| Description |
Riddell's Rare 1845 Monograph Of the Silver Dollar Illustrated with Fac-Simile Figures of Four Hundred and Twenty-Five Varieties of Dollars, and Eighty-Seven Varieties of Half Dollars, Including the Genuine, the Low Standard, and the Counterfeit: Giving Their Weight, Quality and Exact Value, and Enabling the Inexperienced to Detect Those Which Are Spurious. By J.L. Riddell, M.D. Melter and Refiner in the United States Branch Mint, New Orleans; And Professor of Chemistry in the Medical College of Louisiana. The Original Assays Made by Wm. P. Hort, M.D., Assayer in the United States Branch Mint, New Orleans. New Orleans, 1845. 8vo, original black quarter sheep, gilt; marbled endpapers. 8, (366) pages; text printed on alternating facing versos and rectos only, with resulting facing blank pages in between, featuring illustrations of the obverses and reverses of 512 coins with accompanying text. Inscribed "Dr. McDowell / with the compliments of the author" on the second blank; lacking first blank; ex David Bullowa, with his signature and blind stamp on the title page and his bookplate on the pastedown. Light spotting; near fine. A rare classic work. John Leonard Riddell (1807-1865) was Melter and Refiner at the New Orleans Mint from 1838 to 1849. The illustrations were produced by "metal types adapted for printing, indirectly from the coins themselves, which, if they do not always make a handsome print, give a perfectly correct, and I think, satisfactory representation." The resulting illustrations appear crude at first glance, but on closer examination are discovered to be remarkably accurate. Still of use as a reference, particularly for those interested in the widespread circulation of Mexican and Latin American eight reales in the United States. Estimate $1,000. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.
Heritage Auctions 11/2018 (Newman XI), lot15380 (realized $2400).
Heritage link: http://www.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=1283&lotIdNo=11400 |
