Content presented in The E-Sylum is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.

WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM AUGUST 9, 2020

New subscribers this week include: Jim Donaghy, Robert Maisch, and Jim Sandy. Welcome aboard! We now have 6,545 subscribers.

Thank you for reading The E-Sylum. If you enjoy it, please send me the email addresses of friends you think may enjoy it as well and I'll send them a subscription. Contact me at whomren@gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content.

This week we open with Krause Publications photo archive offerings, a new book, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.

Other topics this week include dealers Abner Kreisberg and John Jacob Price, a subscriber profile, NYINC educational programs, coin hoards, the King's Road passes, a rowing medal, early baseball medals, the 1792 Half Disme, Mayflower quadricentennial coinage, American coin shortages, new banknotes, and the American Association of Young Numismatists.

To learn more about the Herman Halpern collection, the bent half guinea, the Union Asbestos and Rubber Company, the Worthy Coin Corp., modulated relief, National Equitable Labour Exchange notes, Operation Bernhard notes, medals of the War of 1812, the silver penny of Stephen and Matilda, the 1983 Royal Mint National Coin Week competition, the Battle of Warsaw, and the Chick-fil-A coin drive, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

HALPERN AND PITTMAN SALE PHOTOS OFFERED

George Cuhaj writes:

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NEW BOOK: GUIDE BOOK OF U.S. PAPER MONEY 7TH ED.

An updated and revised seventh edition of the Guide Book of United States Paper Money will be available in September 2020. The new book is a collector's price guide and history of the paper currency of the United States dating from federal issues introduced during the Civil War to modern-day cash. Written by numismatists Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, the 416-page guide is printed in full color with hundreds of high-resolution images. It retails for $24.95 and will be available online (including at Whitman.com) and from booksellers and hobby retailers nationwide.

Thousands of federally issued notes are cataloged in detail in the Guide Book of United States Paper Money. Some are valuable rarities like Gold Certificates and $1,000 Federal Reserve Notes. Others are currency found in our wallets today. An introduction by David L. Ganz explores topics such as grading standards; star notes, the $2 bill, and World War II notes; American money in the Civil War; the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; how cash is designed, printed, and distributed; and how to collect, store, and care for paper money. The book covers every kind of federal paper money printed from the 1860s to today's Series of 2017 Federal Reserve Notes with signatures of U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The authors review recent developments in the hobby including possible redesigns of the $20, $10, and $5 bills.

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THE BANKNOTE BOOK SUBSCRIPTION OFFER

As the entire world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, many of you have been passing the time with your banknote collections, adding The Banknote Book catalog numbers to your inventories, and double-checking the listing descriptions against actual notes.

I appreciate all the input I've received as a result, including prefix range extensions, replacement notes, and images of new note varieties. Keep those content contributions coming!

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NNP ADDS BALDWIN'S OF ST. JAMES'S CATALOGS

Newman Portal Adds Baldwin's of St. James's Sale Catalogs

Newman Portal has recently added auction sale catalogs from Baldwin's of St. James's (2017-date), in addition to those of their predecessor, St. James's (2004-2016). Baldwin's of St. James's handles numismatic material from all periods, including ancient, medieval, and modern numismatics. American material occasionally shows up in European sales, and a sampling of these catalogs reveals a number of related lots. Illustrated here is a 1760 George II half guinea, once bent, lot 159 is their upcoming sale no. 47, estimated at 200-250 UK pounds ($263 - $338 USD).

NNP acknowledges Eric Hodge and also Neil Paisley, Managing Director of A. H. Baldwin & Sons, Ltd., for their assistance with this content.

Link to Baldwin's of St. James's catalogs on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctioncompanydetail/513621

Link to Baldwin's of St. James's home page:
https://bsjauctions.com/

VIDEO: ABNER KREISBERG INTERVIEW

PNG Living History: Abner Kreisberg, July 12, 1988. VIDEO: 21:07.

Sponsored by the Professional Numismatists Guild.
Abner Kriesberg, Numismatist, David Lisot, Interviewer.

