The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 11, March 18, 2007, Article 6

QUIZ ANSWER: GEORGE JONES' 1860 COIN COLLECTORS' MANUAL

In an article last week about the PCGS Research Archive, I asked "So 
who issued the earliest known pricelist for U.S. coins? And where and 
when was it issued?" The answer is "The Coin Collectors' Manual, 
Containing a Description of the Gold, Silver, Copper and other Coins, 
of the United States, Together With an Account of Actual Sales in 
Philadelphia and new York, Designed as A Guide Book for Coin Collectors", 
compiled by George F. Jones. Published in 1860, it was sold by Edward 
Cogan of Philadelphia, PA. The following description is from the PCGS 
Research Archive, which has images of every page of the booklet:

"While a handful of books detailing the history of early American 
numismatics had been published prior to the Civil War, (The Manual 
of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, Eckfeldt and Dubois, 1842; 
and Dickeson's American Numismatical Manual, 1859 among them) there 
was really no simple, succinct guidebook for collectors that discussed 
values of coins.

"In 1860, that need was met by George Jones of Philadelphia in his 
publication of The Coin Collectors Manual. Sold at the shop of Edward 
Cogan, it was by no means a lavish affair. A mere 42 pages long, it 
simply listed all U.S., Colonial and Pattern coins in order, with prices 
realized from the major sales of the past five years. In keeping with 
the practice of the period, mintmarks were ignored."

The Earliest Known Pricelist for U.S. Coins 
research_archive/early_pricelist

I asked George Kolbe about the Jones guide. He writes: "This is how 
I have described the book for many years:

"Attinelli page 110. A significant work, the first guide book of values 
for American coins, which were derived from early auction and private 
sale records. Also featured is perhaps the earliest reference to the 
problems inherent in grading American coins: 'In the sales of the 
foregoing pieces, there are, of course, some apparent discrepancies, 
as, for instance, where the condition of the coin sold, is represented 
as the same, the prices are widely different. This can be accounted 
for, generally, in no other way, than that one coin collector or dealer 
may call a coin fine or very fine, when another would describe one 
exactly like it, only as good or fine.'"

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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