Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 8, Number 25, June 19, 2005:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


SUBSCRIBER UPDATE

Among our recent subscribers is Dr. Jim Harris. Welcome
aboard! We now have 761 subscribers. Happy Father's
Day, Dads. Only in The E-Sylum will you see the following
terms all in one place: spondulix, sesquipedalian, oologists,
nose oil and numusmatics.


ONLINE ANA LIBRARY CATALOG UPDATE

John F. McCullagh writes: "I read in the latest edition of
The E-Sylum that the ANA is putting their library online.
Will this serve to devalue our private collections? After all,
demand for a particular volume might be adversely affected
by its availability on line. We primarily rely on these books
for reference after all. It is not because they are, for the
most part, gripping reads.

I guess if access is password protected that the books will
not be totally obsolete as ANA membership is still a tiny
minority among the total universe of collectors. It should be
interesting to see how the sale of some of the choice volumes
may be affected."

[What the ANA is planning is simply putting a new, more
searchable CATALOG of the library on the web. This is only
an inventory of the library materials, not searchable scans of the
materials themselves. This was not clear to me either from
reading the company's press release, but it seems bibliophiles
have little to fear (and much to gain) from the move. -Editor]

Nancy W. Green, Librarian of the American Numismatic
Association writes:

"The latest on the new library catalog is that it is not linked to
ANA's website yet but that should happen by next Friday.
You will be able to search for books by author, title and subject
and you will be able to link search terms, i.e. books by Bowers
on gold coins. When you find the book you want, there will be
a number of copies available so if our only copy is checked out,
that will be clear.

We expect to have the periodical holdings list available in the
next week also and then we will investigate loading the auction
catalogs. A member from Michigan is currently volunteering his
time to come to Colorado Springs and physically inventory our
holdings. He is using Martin Gengerke's format and has completed
the list through "K". We are also in the process of becoming part
of the OCLC library system which means when libraries around
the country search for a numismatic title and we own it, our name
will come up as a source for an Inter Library Loan. Jane and I
are so excited about all the potential benefits to us and the members,
we will be giving a Numismatic Theater presentation at the annual
convention in San Francisco at 3PM on Friday July 29 about
the new system and using the web for research."

I asked, "Does making the library open to interlibrary
loan thru OCLC dilute the advantages of ANA membership?
Nancy Green responds: "We have always done interlibrary
loan both as a borrower and a lender of materials. ANA
members have the advantage of the librarians' (Jane and
myself) literary expertise. Members can ask us their question
and we will send the best reference rather than just blindly
ordering titles."


1884 H.P. SMITH SALE QUESTION

David F. Fanning writes: "Can anyone tell me if either of
the plates in the January 18-19, 1884 H.P. Smith sale are
of Franco-American jetons? Thanks."


NEW JEFFERSON NICKEL IN HIDING?

Regarding the new Jefferson nickel obverse design, last week
I asked, "So if scads and scads of the new coins have been
minted, just where are they going? They've been out for months
now and I've only rarely seen one in circulation. Are others
having trouble finding them in circulation as well?"

Tom DeLorey writes: "So many of these have been offered in
case lots on the dealers' networks that I am surprised you have
seen any in circulation at all. I hope that we do not see the Mint
and/or the Federal Reserve going ballistic and attacking the roll
and bag market like they did in 1964. Can't we all just get along?"

Ken Schultz writes: "Good question to ask about the new nickels.
I have yet to see one in person, but, my searching is limited to
normal commerce. My profession confines me to an office, so,
I would guess that I only see 20 or 30 nickels a week...still just
the same old. Keep up the great job on the E-Sylum!"

[Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I have seen any in circulation.
The ones I have came from a couple of rolls I bought at a
bank when they finally became available. -Editor]


AHWASH COPY OF DIME BOOK SOLD

The following is republished with permission from the
Volume 1, Issue 4, Mid-June 2005 issue of The E-Gobrecht,
an electronic publication of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club
(LSCC). The item is titled "Kam Ahwash’s Dime Book
Personal Reference Copy in recent auction."

