Thursday, December 22, 2011

Did You Know: Ask Our Experts

Have a question about anything numismatic? Send it to Dave Bowers by e-mail and he will answer or will tap the talent of another staff member to do so. Questions of the most general interest (in our opinion) will be answered here, with just the sender’s initials.
Question: I wonder if you have ever come across an old-time advertisement that listed a price for a half cent, such as 3½ cents? What exactly was the usefulness of the half cent? There must have been some transactions that involved them because a great number of them are well worn. G.S.
Answer: With regard to things being priced at a half cent, in the early 19th century a popular coin in circulation was the Spanish one-real coin, known as a “bit,” valued at 12½ cents. Two of these, valued at twenty-five cents, were called “two bits,” a term still seen today. It was not unusual for admissions to be priced at 12½¢ or 37½¢, or some other odd figure. A copper half cent provided a way to make change. However, half cents were never particularly popular in circulation, as a lot of transactions were simply rounded off and the odd half cent ignored.
It is a little known fact that numismatic auctions were often conducted in cents, for inexpensive items. Thus a lot might be sold for 12½ ¢. However, this was always rounded off on the sales invoice.

Remember When: Numismatics in the 1850s

By Q. David Bowers, Chairman Emeritus

The Beginning
In the late 1850s the hobby of coin collecting became wildly popular. This time line, from Dave Bowers’ popular book, The Expert’s Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins, sets the scene for all of the activity:

The Year 1857

Flying Eagle Cents.
The Mint Act of February 21, 1857, eliminated the copper half cent and cent, and provided for a new, small cent of 88 grains weight, made of copper-nickel alloy. The new Flying Eagle cents were struck in large quantities (amounting to 7,450,000 for the entire 1857 year). They were initially distributed on May 25th. • On the same day, Mint Director James Ross Snowden wrote to Secretary of the Treasury James Guthrie: ‘The demand for them is enormous.… We had on hand this morning $30,000 worth that is 3,000,000 pieces. Nearly all of this amount will be paid out today. The coinage will go forward, however, at the rate of 100,000 or more pieces per day and the demand will be met as well as we can.’

Information for Coin Collectors.
The Historical Magazine was launched in January and went on to include many articles about coins, including, in August, the first installment of ‘The First Coinage of America,’ by Jeremiah Colburn, who in the same year wrote articles about old copper cents for the Boston Evening Transcript. In New York City, Augustus B. Sage and Charles I. Bushnell engaged in a lively debate about rare coins in the pages of the New-York Dispatch. In the autumn the first issue of Norton’s Literary Letter, mostly about books, but with much information on coins, was welcomed by collectors. • Still, there were no special books for the coin collector, no price lists, and the auction market was extremely quiet.

The Panic of 1857
 In the first part of the year the American economy continued to enjoy prosperity, spurred by gold shipments coming from California, profitable speculations in prairie lands, excellent sales for agricultural products and manufactured goods, and the ever-growing railway system. Then, on August 24, 1857, the Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Company failed. With offices in Cincinnati and New York, it had been a big player in loans, credit, and the processing of paper relating to real estate. By then there had been some shivers in the money market, and some were apprehensive concerning seemingly unwise investments, but little was said. On the same day the Mechanics Banking Association suspended specie payments. Fear spread, and those holding stocks and investment paper rushed to cash it in at current rates, but found few buyers. Within days, several stock brokers and money dealers failed. This was disturbing but exciting news, and papers in major cities lost no time printing ‘scare’ headlines, which sold more papers, but also helped spread fear. In a domino effect, one failure created another, and soon the Panic of 1857 was underway. In October, all of the banks in New York City suspended specie payments, except for the Chemical Bank.

Loss of the S.S. Central America
In the meantime, on September 12, 1857, the S.S. Central America was lost at sea, carrying over a million dollars in gold coins and ingots from San Francisco and several hundred unfortunate passengers. The loss of this bullion increased the economic uncertainty prevailing in the eastern markets. Years later, the shipwreck would be found, and its golden treasures would electrify the coin-collecting world.




