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THE Asylum VOL. 34 NO. 1 SPRING 2016 Quarterly Journal of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society • COINBOOKS.ORG 7 11 17 25 Books are the lighthouses erected in the great sea of time. Edwin P. Whipple 1819—1886 Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers • numislit.com • (614) 414-0855 • [email protected] THE Asylum VOL. 34 NO. 1 SPRING 2016 Quarterly Journal of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society • COINBOOKS.ORG Table of Contents NBS News Features President’s The John K. Curtis Auction of Message . 3 June 21st 1859............................7 by P. Scott Rubin From the Editor . 4 To the Editor . 5 A Walk On The (Literary) Wild Side with William E. Dubois .....................11 by Joel J. Orosz NBS Wiki Random Page . 10 NBS Flashback . 23 Off The Shelf: Newcomb’s Book on the Cents of 1801–03 ...................17 by David F. Fanning Member Survey . 23 Numismatic Editor Panel and Forum Behind the Scenes at the Newman at CSNS . 24 Numismatic Portal ........................25 by Len Augsburger Numismatic Bibliomania Society coinbooks.org Managing Editor, The Asylum Editor-in-Chief, The Asylum Maria Fanning Elizabeth Hahn Benge [email protected] [email protected] 141 W. Johnstown Rd Gahanna, OH 43230 NBS Membership/Subscriptions: The Asylum is mailed to all NBS Members. Membership is $25.00 inside the United States and $30.00 outside the U.S. New members receive one back issue plus all new issues upon publication. Requests for membership and change of address should be submitted to the Treasurer at the address below. Submissions: The Asylum (ISSN 1552-1931) is published in four issues per year. Submissions should be sent to the editor at [email protected]. Authors, please put your name(s) and contact information on all submitted material. All accepted manuscripts become the property of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. For more information, please contact the editor. Advertising rates for 2016 See our full Ad Rates and Guidelines at coinbooks.org/asylum or contact editor. Full page $120 5.5 x 8 inches Inside front, inside or outside back cover $125 5.5 x 8 inches Half page $75 5.5 x 4 inches Quarter page $40 2.75 x 4 inches *A 10% discount may be applied for a full-year commitment. A 10% discount is available for NBS members and community organizations. Deadlines for Submissions and Advertising: Spring Issue (No. 1) February 1 Autumn Issue (No. 3) August 1 Summer Issue (No. 2) May 1 Winter Issue (No. 4) November 1 NBS 2016 Officers President Vice-President Marc Ricard Elizabeth Hahn Benge [email protected] [email protected] Treasurer Terry White [email protected] P.O. Box 39, Hilliard, OH 43026-1278 Board of Governors John W. Adams, Dover, MA [email protected] Leonard Augsburger, Vernon Hills, IL [email protected] David Fanning, Gahanna, OH [email protected] Dan Hamelberg, Champaign, IL [email protected] Sydney Martin, Doylestown, PA [email protected] W. David Perkins, Centennial, CO [email protected] P. Scott Rubin, Lawrenceville, NJ [email protected] Editor, E-Sylum NBS Historian Wayne Homren [email protected] Joel J. Orosz [email protected] ©2016 Numismatic Bibliomania Society coinbooks.org President’s Message Marc Ricard, NBS President Dear Friends, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Maria Fanning as the new Editor of The Asylum. She is a talented and dedicated professional who has agreed to manage all of the publication as- pects of our fine journal into the future. She works with her hus- band, Board Member Dr. David Fanning, at Kolbe and Fanning Numismatic Literature. Her position in the numismatic literature community makes her uniquely qualified for her new role, and the Officers and Board of NBS are grateful for her service. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our previ- ous Editor, David Yoon, for his long tenure at The Asylum. The publication continuously improved under his leadership, and the quality of The Asylum is due in large part to his efforts. He has been involved with Maria during the transition of roles, and for that, and his service to NBS and the literature community over the years, we are also very grateful. This is an exciting time to be involved in numismatic litera- ture. With the rapid improvement of technology in publishing and archiving, many important works that previously would have been lost, are being preserved for future generations of collectors. Most of you are interested in building and improving your own libraries. The Numismatic Bibliomania Society continues to be the best resource for information in our field. I look forward to