"Len Augsburger reports on the recent sale of this significant
numismatic treasure. In the E-Gobrecht Volume 1, Issue 2,
John McCloskey described his presentation copy of the Kam
Ahwash Encyclopedia of United States Liberty Seated Dimes
1837-1891. Kam published his book in 1977 and it represented
the first important work on seated dime varieties, being over
four hundred pages with large photographs on nearly every page.
John described his book as having a padded blue cover and
being numbered "002" in the lower right corner of the first page
of the text. John asked the readers whether the "001" copy,
presumably Ahwash's own, was known to anyone in the LSCC.

Remarkably, this very book seems to have recently appeared
in George F. Kolbe's sale of the Craig and Ruanne Smith
Numismatic Library, lot 62. This sale was recently conducted
on June 4, 2005, in conjunction with Kolbe's sale of the John J.
Ford library, part 2. Kolbe's description of lot 62 is as follows:

"Special leatherbound copy, impressed in gilt at the base of the
upper cover: "Kamal M. Ahwash/1977". Ex. Craig Smith.
The entire first edition comprised 500 copies, of which 100
were specially numbered and bound in leather-grained padded
blue cloth. This example at hand, presumably the author's own
special copy, is the only one known to us bound in leather and
may be unique. Ahwash graduated from the National
Conservatory of Music in Paris, performed for the Paris Opera
Company, and also on Broadway. He was founder and first
president of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club."

Estimated at $2,000, the volume sold to a floor bidder at $4,830,
a splendid tribute to the founder of the Liberty Seated Collector's
Club and the significance of his work on Liberty Seated dime
varieties."

[To be added to the E-Gobrecht mailing list, send an email
message with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line of the
message to Editor Bill Bugert wb8cpy at arrl.net. -Editor]


FIRST BULGARIAN BANKNOTE BRIEFLY DISPLAYED

On June 17, 2005, the Sofia News Agency reported:
"The first Bulgarian banknote ever printed was shown briefly
in the town of Veliko Tarnovo, media reported.

The BGN 20 bill drew much attention during an exhibition
of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).

That was the first time for the banknote to be taken away
from the town of Gabrovo, where it is being kept at the
local History Museum.

The bill, originally printed in Russia, was valid from 1885
to 1907.

It was displayed in Veliko Tarnovo's Regional History
Museum for five hours only."

Full Story


ANY FINANCE PROFESSIONALS IN THE HOUSE?

At the urging of some subscribers, I'd like to make an off-topic
request. Please contact me if you work in the U.S. finance
industry or have contacts in the industry, particularly in stock
brokerage, mutual fund, capital management, banking or insurance
firms - any company employing stock analysts. Thanks. -Editor.


NO COIN FOR ZEBULON PIKE

Subjects for new coins are often chosen from dozens or even
hundreds of possibilities, leaving many disappointed also-rans.
An opinion piece in the June 14th Denver Post laments the fact
that explorers Lewis and Clark have been honored on coinage,
but not Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who led an equally
harrowing 1806-07 trek from St. Louis to the Arkansas River
to its source in the Rocky Mountains, then into the San Luis
Valley where he was captured by Spanish soldiers.

"Pike's story is not a simple one, and we don't know a lot
of it. But Pike cannot be addressed without delving into
conspiracies, double agents, secret payrolls, ambiguities,
multiple motives, disputed boundaries, espionage and treason.

It is for this reason, I suspect, that schoolbooks gloss over
Pike if they mention him at all. The politics of the Pike expedition
are vastly more interesting than those of the Corps of Discovery,
but Pike is just too complex to fit into the myth of America the
Inevitable and Ever Virtuous, whereas Lewis and Clark slide
right into the national self-image."

