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About Us The 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 Subscriptions Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link Membership There 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 Numismatic Bibliomania Society P. O. Box 2058, Bluffton, SC 29910-2058 Asylum For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact Chuck at this email address: treasurer@coinbooks.org Submissions To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COIN Sale Calendar December 11, 2021 WORKMAN BOOKS Watch here for updates!

 

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 NOVEMBER 28, 2021

We now have 6,722 subscribers. No new subscribers this week.

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.

Thanks to Kellen Hoard for promoting us with a Story on his Instagram account. Thanks also to Martin Kaplan for suggesting it!

This week we open with a new issue of our print publication, updates on the Poinsignon library sale, three new books, online sources for ancient coin research, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.

Other topics this week include the Winchester Mint, Werner Burger, Charles Barber, Anthony Paquet, Holland Wallace, Bob Hendershott, the 2022 Warsaw Numismatic Congress, German silver, wildcat banking, new coin design ideas, LOTS of auction previews, a 2nd year silver shekel, 1826 Large Cents, Alaska prepper tokens, and the Crane Museum of Papermaking.

To learn more about the international coin trade, Faustina the Younger, Wildwinds, Miquel Pratt, William Wells Brown, ANS Travel Grants, Mother coins, world banknotes, the 1907 Brenner Lincoln plaque, ultra-modern coins, psychophysics in numismatics and the man-headed bull, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

ASYLUM WINTER 2021 ISSUE PUBLISHED

The Asylum Winter Issue

The Asylum's Winter 2021 issue is on its way to NBS members. In this issue, we grieve the loss of Tom Fort with an obituary by Pete Smith, a bibliography compiled by David Fanning, and remembrances by NBS members and friends.

Also in this issue:

• Message from NBS President Tom Harrison
• The Origin of Coins Magazine By David W. Lange
• The Legacy of Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich By David F. Fanning
• ASSOCIATIONS: Autographs, Annotations, Inscriptions—Charles Ira Bushnell's Flandin's Catalogue of Coins and Medals: Part I: The Catalog and its Creator By Joel J. Orosz

Read more here

 

KOLBE & FANNING ACCEPTING POINSIGNON BIDS

Künker's December 7–9 Sale of the Poinsignon Library

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers are cooperating with Fritz Rudolf Künker, of Osnabrück, Germany, in their sale by auction of the third part of the numismatic library of Alain Poinsignon of Strasbourg. This 1970-lot sale is devoted exclusively to numismatic sale catalogues, and constitutes one of the truly great offerings of these important research tools. The eLive Premium Auction will be held on December 7–9, 2021, and the 497-page PDF catalogue can be downloaded here.

Kolbe & Fanning clients who wish to participate in the Poinsignon sale are invited to place their bids through us at no additional charge. We will be participating throughout the entire three-day sale and will handle bidding for our clients as well as for ourselves. The buyer's premium of 20% will be the same for bidders participating through Kolbe & Fanning as it is for those participating directly through Künker. Any items purchased by us on behalf of clients will be sent to us in Ohio and forwarded from our office. This will allow Kolbe & Fanning clients to take advantage of lower international shipping costs and simplified customs clearance.

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POINSIGNON LIBRARY, INTERNATIONAL COIN TRADE

Historical Testimonies of the International Coin Trade at Künker

From 7 to 9 December 2021, part 3 of the Alain Poinsignon Library will be on offer. It contains almost 2,000 lots with historical auction catalogs. You will find all the big names of the numismatic world: from Adolph E. Cahn to L. & L. Hamburger and Felix Schlessinger, from Henri Rolland in Paris and Jacques Schulman in Amsterdam to Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge in London.

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ANS ANNOUNCES PRINT-ON-DEMAND PROGRAM

Every month the ANS will release 4–10 out-of-print and new titles as official POD editions, from recent monographs to the earliest numbers from series such as Numismatic Studies and Numismatic Notes and Monographs.

Why print-on-demand?
Many popular ANS titles are now out-of-print. POD rescues these and offers affordable, high-quality editions using the original design and images from the first printing.

Our print-on-demand books and journal issues are officially branded by the ANS at prices often significantly lower than the resale market.

On occasion, new ANS books will be published directly as POD saving readers time and money in receiving new volumes.

