QUIZ ANSWER Public Deposited
GEORGE JONES' 1860 COIN COLLECTORS' MANUAL
The E-Sylum: Volume 10, Number 11, March 18, 2007, Article 6
QUIZ ANSWER: GEORGE JONES' 1860 COIN COLLECTORS' MANUAL
In an article last week about the PCGS Research Archive, I asked "So
who issued the earliest known pricelist for U.S. coins? And where and
when was it issued?" The answer is "The Coin Collectors' Manual,
Containing a Description of the Gold, Silver, Copper and other Coins,
of the United States, Together With an Account of Actual Sales in
Philadelphia and new York, Designed as A Guide Book for Coin Collectors",
compiled by George F. Jones. Published in 1860, it was sold by Edward
Cogan of Philadelphia, PA. The following description is from the PCGS
Research Archive, which has images of every page of the booklet:"While a handful of books detailing the history of early American
numismatics had been published prior to the Civil War, (The Manual
of Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, Eckfeldt and Dubois, 1842;
and Dickeson's American Numismatical Manual, 1859 among them) there
was really no simple, succinct guidebook for collectors that discussed
values of coins."In 1860, that need was met by George Jones of Philadelphia in his
publication of The Coin Collectors Manual. Sold at the shop of Edward
Cogan, it was by no means a lavish affair. A mere 42 pages long, it
simply listed all U.S., Colonial and Pattern coins in order, with prices
realized from the major sales of the past five years. In keeping with
the practice of the period, mintmarks were ignored."The Earliest Known Pricelist for U.S. Coins
research_archive/early_pricelistI asked George Kolbe about the Jones guide. He writes: "This is how
I have described the book for many years:"Attinelli page 110. A significant work, the first guide book of values
for American coins, which were derived from early auction and private
sale records. Also featured is perhaps the earliest reference to the
problems inherent in grading American coins: 'In the sales of the
foregoing pieces, there are, of course, some apparent discrepancies,
as, for instance, where the condition of the coin sold, is represented
as the same, the prices are widely different. This can be accounted
for, generally, in no other way, than that one coin collector or dealer
may call a coin fine or very fine, when another would describe one
exactly like it, only as good or fine.'"- 2007-03-18
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