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V13 2010 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 13, Number 22, May 30, 2010, Article 11

MORE ON HARZFELD'S "OLD COINS AND THEIR VALUES"

Last week I pictured this postcard sent to George W. Rode of Pittsburgh by the Philadelphia coin dealer Harzfeld and asked, "does anyone out there have a copy of this publication?"

Rode Harzfeld card back

Dan Hamelberg writes:

I have several copies of Harzfeld's "Old Coins and Their Values." Basically, it is Harzfeld's fixed price list published in 1879. In part, the title page reads "Catalogue of American and Foreign, Ancient and Modern Coins, Medals, Etc. and the Prices at Which They May Be Obtained. An Indispensable Guide To Every Coin Collector." It contains 48 pages including a one page "Contents" page at the end and is priced at Twenty-Five Cents.

The preface is titled "My Business Rules" and starts with "With exception of the rare pieces, I can fill orders for any Coin or Medal in this Catalogue, at once." The list contains a limited number of American Colonial coins followed by U.S. Silver Dollars, Half Dollars, Quarter, etc.

The 1804 Dollar listing denotes "Rarest coin of the American series." It follows with a warning that "re-strikes are in existence, which have been fraudulently issued by a party connected with the Philadelphia Mint some 15 or 20 years ago."

There are listings for U.S. copper and all the minor coins to date. Under U.S. Gold, Harzfeld writes "The collecting of United States Gold is so limited, that it would be useless to publish a priced list." There are a limited number of U.S. pattern pieces listed, and some fourteen pages of various U.S. medals at fixed prices. A few pages of Foreign and Ancient Coins follow with two pages of "Special Bargain" lots at the end.

Harzfeld published several fixed priced lists before and after the 1879 "Old Coins and Their Values."

THE BOOK BAZARRE

The Blue Book of Happiness After 68 years, the Handbook of United States Coins is going strong. Millions of happy collectors have used the hobby's wholesale price guide (known as the “Blue Book”) to learn how much dealers are paying for U.S. coins. Add the 68th-edition Blue Book to your library for $9.95 softcover, or $12.95 hardcover. Call Whitman Publishing at 1-800-546-2995, or order online at www.WhitmanBooks.com .


Wayne Homren, Editor

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