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A few lots in the Newman Library sale
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Heritage sold the frontline portion of the Eric P. Newman library today. A few lots --
First six volumes of the Numismatist - $24k
Col. E.H.R. Green archives - $15.6k
Crosby unbound subscription version - $9.6k
Thomas Hall manuscript on early American coinage - $20.4k
Hart on colonial paper money - $19.2k
Perkins' Bank Bill Test - $33.6k
Wooten desk - $10.2k
Ormsby on bank note engraving - $7.8k
John Ford correspondence - $4.5k
Block of timber from first U.S. Mint - $1.8k
The literature part of the sale totaled $516k. Internet lots on Saturday.
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Amazing!
I was watching it go down like some thrilling action packed movie. Astounding prices for the books, and especially correspondence between noted numismatists! It was good to see that there are those who appreciate this stuff as much as Mr. Newman himself did.
The first copy of Roger's Biography on Eric Newman, "Truth Seeker," presented to Mr. Newman (and signed by Newman) went for over $3K. Now that's one I wish I could've put on my shelf!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Wow, those are some very respectable prices for numismatic literature!
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
I noticed the lot on the block of timber and had to see. I wonder if the winning bidder was a combination numismatist and dendrologist.
Fascinating.
Thanks!
Excerpt from HA, “United States Mint at Philadelphia. Cross Section of Original Beam from the First United States Mint at 7th and Filbert Streets, Philadelphia. Wooden block measuring approximately 13 by 9 by 3 cm. With typewritten label from which our lot title is taken. Well-preserved.”
Is this a sign that the numismatics market is going strong?
The amazing legacy of Mr. Newman lives on! Great to see such strong money for these treasures.
Maybe.
Certainly were some very strong prices, but the previous auctions of his collection have always been strong. After collecting for around 80 years, it is well known that he had incredible stuff and it's been off the market forever.
A lot of people simply want a piece of that.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Seeing that piece of timber made me think of Oreville's bell.
It is a sign that people with money are still spending it on trophy collectibles.
RE: "The first copy of Roger's Biography on Eric Newman, "Truth Seeker," presented to Mr. Newman (and signed by Newman) went for over $3K. Now that's one I wish I could've put on my shelf!"
The biography was prepared by Joel Orosz, Len Augsberger, and myself -- all were equal authors. Everyone's research and contributions were vital to producing a thoughtful, accurate book.
The huge collection of coin scales garnered a lot of bids. Some of the scales came with the original boxes and paperwork. The Herpers scale sold for 11k. Picture from the Museum at Washington University in St. Louis that I visited a few years ago.
(Herpers scale upper left in the museum photo)
True, although some of those lots - especially the large lots of correspondence and invoices - would probably have brought a lot more if they were not posted online at the Newman portal. Also, some of the second tier lots seemed very reasonable to me.
I only bought one of the books, an original Browning, one of only 50 printed, for $1100 plus the juice. I've always wanted one (for no good reason) and thought it was a bargain. I would have liked to have bought the Thomas Hall manuscript, which was way cooler in hand than the price realized would seem to indicate, but I wasn't ready to buy a book for the 25-50K I expected it to bring. At 17K hammer, I think it was also a bargain, believe it or not.
My favorite purchase from the sale was a coin, the 1839 Arequipa 8 Reales, a classic rarity of Latin American numismatics. It was originally sceduled to be sold years ago with the rest of Newman's best world coins, but he withdrew it from that sale at the last minute, reportedly for sentimental reasons. If anyone here knows the rest of that story, I'd love to hear it!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I did buy another piece from the Newman Library. Here's the Heritage description and image. At $2200 hammer, I thought it was another bargain.
