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

In 1934 the California Stamp Co. issued The National Catalogue of United States Coins, a 160-page booklet which gave date and mintmark varieties of coins, their mintages, and prices in several grades. Prior to this new catalogue, collectors had to rely upon A. G. Heaton's 1893 book (and its subsequent revisions) to know what mintmarks existed, perhaps updating the information with dealers' catalogues, particularly those issued by Scott.

The same year marked the introduction on September 10th of the Standard Catalogue of United States Coins and Currency. Written by Wayte Raymond and distributed by Scott Stamp & Coin Co., the catalogue marked the first of over a dozen regularly-issued books with prices changed at regular intervals, the first regularly issued price guide of a comprehensive nature. A prospectus described it as follows:

Describes for the first time in one volume, all United States coins and currency, giving prices at which most of them may be purchased from the publishers.

Early American coins, 1652-1796; United States gold, silver, and copper coins; private gold issues, 1830-1861; commemorative coins; early colonial and Continental notes; United States notes; fractional currency; Confederate and southern states notes. With nearly seven hundred illustrations.

The volume, which weighed nearly two pounds in its shipping carton, sold for $2.50. The Standard Catalogue was an instant success and immediately became the "bible" of the numismatic field, the standard reference for dealers and collectors alike.

Lee Hewitt, a Chicago printer, began publishing the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine in 1935. This, too, was an immediate success. Within a few years it eclipsed The Numismatist in size. At the same time commemorative half dollars were capturing the fancy of collectors and public alike. Prices multiplied overnight in some instances, and more and more people were attracted to the field of collecting. In the late 1930s the Whitman Publishing Company produced its "pennyboards," printed stiff cardboard sheets with appropriately lettered openings for dates and mintmarks. Sold through Woolworth's, hobby stores, and other retail outlets, these sheets were distributed in vast quantities. Hundreds of thousands of people began looking through their change for a coveted 1909 Lincoln cent with an S mintmark on the obverse and tiny V.D.B. initials on the reverse. Likewise, the 1914-D and 1931-S cents achieved their own degree of fame.

In 1941 B. Max Mehl offered at auction the collection of William Forrester Dunham. Interest in the sale was so intense that over 2,500 copies of the catalogue were sold in advance for $3 each. Prices realized were commensurate. The 1804 silver dollar sold for a new record price, $4,250, the highest figure ever for a United States silver coin. The 1822 half eagle was sold for $11,575, the buyer being Amon Carter, of B. Max Mehl's own city, Fort Worth. Numerous other price records were broken.

In the marketplace the "date and mintmark syndrome" took a firm hold, and any date or mintmark variety with an especially low mintage outpaced its brethren in price. Proof sets, which had been discontinued by the Philadelphia Mint in 1916, were again issued in 1936. By 1942, when they were discontinued because of the World War II effort, they had become quite popular with collectors. In the last year 21,000 sets were made. In 1950 Proof mintage was again resumed, only to be discontinued in 1964, and resumed again in 1968.

The Handbook of United States Coins was released by Whitman Publishing Company with an inaugural 1942 edition. A few years later, in 1946, the The Guidebook of United States Coins, written by Richard S. Yeoman, made its appearance. Within a decade, sales of the Guidebook had expanded to the extent that the Standard Catalogue was faltering. In 1957 the latter publication was discontinued, leaving the Guidebook of United States Coins, in its annual editions, the main pricing guide used by American collectors.

B. Max Mehl was the premier professional numismatist in the 1940s, although strong competition was mounted by the Numismatic Gallery (Abe Kosoff and Abner Kreisberg), Stack's, and several others. In 1949 The Saturday Evening Post ran a special feature article on B. Max Mehl, giving a romantic view of his coin dealership. So great was the response from Mehl's clients and admirers that Mehl himself issued a follow-up pamphlet. Titled Recognition, it contained reprinted letters from dealers, collectors, and others who paid tribute to the Texas dealer. By a decade later Mehl had died, thus ending the career of America's most colorful professional numismatist.