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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 Kolbe & Fanning August 27, 2022 Workman October 22, 2022

 

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

WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM AUGUST 28, 2022

New subscribers this week include: Judy Dobbins, and James. Welcome aboard!

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 major numismatic library sale, six new books, two obituaries, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.

Other topics this week include the Early Paper Money of America, money in European Artworks, siege coins with a twist, The Centinel, Mexican Silver in the Danish West Indies, the stratosphere of numismatics, List medals, money artist Otis Kaye, auction previews, naughty ancient coins, Ferris Wheel medals, and the Journal of East Asian Numismatics.

To learn more about Scott Douglas, the paper money of Ireland, the first treatise ever written about numismatics, Bob Knepper, Jim Grady, 'Story of Money' trade cards, the Whitman Executive Coin Hobby Kit, the 100 Most Influential People In Numismatics, the Middlesex Christ's Hospital Six Pence, and Satyrs on Staters, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

STOCKLEY BOOKS TO OFFER DOUGLAS LIBRARY

Prominent Canadian numismatist Scott E. Douglas sells his research library to Richard Stockley Books

Manitoba bookseller Howard R. Engel (left) and long-time numismatist Scott Douglas stand before the main stacks of the latter collector's library, where the duo agreed on the sale of the extensive literature collection on July 16.

Long-time collector Scott Douglas, whose decades of hobby experience has brought him widespread numismatic acclaim, has begun disposing of his literature collection through Manitoba dealer Howard R. Engel, proprietor of Richard Stockley Books.

Douglas, a celebrated author, researcher and leader in organized numismatics, considers his literature collection as treasured as any of my numismatic collections, many of which he has assembled throughout his life. A coin collector since his youth, he began specializing in Canadian tokens and medals in 1992, the same year he dove into organized numismatics. All the while, his hobby endeavours were bolstered by books.

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KENNY SAMMUT NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SALE

From now through September 30th, Numismatics with Kenny is having a 15% off sale on all books. No coupon needed.

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NEW BOOK: EARLY PAPER MONEY OF AMERICA 2023

CDN Publishing announced the publication of the 2023 Edition of Early Paper Money of America, the seminal reference book on the first circulating currencies of North America. Authored by the renowned scholar, numismatist, and collector Eric P. Newman, this is the first new edition since 2008.

At 472 pages, this edition features hundreds of full color images, replacing the black and white plates of earlier editions. Pricing has been completely updated by CDN Pricing Editor, Patrick Ian Perez, a leading specialist for numismatic pricing.

The EPMOA, as it is commonly known, is the seminal body of work on this important and historic numismatic subject. According to Perez, there is simply no comparable work in existence that comes close to the decades-long efforts of Eric Newman. It has been an honor and a privilege to participate in bringing the much-needed 2023 Edition to life.

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NEW BOOK: PAPER MONEY OF IRELAND, 2ND ED.

The long awaited Paper Money of Ireland 2nd Edition is now in stock. 744 pages by Jonathan Callaway - now out weighing 1.8kg. Can be purchased on our website stock ID:52518 £60.

Post in UK mainland £6

Post to Ireland / Europe £17

Post to USA £28

Post to Australia £32

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NEW BOOK: ERRORS AND VARIETIES ON CANADIAN COINS

These publications about errors and varieties on 1 Cent (2018) and 5 Cents (2021) minted during the Queen Elizabeth era (1953-1981). Released in July 2022 is 5 Cents minted between 1982-2021. The books are presented in both French (original) and English translation. The author has developed and adopted classifications, terminologies and conventions that are now standard in the hobby. Both books have a pricing table. The guides are a visual pleasure, printed in full colour, glossy paper, spiral bound. These guides are meant for someone just starting to collect coins with errors and for those who have been collecting them for a while.

