Numismatists tend to score higher in age demographics, and many readers will no doubt recall the 1970s metric system discussion in the United States. The Commerce Department created a number of studies at the time, few of which led to any substantial changes in the day to day lives of ordinary Am...
Read more...User ”messydesk” posted on the PCGS U.S. Coin Forum an interesting 1894 letter from the National Archives, processed by Newman Portal, acknowledging receipt of a U.S. Grant medal from the Philadelphia Mint. The medal, Julian MI-29, was a massive production weighing in at 28.77 ounces (the gold ex...
Read more...Launched in 2019, Jim Koenings' Reeded Edge Half Newsletter is dedicated to study of the reeded edge Capped Bust half dollars struck from 1836-1839. An extension of the Capped Bust half dollar series, the Reeded Edge pieces represent a number of changes, including transition to the steam press an...
Read more...In 1993, Eric P. Newman published the paper “Origin of the Dollar Sign” in the American Numismatic Society Coinage of the America Conference proceedings. This work traced the evolution of “ps” (Spanish abbreviation for peso) into the now ubiquitous “$.” Newman located varying forms in both manusc...
Read more...An old (and fraudulent) trick in the gold business is to vigorously shake a bag of gold coins together, in an effort to free a few bits of the previous metal in the form of dust, which can be sold to the benefit of the owner. The devalued coins still retain their face value, so there is no loss i...
Read more...The 1990s represented heady times for the numismatic firm of Bowers & Merena, with the Eliasberg and Bass sales leading the way. Bibiliophiles were richly treated as well, with a steady stream of books from Q. David Bowers in addition to the house organs Rare Coin Review and The Coin Collecto...
Read more...Black history is drawing increased attention in our society, with the formation of related academic programs and focal points such as the recently opened National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Numismatics forms another lens through which to view Black history,...
Read more...Recently added to Newman Portal, courtesy of authors Bob Hewey and Jim Delaney, is the book Prison Tokens, Coupons and Scrip of the United States and Canada. The foreword summarizes: “You may ask, ‘why were there special kinds of money used in prisons, jail and reformatories?’ There are good reas...
Read more...While the National Archives remains inaccessible to researchers, Newman Portal continues creating transcriptions of previously scanned material. Recently processed is an 1893 letter from the Superintendent of the U.S. Assay Office in New York City, Andrew Mason, requesting that Philadelphia Mint ...
Read more...A research query forwarded by Q. David Bowers pointed us toward the biography of Henry William de Saussure, the second director of the U.S. Mint, who had a short tenure in that position, July -October 1795. Written in 1841, the biography lends a charming anecdote regarding the Mint under de Sauss...
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