Something different from the Mint archives - Taxay was here.

RWB

I found this in a volume of letters at NARA today. Anyone recognize the name and signature?

Barndog

he wrote a book or two, eh?

IGWT

So, he was there. And on my birthday, no less!

BECOKA

OK so he wrote a book or two on the mint and U.S. coinage.

What kind of stuff were you looking through to find this?

RWB

What was I looking for?

Letters sent by the Director's office in late 1892 and early 1893. Checking on production of 1893-S dollars and the Columbian and Isabella commems. Much more interesting when you can see the full story and understand why certain decisions were made. (Taxay’s archive pull slip was in this volume – he was probably looking for Columbian exposition coin info.)

Also located extensive documents explaining why the nickel was changed in 1883. (Will become an article one day.)

oreville

<< <i>Also located extensive documents explaining why the nickel was changed in 1883. (Will become an article one day.) >>



Don Taxay was here! Way too cool! Thanks for the heads up RWB!

By the way;

I always thought the conversion to the liberty head nickel was due to Charles Barber's ego convincing everyone that it had to be done?

EagleEye

Wasn't he curator of the Chase Manhattan Money Museum at that time?

The question is, where is he now? Is he still alive?

He pulled an Adrian and split to India, right?

denga

oreville September 14, 2008

By the way; I always thought the conversion to the liberty head nickel was due to Charles Barber's ego convincing everyone that it had to be done?

Barber’s ego was always involved but in this case the idea for the change came from
Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden. Snowden wanted a unified
series of minor coins (1 cent, 3 cents, and 5 cents) with the same obverse design and
of the same alloy, 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper.

Denga.

RWB

Snowden seems to have been behind quite a bit of things even when he was not working at the Philadelphia Mint. He was the primary critic of Morgan's standard silver dollar design (at Linderman's request). He pushed hard to sell Goloid/Stella sets to collectors and was the one who purchased the $50 gold half unions out of the Mint collection (thus saving them from being destroyed). [Speculation] I suspect he was the primary architect of pattern designs after 1878 and likely had many of the unusual variations and off-metal pieces struck.

EagleEye

Snowden wanted a unified
series of minor coins (1 cent, 3 cents, and 5 cents) with the same obverse design

To show how great this idea was, they left off the denominations - who needs 'em when the size tells you instantly what it is, right? Unfortunately the denomination stayed off when the Liberty Head Five Cent piece went into production. Oops.