Volume XLII Number 1 January 2008 Consecutive Issue #244 Copyright 2008 Early American Coppers, Inc. All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Club Officials 2 Introduction by the Editor Harry Salyards 3 Original Articles Sydney F. Martin 4 Discovery of an Interesting Coin Hoard Dan Demeo 10 New Example of 1796 NC-7 Surfaces Meetings and Membership Notes John Wright 11 Your Penny-Wise Mailing Label Chuck Heck 11 Call for Seminars and Speakers Dan Trollan 12 2008 Large Cent Happening, Dallas TX Bill Eckberg 13 2008 Half Cent Happening Varieties Steve Carr 13 Call for Exhibits and Seminar Announcements Jon Lusk 14 It’s Finally a Reality! Ed Jasper 15 EAC 2008 Convention Update John Warshawsky, Steve Carr, Bill Eckberg 16 Report of the Elections Committee Bob Grellman 16 Obituary: Ed Tarr Rod Burress 17 Candidates for Membership Miscellaneous Collector Notes Jeff Noonan 17 Half Cent Whist Match at EAC 2007 Greg Heim 20 Collecting Coppers with a Neurological Disorder Mike Gebhardt 23 Net Grade Knockdowns by Condition Greg Heim 25 An Enigmatic Counterstamp James Higby 25 Serendipity Knocks John Wright 27 Making Sense From the Internet Gene Anderson 30 Swaps and Sales 32 CLUB OFFICIALS National Officers President: Dan Holmes ([email protected]) (216) 486-4000 16900 S. Waterloo Road, Cleveland, OH 44110 Vice President: Denis Loring ([email protected]) Box 32115, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420 Secretary: John Kraljevich ([email protected]) PO Box 237188, New York NY 10023-7188 Treasurer: John D. Wright ([email protected]) 1468 Timberlane Drive, St. Joseph, MI 49085 Editor of Penny-Wise: Harry E. Salyards ([email protected]) 606 N. Minnesota Ave., Hastings, NE 68901 Membership Chairman: Rod Burress 9743 Leacrest, Cincinnati, OH 45215 Historian: Mark Borckhardt ([email protected]) 1625 Warm Springs Dr., Allen, TX 75002 Regional Chairs and Secretaries Region 1: New England: Chairman: Charles Davis ([email protected]) Secretary: Howard Barron ([email protected]) Region 2: New York-New Jersey: Chairman: H. Craig Hamling ([email protected]) Secretary: Jim Neiswinter ([email protected]) Region 3: Mid-Atlantic (PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, NC) Chairman: Bill Eckberg ([email protected]) Secretary: Brett Dudek ([email protected]) Region 4: Southeast (SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, TN) Chairman: Bob Grellman ([email protected]) Secretary: Don Weathers (P.O. Box 30996, Myrtle Beach, SC 29588) Region 5: North Central (MI, OH, KY, IN, IL, WI, MN, IA, NE, SD, ND) Chairman: Don Valenziano ([email protected]; P.O. Box 902, Frankfort, Il 60423) Secretary: Joe Tomasko (P.O. Box 388386, Chicago, IL 60638) Region 6: South Central (KS, MO, AR, LA, TX, OK, NM, CO) Chairman: Russ Butcher ([email protected]) Secretary: Chris McCawley ([email protected]) Region 7: West (WY, MT, ID, UT, NV, AZ, CA, OR, WA, AK, HI) Chairman: Bim Gander ([email protected]) Secretary: Randy Snyder ([email protected]) Region 8: Internet Chairman: Mark Switzer ([email protected]) Webmaster: H. Craig Hamling ([email protected]) Penny-Wise has been published every two months since September 1967. Its founding editor was Warren A. Lapp (1915-1993). Harry E. Salyards has served as Editor-in-Chief since 1986. Contributing Editors: Denis W. Loring, John D. Wright. Typing Assistance by Debra Johnson. Printed by Advance Graphics and Printing, Chandler, OK. 2 INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR: GOING HOME Harry E. Salyards Sometimes you can go home again – though the context may be the final