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NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: SEPTEMBER 9, 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 1588 Silver 2 Reales   Spain 1588 Silver 2 Reales ex Gilt Dragon Shipwreck Fine Just 17 of these are in private hands from this wreck. The Gilt Dragon was a “jacht” of the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) that wrecked off the coast of Western Australia in 1656. Not only was this just the 25th European vessel recorded to have reached the shores of the Australian continent, it was only the second to land with a known quantity of silver coins on board. The Gilt Dragon stands apart from all other wrecks in Australia as being the “first modern discovery of an outward-bound seventeenth century Dutch East Indiaman.” Found on the site of Andrew Crellin's Sterling & Currency. Great shipwreck coin. Crude pieces, but loaded with history. See the article elsewhere in this issue on coins of the Gilt Dragon. -Editor To read the complete item description, see: 1866 French Abraham Lincoln Mourning Medal   1866 French Abraham Lincoln Mourning Medal in Bronze Rare and Impressive Round Bronze medal, circa 1866. 3.25" in circumference. Featuring a relief of Lincoln in portrait to the front. Created by Franky Magniadas. Lovely deep dark chocolate patina. Round, bronze medallion features a profile of Lincoln in relief on the front. He wears a beard and faces the viewer's left. "Dedie par la democratie francaise a Lincoln president deux fois elu des etats-unis" is embossed around the portrait; the English translation reads, "Dedicated by the French Democracy. Twice elected President of the United States." The reverse features an image in relief depicting an altar with the following words translated to English: "Lincoln, honest man, abolished slavery, reestablished the Union and saved the Republic, without veiling the Statue of Liberty. He was assassinated the 14th of April, 1865." Below the altar are the following words translated to English: "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity." On one side, a winged woman or Victory rests upon a sword and drapes a wreath over the altar; on the other side, two emancipated slaves, a young boy and a man, offer a palm branch and point to an eagle. A ship and train are depicted in the background. This bronze medal was struck from the original dies used to make the gold medal presented to Mary Todd Lincoln in 1866. Robert Todd Lincoln later presented her medal to the Library of Congress. Great medal! -Editor To read the complete item description, see: 1891 Proof Double Eagle  The Philadelphia Mint produced only 52 Proof double eagles in 1891 using a single pair of dies that have recently become known as JD-1 (United States Proof Coins, Volume IV: Gold, by John W. Dannreuther, 2018). As with all Proof Liberty Head double eagles, the 1891 is a major numismatic rarity at all levels of preservation. Dannreuther estimates that only 18 to 22 coins are extant, a bit higher number than those of contemporary Proof double eagle issues with similar mintages. The reason for this, in Dannreuther's words: "The 1,390 mintage of the circulation strikes [from the Philadelphia Mint that year] makes date pressure the primary reason that more 1891 Proofs have survived than for 1890 that had an almost identical production. This is a common theme for all United States issues with low circulation strike outputs. Collectors would not spend a Proof issue if they knew that other collectors would pay a premium for their coins or they could not easily replace their Proof with a commercial strike." Great coin. This is the first citation I noticed to John Dannreuther's great new book on proof gold. -Editor To read the complete article, see:
An important and scarce sale from the inventory of Kolbe & Fanning via AbeBooks. From the -Editor To read the complete 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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