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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: Jeff Dickerson, Treasurer Numismatic Bibliomania Society P. O. Box 578, Weatherford, TX 76086 Asylum For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact Jeff 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 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 MARCH 30, 2025

New subscribers this week include: Tim Currie and Claire Lobel. Welcome aboard! We now have 7,256 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 book and an article, a numismatic literature feature for Numista, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, club news and more.

Other topics this week include Puerto Rico's provisional pesos, Paris dealer Bourgey, California gold rush bills of exchange, the 2025 Rockwell Lecture, Medialia Gallery, the Carl Subak and Traveller collections, two Baltimore show diaries, the Mary Kawena Pukui dollar, and AI-generated images.

To learn more about the silver coinage of the Gupta Empire, 1967 Canadian Centennial Medallions, 2025 National Money Show exhibit winners, Operations Andreas & Bernhard, the Orders & Medals Society of America, the largest and richest find of gold coins in Slovakia, the Hull-Sewell Pine Tree Shilling hoard, Roman Quinarii, and the Treasure of the One-Eyed Priest, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

NEW BOOK: SILVER COINAGE OF THE GUPTA EMPIRE

The Silver Coinage of the Gupta Empire and Associated States in Western India: Analysis, classification and illustrated catalogue
Authors: Ian J. Todd and A.M. Fishman

Dealing with the silver coinage and events around the time of the fall of the Western K?atrapa kingdom in the period 398-415 CE, and in the century that followed, this work comprehensively catalogues unprecedented integrated coin classifications for – and fresh historical conclusions about – the Gupta empire and associated states including the Traiku?akas and Kalachuris. It also broadens the known history of the Western K?atrapas by identifying the coinage of two individuals who succeeded the kingdom's last great ruler; and through detailed analysis introduces the previously unknown “Second K?atrapa Kingdom” ruled by a king named Madasena and his sons, and with coinages formerly misattributed to the Maitrakas of Valabhi and the Western K?atrapas.

The 358 page, independently published, book is available in paperback or hardcover at amazon.com and numismall.com.

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NEW ARTICLE: PUERTO RICO'S PROVINCIAL PESOS

Models for Morgan's proposed Puerto Rican coinage: the 1882 Liberty portrait (left) and the 1890/1 Columbia and Eagle pattern (right). Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.HA.com.

Abstract: This article aims to reconstruct a segment of Puerto Rico's monetary history from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, focusing on the transition from the Puerto Rican provincial currency (the ‘peso') to the United States dollar after the Spanish American War. Following the conclusion of the conflict, the Puerto Rican currency saw a swift devaluation, leading to its subsequent withdrawal from circulation. This study, which draws on newly discovered archival sources, suggests that US authorities contemplated the creation of a separate coinage for Puerto Rico, which aimed to ease the conversion from the provincial peso to the US dollar.

Introduction

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NUMISTA ADDS LITERATURE SECTION

Christopher Blackington writes:

Numista, renowned for its extensive global database of over 800k varieties of coins, banknotes, tokens, and medals, has recently launched a dedicated Literature section. This new addition includes numismatic books, journals, and scholarly articles, expanding its offerings to serve researchers and enthusiasts.

Key Features

The literature section features a searchable database of publications covering various aspects of numismatics, from historical catalogues to academic papers. Operated collaboratively, community members can contribute new entries, ensuring a comprehensive resource. Each entry provides essential details such as title, author bios, publishers, publication year, and edition.

Entries are categorized by topic, like coins of the United States or 19th-century French medals, with download links available where possible. Numista invites numismatic authors to keep track of your bibliography in our database!

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NEWMAN PORTAL ADDS BOURGEY CATALOGS

Newman Portal Adds Bourgey Catalogs

Can you think of a numismatic firm that has maintained the same address for over a century? Remarkably, the Paris dealer Bourgey has held forth at 7 rue Druout since 1907. The business was founded by Étienne Bourgey (1864-1943) in 1895. Among other accomplishments, Étienne cataloged the 1922 Arras hoard, an important group of Roman coins that most notably included gold medallions. He was succeeded by his son Émile (1914-1993), a co-founder of IAPN, and today the firm is operated by Sabine Bourgey.

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VIDEO: GOLD RUSH BILLS OF EXCHANGE

Sundman Lecture Series Michael Wehner Many a miner left a sweet heart, wife or parents back east to come to California seeking his fortune in the Gold Rush of 1849. By the early 1850s these miners could purchase "Bills of Exchange" to guarantee that riches gathered would make it back to loved ones safely. This presentation explores early banking in San Francisco and the necessities of exchange services.

