Maris, Edward (1869)
Book Summary
Small 8vo [18 by 12 cm], contemporary pebbled black cloth, sides paneled in blind; original printed paper covers bound in. 15, (1) pages. Fine. Rare. A well-preserved copy of the first separately published work on United States cents and half cents. Remembered beyond its landmark status mostly for the colorful appellations given by Dr. Maris to the thirty-nine varieties of 1794 cents that he managed to identify. The names include the Coquette, Scarred Head, Venus Marina, Roman Plica, Double Chin, and Patagonian. Born in 1832, Maris graduated from medical school in 1855. According to W.T.R. Marvin “He began his collection soon after engaging in practice, as many others have done, by the effort to complete a set of the U.S. Cents, and then of the national coinage.. His first contribution to the literature of the science was his well-known work on the Cents of 1794, still regarded as a high authority.” Of remaining significance. A relatively small percentage of the 100 copies originally printed appear to have survived.
