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NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: AUGUST 26, 2018Here's a selection of interesting or unusual items I came across in the marketplace this week. Tell us what you think of some of these. -Editor Rhodes Didrachm  Lot 091. Islands off Caria, Rhodos. Rhodes. AR didrachm. 304-275 B.C. Ex Hays; Ex CNG sale 69. Islands off Caria, Rhodos. Rhodes. AR didrachm (19 mm, 6.43 g, 1 h). 304-275 B.C. Helios radiate head right / Rose witg two buds flanking, csduceus to right, A to left. SNG Copenhagen 734; Ashton Colossus 12 (A6/P7; this coin); Ashton 166. .. Nice design, well struck and centered. From Agora Auctions sale #76, closing September 4, 2018. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see: 1802 Half Dime   The 1802 Draped Bust Half Dime is a true American rarity. From a low mintage of 3,060, various sources estimate between just 35 and 50 remain today. There are no known Mint State examples. Two AU55 coins listed in the PCGS census claim finest graded status. The VG example we offer here resides in an old green label holder and exhibits a moderate rose-gray patina that lightens considerably when rotated under light. This date is not surprisingly listed in the 4th Edition of the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. Indeed. One of the true keys to the U.S. coinage series, the date has been sought after by collectors for nearly 200 years. A respectable example that served the public in circulation. From Northeast Numismatics. -Editor To read the complete item description, see: Houck's Panacea Counterstamp on 1833 Half Dollar   A very popular counterstamp. Jacob Houck was a physician who owned a dry goods store in Baltimore. He developed an elixir which he had patented. He sold his Panacea for $1.50 per bottle which was quite a price back then! A very neat item for the Bust Half or Hard Times Token collector.
Great coin - the counterstamp is placed carefully in the field not affecting the obverse devices. The higher wear on the reverse opposite the counterstamp indicates circulation (because stamping the coin causes a slight bulge on the opposite side). This is evidence that the piece is genuine and saw actual use in daily commerce. Also from Northeast Numismatics. -Editor To read the complete item description, see: 1917 German East Africa 5 Rupie Emergency Note  WWI EMERGENCY ISSUE CRUDELY PRINTED LOCALLY DUE TO WARTIME NAVAL BLOCKADE VERY SCARCE CU I love emergency money of all forms - nearly always rare and historic. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see: Liberty Standing Half Dollars Album  Ranging from 1916 to 1947. Includes two partial albums, 1917-S, 1917-S obverse, and 1917-D. Average circulation. $43.00 face value. Before the name "Walking Liberty Half Dollars" came into vogue, these were sometimes referred to as "Liberty Standing Half Dollars". The album is more rare and interesting today than the coins. Subsequent lots in the Morphy Auctions sale include similar albums for "Benjamin Franklin Half Dollars" and "Liberty Head Dollars". I sent a draft of this item to researcher Dave Lange, and he submitted some great background information on these albums - see the next article in this issue. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see: St. Peters Port Free Milk Token  Description: St. Peters Port brass token for one free pint of milk. Tokens for beer are commonly seen but I don't think I've seen one for milk before. This is offered in a Boston, MA sale. Wondering where St. Peters Port was I did a web search and found one not in New England, but Guernsey in the English Channel Islands. The search also turned up a record on Richard Greever's TokenCatalog.com, which notes: "this token is a fantasy token- j. adams; ref website: http://www.guernsey.net/~sgibbs/numismatics/tokens.html" That web page no longer exists. But I also found a reference on Ken Barr's web site, where "St. Peters Port, Free Milk" is listed under "L. A. STAMP" OLD WEST FANTASY TOKENS from Stephen P. Alpert's Tokens and Medals: A Guide to the Identification and Values of United States Exonumia, First Edition, 1992. And finally, I located a listing on Paul and Bente Withers's Galata coins site which describes it as "a fantasy produced in the 1960s." -Editor To read the complete lot description, see: To read the complete lot description, see: To read the complete lot description, see: To read the Galata item description, see:  Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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