To read the full article: Full Story


CORNERSTONE 1867 PROOF SET AUCTIONED

The June 2005 Drew St. John sale by American Numismatic
Rarities includes "A rare and impressive property, an intact
1867 Proof set in copper, nickel, and silver that was preserved
in a cornerstone in a small town in southeastern Massachusetts
from September 1867 until the 1960s." (See lot 396).
I believe I read in another ANR publication that the building
was a library. Can anyone tell us more about this set?
Is there a contemporary account of the placement of the
cornerstone? Where were the coins from the 1960s until now?


MASSIVE COUNTERFEITING SCHEME FOILED

A recent article by Reuters describes a huge counterfeiting
operation shut down in the U.K in 2002, and back in the
news now as the leaders were convicted of the crime:

"Four Britons were jailed on Monday for their role in a huge
counterfeiting operation that police said was so significant it
could have posed a threat to the economies of the United
States and Britain, the BBC said.

The gang printed more than 2.5 million pounds of fake 10
pound notes and $3.5 million of counterfeit U.S. notes in
what police believe was the largest scam of its kind in
Britain, the BBC reported.

"The potential for this operation to undermine the economy
of the United Kingdom and the economy of the United States
was very significant," said Detective Superintendent Nick
Lewis of Britain's National Crime Squad (NCS).

"These were good quality bank notes, good quality travellers
cheques which could have had a very significant undermining
effect on those economies."

"We were taken aback by the scale of the printing machinery
and by the amount of actual counterfeit currency we recovered
from the premises," Lewis told the BBC."

To read the full article: Full Story

Asylum Editor Tom Fort forwarded another article, this
one from The Scotsman:

"A gang who ran what police believe was Britain's biggest-ever
counterfeit currency scam were jailed yesterday.

The seven-strong gang had operated for more than two years
after setting up a factory to print up to £10 million worth of fake
£10 notes and $100 bills.

The operation spanned the world, and the investigation to hunt
the gang down involved the United States Secret Service."

"The gang printed thousands of false £10 notes, selling them in
bulk for 80p per note, and $100 bills for £6, the Crown Court
in Manchester heard.

Bank of England experts said the sterling fakes were "very good"
quality and the dollars "excellent".

"Officers found £1,685,930 in fake £10 notes, $3,377,300 in
fake $100 notes and reels and hologram images capable of
producing $3,539,400 in travellers' cheques. More cash
produced by the gang was recovered after being circulated.
The totals seized and recovered are £2,555,600 and $3,660,600.
With the $3.5 million in US travellers' cheques, the final potential
counterfeit haul is worth more than £6.5 million.

National Crime Squad officers say they believe it to be the biggest
fake cash scam in UK history.

To read the full article: Full Story


TALL TALE OR MAJOR UTAH GOLD FIND?

Arthur Shippee forwarded this story, which was noted on the
Explorator mailing list:

"A story of treasure worth tens of millions of dollars found
in the mountains? Or just a hoax that has the town of Delta
buzzing?

The story surfaced this week. Locals want to believe it's
true, and federal authorities want to see proof.

A Millard County man says he was hunting for arrowheads
when he came upon a cache of gold bars, civil war guns,
antiques and dynamite."

"On the phone, Scott Taylors said he found 137 gold bars,
which could be worth more than $50 million. He says he
discovered the gold while hunting for arrowheads, and that
it was buried with antiques, guns and dynamite.

The Bureau of Land Management told Taylor to take them
there, so that they could remove the old treasure, and clear
out the old dynamite. But Taylor did not like their offer."

"We went to talk to Scott Taylor Tuesday night, at his
parent's house just outside Delta, but he was unwilling to
do an on-camera interview. His mother told us, this should
be an exciting time, but it’s turned into a nightmare. She
said that her son would tell the BLM where the gold is,
if they were willing to pay a 40% finders fee. She said,
unless there is an offer like that, he is not telling where
the gold is. "

Full Story


MINT DIRECTOR FORE'S NOMINATION MAY BE BLOCKED

Last week the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers reported
that the nomination of Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore to a
position in the State Department may be opposed by a prominent
Senator:

"Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said Thursday he was troubled by
racially insensitive comments attributed more than a decade ago
to a woman the Bush administration has tapped for a top State
Department job, and he threatened to block her nomination until
his concerns were addressed."

