The History of United States Coinage As Illustrated by the Garrett Collection

Numismatic publications on various subjects continued to appear, although the time when a useful priced catalogue of United States coins, revised annually, would be published was still a half century distant. Typical of the ephemeral pamphlets of the mid-1880s was The Current Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations, a 22-page monograph by Ivan C. Michels, which listed coins of the United States arranged by years. Under each year listing was given a list of the pieces issued, without reference to mintmark varieties. In the absence of detailed study of mint records (which was not to begin until Edgar H. Adams researched the National Archives in the early 20th century and, beginning 'in the 1950s, Walter Breen delved into old mint data in depth) there was much speculation and many pet theories concerning the rarity of this or that coin. A Mint record was published showing the coinage of 26,006 $5 gold pieces in 1801, yet no pieces bearing that date were known to collectors. In later years numismatists became increasingly aware of the fact that the early Mint operated on a fiscal year basis, rather than a calendar year basis, and the mintage records for a given year did not necessarily mean the coins were dated that particular year.

The preceding 22-page monograph advanced a unique theory to explain the absence of 1801 half eagles:

On the 10th of June, 1801, the bashaw of Tripoli, a petty prince of the Barbary states, in the north of Africa, declared war against the United States. Ships of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and Morocco captured American vessels; and, not satisfied with ordinary piratical plundering, the crew and passengers of the captured vessels were reduced to a condition of servitude. Capt. Bainbridge was dispatched to cruise in the Mediterranean in order to protect American commerce. Before leaving the United States shores it is surmised that the purser of his vessel was provided with half eagles of that year's coinage; if so, it is probable that only a few coins ever reached our shores again.

In the May-June 1884 issue of Steigerwalt's Coin Journal the editor claimed a circulation of 1,000 readers. This was probably optimistic, for at the same time Ed. Frossard was only able to garner about a hundred subscribers to his Numisma. In the same year W. Elliot Woodward auctioned the Ely Collection, a group of coins remarkable for early United States Proof sets struck in gold (which realized $45 to $56 each), silver Proof sets of 1850, 1855, 1857, and 1858, among others, a run of colonials, as well as a good showing of dollars, half dollars, quarters, and other series. The sale realized about $7,300. Subsequently it was announced that the personal collections of two leading dealers of the time, Woodward and Frossard, would be sold at auction in the autumn.

An 1885 View of Coin Collecting in America

The New York Herald, Sunday, July 19, 1885, contained an article entitled" Among The Coin Hunters", which read in part:

"In the window of an unpretentious store on Broadway rows of coins systematically arranged as to countries and epochs attract the gaze of the loitering passerby. To battered and worn copper cents, intrinsically almost worthless, are fixed prices which seem preposterous to the uninitiated, for they possess little of interest save to the numismatist or coin collector ...

"A Herald reporter recently entered this coin mart and asked a sad-eyed man with a yellow beard, who appeared to be the presiding genius of the place, if he had for sale a certain rare gold piece of the United States mint series. The sad-eyed man did not seem to know whether he had or not and did not take the trouble to look, but he clearly intimated that if there was one in stock his questioner would not buy it. In this the sad-eyed man was quite correct.

"Subsequently, the reporter met a gentleman who has spent much time and money in collecting rare American coins, and from him learned many interesting facts concerning the growth of the science of coinage, the pieces most sought for by collectors, their respective values, and the recent discoveries in the numismatic field.

" 'Here is a curious little coin,' said the numismatist, as he carefully held up between thumb and finger a silver piece about the size of a dime. 'It bears the date of 1783 and is called the Bit. The obverse, as you can see, contains the legend "Nova Constellatio, " or the new constellation of 13 stars representing the 13 original states, and the reverse "U.S." and "Libertas Justitia." It is interesting from a historical as well as from a numismatic point of view, for the series to which it belongs comprises the earliest effort looking to the establishment of the United States government coinage.

" 'In 1782 Robert Morris, the financier, reported a system of coinage devised by Gouverneur Morris, consisting of the crown of gold the value of 10,000 units or mills, equivalent to $10; the mark, a silver piece of 1,000 mills or $1; the quint or half dollar; the bit or lac piece, and a copper penny. There are but four specimens of this system known to collectors, and these are this bit, one mark, and two quints. Probably no dies were made for the crown or a penny as no specimens of them have been discovered, there is no record of any having been struck. This bit was recently purchased in Scotland by W. Elliot Woodward, of Boston, and brought by him to this country.'

" 'Is the coin very valuable?' asked the reporter.

" 'Yes. Being the only one of the type yet found, it is unique and therefore of the highest rarity. Woodward offered it for sale at auction in New York last month, limiting it at $550. As it was not bid up to that figure the piece was withdrawn. Just before the bidding commenced a bona fide offer of $400 was made for it and promptly refused.