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If we could only buy coins like Charles P. Nichols
RogerB
Posts: 8,852 ✭✭✭✭✭
Some of your will recognize the name "Charles P. Nichols" from a work by Q. David Bowers. [Incorrect- Bowers wrote about Walter Nichols , not the generation earlier Charles. See the post by CaptHenway, near the bottom.]
Here is one of Charles Nichols' coin orders placed with the Philadelphia Mint. Dream on.....
[Source: NARA RG104 E-1 box 64 via NNP]
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Comments
What, no gold proofs? Cheapskate.
Nice how the Mint wouldn't accept their own paper currency at face value.
Nichols ordered gold sets later. He distributed the new coins to collectors in the Buffalo area - at least when it wasn't snowing too hard to dig out the horses or oxen.
I'm having trouble reading the text. Could some one help. thank you.
"Yours of the 27th came duly to hand. I wish to change my order of the 24th as folllows. - ... Enclosed please find the amt in gold as per your request. - I shall want the dollars as soon as they are ready. - Please inform me - how much are the Proof Dollars each. Without the rest of the ect! [etc]".
I'm not sure if I want the coins bought, or the gold he paid with.
The gold he paid with is worth a lot less now than the coins he bought if they were kept in as made condition. Imagine writing the mint and sending them an 1878 morgan dollar for 100 leftover 1877 IHCs.
Wow. Very neat look into history.
Click on this link to see my ebay listings.
I really enjoy reading these old letters/documents....The penmanship is always impressive and the language used connotes the manners and conduct of the time. Not to mention that such commerce was possible then... certainly not now. Cheers, RickO
I too was thinking forget the coins- I want the penmanship!
This is not the same Nichols that Bowers wrote about. That was Walter P. Nichols, 1889-1941.
In 1983 the ANA was contacted by a (60ish? 70ish?) brother and sister from upstate New York. They knew nothing about coins, but they had recently inherited a coin collection from their aunt, Walter's widow, who had passed away leaving no children. As the heirs to the aunt's estate they received a letter from the aunt's bank stating that they (the bank) had been storing a steamer trunk in their vault for her for over 40 years, and would they kindly remove it. It was full of Walter's three generation coin collection, plus his inventory as a part-time coin dealer. He ran advertisements in The Numismatist, and apparently was involved with certain commemorative issues from the 1930's. Professionally he was a CPA and a traveling bank examiner. He died of a brain tumor at a young age, and his widow packed everything into a steamer trunk and asked their bank to store it for her. Their patience was remarkable, though his connection to the bank examiner industry may have influenced them.
They got an appraisal from a local coin dealer, who discovered an 1804 silver dollar plus other rarities such as an 1876-CC twenty cent piece. He figured this was over his head, and saw paperwork that indicated that Walter was a member of the ANA, and suggested to the siblings that they contact the ANA for advice on the grounds that the original deceased was a member.
They did, and Ed Rochette, after consulting with me, suggested that they pay my expenses to come to where they were to examine the 1804 dollar, and give them advise about the collection. Arrangements were made and I flew out and spent the night in one of their guest rooms. Over dinner they told me the history of the collection.
The aunt's grandfather, family name Emery, had been a storekeeper who began collecting coins out of the till and/or from circulation in the late 1870's. Amazingly there was a ledger book in the trunk from this era, along with other ledgers for the next few decades. He would write in "1872 cent" or whatever as found. As per the times mint marks did not matter nor did condition, though as he found nicer pieces he presumably returned the lesser pieces to circulation.
Around 1896 Emery's son inherited the collection and advanced it considerably. Remember that Heaton's booklet on Mint marks had come out just a few years later. The son began buying better coins from dealers, plus a complete cent through dollar Proof set each year plus a Proof $2-1/2. He also wrote to the Superintendent of each branch mint each year and requested to buy one Uncirculated coin made in each year. Back then the mints took pride in their workmanship, and the coins he received were magnificent.
I even found in the paperwork a note written by the second generation collector to whomsoever should take over the collection some day, telling him how to order such coins. It gave the names of the Superintendents and the addresses of the mints.
He passed away in the 1920's sometime and the collection passed to his daughter, who married Walter P. Nichols. I am not sure at this late date which generation purchased the 1876-CC 20 center, but I believe it was the second.
Anyways, the next morning after breakfast we began looking at the coins. Nichols had placed all of the good coins into Wayte Raymond album pages, which were very fashionable in the 1930. All of the silver was fabulous with incredible peripheral toning. The copper nickel and bronze coins, however, were unfortunately flyspecked. I have noticed this on other base metal coins from Wayte Raymond holders.
We looked at the 1804 dollar first, of course, me armed with a copy of Bolender's early dollar book. Alas, as I expected, it was a clever alteration from another date. Looking through the ledgers I found an entry wherein the second generation noted that he had bought it as an altered coin for $20.
The Raymond holders were stacked in denomination order, so I went through them making notes on a legal pad of the better dates in each. When I picked up the 20 cents page, I immediately noticed that it was full. Before I dared turn it over, I naked eye looked at the LIBERTY on the coin in the 1876-CC slot and saw the characteristic strong die doubling. I then explained to them what a wonderful thing it was.
When I was finished they asked for advice, and I was as honest as I could be. I told them that they had a marvelous collection, and that since they themselves knew nothing about coins (and had no children themselves) they should consider selling the collection at auction and dividing the proceeds. I gave them the names of the three or four largest auction houses in the business at the time, and then recommended that they consign it to Bowers because I knew Dave and knew that he would not be able to resist writing a book about their ancestor. They did, and he did.
Later they gave me the altered 1804 dollar as a souvenir for my troubles, but that is another story.
TD
Oh, thanks for the correction! I'll make a note on the opening post.
Wow, (8) 1862 Civil War era proof sets for $24.00, $4.00 each, geez, I guess those were the good old days !!!