"The comments were brought up Thursday during her confirmation
hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when
Obama pressed Fore to explain remarks she gave during a
question-and-answer session after a 1987 speech at Wellesley
College outside Boston."

"The remarks were misunderstood, Fore said, but she resigned
as a Wellesley trustee to quell the controversy at the college."

"In the Senate hearing on Thursday, Obama questioned Fore
about the racial comments for more than 20 minutes, repeatedly
pressing for an explanation of the remarks. When her answers
did not satisfy him, Obama said he wondered what type of
environment she would create for employees who were black,
Hispanic or had other racial backgrounds if she held a
"stereotypical notion of how various people performed."

To read the full article, see: Full Story


VOCABULARY WORD: SPONDULIX

It's been a while since we had a vocabulary word to discuss.
The following item from the A Word A Day mailing list is
a slang term for money I wasn't familiar with:

"spondulicks also spondulix (spon-DOO-liks) noun

Money; cash.

[Of unknown origin.]

It could only be a sign of money's popularity that there are
numerous slang terms to describe it. Among others, there
are moola, buck, greenback (from the color of the US
currency), simoleon, dead presidents (from the pictures
of US presidents on currency notes), bean, and dough
(referring to the buying of food). Counterfeit money could
then very well be sourdough.

"Get yourself another tasty helping, as long as you are in
possession of the requisite spondulicks."
Salman Rushdie; The Ground Beneath Her Feet;
Picador Books; 2000."

spondulicks.html

[Maybe the term just isn't popular in my part of the
world, but I'd never heard of this one. I had seen it
before, but remained clueless until now. "The Elusive
Spondulix" was the business name of a dealer I saw at
a coin show. An Internet search tells me this was
probably Tom Culhane of Union, NJ. From his web
site:

"The company name, The Elusive Spondulix, may have
raised your sesquipedalian curiosity. No don't run for
your 'Funk & Wagner', let me elucidate.

Obviously, Elusive means hard to find or locate; Spondulix,
the word people always question me about at coin shows,
is neither latin nor greek. I can't speak any language other
than english. Spondulix is a word which entered the english
language from American slang of the 1800's. During this
time African and West Indies Cowry-Shell money, made
of gold, was on display at the Philadelphia Mint.

Referred to as Spondu, the slang, Spondulix, eventually
entered the english language as another word for coin or
money. The word has also been spelled ending both with
Lics and Licks, but the Lix ending is the more generally
accepted spelling."

More

To subscribe to A Word A Day: Subscribe


VOLUNTEERING AT THE ANS

Regarding Ray Williams "dream" of working at the
American Numismatic Society, Henry Bergos writes:
"When I retired 5 years go I made a beeline to the ANS.
I recatalogued some of the medieval British coins. This,
of course, when I wasn't being given "Special Projects",
like working on the large cent collection! I have never
had as much fun anywhere! Anyone who has the slightest
ability to get there will have the time of their lives as a
volunteer in the greatest numismatic collection in the world.
Some of the coins I recatalogued were last catalogued
prior to 1960. With the new publications that we now have
most, if not all, the collections can be updated in this
magnificent institution. GO FOR IT AND ENJOY."


PROPER COIN CARE: CRINGING AT NOSE OIL

Alan V. Weinberg writes: "The use of "nose oil" to gloss up
early coppers makes me cringe. While the initial visual
impression might be good, the medium-long term effects
would presumably be devastating to any early copper's
surfaces.

First, does not "nose oil" carry the same acidic qualities as
fingerprint and palm print body oil which will, in short time,
etch itself into a copper's surfaces? We all know what
fingerprints look like on a copper coin - well, that print
comes from the acidic body oil exuding from the pores
on one's hand. By applying "nose oil" you will soon be
etching the entire surface of a copper!

Second, in the application of "nose oil", I can assure you
that tiny flecks of dried fingertip skin flake off with the oil
and on to the copper's surfaces and crevices, soon to
start corroding into green verdigris.

