Prize medal of the International Exposition, Athens, 1903, gilt bronze, by Hond, Paris.

The folks at the Princeton Numismatic Library Collection have been busy.

Many institutions are taking their coins off display, or worse yet, deaccessioning them, but Princeton continues to make new numismatic acquisitions. Here’s their latest press release.

To showcase its recent acquisition of a collection of more than 120 medals of modern Greece, the Princeton University Numismatic Collection has installed an exhibition of a selection of historically important pieces in the Boyd Room of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections in Firestone Library. The exhibition has been curated by Mary Thierry, Princeton Class of 2012, who has been working in the Numismatic Collection for the past three years and has taken the University’s graduate seminar in numismatics. The medals will be on display for an indefinite period during hours when the department is open to the public.

The collection was put together by a private collector in Athens and purchased by Princeton with funds from the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund and the Townsend-Vermeule Fund. It is believed to be the largest collection of modern Greek commemorative medals in an American public collection. Among the highlights of the collection and the current exhibition are a set of medals from1836 by the Austrian engraver Konrad Lange, who also engraved early coin dies for the newly established Greek Republic, and participation medals of the early Olympics, including the national Greek games that preceded the establishment of the International Olympic Games in 1896.

The public is invited to attend a celebration of the opening of the exhibition, and the graduation of its guest curator, on Thursday, May 31, at 4 p.m. in the Boyd Room. The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed holidays. Further information can be obtained from Alan Stahl, Curator of Numismatics, at astahl@princeton.edu or (609) 258-9127.

OUPEL = LOUPE
DATGILI REMCAA = DIGITAL CAMERA
SEGVOL = GLOVES
DER BKOO = RED BOOK
SLBAUM = ALBUMS
GIFMINNAGY SASLG = MAGNIFYING GLASS
BSLAS = SLABS
LOFDERS = FOLDERS
POECOMCISR = MICROSCOPE
RECHRSAE = RESEARCH
KUJN VELSIR = JUNK SILVER
TOGASACL = CATALOGS
PEYT TES = TYPE SET
ALOYL = ALLOYS

Phrase: JANUARY IS NATIONAL HOBBY MONTH

Continental Currency, 1776, tin pattern, obverse, Princeton University Numismatic Collection.

Continental Currency, 1776, tin pattern, reverse, Princeton University Numismatic Collection.

Press release: On Sunday, May 6, the Friends of Princeton University Library will sponsor a public lecture by the noted scholar of early American coinage, Louis Jordan, entitled “Transformations in Numismatic Iconography during the American Revolution.” The talk will take place at 4 p.m. in 101 McCormick Hall on the Princeton campus. The lecture will be preceded at 2:30 by a curatorial tour of the exhibition “Capping Liberty: The Invention of a Numismatic Iconography for the New American Republic” by Alan M. Stahl, Princeton’s Curator of Numismatics, in the Leonard L. Milberg Gallery of Firestone Library, Princeton University.

Louis Jordan is one of the pre-eminent experts on the coinage of the early AmericanRepublic. In addition to his many public lectures and publications on the topic, he maintains an extensive scholarly website: “The Coins of Colonial and Early America” (http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/index.html/). Dr. Jordan is Librarian and Director of Special Collections, University of Notre Dame Libraries, the institution from which he received his Ph.D. in Medieval Studies in 1980. He is co-editor of and a frequent contributor to The Colonial Newsletter: A Research Journal in Early American Numismatics, and author of John Hull: The Mint and the Economics of Massachusetts Coinage (2002) and Lord Baltimore Coinage and Daily Exchange in Early Maryland, currently in preparation.

Louis Jordan

In his talk at Princeton, Jordan will trace the various attempts by the Continental Congress to devise a symbol for the new Republic, including the devices of a linked chain and a sundial invented by Benjamin Franklin, which were adopted on the 1776 Continental Currency patterns and on the 1787 Fugio coppers. Another common motif, the circle of stars representing the colonies and then states, appeared on the Nova Constellatio coppers and became the basis of the firstUnited States flag.