Read more here

 

NEW BOOK: COMMEMORATIONS OF WASHINGTON

Numismatic Commemorations of the 200th Birthday of George Washington in 1932
by Sydney F. Martin

Hardcover ISBN 978-0-89722-371-3
Paperback ISBN 978-0-89722-378-2
600 pp., full-color figs. throughout

HARDCOVER
Retail Price: $150 + s/h
Member Price: $105 +s/h

PAPERBACK
Retail Price: $100 + s/h
Member Price: $70 +s/h

Read more here

NEW BOOK: FAUSTINA THE YOUNGER

Faustina the Younger
(Numismatic Studies 43)
by Martin Beckmann

Retail price: $70 plus shipping & handling
ANS Member price: $49 plus shipping & handling

ISSN 0517-404X
Hardcover ISBN 978-0-89722-366-9
vii + 175 text pages, color and b/w figs., 30 color plates

Read more here

NEW BOOK: THE WINCHESTER MINT REPRINT

FORTHCOMING (REPRINT AND OPEN ACCESS)
The Winchester Mint and Coins and Related Finds from the Excavations of 1961–71
edited by Martin Biddle. Hardback; 215x276mm; 768pp. Print RRP: £115.00 (eBook to be Open Access). 781 2021 Winchester Studies 8. ISBN 9781803270128.

Winchester Studies 8: Edited by Martin Biddle with a catalogue of the known coins of the mint by Yvonne Harvey, this volume records and illustrates the minting of silver pennies in Winchester between the reigns of Alfred the Great and Henry III, a period of three and a half centuries. At the Mint, which was situated in the area of the High Street to the east of where the city's cross now stands, at least 24 million silver pennies (possibly as many as 50 million) were struck. Five and a half thousand survive in museums and collections all over the world. These have been sought out and photographed (some 3200 coins in 6400 images detailing both sides), and minutely catalogued by Yvonne Harvey for this volume.

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ONLINE RESOURCES FOR ANCIENT COINS

For many collectors of classic and modern American coins, the only information resource they need is the old, reliable Red Book, which will mark its 75th anniversary in 2022.

Collectors of ancient coins, however, face a problem that is considerably more complex. With thousands of types issued by hundreds of cities, states, and rulers over many centuries, information on ancient coins is scattered across out-of-print books and obscure journal articles in many languages. A common saying among old-school collectors is buy the book before you buy the coin – but finding these books often requires diligent, patient search, and buying them may demand deep pockets.

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WERNER BURGER (1936-2021)

Werner Burger (Chinese: 布威纳 Bu Weina) was born in Munich in 1936. He studied Chinese at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), graduating in 1962, with a thesis on Chinese money. According to an announcement by the Chinese Numismatic Museum in Beijing, Burger took 16 years to complete his PhD (instead of the usual 3-4 years), and 30 years to complete his volume Ch'ing Cash (2016).

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CHARLES BARBER LETTER ON ANTHONY PAQUET DIES

Anthony Paquet Dies

Anthony C. Paquet was Assistant Engraver of the U.S. Mint from 1857 to 1864 and engraved approximately 30 medals in the U.S. Mint medal series (catalogued by Julian), in addition to working on federal coinage. Paquet's 1861 $20 double eagle is a legendary U.S. rarity, with an example recently sold by Heritage at this year's ANA Convention for $7.2 million.

The Paquet family evidently left certain dies behind, and Charles Barber wrote to Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden on August 27, 1883, I have examined the dies left here by the Paquet family, and respectfully report that I consider them valueless. In the case of the Trade Dollar, we have the hubs made from these dies. Therefore can make any number required. The others are old experimental dies and therefore of no value now.

Whether the old experimental dies included the famous tall letters 1861 $20 reverse die is a matter for conjecture, but what is certain is that today's collectors would place for more value on the Paquet dies than did the engraver Charles Barber.

Image: 1861 $20 Pacquet MS67 PCGS CAC, ex. Heritage Auctions ANA 8/2020, lot 3471, realized $7.2 million, images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Link to Charles Barber letter on Newman Portal:
https://archive.org/details/paquetdiesarevalueless18830827/page/n1/mode/2up

NNP SEEKS LIBRARY TECHNICAL ASSISTANT

Newman Portal is seeking a full-time library technical assistant to help continue the growth of this online resource. This position is based at Washington University in St. Louis, with duties as follows:

Read more here

MORE ON HOLLAND WALLACE

I noticed that the numismatic library of Holland Wallace is coming up for sale. That's a name that became familiar to me while researching and writing my book on Whitman products.

Wallace joined the company in 1966 and was with it for several years. He was a specialist in the numismatics of Latin America and contributed to both Whitman's world books and its monthly periodical, The Whitman Numismatic Journal. I see from the auction catalog that he also published his own lists of world coins starting 1976. Ken Bressett undoubtedly could tell readers much more.

