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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 January 22, 2022 KOLBE & FANNING 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 JANUARY 9, 2022

New subscribers this week include: Nigel Whiting, courtesy Jim Bulmer; and Kevin Lipton, courtesy of Tony Terranova; Welcome aboard! We now have 6,744 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 a new numismatic literature sale, one new book, and the loss of a hobby giant.

Other topics this week include the American Numismatic Society and New York Numismatic Society, Robert Friedberg, Syd Martin, Harvey Stack, War of 1812 medals, Fugio Cents, hallmarks, Bechtler gold coins, paper money errors, auction previews, hammered English pennies, the Canadian 1911 dollar, Admiral Vernon medals, and the International Token Web Conference.

To learn more about Augustin Dupré's rare 1790 Observations, the inaugural meeting of the ANS, the Confederate Treasure Train, the Hall of Fame For Great Americans, the Manley Washington medals, Fred Lincoln, and Andaman Islands penal colony, the Montefiore Hebrew Prize medal, Celtic gold rainbow cups, Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee, Gregor MacGregor's fake country, and the Larkan Tokens of Umzimkulu, South Africa, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

KOLBE & FANNING AUCTION SALE 162 ANNOUNCED

January 22 Book Auction

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers are announcing our Sale 162, which will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2022. The 438-lot sale features material from more than two dozen consignors, and encompasses numismatic literature from around the world.

Some highlights of the sale include:

 

Read more here

NEW BOOK: INTERNATIONAL TOKEN CONFERENCE

About the Book
Proceedings from the 2nd edition of the International Token Web Conference, including the following lectures:

• The Larkan Tokens of Umzimkulu, South Africa - Morgan Carroll;
• The Community Coinage of Griqualand - Morgan Carroll;
• Swedish Amusement Tokens - Peter Kraneveld;
• Farm Checks of the Fens - Gary Oddie;
• Shearing Tokens and Cans - Marcelo Gryckiewicz;
• Fraudulent 19th-Century Tokens From Montreal - Edward Banning;
• San Francisco, California Gold Rush Era Tokens - Michael Wehner;
• What Is A Token - Peter Kraneveld et al.

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HARVEY G. STACK (1928-2022)

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our friend and founder, Harvey G. Stack on January 3, 2022. His leadership over the years spearheaded our operations and his kindness and mentorship to staff, collectors, dealers, numismatic organizations and colleagues will never be forgotten.

Harvey was born in Manhattan on June 3, 1928, the son of Morton M. Stack and Muriel Stack. He grew up in Bronx and Jamaica, New York and attended NYU. His life revolved around his family and around numismatics, as generations of the Stack family built upon the rare coin business founded in 1933 by Harvey's father, Morton, and his uncle Joseph at 690 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Presenting their first public auction in 1935, Stack's quickly progressed to larger premises and a growing reputation. Although as a youngster Harvey worked after school and during vacations at the firm's Manhattan coin store, it wasn't until 1947 that he went to work full time for Stack's Rare Coins, a career that would last more than 70 years. As one of the second generation of family members to join the firm, Harvey worked alongside his father, uncle, and cousins Norman and Benjamin, supported by a staff of experts that comprised many of the most well-known professional numismatists of the 20th century.

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ANS EARLY MEMBER CORRESPONDENCE DIGITIZED

American Numismatic Society Early Member Correspondence Digitized

Early member correspondence of the American Numismatic Society, covering the years 1858-1899, has recently been digitized under sponsorship of Newman Numismatic Portal. In the 1858 file we see notes related to the inaugural meeting of the ANS that occurred on March 15, 1858, at the home of Augustus B. Sage, 121 Essex Place in New York City. Attending were James D. Foskett, James Oliver, Dr. Gibbs, Harry Whitmore, H. E. Hart, and a number of others, including Ezra Hill and J. W. Laurence. The tone of the first meeting must have been enthusiastic, for the next evening a smaller group met again, to begin drafting a constitution and bylaws.

Image: Notes related to the inaugural ANS meetings, March 15-16, 1858

Link to ANS early member correspondence on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/515008

VIDEO: THE CONFEDERATE TREASURE TRAIN

Furious Flight of the Confederate Treasure Train, Where Did All the Southern Dough Go?

Presenters: Rick Lank & Rebecca Rush, Talisman & Coiner Productions,
Video Production, David Lisot, CoinTelevision.com.

When it was clear the South was going to lose the Civil War the Confederate Treasury and the Richmond Banks dispatched trains with the remaining money of the South thru Danville, Charlotte, Abbeville, Augusta and more. Learn about this frantic flight and the gold, silver, paper money and bonds that were spirited away and what happened to all that Southern Dough! Told by authors and storytellers Rick Lank and Rebecca Rush.

