Does anyone own Robert P. Hilt's "Die Varieties of Early United States Coins"?

Longacre

If you own this book, what do you think of it? Is it a standard reference? Does it cover every single series of early coins? How does the author approach the subject?

RTS

...I do not own the book but here is a snippet from E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 38, September 17, 2000...

DEVASTATING REVIEWS

In response to Tom Fort's request for books which had
"published scorn ... poured on them within a year or two
after they were printed" brought this response from Dave
Lange:

"The first example that comes to mind with respect to American
numismatics is Robert P. Hilt's "Die Varieties of Early United
States Coins." I bought this book as soon as it was published
in 1980. Good books were few and far between back then,
and I was quite excited at this new development. While the
plates were impressive for the time, I was puzzled from the
outset by his radical "die group theory of coinage." It seemed
downright wacky at the time, and it still does.

I don't remember seeing any contemporary reviews of this
book, though Walter Breen alternately quoted and contradicted
Hilt throughout his 1988 encyclopedia. To my knowledge, no
other numismatic researcher/writer has even acknowledged
Hilt's work, and it's almost unknown to the current generation
of hobbyists.

This book was just the first in a planned series, but the
succeeding volumes never appeared. I still keep this book on
my reference shelf here at NGC, but I simply never use it.
Hilt's book remains a curiosity, and I know nothing about the
man himself. Perhaps someone can fill in the blanks. Hilt
seems to be the A. W. Browning of the 1980s.

I can think of half a dozen other recent books on United States
coins that were filled with erroneous and sometimes comical
conclusions, yet each received favorable reviews in the
numismatic press. Either these reviewers are loathe to write
negatively about the hobby or they simply don't know enough
to recognize nonsense when they see it."

E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 39, September 24, 2000

ROBERT HILT

Julian Leidman writes: "I read David Lange's piece about
Bob Hilt's book. Bob passed away in a plane crash
sometime during the 1990's. He was an avid collector of
early US silver and gold coins by die varieties. He came up
with some theories on populations of die varieties based on
deliveries of dies, etc. He was very dedicated to his studies
on these and I remember him having discussions with Harry
Bass about his theories. Harry did not dismiss his thoughts
and enjoyed his reflections and theories.

I believe that he has been unjustly maligned by other numismatic
scholars. Bob was a businessman from Omaha and would have
undertaken the next series of coinage, if there had been enough
interest in his work. There was not and he chose not to share
his thoughts any further. I represented him many times at
auctions and always enjoyed our relationship. The last time that
I saw Bob was at the COAC when Harry's coins were
displayed. His collection has never surfaced since his death. I
hope that this may shed some new light on Robert Hilt."

Trime

Interesting.
I have never heard of the book but will look it up in the ANA library next month.

slumlord98

Hilt's work was not well received at the time. Specialists thought it was weak, and he selectively picked facts that fit his theories and left out that which didn't fit. I read his book a couple years ago, and feel that the die cluster theory is probably true, but is impossible to prove. Still an interesting read, with some rare images. Some feel his 1794 O.109 was just another copper die trial, despite the fact that it was passed around and examined at an ANA in the late 70s by several BHNC members.

As mentioned, he died in a plane crash around 1992, but when a dealer called his family and asked about his collection, his brother was unhelpful, but his father said that he believed it had been sold some years earlier. His brother turned up out of the blue a few years ago, and posted to the e-sylum message board, but when we tried to contact him, he didn't respond. I'd like to hear anything more that is known about Bob, his coins, or his research.

Edit: his book covers 18th C. silver, and maybe more, but the book is still packed. I'll add something if I can find it. Preturb has some better knowledge about Hilt and his work.

Conder101

Question was Robert Hilt the same person who had the paper on die group theory in the 1986 COAC on Early US silver coinage? I remember that when I read it I found it quite interesting.

slumlord98

Same person.

Nysoto

I have Hilt's book, along his "Group Strength" article in the 1986 ANS publication, and a pamphlet describing the "Rarest coin in the US" (1794 O.109 small head variety). Hilt's book covers silver and gold die varieties from 1794-1799, and I don't remember the book including early copper.

Hilt's "Group Strength" theory states that early US dies were fabricated in matched obverse and reverse sets prior to striking. When these sets were depleted, more dies would be fabricated to replenish the group strength. Hilt believed the sets included six obv and rev dies, and believed a "hex die" existed when known dies were less than six for a set. The hex dies would probably not be discovered because of the low survival rate on early US coins. I believe his basic premise that multiple sets of dies were fabricated, as overdates (that were not blundered dates) show that unused dies were carried over to later years. Also, recent discoveries prove there are additional dies "out there", such as 1806 O.129 which help to balance the most uneven obv/rev die usage in the 1794-1836 LE bust half series.

As SL mentioned, it would be interesting to know what happened to Hilt's collection. The book makes for interesting reading.

TomB

You should pick up a copy of America's Silver Coinage 1794-1891, which contains the information from the Coinage of the Americas Conference held in 1986. Hilt's "Group Strength" theory are presented there and, truth be told, though I have read it more than once I am still confused by its conclusions.

I also tried to contact Bob Hilt's brother through the E-sylum published email and never heard anything.