NNP

Roger Burdette recently posted on an NGC message board “A frequently asked question by collectors is ‘Why was the mintmark moved on 1917 half dollars?’ Common answers cover a wide range of speculation, invention, and bluster. The real reason is revealed by these two recently digitized letters.” Referring to the letters, the Director of the Mint (Raymond Baker) wrote to the Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint on April 11, 1917, asking why the mintmark position was changed. The Director answered his own question two days letter, noting that the former Director F. J. H. von Engelken ordered the obverse to reverse change because the obverse position was too prominent and appeared as a defect in the die. 

Just for fun we checked ChatGPT to see if AI was responsible for some of the “speculation, invention, and bluster” to which Roger referred. Remarkably, it provided a detailed, accurate answer, even quoting an earlier letter from von Engelken that originally ordered the change.

Link to National Archives record group 104 (U.S. Mint), entry 235 (letters sent by Director’s office) on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/512703
Link to NGC message board thread on the 1917 Walking Liberty Half Dollar: https://boards.ngccoin.com/topic/440732-mintmark-location-change-on-1917-halves/#comment-9927341

John Max Wulfing was born in 1859 to Charles and Hermine (Diekriede) Wulfing in St. Louis, MO. He was educated in both the United States and Germany before entering the family business and becoming a third-generation wholesale grocer in St. Louis. The wealth accumulated through his business success enabled Wulfing to engage in local philanthropy through Park Unity Church and to support German relief efforts and academic causes following World War I. His personal interests focused on archaeology and the classics.

Wulfing is best known for his ancient coin collection, which was donated in 1928 and forms the nucleus of the Wulfing Collection at Washington University in St. Louis. Less known is the substantial collection of Native American artifacts, Japanese tsuba (sword guards), and books that Wulfing collected until his death in 1929. Wulfing added many objects to his collections during his travels across the United States, Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. This exhibition highlights some of those travels and the items he acquired along the way. To Wulfing, these were not just objects, but lenses into past times and cultures that served as invaluable teaching aids.

The John Max Wulfing’s Passport to the Past exhibition opens August 5 in the Newman Tower exhibit space in Olin Library at Washington University in St. Louis. This exhibit is guest curated by Jeremy Haag.

Link to WashU Wulfing exhibit announcement: https://library.washu.edu/exhibitions/wulfings-passport/
Link to “The John Max Wulfing Collection” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai2K6Hgemmw&t=8s