Read more here

 

MORE ON ROBERT FRIEDBERG

Regarding the medal mentioned in Pete Smith's bio of his father Robert Friedberg, Arthur Friedberg writes:

Dave writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ROBERT FRIEDBERG (1912-1963) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n01a16.html)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 9, 2022

Wegefarth's Gold and Silver Dollar Saloon
Dave Schenkman writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
GOLD DOLLAR SALOON OPEN ON NEW YEAR'S DAY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n01a08.html)

Read more here

WAR OF 1812 IN AMERICAN AND BRITISH MEDALS

British Numismatic Society Secretary Peter Preston-Morley writes:

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2022 NATIONAL MONEY SHOW EXHIBITS

Described by the American Numismatic Association Money Museum as "one of the most coveted coins in the numismatic universe," the ANA's 1933 Indian Head $10 gold Eagle will be publicly exhibited for the first time in years at the 2022 National Money Show® in Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 10-12.

Show attendees will also see the first exhibition of examples of George Washington-related medals from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the first display from a recent, major donation of California Territorial gold coins.

The show will be held at the world-famous Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs.

Read more here

PCGS RECLASSIFIES FUGIOS AS REGULAR U.S. ISSUES

The Fugio Cent has long been one of the most enjoyed early American collectibles, and now numismatists can count it as the earliest of all United States regular-issue coins.

Professional Coin Grading Service (www.PCGS.com) is announcing the groundbreaking reclassification after an exhaustive study carried out by a team of leading numismatic experts including John Dannreuther, Gordon Wrubel, Craig Sholley, Brian Greer, Chuck Link, Tony Terranova, Chris Victor-McCawley, David McCarthy, and Erik Goldstein.

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VOCABULARY TERM: HALLMARKS AND HALLMARKING

Hallmarks and Hallmarking. A group of related symbols applied to silver and gold items indicating the maker, the date and the quality of its precious metal. From two to five symbols – applied by a punch, puncheon and called a mark – were stamped into existing silver and goldware. Hallmarking required some type of assaying and was first the mark of purity or fineness of the metal. The concept of hallmarking by an entity not the maker was that it guaranteed the purity of the precious metal by a third-party, the item did not have to be re-assayed at any later time. It thus aided in preventing fraud (of less pure metal being sold for higher purity).

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HARVEY STACK AND STACK'S BOWERS GALLERIES

Harvey Gerald Stack (1928-2022)

Harvey Stack was the last of his generation with the family firm of Stack's. The numismatic and auction version of Stack's dates back to 1933. Joseph (1891-1974) and his younger brother Morton (1901-1967) reformed their father's brokerage house to service the rare coin market. The next generation included Joseph's children, Shirley (1904-1991), Benjamin (1925-1984) and Norman (1928-1992), and Morton's son Harvey. After the death of Norman in 1992, only Harvey and his son, Lawrence, remained with the Stack's company.

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RESEARCHING THE NEW YORK NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

This essay is dedicated to John W. and Regina Adams, Dave Bowers, Joel Orosz, and David Hill, and fond memory of the late Eric P. Newman.

What follows is part of an over all work on the history of collecting in America. It is interesting to note that there are two distinct personalities regarding collecting. First, is the collector of one degree or another, from the light collector to the hoarder. Second, the opposite personality that can't wait to dispose of things. The curious thing is they frequently marry.

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A BEVY OF BECHTLERS

Few Americans know that the first Gold Rush in the United States began in North Carolina -- not California -- and that the first major discovery of gold in America was in 1799, not 1848. The second Gold Rush took place on Cherokee lands in Georgia in 1829. Difficulties in transporting southern gold the long distance to the U.S. Mint at Philadelphia gave rise to private mints beginning in 1830 and eventually resulted in the establishment of branch mints at Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia in 1838.

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HERITAGE FUN CURRENCY AUCTION ERRORS

We are proud to present 59 different lots of error notes at our upcoming FUN Auction. Their estimates range from $1,500 and up to $35,000. In this article, we would like to discuss a few of the most distinctive errors.

Read more here

 

STEPHEN ALBUM RARE COINS AUCTION 42

Stephen Album Rare Coins will hold its Auction 42 on January 20-23, 2022 at its offices in Santa Rosa, California. The Auction is made up of 3,200 lots of Ancient, Islamic, Chinese, Indian, and General World Coins.

