WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: JULY 26, 2020

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V23 2020 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 30, July 26, 2020, Article 22

WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: JULY 26, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down most public gatherings, and it has been months since we've held a dinner of my Northern Virginia numismatic social group Nummis Nova. This week we held our first video meeting via Zoom thanks to the sponsorship and emceeing of member Aaron Packard. Attendees included Aaron and myself, Mike Packard (no relation), Joe Esposito, Julian Leidman, Tom Kays, and Bill Eckberg attending from his retirement haven of West Palm Beach, FL.

It was nice to "see" everyone again onscreen. The video and audio worked pretty well once we got past some initial hurdles. We've already made plans to hold another one next month.

The format was basically an online show and tell. While we were addressing some technical issues I gave an overview of the now-defunct ANA Edition of The E-Sylum and noted how former ANA readers were piling in to subscribe to the regular Sunday night issue. We added several new subscribers during the course of the evening.

Bill Eckberg
Bill was first up, discussing his recent research into die making at the early U.S. Mint. Some of his work was recently published in Penny-Wise and The Numismatist, with follow-up articles planned for the same publications. Bill, a retired scientist, used observation and technology to investigate how engravers reused their designs on differently sized coins to both save time and keep a similar look for multiple denominations. His tools include PhotoShop and special software for comparing two different images.

To read an earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE COINS TELL THEIR STORY BEST (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n19a24.html)

Joe Esposito
Joe was next, discussing a few items from his library including a Green's Checklist bought from the Armand Champa library sale, and a 1795 first edition of Virtuoso's Companion, an early book on British merchant tokens. Coincidently, I had just read a contemporary Gentleman's Magazine review of the later 1798 edition; I've been working to compile for the Newman Numismatic Portal a database of numismatic articles in non-numismatic publications.

Tom Kays
Tom had prepared a group of photos of members taken at our events over the years, but due to some technical difficulties it was decided to save this discussion for our next video conference.

Wayne Homren
I used my "show-and-tell" segment to discuss four items that are part of my recent consignment to Stack's Bowers Galleries. These will appear in their August sales. Not a headline-worthy consignment, it's an accumulation of disparate material acquired over many years. Time to make space in the safe deposit box and raise some cash for our kids' college fund. If you see something you like, please be sure to bid!

Lesher House Restoration Souvenir Dollar

"1900" (1985) Lesher House Restoration Souvenir. Silver. No. 105. Mint State.

35 mm. 31.2 grams. One thousand of these were issued by the American Numismatic Association to raise funds to restore the original Lesher House in Victor, Colorado.

My one and only Lesher Dollar. This was a commemorative souvenir issue given to those of us who contributed to an ANA fundraising campaign to restore the home of Joseph Lesher. Very nicely done, it's a great piece for collectors of Lesher dollars, so-called dollars in general, private and pioneer coinage or ANA medals. It's a low number to boot.

To read the complete lot description, see:
"1900" (1985) Lesher House Restoration Souvenir. Silver. No. 105. Mint State. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NM4TW/1900-1985-lesher-house-restoration-souvenir-silver-no-105-mint-state)

Stone &Ball Counterstamps on Liberty Seated Quarters

Stone and Ball counterstamps on Liberty Seated Quarters

New York--Syracuse. STONE & BALL / SYRACUSE / N. Y. on 1853 and 1855 Liberty Seated quarters. Brunk S-1023, Rulau NY-1027D.

Host coins are Good to VG, with PVC residue.

Provenance: From our (American Numismatic Rarities') Lake Michigan & Springdale Collections sale, June 2006, lot 899. Lot tag included.

Part of my consignment consists of some leftover lots from the 2006 American Numismatic Rarities sale of my Civil War and merchant counterstamp collections. Here's a nice pair of Stone & Ball stamps on Liberty Seated quarters.

To read the complete lot description, see:
New York--Syracuse. STONE & BALL / SYRACUSE / N. Y. on 1853 and 1855 Liberty Seated quarters. Brunk S-1023, Rulau NY-1027D. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NM4UQ/new-york-syracuse-stone-ball-syracuse-n-y-on-1853-and-1855-liberty-seated-quarters-brunk-s-1023-rulau-ny-1027d)

1859 Augustus B. Sage Store Card

1859 A.B. Sage & Co. Store Card. Musante GW-334, Baker-572A, Miller-NY 762A. Copper. Plain Edge. Thick Planchet. Mint State.

This one looks much nicer in person than the photos. Julian and others immediately asked if I'd tried conserving it to remove the residue from the old holder. I hadn't, and sure wish I had before sending this in. Great piece for numismatic biblophiles and students of U.S. numismatic history.

To read the complete lot description, see:
1859 A.B. Sage & Co. Store Card. Musante GW-334, Baker-572A, Miller-NY 762A. Copper. Plain Edge. Thick Planchet. Mint State. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NM4U8/1859-ab-sage-co-store-card-musante-gw-334-baker-572a-miller-ny-762a-copper-plain-edge-thick-planchet-mint-state)

Rare Cast Allegheny City Communion Token

2UP Church of Allegheny communion token 186A obverse

2UP Church of Allegheny communion token 186A reverse

Pennsylvania--Allegheny City. 2nd U. P. Church. Original Dies. Lead. Very Fine.

19 mm x 25 mm, oval. 8.5 grams. An earlier cast token, unlike the die struck examples in the previous two lots. Not listed in Bason. After review, Mrs. Bason assigned this variety number 186A.

For more information, see The Communion Tokens of the Second United Presbyterian Church of Allegheny, Pennsylvania by Wayne K. Homren and Lawrence C. Dziubek in TAMS Journal, June 1993, p82-85.
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/525517?page=12

World communion tokens are generally common, but U.S. communion tokens are quite rare. I was fortunate to come into possession of a small group of communion tokens from the 2nd United Presbyterian Church of Allegheny City. Allegheny City was a separate town at the time, but was later annexed to the City of Pittsburgh, known today as "the North Side", home to the sports stadiums of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates.

I culled through the group and kept the best. With the invaluable help of fellow Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society member Larry Dziubek we published an article about the tokens in the TAMS Journal. This particular token is quite interesting. While most of the known pieces are die struck, earlier examples were cast in lead. These rare cast varieties were not listed in the standard reference by Autence Bason. We corresponded with her and she assigned a new variety number for these pieces.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Pennsylvania--Allegheny City. 2nd U. P. Church. Original Dies. Lead. Very Fine. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NM4TT/pennsylvania-allegheny-city-2nd-u-p-church-original-dies-lead-very-fine)

Did I mention this is for the college fund? Be sure to bid if you have any interest in these lots. Thanks!

It was an enjoyable session. I'm looking forward to the next one almost as much as I'm looking forward to the day when we can resume our monthly dinners.

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

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