From the Experts: Fabulous Spanish Pattern Recalls Era of Chaos

By David Thomason Alexander, Senior Numismatist
A highlight among world crowns is Lot 2998 of the Stack’s Bowers Ponterio sale at the New York International Numismatic Convention. This is a silver pattern five pesetas dated 1868, bearing the government’s name as SOBERANIA NACIONAL – GOBIERNO PROVISIONAL, National Sovereignty – Provisional Government. This crown-sized piece (NGC Proof-63) was designed by Luis Marchionni of the Madrid Mint and bears an elegant obverse of Hispania reclining with back to the Pyrenees and feet at Gibraltar. Its reverse bears the traditional quartered Arms of Castile, Leon, Aragon and Navarre between Pillars under a mural (not royal) crown, without the oval Arms of the Bourbon dynasty.
This handsome design mirrors the chaos through which Spain’s government passed from 1808 and to 1868, a period that saw invasion by Napoleon’s armies and usurpation of the throne by Jose Napoleon, restoration of the legitimate King Fernando VII, pro- and anti-constitutional civil wars, dynastic war between Queen Isabel II and her uncle Don Carlos V and his successors, and Isabel’s final overthrow in 1868.  The queen left Spain on Sept. 30, 1868 and was replaced by this Provisional Government that lasted until Nov. 16, 1870. Neither monarchy nor republic, its status was summed up by the more or less neutral term National Sovereignty. The coin in the NYINC sale bears no denomination, but the circulating pieces would bear the legend ESPANA without designating kingdom or republic. The example in the January auction is one of the finest of a small number known and will certainly reward the most careful study.

Crossing the Block: A Probably Unique Struck Silver 1812 Supreme National Congress 8 Reales

In our upcoming Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio January 2012 auction, being held January 6th , 7th and 9th, in conjunction with the New York International Numismatic Convention, we feature many exciting and interesting coins and paper money from around the world. 
An interesting highlight from the sale is an 1812 8 Reales struck in silver from the Supreme National Congress (Supreme National Council). This is extremely rare, totally unpublished and probably a unique discovery. The coin is 22.78 grams, Ferdinand VII (1808-21). The KM is unlisted, but similar to 208 although in silver, and the EL is unlisted as well. The coin has a Jose Maria Liceaga countermark.
Rarely does Mexican numismatics offer collectors new discoveries that are entirely new type coins, especially  an 8 Reales.  Previous to the discovery of this coin, this type was only known struck in copper. Much like the copper “SUD” coinage of Oaxaca, this type was intended to be struck in copper as a necessity issue or promissory type, with the intention of being redeemed for gold or silver once it became available. Although this type was previously unknown produced in silver, it is entirely reasonable that such a coin should exist. Like the “SUD” coinage of Oaxaca, although rare, some examples were produced in silver. It is reasonable to assume that during these turbulent times, some entities would not accept the copper promissory issues, and required that payment be made in silver for goods or services. Although somewhat light in weight, this piece is clearly made of good silver and would be considered favorable to many of the debased and/or copper issues circulating during this time. To add to its rarity,at some point this coin changed hands to the forces of Jose Maria Liceaga, at which point it was countermarked. Interestingly enough, Jose Maria Liceaga was a present participating party at the Suprema Junta Nacional Gubernativa.


Friday, December 16, 2011

Did You Know: Name that President

COIN QUIZ
The president in the United States makes news no matter what he (or, perhaps, someday she) does. Currently: Plays basketball with friend? That’s news. Gets a pet dog for the White House. News, too. Says something wise? News again. Makes a gaffe? No letup!
Now on to our Coin Quiz, which has to do with presidents and numismatic items. How many questions can you answer correctly? Get 6 or more right, and you are doing well. Get 7 or 8 right and you are in the expert class or close to it. Get 9 or 10 correct and you should visit the White House and perhaps feed a dog biscuit to Bo!

1. While living and in office, this president’s portrait appeared on a legal tender United States coin.
a. Zachary Taylor.
b. Abraham Lincoln.
c. Calvin Coolidge.
d. Herbert Hoover.

2. Of the federal paper money in use now, including the $2 notes of 1976, which one of these denominations does not depict an American president?
a. $1.
b. $2.
c. $5.
d. $10.

3. In 1903, to commemorate the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase, two types of commemorative gold dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint. One depicted President William McKinley, and the other:
a. Thomas Jefferson.
b. William Howard Taft.
c. Grover Cleveland.
d. John Adams.

4. A few $100,000 federal notes payable in gold were printed. The president whose image was selected for the face of the note was:
a. Woodrow Wilson.
b. John Adams.
c. James Madison.
d. U.S. Grant.

5. Which of these presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore has never been the subject, at least not yet, for a widely-circulating legal tender coin?
a. Thomas Jefferson.
b. Theodore Roosevelt.
c. George Washington.
d. Abraham Lincoln.

6. One day this president visited the Smithsonian Institution and was impressed by the high sculptured-appearing portraits and designs of ancient Greek coins, and contemplated that American coinage would do well to have comparable art. He enlisted the services of well-known sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign the various denominations from the cent to the double eagle. He was:
a. Warren G. Harding.
b. Abraham Lincoln.
c. Theodore Roosevelt.
d. Franklin D. Roosevelt.

7. Minted on December 14, 1899 and dated 1900, the obverse of the Lafayette silver dollar depicted Lafayette and:
a. William McKinley.
b. Theodore Roosevelt.
c. George Washington.
d. Andrew Johnson.

8. Which of these coins, if you owned it and consigned it to auction, say a Stack’s Bowers Galleries auction, would likely net you several thousand dollars or more and be more valuable than any other coin in the following list?
a. 1942-P Jefferson nickel, Proof-65.
b. 1932-S Washington quarter, MS-63.
c. 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent, MS-63 red and brown.
d. 1866 Lincoln pattern nickel, Proof-65.

9. This president is really featured on a two-headed coin; on the obverse his portrait appears twice, one superimposed on the other, and each facing in a different direction.
a. Bill Clinton.
b. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
c. Harry S Truman.
d. Lyndon B. Johnson.

10. This president was in office when Liberty Seated coins were first made at the Philadelphia Mint (he received a Gobrecht silver dollar), when 1804 silver dollars were presented to the Sultan of Muscat and the King of Siam, and when Levi Woodbury was secretary of the Treasury. If you still don’t know the answer, you’ll find him pictured on a $20 bill in your wallet.
a. Martin Van Buren.
b. Rutherford B. Hayes.
c. David Rice Atchison.
d. Andrew Jackson.

ANSWERS: 1-c (1926 Sesquicentennial half dollar), 2-d (Alexander Hamilton, who was never president), 3-a, 4-a, 5-b (but one of these years he will appear on a presidential dollar), 6-c, 7-c, 8-d, 9-a (1990 commemorative dollar), 10-d.


Remember When: Mint Director Jay Johnson Remembers, Part 3 (Conclusion)

Jay Johnson, director of the Mint in 2000 and 2001, passed away in mid-October of 2009. He was a fine friend, always willing to help with research or anything else. As a tribute to his memory we now conclude our sharing of some of his comments contributed to The Official Red Book of Washington Quarters, by Q. David Bowers, Whitman Publishing LLC, 2007.
This week we tell of one of Jay’s first official experiences. Johnson was confirmed as Mint director by vote of the U.S. Senate May 24. He was sworn in by Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, May 25 and on May 26 he was in Columbia, S.C., for the ceremonial debut of the South Carolina quarter. U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow and Johnson helped South Carolina governor Jim Hodges launch the coin at ceremonies at Dutch Fork Elementary School.
To start the event, Hodges presented the new quarter to students. Attributing the success of the coin program to the youth of the nation, Withrow said, “Many of the ideas for the South Carolina quarter design came from elementary students who are enthusiastic about our nation’s culture and history.” For Johnson, it was his first public appearance in his new job. He had been sworn in just the day before.
Director Johnson remembered the event:
I studied all about coins and the entire 50-state quarter program while waiting to be confirmed as Director of the Mint.… I walked into the Mint offices the day after I was sworn in, and said, “Isn’t there a quarter launch in South Carolina tomorrow, and shouldn’t I be there?” Some staff member looked at me with surprise, and said, “Isn’t this kind of sudden?”
I said I assume that I have to give a little speech, and somebody’s probably already written it, so I think I can read a speech successfully. They asked again if I wanted to really go to South Carolina the next day. I said yes. They made arrangements to get tickets, and I was there in Columbia, South Carolina the next day. Ironically, I had been in Columbia before. I spent about six weeks there in basic training in the US Army in 1966. So, I had lots to talk about with the local folks—about how Fort Jackson had changed a lot since I was there 34 years ago. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to get on the old Army base and check out the barracks where I spent a hot summer, but I thought it was a great start for my first 50 state quarter launch.
Amazing to some Mint folks with me, I was able to handle the print and radio and TV interviews about the greatness of the 50 State Quarter Program, even though it was only my second full day on the job. I also recently found some of the South Carolina quarters that I was supposed to hand out that day![1]


[1] Letter to the author, July 27, 2004.

From the Experts: Notes on the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter

Minted to the extent of only 52,000 pieces, the 1916 quarter dollar represents the first year of the new design by Hermon A. MacNeil, one of several sculptors who designed coins during the decade. The design with Miss Liberty having one breast exposed was modified in 1917, when she was encased in a jacket of armor.