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NEW PRINTING: MEDALS OF THE CANADIAN MINT

As you know, my book, Medals & Exonumia of the Royal Canadian Mint was recently introduced at the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association's convention in Ottawa. It was well received and I sold out my entire first printing of 50. In fact, I even sold several copies to mint employees! I have printed another small batch and will be bringing them to the Ontario Numismatic Association convention in Mississauga, Ontario September 9-11. If anyone is interested, they can ask for me there, or email me at alroy477@gmail.com and I'll set aside a copy.

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NEW BOOK: DE SESTERTIO ET TALENTO

Mitch writes:

DE SESTERTIO ET TALENTO - PORCELIO DE' PANDONI

Porcelio de' Pandoni's De sestertio et talento is a work of extraordinary interest for the history of Humanistic and Renaissance antiquarianism. This short work was written in the middle of the fifteenth century, and it throws new light on a little-known aspect of the vast and varied humanist learning. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first treatise ever written about numismatics.

Although its origins are not entirely clear, it was completed in Milan. In a prefatory letter, in fact, Pandoni offers the work to the powerful secretary of Francesco Sforza, Cicco Simonetta. In fact, as Andrew Burnett speculates, it is possible that the letter of dedication contains statements that are only partially accurate and that the treatise was originally written in Rome, the city in which Pandoni was trained and in whose cultural milieu he had had close ties to the Colonna family, and in particular to Cardinal Prospero Colonna, a well-known patron with strong interests in antiquities. If so, it was re-purposed, a typical practice of Pandoni, and, in his dedication, he placed the interest, the fascination and the antiquarian and numismatic curiosity that had brought about the writing of the short treatise, in a Milan context.

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NEW BOOK: MONEY IN EUROPEAN ARTWORKS

Money Matters in European Artworks and Literature, c. 1400-1750
Edited by: Natasha Seaman and Joanna Woodall
In the series Visual and Material Culture, 1300 –1700

About this book
This is the first book to focus on coins as material artefacts and agents of meaning in the arts of the early modern period. The precious metals, double-sided form, and emblematic character of coins had deep resonance in European culture and cultural encounters. Coins embodied Europe's impressive power and the labour, increasingly located in colonised regions, of extracting gold and silver. Their efficacy depended on faith in their inherent value and the authority perceived to be imprinted into them, guaranteed through the institution of the Mint. Yet they could speak eloquently of illusion, debasement and counterfeiting. A substantial introduction precedes paired essays by interdisciplinary scholars organised around five themes: power and authority in the Mint; currency and the anxieties of global trade; coins and persons; coins in and out of circulation; credit and risk. A thought-provoking Afterword focused on an American contemporary artist demonstrates the continuing expressive and symbolic power of numismatic forms.

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CSNS REVAMPS THE CENTINEL, EXPANDS SHOW

To provide even more service to collectors and dealers, the Central States Numismatic Society (www.CSNS.org) has enlarged the format of its quarterly publication, The Centinel, to a full-sized, glossy magazine, and will again expand its annual CSNS convention and provide additional security measures beginning with the April 2023 show.

Founded in 1939, the Midwest-based organization is open to prospective members throughout the United States as well as other countries. CSNS recently adopted an updated new logo and new slogan, Building Collector Community.

The magazine's new editor, Barbara Gregory, former editor of the American Numismatic Association's official publication, The Numismatist, worked over the last six months to reimagine the CSNS flagship publication. The Centinel has modernized its format with full-color illustrations and added to its informative editorial content starting with the just-issued Summer 2022 edition.

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ROBERT CURTIS KNEPPER (1931-2022)

Robert Curtis Knepper died on January 31, 2022 at Park Vista, Morningside, Fullerton, just shy of his 91st birthday. His loving wife of 68 years, Sue Knepper, and his daughters were taking care of him.

He was born on February 13, 1931 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania to Mabel and Curtis Knepper and was their only child. He earned an engineering degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1952 and a Masters in 1953. He enjoyed his membership in Sigma Nu.

He married Susan Harmon, a beautiful nurse he met at a dance, on October 10, 1953. Bob and Sue moved to California and began their long-term enthusiasm for the California lifestyle of sun, surf and sports.