dissolution of an old home. My brother and I recently had to move our 90 year-old mother to a nursing home, and are in the process of closing out the house where she had lived since 1961. And what should I discover, in a shoe box on her bedroom closet shelf, but my original Lincoln cent Whitman folder “Number Two, 1941 to date.” I suspect that I simply left it behind, when I retrieved another dozen-or-so folders of coins I’d put together from circulation, back in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Unbeknownst to me, she’d kept it going – dutifully filling in the remainder of the available slots in the folder to the best of her ability (there were a couple of missing “S” mints from the 1968 through 1974 time frame, just as there had been a couple of missing “S” mints from 1909 to 1915 in my Lincoln cent folder “Number One, 1909 to 1940” – that one I’d broken up, though not irretrievably, as noted below). And when she ran out of slots, she’d started Scotch-taping dates to the inside of the right-hand paper flap on the folder; those had turned a curious blue under the tape. Plus, she continued to set aside multiple bright red Lincoln cents through at least 1999 – which she’d put into two Planter’s peanut cans. (That was enough to kindle an ancillary memory, of how I’d found a well-worn 1915D cent, in a red plastic “Mr. Peanut” bank, which my parents had in the house, during my original ‘change-searching’ days.) Going through all this stuff, originally intending only to roll it up for a bank deposit, I found myself consulting the Red Book – yes, after 1974 there were Philadelphia and Denver business strikes for each and every year – and I started laying them all out, “P’s” above “D’s,” in four rows, on a large cloth napkin on my dining room table. Supplemented by what I found in my two years’ accumulation of pocket change (at the end of each day, I routinely dump any cents, nickels, and dimes into a metal tea canister on my dresser), I had every circulation strike, 1976 through 2007! That included a 1968S (a gap in her collection) in nice Red and Brown AU. And suddenly, it was 1959 all over again, going through my mother’s change to plug holes in a Whitman folder. That was my introduction to coin collecting – and personally, it’s been a long and glorious ride. But in a collecting world awash in ignorant money – $12,500 for a Sacagawea “Cheerios” dollar comes to mind – I have to wonder how many kids looking through their moms’ change purses this wintry Sunday afternoon (assuming there still are some) will still be engrossed in coin collecting 49 years down the road. . . By the way, I still have the cents that go in that “1909 to 1940” folder, minus a few semi- keys sold for a few bucks apiece in the early ‘70s – but they’re mixed in with several hundred of their fellow “Wheat” cents from that era, in a couple of clear plastic boxes tucked onto one of my closet shelves. And I sense a ‘reconstitution’ project coming on. . . * * * * * * * * * * * * 3 DISCOVERY OF AN INTERESTING COIN HOARD Sydney F. Martin In early 2007, two individuals purchased an old stone farmhouse along with associated outbuildings in Wrightstown, Pennsylvania. Wrightstown is in Bucks County, and is located approximately 25 miles north of Philadelphia. Their purpose was to restore the property – house and barn – turning it into a handsome rural residence. During this restoration, a hoard of early coins was discovered. These coins were brought to the attention of Ron Bradley, proprietor of Eagle Coins in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, who negotiated