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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 30, 2022

New subscribers this week include: Daniel McKone. Welcome aboard! We now have 6,740 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 NBS podcast, three new books, a special periodical issue, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.

Other topics this week include Bible coins, the mining and minting history of the Americas, Byzantine coins, OPA ration tokens, the Money Zoo, Mashiko, Don Everhart, auction previews, the Royal Mint year of the Tiger gold coin, and Trump coins and the fake account that shared a fake story on a fake Fox News website about a fake tweet by a fake Elon Musk.

To learn more about Civil War tokens, coinage of the Mexico City Mint, the Fernand David collection of American coins, Medialia Rack and Hamper Gallery, shears for clipping half crowns, the Feuchtwanger Three Cent piece, Canadian paper money, coin collecting's comeback, the Numismatic Tooth Fairy, and the woman who ate $550, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

NBS BIBLIOTALK PODCAST WITH COLE HENDRICKSON

NBS Podcast Civil War Tokens, with Cole Hendrickson

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NEW BOOK: BIBLE LORE AND THE ETERNAL FLAME

Whitman Publishing announces the upcoming release of Bible Lore and the Eternal Flame, by Kenneth Bressett. The new 224-page hardcover book will debut in March 2022, available from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide. In the meantime, it can be preordered at www.Whitman.com and online bookstores.

Author Ken Bressett is well known to the collecting community as an expert on American coinage. Active in numismatics since the 1940s, he has written many articles and is author or editor of more than two dozen related books.

Although he is most famous as Editor Emeritus of the Guide Book of United States Coins (popularly called the Red Book), Bressett is also a longtime student of the ancient world. He is editor of the Handbook of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins (1994), a popular reference that builds on the work of Zander H. Klawans. His Money of the Bible was first published in 2005 and subsequently updated in new editions. And his book Milestone Coins: A Pageant of the World's Most Significant and Popular Money has chapters on the ancient world and Biblical currency.

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NEW BOOK: MEXICO CITY COINAGE VARIETY GUIDE

A Variety Guide to the Silver and Copper Coinage of the Mexico City Mint 1732-1771
by Brad Yonaka

ISBN-13: 978-0-9986825-4-9
322 pp. | 8 ½ x 11 inch hardbound with dust cover, black & white interior

This book, self-published in late 2021 but delayed in printing, is dedicated exclusively to all denominations and dates of milled pillar coinage of this mint, in as much detail as has ever been presented. It includes all the information from my 2017 title A Variety Guide to the Fractional Pillar Coinage of Mexico City 1732-1771, with a significantly larger database (now over 12,000 coins), and now includes the 8 Reales denomination. A great deal of fragmentary historical research is synthesized to present a current accounting of types, with rarity and estimated prices. Included are descriptions of 573 dates and varieties, with close to 600 photos. This guide also brings together, in one volume, many facets of both the history leading up to the first strikes, and the details behind the major design changes seen during the forty years of issue.

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NEW BOOK: FOUR MAINZ ENGRAVERS

The Mainz Medalist Quartet
August and Jakob Stieler, Johann Lindenschmit and Ferdinand Korn

One knows mint masters, Wardeine, but usually not the medalists, the designers of the coins and medals. Four medalists come from Mainz and have also worked for numerous mints. Her other stations were Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Koblenz, Limburg, Arolsen and Bern. While August and Jakob Stieler, father and son, as well as Johann Lindenschmit came from well-known artistic families, Ferdinand Korn became the most famous mint director and medalist. The wildest rumors were circulating about him.

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PERIODICAL: COLONIAL LATIN AMERICAN REVIEW

This special issue spans the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries to reconsider the cultural and economic impact of mining and coin production in the early Americas. The geographic scope of the articles—the Spanish viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru and the British Caribbean—underscores the hemispheric circulation of mining and minting knowledge and the movement of coins. The authors primarily present regional case studies but taken together these essays present a trans-imperial perspective on the significance of mining and minting in the Americas, specifically silver, the most heavily trafficked precious metal in the early modern period. This hemispheric scope highlights similarities in the ways Indigenous people, colonists, forced migrants, and others accorded cultural and economic value to silver at different moments of its life cycle. The broad reach prioritizes formerly ignored topics and perspectives, ranging from that of African-descended men who labored in the mint at Potosí, to those of women from India who made jewelry from their silver coin wages.

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C4 AUCTION SALE CATALOGS ON NEWMAN PORTAL

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U.S. MINT REPORTS WANTED

To access U.S. Mint Reports on the Newman Portal, see:
U.S. Mint Reports (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/51)

AUDIO: MIKE MARKOWITZ ON BYZANTINE COINS

This week on the CoinWeek Podcast, Mike Markowitz sits down to discuss his favorite area of ancient coin collecting: Byzantine coins. The Byzantine Empire stood for more than a thousand years, officially ending on May 29, 1453, when the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottomans. Historians call it the Byzantine Empire, but they called themselves Romans.