On July 12, 1988 while working at the Financial News Network in Santa Monica, California David Lisot interviews Abner Kreisberg of Beverly Hills, California. Abner shares how he got into the numismatics. He was a friend of Abe Kosoff. He was part of the founding of the Professional Numismatists Guild. He worked with collectors FCC Boyd, Louis Eliasberg and how he helped him get his last coins, and King Farouk and how he collected patterns and what ended up with his collection. Abner talks about what it means to be a collector. He tells the tale of John Beck who had more than 150 gold $50 Slugs. He was chairman of the 1947 American Numismatic Association. He knew B. Max Mehl, Amon Carter, Everyone will enjoy this interview of one of the legends of coin collecting.

An excerpt of the video is available for viewing on the Coin Television YouTube Channel at:
https://youtu.be/QIEKHMWzSwM

MORE ON THE KRAUSE STANDARD CATALOGS

Pabitra Saha writes:

For Krause Standard Catalog titles on the Penguin Random House site, see:
https://www.penguin.com/search/standard-catalog-of-world-coins?_qry=standard%20catalog%20of%20World%20COins

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 26, 2020 : Fate of the Krause Standard Catalogs (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n30a12.html)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: AUGUST 9, 2020

Col. Nehemiah G. Ordway's Deluxe Heath's Counterfeit Detector
Dave Sundman writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
HARDIN-HUDSON COUNTERFEIT DETECTION COLLECTION : Lot 94: Presentation Heath Counterfeit Detector (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n31a03.html)

Other topics this week include the Union Asbestos and Rubber Company Sesquicentennial Medal, and the Worthy Coin Corp.

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VOCABULARY TERM: MODULATED RELIEF

Modulated Relief. The rise and fall of three-dimension sculptural surface; the total surface planes and curvatures forming a coin or medal design. Modulated relief is created during the step of modeling a design. It is formed by adding material, or carving it away, the function of modeling. The purpose of the model – irrespective of its media, clay, wax, plaster, wood, whatever, or its size – is to convey a surface to a manufacturer who will render this surface, usually by reduction, into a die or mold which to reproduce the coin or medal.

Containing the undulating relief that forms the design, devices and lettering, modulated relief is the surface of the model or pattern, its three-dimensionality gives the object its configuration and shape. It is the warp and wave of the design, or to permit a further alliteration, it is a “configuration of contours.” This is the bas-relief design that is reproduced by pantographic reduction or copied by hand engraving or forming the pattern to be replicated in some manner to create the end product or object.

(The author began using this term in 1974 and has continued to do so in his writings ever since. The term so aptly describes the exact meaning indicated. It can be applied to model, pattern, die – the struck or cast piece – that is instantly recognizable by any viewer or reader.)

Looking for the meaning of a numismatic word, or the description of a term?  Try the Newman Numismatic Portal's Numismatic Dictionary at: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionary

Or if you would like a printed copy of the complete Encyclopedia, it is available. There are 1,854 terms, on 678 pages, in The Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Technology. Even running two a week would require more than 19 years to publish them all. If you would like an advance draft of this vital reference work it may be obtained from the author for your check of $50 sent postpaid. Dick Johnson, 139 Thompson Drive, Torrington, CT 06790.

JOHN JACOB PRICE (1867-19--)

John Jacob Price had more than one iron in the fire. He simultaneously worked as a travel agent, paint & glass dealer, and sold coins, stamps, curios, Indian relics, eggs, and guns.

He was born in September 1867 in Missouri. His father was from England, and his mother was a native of Vermont.

In 1889, he married Sarah (1876-), a native of Illinois.

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SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: ROBERT MAISCH

I'm a member of the ANA (LM 1717), TAMS, CSNS, NENA, South Dakota Coin and Stamp Association and Bridge City Coin and Stamp Club of Mobridge, SD. I was receiving The E-Sylum through the ANA and I shared it with some of the South Dakota movers and shakers so you may get some others from South Dakota wanting to be on the list.

