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V17 2014 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 3, January 19, 2014, Article 24

The catalog for the Stacks Bowers 2014 Americana sale (and rarities Night) arrived earlier this week. Here are some items I found interesting. -Editor

1866 Springfield Antiquarians Card. Copper. 28 mm. 10.5 grams. Musante JAB-23. Mint State.

One of just 14 reported struck in copper, with just one or two believed struck in each of several other metals. A very rare issue. Interestingly, Bolen first signed this obverse die just below the shield and to the right, and traces of the LEN are still clearly visible. The final position is boldly at the base of the central motif, just above the date.

Pedigree: From the Neil Musante Collection. Paper envelope with attribution notation included.

Silver Urn. Ephraim Brasher (1744-1810). Active ca. 1786-1807. New York, New York.

Silversmith Mark: EB in incuse rectangular punch, stamped four times beneath base. Urn: 14.2 inches topped with approximately 10 inch removable lid. Total weight 283.5 grams. Urn-shaped body on short foot set on square base. Applied band of beading across rim of urn with ornate initials and floral pattern on body and foot. More reserved design work is also present along the base of the lid, and there are leaf patterns impressed into all four corners of the square base.

To read the complete lot description, see: Lot 245: Silver Urn. Ephraim Brasher (www.stacksbowers.com/BrowseAuctions/LotDetail/
tabid/227/AuctionID/5001/Lot/245/Default.aspx)

This famous issue features a bust of Washington to right with Roman-style hair in ribbon and WASHINGTON PRESIDENT around, date below, reverse with CENT above a stylized heraldic American eagle. Readily among the most important and elusive of all Washington-related types, with perhaps just 15 or so pieces known in all grades, including one example called Proof-08. Made in England during the height of the Conder token craze, the die work is by then 17-year old John Gregory Hancock, a child prodigy who first gained recognition during the Conder token era, 1788-1800 or so.

Something on the order of only two or three dozen examples of this rarity are thought to have been made, no doubt on special order for the well-heeled collectors of the era who demanded more and different tokens at every turn. The majority of the pieces known today are of relatively high quality, a sign they were kept and cherished by the original recipients and so on down the line to today's collecting community.

To read the complete lot description, see: Lot 379: 1792 Roman Head Cent. (www.stacksbowers.com/BrowseAuctions/LotDetail/
tabid/227/AuctionID/5001/Lot/379/Default.aspx)

The first 1802 half dime to sell at public auction is believed to be the William A. Lilliendahl Collection specimen in December 1863. This piece was then described as the finest of the three known specimens, although Harold P. Newlin noted the coin was in only "Very Good condition." That coin sold for $340, a record price that stood for a generation until Newlin's own finer specimen of this rarity was sold at auction. Furthermore, one of the finest known 1794 silver dollars brought a comparable $285 in another auction in 1863 confirming that American numismatists at the time had a firm grasp on the rarity of the 1802 half dime.

The original mintage is believed to be a mere 3,060 pieces, and these suffered great circulation challenges; these small silver coins simply did not survive intact. Researcher David J. Davis studied this issue extensively and with the help of numismatic organizations and other well known numismatists concluded that no more than 35 distinct examples exist (published in his extensive listing of all known auction appearances in the reference Federal Half Dimes 1792 - 1837 by Russell J. Logan and John W. McCloskey in 1999).

Since that time David Davis has passed away, but shortly before his death we discussed the issue and he believed that perhaps as few as 25 distinct examples exist, as a few of those previous auction offerings were found to be counterfeits -- or repaired and straightened coins previously listed as bent or damaged.

Remarkably the 1802 half dimes in both the Smithsonian's National Numismatic Collection and the American Numismatic Association Museum are altered dates and thus not included in the census.

Much has been written about this particular issue. The first such research was conducted by leading numismatist of his era Harold P. Newlin, in 1883, when he published his work titled A Classification of the Early Half-Dimes of the United States soon after he sold his collection of half dimes through J.W. Haseltine on April 10, 1883.

In that publication Newlin enumerated most of the known auction appearances, and deemed it a "most exalted" rarity. At that early time, Newlin was able to list 16 appearances and gave a thorough presentation as to why he was of the opinion that the 1802 half dime was "the most desirable [rarity] of the silver series," eclipsing other pieces famous at that time including the 1804 dollar, and quarters of 1823 and 1827.

To read the complete lot description, see: Lot 2045: 1802 Half Dime (www.stacksbowers.com/BrowseAuctions/LotDetail/
tabid/227/AuctionID/5001/Lot/2045/Default.aspx)