HENRY CHAPMAN SR. (1827-1907)

Henry Chapman Sr. (1827-1907), was born on June 17,1827, son of William Chapman () and his second wife Eliza Portens (), at Dublin, Ireland. He emigrated to America in 1848. He married Jane Hudson (1827-1891). They had two sons, Samuel Hudson Chapman (1857-1931), and Henry Chapman, Jr. (1859-1935).

The preeminent American numismatic and philatelic dealers in the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century were the Chapman family, which was the first American dynasty that spanning 80 years. The family became involved in the American numismatic market beginning with Henry Chapman, Sr., who originally had been in the tea market and made the switch into the specie and money exchange brokerage market about 1868.

The specie and money exchange brokerage market in America emerged in the beginning of the eighteenth century coetaneous with Queen Anne's Act. Specie and money exchange brokers always acted in the dual role of specie broker and coin dealers. Collectors looking for the best specimens always got them from these brokers paying a nominal premium. This is largely how coin dealers operated from about 1700 to 1840 when the economic market became more complex following the progressive developments brought about through the industrial revolution. These changes brought about changes in silver, gold and copper prices, which in turn brought about changes in American Federal coinages. As the types and designs changed more collectors emerged wanting to amass sets of the previous older type coins as well as the foreign coinages circulating in America most of them as current and all available through specie and money exchange brokers.

Henry Chapman, Sr., saw the lucrative possibilities in being a specie broker and coin dealer and wasted no time developing his business. We find a notice from a correspondent of Mason in his Mason's Coin and Stamp Collectors Magazine with the initials H. C., which very well might be Henry Chapman, Sr., in the December issue of 1868, on page 100. The notice reads ; "H.C. wants 1856 nickel cent, in exchange for cent of 1793 fair condition." If this is our Henry Chapman, Sr., he already knew the rarity of the 1856 Flying Eagle Cent and that it would be fair to trade in exchange for a 1793 Cent in fair condition. The trade is certainly fair in December 1868.

Robert Chapman Patent; Chapman Brothers Coin Cabinet

The next known mention is of the Chapman brothers, i.e., Samuel Hudson Chapman and his younger brother Henry Chapman, Jr., in the numismatic industry is the filing of their patent on April 23, 1872 for a coin cabinet. The inventor appears to have been one of Henry Chapman, Sr.'s, half brothers from his father William's first marriage to Deborah Penrose, the fourth of six sons, Robert Chapman (1807-). Robert designed it as a Printer's Case-Stand for holding type in drawers, which also had a tilt out compartment for keeping matrices.

This cabinet was easily modified into a coin cabinet by Henry Chapman, Sr., who was a bit of an inventor himself and held a patent on a water extractor and as we shall see for a malt processor for drying brewer's grain. Henry Sr., apparently used this coin cabinet to sort and store his inventory as a specie broker and coin dealer. Since he saw his sons interest in the business the modified cabinet he designed was given to them for the patent to keep them in the business.

The Chapman Brothers published their first coin catalog on September 12, 1878. This catalog contained 12 pages and a cardboard stock cover that had an illustration of their patented coin cabinet on the back cover.

To read the complete article, see:
CHAPMAN, HENRY (https://sites.google.com/a/numismaticmall.com/www/numismaticmall-com/chapman-dealership)

The entire inventory of the Lupia Numismatic Library is for sale. Since neither the Chapman Family Correspondence Archive as a whole nor that of Hiram Edmond Deats could find an institutional or private buyer they shall, unfortunately, be broken up into parcels and sold from the NumismaticMall.com.

Every item in the Deats and Chapman Archives will be sold to anyone bidding a fair market price. Individual items will be available before the remaining archives are broken up into parcels sold at philatelic auctions in the U. S. and Hong Kong.

Check NumismaticMall.com frequently as dozens of new items with estimates will be posted daily beginning August 21, 2017 until everything is sold lock stock and barrel. Many treasures and surprises will be found, so keep looking.

All inquiries will be given prompt and courteous attention. Write to: john@numismaticmall.com.

2017-09-17 UPDATE: John Lupia reports that

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web