I'm US Navy Retired (1956 to 1976), I joined the ANA IN 1971 and my late wife Cheryl joined in 1975. Cheryl passed away March 3, 2018. We have received the Glenn Smedley Award, a Presidential Award and the Medal of Merit. We were always active in the ANA National Coin Week activities. We were both ANA Certified Judges.

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: AUGUST 9, 2020

Two weeks ago I discussed a few items I've consigned to the upcoming Stacks Bowers August sales. Here are a couple group lots of interesting paper money we've discussed before.

Lot 31190: National Equitable Labour Exchange Notes

GREAT BRITAIN. National Equitable Labour Exchange. 1, 10 & 80 Hours, 1833. P-Unlisted. Very Fine.

A trio of Very Fine Labour Exchange notes, one is for one hour, another for ten and the last for eighty hours. Found with toning and edge wear.

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NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Kevin Foley, Bourse Chairman for the 49th Annual New York International Numismatic Convention, has announced the content of several of that event's educational programs. Foley said: “We always strive to have a broad range of educational programs on Saturday so that our convention will be a focused educational experience as well as a collecting opportunity for our attendees. At 10AM on Saturday, January 16 the executive director of the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild, attorney Peter K. Tompa will present Cultural Property Update 2020: The Year in Review. Mr. Tompa's annual presentations exploring this subject matter are an especially popular and well attended feature of our educational programs. Later Saturday afternoon Joel Iskowitz will be the keynote speaker at our 1PM-3PM program for Young Numismatists. As in the past, the YN program will be moderated by Jack Mattes, president of the American Association of Young Numismatists.

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DETECTORIST FINDS SUFFOLK SILVER COIN HOARD

A metal detectorist unearthed the ‘biggest haul of his life' when he discovered more than 1,000 silver coins estimated to be worth £100,000 near a Suffolk pub.

Luke Mahoney, 40, and two of his friends stayed up for three nights straight last week as they searched a field behind the Lindsey Rose pub, Lindsey, after the landowners, Charlie and James Buckle, granted him permission.

Starting at 10am on Sunday, July 26 with his friends Dan Hunt and Matt Brown, Mr Mahoney scoured the 15-acre field and first found a gold coin and sixpence before taking a break for lunch.

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STEPHEN AND MATILDA SILVER PENNY OFFERED

An extremely rare silver penny of Stephen and his wife Matilda – who fought with his cousin the Empress Matilda for the throne in the 12th Century - is to be offered by International coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists Dix Noonan Webb in a live/online auction of British and World Coins on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at 11am on www.DNW.co.uk .

Discovered by metal detectorist Graeme Rushton on October 20, 2018 on the border of South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, using a Teknetics G2+ metal detector, the coin is one of only 25 known specimens and is estimated to fetch upto £10,000.

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THE KING'S PRIVATE ROAD PASSES

I'll introduce a topic that, while period, isn't colonial; King's Private Roads passes. I had never heard of them until I noticed a run of them in the last CNG sale. I bought a lot consisting of two counterfeits. Antony Wilson of York Coins describes them on his site as follows:

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CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND ROWING MEDAL

I purchased this un-hallmarked medal in August 2008 thinking that I would have some fun finding out about a club that I had previously never heard of, and about a university that had barely registered with me. My not insignificant efforts to discover more about the club or the crew has not unearthed a single piece of additional information than what is engraved on the medal itself. In truth, no matter how hard I strained at the oars, the wind was against me.*

The medal weighs 35 grams and the seller had it professionally troy tested in three different areas, and each indicated sterling silver. The obverse is engraved with a Celtic High Cross and the motto SEDES SAPIENTIÆ surrounded by a garland of shamrocks. The reverse identifies the club and its crew and dates the medal to June 1861.