Here at Stack’s Bowers Galleries the 1916 Standing Liberty quarter has been a favorite for many years. How many we have offered at auction since our founding in 1933 (first auction was in 1935), and how many at private sale, we have no way of knowing. Many hundreds for sure—and possibly over a thousand. Many of these have been old friends—bought from us, then sold or consigned when a numismatist’s interests change.
An interesting discussion of this elusive coin is found in Dave Bowers’ popular More Adventures with Rare Coins book and is adapted here.

Illustrious New Designs of 1916

The year 1916 brought with it a sweeping reform in American silver coinage. The Liberty Head designs of Charles E. Barber, used since 1892, were replaced by motifs designed by sculptors in the private sector. Hermon A. MacNeil was tapped to design the Standing Liberty quarter, while Adolph A. Weinman created the ‘Mercury’ dime and the Liberty Walking half dollar. For the first time in American coinage, the dime, quarter, and half dollar were issued in designs that were not related to each other in common design forms. In contrast, earlier issues of these denominations shared motifs of Barber’s Liberty Head, the preceding Liberty Seated, and earlier Capped Bust and Draped Bust motifs, and other designs.
Making its debut in 1916, the Standing Liberty series was produced continually from that point through 1930, with the exception of 1922. No quarter dollars were made in 1931, and when mintage was resumed in 1932, the Washington motif, first intended as a commemorative, became the standard. Thus, the Standing Liberty quarter faded from the American scene.
Today, most varieties of Standing Liberty quarters are highly collectible, the two notable rarities—and these are not “impossible”—being the 1916, the topic of the present article, and the 1918/7-S overdate. I have always enjoyed the series, and when in the course of business a nice collection of these quarters comes our way, I pause to reflect upon each coin and appreciate the design all over again.
The story of Hermon A. MacNeil’s creation of this design is capably told by J.H. Cline in his appropriately titled book, Standing Liberty Quarters. Young Dora Doscher, a friend of  sculptor MacNeil was the model for the coin. On the screen as Miss Doris Doree, the multi-talented Miss Doscher was also seen on the Broadway stage, and posed in the studios of several artists and sculptors. J.H. Cline commented, “Many interesting chapters could be written about Miss Dora Doscher in association with the MacNeil family.” Married, she was later known as Doris Doscher Baum.
A long time later in 1972 another contender stepped forward, Mrs. Irene MacDowell, who claimed that it was she who did the modeling. However, by this time the artist, Hermon MacNeil, had long since died, and few numismatists put any stock in the MacDowell claim.

A Design Switcheroo

The Standing Liberty quarter series commences with the 1916, with a low mintage of 52,000 pieces. One would normally expect that many would have been saved as a novelty as the first year of issue, and pieces would be rather plentiful. Exactly what happened is not clear, but probably as the 1916 quarter was produced very late in the year, and as the 1917-dated examples of the same type were made in large numbers, most of the public demand was probably absorbed by the more numerous 1917 pieces. The 1916 was elusive from the outset.
In 1917 the mintage of the Standing Liberty quarter was expanded to include production at all three active mints—Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Part way through the year the design was changed.
On the first version of the design, as used in 1916 and early 1917, Miss Liberty was shown with an exposed right breast. The revised motif included, among other things, Miss Liberty encased in a suit of mail—certainly a classic case of overcompensation. The reverse was modified as well, and now the eagle was depicted with three stars below it.
For a long time it was stated that the change in Miss Liberty’s dress was in response to public outrage against nudity. This makes a nice story, and it is one that was widely believed—including by the present writer—until some investigation was conducted. Checking into the matter, neither I nor anyone else has been able to come across any contemporary (1917) commentary, complaint, or anything else suggesting that the public objected to the nude aspect of Miss Liberty.
Instead, the design seems to have been changed by MacNeil for other reasons, possibly to indicate preparedness for the World War (which had been raging in Europe since 1914). One might say that the first design showed America personified as an Amazon, guarding the portal of Liberty, and that the second design showed her in an armed, defensive posture.
The modified design made its appearance part way through 1917. Almost immediately, problems arose with the sharpness of striking. While nearly all 1917 quarters of the early or Type I design have sharp details on the head of Miss Liberty, the Type II or modified issues do not. From then through the end of the series there were continuing difficulties with having the pieces strike up fully.
In 1925 a slight modification was made to the date position, but still the problem of striking sharpness continued. Today, numismatists assess the sharpness of the head of Miss Liberty, calling particularly sharp pieces “Full Head” or some high fraction such as “90% Full Head.” Or, at least this is what should happen, but often does not. Certified “Full Head” quarters of the 1920s usually have part of the head flat and range from perhaps 70% full to 90% full. In addition, the two lower left rivets on the shield are often weak or missing, and the raised emblem at the center of the shield is often poorly defined. Numismatics needs a re-evaluation. Is there such a thing as a 1926-D quarter with Full Details (sharp everything?). Maybe so, but probably no. On the other hand, certified “Full Head” 1926-D can be bought easily.

