The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 26, July 1, 2007, Article 10

ON NUMISMATIC EPONYMS

Dave Bowers forwarded this query from Robert T. Manning MD, who writes:
"I am a retired physician and a latecomer to numismatics.  Medical
history has long been a subject of great fun and education -- particularly
in the search for stories behind eponymic disease, for example -- Who
was Alzheimer?

"Interest in eponyms and coins made we wonder if there are eponymic coins.
I see that a number of collections, e.g. Eliason, are noted by the name
of the collector."

Dave replied: "The spelling is Eliasberg, as in the Eliasberg Collection.
There are no coins specifically called Eliasberg coins, unless used as a
pedigree. There are Gobrecht dollars, named for Mint engraver Christian
Gobrecht, who cut the dies, the Paquet reverse $20 gold coin (for Anthony
Paquet, Mint engraver who created the dies), etc. Hope this helps!"

[Certain high-profile coins are known by the name of the earliest known
(or most prominent) collector in its pedigree chain.  One example is the
Dexter 1804 Dollar; another is the Jefferson Davis Confederate Half Dollar.

Dealers of course, have been known to coin names for merchandising purposes.

Some of these may quickly go by the wayside, but others may "stick"; only
time will tell.  The "stickiness" does seem to increase with the rarity
and value of the item.  The "Wayne Homren 2007 Dime" won't stick, but the
"Lee-Homren-Bowers Sand's Ale Encased Postage Stamp" might someday (and
it's not even a coin).  -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum