| Description |
Original Typewritten Inventory of Dr. Hall's Connecticut CoppersA.W. Brand, 919 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois -- Consigned to B.G. Johnson, 408 Olive St., St. Louis, Mo. October 13, 1936 ["13" written in by hand]. 15 pages total, typewritten on 8.5 by 11 inch onionskin typewriter duplicate paper. This is the original copy of the inventory used by Johnson and bearing his annotations. (The full Johnson archives of the Virgil Brand collection present in this sale include these pages in photocopy.) Two pages with "Checked as complete April 47" written in pencil. Individual coins ink-stamped in red as being paid for. Generally fine or nearly so. An extraordinary record of this magnificent collection of Connecticut coppers running to 356 coins including duplicates. The consignment is split into two parts: coins numbered 1700 to 1931 + 4 additional listings valued at $766.00; and coins numbered 1932 to 2051 listed at $975.75, for a total price of $1741.75. If Colonial coins were not as well appreciated in the 1930s as they are today, it is certainly true that state coppers were afforded even less respect--and of the state coppers, those of Connecticut were perhaps the least coveted. Uncirculated examples are usually priced here between $10 and $20, and a circulated copper has to be of exceptional rarity to reach the lofty heights of a double-digit price. It was a different world. Dr. Thomas Hall (1841-1909) was the foremost scholar of his time on the Connecticut copper coinage, and his research has shaped the scope and terms of the field to this day. While his full manuscript on the Connecticut coppers remains unpublished (two copies are extant, one in the Connecticut State Library), his work on the 1787 pieces was printed and privately distributed to a small number of contemporaries for their comments and revisions. This 1892 work, A Descriptive List of the Coppers Issued by Authority, for the State of Connecticut, for the Year 1787, remains one of the rarest published works on any aspect of American coinage. Coppers whose provenance are traced back to his collection are highly valued today, making this inventory of his collection particularly desirable. Estimate $1,500. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.
Heritage Auctions 11/2018 (Newman XI), lot15234 (realized $1920).
Heritage link: http://www.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=1283&lotIdNo=11474 |