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2025 NATIONAL MONEY SHOW EXHIBIT WINNERS

The American Numismatic Association (ANA) presented 24 competitive exhibit awards at the 2025 Atlanta National Money Show®. Winners were announced at the Exhibit Awards Presentation & Reception on Saturday, March 1.

Michael Shutterly received the Steven J. D'Ipolito Award for Excellence in Numismatic Exhibiting (best of show) for his exhibit, "It's Elementary!" The second place D'Ipolito Award was also presented to Shutterly for "Heavenly Gold." Third place was awarded to Mack Martin for his exhibit "Georgia's Reconstruction Bonds."

The Radford Stearns Memorial Award for People's Choice, determined by votes from convention attendees, was presented to Jeffrey Rosinia for "A Numismatic Taste of Collecting Coca-Cola."

The theme for National Coin Week this year is "Iconic Change: Pop Culture & Coins Unite!" National Coin Week exhibits are intended to be suitable for display in libraries and schools, so there is a $250 limit on the value of the materials in this competition. The National Coin Week Award was presented to Gary Dobbins for "Pop! Goes the Music." He will receive a full scholarship to a future ANA Summer Seminar, an award endowed by John Albanese. Second place in this category was awarded to Kathryn Rosinia for "Flower Fairy Coins." Third place was earned by Jeffrey Rosinia for "Berghoff Waiter Tokens."

Radford Stearns Memorial Awards for Achievement in Exhibiting were also presented in six classes. This year, 25 competitive exhibits were displayed in the collector exhibits area by 17 exhibitors. Class winners are as follows:

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2025 ROCKWELL LECTURE: DR. DAVID LEONG

We are pleased to announce that this year's speaker is Dr. David Leong who will be giving a talk on “Operations Andreas & Bernhard". This fast-moving talk is designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in either banknotes, WWII, military history, counterfeiting, the forced labor of Jewish concentration camp prisoners to produce counterfeits for the Reich, or the production of banknotes. Designed to appeal to Individuals with no knowledge of the history of the Germany counterfeiting operations during WWII, to individuals that know the basic history though those well versed in the history and the banknotes.

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2025 ORDERS AND MEDALS SOCIETY CONVENTION

The Orders & Medals Society of America will celebrate its 75th Anniversary at a convention held in Kansas City, Missouri from Thursday, July 31 until Sunday, August 3, 2025. OMSA's annual convention moves around the country, enabling regional members the opportunity of attending without traveling long distances. This year's centralized location is intended to attract many members and interested collectors.

Members collect, research, and preserve military and civilian orders, awards, and medals, often collectively referred to as "decorations." These items of interest include American and international medals of all types, such as orders of knighthood, decorations for gallantry or distinguished service, and medals for various types of service. Most of these awards can be worn by the recipient, typically on a uniform. However, non-portable medals, known as table medals, are also highly sought after by collectors. Once acquired, researching the history behind awarded medals becomes an essential aspect of the hobby. This research adds significant value, as uncovering the fascinating stories surrounding the medals and their recipients is an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

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MEDIALIA GALLERY REOPENS

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 30, 2025

Publishers of Numismatic Book Reprints

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
MORE ON BONANZA BOOKS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n12a05.html)

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THE NUMISMATOURIST VISITS KOSICE

I recently visited the city of Košice in eastern Slovakia. When my future wife and her family lived in the former Czechoslovakia before immigrating to the U.S. in 1969, her two brothers attended higher education institutions in Košice.

When visiting Košice, one of the first things tourists read about the city is its gold treasure. Housed in the East Slovak Museum, the permanent exhibition is considered the largest and richest find of gold coins in Slovakia, and is one of the world's largest hoard of gold coins. It was discovered on August 24, 1935 in a copper casket during the reconstruction of a building a few streets away from the museum.

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VOCABULARY TERM: REMODEL, REMODELED

Remodel, Remodeled. To model again; to prepare another model because some change needs to be performed in design, portrait, or lettering. Most often an artist is asked to remodel his design because of an error caught by the editor, or a change dictated by client or circumstances (as a change of client's name or date appearing on the item). The editor will give instructions for the artist to correct the error and submit a second or subsequent model. Remodeling is only in the model stage; it differs from retooling for changes once a die has been completed (and found to require some change).

