Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 15, April 9, 2000: an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. SUBSCRIBER UPDATES We have two new subscribers this week: Harold Eiserloh of San Antonio, Texas, courtesy of NBS Board member Bill Murray, and longtime dealer Julian M. Leidman. Welcome aboard! This brings our subscriber count to 296. TOM SHEEHAN APPOINTED NBS VICE-PRESIDENT NBS Board member Tom Sheehan of Edmonds, WA has agreed to step up as Vice President of our Society, filling the vacancy left by the resignation of David Sklow. A longtime numismatist and bibliophile, Tom has many years of experience as a collector and researcher. While he jokes that he acceded "in a drunken moment," we're sure he'll serve with distinction. Three cheers for Tom! (or should we say, "bottoms up!"? ) CONDER SPECULATIONS Myron Xenos of The Money Tree writes: "In response to Allan Davisson's curiosity about the usage of the term "Conder Token", I would opt for the most obvious. James Conder was obviously an obsessive-compulsive about the trade tokens, so I have visions of him running all over England and Ireland looking for new varieties, much like we do today with large cents, bust halves, V.A.M..dollars,etc. By the time he wrote his book in 1798 on the trade tokens of Britain and Ireland, I imagine his peers all over England were referring to these tokens as "Conders", maybe in honor or maybe tongue-in-cheek. An issue of the Coin Collector's Journal back in the 1930's referred to them as Conder tokens, and at least two of my peers have used that reference in their catalogs. To conclude, I am sure that if James Conder were alive today, he would be at the A.N.A. conventions on PNG day just to be sure he could cherrypick every scarce "conder" on the floor." By the way, there is a nice article on Conder tokens by subscriber Michael E. Marotta in the April 17th issue of COIN World (p86). SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: HAROLD EISERLOH New subscriber Harold Eiserloh writes: "I am the editor of the Alamo Coin Club's monthly newsletter "Alamo Coin Clips" and I frequently refer to some of the 150+/- numismatic books in my personal library for information for the newsletter. I have been a member of ANA, Texas Numismatic Association and Numismatics International for over 10 years. Collecting Interests: U.S. coins by type and some currency; minor coins of the German States, Kriegsgeld and notgeld; WWII coins and currency; world coins; lower priced coins of the Crusades era; some lower priced ancient coins; medals and tokens, and numismatic literature covering these fields. I enjoyed reading your March 12th issue and certainly appreciate the No Cost feature of E-Sylum! I like the potential for exchange of information, even though most of it will probably be over my head. I would like to to be added to the list to receive your E-Sylum, on the basis that I would have permission to quote excerpts occasionally in my newsletter, with full credit given to the source. I plan to present information about The Numismatic Bibliomania Society at our next club meeting." Permission granted - NBS is happy to allow E-Sylum material to be reprinted by other nonprofit organizations if full credit is given. Don't forget to include our web address. Welcome aboard! LEFT VS RIGHT On the subject of Presidential portraits on U.S. coins, NBS Vice President Tom Sheehan correctly notes: "You mention in the E-Sylum that Lincoln was the first president to show up on a U. S. coin. You need to correct that to a "regular issue" U.S. Coin. Don't we show Washington on the Lafayette Dollar of 1900?" Former NBS Board member Pete Smith writes: "I have a little information to expand your explanation of the direction Lincoln is facing on the one-cent coin. Sculptor Victor D. Brenner prepared a plaque with the image of Lincoln facing right. President Theodore Roosevelt met Brenner, was impressed with Brenner's portrayal of Lincoln, and used his influence to get Brenner the commission to design the Lincoln cent. If this was an Academy Award nomination, it would be for best coin design based on an earlier work in another medium. We may never know why Brenner chose to have Lincoln facing right on his plaque, but the coin faces right as an adaptation of the earlier design. As I recall, Laura Gardin Fraser's design for the Washington Quarter has the president facing right while Flanagan had a left-facing president that looks more like Washington on the "Washington Before Boston" medal that was based on the bust by Houdin. A recent article in The Numismatist comments also on the Franklin Half as an adaptation from a Houdin bust. The Lincoln Cent is not the only coin design influenced by earlier designs." David Lange adds some more details: "The answer to why Lincoln faces right on the cent is quite simple. V. D. Brenner's bust is a very close copy of Anthony Berger's 1864 profile photograph of Lincoln. This photo was rediscovered in 1906 and provided the inspiration for Brenner's bas relief plaque of 1907. This was then adapted in tondo for both the cent and a series of medals that provided the artist with a good income for some years." If Ken Lowe were here, he'd be making some crack about The Lone Ranger, but yours truly was moved to consult a dictionary. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary (http://www.m-w.com/) lists this definition for tondo: "Etymology: Italian, from tondo round, short for rotondo, from Latin rotundus Date: 1890 1 : a circular painting 2 : a sculptured medallion " Michael Schmidt also noted the medallic source for the right- facing Lincoln portrait. He went on to note that "on the Kennedy Half the mint was very rushed to create the design. In order to speed things up the portrait was taken from his inaugural medal on which he faced left. This could be done from the existing hub without having to re-sculpt the bust." Dick Johnson discusses another dimension of portrait direction: "There are some unwritten laws about the direction of a portrait on a coin or medal and the symbology this implies. A portrait of a person facing left is looking to past accomplishments. A portrait shown facing right is looking to the future. I haven't checked this but I bet all portrait medals for the American Historical Association face left, and the Futurists of America all face right. Also in a group picture -- or the layout in an exhibit -- those on the left should face right and those on the right should face left. The attempt is to draw the viewer's attention inward to the other items. You unconsciously look where the person(s) portrayed look (you follow the direction of their eyes, like if one person looks skyward, others will, too). Finally, if you want the reader (or viewer) to turn the page place a portrait facing right in the lower right corner." Like my Mom always says, "You learn something new every day." E-Sylum subscribers are a living numismatic encyclopedia. Thanks to everyone for your interesting responses. ATOMS VS BITS Regarding electronic catalogues, Don Tjossem writes: "I would compare the electronic media to books as I would books to stone. People used to write on stone, then there came books and now there is the electronic media , which can be preserved on hardrives and disks. I'll bet in a few years (20-30) books may be as scarce as hen's teeth. Why even in my college library I see them removing the "stacks" of books and replacing them with computers for research. What do you think??" THOUGHTS ON BUYING BOOKS ON THE NET Mike Jones of Honolulu writes: "On any collectible, I guess one has to take good with the bad, and book buying is no different. I am not talking about just coin books but all books in general. With ever-increasing "net" buying with thousands of booksellers on the market, one has to develop an "eye" and good "hunch" to properly succeed in making a transaction that can be termed "good" or "great". This may seem quite easy and comfortable, as one can shop sitting on an easy chair, but sometimes it is not the case. Books described as "VG" turn out to be near "mint" from some and just pure "junk" from others. Quite often defects such as torn pages, scotch-taped torn pages, loose pages, taped bindings, library copies, pen markings, shot spine, etc., etc. are not mentioned as part of "condition". It is best to ask the sellers, before buying, about the so-called "hidden defects". Some titles are so scarce that they are worth having even with some defects, but would you not like to know about them before sending payment? This way you can take all the pros and cons of a certain title and decide for yourself if it is worth what you are considering paying for it. What is this "bookrate" stuff anyways? Some charge you an arm and a leg and ship "bookrate"! One seller wanted $5 for a little pamphlet type title weighing perhaps five ounces and that was for bookrate! After asking "what gives" and hearing a poor excuse I did not order. Others charge you plenty for "packing"! I can order for free most any packing materials from USPS including wrapping tape and can find cardboard to secure packing for nothing. Why should I pay extra for something that I am entitled to for free? If I buy a shirt somewhere, it will come in a plastic bag for free. If I go buy bananas, they too, put the bananas in a bag for free. Nobody ever asked me for "packing" fees!!! If book dealers charge you for packing and priority mail charges and send you "bookrate" he/she can make a living out of it! If I sounded sour it was meant to be. Book dealers may have a few words of their own about packing charges and all, but they just don't hold up! Some dealers will charge only actual postage and those dealers are the ones that describe the condition of a book correctly, at least from my experience. I will be happy to pay the correct shipping charges and will be very happy to pay for correctly described items, but I will NOT make them rich for overcharging on postage, packing, and etc.. Yes sir, yes madam...buying books is a whole lot of fun but sometimes we all gotta take good with the bad! The less bad we take the better. Am I just talking to myself or are there others who feel the same way? Feedbacks please!" BOOK REVIEW: U.S. COIN SCALES NBS Board Member Bill Murray submits the following review, noting, "I encountered this for my annual book review article for COINage's YEARBOOK. Certainly an esoteric volume, I think many of your E-Sylum readers, erudite numismatists that many of them are, would be interested: "Certainly all would expect a book by Eric Newman and the late George Mallis to be meticulously researched and that describes "U. S. Coin Scales and Counterfeit Detectors". Starting with a history of scales beginning in the second millennium before Christ, the book then examines all scales and counterfeit coin detectors for which U. S. patents were issued, and many without patents. The tribulations of one inventor, John Allender, and his attempts, finally successful, to get a patent for his counterfeit detector is a story reading like fiction. While not yet a collectible, I expect this book to be much sought after in years to come. Inquire of Eric P. Newman, EPNNES, 5450 Cecil Ave. St. Louis, MO 63105. $39.50 including shipping." FEATURED WEB SITE This week's featured web site is a marvelous look at detecting counterfeit currency, recommended by Fred Reed. http://pages.prodigy.net/feast2020/count/ Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ There is a membership application available on the web site. To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. For those without web access, contact Dave Hirt, NBS Secretary-Treasurer, 5911 Quinn Orchard Road, Frederick, MD 21704 (To be removed from this mailing list write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)