its acquisition, and knowing of my interest in such discoveries, offered the lot to me. To say that the hoard was discovered in one fell swoop is misleading; rather, it was spread over several weeks. The first portion of the hoard was discovered in the root cellar. It consisted primarily of large cents encrusted in a heavy green patination that could not be removed by any simple means (See Figure 1). The earliest example was dated 1795 and the latest 1856. Technical conditions ranged from AG through EF. Prior to about 1845 the coins show heavy circulation and were typically in lower grades; afterwards, the nominal condition increased until during the 1850s it reached an average of VF-EF (with a few technically uncirculated). Shortly thereafter, restoration work on the house began, and two separate groups of coins were discovered: secreted in the attic and within the walls themselves. Both of these showed a date-wear consistency with those from the root cellar, although they did not exhibit the heavy patination. Several weeks later, as the barn began to be restored, additional coins were found, again with the same general makeup. Collectively, these finds make up the “Wrightstown Hoard.” Table 1 describes the 493 large cents and 6 half cents found, broken down by specific find location. Figure 2 provides a histogram of the numbers of large cents by date. Table 2 shows additional coins recovered that fall within the Colonial Era, again broken down by specific location. A considerable number of other U.S. and foreign coins were also discovered, as shown in Table 4. There were about 50 miscellaneous coins – both U.S. and foreign – as well as a few tokens recovered from later periods (1872-1930) which appear to be either random or from a second period of hoarding not associated with the primary hoard (See Table 3) per se. In examining the primary hoard (Tables 1, 2, 4), it would appear likely that the resident family began hoarding in the mid 1840s and continued until just after the Civil War. This is based on coin conditions and date dispersion. As such, this hoard seems to be representative of the coins in circulation from about the mid-point of the 19th century through the end of the Civil War. A careful examination of the data provided in Table 3 suggests that there may have been a second, less dramatic (by number of coins, not by value of money hidden) hoarding period, likely c.1890-1900. Other interesting observations include: • A surprising number of Colonial Era coins were circulating during the primary hoarding period. • Foreign coins seemed to be widely circulated, as those in the hoard do not represent any particular collecting pattern (suggesting they were hoarded as money rather than as collector items). 4 • Tokens, particularly during the Civil War period, seem to have made up a significant portion of the circulating medium. • The number of counterstamped large cents is noteworthy, and unsuspected. • The number of coins that were holed is surprising. • This hoard represented a huge source of value to the family, and it is puzzling that it was lost to their descendents. Interestingly, a pigskin wallet was found in the barn – it contained the one piece of fractional currency discovered and the $1 gold piece. It is shown in Figure 2. FIGURE 1. PHOTO OF LARGE AND HALF CENTS FOUND IN THE ROOT CELLAR FIGURE 2. PIGSKIN WALLET FOUND WITH THE HOARD 5 U.S. LARGE CENTS ROOT CELLAR ATTIC WALLS BARN TOTAL AND HALF CENTS Date Number Notes Number Number Number EXAMPLES Large Cents 1795 1 1 1796 1 1 2 1797 1 1 1798 1 1 1800 0 1 1 1801 2 1 3 1802 1 1 1803 2 2 4 1807 3 One countermarked 1 4 with Brunk 33770: "H. REES" on an arc. Dateless: 2 One is hand engraved 2 4 Flowing hair on obverse "HDB"; it varieties is a nicely done early lovetoken. 