QUERY: ASSISTANCE SOUGHT FOR RESEARCH ON 1792 COINAGE

With the tentative title of 1792: Birth of a Nation’s Coinage, authors Leonard Augsburger, Joel J. Orosz and Pete Smith take on the legislative process and activities of the Mint and Mint officials before the Mint had a physical plant for production of coinage. The coinage of 1792 includes various pattern coins and the half dismes that saw broad circulation.

The 1792 coin designs began with legislative debate and could have turned out quite differently from the patterns and denominations we know today. This legislative process and timeline will be included in early parts of the book.

Hundreds of articles and auction catalogs, published since the 1850’s, continue to perpetuate errors and fabrications introduced by the earliest writers. The current book will debunk many of the numismatic myths that surround the coins.

The authors are compiling pedigrees for as many of the coins as possible. While auction appearances are a good source of this information, there are many gaps that must be filled with the help of owners who are not named in the catalogs. The authors are actively seeking assistance from any past or current owner of one of the 1792 coins.

This project follows the highly acclaimed publication of The Secret History of the First U. S. Mint by Augsburger and Orosz. The authors intend to include the same meticulous research and profuse illustrations with their current project.

Wayne Homren, Editor

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