Featured in the sale is the Joe Sedillot Collection (Part I) which includes a wide array of type coins from numerous countries. A large proportion of the coins in the collection are in choice condition and were selected for encapsulation in PCGS holders. Additional selections from the collection will be offered in subsequent auctions in Spring 2022. Also featured in this sale is The Charles Opitz Collection of Primitive Money, Part III.

One notable change the firm has made beginning with this auction is that group/bulk lots are now consolidated at the end of the sale for more convenient locating (see lots 2752 to 3200).

Read more here

NUMISMATIC AUCTIONS LLC SALE 66

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STACK'S BOWERS TO SELL SYD MARTIN COLLECTION

For three decades, Sydney F. Martin of Doylestown, Pennsylvania and Amelia Island, Florida was a preeminent figure in American numismatics. He served as president of the American Numismatic Society and was the author of standard references on no fewer than four early American numismatic specialties. Mr. Martin was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founder of The Sytex Group, which provided services to the defense and intelligence communities before its acquisition by Lockheed Martin in 2005.

Stack's Bowers Galleries of Costa Mesa, California has been selected to sell Martin's many remarkable numismatic collections at public auction over a several year span, beginning in 2022. Stack's Bowers Galleries has sold most of the finest collections of pre-Federal coins presented at auction over the last 50 years. Many of Martin's most prized specimens will be offered at events in conjunction with the Baltimore Whitman Expos, the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money, and the November conventions of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club.

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NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: JANUARY 9, 2022

1792 Indian Peace Medal?

Medal depicting George Washington receiving a peace pipe from a Native American chief. U.S. Seal verso. Large version, engraved, not cast, with what looks like a lion seal at the hasp, riveted edge. Includes chain. 6 5/8" x 4 7/8", very good condition. 8.98 ozt.

To read the complete lot description, see:
RARE COIN SILVER INDIAN PEACE MEDAL 1792 (https://live.thomastonauction.com/lots/view/1-58TGF7/rare-coin-silver-indian-peace-medal-1792)

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CELTIC GOLD COINS DISCOVERED IN BRANDENBURG

Together with the state archaeologist Prof Dr Franz Schopper, the numismatist Marjanko Pilekic and the finder and volunteer archaeologist Wolfgang Herkt, the Minister for Culture Dr Manja Schu¨le presented the largest hoard of Celtic gold coins found in the state of Brandenburg on 13 December 2021 in Potsdam.

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RUNZE COLLECTION HAMMERED ENGLISH PENNIES

Medieval coinage from the fall of Rome through the beginning of the modern period in 1600, excepting Byzantine coinage, has always been understudied and undercollected. This span of over 1,000 years includes diverse hammered and cast issues from Europe, the Near East, China, and India. Despite this, British hammered coinage from medieval times has always attracted attention and scholarship.

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A CORRECTION TO TREASURE (RHODE) ISLAND

On April 9, 2021, Pocket Change hosted a post of mine that took issue with the popularization of a theory originally published by Jim Bailey in the Colonial Newsletter in 2017. In Bailey's article, it was argued that silver khamsiya coins of Qasimid Yemen (Fig. 1) found (increasingly, it seems) in North America—particularly in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island—are directly connected to the English pirate Henry Every and his crew after their plunder of the Mughal treasure ship Ganj-i-Sawai in 1695.

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QUEEN'S PLATINUM JUBILEE COINS UNVEILED

A commemorative coin showing the Queen on horseback has been unveiled by the Royal Mint ahead of Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee.

The coin, made at the mint in Llantrisant, south Wales, is the first collectable UK 50p to celebrate a royal event and was designed by artist John Bergdahl.

Read more here

 

BANK OF CANADA MUSEUM ACQUIRES 1911 DOLLAR

After being the apple of many a coin collector's eye, The Emperor has finally made its way into the Bank of Canada Museum's permanent collection.

The 1911 silver dollar had been in private hands for more than 60 years, but was recently acquired by the museum from a Canadian collector and will now have a permanent home in the National Currency Collection at the Bank Street heritage centre.

Unlike most coins that were mass produced, the 1911 silver dollar was never put into circulation, and only three trial strikes of the planned coin — or tests — were ever created: one in lead and two in silver.

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VERNON MEDAL INSPIRES HISTORIAN'S BOOK

Gerry Tebben writes:

Browsing Georgetown Flea Market in Washington, D.C., writer Robert Gaudi chanced upon an old medal that piqued his curiosity. Keen to clinch a deal, the stall-holder was quick to emphasize that the tarnished item had some age on it, a sales pitch that Mr. Gaudi soon discovered to be something of an understatement. An online search revealed the medal to be one among many variants struck to commemorate Adm. Edward Vernon, the hero of a largely forgotten colonial war waged between Britain and Spain from 1739 to 1742.

