BOOK REVIEW: THE ARISTOCRAT: THE STORY OF THE 1793 SHELDON 15

The Aristocrat:
The Story of the 1793 Sheldon 15
By James A. Neiswinter
Edited by David Yoon
Hardbound with full color dustjacket
Color images
118 pages
Copyright 2013
ISBN 978-1-4675-5782-5
Privately printed in an edition of 200 copies
Price $75

Jim Neiswinter has written a great new book on the 1793 S-15 Large Cent. It will be released May 2, 2013 at the Early American Coppers convention in Columbus, OH. As E-Sylum readers know, I have a soft spot for one-coin books. It's hard to get more specialized, and the true numismatic devils are often in the details that only a highly specialized book such as this will uncover.

In his Foreword, Bob Hoge of the American Numismatic Society writes:

In his Introduction, author Neiswinter writes:

The first chapter is appropriately titled, "The Beginning", where Neiswinter traces the study of large cent varieties to 1857 and an article on the front page of the Boston Evening Transcript. Signed "A.S., Brookline, Mass", it was written by Augustine Shurtleff, a founding member of the Boston Numismatic Society.

Chapter Two briefly addresses the Chicken-and-Egg problem of which came first - the S-15 variety or the closely related S-16. Page 10 has a great color photo of eight owners of the S-15 variety taken at the 2009 Early American Coppers convention in Cincinnati.

Chapter Three is a Review of Principal Literature of the 1793 S-15 cent, with appropriate excerpts from the principal books and articles by Crosby, Frossard, Sheldon, Breen, Noyes and others. This is a nice one-stop-shop for nearly 150 years of writing on the topic.

Chapter Four showcases auction appearances of the coins. Another bibliophile's delight, the chapter includes several color images of the covers of ordinary and famous sales alike, from the likes of Elliot Woodward, John Haseltine, Henry Chapman, Lyman Low and B. Max Mehl. The specimens are matched up with the condition census in Chapter Five where possible. Neiswinter writes:

In Chapter Five the author presents a condition census of 1793 S-15 specimens. The finest known once resided in two great Pittsburgh collections, those of A.C. Gies and George Clapp. It now belong to the American Numismatic Society collection, part of Clapp's 1946 gift. Jim Neiswinter's coin is the discovery piece for the variety, once owned by Sylvester Crosby (and the Levick plate specimen). This coin also passed through the hands of George Clapp (and his brother Charles).

At the end of the chapter (on p60) is a very useful full-page treatment of the diagnostics of the S15 variety, with notes pointing to the appropriate areas of large images of both sides of the coin.

E-Sylum readers may also recall that I have a peculiar habit of diving into the back of a book before I start reading. As a researcher and bibliophile, I like to know that the author has done their homework, and Neiswinter passed this test in spades. While the book's bibliography is comprehensive and up-to-date (including century-old periodical articles as well as the 2011 Secret History of the First U.S. Mint by Orosz and Augsburger), the appendices were a delight, including complete copies of correspondence among the giants of large cent collecting.

Appendix A ("The Beginning") includes full images of various early references to 1793 cents including periodical articles and auction appearances.

Appendix B stores copies of several Large Cent collection inventories, including those of Dr. Thomas Hall, Carl Wurtzbach and George Clapp.

Appendix C holds complete copies of multiple provenance documents, including letters from Henry Grunthal, Philip Van Cleave, Dorothy Paschal, Roger Cohen, Pete Smith, John Adams and others.

Appendix D contains letters and notes from George H. Clapp and two great photos of him, plus a table of his famous MENDACIOUS cost code, believed to be a disparaging reference to dealer B. Max Mehl.

As a reviewer I feel compelled to include at least one deficiency. For this book I would say that one thing I would have liked to see included would be a photo of the third side of the coin - the edge. I know that's asking a lot since edges are quite tricky to photograph. But it would have been icing on the cake for this great one-coin book.

In summary, I highly recommend the Neiswinter book to bibliophiles, researchers and Early American Copper collectors alike. There's something here of interest to everyone

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NEW BOOK: THE ARISTOCRAT: THE STORY OF THE 1793 SHELDON 15 (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n14a04.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web