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LINGUISTS ABOLISH OBVERSE AND REVERSE

It has been decided to abolish the well-loved terms “obverse” and “reverse” for coin sides. It was felt that these words are unclear and not up to date enough. In addition, “obverse” is too strange. What does “ob” mean and “verse” is to do with poetry. “Reverse” is negative and not upbeat.

In future coins will have a “front” and “back” as these words are clear, modern and positive. The sides are easy to distinguish as back is the other side to front and front is other side to, well you guessed it, back. (Don't get us started on “heads or tails”!)

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EMERGING COINS

Last week in The E-Sylum, Wayne asked about coins that were mentioned in literature but unlocated until emerging from obscurity much later. My thoughts went back to a few coins that appeared at auction after a long time off the market. The first involved a discovery I made a few years ago.

Starred Reverse Cent
The Heritage sale of February 20, 2020, had a Starred Reverse cent as lot 3008. The lot description stated, “This piece doesn't match any example in our photographic record of 62 different Starred Reverse cents.” I went to my photo archive and matched the coin to the Frossard and Hays book, Varieties of United States Cents of the Year 1794, published in 1893. At the time, only about six examples were known. Charles Steigerwalt acquired the coin in 1899 and consigned it for sale by Lyman Low on March 7, 1907, as lot 8. The 2020 sale was the first public appearance in 113 years.

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CARL SUBAK COLLECTION OF ROMAN QUINARII

As many know, Carl was a longtime numismatist and friend to me. He died in 2022 at the age of 103. Among the coins Carl treasured, Roman quinarii ranked high. I would like to share my forward to the catalog below. His son Jon also wrote a lovely forward but I'll leave that for when the catalog is published.

I am honored and humbled to write the introduction of this catalog. Carl Hans Subak (1919-2022) was a dear family friend and mentor. Carl has been a presence in my entire life, as he was also close with my father, Harlan Berk, and even knew my mother, Ellen, since she was 18 years old. However, I only truly got to know Carl when I was a young adult living in London in 1996, working as an apprentice in the coin business. This is where the first of our many lunches took place.

Years later, starting in 2005, we met regularly for lunch at The Italian Village in Chicago, where Carl had a regular table nestled in the upstairs dining area. There, we shared many stories; I asked Carl about his years in the coin trade, and he asked me about the current auction market. Carl knew names from the past that we only now see in auction catalogs – people like Erich and Herbert Cahn, Leo Mildenberg, and Pierre Strauss. He told stories about how he nabbed his first significant collection from George Bauer in the 1950's. He used every penny he had at the time, approximately $27,500, to win the sealed bid.

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TREASURE TALK WITH BOB EVANS, EPISODE 2.1

40 years ago, I immersed myself in the S.S. Central America Project. My neighbor, Tommy Thompson, had done some historical research related to a shipwreck and treasure from 1857, a ship I had never known before. He enlisted me to join him, and that ship and treasure became major figures in my life.

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ANS TO ESTABLISH COLLIER PRIZE

Collection of James M. Collier at Auction to Benefit the ANS Collier Prize

The American Numismatic Society is pleased to announce that the Collection of James M. Collier will be offered at auction by Nomos AG (Zurich, Switzerland) from April 5-6, 2025. All proceeds from the collection will establish an endowment at the ANS to offer the Collier Prize in Ancient Numismatics in perpetuity. The Collier Prize was established in 2020 with the generous support of ANS Trustee Carole Anne Menzi Collier in honor of her late husband Professor James M. Collier. It is the most substantial financial award supporting scholarship in ancient numismatics. Nomos AG Auction 35 will include many fine examples of ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coins from the Collier collection.

James Collier initially taught art history before fully dedicating himself to painting, in which he drew inspiration both from the rich tapestry of art history, but also from the world around him. His work is deeply influenced by his understanding of artistic periods, in particular of the Renaissance, yet he remained attuned to the nuances of objects he loved, such as coins and medals, blending the two to create a unique and compelling visual narrative. His coin collection contains many of the great highlights of ancient numismatics, such as an exceptional group of coins of Syracuse, including a stunning decadrachm of Euainetos (lot. 169). In the extensive Roman series, there are many highlights, such as a remarkable specimen of the a stunning decadrachm of Euainetos (lot. 169). In the extensive Roman series, there are many highlights, such as a remarkable specimen of the sesterius of Nero with his lost triumphal arch (lot 659) and a full set of the twelve Caesars in silver (lot. 640).