The lecture is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Capping Liberty,” which is running through July 8, 2012, in the Leonard L. Milberg Gallery of Firestone Library,PrincetonUniversity. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., closed holidays. The exhibition and its associated events are free and open to the public. A website devoted to the exhibition, including high-resolution images of both sides of all coins on display and images from associated books, manuscripts, and graphic arts, is online at http://rbsc.princeton.edu/capping-liberty and will remain on the site after the close of the exhibition. Further information can be obtained from Alan Stahl, Curator of Numismatics, at astahl@princeton.edu or (609) 258-9127.

Something’s rotten in the Kingdom of Spain.

Perhaps it’s the stench surrounding the 17 tons of gold and silver coins recently “repatriated” by Spain from the U.S. firm that recovered them from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

If so, the odor’s coming not from the coins themselves but from the Spanish government, which pressed a dubious claim to ownership of the coins, then—with help from a compliant U.S. court system—whisked all 17 tons out from under the noses of the people who spent millions finding and salvaging the coins.

The treasure is now in España, where it was hastily flown in two Spanish military planes after being spirited away from an Air Force base in Florida on Feb. 24—scant hours after a U.S. judge lifted the last legal barrier to its removal. The coins had been in Florida for more than four years, after being taken there by Odyssey Marine Exploration, the Tampa-based company that found the treasure in May 2007 off the coast of Portugal.

Odyssey said the coins, widely dispersed on the ocean floor, came from the wreckage of a ship whose identity couldn’t be conclusively determined. Spain staked an immediate claim, insisting that the remains were those of the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, a Spanish frigate that sank in 1804.

Under a law of the sea known as “the doctrine of sovereign immunity,” a nation never loses ownership of an active-duty warship that is sunk in an engagement with an enemy. But in this case, doubt exists as to whether this doctrine applied.

First, Odyssey steadfastly maintained that its salvage operations failed to confirm the name or nature of the ship, whose resting place, in international waters, was in an area known to be a graveyard for ill-fated vessels over the centuries. And despite Spain’s self-serving assertions, no conclusive evidence emerged that this was indeed the wreck of the Mercedes—and whether, if so, it was serving as a “warship” when it sank.

Then there’s the matter of those 17 tons of precious-metal coinage. What war-related purpose did this treasure serve? Perhaps Spain was arming itself to wage war on werewolves and needed a source for silver bullets. Incidentally, Odyssey estimates the value of the treasure in today’s marketplace at half a billion dollars, making it one of the richest troves ever found in a single shipwreck site.

Because of the questions about the ship’s identity, Odyssey gave the salvage operation the code name “Black Swan.” Even if the ship was the Mercedes, a vessel described by Spain as a warship, evidence suggests that its mission at the time was commercial, since more than two-thirds of the coins were bound for private merchants, not the King. Odyssey has argued that if it was commercial, the doctrine of sovereign immunity wouldn’t apply.

Historical documents show the Mercedes—part of a four-frigate convoy—was laden with New World treasure when it exploded and sank on Oct. 5, 1804, during an encounter with a squadron from the British Royal Navy. The British squadron intercepted the convoy as it was en route to the Spanish port of Cadiz. Britain and Spain weren’t at war at the time, but the British feared that Spain was allying itself with France, Britain’s foe in the Napoleonic Wars.

Among Spain’s most outrageous laments is that Odyssey stole property that was part of its national heritage. Given the source of the treasure on the Mercedes, this heritage is tainted, to say the least. If anyone “stole” the treasure, it was Spain, which enslaved native peoples in the Americas, plundered their wealth and forced them to supply new gold and silver over a span of centuries.

U.S. courts supported Spain at every step—and this gave rise to a credible conspiracy theory when WikiLeaks disclosed that the U.S. government had sought to arrange a secret deal whereby Spain would return a valuable painting to a California family in return for U.S. assistance in getting the coins.

As things turned out, Spain got the coins and kept the painting, too.

Its ship has come in—flying the Jolly Roger.

The showcase includes rarities from the ANA’s Edward C. Rochette Money Museum and exclusive private collections. Located on the bourse floor at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, the showcase will feature informative, museum-quality exhibits with audio tours. Several rarities will make their Showcase debut in Denver, including the 1792 Half Disme.

