Q. David Bowers
In the same issue, D.C. Wismer continued his listing of obsolete paper money of New York City. In the same vein, Waldo C. Moore discussed obsolete issues of the Seneca County Bank of Tiffin, Ohio. The German city of Heidelberg, as mentioned on coins and medals, was the subject of an article by Dr. Hans Nussbaum, and "American Colonial Coinage," a reprint of a paper by Hugh Brickert, captured the attention of readers. Commenting on the market, Frank G. Duffield, editor of The Numismatist, noted:
"A busy winter season in numismatics is indicated. Notwithstanding that we are just emerging from the heated period, there are evidences that the coming winter in numismatics will witness a season of great activity. During the summer and vacation time there is always a let-up to the activities of both collector and dealer. The advertising pages of The Numismatist are a fairly accurate gauge to the commercial side of numismatics, and an examination of the dealers' announcements this month will show that practically all our old advertisers are still with us, with a considerable percentage of new ones. After the Chicago convention of the ANA, those who were present will return home with greater enthusiasm and interest than before, with the consequent marked activity in buying and selling. Our forthcoming October issue will be a splendid one for dealers to make announcements of the coins they have to offer."
A report in the same issue of a recent meeting of the New York Numismatic Club noted that Moritz Wormser presided over a get-together of 14 people. Leonard Kusterer spoke about two Civil War tokens, the "Shoot Him on the Spot," and the interesting "Shoot Him on the Spoot," variation, while Joseph Barnet displayed Civil War tokens, medals of various expositions, a pattern trade dollar, and some 1876 centennial medals. Other members also spoke and shared treasure: they brought with them.
Among the advertisers in the September 1929 issue of The Numismatist, Spink & Son occupiec the inside front cover and offered coins of the Jews with shekels of the Revolt priced at $37 am widow's mites from 75c upward. B. Max Mehl boasted that he enjoyed "by far the greatest numismatic market of any firm. In the past four years alone I have spent in actual cash nearly $100,000 for magazine advertising, creating new collectors by the hundreds, thereby giving me b) far the largest numismatic market." He noted that his capital amounted to $250,000 and that his resources were $500,000 and, further, that he was the largest numismatic establishment in America, established over 28 years." William Hessleir advertised his September sale of the paper money collection of H.D. Allen, of Boston, Massachusetts, while Dr. Jacob Hirsch noted that he had available a fine selection of Greek and Roman coins, and Barney Bluestone, the Syracuse dealer offered a wide variety of United States issues.
Samples from the Bluestone listing: 1795 large cent Extremely Fine $10.50; 1824 cent "practically Uncirculated" $7.25; 1856 Flying Eagle cent, Proof $13.75; Uncirculated 1857 Flying Eagle coin 50c, and Uncirculated Indian cents of 1859, 1860, 1862, and 1863 for 25c each; Uncirculated 1864 Small Motto two-cent piece "same as left the dies' $2.25; 1794 half dime, Very Fine $9.50; set of 20-cent pieces consisting of Uncirculated example: from the years 1875 and 1876 and Proofs of 1877 and 1878, the group $12; 1836 Gobrecht silver dollar, Proof $29; 1858 Liberty Seated dollar, Proof $30.75; 1652 Massachusetts Oak Tree shilling, Very Fine $27.50; 1791 Washington Small Eagle cent, Proof $12; and 1921 Missouri commemorative half dollar with star, Uncirculated $3.15.
M. H. Bolender, the Orangeville, Illinois dealer, noted his forthcoming mail auction sale would feature the collection of the late E.M. White, while The Hobby Shop, Paul M. Lange, proprietor, Rochester; New York, "The Numismatic Heart ol the Country," told collectors about its forthcoming auction of Greek, Roman, and modern coins. / Leo Hamburger invited American numismatists to participate in his auction sale of coins and medals of the Palatinate and Baden to be conducted in Frankfurt, Germany, November 4, 1929.
Thomas L. Elder, noted that the Elder Coin & Curio Corporation, 8 West 37th Street, New York City, was offering the Rockwood Collection in its September auction and the Strouse Collection in the November sale.
The New York Coin & Stamp Company, Little Falls, New Jersey, offered a price list of silver dollars which included a Fine 1795 Flowing Hair or $7, an Extremely Fine 1840 for $3.75, an Uncirculated 1847 at $4, a Proof 1857 for $15, and he rare Proof 1858 for $42.50. The Irish Free State Legation invited collectors to subscribe to Proof sets of the Irish Free State, "in handsome cases designed especially for collectors," at $5.50 per set, or in a cardboard container at $3.50 per set, including postage.
