Howard Edward MacIntosh (1911-1958) - Famous or Infamous?

Zoins

I was just looking up information on Tatham Stamp & Coin Company and ran across the following from John N. Lupia, III:

At first I was just going to post the following envelope in the thread for more history but then noticed a statement that MacIntosh was a famous counterfeiter of California Factional Gold and Confederate coins.

Can any pieces be traced to Howard MacIntosh? Did he make his own pieces or did someone else engrave and strike them for him?

Of note, he was based in Springfield Massachusetts, home of John Adams Bolen. Is Bolen considered a counterfeiter? I know Bolen made replica coins but I don't often hear the term counterfeiter associated with him.

John Nicholas Joseph Lupia of Numismatic Mall wrote:

LOT No. 118. Howard Edward MacIntosh (1911-1958), owner of Tatham Stamp & Coin Company, Springfield, Massachusetts to stamp collector and APS member, George Peter Weiland. The Postmaster had to send Form 3547 (nice service marking) advising MacIntosh of Weiland's new address which occurred in the beginning of 1940. Letter carrier inscribed new address. Meter mail permit imprint. Back cover of business envelope is All-Over-Advertisement of Tatham Stamp listing available albums published by Scott Stamp & Coin Ltd., available 1939 to 1940. MacIntosh was infamous for manufacturing counterfeit California Fractional Gold pieces and Confederate coinages. Estimate $35 + S&H and insurance. Write john@numismaticmall.com with bids and further details.

Ref: http://www.numismaticmall.com/home/the-coin-shop

Here's the post I was going to respond to:

@meltdown's Tatham envelopes:

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/12705681/#Comment_12705681

Update: added info and TrueView below.

291fifth

While I have heard of the Tatham Stamp & Coin Co. I have never heard about the California or Confederate items associated with it.

I'm waiting for the rest of the story!

Zoins

It looks like Tatham Stamp and Coin Company was two people until MacIntosh passed away in 1958.

• Howard Edward MacIntosh
• Henry Evanson

@jfoot13 said:
Henry Evanson was a coin dealer for over 60 years, a ANA member for over 50 years, as well as a member NENA. and the Springfield and West Springfield Coin Clubs.

But today, Evanson is perhaps best noted for his 1788 Massachusetts cent and half cent replica coins.

Here's some more history:

This 1788 Massachusetts 1¢ Copper was struck by owner H.E. Macintosh's partner Henry Evanson (Die Sinker) of the Tatham Stamp and Coin Company some time in the 1940's.On the obverse you will find a small uppercase "E" above the star which denotes the Evanson restrike. These restrikes were listed in the Red Book through the 1960's and have been assigned Breen numbers 972 to the ½ ¢ and 973 to the 1¢ respectively. According to Walter Breen, these were struck sometime after WWII by Springfield, Massachusetts coin dealer Henry Evanson and Breen stated that examples are scarcely seen and seldom offered at auction.Howard McIntosh died in September 5,1958. Henry Evanson and a partner bought the Tatham Stamp and Coin company from the estate of H.E. Macintosh in 1958 and sold the Tatham business and name in 1960 (keeping a large part of the stock). Evanson started Spruceland Stamp and Coin in 1960.

Ref: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1788-massachusetts-copper-tatham-1790695072

Some forum threads:

• https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/785615/1788-massachusetts-cent-quot-evanson-quot-restrike
• https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/967533/zz

Here's a photo from @coinsarefun:

ricko

Interesting bit of numismatic history.... Any record of the counterfeit gold coins? Or have they long since melted? Cheers, RickO

Zoins

Mike Locke of CalgoldCoin.com has some info on Tatham.

He indicates they struck fantasy California factional gold and fantasy Alaska TooWah gold.

Here's some info:

http://www.calgoldcoin.com/oldhtml/alaska.htm

Mike Locke of CalgoldCoin.com wrote:

1862 Eskimo, "2 TOOWAH" (2 Ivories) between a pair of tusks. $2 size GB108. This token is gilt brass. It weighs 0.75 grams and was struck from very worn dies. Any of these are solid indicators that this is one of the common Tatham restrikes. The gilt is mostly intact on the illustrated token, making it one of the nicest gilt brass examples that I have seen. Most examples are worn and have most of the gilding missing.

The Tatham Brass TOO WAH (circa 1945, reportedly struck by Howard MacIntosh) measure 14.7mm x 0.6mm and weigh around 0.74 grams. The Nathan Joseph original 12K gold pieces measure 15.0mm x 0.8mm and weigh between 1.23 and 1.59 grams. The originals were priced at $1.15. The originals usually show more detail, see the next pictures. Jay Roe identified 3 varieties of the 7 star reverse (3 illustrated).