Stick with Care and Blue Ribbon, applied with a Q-tip
and 99% blotted off (not wiped off) with a soft old
much-washed (and clean) T-shirt."


COLLECTOR OF INDIAN COINAGE

Numismatics spans the globe. It's nice to come across press
accounts of collectors. One I found this week is from the
Telegraph of Calcutta, India:

"His passion for collecting coins has made him the proud
owner of rare coins. Deepak Kumar Biswas, an engineer, has
turned his childhood passion for coins into a full-time hobby."

"He has more than 40 albums of coins that have been
deciphered while the ones he failed to decipher have been
kept aside. Besides, he has trunk full of coins that are repetitions.
He has kept some of the rare and priceless ones in his locker.
Biswas has coins from more than 130 countries..."

“When I find it difficult to decipher the coins, I go to Calcutta
and consult Numismatics Society of Calcutta."

The avid coin collector has a wide range of coins from the
Princely states of India such as Bhagalpur, Bikaner, Alwar,
Jaipur, Tonk, Gwalior, Jaora, Ratnam, Dhar, Indore,
Hyderabad, Junagarh, Cochin, Travancore, Mysore,
Baroda and Jodhpur. He also has coins that were used
during the British period."

"In Ranchi there are hardly any serious collectors or coin sellers
due to which the art has not developed properly. “The source
of coins are not only friends and relatives but also jewelery
shops, coin sellers and the government mints. Many jewelery
shops keep old coins which they sell but unless they have
proper knowledge they demand outrageous price."

To read the full article, see: Full Story


REMEMBRANCES OF HANS M. F. SCHULMAN

David L. Ganz writes: "Hans and I were friends for 30 years.
We frequently corresponded, me in typescript, he in a magnificent
flowing handwriting When I saw the handwriting on the envelope,
it was unnecessary to check the return address; Hans' handwriting
was as unique as his business practices."

Richard Schaefer writes: "I had been curious why the Thomas
Mabbott collection of ancient coins was catalogued by a non-
numismatist, Hans Holzer, who had some connection to
supernaturalism. Asking Schulman at a coin show, he said the
widow insisted on Holzer. What a dealer must put up with!"

Nick Graver writes: "Our first trip overseas was a five-week
charter flight to Europe in the summer of 1964. We landed in
Zurich, and then spent three weeks in Italy, one week crossing
Europe, and the final week in Great Britain. We are still amazed
at the venture, and how well it all went.

Our “week across Europe” concluded in Holland, with several
hours in the shop of Hans M.F. Schulman. It was on one of the
canal streets, and most traffic was bicycles. I had been collecting
for over ten years and this was my first visit to an international
numismatic shop. Actually, they had a room of antiquities, and
many other departments of ‘fine’ objects besides coins, that we
saw on the tour they kindly gave us.

We just walked in off the street, without introduction, letter or
phone call. When asked how the clerk could help us, we
explained that we had no special ‘business’, that just being in
their famous shop was the highlight of my numismatic career.
They quickly picked up on our inexperience (but genuine interest),
and treated us like royalty! We were introduced to all the
officers and principal clerks, and shown around the whole building.
Of course, their shop was spotless (all of Holland was) and the
displays were of museum grade material.

While we were there, ALL business was conducted in English!
Even the routine conversations between their staff were spoken
in our tongue. What a classy establishment! And I was sure
that they would do the same for visitors speaking other popular
languages. They had little to offer me with my (then) specialty
of Papal States coinage, but they did recognize me as a
serious collector and history buff.

Mr. Schulman chatted with us, but it was his wife, Annie, who
gave us the most time. She described how hard times were
during the war, and how critical it was to make the most of
every scrap of food. Even in 1964, she said she could not
waste anything, and made a great effort to conserve resources
(though they were obviously quite prosperous).