seeing many of you at the World’s Fair of Money in Anaheim, CA in August. Much more on our Sympo- sium, General Meeting, and Auction will be shared with you in the near future. Stay tuned to the E-Sylum and this publication for details. With warmest regards, Marc Charles Ricard CORRECTION Only rarely can I find an error to correct in made by John W. Adams in United States Numis- The Asylum. One appeared, however, in the Oc- matic Literature, Volume II, p. 55. The author ob- tober-December 2015 issue. In “A Modest Exon- viously confused his numismatic icons in making eration of B. Max Mehl’s “Hazeltine Type Table,’” the attribution. the article’s author stated: “Dave Bowers remem- I have it on good authority that the author bers the ‘Texas Master of Coins’ belying his vivid is embarrassed, and will be much more careful reputation by being personally colorless.” about his accuracy in the future. Given his re- Dave Bowers never said or wrote this. The morse, I’m inclined to forgive him. “colorless in terms of personality” assessment was Joel J. Orosz The Asylum, Spring 2016 Page 3 From the Editor Welcome, fellow bibliomaniacs, to my editorial debut in The Asylum. Many of you may know me through my work at Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers and have met me at the ANA’s World’s Maria Fanning, Fair of Money, the New York International Numismatic Conven- The Asylum Editor tion or through email correspondence. I am pleased to be suc- ceeding David Yoon, who has continued to produce an impres- sive publication for the past nine years. He has graciously offered his support and assistance in my first few issues and I thank him for leaving me with a vibrant journal. I know we all wish him the best for the future, be it in numismatics or archeology! The Asylum has a long history of being a hub of research and discussion for those serious about their love of numismatics. I hope to draw on that passion to include even more contributions from those we have not yet heard, as well as our excellent regular contributors. There is plenty of room for those with a scholarly bent as well as inexperienced writers with a passion for numis- matic books and we want to hear about yours. We have some fascinating articles in this issue. We are very lucky to have an article by P. Scott Rubin on his 19th-century auc- tion catalogues, which we hope will become an ongoing series. We also have a spicy tale of love and murder written by no other than famed Mint Director William E. Dubois and brought to light by our own Joel Orosz. David Fanning shares another of his award-winning “Off The Shelf” columns, this one on Newcomb’s book on 1801-03 cents, and Len Augsberger gives us an exciting update on what’s happening with the Newman Portal. Getting to Know You To get to know you all better I have put together a brief 10-question multiple-choice survey about your collecting and reading interests. I hope that you will indulge me for a few minutes so that I can tailor content to what you as NBS members want most to read. My ulte- rior motive is also to collect information on our readers’ specific areas of interest and collecting habits to share with potential adver- tisers and help expand and improve our journal. You can take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N295ZKS. Informa- tion will be kept anonymous. Your input is much appreciated! I am excited to meet all of our readers, whether in person or by email, and would love to hear from all of you. If you have an idea for a submission, please let me know as soon as possible so we can fit it into our editorial calendar. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] at any time with suggestions or contri- butions for future issues. Happy reading! Page 4 The Asylum, Vol. 34 No. 1 To the Editor Dear Editor, Every member of NBS is familiar with the writings of Joel Orosz—his scholarly research combined with his eloquent style. However, not everyone has heard Joel from the podium, where he is just as schol- arly and even more eloquent. The at- tached photographs depict the man in his role as Master of Ceremonies at the recent ANS Gala. All hail our talented fellow bibliomaniac! Sincerely, Nom de Plume The Asylum, Spring 2016 Page 5 Page 6 The Asylum, Vol. 34 No. 1 The John K. Curtis Auction of June 21, 1859 Only the Fourth Coin Auction to realize over $1,000 before 1860. By P. Scott Rubin Starting on June 21, 1859 and continuing until the 23rd of the month a coin auction was held at No. 13 Park Row, New York conducted by the auction house Bangs, Mer- win & Co. The title of the sale was “Catalogue of a large and very choice collection of Coins, Tokens and Medals (Ancient and Modern).