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V11 2008 INDEX
E-SYLUM ARCHIVE
MORE ON NBS' GREATEST AMERICAN NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SURVEY
[As expected, the ballots for the Numismatic Bibliomania
Society's survey of numismatic literature has generated much comment.
-Editor]
Joe Boling writes: "Paper money is given exceedingly short
shrift. For instance, how can Criswell, whose numbering system is used for
a whole class of American collectibles, not have been
mentioned?"Len Augsburger writes: "After we published the candidate list in The Asylum, a lot of people wrote in with suggestions, nearly all of which we were able to accommodate. No problem with write-ins or combining entries, do the best you can and we'll do the same on this side."
As to how to think of this exercise, David Gladfelter writes: "Assume you are a historical society curator or librarian who is being downsized. The trustees are making you sell off most of the numismatic library to raise money so they can install computers and be relevant to the modern generation. What you save, you have to rank in importance, 1 to 100, so the next wave of downsizing won't wipe out the heart of the collection. You must keep what your standards of curatorship/librarianship require you to keep, not your pet favorites."
Fred Reed writes: "I got my ballot for the NBS “2008 Survey of the 100 Greatest Works of U.S. Numismatic Literature” this week, and spent several enjoyable hours weighing the alternatives. I’ve run beauty contests like this before, and I congratulate those involved in preparing the listing which was a lot of work, and especially those with the chore of tabulating ballots, which will no doubt be onerous, too. What these kinds of contests do generally is generate a great deal of debate, so let the discussion begin ...
"While I am delighted to see my “Civil War Encased Stamps: the Issuers and their Times” on the list, I am amazed at how much the works selected appear to reveal the collecting biases of the compilers. For example, very few paper money works are included, and several of the paper money works that are listed are VERY suspect. The Society of Paper Money Collectors awarding winning journal “Paper Money,” which is in its 47th year of publication is not listed either.
"I agree with Alan Weinberg about the Sullivan-DeWitt book. I’ve filled out my ballot, and although nothing was said of write-ins, my ballot contains 24 worthy volumes that weren’t on the official ballot. We’ll see how they tabulate. Here they are:
- Fricke, Collecting Confederate Paper Money
- Paper Money (SPMC journal), 1961-date
- Smythe, Schingoethe Sales, 14 parts
- Krause and Mishler, Standard Catalog of World Coins
- Bank Note Reporter (Criswell, Sheheen, Krause)
- Hessler, The Engravers Line
- Pick and Krause, Standard Catalog of World Paper Money
- Hessler, The International Engravers Line
- Criswell, Confederate and Southern States Currency
- Kelly, National Bank Notes
- Schwan and Boling, World War II Remembered
- Huntoon, US Large Size National Bank Notes
- Mihm, A National of Counterfeiters
- Kolbe, Ford Sale, 2 parts
- Smith, American Numismatic Biographies
- Swiatek and Breen, Encyclopedia of US Silver and Gold Commemorative Coins
- Friedberg, Encyclopedia of US Fractional and Postal Currency
- Hessler, U.S. Essay, Proof and Specimen Notes
- Doty, McMillan Encyclopedic Dictionary of Numismatics
- Ball, Financial Failure and Confederate Defeat
- Hessler and Chambliss, Comprehensive Catalog of U.S. Paper Money
- Knox, United States Notes
- Schwan, Military Payment Certificates
- Reed, Standard Catalog of Motion Picture, Television, Stage and Advertising Prop Money
Len Augsburger adds: "I've received 24 ballots so far. In case any readers were wondering, the ballots can be folded and returned in the enclosed envelope for regular (42 cents) postage. Let's keep them coming!"
To read the previous E-Sylum article, see: BALLOTS MAILED FOR GREATEST AMERICAN NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SURVEY
Wayne Homren, Editor
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@gmail.com
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