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EARLY BASEBALL MEDALS

The last two pieces in the sale are from an earlier—but not forgotten—era in baseball. When I was a pre-teen and beyond, baseball was the only nationally celebrated sport. The NHL and the NFL were established but were far from the national dominance they have in today's sports world. But baseball…I grew up in a town with a Dodgers (Brooklyn) farm team. We followed the Dodgers avidly. When World Series time came our classroom time was sometimes interrupted by an update on the score. The closest parallel to baseball enthusiasm in that era is probably today's NCAA Final Four playoffs.

Baseball is the American game that inspired “Field of Dreams.” These two medals bring back a golden moment of nostalgia. It seemed particularly fitting to include them in this sale as baseball struggles to play yet another season.

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THE HISTORY OF THE 1792 HALF DISME

A MORE ACCURATE HISTORY OF THE 1792 HALF DISME

A tale of three sources, two strikes and one president.

The first 1,500 coins of the infant United States Mint came off the press in the late-18th century and almost immediately disappeared from view. Centuries after its modest debut, that revolutionary emission—the 1792 half disme—is shrouded in mystery: Was it struck at the Philadelphia Mint or in the cellar of a mint contractor? Was it produced in Summer 1792, prior to the mint's opening, or in October of that year, after operations began? Were the half dismes meant to be patterns to secure design approval, or were they business strikes, intended for circulation? Who provided the bullion for their production, President George Washington or someone lesser known? If it was Washington, did he donate his personal silverware or silver bullion in some other form?

Two seemingly authoritative sources that surfaced during the mid-19th century provided answers to these questions. They corroborated some assertions and contradicted others. Inevitably, collectors, dealers and scholars chose sides and argued for 150 years about which source was more credible and which story was more plausible. Unbeknownst to these bickering numismatists, however, the definitive answers to these vexing questions were recorded by a third and very reliable source.

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THE 1841 QUARTER EAGLE

"Little Princess" Quarter Eagle is a Royal Rarity Despite Its Humble Condition

One of the most famous US rarities is a small and otherwise unassuming coin--the 1841 $2 1/2 gold piece, or Quarter Eagle. Known as the "Little Princess," a charming nickname given to this coin in the early 1900s, US Coin collectors are excited when an example in any grade comes to market.

Heritage Auctions will be offering an amazing piece in the Aug. 3-9 U.S. Coin Sale that circulated heavily, only to be eventually identified by a collector as a rarity after many years of use in commerce. On the coin grading scale of 1 to 70, this coin grades only a 4, meaning that this piece was not discovered for its true potential until long after it was struck in 1841! Given the prices that any 1841 Quarter Eagle will go for today, it is hard to imagine this small gold coin being ignored until a lucky collector realized what they had in their pocket.

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ATOCHA BOLIVIAN PHILIP IV SILVER BAR

Own a Giant Silver Bar Rescued From The Watery Depths After 300+ Years

The ship Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a Spanish treasure ship, sunk off the Florida Keys in 1622 after the heavy-laden boat was struck by a hurricane. Filled with precious metal bars and coins as well as gems, indigo, and tobacco from Spanish trade, the ship was so full of treasure that it took two months by mule to load it all onto the boat before its journey began! With this precious and heavy cargo weighing it down, the boat was no match for a dangerous hurricane. It sunk Sept. 6, 1622, losing all but 5 of 265 crew members and passengers and its precious cargo in the process.

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THOSE ENIGMATIC S.C. KINGMAN COUNTERSTAMPS

PUNCHLINES: Those Enigmatic S.C. Kingman Counterstamps
by Bill Groom

In his book, Merchant and Privately Countermarked Coins, 2003, Dr. Gregory Brunk cataloged the S.C. Kingman counterstamps as # K-221. He noted that this “enigmatic stamp” was small, well executed and of the sort seen on watch cases, jewelry, etc. (N.B. - these stampings are in italics). Brunk listed but four examples, including a 1794 half cent, an early large cent, a Hard Times token and a 1652 Pine Tree Shilling. In 1999, Rulau had listed the same four specimens as Hard Times tokens. Rulau cited speculation by collector, Arvid O. Johnson, that Kingman may have been “an early numismatist who marked his specimens.” Rulau went on to ask, “Was there such a collector?'

