The E-Sylum v27n01 January 7, 2024

The E-Sylum esylum at binhost.com
Sun Jan 7 19:38:07 PST 2024 

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The E-Sylum
  
  An electronic publication of
  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society


Volume 27, Number 01, January 7, 2024
** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JANUARY 7, 2024 <#a01>
** KOLBE & FANNING BUY OR BID SALE NUMBER 23 <#a02>
** NEW BOOK: SPECIAL SERIAL NUMBERED BANKNOTES <#a03>
** NEW BOOK: MONEY BOXES  <#a04>
** ANS PUBLICATION CATALOG PUBLISHED <#a05>
** HAPPY NEW YEAR NUMISMATIC TOKENS <#a06>
** VIDEO: LARRY WILSON INTERVIEW <#a07>
** MORE ON JOHN BURNHAM <#a08>
** UNSOLVED NUMISMATIC PUZZLES FROM DUBLIN <#a09>
** NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 7, 2024 <#a10>
** BLIND COIN COLLECTOR UPDATE <#a11>
** THE VERMONT POUND THEORY <#a12>
** DEAL RESCUES STANLEY GIBBONS AND BALDWIN’S <#a13>
** VOCABULARY TERM: OXIDATION <#a14>
** UPDATE: KKK TOKENS AUTHOR DALE BIRDSELL <#a15>
** TOM CALDWELL INTERVIEW, PART TWO <#a16>
** TIBET MUSEUM’S NUMISMATIC EXHIBIT <#a17>
** KüNKER SALE 400 HIGHLIGHTS <#a18>
** NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: JANUARY 7, 2024 <#a19>
** THE COIN THAT SHOULDN’T EXIST <#a20>
** LINCOLN CENT MULED WITH A ROOSEVELT DIME <#a21>
** AUSTRALIA MINTS WORLD'S 1ST COIN IN 2024 <#a22>
** HARRIET TUBMAN COMMEMORATIVE COINS <#a23>
** TAMPA'S BREADCOIN TOKENS <#a24>
** THE INIMITABLE NOTE COMPETITION <#a25>
** THE JAMES W. FERRY TRAVEL NOTE <#a26>
** CRAFTY COUNTERFEIT DISPLAY, PART ONE <#a27>
** LOOSE CHANGE: JANUARY 7, 2024 <#a28>
** FEATURED WEBSITE: COIN OF NOTE <#a29>






  

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Content presented in The E-Sylum  is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.





WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JANUARY 7, 2024





New subscribers this week include: 
Jackie Wesche-Thobaben and Ryan Spak
of the Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society, courtesy Ed Krivoniak; 
Emma Hulme of Sovereign Rarities Ltd, courtesy Steve Hill; 
Welcome aboard!  We now have 7,646 subscribers.



Thank you for reading The E-Sylum. If you enjoy it, please send me the email addresses of friends you think may enjoy it as well and I'll send them a subscription. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. 



This week we open with a numismatic literature sale, two new books, 
updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, notes from readers, and more.



Other topics this week include unsolved numismatic puzzles, the "Vermont Pound", Baldwin's, Dale Birdsell, Tom Caldwell, the first coin minted in 2024, the Tubman commemoratives, Breadcoins, and the 
Inimitable Note competition.



To learn more about special serial numbers, coin banks, Toltec scraper money, the South Carolina SPCA medal, gradeflation, the 1819 George Cruikshank Bank Restriction note, the 1820 George III Pattern 5 pounds, the Society of Music Friends medal,
and the coins that shouldn't exist, read on. Have a great week, everyone!



Wayne Homren 
Editor, The E-Sylum




 

Image of the week


 
   

 


 













KOLBE & FANNING BUY OR BID SALE NUMBER 23



Numismatic Booksellers Kolbe & Fanning submitted this announcement of their 23rd "Buy or Bid Sale" which closes on January 16, 2024. Good luck, everyone!
-Editor






Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers have announced our latest “Buy or Bid Sale,” which begins now and will close on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. With hundreds of new additions, the sale focuses on modestly priced books, giving collectors an opportunity to add to their libraries at minimal cost.



The sale includes over 1200 works on ancient, medieval and modern coins, as well as general works, periodicals and sale catalogues. “Buy” prices have been kept low to promote sales. To further encourage participation, the firm is offering free domestic shipping to bidders spending at least $300; there is also no packing and processing fee for this sale. Again, please read the Terms of Sale before participating.



As the name of the sale suggests, customers may bid on items they wish to acquire or buy them outright at the published price. The Terms of Sale will give full instructions on how to participate: please read it carefully.






There is no printed catalogue. The PDF catalogue is available now for downloading from the Kolbe & Fanning website at 

numislit.com. Please send all bids to 

orders at numislit.com or use the bid sheet included at the end of the PDF catalogue.