Although Mr. Gaudi declined to buy the medal, the discovery inspired his lively, sprawling and sometimes irreverent book about the conflict in which Vernon won fame, The War of Jenkins' Ear. That curious title was only coined long after the last veteran was dead: British historian Thomas Carlyle first suggested the term in a footnote to his 1858 biography of Frederick the Great of Prussia, and the name stuck.

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DUKE OF WELLINGTON AFGHANISTAN GOLD MEDALS

Magnificent Set of Four Specimens Presented to the Duke of Wellington

1842-43 Medals for Afghanistan Campaign Gold Strike Medals.

A unique object, created for and presented to Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington. Four gold medals, each housed in a gold-rimmed glazed case and contained in a custom made fine silk and leather lined leather case, tooled in blind and gilt, 115.5 x 115.5 mm. The case is hinged to allow each of the medals to be seen from obverse and reverse, and the cased and glazed medals are each easily removed. Each medal is struck with a matching fine frosted/matte finish in rich yellow gold. The medals, their glass enclosures, and the case, are all in flawless condition, essentially as issued. The medals included are:

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CHARLESTON SLAVE BADGE TOP FIND OF 2021

A tag worn by an enslaved person who was hired out by his or her enslaver has been discovered in the remnants of a mid-nineteenth-century kitchen on the campus of the College of Charleston. Such tags, which were issued from the late eighteenth century until 1865, bore registration numbers and identified enslaved people by their trades, such as carpenter, blacksmith, fisherman, or domestic servant. This example, badge number 731, dates to 1853 and is stamped with the word servant.

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RMS CARPATHIA MEDAL

On December 29th, the Jeopardy Final Jeopardy clue was In the morning of April 15, 1912 officer Charles Lightoller became the last of about 700 people to board this ship. Hmm. 1912 – not the Lusitania. That happened in 1915. The Titanic was 1912 – but people were not boarding her, they were desperately trying to get off her. The answer: the RMS Carpathia.

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POYAIS: GREGOR MACGREGOR'S FAKE COUNTRY

On March 20, 1823, after 2 grueling months sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, passengers gathered on the deck of the Kennersley Castle for the first glimpse of their new lives in the country of Poyais.

The view was immaculate: Sun glistening in the shallow waters of a blue lagoon. Mahogany trees drooping over sandy beaches.

James Hastie, who was moving to Poyais with his wife and 2 children, thought the country had a very beautiful appearance from the sea.

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PENNY PILE PRECIPITATES PROSECUTION

When Andreas Flaten didn't receive his final paycheck from a former employer last January, he complained about it, calling up the US Department of Labor to lodge an accusation of wage theft. That employer responded by leaving more than 91,000 pennies on his driveway in Fayetteville, Georgia.

Now the US government is suing that company, arguing the act constituted illegal retaliation.

In a complaint filed with a federal court in Georgia, the Department of Labor accuses A OK Walker Autoworks and its owner, Miles Walker, of more than just pettiness.

Read more here

LOOSE CHANGE: JANUARY 9, 2022

Philippines Mayor Shoots Banknotes At Voters

The mayor of the city of Narvacan with a population of less than 50,000 in the Philippines, businessman Luis Chavit Singson, became the object of criticism by Filipino Internet users after publishing a video in which he distributes money to his voters with the help of a golden gun made especially for this purpose.

A 43-second video published on Facebook, in which Singson shoots banknotes in denominations of 100 and 500 pesos (PLN 8-40) with a pistol, has been viewed nearly 3 million times. You can see the politician walking among the people, raising his hand and pressing the trigger of the gun, and money is pouring out of it. In other fragments of the video Singson throws banknotes in the same way from a stationary car, and people shove through trying to grab them.

Many Internet users praised the politician for his generosity in the comments, but there were also those who accused him of humiliating voters. I have the impression that he was making fun of poor people. Why didn't he put the money in the envelopes and hand them out one by one? One of the users of the social platform asked.

To read the complete article, see:
Philippines. Mayor criticized for shooting gold-gun banknotes at voters (https://sparkchronicles.com/philippines-mayor-criticized-for-shooting-gold-gun-banknotes-at-voters/)

Read more here

 

FEATURED WEB SITE: INTERNATIONAL TOKEN WEB CONFERENCE

This week's Featured Web Site is the International Token Web Conference

https://tokenconference.numismatas.com/