Since Russ Rulau posed that question, twenty-plus years ago, a number of the Kingman counterstamps have surfaced. Many of these stamps appear on rare coins, which added credence to Arvid Johnson's suspicion. Below is shown an as yet unlisted specimen from this writer's collection ....

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MAN WINS 1983 ROYAL MINT CONTEST - IN 2020

A coin collector from Tunbridge Wells was shocked to win a prize from a kids competition that the Royal Mint ran almost 40 years ago.

Warren Light, who lives near Grosvenor Park in the town, has only been an avid numismatist for a year but has an extensive and rare collection.

He regularly creates videos for his YouTube channel devoted to the hobby.

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ROYAL MINT COMMEMORATES MAYFLOWER 400TH

When 102 passengers sailed on the Mayflower from Plymouth, England, on 16 September 1620, their sights were set on a fresh start. They landed in Plymouth Bay over three months later and by spring, just under half of those who had landed in the New World had survived. The original ‘Thanksgiving' feast was held that autumn, after their first successful harvest, and the spirit of the Mayflower pilgrims endures in this national celebration to this day.

The epic story of the journey of the Mayflower is told through a £2 coin design by US designer Chris Costello.

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WILL THE PENNY SURVIVE CORONAVIRUS?

A nationwide coin shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic has revived a debate: Is now the time to eliminate the penny?

During lockdowns, consumers have stayed home and avoided emptying their piggy banks of coins in exchange for paper money. Shoppers have also opted to rely on credit and debit cards instead of touching cash.

With coins in short supply, the Federal Reserve formed a U.S. Coin Task Force, which will make recommendations on ways to cope with the shortage.

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THIS ISN'T AMERICA'S FIRST COIN SHORTAGE

A laundromat operator imploring friends and relatives to trade their stashes of quarters for his dollar bills. A restaurant offering customers free drinks instead of nickels and dimes. Supermarkets issuing pennies' worth of store credit. A woman filling her purse with coins so she can pay in exact change.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a coin shortage, and it's hitting small-business owners, big retailers and everyday shoppers — especially those who don't have credit or debit cards — in ways big and small.

The main way coins circulate through the economy is via store transactions and coin recyclers, according to the U.S. Mint. But as the coronavirus spread, stores closed and visits to essential retailers plunged.

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VIRGINIA CHICK-FIL-A COIN DRIVE

A Virginia-based Chick-fil-A has ended its food-for-coins promotion after it received a surplus of coin rolls from the community.

The Chick-fil-A of Wards Road in the city of Lynchburg launched a coin drive on Saturday, which provided a free meal voucher and $10 in cash to customers who brought in coin rolls of equal value, some of whom used their exchanged money for chicken, fries and other treats. However, the promo was short-lived, lasting only five days thanks to the generosity of the city's local residents and out-of-state Chick-fil-A fans.

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POLAND ISSUES BATTLE OF WARSAW BANKNOTE

A new collectors' edition of 20 zloty banknotes to commemorate the 1920 Battle of Warsaw have been released by the National Bank of Poland.

The banknote's design will include a depiction of Marshal Józef Pilsudski and a painting of the battle by Jerzy Kossak.

August 13th-25th will mark the 100th anniversary of the victorious clash between the newly formed army of the Second Polish Republic and the Red Army which was marching west to bring the Bolshevik revolution to Europe.

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NEW TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO POLYMER BANKNOTES

Trinidad and Tobago Polymer $100 Banknote

The Central Bank on Wednesday unveiled updated concept designs for the new polymer banknote series.

The elements of the refreshed design are consistent with the $100 polymer notes that replaced the old cotton-based notes which ceased to be legal tender on December 31, 2019.

The new bank notes in the $50, $20, $10, $5 and $1 quantities feature T&T Coat of Arms, the national flag above the bills' denominations and a clear window which can be seen from the front and back of the note.

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FEATURED WEB PAGE: YOUNG NUMISMATISTS

www.facebook.com/American-Association-of-Young-Numismatists-118701826190/