"U.S. Mint Assay Report on Bechtler Gold Coins
Unique 1837 Handwritten Document
United States Mint. Recapitulation of Various Trials of Bechtler's Gold Coins, at the Mint of the United States. Feb. 8, 1837. Original handwritten document, [39 by 25 cm], on plain paper ruled in red. Arranged in tabular format, with columns for denomination, number of pieces used, alleged weight of the pieces, the actual average weight of the pieces examined, the alleged fineness in carats, the alleged fineness in millièmes or thousandths, the actual fineness in millièmes, the alleged value of each piece, and their average actual value. Notes are made as to the number of parcels in which the assays were conducted. The extremes of values of the different finenesses are given. It is noted that "The foregoing is extracted from records in the Assayer's office. All the pieces purported to have been struck since August 1834; and it is proper to add, they had not, generally, the appearance of having been much in circulation, if at all."
The results of the assay of these pieces clearly indicate that the Bechtler gold coins were not of full value, with the average value of the $5 pieces being between $4.81 and $4.906, the average value of the $2.50 pieces being between $2.40 and $2.468, and the average value of the $1 pieces being $0.975. Information is provided for coins indicated as being 20, 21, and 22 carats fine. Repaired many years ago where the document had separated at various folds. Perfectly legible; slightly toned at some of the old repairs. Very good. A most remarkable document, quite important for what it reports about the Bechtler pieces."
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I added one more lot to my invoice today. As described by Heritage:
"Waldo Newcomer Colonial Boxes by T. James Clarke. Waldo Newcomer (1867-1934) assembled a collection of 430 colonial coins. He housed these in small coin boxes that fellow collector Thomas James Clarke (1875-1952), a New York box maker, produced in the early 1900s. When "Colonel" E.H.R. Green acquired the Newcomer colonial collection, he apparently separated the coins and boxes. Eric P. Newman, in turn, acquired all of these boxes from the Green Estate. This lot consists of 430 T. James Clarke coin boxes, mostly 1.3 x 1.5 inches, and some a little larger. We hope that the boxes and coins will someday be reunited."
A super cool lot that once housed a collection worth many millions today. Unfortunately, they did not come cheap. I had to pay a touch under a dollar apiece, PLUS THE JUICE!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I have to say EPN had a huge and varied collection with tons of things in it. Some of the counterfeit detecting equipment went for far more than I would have figured.
This set of 6 went for $24k.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/six-counterfeit-coin-detectors-of-various-designs-very-good-to-fine-the-first-item-is-an-ingenious-circular-coin-gauge-by-john/a/1283-15691.s?ic16=ViewItem-BrowseTabs-Auction-Archive-ThisAuction-120115
Very interesting. Was there one sleeper piece in the lot that drove the price to that level, or were they all killers?
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Spectacular bids!
Those PR's for the counterfeit detection devices were amazing.
I was fortunate to get a couple of items from Newman sale, including something for the living room!
The Wooten desk seemed quite reasonable. I had a flat top “lawyers own” style in my office. I always wanted a barrel front like his but it was impractical for my office. They were going for $20-30,000 twenty years ago. Sold my flat top for $7500 in 1994.
Here's the link for his desk which sold for $10,200.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/other-collectibles/a-walnut-standard-wooton-patent-secretary-desk-circa-1876-excellent-condition/a/1283-15415.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
There was just recently an article in the NY Times on the decreasing prices of antique furniture:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/arts/design/antiques-home-living.html
>
This might have been the best deal if the whole auction. What an awesome piece!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
The buyer of the desk was sitting just in front of me in the sale. That was the best trophy item, in my opinion, of the sale. He still has to get it from its resting place in St Louis to his home. Wish I had room for it.
I picked up a single lot in the live auction and a few more in the internet only section.
Lot viewing was very interesting with the opportunity to see some exceedingly rare and interesting pieces of numismatic literature. Overall I was disappointed in the condition of many of the lots. A consequence of it being a true working library.
Dinner Tuesday night with Mr Eureka and other luminaries was a highlight. Congratulations on your Browning purchase, it’s the only Browning I’m missing......
I hope all the other successful bidders are as happy with their purchases as I am with mine!
An era of numismatic history has now closed.
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
I picked up a stack of thirteen W. Elliot Woodward catalogues that I'm sure are in rough shape, but are very rare. And at $74 bucks, I'll take the chance of learning something new.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."