1810 2 2 2 6 1811 1 1 1812 1 1 2 1813 1 1 2 1814 2 1 3 Dateless: 1 1 1 1 4 Turban 1816 1 1 2 1817 7 1 1 9 1818 3 2 1 6 1819 4 2 1 7 1820 4 2 1 1 8 1822 5 1 1 7 1823 0 1 1 1825 2 One countermarked 1 3 w/ Brunk 1210: "C.C. ASHBY/ PHILA." 1826 7 1 1 9 1827 9 1 1 11 1828 7 3 1 11 1829 2 1 1 4 1830 4 1 5 1831 10 1 11 1832 2 3 1 6 1834 5 1 1 7 1835 9 1 1 11 1836 15 15 Dateless: 23 3 26 Middle Date 1837 10 2 1 13 1838 11 5 1 17 1839 4 3 1 8 1840 4 1 5 1841 7 2 9 1842 1 1 1 3 1843 6 1 1 8 1844 4 1 5 1845 21 6 27 1846 11 2 1 14 1847 14 4 2 1 21 1848 15 2 1 18 1849 10 One countermarked 5 4 1 20 with a prepared punch. Obv: "CREESON/ CAST STEEL" and "I•XL". Rev: "W. CRESSON" in an arch. 6 U.S. LARGE CENTS ROOT CELLAR ATTIC WALLS BARN TOTAL AND HALF CENTS Date Number Notes Number Number Number EXAMPLES 1850 7 2 1 10 1851 28 8 2 1 39 1852 11 3 1 1 16 1853 11 2 2 15 1854 8 2 1 11 1855 3 3 1856 10 1 1 12 Dateless: Late 5 5 Date Dateless: Can't 14 One is Countermarked 1 15 identify type with "E.S." and "H.B. JAMES"; the latter countermark is Brunk 21500. One countermarked "W.F." (raised letters in sunken rectangle), which is Brunk 41330. Four of these are holed and one mutilated (into an octagon). Halfcents 1800 1 1 1807 1 1 1808 1 1 1828 1 1 2 1834 1 1 TOTAL COINS 356 82 32 29 499 TABLE 1. HALF CENTS AND LARGE CENTS IN THE WRIGHTSTOWN HOARD (Continued from previous page) 40 Histogram does not include dateless large cents: • 4 Flowing Hair • Turban • 26 Middle Dates 35 • 5 Late Dates 30 25 20 15 10 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 FIGURE 2. NUMBER OF LARGE CENTS FOUND BY DATE 7 AMERICAN COLONIAL ROOT CELLAR ATTIC WALLS BARN TOTAL RELATED COINS Date Number Notes Number Number Number EXAMPLES New Jersey Copper: 1787 1 1 Variety Maris 48-g William & Mary Regal 1694 1 1 English Farthing George I Regal c. 1722 2 Type of 1721 -- One 2 English 1/2d dateless, one 1722 George II Counterfeit ? 1 Dateless 1 English 1/2d George II Regal ? 2 Dateless 2 English 1/2d George III 1775 1 1 Counterfeit English 1/2d Geroge III Regal ? 2 Type of 1806; both 2 English 1/2d dateless Counterfeit George ? 1 Crude 1 III Irish Halfpenny Spanish Colonial, ? 1 Holed 1 Carolus III Bust, 1/2R Mexico, 1R 1763 1 1 Canadian Blacksmith ND 1 Wood 33 1 Token Counterfeit (brass) ? 1 1 Spanish Colonial 2R; Charles III TOTAL COINS 8 0 3 11 TABLE 2. COLONIAL ERA COINS FOUND IN THE WRIGHTSTOWN HOARD COINS AND TOKENS DATE ROOT ATTIC WALL BARN ATTRIBUTION* TOTAL CELLAR NUMBER Number Number Number Number U.S. COINS -- Later Dated Double Eagles -- dated 1888 and 1889 1888-89 2 2 Eagles -- dated 1887 and 1888 1887-88 2 Half Eagle dated 1886 1886 1 Indian Cent 1871 1 1 Indian Cent 1875 1 1 Indian Cent 1882 2 2 Indian Cent 1883 1 1 Indian Cent 1884 3 3 Indian Cent 1885 1 1 Indian Cent 1887 1 1 Indian Cent 1903 1 1 Indian Cent 1907 1 1 3 Cent Nickel 1873 1 1 Shield Nickel 1874 1 1 "V" Nickels 1897 1 1 "V" Nickels 1899 1 2 3 "V" Nickels 1902 1 1 "V" Nickels Dateless 1 1 Silver Dime 1872 1 1 Silver Dime 1888 1 1 Silver Dime 1876 1 1 Silver Dime 1889 1 1 Silver Dime, holed 1905 1 1 Silver Dime 1906 1 1 Silver Dime 1910 1 1 Silver Quarter 1901 1 1 Window Glass Works, Glassboro, NJ: 1 Cent Token 1872 1 Rulau Unlisted 1 FOREIGN COINS -- Later Dated 0 Canada, Cent 1888 1 1 English Large Pennies 1876, 1910, 3 KM#755, 795, 3 1914 810 English Halfpennies 1861, 1861, 3 KM#748.2 3 1862 Germany: 1 Pfennig 