To read the complete catalog, see: 


https://numislit.cdn.bibliopolis.com/images/upload/kolbefanningbob23.pdf?auto=webp


 





THE BOOK BAZARRE

 KENNETH W. RENDELL  
has traveled the world tracking down, buying, and selling the most significant,
iconic historical letters and documents from the ancient world through the Renaissance to today. Read
about his early start as a rare-coin dealer in the 1950s—and much more—in his thrilling new memoir,
Safeguarding History. Order your copy online (including
at 
Whitman.com
), or call 1-800-546-2995.









NEW BOOK: SPECIAL SERIAL NUMBERED BANKNOTES



With permission we're republishing this article from the January 2024 issue of The Mint Master from the Utah Numismatic Society by Editor/Publisher Doug Nyholm, about a new book on a specialized paper money topic by Mike Abramson. Thanks!
-Editor






This new book by Mike Abramson just arrived a
few days before Christmas to my mailbox. It may
not be for everyone but for me it is a significant
work on a subject that has never been written about
before except for in auction catalogues where these
notes have appeared.



Mike stated that all of the notes illustrated in this
book are ones that he has owned, handled, brokered, or sold except for just 5 of them. The combined value of these notes exceeds $40 million dollars.



So what is a serial number? Plenty! If you are
lucky enough to acquire one which is almost impossible, even looking for a low s/n amongst all
the notes that pass through your hands is extremely
unlikely. I look through all the notes in my wallet
and from circulation have never found one with
more than 4 leading zeros. Or to be exact one with
a serial number around 2000. Other notes that may
occasionally be found are radars or repeaters such
as 23455234 or 45604560 but even these are rare.



Once while on a buying trip a customer came in
with a $10 S/n 77777777 which his wife received
from their bank. I was amazed and immediately
purchased it. Generally these notes are acquired by people who work at facilities that handle vast sums of
banknotes and keep their eyes open but the exact nature of their operations are a subject for an extensive
article.






This book illustrates not only serial numbers of both older large size notes but current small size notes. It
shows collections of special groups, repeaters, ladders and just about everything that a serial number can offer. Also tables and statistics are included. There are also images of changeover pairs and 9 digit serial numbers.



It is truly a fascinating book with high quality images, statistics and information not available elsewhere. It
consists of 270 pages in 8 1/2 x 11 format, full color, and 500+ pictures on quality gloss paper. It is available
for $59.95 postpaid directly from the author as follows:



Mike Abramson, 3719 N. Ridge Rd., Duluth MN 55804-1480



Or by contacting him at 

macurrency at aol.com 218-310-0090



This is a great addition to my library and I haven’t been able to stop drooling over the pictures.




I must admit I don't check serial numbers very often, so it's no wonder I'd never found a really good one.  And I had a chance this week after the New Year's Eve party at our house where I won a friendly dice game played with one dollar bills.  I won one of the final pots, walking away with 45 bucks.  I spent them in small batches throughout the week, each time explaining, "I'm a Chippendale dancer..."
-Editor


 
                      














 








NEW BOOK: MONEY BOXES 



>From Budapest
Dave Hirt writes:




"My numismatic friend Balazs 
gave me three new books for Christmas. I want to report on one of them. The text is in two languages, Hungarian and English. The English title is Coin Boxes  (small saving banks). The Hungarian title is PERSELYEK.
It is written by Andras Szlanka, the curator of the OTP Bank' s History of Finance Collection.



"The book has over 300 pages, each one having an illustration of a bank. I  had not given any thought to the connection of these banks to coin collecting. I believe that many numismatists, including myself, got their start saving coins, when getting a present of a small bank, perhaps with a few coins to start their savings...



"There are amazing and artistic differences, starting with silver banks from the 19th century, brass, copper, medal, ceramic, cardboard, paper, etc.  There is a whole section on piggy banks. The illustrations are quite interesting."









Thank you. With Dave's help I was able to find a page for the book online.
Here's a lightly edited Google translation.
-Editor




MONEY BOXES - A SELECTION FROM THE HISTORY OF FINANCE COLLECTION OF OTP BANK





AUTHOR

András Szlanka



EDITORS

András Szlanka

László Lekes



PROOFREADER

Dr. Lajos Pallos



PHOTOGRAPHERS

László Lekes

András Oravecz



Publisher:	Green Print-GPR Kft.
	
Release year:	2011

Binding type:	Laced hard paper binding

Pages:	335 pages
	
Language:	Hungarian 
 
Size:	20 cm x 29 cm

ISBN:	978-963-214-649-2

Comment:	Richly illustrated with color photos.


 






For more information, or to order, see:


MONEY BOXES - VÁLOGATÁS AZ OTP BANK PÉNZÜGYTÖRTÉNETI GYŰJTEMÉNY ANYAGÁBÓL/A SELECTION FROM THE HISTORY OF FINANCE COLLECTION OF OTP BANK

(https://www.antikvarium.hu/konyv/szlanka-andras-perselyek-1090671-0)

 





 







ANS PUBLICATION CATALOG PUBLISHED



In an email to members this week, the American Numismatic Society announced a new distribution partnership for its publications.
-Editor



 




The American Numismatic Society proudly partners with ISD for the distribution of our publications to customers in the United States. ISD has just released a special catalogue of new, recent, and backlist numismatic titles that they distribute, highlighting those from the ANS and from other publishers of numismatic literature.