“The Museum Showcase is an unparalleled feature of ANA shows and provides visitors with an educational and entertaining view of spectacular numismatic objects,” ANA President Tom Hallenbeck said. “We are able to present these treasures because of our wonderful collection and the generosity of our members.”

Most exhibits will be accompanied by Money Talks, the ANA’s cell phone-guided audio tours, which are written and narrated by some of the country’s most knowledgeable authors and experts. Go to www.NationalMoneyShow.com/museum-showcase to listen to podcasts of these tours as they are released.

Following is a list of Museum Showcase exhibits to be displayed in Denver. The ANA is also completing arrangements for exhibits on Indian Peace Medals, Colorado territorial gold and Colorado gold nuggets.

The 1792 Half Disme
An estimated 1,500 half disme silver coins were struck in the basement of a saw-maker’s shop in Philadelphia in 1792 because the U.S. Mint was not yet operational. The coins – slightly smaller than a modern dime and weighing half as much – were first authorized by President Washington under the Mint Act of 1792. Thomas Jefferson, who was then serving as secretary of state, personally received the coins on Washington’s behalf.

Modern researchers estimate that about 275 of the 1,500 originally struck survive today. The coin on display in the showcase was donated to the Money Museum in January by Steven L. Contursi, president of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Irvine, Calif.

Lesher Referendum Dollars
Seldom-seen, oddly shaped Lesher Dollars are interesting, rare pieces of money in Colorado’s history. These octagonal silver “coins” were privately issued by Joseph Lesher in Victor, Colo., in 1900 and 1901 to boost local commerce and support silver mining. Various merchants punched their names into the coins, which was a form of advertisement and a message that Lesher dollars could be used to trade for goods and services at said business.

It’s not clear how many Lesher dollars were actually struck — Lesher himself said in a 1914 interview that between 3,000-3,500 were minted, but noted Lesher Dollar researcher Adna Wilde believed only about 1,870 were made, of which only 550 were documented at the time.

Money Talks audio tour: Token dealer and Lesher Dollar collector Chris Marchase tells the story of Joseph Lesher’s unusual dollars. Call 719-325-7608 and press 5#.

The Idler/Bebee Class III Specimen 1804 Dollar
Known as “The King of U.S. Coins,” the 1804 dollar is extremely rare, with only 15 known examples. No U.S. dollars dated 1804 actually were struck in that year; Class I specimens were struck in 1834-5 as diplomatic gifts (8 known), while Class II (unique) and III specimens (6 known) were struck during the 1850s for collectors. The Idler/Bebee specimen was donated to the ANA by Aubrey and Adeline Bebee in 1991.

Money Talks audio tour: Kenneth E. Bressett, who co-authored “The Fantastic 1804 Dollar” with Eric Newman, discusses the lore, origins and history behind the 1804 Dollar. Call 719-325-7608 and press 1#.

The McDermott/Bebee Specimen 1913 Liberty Head “V” Nickel
Five Liberty Head nickels were made in 1913 under mysterious circumstances. The existence of the nickels was unknown until 1919, when an advertisement in The Numismatist offered to purchase any example for $500. The ad was placed by Samuel W. Brown, a former Mint employee. In 1920 Brown exhibited all five nickels at the ANA convention in Chicago. The McDermott/Bebee specimen was donated to the ANA by Aubrey and Adeline Bebee in 1989.

Money Talks audio tour: NGC Chairman Mark Salzberg has authenticated all five 1913 Liberty Head Nickels and has many insights on these coins. Call 719-325-7608 and press 2#.

The National Bank Notes of Colorado
A wide range of rare National Bank notes from Colorado, as a territory and state, will be on display.

Money Talks audio tour: ANA Governor and paper money expert Wendell Wolka leads this tour of National Bank Notes. Call 719-325-7608 and press 3#.

The BEP Billion Dollar Display
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is also participating in the Money Talks tours. Paper money expert and ANA Governor Wendell Wolka narrated a five-stop tour of the BEP’s Billion Dollar Display. Call 719-325-7608, press 7#, 8#, 9#, 10# and 11#.

