with excellent
photos of the other pattern varieties.

In the past I have had prepared deluxe, leatherbound editions
of all my books, but I don't anticipate doing this with the new
Mercury Dime book. The market for limited editions has
declined to the point where I could not sell all 25 copies within
a reasonable amount of time. Since it isn't fair to those persons
holding the higher numbers of previous books to not make
these numbers available, I can't see doing just 10 or 15 deluxe
copies. I may reconsider this issue, if enough interest is shown
in a deluxe edition.

The Mercury book is pictorial hardcover only, list $42.95,
and it can be ordered from the ANA or David Lawrence
Rare Coins."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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