1874, 1875, 3 One 1875 holed 3 1875 Germany: 2 Phennig 1875, 1876 2 KM#2 2 Germany: 5 Phennig 1889 1 KM#3 1 Russia: 2 Kopeks 1899 1 Y#10.2 1 Hungry: 2 Filler 1897 1 KM#481 1 Japan: 5 Sen 1875 1 Holed; Y#22 1 RANDOM FINDS -- Later Dated 0 William Penn Centennial Medal 1876 1 1 Pugilistic Champion Medal No. 13 (Brass, ND) 1 Maverick Medal 1 TOTAL COINS 2 45 47 TABLE 3. COINS FOUND AT THE SITE BELIEVED NOT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRIMARY HOARD PER SE. 8 TABLE 4. OTHER COINS FOUND IN THE WRIGHTSTOWN HOARD 9 SOURCES USED FOR COIN AND TOKEN ATTRIBUTION Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Colonial Tokens, Millennium Edition Fuld, George and Melvin, Patriotic Civil War Tokens, Krause Publications:Iola, WI, 1991. Fuld, George and Melvin, U.S. Civil War Store Cards (2nd Edition), Quarterman Publications:Lawrence, MA, 1975. Fauver, L.B., American Counters – Part 1, Oak Grove Publications:Menlo Park, CA, 1983. Fauver, L.B., American Counters – Part 2, Oak Grove Publications:Menlo Park, CA, 1989. Fauver, L.B., American Counters – Part 3, Oak Grove Publications:Menlo Park, CA, 1989. Krause and Mishler (K&M), World Coins 17th Edition (1801-1990), Krause Publications:Iola, WI, 1991. Krause and Mishler (K&M), World Coins, 18th Century Edition, Krause Publications:Iola, WI, no date. Rulau, Russell, United States Tokens 1700-1900, Krause Publications:Iola, WI, 1999. * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEW EXAMPLE OF 1796 NC-7 SURFACES Dan Demeo The internet auction site, eBay, again became the site of discovery of another rare large cent. The coin, long in the collection of a Western New York collector, went up early in October, the owner expecting to get several hundred dollars for his long ownership of the coin. Instead, he got over $17,000, and I got the finest known 1796 NC-7. The variety is one of those stories, a variety argued over, listed, delisted, then relisted over the years, eventually appearing in the Red Book. As the only variety of 1796 with a stemless wreath reverse, an at-sight attribution, it is one of the few of which Bill Noyes never expected to see another example. When Sheldon wrote Early American Cents, in 1948, he included an NC-6, dies 26-BB, known by a single piece, first described in the June 1928 Numismatist. This piece was heavily tooled, and some doubted its authenticity, though it resided in the ANS collection, a Clapp coin. In 1958, Sheldon no longer listed it in Penny Whimsy, with the notation that it was probably a retooled 1797 S-143, “since it has that reverse,” excusing his earlier listing as being in deference to Mr. Clapp. Things changed in 1999, when Rod Burress found another (Penny-Wise XXXIV,4(2000)), selling it to Dan Holmes. Unfortunately, NC-6 had been given out to another variety, so it became NC-7, and was listed on a supplemental page to Noyes’ book. Around this time, there was a movement to make the Red Book more consistent, and since there were listings for other stemless varieties, NC-7 went in the Red Book as “1796, Stemless Reverse (2 known),” unpriced. I can only thank those who worked to get this and the others into the Red Book; it became the most difficult Red Book large cent variety. The coin in question is shown in the photo on the next page. It’s corroded, encrusted, pitted, but strangely, the two critical areas, the stemless wreath and the date, are quite clear. I’ll spare the readers the gruesome details of the auction; they have been reported in Numismatic News by Henry Hettger. However, Henry, you didn’t lose the auction by $100; that 10