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AN OPA RATION TOKEN HOLDER

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PRINTING BLOCKS FOR COLONIAL AMERICAN COINS

One of the cool "weird" things I have in my collection is a selection of printing blocks for colonial American coins - and since the image shared by Jesse Kraft was for such a piece, it piqued my interest. I have perhaps three dozen blocks, and they are of varying ages and construction. These are the subject of an article I someday will get around to writing, but doesn't hurt to share some of them here and ask for assistance too!

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 30, 2022

J. Schulman Sales of Fernand David American Collection
Scott Miller writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
FERNAND DAVID (1861-1927) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n04a19.html)

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MEDIALIA GALLERY CLOSING

Founded in 1993 by Mashiko, the 2019 winner of the ANS's prestigious J. Sanford Saltus Award for Achievement in Medallic Art, Medialia has functioned not just as a gallery, but as an important meeting place for artists, connoisseurs, students, and those curious in hand-held sculpture generally. Since its inception Medialia has hosted scores of exhibits featuring the work of living artists, including current Saltus Award winners, as well as thematic retrospective exhibits, often shown concurrently, that have explored the long history of medallic art, its various guises and purposes, thus offering viewers the means for understanding where medallic art has come from and where it might be going. Like all contemporary art, this can sometimes be a contentious issue, but Medialia has always provided a cheerful, warm, and engaging environment for serious discussion.

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LEEDS MUSEUM EXHIBIT ON EVOLUTION OF MONEY

Kat Baxter, curator of the exhibition at Leeds Museum looking at the evolution of money, said: "The Nazis counterfeited Bank of England notes from branches in Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.

"Banknotes had their own serial numbers. The Leeds branch serial number started with 138Vm and this was used on the fake notes."

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MONEY ZOO: ANIMALS IN THE HISTORY OF MONEY

The new exhibition at Nickle Galleries, Money Zoo: Fantastic Beasts in the History of Money, highlights the importance of animals in the human world. Our link with natural creatures is timeless and enduring.

What is this intricate relationship, the sacred connection between humans and animals? What kind of evidence do we have from money and trade? Trying to answer these questions, the exhibition highlights the examples of the historical use of animals as money as well as animals portrayed on our past and present currencies.

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VOCABULARY TERM: HIGH POINT

High Point. The point of highest relief on a numismatic or medallic item. The high point – often the nose on a portrait – is formed from the lowest point of the die cavity. Examining the high point in the press room during striking is necessary for both medals and coins; it is the critical point which determines whether a medal is fully struck up in multiple striking, or for a coin during set up. High points are examined in the finishing department as well; as medals are oxidized and relieved they are examined to insure the high point is not overly buffed.

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DON EVERHART'S CAREER IN COINS, PART 1

Fresh out of college in 1973, I made a decision that would change the course of my life forever – and I didn't even know it at the time!

Back then I was more concerned about staying alive than deciding what my career path would be. I had a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts Painting, and my vague plan was to be an illustrator (doing album covers, I hoped).

I had taken a job as a paste-up artist at a ticket and label manufacturing company in Northeast Philadelphia and had moved five times in the past year, so things were a little unsettled, to say the least.

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MORE ON DESIGNING THE MAYA ANGELOU QUARTER

Maya Angelou's and the other upcoming quarters were authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, and Damstra notes that they all came with a few requirements. Most notably, the reverse side (tails) couldn't feature the quintessential head and shoulder portrait or bust. So Damstra opted for a figure of Angelou instead of a close-up. And since the quarter is so small, she kept the number of details to a minimum. A career in natural science illustration has indulged my tendency to include a lot of detail in my drawings, she says. Negative space becomes very important for providing balance.

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BRITISH STANDARD CATALOG PLATE COINS

This all began after I pulled a small group of electrotype copies of British coins that I have been holding for decades out of the safe deposit box and began researching their history. Double-thick with clear lines around the edges showing where the two halves were fastened together, the pieces looked like a series of British Museum copies similar to the copies of the Museum's magnificent ancient coins produced in the 19th century.

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NUMISMATIC AUCTIONS SALE 66 SELECTIONS

Lot 46: Sharp 1793 Wreath Cent Rarity. Vine and Bars Edge. S-8, R3. VF with pleasing color and a minimal number of marks from its light use in our nations early Federal Commerce. Neat example and historic. Ex: EAC Auction. 4/4/1992.

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THE TCNC PROMINENCE VI SALE

THE PROMINENCE VI SALE
FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 3, 2022

6 SESSIONS
OVER 2300 LOTS
TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME 1: SESSIONS 1 &2 LOTS 1-763
VOLUME 2: SESSIONS 3-4-5-6 LOTS 764-2313

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GADOURY ANNOUNCES FERNAND DAVID SALE

12 March 2022
Éditions Victor Gadoury and Alain Weil, Monaco
Fernand David Collection

Forgotten Collection to Enter the Market: The Fernand David Collection

Around 1900, he was one of the most important French collectors: Fernand David, whose general collection of gold coins will be auctioned on 12 March 2022 by Éditions Victor Gadoury and Alain Weil. You can expect some exciting surprises!

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MORE ON FINDING THE HENRY III GOLD PENNY

A metal detectorist who gave up his hobby when he started a family, only to return to it when his children were old enough to nag him into taking them out detecting with him, has been rewarded with one of the most extraordinary finds – a fine example of England's oldest gold coin, which has sold for a record-breaking £648,000 at auction.

