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Adolph A. Weinman signature

OverdateOverdate Posts: 7,157 ✭✭✭✭✭
Following up on an earlier post, this is a unique philatelic (not numismatic) item containing the handwritten signature of Adolph A. Weinman, designer of the Mercury Dime and Walking Liberty Half Dollar. His signature is fifth from the top.

image

Based on a web search, his handwritten signature appears to be extremely rare, much more so than that of Augustus St. Gaudens, which is expensive but more readily available.

I was able to find only one Weinman signature offered at public auction during the past 10 years, and that one was signed “A.A. Weinman” rather than his full first name. The facsimile signature displayed on NGC labels for certain 2016 gold Mercury dimes is likewise “A.A. Weinman”.

This is the only signature of his I can find in which he spells out his full first name. Does anyone know of any others?

My Adolph A. Weinman signature :)

Comments

  • Jackthecat1Jackthecat1 Posts: 1,122 ✭✭✭
    Thank you for posting this excellent example. The signature below Weinman's is that of Postmaster General James A. Farley. The one at the bottom left is that of Benjamin Harrison's widow.
    Member ANS, ANA, GSNA, TNC



    image
  • oih82w8oih82w8 Posts: 12,560 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cool stuff! What were they mailing that cost 96 cents? image
    oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's

    BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
  • WalkerfanWalkerfan Posts: 9,722 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Gorgeous!!



    As a Walker enthusiast; I would love to own this rare piece of history!!



    Thank You for sharing.



    PS--not only did he sign his FULL name but he wrote 'sculptor' afterwards.....very cool.

    Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍

    My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):

    https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,709 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: oih82w8

    Cool stuff! What were they mailing that cost 96 cents? image




    I would guess it is a First Day of Issue Plate Block Cover of a new stamp based on a bust sculpted by Weinman. Too lazy to look up when the stamp was issued.
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • MedalCollectorMedalCollector Posts: 2,020 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So how do you authenticate such a signature?

    I'm just trying out my Pawn Stars hat here : )
  • oih82w8oih82w8 Posts: 12,560 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I bet that you are correct (again) CaptHenway;



    "The Presidential Issue, nicknamed the Prexies by collectors, is the series of definitive postage stamps issued in the United States in 1938, featuring all 29 U.S. presidents who were in office between 1789 and 1928, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge...." It was FDR's idea since he was a stamp collector.



    Scott 828 - The 24c Benjamin Harrison - December 2



    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Issue

    oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's

    BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
  • kazkaz Posts: 9,263 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What a cool piece! Nice penmanship on the address to Miss Doris Viola Wunder (great name!) in N.O.
  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 24,674 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: CaptHenway
    Originally posted by: oih82w8
    Cool stuff! What were they mailing that cost 96 cents? image


    I would guess it is a First Day of Issue Plate Block Cover of a new stamp based on a bust sculpted by Weinman. Too lazy to look up when the stamp was issued.


    It is a first day cover ... and a very interesting one at that!

    All glory is fleeting.
  • gripgrip Posts: 9,962 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great stuff.Love the history.
  • OverdateOverdate Posts: 7,157 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Here's a picture of Weinman's bust of President Harrison that was used as a model for the stamp:

    Link

    My Adolph A. Weinman signature :)

  • GreigGreig Posts: 89 ✭✭
    That cover is amazing.

    I just did a quick look on Ebay and a cover that looks to be identical to the one in the OP was sold earlier this month for big money. Interestingly, Ms. Wunder appears to have received a large number of similar covers (many with signatures of persons associated with the stamp(s) on the cover) during the late 1930's and early 1940's, as there are over 40 listed on Ebay right now, all with that wonderful penmanship used for her name and address. (Search "Wunder covers")

    Perhaps she had a connection in the Postmaster General's offices?

    Thanks to the OP for posting the photo!
  • OverdateOverdate Posts: 7,157 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Greig
    That cover is amazing. I just did a quick look on Ebay and a cover that looks to be identical to the one in the OP was sold earlier this month for big money.

    I did buy the cover you saw on eBay, but as a “best offer” rather than for the original listed price. The Weinman signature was the main reason I bought it, but my correspondence with the seller revealed an interesting backstory.

    The addressee, Doris Viola Wunder (1931-2004), was only 7 years old when the cover was created. The signatures on this cover and others like it were assembled by her father, some of them at the First Day stamp ceremonies and others by mailing them to the artists and dignitaries for their signatures. I don't know what connections he had that enabled him to do this. Nearly all the covers were created between 1938 and 1940.

    Doris was married in 1954 and she and her husband later moved to Georgia. She most likely kept this and her other first day covers during her entire lifetime, as they did not come to light until after she died. The signatures on each of the covers are related to the particular stamp being issued, but I do not know of any others that have numismatic as well as philatelic significance.


    My Adolph A. Weinman signature :)

  • sparky64sparky64 Posts: 7,041 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Extremely cool on all counts.

    "If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"

    My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress

  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Very nice bit of both numismatic and philatelic significance.... and thanks for the backstory... Cheers, RickO
  • OverdateOverdate Posts: 7,157 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Here's another "Wunder cover" that any baseball fan would love!

    Link

    "This cover was sent to each of these individuals by an ambitious autograph collector by the name of Paul Wunder of New Orleans, Louisiana on behalf of his daughter Doris to whom the cover is addressed."

    My Adolph A. Weinman signature :)

  • mannie graymannie gray Posts: 7,259 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Overdate

    Here's another "Wunder cover" that any baseball fan would love!



    Link



    "This cover was sent to each of these individuals by an ambitious autograph collector by the name of Paul Wunder of New Orleans, Louisiana on behalf of his daughter Doris to whom the cover is addressed."




    Wow!!!

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,709 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: mannie gray

    Originally posted by: Overdate

    Here's another "Wunder cover" that any baseball fan would love!



    Link



    "This cover was sent to each of these individuals by an ambitious autograph collector by the name of Paul Wunder of New Orleans, Louisiana on behalf of his daughter Doris to whom the cover is addressed."




    Wow!!!





    Wow indeed!
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • DIMEMANDIMEMAN Posts: 22,403 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: mannie gray
    Originally posted by: Overdate
    Here's another "Wunder cover" that any baseball fan would love!

    Link

    "This cover was sent to each of these individuals by an ambitious autograph collector by the name of Paul Wunder of New Orleans, Louisiana on behalf of his daughter Doris to whom the cover is addressed."


    Wow!!!


    WOW!! +1......some great names on that one!
  • NysotoNysoto Posts: 3,821 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Interesting signature and story to go with it. As I mentioned in the other thread, copperplate signatures can be found for chief engravers Scot, Kneass, Gobrecht, and Longacre. Actual hand signatures from these men are rare. In my ten years of research of Robert Scot, I found about 15 of his hand signatures, and was able to see around half in person, all in government or private archives. I would love to find one on the market. This one is courtesy of the National Archives in Philadelphia, from a engraving cost forecast for the 4th quarter of 1795:
    image
    Robert Scot: Engraving Liberty - biography of US Mint's first chief engraver
  • hchcoinhchcoin Posts: 4,837 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I love these types of threads. Very cool.

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