WANTED: A BOOK ON POST-1892 U.S. MINT MEDALS

I certainly agree with previous comments on the need for a book of U.S. Mint medals to carry on where Bob Julian left off.

Such a work would be a major contribution to the numismatic field. The author would earn the praise of numismatists for a century provided he did a proper job. Cataloged properly your last name would be tied to these medals forever, as "Julian numbers" are for the first century.

It must appear a daunting and insurmountable task, as too many have shunned the chore. I contend it would be a lot easier than what Bob Julian had to do to write about the first century's mint medals.

First, those of us who do have data on these medals would be willing to share that information, myself included. Perhaps Pete Smith could be persuaded to share his 100-page manuscript draft. That's a big start.

Second, the next source would be the Annual Reports of the Director of the Mint. These Reports listed the medals made by the Mint for each year up to about 1980. The ANS has a complete set from 1892 forward that should the searched.

Third would be a search of back issues of Coin World as they carried an announcement of most new medals when first issued.

That should provide a working list, then add photos. At this point the real fun begins of gathering data on each medal and writing the descriptive entry for each. I have a 20-point checklist for this stage not to overlook a single important fact. (Glad to share that!)

Most important to choose a good numbering system.

Be sure to name every medal. Bob Julian did not do this ; he gave the title of the medal, not its name. I lost the argument with him over this. Like people, every object in the world has a name. Every medal has a name. Please use that.

Have I encouraged someone to step forward? We urgently need this book!

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: INFORMATION ON POST-1892 U.S. MINT MEDALS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n12a10.html)

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