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ORVILLE "JIM" GRADY (1944-2022)

Orville 'Jim' Grady
March 9, 1944 - August 22, 2022

Orville "Jim" Grady, 78 years, of Fremont, Nebraska, passed away Monday, Aug. 22, 2022, at his home.

He was a husband, father, student, soldier, numismatist, and bookseller born on March 9, 1944, in Dodge County, Fremont, Nebraska, to Lowell and Eva Grady. Orville was the eldest of five children – sisters: Judy (Everly) and Denise; brothers Thoms and (Kevin deceased). Married Debra (Piper) in 1973, they had one daughter, Jennifer. Graduated from Fremont High School in 1962, served seven years in the United States Army from Jan. 19, 1965, to Jan. 27, 1972.

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VIDEO: NBS EVENTS AT THE 2022 ANA

Bibliomania Reigns at the World's Fair of Money

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VIDEO: SIEGE COINS WITH A TWIST

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DANISH WEST INDIES MEXICAN SILVER

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THE SAICO COINS OF MEXICO BOOK

I read the "PRESIDENT COIN COMPANY ALBUMS" article by David Lange, and I would like to share the following information related to the "Coins of Mexico" book by SAICO:

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: AUGUST 28, 2022

More on the Reakirt Collection
David Fanning writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: AUGUST 21, 2022 : More on the Reakirt Famous Old Collection (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n34a10.html)

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THE WHITMAN EXECUTIVE COIN HOBBY KIT

SOME FORGOTTEN ITEMS REVEALED My books on the products of both the Coin & Currency Institute and Whitman Publishing Company made reference to certain products that were likely to have been produced but had not yet been seen. The recent acquisition of a supply catalog published in 1964 by the Omaha dealership of Aubrey and Adeline Bebee revealed both images and pricing for three products that previously were in the dark. I'm reproducing those images here as a supplement to those books.

The first photo shows Whitman's Executive Coin Hobby Kit, which is described on pages 11-12 of Volume Three. The Bebee catalog reveals that the bulk of its $26.95 price (a whopping amount of money in the ‘60s) was due to the attaché case rather than its contents! I seriously doubt that more than a very few of these were sold.

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2022 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN NUMISMATICS

This week I received the Coin World Annual issue listing the 100 Most Influential People in Numismatics. It occurred to me that numismatic leaders fall into three basic groups. For commercial numismatics there are dealers, auction houses and third-party grading services. Hobby leaders include officers and volunteers in local, regional and national clubs. Numismatic science falls to researchers, writers and publishers of numismatic literature. The Coin World list is heavily skewed toward commercial numismatics.

One way to measure the influence of a writer is to see how many times their name occurs on the Newman Numismatic Portal. I created a ranking of the 100 Most Influential People based on that number.

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THE STRATOSPHERE OF NUMISMATICS

Each year about this time (leading up to the ANA World's Fair of Money), Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers Galleries send their catalogs for their summer auctions. This year's editions feature over 20 separate catalogs covering ancient and world coins, colonial coinage, early copper coins, regular issue US coins, paper money, tokens and medals. Several major specialty collections are being sold, with hundreds of six-figure-plus coins as well as a few multi-million-dollar coins offered. The combined sales this year will easily surpass $100 million.

Like most of those who ponder the state of the rare coin market, the obvious question is: How can the market absorb so much material at once? The question is especially pointed this year as the stock market has slipped, cryptocurrencies have fallen sharply and the general public is being stressed by the rising costs of inflation.

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VOCABULARY TERM: LIST MEDAL

List Medal. Medal offered for sale to the public by the United States Mint. Many of America's national medals made by the U.S. Mint are authorized by Congress to be sold to the public. Beginning in 1861 these medals were publicized by lists sent to inquirers or prospects, hence the name. More than a century later, in August 1969, on the occasion of the opening of the new Philadelphia Mint building, the list was published in book form. Entitled Medals of the United States Mint (see References below and Bibliography in the Appendix), the book illustrated the medals, biographies of those Americans portrayed and events honored (but lacked numismatic data or collector lore desired by those in the numismatic field). The book served as a check list of the medals then available for sale (although supplemental sales literature has been issued thereafter as well).