When the Germans came, the Schulmans had enough warning
to hide their very best coins, and all the trays and cabinets
were again arranged with very impressive specimens, making
it impossible for anyone to suspect that the ‘very best’ items
were absent! An important German general was to have
gotten their shop as a prize, so their precautions would have
saved them if that was carried out. Somehow, they were
permitted to continue managing their business, and when the
occupiers left in haste, the Schulman business was intact,
still in family hands. The hidden coins later went back in their
proper places, and the business survived.

It was not clear how much business was actually transacted
during the war, or how they supported themselves through
those difficult years. That was when Mrs. S. had such a
hard time feeding the family.

We bought a few coins, some Roman glass and Coptic
vestment fragments, nice souvenirs, but certainly nothing to
justify all the time she spent with us. She just made it her
business to give us a royal treat, and memories for a lifetime.
(Here I am, recalling it all 41 years later!) As we were
leaving, she mentioned that England was a very special
place for her, and she made us promise (as she did with
many tourists) to write to her, and relate what was the
most impressive experience or favorite memory of Britain.
We did, and I believe it was “how organized” the British were.

We flew off to London, and our final week. There we visited
Seaby and Spink and dealt in the old style sterling coins
(“pounds, shillings, and ounces!”) Stories for another time.

PS: While in Italy (summer 1964), a veteran coin’huckster’
rubbed a coin with his “nose oil,” the technique recently
described in this space

Dick Johnson writes: "It seems every time I started a new
numismatic venture, Hans Schulman was one of the first I
notified – and always got his support. I met Hans at a NYC
convention in 1951. We became friends, I guess you could
say, for life. I was a customer of his when he sold the
Howard Gibbs collection of odd and curious money.

When I started Coin World, Hans was the first columnist,
along with Jim Kelly, while Jim supplied weekly Trends,
Hans wrote from all over the world – wherever he traveled.
His column could be news, or his views on some subject,
or simply an observation on some person or phase of numismatics.

One week, it was early, perhaps the 4th or 5th issue, we
had no lead story. We had to make Hans' column the week’s
top story. His column arrived by airmail, often on thin paper.
We had to edit what he wrote on the fly, often rewriting
the entire essay.

When I was hired by Medallic Art Company in midtown
New York City, the first call I made was to Hans about
seven blocks away in his midtown office. We met often.
Even sharing a Broadway theater date with his wife, Zita,
and daughter and my wife Shirley. Finally when I started
my own medal auction firm, Hans sent consignors my way.
He could have sold their medal collections through his own
auctions, but we needed the consignments and he knew
where some choice collections were.

I do remember Hans M.F. – the initials stand for Maurice
Frederick – I learned that in an article on him in a 1960s
issue of the old Life magazine. (Track down that issue, you
bibliophiles.)

His lifetime chore was compiling what he called his "secret
weapon." It was a 3x5 card file with auction sale prices of a
coin sold anywhere in the world for more than $10,000. Of
course at that time that was an expensive and important coin.
What an amazing numismatic book that would have made!
Any E-Sylum reader know what happened to that card file?"

[Having just reread these accounts, I wonder if we're
discussing different Schulmans or different wives (Annie, Zita).
Can anyone set us straight? -Editor]


$1,000 LIBRARY IDEAS

Roger Burdette writes: "Many thanks to Alan Luedeking
and several others who provided their thoughts and
suggestions on how to best equip a school library numismatic
section on a $1,000 donation. When I have both the final
suggestion list and the actual purchases, I will send the result
to The E-Sylum. (The school system media services director
has to approve the purchases based on American Library
Association information.) Thanks again to all who sent
me their suggestions!"


BURGLARY RELATED TO OHIO COIN SCANDAL?

"The Evergreen home of Michael Storeim, the coin collector
suspected to have ties to a scandal over missing coins in Ohio,
was broken into last weekend.

The burglary comes less than two weeks after the same home
was raided by Jefferson County sheriff's deputies as part of an
investigation into Storeim's alleged connection to coins that the
state of Ohio invested in with taxpayer money."

"The thieves took 500 bottles of wine, scuba-diving and
mountain-climbing equipment, jewelry, a stereo system, and other
items, Jefferson County sheriff's spokeswoman Jacki Tallman said.