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THE TRAVELLER COLLECTION

The Traveller Collection: Historic coin collection, buried for 50 years, set for record-breaking auction

• The Traveller Collection, with an insurance value in excess of $100 million, is the most valuable numismatic collection ever to come to auction in its entirety.
• The Traveller Collection of coins will be auctioned by Numismatica Ars Classica over the next three years, with the first auction taking place on 20 May 2025.
• The collection covers over 100 territories around the world, including coins from ancient times to the modern era.
• The largest part of the collection was buried underground to be hidden from the Nazis and for over 50 years and was completely unknown to coin collectors and scholars, with every lot coming to market for the first time in nearly a century.
• The first auction will focus on the machine-struck British coins in the collection, including masterpieces of British coinage.

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LEN AUGSBURGER'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: MARCH 30, 2025

Whitman Baltimore Expo Report

My Baltimore show trip began Thursday, March 27, at the Hagley Library in Wilmington, DE, about a 45-minute train ride from Baltimore's Penn Station. The Hagley features a picturesque reading room, more inspiring than industrial spaces found elsewhere. I was issued a reader card that will get added to an ever-growing collection of such things. Research targets included two copies of the rare Jacob Perkins Bank Bill Test (1809), one of the most prized items in the American numismatic literature catalog. This was the first American paper money counterfeit detector, the forerunner of the Laban Heath series and other 19th century detectors. A full article on the Bank Bill Test will appear in a future issue of The Asylum. At the Hagley I also viewed an account book of the U.S. chief coiner Henry Voigt, covering portions of his personal accounts from 1798 to 1837. Although not completely Mint-related, “Interesting” portions of this manuscript volume were shared with researchers Julia Purdy and Neil Musante.

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: MARCH 30, 2025

So here's my perspective on the Baltimore show. I went on Friday, March 28 and got there earlier than usual, after deciding not to go to work in the morning. I arrived and signed in around 10:30. Upon walking into the bourse I recognized my first fellow numismatist - Jim Halperin of Heritage was having a conversation with someone just inside the door. Not wanting to interrupt, I moved on to the Whitman tables where editor Jeff Garrett and publisher John Feigenbaum were signing copies of the latest Red Book.

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MINT DIRECTORS DIEHL AND MOY ON BITCOIN

Could the Trump administration be preparing to use the United States' gold bullion reserves to fund their proposed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?

Bo Hines, the Executive Director of the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets, suggested in a recent interview that revaluing government gold was one of the proposals on the table.

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FORT KNOX GOLD TO BE SOLD!

AP 3/28/25- President Trump today signed his latest Executive Order (EO-14250). Trump states that with the ever increasing price of gold, that this is a good time to sell all the gold in Fort Knox. Gold has reached an all-time high of $3101.24 today. This will recover more than a trillion dollars of value at current market rates. He stated that since he has been president gold has climbed a really huge, huge amount. The United States currently holds the largest supply of gold with 8,133.46 metric tons. Trump said he is planning on returning the amount recovered to the American people in the planned checks from DOGE. Musk has found that more than $26M dollars can be saved by the government each year by no longer protecting this useless asset.

As numismatists know, Fort Knox also stores the confiscated 1933 Saint Gaudens $20 gold coins and the Sacagawea gold dollars that were sent into space.

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THE MARY KAWENA PUKUI DOLLAR

Mary Kawena Pukui, who was born in Ka?u in 1895, spent her life working as a Native Hawaiian scholar and educator.

She also was a hula expert and wrote sourcebooks on Hawaiian cultural practices, concepts and beliefs traditionally passed through mo?olelo (orally transmitted stories). And, in 1995, she was even inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame as a composer.

Now, her legacy is being honored nationally. She was named by the U.S. Mint as its 2025 Native American $1 coin honoree.

Pelehonuamea Harman, Pukui's great-granddaughter and the director of Native Hawaiian engagement for the University of Hawai?i at Hilo, has been involved in the process since 2023 and was able to choose the final artwork with her family.

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ON AI-GENERATED COIN IMAGES

I have had fun creating high quality images that might end up in a coin book.

Working with MS Copilot is like hanging out with a brilliant friend who is also mentally unstable and over-confident in his abilities. All of the artwork has excellent, thoughtful details and elements yet can be totally off-base for the purpose being attempted by the person submitting instructions.

Oddly, I asked for a Muera Huerta Mexico revolution silver coin and got the real deal. Someone must have put one it Copilot's memory. But I could not find out how to upload material for some future graphics use.

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE: MARCH 30, 2025

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