I'm attaching the front page of the April-May 1966 issue of Whitman Coin Supply Merchandiser, a publication for the company's jobbers and coin dealers. I used this periodical extensively in researching my book, and it includes an announcement of Holland's hiring.

Read more here

 

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: NOVEMBER 28, 2021

Collecting Numismatic Advertising Mirrors
Cole Hendrickson writes:

Pete Smith adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ROBERT ARTHUR JOSLIN, SR. (1935-2005) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n47a16.html)

Read more here

ANS 2022 NUMISMATIC CONGRESS TRAVEL GRANTS

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) announces that it will make travel grants available for attendees of the XVIth International Numismatic Congress who would be unable to attend otherwise. The ANS will award these grants to up to eight eligible applicants.

The International Numismatic Congress is convened every six years as a regular assembly of numismatic scholars, curators, and researchers and consists of paper and poster presentations, panels, and updates on the most current research in the field of numismatics. The XVIth Congress will be held September 11-16, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland. More information about the Congress can be found at https://inc2022.pl/.

Read more here

STACK'S BOWERS PHILADELPHIA GALLERY OPENS

Three weeks ago, we shared in a blog that we were nearing the completion date of our newest storefront office, this one in downtown Philadelphia. Since that blog was posted, we have completed our soft opening of the storefront and we are now accepting business. We are located at 1735 Market Street, at the corner of 18th Street and JFK Boulevard. ?

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VOCABULARY TERM: GERMAN-SILVER

German-silver. A copper alloy of silver-white color because of the presence of nickel and zinc, now called nickel-silver. There is no silver in German-silver or nickel-silver. The most common formula for German-silver is 55 copper, 25 zinc, 20 nickel; the best is 46 copper, 34 zinc, 20 nickel. But the range of alloys described as German-silver is broad: 50 to 62 copper, 20 to 30 zinc, 15 to 30 nickel. In Western countries the name was dropped during World War I (for anti-German sentiment) in preference to nickel-silver.

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ROBERT LYNN HENDERSHOTT (1898-2005)

Robert Hendershott was born in the nineteenth century and died in the twenty-first century. His birth was in St. Louis on August 7, 1898. His parents were Chalmers Doran Hendershott and Cordelia Bartlett Hendershott. Intending a career in banking, he attended Washington University in St. Louis and the Glen City Business College at Quincy, Illinois.

Robert married Marguerite Hamilton on June 6, 1922, and had a daughter, Jeanne. His first wife died on February 18, 1981. His second marriage was to Marjorie Owen in 1983.

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WILLIAM WELLS BROWN, WILDCAT BANKER?

On January 1, 1834, a young man named William escaped from slavery near Cincinnati, Ohio. Travelling at night through the frigid winter, without an overcoat to keep him warm, William suffered from cold and hunger, and yet, as he recorded in the first of many autobiographical narratives, his thoughts were constantly drifting toward the future. My escape to a land of freedom now appeared certain, he wrote, and the prospects of the future occupied a great part of my thoughts. What should be my occupation, was a subject of much anxiety to me; and the next thing what should be my name? Although his mother had called him William, he had, for most of his life, been known as Sandford to the series of men who had legally owned him. But now he would be William.

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MORE NEW COIN DESIGN IDEAS

Here is an idea to issue three new coins to save the cent, defray the cost of printing the paper dollar bill and to raise money for the rising costs of copper and nickel in our five cent coin.

With the introduction of a two cent piece, we could cut one cent coin production in half-by making (50) one cent coins and (25) two cent coins for a total of seventy-five coins instead of one hundred. We have already saved twenty-five coin blanks.

Read more here

DAVISSON'S E-AUCTION 42 ANCIENTS

E-Auction 42 has just two weeks to go! Bidding closes on Wednesday, December 8th. Below we look at a few notable lots in the Greek and Roman sections.

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HERITAGE DECEMBER 2021 HONG KONG SALE

Lot 34005: China Qing Dynasty Wen Zong 1000 Cash Pattern

Read more here

SELECTIONS FROM KüNKER ELIVE AUCTION 69

Lot 15: Macedonia Silver Stater

Read more here

WORLD BANKNOTE AUCTIONS SALE 18 SELECTIONS

Lot 18002: 1970 Algeria 10 Dinars

Read more here

ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL AUCTION 72 SELECTIONS

Lot 136: 1905 International Banking Corporation $100 Note

Shanghai, China, 1905. $100, P-S422s, S/M #M10-5. Blue face and back. Screaming eagle on top of 2 globes at left and in middle on back, 2 printed signatures. Specimen banknote. Red specimen overprint, Ò00000Ó serial numbers and POC's. PMG graded Gem uncirculated 65 EPQ condition. A trophy for the advanced collector. ABNC.

