Q.David Bowers
At three o'clock sharp, the auctioneer takes his place with perhaps only some 20 or 30 gentlemen in front of him. If the attendance be not large it is, at least, select, for almost everyone of these buyers represents a large circle of wealthy customers whose orders have now to be filled.
"Gentlemen," says the auctioneer, "We have now to sell sundry copper coins and medals; Lot 1 in the catalogue, what do you say? How much do you give for 1?" The audience perhaps is waiting, but the waiting tries the auctioneer's temper, and his voice is sharper. "Come gentlemen, let me have a bid. Be quick; speak it out."
At last someone speaks, and once the ice is broken, away they go. These sales usually occupy about three hours each day, during which time the coins are not handled by anyone in the room, but immediately at its close are delivered to the respective purchasers.
Such is the usual procedure at a coin sale. At the one that took place on the 1st or 2nd of February, in the Messrs. Bangs' room under the direction of Mr. Cogan, whose health, we regret to say, hindered him from being present, the following prices were obtained...
Then followed a recitation of various prices of the sale. Examples included a Proof 1851 silver dollar at $34.50, a 1793 Liberty cap cent in Poor grade at $4, an 1855 Proof cent at $2, an 1856 flying eagle pattern cent at $3, and a Carolina elephant token at $17.
The year 1878 brought the Morgan dollar, the first regular silver dollar coin since 1873. The design was roundly criticized in the numismatic press, causing the engraver, George T. Morgan, to prepare additional patterns, some of unusual beauty. However, the adopted design remained in use for many years and was not replaced until 1921. During the same year The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876, by J. F. Loubat, made its appearance. Issued in a large royal quarto 2-volume set, the books outlined early American medals and the legislation and documents pertaining to them.
Toward the end of 1878 a large hoard of coins secreted by the Harmony Society at Economy, Pennsylvania, during Morgan's Civil War raid, came to light. When the coins were discovered most were black or tarnished from oxidation. These were subsequently cleaned with abrasives. Before the value was discovered, a number of rare coins, including two 1796 half dollars and one of 1797, had been paid out at face value.
An inventory was later taken of this group of coins, which came to be known as the Economite Treasure, which showed that the group contained approximately 150 half dollars of 1794, 650 of 1795, 25 examples of the 1805/4 overdate, 1,500 of 1806, 100 of the scarce 1815, and many of other dates, including 111,356 half dollars of the 1808-1836 years. Among dollars were found one example of the rare 1794, 800 of 1795, 125 of 1796, and over 2,000 other early dates prior to 1804. Of the scarce issues in the hoard $4,000 face value went to a dealer for $6,500. The 1794 silver dollar was sold for $22. By 1881, when the Economite Treasure was discussed in The Coin Collector's Journal, it had been entirely dispersed.
Early in 1879 the numismatic world was surprised to learn that the Confederate States of America had actually produced a silver coinage. The first specimen of an 1861 Confederate States of America half dollar came to light and was described in various publications. B. F. Taylor, M.D., secretary and treasurer of the Louisiana State Board of Health, a person who had been chief coiner at the mint in New Orleans, stated that a design was submitted and approved, and that in 1861 four specimens were struck. It developed that there was insufficient bullion available to strike additional silver coins, so no others were made. The original 1861 Confederate reverse die came to light and was acquired by J. W. Scott. Desiring to make restrikes for collectors, Scott obtained 500 1861-O (New Orleans Mint) regular issue half dollars from circulation, planed off the reverse design, and stamped them with the Confederate die. The result was a restrike, lighter in weight than the original and with the obverse wavy and flattened from the second striking process.
Dealers continued auction activity at a frantic pace.
In autumn 1878 numerous sales were held. On September 16, 1878, a sale which lasted over a week wascatalogued by Edward Cogan and featured 2,607 lots described in 146 pages. On October 10th Leavitt sold the H. E. Jones Collection by a catalogue prepared by Scott. Edward Cogan's catalogue of the James B. Clemens Collection enticed bidders at an October 22nd-25th auction held at Bangs, Merwin & Co. On November 5th and 6th the second collection of Joseph J. Mickley, catalogued by E. Mason, Jr., was sold in Philadelphia. Then on November 11th a week-long sale of the Holland Collection, catalogued by W. Elliot Woodward, crossed the block at Bangs & Co. On December 7th, S. K. Harzfeld held an auction at the same salesroom. Shortly thereafter, on December 9th and 10th, Scott & Co. had a sale. On December 16th to 18th attention turned to the James E. Root Collection catalogued by Edward Cogan.
By a year later, the autumn of 1879, the frantic activity had not abated. The American Journal of Numismatics reported that:
The activity among the coin dealers continues with but little signs of cessation. We have received catalogues of several [sales] which have just taken place, or will within a few days. So many of them occur just as we go to press, that in the present number we can only allude to them in a general way... From these sales it would appear that coin dealers certainly are feeling the revival of business, and the collections that they are offering are, many of them at least, filled with very desirable pieces. We shall give as full reports of these different sales as our space will allow.
The same issue contained a report of Haseltine's sale of the Walder Collection, another Haseltine offering of a private collection, an auction by Cogan, the Alfred Watkins Collection (sold by Scott), S. K. Harzfeld's Sixth Sale, three different sales by W. Elliot Woodward, a sale by Ed. Frossard, an auction by the Chapman brothers, and a sale by Strobridge.
Around the same time the country was experiencing a coin shortage. Western silver mining interests had forced passage of the Bland-Allison Act in 1878 which provided for the unneeded and unwanted coinage of $2 million worth of silver dollars each month. As the Philadelphia Mint had superior facilities, much of the coinage burden fell on that institution. At the same time, the Philadelphia Mint was the only facility producing minor pieces such as cents, nickel three-cent pieces, and nickel five-cent pieces. At the end of 1879 the Mint was forced to discontinue these small denominations. This caused consternation on behalf of would be purchasers, who 'petitioned the mint for increased supplies. The mint reported that $35,000 face value worth of cents could be disposed of within a week, so great was the demand. Officials at the Philadelphia institution were surprised by a San Francisco request for $1,000 face value worth of cents, said to be the first order from that part of the country for many years. The director of the Mint,' in his annual report, recom-mended that nickel three-cent pieces be discontinued and that two-cent pieces be coined once again, the most recent production of that denomination having been in 1873. He stated that the demand for cents was beyond the production capacity, and that two-cent pieces would help alleviate the situation.