The National Money Show features more than 500 dealers with an exhaustive numismatic inventory, great educational programming, and a variety of special events, family events and children’s activities. Show hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. May 10-11 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 12. Admission is $6 for adults and free for ANA members and children 12 and under.  For more information or to download a $2-off admission coupon, go to www.NationalMoneyShow.com.

Big things are afoot in the world of coins.

In response to complaints from disgruntled consumers, the United States Mint has announced that it is slashing issue prices for proof sets and other collector products as a token of appreciation for its loyal customers.

Under the new price schedule, annual proof sets and “mint sets” can be purchased for face value plus a shipping and handling charge of just $2 per set. The price of silver proof sets includes an additional charge reflecting the Mint’s exact cost for the silver in the half dollars, quarters and dimes—and not a nickel more.

In a further expression of gratitude to collectors, the Mint is dispensing with fancy but costly packaging and housing the sets in simple pliofilm sleeves similar to those it used prior to 1965. This admittedly results in a loss of flashiness—in the packaging, that is. But those who buy the sets primarily for the coins will find those as collectible as ever.

The Mint has also announced a new initiative aimed at obtaining superior designs for futureU.S.coins. Encouraged by the success of its Artistic Infusion Program in attracting artists a cut below the best, the Mint has joined forces with the National Sculpture Society to establish an Artistic Exclusion Program intended to weed out less talented applicants and offer top commissions to the nation’s finest medalists whenever new coins are planned.

In a departure from the policy it followed in the 50 State Quarters program, the Mint plans to give full credit to these master medalists, rather than citing staff artists as “designers” of the coins even when they serve as only executioners—that is to say, merely execute designs by other people.

* * *

Big things are also afoot in the marketplace.

For starters, eBay has undertaken an aggressive campaign to identify and prosecute companies and individuals that use its website to peddle Chinese counterfeits and other deceptive coins. It also has banned users found to be selling coins that are misrepresented or grossly overpriced.

Home shopping TV networks have pledged to prohibit overblown pitches for overpriced modern coins. In fact, they have barred the sale of any such coins—especially those graded by substandard certification “services” whose misleading names are intended to sound like those of responsible, reputable companies and thereby confuse prospective purchasers.

TV stations across the country have served notice that they will no longer accept commercials from mail-order gold buyers claiming to pay “top dollar” when they’re really paying prices at the bottom of the barrel—prices that amount to very small fractions of true value. In a similar move, newspapers have begun rejecting full-page ads from itinerant coin buyers who go from town to town converting local hotel rooms into dens of inequity for hapless, unwary members of the public.

* * *

Back at the U.S. Mint, officials have revealed plans to discontinue the “America the Beautiful” program after a survey showed that none of the Washington quarters issued to date in the series was considered by respondents to be beautiful.

Thought was given to changing the program’s name to “Americathe Pitiful,” or perhaps “Artistic Confusion,” thus lowering expectations by people who had looked for the coins’ designs to be special, not outer-spacial. But in the end, it was decided that the most appropriate course would be to stop making new coins and consign the old ones to something that truly reflects the beauty of America—a melting pot.

In another illustration of the Mint’s newfound sanity, it imposed a moratorium on any further programs involving multiple issues over periods spanning 10 years or more.

Among the coming attractions left on the cutting-room floor were marathon series spotlighting gypsy moths, B-movie actors and dyslexic vice presidents. Dan Quayle was said to be particularly distressed by the last of these cutbacks.

* * *

Yes, big things are afoot. But, like Bigfoot, they’re only the concoction of an overactive imagination—specifically, mine. All these big events “took place,” you see, on the very same spring day—April 1^st.

April fool!

Looking for logic in Washington, D.C., is like looking for a needle in a haystack. More aptly, it’s like looking for a dollar— a metal one, that is—in pocket change.

The Obama Administration recently pulled the plug on the base-metal presidential dollars, announcing that they will no longer be produced for circulation. The stated reason: to save big money for the government—and, by extension, the American people.

At first blush, this sounds reasonable. Virtually no one has used the “mini-dollar” coins since they first appeared five years ago, so why keep spending tens of millions of dollars a year to mint new ones. