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About UsThe Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit association devoted to the study and enjoyment of numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at coinbooks.org SubscriptionsThose wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link MembershipThere is a membership application available on the web site Membership Application To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Print/Digital membership is $40 to addresses in the U.S., and $60 elsewhere. A digital-only membership is available for $25. For those without web access, write to: Charles Heck, Treasurer AsylumFor Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact Chuck at this email address: treasurer@coinbooks.org SubmissionsTo submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com
BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COINSale CalendarWatch here for updates! |
- WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JULY 18, 2021
- KENNY SAMMUT NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SALE
- NEW BOOK: CONNECTICUT COPPERS (1785-1788)
- CABALLITO VALUATION UPDATE
- COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG ACQUIRES PEACE MEDAL
- COIN DEALERS AND THE UNITED STATES MINT
- VIDEO: THE HIGGINS MONEY MUSEUM
- FALK LIBRARY MEDICAL MEDALS FOUND
- MORE ON THE ZABRISKIE COLLECTION
- MORE ON EMIL JUSTH
- WAYTE RAYMOND'S "EASY DISPLAY SYSTEM"
- NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 18, 2021
- 2021 SUMMER FUN SHOW REPORT
- SS CENTRAL AMERICA BELL TO RING AT ANA
- LUCKY COINS OF ROARING CAMP
- VOCABULARY TERM: EXPOSITION MEDAL
- BROWN AND DUNN
- HARVEY STACK'S NUMISMATIC FAMILY, PART 100
- ANS COLLECTIONS MANAGER ELENA STOLYARIK
- 2021 SOWER AWARDS ANNOUNCED
- NGC PHOTO PROOFS
- STEPHEN ALBUM JUNE 2021 E-AUCTION 10 RESULTS
- DAVISSON'S E-AUCTION 40 ANCIENTS
- STACK'S BOWERS 2021 ANA PAPER MONEY SALE
- NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: JULY 18, 2021
- MINTMARKS ON ANCIENT COINS
- ‘FREEDOM TO ZION' COINS FOUND
- 1980 WATFORD ANGLO SAXON COIN FIND
- MORE ON FRENCH COINS FOUND IN POLAND
- THE PIVOTAL YEARS FOR COIN COLLECTING
- THE GEORGE JUNIOR REPUBLIC
- MOVING THE MEDALLIC ART COMPANY ARCHIVES
- LOOSE CHANGE: JULY 18, 2021
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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 JULY 18, 2021
No new subscribers to report this week. We now have 6,682 subscribers.
This week we open with an eBay numismatic literature sale, one new book, a great museum acquisition, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.
Other topics this week include the Zabriskie collection, Emil Justh, the Summer FUN show, Exposition medals, the 2021 Sower awards, NGC Photo Proofs, recent and upcoming auctions, mintmarks on ancient coins, and tokens of the George Junior Republic.
To learn more about Connecticut Coppers, Colonial Williamsburg's new medal, coin dealers and the U.S. Mint, the Higgins Money Museum, Wayte Raymond's "Easy Display System," the lucky coins of Roaring Camp, Brown and Dunn, the 1934 Paris Mint Lafayette medal, and what not to do when reading a priceless medieval illuminated manuscript, read on. Have a great week, everyone!
Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum
KENNY SAMMUT NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SALE
E-Sylum supporter Kenny Sammut recently completed a summer internship at NGC. He published the following note on his blog, noting a big discount on the numismatic books in his eBay inventory. Check out the selection. -Editor
Sadly, my four week internship ended. The time I spent with the great people at NGC was a highlight of my young numismatic career. It was a wonderful experience and I cannot thank everyone enough. Mr. Mark, Mr. Rick, Ms. Pam, Mr. Scott, Keith, Ben and others were so kind with their time and knowledge sharing.
Thank you so much!
It has been a very busy week since I flew back from Sarasota. I have listed over 400 numismatic listings so far this week with the best 200 listings going up today and tomorrow. US & World coins, currency, and #exonumia. All numismatic books and several hundred coins are on sale. I invite you to look. My remaining numismatic books are up to 60% off.
NEW BOOK: CONNECTICUT COPPERS (1785-1788)
The Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4) has published Randy Clark's new book on varieties of Connecticut Coppers. Here's the information from the club's website. Both of C4's authorized distributors, Charlie Davis and Kolbe & Fanning, have the book in stock and available on their respective websites. -Editor
The Identification and Classification of Connecticut Coppers (1785-1788)
Randall P. (Randy
) Clark
With this book, Randy has filled a century long gap in the availability of a concise and thorough study of the Connecticut Coppers series. This is the first book in 100 years to focus solely on Connecticut Coppers, with enough depth, images and technical details to help specialists and casual collectors alike, dive into details of the series.
Beginning with a 128 page historical overview of the series and its collecting history, this book then provides 576 pages of large sized photographs of every die, both obverse and reverse, known as of publication. For collectors of the Connecticut series, this alone is an unbelievable tool. This book now provides collectors with a single source for historical and attribution information which previously had to be cobbled together from myriad sources.
CABALLITO VALUATION UPDATE
Author Allan Schein submitted this pricing update to his Caballito book. Thanks! -Editor
Six years ago I published the book MEXICAN BEAUTY / BELLEZA MEXICANA, Un Peso Caballito. In that time I have sold a bit over a thousand books, and have seen the coins dry up and prices increase dramatically. This change in popularity was long overdue for such a beautifully designed crown sized coin, and is both good for the series and the hobby but makes it little tougher to find and afford nice coins due to fresh competition.
Along with the extreme swings in popularity and availability of a series come the opportunists who make exaggerated claims about both value and availability. It may be an historically strong market but not everything has soared in value. Having written the book on this series and am told I make the market in these coins I think I have a pretty good handle on values. At this time that I am making available a guide chart of fair market values for PCGS and NGC graded Caballitos. This is only a guide to update the data in the book. Individual coins will always vary somewhat in pricing depending on the coin and the dealer. There is no other source with current reliable pricing information available. Our industry mainstay KRAUSE has not updated their Caballito Peso data to my knowledge for 30 years or more. Although I tried more than once to get them to make adjustments.
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG ACQUIRES PEACE MEDAL
Colonial Williamsburg announced its acquisition of a small size 1792 George Washington Indian Peace Medal. Congratulations! -Editor
When George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United Sates 232 years ago in April 1789, the nation's leaders were well aware that peace medals
given as diplomatic gifts to American Indian leaders had vital impact. Considered to be of paramount historical significance and the highest rarity, most of the authentic engraved Indian peace medals of the Washington presidency are found in institutional collections; of the medals made in 1792, the first year they were issued and awarded primarily to Southern Chiefs, perhaps a dozen are known. Colonial Williamsburg has recently acquired one the finest of only approximately six small-sized medals currently recorded.
Crafted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of silver by an unidentified silversmith, this Washington Indian peace medal is 5-1/4 tall by 3-3/16 wide and weighs 76.15 grams. The medal is now on view in the Backcountry section of A Rich and Varied Culture: The Material World of the American South, a long-term exhibition at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, one of the newly expanded Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg.
COIN DEALERS AND THE UNITED STATES MINT
Newman Numismatic Portal intern Garrett Ziss provided the following article based on recently added digital content. Thanks! -Editor
National Archive letters from the late 19th and early 20th centuries reveal that the United States Mint maintained business relationships with coin dealers and also followed their activities. The Mint often
used contemporary coin sale results to determine monetary offers for numismatic items they wished to purchase for the Mint Cabinet. In addition, dealers often proposed trading numismatic items with
the Mint in order to further their interests. For example in 1894, The Scott Stamp & Coin Company of New York City sent two medals to the Mint for their Cabinet, with the expectation that in return, the
Mint would supply a specimen of the last Assay Medal with [a] bust of Cleveland
for their customer, John F. McCoy. McCoy was apparently still acquiring numismatic items even though his impressive
collection was auctioned off 30 years earlier.
VIDEO: THE HIGGINS MONEY MUSEUM
These are selections from the David Lisot Video Library that feature news and personalities from the world of coin collecting. David has been attending coin conventions since 1972 and began videotaping in 1985. The Newman Numismatic Portal now lists all David's videos on their website at:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852
Here's one on the Higgins Money Museum. -Editor
Era of Hometown Bank Notes
The Higgins Money Museum in Okoboji, Iowa has one of the largest collections of national bank notes in the world. Hear the story of this museum and the tale of this era of paper money.
Producer, David Lisot.
The video is available for viewing on the Newman Portal at:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/560345
FALK LIBRARY MEDICAL MEDALS FOUND
Gosia Fort has been keeping E-Sylum readers informed about the Medical and Scientific medals collection at the Falk Library, part of the Health Sciences Library System at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is Head of Digital Resource Development. She made a great discovery in the library files - a number of medals previously missing. -Editor
Medal of Andreas Vesalius
Ten years ago, I told the readers of The E-Sylum of an unusual discovery of medals in the library offsite storage. I made some assumptions at that time, which passing time corrected. Since I researched, described, and mounted an online exhibit of these medals in 2014, I know now that my declaration in 2012, December 23rd issue of The E-Sylum that some medals have no ties to medicine was premature. I just could not see the connection at the time I wrote the announcement.
The most obvious example is medal of famous German poet, Johann Friedrich von Schiller, who had a medical degree and worked for several years as physician before changing his career. Another speculation I made was to suggest that some of the missing medals had been sold before the rest of the collection was donated to the library. They were not! Last month I made a new discovery that proves how far off was my guess.
MORE ON THE ZABRISKIE COLLECTION
Last week we discussed collector Capt. Andrew Zabriskie. Although his primary coin collection was sold by Henry Chapman, another sale took place at a much later date, as told by reader Alan V. Weinberg. Thanks! -Editor
I enjoyed the brief biography of Captain Andrew Zabriskie, but a significant and in our readers' lifetime
Zabriskie event
was not covered and it is not widely known within the numismatic community. I consider it the most major but little known numismatic
auction of modern times aside from the PA Pennypacker large cent sale of the 1950s.
It is true that while Zabriskie's American numismatic collection, including seven Higleys and a gold Brasher Doubloon, was auctioned by Henry Chapman in 1909, his first love
of political exonumia specializing in Lincoln campaign items was kept in a closeted box for almost a century by his descendants, considered of nominal value. They brought it into Sotheby's NYC auction house in 1999 and learned differently.
MORE ON EMIL JUSTH
Tom Harrison writes:
"I wanted to add a note regarding the addenda to the H.G. Sampson sale of the Emil Justh collection. Besides the addenda noted by George Kolbe in the Harry Bass sale 5 (3-10-01, lot 1028) another one appeared in the Bass sale 2 (6-5-99, lot 512). This copy is in a bound volume of 20 Sampson catalogs. Bass purchased this volume from the Katen sale of the George Fuld library (11-27-71, lot 1364) where he was an aggressive buyer. It sold for $27.50 on an estimate of $125. I purchased the volume when it resurfaced in the Kolbe & Fanning sale 143."
WAYTE RAYMOND'S "EASY DISPLAY SYSTEM"
Author and researcher Dave Lange shared this report on his one and only FUN show purchase. Thanks! -Editor
A Florida dealer came up to our booth and described to me an old coin display box that he had, asking whether I'd be interested. I suspected he was talking about Wayte Raymond's "Easy Display System," a form of portable coin cabinet. We were too busy for me to go wandering off, so he agreed to bring the item to me. I was pleasantly surprised that my instinct was correct, and I promptly bought it on the spot.
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 18, 2021
The Exergue in Roman CoinageRegarding last week's Vocabulary article, Shawn Caza writes:
"The exergue was actually an important feature in Roman coinage, well before the Renaissance. The area sometimes contained part of the reverse legend, but from the middle of the 3rd century AD was increasingly used for the mint mark. Thus the exergue on late Roman bronze coinage often contains markings such as ASISC or ROM-PRIMA or SMANTA. On many coins the exergue was marked out via a
round line
under the reverse design."
LEFT: coin of Julian II from 362-363 AD and lacks a formal ground line
RIGHT: coin of Vetranio from 350 AD and shows a formal "ground line"
Thanks! -Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
VOCABULARY TERM: EXERGUE
(https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n28a13.html)
Other topics this week include Ft Collins dealer Leroy Lengner and making book slipcases. -Editor
2021 SUMMER FUN SHOW REPORT
Howard A. Daniel III submitted this report on the recent FUN show in Orlando. Thanks! -Editor
FLORIDA UNITED NUMISMATISTS SHOW, JULY 6-8, 2021
My wife, Phung, and I just returned from the July 6, 7 & 8, 2021 Florida United Numismatist (FUN) Show in Orlando, Florida. We always staff the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) club table with some IBNS Journals and membership applications for the summer and winter shows. Along with IBNS, we also have some Numismatics International bulletins, pinbacks and elongated Hungarian coins to hand out. Everything we brought to the show was handed out to the show's visitors and we hope we convinced some collectors to join one or both societies.
SS CENTRAL AMERICA BELL TO RING AT ANA
For many years we've been following the recovery of gold coins, bars and other historical artifacts from the wreckage of the steamship SS Central America. -Editor
The 268-pound bell from the fabled Ship of Gold,
the SS Central America that sank in 1857, will be publicly displayed along with some of the recovered California Gold Rush treasure at the American Numismatic Association's 2021 Chicago World's Fair of Money®, August 10-14 (www.WorldsFairofMoney.com). The bell that helped to confirm the identity of the historic vessel was brought up from the Atlantic Ocean in 1988 and has not been exhibited in public for three decades.
The SS Central America represents the greatest American treasure ever found and its story is important to our history. This priceless treasure will be rung twice each day at booth #122 during the ANA convention in remembrance of the 425 passengers and crewmembers who perished when the legendary ship sank 164 years ago,
said Dwight Manley, managing partner of California Gold Marketing Group which owns the bell and recovered sunken treasure.
THE BOOK BAZARRE
LUCKY COINS OF ROARING CAMP
Ralph F. Wetterhahn of Long Beach, CA submitted this story about some coin finds at the Roaring Camp Mine site near Sacramento. Thanks! Great adventure. -Editor
More Luck at Roaring Camp
Roaring Camp Mine is mired in history. Set in the hills along the Mokelumne River east of Sacramento, California, it hums with the tales written by Mark Twain and Bret Harte, the most famous of which is Harte's "The Luck of Roaring Camp." The area has been mined continuously since the 1850's, and to say the ground is rich in gold is a given. I think of it as a "dude ranch" for miners. I spent a week in May working on a twenty-nine man crew split up into six teams at both Roaring Camp and China Camp (not to be confused with Chinese Camp, located some miles to the south). I rented a cabin on the site and during the week mined gold using sluices, trommels, Wiss-Bangrs, hi-bankers and pans.
Along the way, some unexpected finds turned up. At China camp, a team was using a Wiss-Bangr to clean out a deep crack in the bedrock. This gadget is a mini hydraulic system that pumps water directly onto the dirt/gravel while being immediately sucked up by a venturi hose that then jets the water/gravel through a sluice. Lo and behold, something glimmered in one of the riffles. One of the team members picked it out of the running water and his eyes about popped!
VOCABULARY TERM: EXPOSITION MEDAL
Here's another entry from Dick Johnson's Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Terminology. -Editor
Exposition Medal, Expo Medal. A medallic item bestowed either as a prize for a display or activity at an exposition or fair, or one issued for attendance or purely to commemorate the occurrence of the event. Exposition prize medals are highly cherished by their recipients; they have been awarded to individuals, business firms, organizations, government departments and even to foreign governments. Exposition medals of all kinds are popular and desired as well by collectors, perhaps for the large number that have been issued for expositions at many levels – local, state, regional, national, international. The term became shortened in mid 20th century; now "expo" is universally understood.
BROWN AND DUNN
American Numismatic Biographies author Pete Smith submitted this piece on the authors of the classic guide to grading U.S. coins. Thank you! I added images of a copy of the book in my library. -Editor
In 1958, the coin hobby needed a grading guide and that need was met by A Guide to the Grading of United States Coins by Martin R. Brown and John W. Dunn. The 1958 paperback edition had photos to illustrate coin types and written description for eight circulated coin grades. By the hardbound fourth edition (1964), published by Whitman, the grades were illustrated with line drawings. A seventh edition was published in 1980.
The line drawings were by Racine artist Arthur Mueller. He also did the drawings for the Standard Guide to Grading Canadian Coins.
The authors also collaborated on Market Value Index for Circulating United States Coins in 1962.
HARVEY STACK'S NUMISMATIC FAMILY, PART 100
The latest article in Harvey Stack's blog series begins the year 1986 and the advent of professional grading and encapsulation services, which changed the coin market forever. -Editor
The year of 1986 brought two changes that would be very influential to the hobby's future: advances in professionally-run grading services and the increased scale of the United States Mint's involvement in numismatics.
In 1986 PCGS began providing grading and encapsulation services (followed the next year by NGC), forever changing coin collecting. Grading and authentication already existed in an attempt to weed out counterfeits, as well as altered, doctored, polished and mislabeled coins. The new companies greatly expanded the practice, sealing the coin in a plastic holder (slab) that protected the item from further damage and had a numerical grade permanently attached to the holder and, thereby, to the coin. This gave numismatists, especially those who were entering hobby with little experience, confidence in what they were buying.
ANS COLLECTIONS MANAGER ELENA STOLYARIK
Austin Andrews of the ANS recently published an interview in the Society's Pocket Change blog with Collections Manager Elena Stolyarik. Here's a short excerpt; see the complete article online. -Editor
Dr. Elena Stolyarik, Collections Manager at the American Numismatic Society, has held nearly every single one of the Society's over 800,000 objects. As a critical member of the curatorial staff, the Collections Manager diligently maintains the Society's vast, encyclopedic holdings of coins and currency, medals and money—all behind the scenes. Dr. Stolyarik's background in museological, archaeological, and numismatic methods gives her a unique perspective on the purpose and function of the ANS. Prior to coming to the ANS in 1994, she led the Numismatic Department at the Odessa Archaeological Museum, excavated at Tyras on the Black Sea, and was a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. In an interview at the Society's headquarters in New York City, Dr. Stolyarik and Assistant Director Austin Goodwin Andrews discussed her work and the particularities of the Society and its holdings.
2021 SOWER AWARDS ANNOUNCED
This press release announces the winners of Central States Numismatic Society's President Mitch Ernst's 2021 "Sower Awards". Congratulations. I added an image of coin designer Oscar Roty's model of The Sower. -Editor
CSNS President, Mitch Ernst, is proud to announce Dennis Tucker and Chris Seuntjens as the 2021 recipients of his annual Sower Award
. The sower is an allegorical image of a person planting seed in a field portraying hope for the future. "It is my privilege to bestow the "Sower Award" to two gentlemen, who from my observation and experience epitomize the spirit of the 'sower'. Both have shown, by example, the spirit of the sower which is "Sow good seeds and let time do the rest" said Ernst.
NGC PHOTO PROOFS
CoinWeek editor Charles Morgan published an article recently on the NGC Photo Proofs. Here's an excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor
One of the aspects of numismatics that I find particularly enjoyable is reading vintage books and periodicals and, through the information contained in them, trying to formulate an understanding of the hobby's landscape at different points in time. This research does not always yield major breakthroughs in the way I look at the hobby, but from time to time I learn about something that still impacts the hobby that I didn't know anything about.
A recent discovery (for me, anyway) was the existence of a service at Numismatic Guaranty Corporation called NGC Photo Proof. The product debuted in 1995. The ad I saw appeared in the August 1995 Numismatist.
STEPHEN ALBUM JUNE 2021 E-AUCTION 10 RESULTS
Here's the results press release for the Stephen Album Rare Coins Internet Auction 10. Nice mix of world material. -Editor
Stephen Album Rare Coins held its Internet Auction 10 on June 28, 2021 at its offices in Santa Rosa, CA. The auction exceeded expectations, with a total hammer price of $213,000 (including buyer's fees) for 1000 lots, and a sell-through rate of 93.8%. The number of bidders grew by over 30% compared to the previous Internet Auction 9 held in April, resulting in a new record for the firm.
Nearly half of the auction consisted of world coins graded by PCGS. There were some shocking sales results as many items went for multiples of their pre-sale estimates, including the following (prices exclude buyer's fees):
DAVISSON'S E-AUCTION 40 ANCIENTS
Lief Davisson reviewed some of the ancient coins in the Davisson's upcoming E-Auction 40 in an email to clients last week. Here's his writeup. Some nice coins here. -Editor
E-Auction 40 closes Wednesday, July 21st! Below we look at some lots in the Ancient section that merit extra attention. (And be sure to scroll to the end for one of our favorite numismatic publications.)
STACK'S BOWERS 2021 ANA PAPER MONEY SALE
Here's the press release for the upcoming Stack's Bowers world paper money sale. -Editor
Stack's Bowers Galleries has announced that their August ANA World Paper Money Sale has been finalized and is posted on their website StacksBowers.com. With the bidding now open, collectors have the opportunity to add treasures to their collections as many critical and heavily collected areas of World Paper are represented in the offering.
The sale is anchored by a few named collections, including the Panama Collection that features four lots of
Panamanian Banknotes, all of which are the highest graded in uncancelled and issued form (lots 30366, 30668,
30370, and 30371). These notes collectively are estimated to fetch well above $100,000, and are available for the
first time to the public. When asked for his comments on the set, Aris Maragoudakis, the firm's Director of World
Paper Money, stated, While we have been fortunate to handle the majority of the higher end Panama notes that
have hit the market in recent years, this set stands out as remarkable for its incredible preservation. The 1, 5, and 10
Balboas in gem condition are next to impossible to find, and it's going to be interesting to see the collecting
community fight to upgrade their sets. Also, the 20 Balboa in its original state, uncancelled, and with exceptional
paper quality, which is virtually unheard of.
THE BOOK BAZARRE
NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: JULY 18, 2021
Here's a selection of interesting or unusual items I came across in the marketplace this week. Tell us what you think of some of these. -Editor
A Fantastic Sicilian Gold Issue with a Mid-18th Century Pedigree
In addition to an exemplary live session of ancient coins, our upcoming Official Auction of the ANA World's Fair of Money will feature the magnificent "Collection of a Gentleman," an advanced cabinet of Greco-Roman denominational rarities. Assembled over the course of five decades, this astounding array features various denominations that are not often seen, with a handful offering some rather incredible pedigrees. One such rarity emanates from the Sicilian city of Gela and displays a man-headed bull on the obverse and a nymph on the reverse. G. Kenneth Jenkins, in his die study for the coinage of the city, lists only a small handful of the type known to him, with the offered piece being one of those cited.
This important citation leads to a further history of the piece, as it was once part of the famous collection assembled by Sir Hermann Weber (1823-1918)—a German-born medical doctor who eventually spent much of his career in London, pioneering the open-air treatment of tuberculosis. Prior to being a part of Weber's collection, however, the specimen played a role in an ever more fabled holding of numismatic treasures. Weber obtained this fractional gold piece from a Christie's auction in 1884, when the remaining portion of the vast collection of Sir Andrew Fountaine (1676-1753) was finally offered. Fountaine, a prominent nobleman in early-mid 18th century England, was an enthusiastic coin collector among his other historical pursuits. Part of his collection was sold in order to raise funds for his country estate, Narford, while the balance stayed with the family until being sold in the aforementioned Christie's sale. As such, the terminus ante quem for our delightful Sicilian gold issue is obviously Fountaine's death in 1753, meaning that it entered his collection before that date and establishes a provenance back some 268 years at the very least! Rather accordingly, this specimen perfectly blends the art and history of the ancient Mediterranean with the noble pursuit of numismatics throughout Stuart-Hanoverian England.
In a blog article this week, Stack's Bowers Senior Numismatist and Cataloger Jeremy Bostwick highlights a fabulous pedigreed Sicilian gold coin in the firm's upcoming sale. -Editor
To read the complete article, see:
A Fantastic Sicilian Gold Issue with a Mid-18th Century Pedigree
(https://www.stacksbowers.com/News/Pages/Blogs.aspx?ArticleID=sicilian-gold-august-ana-auction-stacks-bowers-galleries)
Other topics this week include an 1896 Olympic medal, a Paris Mint Lafayette medal, and Japanese Invasion Money. -Editor
MINTMARKS ON ANCIENT COINS
Tyler Rossi published an article on CoinWeek about the mystery of mintmarks on ancient coins. Here's an excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor
One of the most basic tasks of a numismatist is the identification of coins.
While correctly attributing the denomination, issuing authority, and date are important, determining the mint at which a coin
was struck can reveal lots of contextual information. Outside of private issues and small city-states that operate only a single
mint, most states control[ed] more than one mint
. As a result, one would think that the moneyers from these states would
want to create a clear and unambiguous system of demarcating where each coin was produced. This would seem to be advantageous for
the tracking of precious metal consumption, trade, and as a guaranty against counterfeiting. However, with many of the symbols
remaining highly ambiguous
to today's numismatists, this was not the case.
‘FREEDOM TO ZION' COINS FOUND
Arthur Shippee passed along this story from The Jerusalem Post about coins found during an archaeological survey. Thanks. -Editor
Two coins dating back some 2,000 years were found in the Binyamin region of the West Bank during an archaeological survey conducted by Bar-Ilan University, the university and the Binyamin Regional Council announced Tuesday.
The coins date back to the period of the Jewish revolts against the Romans.
1980 WATFORD ANGLO SAXON COIN FIND
Arthur Shippee also passed along this story about a 40-year-old find of Anglo Saxon coins in Watford, England. -Editor
The Watford Observer has teamed up with Watford Museum and its curator Sarah Priestley to take a journey back to the town's past through items or places of historical significance.
Number 45 in our 'history of Watford in 50 objects' is in fact five objects discovered 40 years ago - and they are rather special.
Sarah said: "The history of Watford as a town goes back to the Medieval times when the Abbot of St Albans was the lord of the manor, and a church was built here in Norman times and a market granted in the 12th Century. However before that we have plenty of evidence of people travelling through the area, including Anglo Saxon coins.
MORE ON FRENCH COINS FOUND IN POLAND
Last month we discussed a hoard of silver coins found in Poland and speculated to be part of a ransom to save the city of Paris. Ken Spindler of San Diego passed along this New York Times article on the hoard. Thanks. -Editor
One theory, promoted by a Polish archaeologist leading the hunt for an explanation, is that the silver coins date from one of Europe's earliest and most traumatic episodes of armed extortion — when an invading Viking army laid siege to Paris in 845, and had to be paid off with more than two tons of silver to prevent it from destroying the city.