Jefferson County authorities have estimated the value of stolen
goods at $500,000, Tallman said."

Tallman said that the burglary would not hurt the ongoing
investigation.

Storeim "told police that he thinks his home was burglarized
because of the media coverage of his case," Tallman said,
adding that the coverage could have given the thieves clues
to the valuables in his house."

To read the full article: Full Story


OTHER HOBBIES: EGG COLLECTING

We sometimes discuss other hobbies, although mainly for
the fun of discovering hobbies that make numismatics look
downright normal in the eyes of our disapproving spouses.
On June 14th the Wall Street Journal published an article
about egg collecting. Not the jewel-encrusted Faberge
kind, the baby bird kind.

"When his father died in 1972, Pat More inherited an
unusual legacy: the family's collection of more than 10,000
birds' eggs dating back to the late 1800s.

Mr. More's grandfather, Robert L. More, was 14 years
old when he picked up his first egg in 1888 from the nest
of a black vulture on the family farm. He later displayed
his collection above the family's service station, and the e
exhibit drew visitors from around the world. Pat More
closed this private museum to the public 20 years ago,
but he still feels obligated to care for it.

"It's a burden that I have accepted," says Mr. More,
who is 60 years old.

In the 1800s and early 1900s, bird lovers didn't just
watch birds -- they took their eggs. Devotees known
as oologists prowled the prairies, climbed trees and
dangled off cliffs to snatch eggs from nests. They drained
the eggs' contents through tiny holes in order to preserve
the shells intact, and then traded and sold the eggs like
baseball cards.

"It seems terribly politically incorrect now, but back
then it was perfectly OK," says Carrol Henderson, a
wildlife biologist for Minnesota's Department of Natural
Resources."


SELLING KELLEY REPRINTS

Regarding Dave Ginsberg:'s question about Kelley reprints,
Henry Bergos writes: "I was the distributor in the Numismatic
community for Kelley in the mid-1980s. Fred Cheeseman
was the office manager in New York City (Broadway and 25th
street), for the NJ company. They were already in bad shape
and had warehouses FULL of unsellable scholarly books. Most
were printed in the mid-1960s. The idea was to sell to libraries
and school libraries. I was not allowed to sell to them. I was
being charged 10 or 15% of list price and I sold them at 35-60%.
Sales were very poor. I sold between 1987 and 1990. Any
one who wants a copy of my old list can have one - please
send a 5 1/2x8" stamped envelope and I'll make a copy for
you. The ANS of course, has one. I think there were 53 titles
in all. If I can help with any thing else just write."

[Henry forgot to include his mailing address, but I will
forward emails to him.

Two Kelley reprints on my shelves are: Andrew McFarland Davis'
"Currency and Banking in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay,"
2 volumes, 1901, reprinted in 1970 from a copy in the New York
Public Library, and Henry Phillips' "Historical Sketches of the
Paper Currency of the American Colonies, 1865, two volumes
printed in one, reprinted in 1972 from a copy owned by the
College of William and Mary. -Editor]


TWO NEW MISSPELLINGS OF "NUMISMATICS"

One word few coin collectors would miss in a spelling
bee is "numismatics". A team of spellers from the
Journal Sentinel of Wisconsin got it right and came out
on top of a charity spelling bee benefiting the Literacy
Council of Greater Waukesha.

"The three top teams went word-for-word through six
rounds before Waukesha-based R&R Insurance bowed
out on N-U-M-I-S-M-A-T-I-C-S - the team's effort at
spelling the study of money and coins was the incorrect
N-M-E-U-M-I-S-M-A-T-I-C-S."

To read the full story: Full Story

Recently I received an email from a book scout stating
"here is a list of books I have found on numusmatics
literature." So there are two creative misspellings of
the word I hadn't seen before. Any other nominees?


FEATURED WEB PAGE

This week's featured web page is from Ron Wise's
World Paper Money website. It features Bulgarian
currency from 1899 through 2001.

Featured Web Site



  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society