I just received the Renaissance of American Coinage 1909-1915, literally seconds ago…
Longacre
Posts: 16,717 ✭✭✭
…and I am whipped up into a frenzy over here. I just received the book and it looks great. When I ordered it, I wrote a note that I would like the book personalized by Roger Burdette. I wrote the check to a place called Seneca Mill Press, which is no doubt some enormous, multinational conglomerate. I figured there was no way they would ever read my note, and would simply process the check and send the book out. At best, I figured the conglomerate would have a secretary or the guy in the mailroom scribble “RWB” on the title page just to keep me happy.
You can imagine my sheer joy and surprise when I opened the volume, and there was a personal inscription from Burdette himself (either he wrote it, or the secretary at Seneca Mill Press definitely has man-hands). The note read, “Mike-- Hoping you enjoy the book! Thank you for your wonderful comments and suggestions. /s/ Roger W. Burdette. September 6, 2007”.
The book itself appears very well made. The binding is tight, and the paper is of excellent quality. The cover is in full color, and at first I got concerned about the use of lead paint. However, when I opened the book, I noticed that it was printed in the good old US of A, probably in a union shop.
The cover has another incredible piece of artwork from Jane B. Waldron. It shows a representation of a Suffragette campaigning for women’s voting rights, along with some coins of the era, a copy of the front page of the NY Times announcing the sinking of the Titanic, and a piece of literature encouraging the Panama-Pacific Exposition to be held in San Francisco. The overall cover art is very appealing and just whets your appetite to delve into the text.
I will provide a copy of the chapter titles of the table of contents below. There are a lot more sub details in the TOC, and the book seems to be very in-depth:
Author’s Preface and Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1—Connecting the Oceans
Chapter 2-- Mr. Lincoln’s Portrait
Chapter 3-- A Frenzy Throughout the Country [maybe a veiled reference to the PCGS boards?]
Chapter 4-- Patterns and Proofs
Chapter 5-- Novus Ordo Seclorum [I have no clue what this means, but it just sounds so intelligent]
Chapter 6-- A Better Metal
Chapter 7-- Something of Real Merit
Chapter 8-- Hobbs Goblins
Chapter 9-- Most American of Coins
Chapter 10-- Designs, Patterns and Proofs
Chapter 11-- Design Changes
Chapter 12-- Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Epilog and Ephemera
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
The book is 350 pages, and includes a six page bibliography and a very detailed index. For the budding researchers in the house, there are 761 footnotes! I think that Burdette is old-school, because no one in their right mind puts footnotes in books anymore. There is no money to be made in “small type”, and that space could have been used to sell ads to coin firms. No doubt Burdette was looking for quality and completeness, and I look forward to reading the notes and the text.
All in all, it looks like a great book, and I plan to start reading it tonight!
You can imagine my sheer joy and surprise when I opened the volume, and there was a personal inscription from Burdette himself (either he wrote it, or the secretary at Seneca Mill Press definitely has man-hands). The note read, “Mike-- Hoping you enjoy the book! Thank you for your wonderful comments and suggestions. /s/ Roger W. Burdette. September 6, 2007”.
The book itself appears very well made. The binding is tight, and the paper is of excellent quality. The cover is in full color, and at first I got concerned about the use of lead paint. However, when I opened the book, I noticed that it was printed in the good old US of A, probably in a union shop.
The cover has another incredible piece of artwork from Jane B. Waldron. It shows a representation of a Suffragette campaigning for women’s voting rights, along with some coins of the era, a copy of the front page of the NY Times announcing the sinking of the Titanic, and a piece of literature encouraging the Panama-Pacific Exposition to be held in San Francisco. The overall cover art is very appealing and just whets your appetite to delve into the text.
I will provide a copy of the chapter titles of the table of contents below. There are a lot more sub details in the TOC, and the book seems to be very in-depth:
Author’s Preface and Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1—Connecting the Oceans
Chapter 2-- Mr. Lincoln’s Portrait
Chapter 3-- A Frenzy Throughout the Country [maybe a veiled reference to the PCGS boards?]
Chapter 4-- Patterns and Proofs
Chapter 5-- Novus Ordo Seclorum [I have no clue what this means, but it just sounds so intelligent]
Chapter 6-- A Better Metal
Chapter 7-- Something of Real Merit
Chapter 8-- Hobbs Goblins
Chapter 9-- Most American of Coins
Chapter 10-- Designs, Patterns and Proofs
Chapter 11-- Design Changes
Chapter 12-- Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Epilog and Ephemera
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
The book is 350 pages, and includes a six page bibliography and a very detailed index. For the budding researchers in the house, there are 761 footnotes! I think that Burdette is old-school, because no one in their right mind puts footnotes in books anymore. There is no money to be made in “small type”, and that space could have been used to sell ads to coin firms. No doubt Burdette was looking for quality and completeness, and I look forward to reading the notes and the text.
All in all, it looks like a great book, and I plan to start reading it tonight!
Always took candy from strangers
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
0
Comments
re: Chapter 5-- Novus Ordo Seclorum [I have no clue what this means, but it just sounds so intelligent]
I put this in for all the lawyers so they can cite the book in their next filing. The Latin phrase means "we do not put starch in your shorts" and comes from a time when many laundries were run by Italians - before the pizza was discovered by Joe Polo (Marco's non-swimming brother). The phrase is also on the back of the $1 bill.
enjoy the book and let us know what you think
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
<< <i>Chapter 8-- Hobbs Goblins >>
Would that be in reference to the vending machine guy from Massachusetts who complained that Buffalo nickels wouldn't work in his equipment?
Yep....Hobbs and his business partners were the only reason the Buffalo nickel didn't get into circulation in 1912. Fraser wasted many hours trying to please them. Hobbs was also involved in complains about the 1909 Lincoln cent and the 1916 dime/quarter/half, among other things.