Commemoratives were not much in the news, primarily because by 1929 only a few issues had been released. Theodore R.D. Hillman, a "'Warren, Ohio dealer who specialized in United States coins, offered several groupings. A trio of Uncirculated Hawaiian, Stone Mountain, and Pilgrim half dollars was available for $9.95, the same price charged for a group consisting of a Vancouver, both Columbian half dollars, and a 1920 Pilgrim. In 1893 Isabella quarter was offered for $1.25, a 1922 Grant commemorative gold dollar with star vas listed at $3.85 and a 1926 sesquicentennial quarter eagle was featured for the same price. For $37.50 one could purchase a set of Uncirculated and Proof Flying Eagle and Indian cents from 1858 through 1909.
Wayte Raymond, 489 Park Avenue, New York City, offered for sale a new publication, United States Gold Coins of the Philadelphia and Branch Mints, stated to be "a standard catalogue giving he retail values of all United States gold coins." Guttag Brothers noted that the firm had just moved to a temporary address at 95 Broad Street, 'which of course is still in the Wall Street district. We feel sure it will pay those in the vicinity of New York who are interested in the class of coins we carry to look over our stock. We wish to sell as much as possible before we move again."
John Zug, the Maryland dealer, offered a wide selection of world gold coins. On the back issue of The Numismatist that month was the notice of Henry Chapman, "America's Leading Numismatic Dealer," who offered a complete 1915-S Panama Pacific commemorative set for $500; an Uncirculated MCMVII High Relief 1907 double eagle .or $28 with wire edge or $24 with round edge; various $3 pieces in Fine to Extremely Fine grade or $6 each; Uncirculated Liberty Head quarter eagles for $3.50 each; Isabella quarters for $1.25 each: Lafayette dollars for $4 each Uncirculated; large cents in Good to Very Good grade at $7.50 per hundred; circulated trade dollars for 85 cents each; and other items.
Approximately 2,000 people belonged to the American Numismatic Association, the largest organization of coin collectors. Their interests were apt to be varied. Collecting United States coins by date and mintmark sequence was popular, but not to the extent it would be in years to come, when Wayte Raymond was to issue his "National" coin albums and, later, when the Whitman Publishing Company was to mass market its low priced coin folders. In 1929, collectors were apt to store coins in a wooden cabinet with felt-lined drawers or in albums published by the M.L. Beistle Company, or, most often, in simple paper envelopes measuring about two inches square, it was not yet the era of specialization, and a typical numismatist might have items as varied as British crowns, American Indian cents, Civil War and Hard Times tokens, and obsolete paper money among his holdings. There was an intellectual curiosity, a search for knowledge. The story behind the coin was important, and countless reports of club and society meetings show that entertainment was provided by members displaying prized pieces and giving details concerning their background.
Then, as now, New York City was a beehive of collecting activity. Collectors who were important to Abe Kosoff in the years from 1929 through the very early 1940s, as later recalled by the dealer, included Elliott Smith, F.C.C. ("Fred") Boyd, Thomas Olive Mabbott, Howland Wood, Robert Robertson, Edward I. Newell, Leonard Kusterer, H.V.H. Proskey (son of the late dealer David Proskey), Sydney P. Noe, Arthur C. Wyman, Jacob Marx, and George H. Blake. In other cities, such numismatists as Albert A. Grinnell, Ragnar Cederlund, I.P. Kopecki, M. Vernon Sheldon, J. Henri Ripstra, and George Bauer were in contact with the young New York dealer.
"Six weeks after my introduction to the rare coin business came the Wall Street crash that was felt around the world. I have been blamed for a lot of things, but that wasn't my fault," Abe Kosoff recalled in his auction catalogue for the Central States Numismatic Society convention in 1954, an occasion that marked his 25th anniversary as a professional numismatist. "My entire capital at the' beginning was put into Minor Proof coins to start an inventory. I sold 1885 Proof Liberty Head nickels for 50 cents, Grant commemorative half dollars with star were about $4.50, and an 1856 Flying Eagle cent brought $20. They certainly were a good investment."
His first mail order sale a few years later involved selling some Proof 1871 Indian cents. The first "big deal" was the sale of a rare $10 gold piece for $215. "I remember the buyer. He was angry because I waited for his check to clear. I guess his A-I Dun & Bradstreet rating should have been enough." In the meantime, Abe wasn't completely sure he wanted to be a professional numismatist. He aspired to be an accountant.