ROBERT BASHLOW, PART FOUR

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V25 2022 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 25, Number 21, May 22, 2022, Article 12

American Numismatic Biographies author Pete Smith submitted the fourth and final article of his series on Robert Bashlow, known in numismatics for, among other things, creating satirical medals and restrikes of the Confederate cent. Thanks! -Editor

On July 12, 1979, fire broke out at the five-star Corona de Aragon Hotel in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. The three hundred guests included the widow of General Franco and high-ranking military officers. That is well-documented fact. Many details remain uncertain and controversial.

An official government source stated that the fire started accidentally with an explosion in twenty litres of cooking oil in a pastry machine in the cafe. Two opposition groups claimed responsibility and terrorism was also suspected.

The official death toll was more than eighty but there was speculation that some who died later were not counted. Most of the victims were Spanish citizens. The one American victim was Robert Bashlow of New York.

In one of his columns in The Numismatist, Bowers included a letter from Hans M. F. Shulman.

"I read your article about poor Bashlow. He was a friend of mine, and we did a lot of business together. He came to Spain after his trip to Portugal. I was in Spain at the time and found out additional tragic information about his death. Bob went to Zaragoza to the Hotel Corona de Aragon (Crown of Aragon) where he was to meet two dealers from Barcelona whose names I never managed to get. They planned a very early meeting at the hotel, around 7 a.m.

"Bashlow was tired because of his traveling to so many places. The two Catalonians arrived in Zaragoza early, and they woke up Bashlow on the hotel telephone. At 7:30, smoke was coming out of the hotel on both the left and right sides and also from the main entrance. One of the Catalonians ran up the staircase through heavy black smoke to get Bashlow out of his room. When he and Bashlow did not come out, the second Catalonian went into the burning building. None ever came back."

There has been misinformation published after the death of Bashlow. There was speculation that Bashlow faked his death to escape debt or to distance himself from scandal. This is highly unlikely considering the public scrutiny that followed the hotel fire.

In his memories of Bashlow, Q. David Bowers reported that Bashlow died in Portugal. That was incorrect.

Russell Rulau wrote in Numismatic News for February 16, 1999, he died in a mysterious hotel fire is Spain in which he was the only fatality. This was also incorrect.

In attempting to write the stories of Bashlow, there were questions I could not answer.

The Newman Numismatic Portal has hundreds of citations for Bashlow and his activities of 1961 to 1963. Most relate to the second restrike Confederate cent. There is almost nothing for activities after 1965 and I could not find a published obituary. [Numismatic News published his obituary on July 28, 1979.]

Most numismatic writing is for readers who are interested in the luster of the hobby. Few want to read about the flaws that may be lurking beneath the surface. An informed numismatist will want to know about those flaws.

Many of us can tell tales of a mentor in numismatics. In this article I mentioned Doctor William H. Sheldon who was a mentor to Walter Breen who in turn was a mentor to Robert Bashlow and Lynn Glaser. These were two older men who made great contributions to the hobby and two young men with potential to do the same.

In each case there were flaws in their character that appeared after their luster had tarnished. If there was a balance sheet showing plusses (assets) and minuses (liabilities), which side would have the larger balance? I never met Robert Bashlow. I would be interested to hear from E-Sylum readers who can tell more about him.

As time marches on, there are fewer and fewer old timers around who can tell us more about the other old timers. I knew Walter Breen a bit, spoke with Lynn Glaser by phone once, but never crossed paths with Bashlow. Can anyone help? -Editor