Numismatics and the 1916 Quarter

Only 52,000 1916 Standing Liberty quarters were struck, this figure being far and away the lowest production quantity for any regular coin in that design series.
The low mintage was not widely publicized in 1916-1917, and the public was not alerted to the scarcity of the 1916. There were no popular coin books that gave mintages, and not many collectors made the effort to get a copy of The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint. Mintage figures were routinely published in The Numismatist, but not much attention was paid to them. The “low mintage syndrome” in the hobby was still more than a decade away.
Apparently, nearly all 1916 quarters of the new design slipped unobtrusively into circulation. Although contemporary numismatists were alerted to the new motif, and many sought an example of the type, there was very little interest in assembling sets by date and mintmark sequence. This latter discipline did not become popular until the 1930s when Wayte Raymond launched the Standard Catalogue of U.S. Coins (1934) and in the same decade published a popular series of “National” coin album pages.
By the 1920s the 1916 Standing Liberty quarter dollar was recognized as being scarce by the few who were interested. In Mint State such pieces were particularly hard to find. Henry Chapman (the Philadelphia dealer) and John Zug (who conducted his highly successful mail order business from a barn on his homestead in Bowie, Maryland) maintained a small supply, but examples were lacking in most other dealers’ stocks. Abe Kosoff in a Coin World article, April 12, 1967, suggested that William L. Pukall had put away several rolls of these coins in 1916 and started selling them years later, apparently dispersing them all by the 1940s. Having had quite a few dealings with Pukall in the 1950s (but none involving 1916 quarters), I can say that Kosoff’s narrative is no doubt true, for Pukall had hundreds of certain 20th century coins, including Matte Proof Lincoln cents and Buffalo nickels still in the tissue wrappers of issue.
Today the fame of the 1916 Standing Liberty quarter is widespread, and it immediately comes to mind whenever 20th century rarities are mentioned. In fact, it is hard to believe that it was not a sensation in its own time—in 1916, when it first saw the light of day.

Crossing the Block: The World’s Largest Coinage

Yap Island Stone Money “Fei” to be offered in Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio’s January 6-9, 2012 NYINC Auction
The stone money of the Yap Island could never be classified as “pocket change.” In fact, the largest examples are over 12 feet in  diameter and weigh about two tons. In our 2012 New York International Numismatic Convention auction, January 6, 7, and 9, we are pleased to offer a 54-pound, 18 x 3.5 inch Yap Island “Fei.” These stones are seldom seen on the numismatic market and have been called the “Holy Grail” of primitive money collecting.
Considered sacred among local people, Yap Island stone money was not easy to make or to transport. As there is no large source of stone on Yap, the calcite stones were quarried and shaped on the Island of Malakal, in Palau, using axes made of clam shells, and then shipped on native boats to Yap. The overseas trip could be very dangerous, and often the value of a stone was directly related to the number of human lives lost in its quarrying and delivery. Although ownership of a stone was traded, often the stone itself would not be relocated as the size and weight made actual transfer of the item impractical.
Although there are many sizes and shapes of Yap stones, they can be classified into two basic types pre and post O'Keefe. The earliest stones were produced by locals using axe heads made from shells of giant clams. Later stones or "O'Keefe stones" were produced in the 1800s using metal tools. David O'Keefe was an American of Irish heritage who came to Yap with tools and a junk boat acquired in Hong Kong which he used to quarry and transport "Fei" from Malakal to Yap. Through this process he set himself up as the King of Yap Island. The 1954 motion picture "His Majesty O'Keefe" starring Burt Lancaster (although somewhat dramatized), fairly accurately portrays this series of events.
The stone we offer in our January New York City sale (Opitz-pg.316/21; Quiggin-pg.144, pl#12; Sigler-pg,19; Gillilland-Smithsonian Institute "The Stone Money of Yap a Numismatic Survey"-pg.58-type-d) is of the pre O'Keefe type, quarried and shaped by the native Yapese using the traditional axes made from giant clam shells. Seldom are larger stones available for sale, as removing them from the island was extremely hard due to their size and weight. In terms of condition this stone is complete, unbroken and attractive.