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NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: NOVEMBER 28, 2021

France, Metz, Silver Gros

France, Metz, Thierry V Bayer de Boppart (1365-84), silver Gros, Thierry standing facing, raising his right hand in benediction and holding croizer in his left. Rev. Cross pattée, 3.25g (Bodeau 1641).

To read the complete lot description, see:
FRANCE, METZ, THIERRY V BAYER DE BOPPART (1365-84), SILVER GROS (https://www.baldwin.co.uk/product/france-metz-thierry-v-bayer-de-boppart-1365-84-silver-gros/)

Read more here

GIRL FINDS 2ND YEAR SILVER SHEKEL IN JERUSALEM

A rare silver coin from the first century was found by an 11-year-old girl volunteering in an archaeological project, the Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Tuesday. The coin was likely minted by a priest who joined the Jewish rebels against the Romans, which would make it one of the very few remains coming directly from the Temple.

This is a rare find, since out of many thousands of coins discovered to date in archaeological excavations, only about 30 are coins made of silver from the period of the Great Revolt, said Dr. Robert Kool, head of the Coin Department at the IAA.

Read more here

AARON OPPENHEIM, ARCHEOLOGIST

On my visit to Israel in February 2020, I went to a location where such archeological activity is conducted and participated in the process. Here's a recap of the process from some pictures

Read more here

 

PIGGYBANK FULL OF 1826 LARGE CENTS

The late Oscar G. Schilke lived on the shore of Dodge Pond in Niantic, Connecticut, in the 1950s and 1960s. Prominent on the numismatic scene for many years beginning in the early 1930s, he would often set up exhibits in banks. These displays served to attract customers to the financial institutions, and for Oscar, it meant getting leads which often resulted in his acquiring choice pieces for his collection.?

On one particular day a gentleman told him that in the course of doing some work in the Boston harbor area, he came across what was left of an old building which was once the office of a customs agent or toll-taker of some kind—the informant was not sure. In any event, cemented into the floor of the structure was a little metal vault or strong box which, through an opening, appeared to contain a bunch of old coins.?

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ALASKA PREPPER TOKENS

ALASKA PREPPER/NUTRIENT SURVIVAL

As you read in the April issue, Rudy, the Alaska Prepper, gifted me one ounce of silver. So, in return, I gifted him ten 1/10 oz. silver Alaska Prepper tokens. I created a monster! He liked them so much he ordered 100. And then 100 more.

Read more here

WHAT IS A MODERN COIN?

What Is the Difference?
Structuring the world of modern coins isn't that easy. Just some of the items laymen classify as coins are actually coins. In addition, there are special and hybrid forms and all kinds of unclear terms such as commemorative coin, collector coin, NCLT, bullion coin etc. Which types of coins exist? We present an overview.

Let's start with the typical form of a coin: circulation coins are coins issued by a state. They are legal tender with a face value and usually feature the name or the symbol of the issuing nation, for example the portrait of the monarch. They circulate as genuine coins in the respective issuing country or monetary union and can be used to pay at any time without a problem – provided that they aren't old coins that lost their status as legal tender.

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FLOODING THREATENS SMITHSONIAN

President Warren Harding's blue silk pajamas. Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves. The Star-Spangled Banner. Scripts from the television show "M*A*S*H."

Nearly 2 million irreplaceable artifacts that tell the American story are housed in the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, the biggest museum complex in the world.

Now, because of climate change, the Smithsonian stands out for another reason: Its cherished buildings are extremely vulnerable to flooding, and some could eventually be underwater.

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LOOSE CHANGE: NOVEMBER 28, 2021

Bronze Follis of Tiberius Constantine

... a dollar-sized Byzantine bronze of Emperor Tiberius Constantine (578-82 AD). The big M signifies the denomination (follis); the u the regnal year (fifth). CON is the mint, Constantinople; the Gamma after it, the officina or division in the mint. It was $200, actually the most I ever paid for a Byzantine bronze; but the quality is great. I was very glad to get it.

Quality is the name of the game.

To read the complete article, see:
Baltimore Coin Show Fun (https://rationaloptimist.wordpress.com/2021/11/22/baltimore-coin-show-fun/)

Read more here

FEATURED WEB SITE: CRANE MUSEUM OF PAPERMAKING

This week's Featured Web Site is the Crane Museum of Papermaking. Found via News & Notes published by the Society of Paper Money Collectors (Volume VII, Number 23, November 23, 2021).

https://cranemuseum.org/