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OTIS KAYE (1885-1974)

A recent issue of The E-Sylum had a question about a painting by Otis Kaye. Compiling a biography was very difficult as typical biographical sources are not available.

Otis Kaye is known for including images of money in the composition of paintings. He painted in the trompe l'oeil style, a term meaning fools the eye. Such paintings were popular in the nineteenth century but made illegal by a 1909 law that prohibited reproductions of currency. His first known painting was Hidden Assets dated 1920.

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LEGEND REGENCY AUCTION 54

Legend Rare Coin Auctions, the Official Auctioneer of the PCGS Members Only Show, will present the 54th Regency Auction on September 8, 2022, at the Omni Hotel in San Diego. Containing 347 lots, the sale is anchored by the Meridian Collection of Proof Barber Dimes; the Perfection Collection of Capped Bust Half Dollars; and the Ed Wielawski Collection of Oregon Half Dollars. Also included in the sale are several fabled rarities.

The Perfection Collection. The astonishing Perfection Collection of Capped Bust Half Dollars. A collection decades in the making, starting in the 1980s, Mr. Perfection, as he is known in the hobby, caught the Bust Half Fever, and over the course of these nearly 40 years, has owned many great examples, from AU to MS67. The 33-coin PCGS Date Set Registry Set begins with 1807 and ends with 1839-O. The coins in this set, which ranks as the current #2 set on the PCGS Registry, and #3 all time, as well as being the #2 CAC Registry Set.

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DAVISSON'S E-AUCTION 44 SELECTIONS

Lot 51: Bar Kokhba Revolt

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EROTICISM ON ANCIENT COINS

Satyrs on Staters

In Greek mythology, satyrs were lustful woodland spirits, companions of Dionysus the wine god (so they were often portrayed both drunk and aroused). For over a century (c. 525 – 411 BCE) the Aegean island of Thasos, famed for wine, issued coins depicting a satyr behaving inappropriately with a protesting nymph.

A learned auction cataloger writes:

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DOUBLE-STRUCK MINT ERRORS

A very popular mint error type is the double-strike. It is dramatic in appearance and easily understood. Some of the most valuable mint errors are double-struck coins. Double-strikes are found on the earliest ancient coins all the way up to the modern-day coinage. Because of how coins are made, being struck with dies, it's an error type which will likely always be with us (and that's a good thing!)

As the name would suggest, a double-strike is a coin that is struck twice. The double-struck coin typically will be struck correctly on the first strike, but then will be struck again either on-center or off-center. A double-struck coin is one that has just been struck twice, but the number of times a coin can be struck is infinite, and some coins are known with over 100 strikes on them.

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KAVANAGH'S INDIAN MUTINY VICTORIA CROSS

The famous Indian Mutiny ‘Siege of Lucknow' Victoria Cross awarded to Irishman Thomas Henry Kavanagh will be sold by Mayfair-based Auctioneers Noonans on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 in a sale of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria. This was the first civilian V.C. of five to be awarded and is one of only two that is not currently in a museum, it is estimated at £300,000-400,000.

Kavanagh, who was born on July 15, 1821 in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland, was employed as a clerk in the Lucknow Office prior to the Siege. In November 1857, he volunteered to leave the safety of the Residency disguised as a Sepoy (an Indian soldier serving under British or other European orders), accompanied by a Brahmin scout. The pair jostled past armed rebels through the narrow Lucknow streets and talked their way past sentries in the moonlight, crossed deep rivers, tramped through swamps and narrowly avoided capture after startling a farmer who raised the alarm. On finally reaching a British cavalry outpost, Kavanagh delivered Outram's vital despatch to Sir Colin Campbell and ably guided his column to the relief of the Residency garrison.

