CORRECTION: ANNUAL ASSAY COMMISSION � UNITED STATES MINT 1800-1943

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V13 2010 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 13, Number 50, December 12, 2010, Article 3

Author Roger Burdette pointed out a problem in my review of his new book, Annual Assay Commission � United States Mint 1800-1943:

One minor mistake: "...Commission from 1800 through its final year of 1980." Should read "...through 1943." I omitted the final decades as there seemed to be little of interest in them. But several people have asked about adding these, so I may work on that as time permits.

I guess it could be worse, but that's a dunderheaded blunder on my part. Not only did I not read all 2,000+ pages of material, I apparently was too lazy to read all the way through to the last word of the title. I did find, read, and enjoy material on the 1943 Assay Commission, but didn't look for later years (which I wouldn't have found, anyway). Hey, the Steelers were playing Sunday night and I didn't want to miss the second half.

But (American) football aside, Roger's work is now an essential part of my numismatic library - I expect to reference it again and again while reading up on multiple aspects of U.S. numismatic history, and I also fully expect that I'll encounter the title henceforth in the footnotes and bibliographies of most new books on U.S. numismatics.

From now on, all reviewers of books on U.S. numismatics should ask this question: "If the author didn't consult Burdette's Assay Commission records, why not?" Unless the author is an R.W. Julian or Roger Burdette who's spent countless hours researching in the Archives themselves, they'll have some explaining to do. -Editor