Congratulations to Scotsman Auction Company on their latest catalog

numisma · October 7, 2008 5:01PM

I just received the catalog for Scotsman's October 17, 2008 sale. What a stunning improvement over Scotsman auction catalogs of previous years! The writing is world-class--in my opinion--and the offerings include some real gems and rarities. Of course many of you know that the sole cataloger of this latest sale, James Garcia, is a close, personal friend, but I assure you that I am not biased in my praise. In fact, the entire Scotsman staff is deserving of recognition for their efforts. The layout, photography, artistic direction, writing, and numismatic offerings are top-notch and a major improvement over past efforts. If you have a chance, take a look at the catalog and judge for yourself. I am looking forward to being in the auction room on October 18!

Quarternut · October 7, 2008 6:20PM

I just wish they would produce a catalog that was the same dimensions as everyone elses...they don't look right on my shelves!!

QN

RYK · October 7, 2008 8:46PM

I was also very impressed, and I did not know that James did the entire catalog. That's impressive! I am going to have to get on the horn and get his opinion on some of the coins.

ColonialCoinUnion · October 7, 2008 8:57PM

Good for them (I mean that).

DoUPlayOnePocket · October 7, 2008 9:16PM

I think James started writing descriptions for Scotsman a year or two ago, but he mentioned in one of his posts ATS that he does not write all of the descriptions. It has been a real pleasure for me to get to know James even though I have not had the opportunity to meet him in person. There have been occasions in the past where he has posted some of his proposed descriptions on the boards for us to critique and offer suggestions to improve them. James has always been honest and up front about the condition of coins, whether they were listed by him on eBay or included in one of the Scotsman catalogs. When I receive the catalogs, I make a private game of it to try to determine which descriptions were written by him. I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to attend one of the shows in the St. Louis area and meet him in person.

Chris

Longacre · October 7, 2008 10:21PM

Looks great. Not to be nitpicky, but is the catalog in a shorter format than the traditional catalog size (I mean the size of the paper). It looks like it is, which may be a neat thing to distinguish it from all of the other catalogs.

DoUPlayOnePocket · October 7, 2008 10:42PM

The catalog measurements are: 9-1/4" wide by 8-3/4" high, 238 pages

Chris

RWB · October 7, 2008 11:16PM

Is the catalog on-line? When I used the lot numbers in the photos (above) completely different coins come up.

DoUPlayOnePocket · October 8, 2008 1:41AM

The entire contents of the catalog are listed online. In the box titled "Current Active Auction", click on "Click Here To Browse This Sale". You can search page by page or enter a denomination of your choosing.

Chris

mrearlygold · October 8, 2008 2:31AM

RWB · October 8, 2008 2:45AM

Congrats!! Much better and more interesting descriptions than usually found. Higher quality than the usual “copy cat” cataloging. Hopefully, this standard will continue. If so, future catalogs will be “keepers” for collectors and researchers.

Just a quibble or two:

The photo "Migrant mother with Children" by Dorothea Lange, printed with lot 866, dates from 1936 so it is not directly relevant to the coin or catalog text.

For lot 810 it is likely that Charles Barber designed both obverse and reverse of the two varieties. Charles was assigned design of the reverse by his father, William, soon after Klossen’s letter was forwarded to the Philadelphia Mint. The intention was to reduce one of William’s Liberty portraits for use on the $4, but William died on Sept 1, 1879. With Charles the de facto successor (William Key had greater seniority but limited his work to lettering and ornamentation, and George Morgan was not a citizens and worked directly for the Director) it appears that Charles created both flowing hair and coiled hair portraits. (This is based on statements in Charles Barber’s 1916 pattern collection inventory and the 1910 destruction list of pattern hubs.)

BECOKA · October 8, 2008 3:42AM

How does one obtain a catalog and do they offer it as a .pdf format?

I sure wish auction houses would offer a .pdf format so I could stop getting these heavy paperback versions.

numisma · October 8, 2008 4:46AM

.....he mentioned in one of his posts ATS that he does not write all of the descriptions.

I think he did write all of the descriptions in this sale, perhaps with the exception of some of the generic one-liners. What's amazing to me is that he did all of this work on the side (at breakfast, lunch break.....late in the evening) since he has a day job as a computer programmer. He has always had the gift of creative writing.

James and I grew up in the same small Ozark town in Missouri. We started collecting coins around fourth or fifth grade and were co-founders of the first coin club at our school, which later became the largest school-wide organization. It is amazing to look back on our upbringing in a sleepy Ozark village 30 years ago. In those days, our only tie to the numismatic world was through publications. Going to a coin show was something that we could only dream about. Even going to a coin shop was special event. One time during a National Honor Society trip to St. Louis, he and I mapped the location of a coin shop in Westport Plaza and snuck away from the group to go into the shop (we were not supposed to do so). I think we had $5 between us, so it was more just to look at the treasures than to buy. People like Jack Beymer were legends to us, after reading his ads for so many years. How funny it is that we are friends with Jack and his wife now, and we do business together.

If any of you see James at a show, ask him about the "1914-D cent" he sold me in the sixth grade.

DoUPlayOnePocket · October 8, 2008 7:55AM

<< <i>How does one obtain a catalog and do they offer it as a .pdf format?

I sure wish auction houses would offer a .pdf format so I could stop getting these heavy paperback versions.

>>

I don't know if they offer it in pdf, but you can call 800-642-4305 to request the catalog. James said not to mention his name. Otherwise, they may charge you for it.

Chris

MikeInFL · October 16, 2008 6:56AM

<< <i>

<< <i>How does one obtain a catalog and do they offer it as a .pdf format?

I sure wish auction houses would offer a .pdf format so I could stop getting these heavy paperback versions.

>>

I don't know if they offer it in pdf, but you can call 800-642-4305 to request the catalog. James said not to mention his name. Otherwise, they may charge you for it.

Chris >>

James also offered the following:

Bruce, or anyone else that has questions or wants something looked at in hand, it will be best to call me on Wednesday after 3:00 CST, or anytime Thursday, or Friday before 3:00 CST. I'll be more than happy to take a look at something, or reference my notes! Or, just PM me here, and I'll get back to you.

Barndog · October 16, 2008 7:00AM

I liked the catalog and the intertwining of coins with history. Unfortunately, nothing for my collection in the catalog, but that's OK for such a fine piece of work.

Congratulations to Scotsman Auction Company on their latest catalog

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