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FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR MEDALS

Before 1871, the country of Germany was made up of a collection of independent states, including Bavaria, Saxony and Hanover. In total, there were 43 such states, styled as Duchies, Electorates, Principalities and even Kingdoms, each with its own army, the most powerful of which — and the most militaristic — being Prussia.

Indeed, so powerful was the Prussian state that on its own in 1866 it fought and won a decisive war against the entire country of Austria, which it defeated in only seven weeks. Four years later, Prussia was at war again. This time it against France, considered at the time to be one of the most powerful armies in Europe. France, under Emperor Napoleon III, had become concerned with the growing strength of Prussia and mobilized the army on July 15, 1870. Three days later France declared war against Prussia, and on Aug. 2 crossed the border.

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FERRIS WHEEL MEDALS

It had been four years since the Exposition Universelle in Paris, France, where the world had been introduced to the centerpiece of the fair – a tower built by Gustave Eiffel. This tower, the tallest structure on the globe at the time, had instantaneously become a world wonder. The 1893 World's Fair in Chicago was America's chance to shine, but how could they compete with the exquisite exhibits on the ground, let alone the grand Eiffel Tower from Paris?

The United States needed its own Eiffel Tower, something that would stun, amaze, and would be talked about for years. The proposals ran from the ridiculous to the impossible. One such proposal was a tower made from stacked logs that would measure 2,000 feet with a replica of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home at the top. Another absurd proposal called for a structure to be built so tall that visitors would ride an elevator to the top in Chicago and take a slide down allowing them to arrive in San Francisco or New York. An American civil engineer, George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., stepped forward with plans that would out-Eiffel Eiffel and fit the planners' criteria for something original, daring, and unique.

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1777 SCOTLAND TRI-COLOURED BANKNOTE

A Royal Bank of Scotland note dating from 1777, which is thought to be first tri-coloured note to be issued in Scotland and possibly in Europe will be sold by Mayfair-based Auctioneers Noonans on Wednesday & Thursday, August 24 & 25, 2022 in a sale of Banknotes. Known as the Red Guinea, it is estimated at £1,500-2,000.

This is as much an historical document as it is a banknote, says Noonans' Head of Banknotes Andrew Pattison. Politics and finance originally came together to shape the history of Scotland with the collapse of the Darien venture. The Royal Bank of Scotland was able to prosper as a shareholding company because the Scottish regional banking system was not restricted by the monopoly of the Bank of England, as institutions were south of the Border.

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EXHIBIT: DEFACED! MONEY, CONFLICT, PROTEST

The £10 banknote is a work by Boo Whorlow called Harry of England/Ten Megs, a reworking of Banksy's Di-Faced Tenner which featured Diana, Princess of Wales.

Artworks in which Harry and Meghan take the Queen's place on "defaced" £10 notes are to go on display in Cambridge.

The exhibition, entitled Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest, will be on show at the Fitzwilliam Museum from October until January next year.

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LOOSE CHANGE: AUGUST 28, 2022

A Money Art Interaction

There was an argument to define if Boggs processes and creations were, in fact, art. As much as art dealers and collectors recognised him as an authentic artist, the Secret Service and other government bodies went after him as a fraud, a deceiver.

"They said I was a counterfeiter. They don't understand the difference between art and crime."

Boggs made art to critique money as a social construct, money being an idea created and accepted by people in societies, battling against money's established notion of value.

To read the complete article, see:
The Boggs Performance: A Money Art Interaction (https://banknoteartconcept.com/the-boggs-performance-a-money-art-interaction/)

To read an earlier E-Sylum article, see:
J.S.G. BOGGS (1955-2017) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n05a04.html)

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FEATURED WEBSITE: JOURNAL OF EAST ASIAN NUMISMATICS

This week's Featured Web Site is The Journal of East Asian Numismatics (JEAN).

https://jeandigital.asia/about-en