Here's an envelope from Heritage along with a restrike photo from PCGS:

https://coins.ha.com/itm/western-souvenir-gold/original-tatham-stamp-and-coin-co-token-packet-and-mailing-insert-r4-an-original-envelope-packet-that-once-contained-an-al/a/1259-8700.s

ricko

@Zoins... Thank you... Since they were noted as 're-strikes', fantasy pieces and souvenirs, is it really fair to label them counterfeits? Cheers, RickO

Zoins

Here's information on some Bear Beware pieces attributed to Tatham.

http://www.calgoldcoin.com/oldhtml/bear9.htm

Mike Locke of CalgoldCoin.com wrote:

1852 Liberty #1, stars 1,2,7,10,13 repunched

The first picture illustrates an early die state with layout lines around the lettering, complete flowers and no crack. It is very weakly struck, gold plated brass and came in a Tatham envelope C99 dated May 1943.

The second picture illustrates the more frequently encountered die state with the centers of the flowers polished out, semi-proof like surfaces and a large crack.

Zoins

@ricko said:
@Zoins... Thank you... Since they were noted as 're-strikes', fantasy pieces and souvenirs, is it really fair to label them counterfeits? Cheers, RickO

I know very little about Howard MacIntosh and Henry Evanson at this point but find their history fasinating. I'm just posting what I find. Hopefully someone with more info on their history can post. The counterfeiter language is from John Nicholas Joseph Lupia of Numismatic Mall so he probably has more information. Does he post here?

For the ones known as "restrikes", apparently some seem to have been struck from original dies and are real restrikes, while others are fantasies. I still haven't found information on their Confederate pieces.

As for my original question of famous or infamous. it seems like rather than either now, a lot of information has been lost to time. Hopefully we can make them famous again.

ricko

Thanks again.... will wait to see if more information appears.... also will google a few related areas of the above and see if anything pops up. Cheers, RickO

Zoins

Here's a Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling. Imagine buying originals for $40-$100!

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1652-mass-pine-tree-token-tatham-2051698220

Zoins

I will say that one thing Howard MacIntosh did well, was marketing and printing information!

While I haven't found any catalogs, he did print a lot of info an it's great that this survives.

It's interesting that these restrikes sold for $1.00 when originals were quoted as selling for $2.75.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/tatham-1862-1910-alaskan-gold-wah-2101317365

Zoins

Fred L. Reed III wrote an article a MacIntish and Tatham for CoinWorld in 2013 which provides good background for the company:

Spare Change: Catalogs spark numismatic urge

https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/collecting-by-mail.html

Fred L. Reed III wrote:

My first mail-order coin dealer was Tatham Stamp & Coin, Springfield, Mass., so the store card illustrated this time reflects abiding interests. This aluminum token is also known in copper. It employs a very common circa 1940 to 1950s Lincoln obverse effigy that appears on a number of other small medals and store cards made by Osborne Register Co. of Cincinnati.

Tatham was operated by Howard E. Macintosh, and specialized in starter collections for beginner numismatists and fledgling philatelists, of which I was both. Its heavily illustrated and well-written catalogs were a joy for a neophyte like me to behold. They were like viewing a Christmas catalog the year around.
[...]
I purchased other “neat” items that set my imagination ablaze. One catching my fancy was a gilt brass token purporting to be ALASKAN GOLD dated 1862 in the denomination of 2 TOOWAH that I added to my “Civil War” collection, although it was only a brass restrike bearing a 1910 patent date
[...]
Tatham was also famous (or infamous depending on your outlook) for its inexpensive restrikes of Colonial and other numismatic items, and collecting kits, reference booklets, and supplies under its house brand TASCO label.

Zoins

So it looks like we have both views, famous and infamous.

Either way, it looks like Howard, along with his die sinker, Henry Evanson, had a big impact on the hobby.

I wonder if anyone has created a catalog of their work?

Famous:

Fred L. Reed III wrote:

Tatham was operated by Howard E. Macintosh [....]

Tatham was also famous (or infamous depending on your outlook) for its inexpensive restrikes of Colonial and other numismatic items

Infamous:

John Nicholas Joseph Lupia of Numismatic Mall wrote:

MacIntosh was infamous for manufacturing counterfeit California Fractional Gold pieces and Confederate coinages.

291fifth

Considering when the "restrikes" date from their price of $1.00 was actually not that low.

Lots of good information in this thread!