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COINS OF THE LE CHAMEAU

During the night of August 25-26, 1725, the French 600-ton, 48-gun transport, Le Chameau, foundered in high winds on the rocks of Kelpy Cove, off Port Nova Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, just 12 miles from her destination of Fortress Louisbourg, The vessel went down taking all hands and passengers, including Guoillaume de Chazel, the newly appointed governor of Trois Rivieres and Intendant Begon's successor. ?

Salvage operations commenced from Louisbourg late in 1726, but the main gold and silver treasure the vessel carried was not recovered until 1965 when Alex Storm and his associates achieved success (although a few coins from the wreck had been found on 1914). The first coin identified by Storm was a 1724 Louis XV silver eco. After a division of the recovered treasure, which amounted to over 4,500 silver and gold coins and many artifacts, a large part was sold by Parke Bernet Galleries in December 1971 and realized nearly $200,000.

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COINS OF GERMANY'S 1849 FALSE START

On 1 and 2 February 2022, we will offer the collection of a connoisseur with high-quality coins and medals from medieval and modern times. We present three coins of this collection that are of utmost historical interest and remind us that Germany almost became a constitutional monarchy about two decades before that infamous day in Versailles.

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JAPANESE MEIJI PATTERN COIN DISCOVERED

Toovey's Coins, Medals & Banknotes auction on January 19 got off to a storming start as the very first lot – a Japanese Meiji 10 yen Year 3 pattern gold coin from 1870 – demolished an estimate of £50,000- 80,000 to sell for £260,000 (plus 24.5% buyer's premium).

It is currently one of only five known examples. Of the four others, one is in the Bank of Japan collection, another is in the British Museum and two were sold by Heritage Auctions in Dallas in 2011 and 2014.

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ROYAL MINT YEAR OF THE TIGER GOLD COIN

Jim Contursi writes:

A giant gold coin weighing a hefty 8kg has been unveiled to celebrate the Year of the Tiger.

It took more than 200 hours to etch the brand new design onto the surface to celebrate Chinese New Year.

An image of a tiger stands proudly on the coin with its Chinese character placed next to it – combining British and Chinese culture.

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HIGH GRADE CONFEDERATE MONTGOMERY NOTE

This is the first public auction appearance of an Uncirculated T-3 in a PMG holder. About 1,600 Montgomery $100 notes were issued, with a little over 150 known to exist today. PMG has graded 45 examples of this type, with this piece sitting proudly atop the Population Report.

This type was engraved and printed by National Bank Note Company in New York. Neatly penned signatures of Clitherall and Elmore are found at the bottom of the note, with an endorsement of "Issued May 31, 1861" on the reverse. The front of the note depicts allegorical Minerva (or Columbia if you are a Northerner) at left, with a train pulling into a station at center. At upper right is an ornate die counter in jet black ink, while the border and protector are in dark green. The paper is also bright, accentuating the design details, especially the dark navy-blue serial numbers. The place of issue is Montgomery, as seen next to the lower serial number. The capital of the Confederate States of America was moved from Montgomery to Richmond on May 29th, 1861.

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COIN COLLECTING MAKING A COMEBACK

Scratch, an illustrated column about money that runs in the Sunday New York Times, last week addressed a subject close to my heart: coin collecting.

My daughter Lucy brought the column to my attention. She follows Julia Rothman, its illustrator, and was familiar with my childhood interest in coins.

Ms. Rothman initially reached out to millennial and Gen Z members for a story about stamp collecting but was informed the hobby was on life support. I could have told her that.

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HOW TRUMP COINS BECAME INTERNET SENSATION

The novelty coins are simple, glistening tokens of admiration for former President Donald J. Trump. They're also one of the hottest products going.

There's a style for every taste, each featuring a portrait of Mr. Trump. Sometimes he's rendered in gold, staring thoughtfully into the distance. In others he's smirking in silver, raising a thumb's up, or even riding a missile while a bald eagle soars behind him.

Among all the options, one version stands out. Known online as simply the Trump coin, it has become a favorite of right-wing social media and fringe news sites. It's advertised between claims of stolen elections or conspiracy theories about global cabals. Some ads even describe the coin as a kind of cryptocurrency, suggesting it would soon be worth thousands.

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LOOSE CHANGE: JANUARY 30, 2022

Young Collector Jaireet Chahal

Jaireet started collecting coins because it seemed like an attractive idea.

Jaireet stayed with numismatics as a hobby because of the amazing friends and connections made through Instagram and other social media platforms.

Jaireet is a great example of younger generations modernizing numismatics and collecting in the digital realm.

To read the complete article, see:
Young Collector Highlight: Jaireet (https://canadiancoinnews.com/young-collector-highlight-jaireet/)

To read a related earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NYT FEATURES MILLENNIAL AND GEN Z COLLECTORS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n04a24.html)

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FEATURED WEB SITE: WORLDWIDE BI-METALLIC COLLECTORS CLUB

This week's Featured Web Site is the Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collectors Club.

http://wbcc-online.com/