Don't forget—ANS members in the US receive a 30% discount on ANS publications from ISD using [a membership] code





 






To access the complete catalog, see: 


https://www.isdistribution.com/CatalogLeafletRender.aspx?lId=223


 









 



HAPPY NEW YEAR NUMISMATIC TOKENS



Newman Numismatic Portal Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided this report. Happy New Year!
-Editor






HAPPY NEW YEAR NUMISMATIC TOKENS



One of the most frequently accessed references on Newman Portal is Pete Smith’s Personal Tokens and Medals of American Numismatists, published in 2020. The popularity of certain documents on the Internet is sometimes somewhat of a mystery, but we’ve noticed that works that refer to many individual persons tend to run “hot.” This volume has been accessed 8,386 times, indicating daily use by multiple people.



HAPPY NEW YEAR is a common theme on numismatic tokens. Indeed, of the approximately 8,000 tokens, medals and woods cataloged in Pete Smith’s work, nearly 600 feature the inscription HAPPY NEW YEAR. Issuing dealers include Dottie Dow, Doug Fairbanks, Al & Sally Kirka, and a host of others.





 






Image from The Token Catalog: 


San Jose, California (Santa Clara County), U.S.A. TokenCatalog #140194

(https://tokencatalog.com/)



Link to Pete Smith books on Newman Portal: 


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/booksbyauthor/1811


 













VIDEO: LARRY WILSON INTERVIEW



The David Lisot Video Library on the Newman Numismatic Portal can be found at:


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852




We highlight one of his videos each week in The E-Sylum.
Here's one from 1985 with Colorado collector Larry Wilson.
-Editor



 






Collector Larry Wilson talks Toltec scraper money, Aztec copper hoe money, Indian Peace Medals, guitars and more!




The segment begins around the 11:25 mark, following an odd musical cartoon public service commercial from the U.S.D.A and H.H.S. about salt and sodium. 
-Editor







To watch the complete video, see: 


Collector Talk: Larry Wilson

(https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/584159)







 







MORE ON JOHN BURNHAM



Numismatic bookseller and NBS co-founder George Kolbe submitted these notes on the late John Burnham. Thank you.
-Editor




 

Memories of John Burnham







As previously attested in the E-Sylum, John Burnham loved books, and that extended to the numismatic variety. We likely met at a New York coin convention in the early 1980s. I often stayed at the Salisbury Hotel, adjacent to Stack’s retail store on 57th Street. Its glory a bit faded, the Salisbury nonetheless had a certain charm, considerably enhanced by reasonable room rates.



John and I hit it off almost immediately – despite our different backgrounds, we were simpático. A consultant to Stack’s Coin Galleries, John regularly spent a night or two each week at the Salisbury. Early on, I remember securing a bottle of Johnny Walker Red and enjoying an evening with John at the Salisbury, bravely solving the world’s political and cultural problems. Other memories abound.



In the mid 90s, I travelled to Orlando, Florida to acquire the numismatic library on ancient coins formed by Frederick Knobloch. John was there for the coins. The trip from the airport in the car of a female family member was a little unusual. A handgun graced the center console, which, she assured me, was locked and loaded, and always accompanied her. At the house, a shotgun resided behind the entry door. After successfully conducting our business deals, John and I spent another delightful evening, albeit this time in a dismal motel room, permeated with an inescapable eau de mildew. 






One year, John invited me to visit him at Yale, where he was the curator of the university’s numismatic collection. Down the hall from his office was a room housing a portion of Yale’s numismatic library. On one wall was a uniformly bound set of The Numismatist, including original issues of the first six volumes. Yale’s holding of this numismatic rara avis was little known at the time and I was duly impressed. There were other delicacies, including rare works on orders and decorations, and a tall stack of early twentieth century U.S. coin catalogues with photographic plates. Later, we dined on campus. It was a wonderful day.



In 2007, I spent several days in New York  City, partly devoted to packing a wonderful library of rare and classic works on military orders and decorations. Many were in large format, featuring magnificent chromo-lithographic illustrations and deluxe bindings. Located in a desirable high rise near Tavern on the Green, the flat had long been occupied by a recently deceased colleague of John’s. I packed some fifty large cartons of books which were to be sent to me for sale forthwith. To John’s chagrin, and mine as well, legal difficulties arose, and the library apparently remains unpacked to this day. Through John’s good offices, and that of the executor of the estate, I was compensated for my expenses and time.



In more recent years, John and I occasionally conversed via telephone. We sometimes conspired to meet at a convention or an auction, Alas, these plans never materialized. I am the poorer for it.



To read the complete article, see: 


OHN P. BURNHAM (1940-2023)

(https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n53a04.html)

 





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