The Vikings — Scandinavian warriors greatly feared because of their unruly habits and military prowess — later systematized what became an elaborate protection racket in the 11th century by imposing taxes in England known as Danegeld, tribute payments in return for safety.
THE PIVOTAL YEARS FOR COIN COLLECTING
Dave Bowers published a nice article on CoinUpdate about pivotal years for coin collecting in the United States — 1857 and 1858. There's something here for numismatic bibliophiles as well. -Editor
The Mint Act of February 21, 1857, eliminated the copper half cent and cent and provided for a new, small cent of 88 grams' weight, made of copper-nickel alloy. The new Flying Eagle cents were struck in large quantities (amounting to 7,450,000 for the entire 1857 year) and were initially distributed on May 25.
On the same day, Mint Director James Ross Snowden wrote to Secretary of the Treasury James Gunthrie:
"The demand for them is enormous…We had on hand this morning $30,000 worth, that is 3,000,000 pieces. Nearly all of this amount will be paid out today. The coinage will go forward, however, at a rate of 100,000 or more pieces per day, and the demand will be met as well as we can."
THE GEORGE JUNIOR REPUBLIC
The New England Numismatic Association's official publication is NENA News. John Ferreri offered to share some articles with E-Sylum readers; thanks! Here's a token article that caught my eye - it's from the June 2021 issue. Written by Bob Hewey, it's about numismatic items issued by the George Junior Republic. Here's a lengthy excerpt - see the complete article for references and more images. -Editor
The Junior Republic concept, with the motto Nothing Without Labor
became reality in 1893 when William R. George
established his George Junior Republic (GJR) on his farm near Freeville, NY. It was his belief that boys should learn good
citizenship not just by being taught, but by through actual self-government in which the resident boys would take part in the
operation of the community, earning their keep by working the farm and maintaining the facilities. It also included making and
enforcing their own laws
all under adult supervision, of course.
MOVING THE MEDALLIC ART COMPANY ARCHIVES
I don't believe we've published this before - back in April Dr. Jesse Kraft of the American Numismatic Society published an ANS Pocket Change blog about the laborious move of the Medallic Art Company archives, purchased by the Society in 2018. Here's an excerpt, but be sure to see the complete article online. -Editor
As many of you know, the American Numismatic Society purchased the archives of the Medallic Art Company (MACO) at a bankruptcy auction in 2018. The sheer size of this purchase, however, did not allow for the tale to end so quickly. Within weeks of the landmark purchase, components of the collection were shipped to various corners of the country. The medals and paper archives from MACO moved to the ANS headquarters in New York City; the dies and hubs were transferred to Medalcraft Mint, Inc., in Wisconsin, who is generously storing them for the ANS at the moment; and the galvanos, die shells, and plasters took a short drive to Mound House, Nevada, less than five miles from Dayton—where MACO last operated.
By early 2020, with a good portion of the medals catalogued, the ANS began to think about the parts of the collection that remained out of reach. While we were headlong into making plans, however, the COVID-19 pandemic altered reality for most people and put a halt to everything that we hoped would happen. Along with the rest of the world, the ANS heeded to CDC guidelines, masked up, and waited for life to find some semblance of normalcy.
LOOSE CHANGE: JULY 18, 2021
Here are some additional items in the media this week that may be of interest. -Editor
On Facebook Dennis Tucker passed along this video interview with Ron Landis of the Gallery Mint. -Editor
To watch the video, see:
Interview with Master Engraver Ron Landis
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Fv6RfiRVc)
Other topics this week include children's books relating to numismatics, the Giant Gold Coin, and what not to do while reading an illuminated manuscript. -Editor
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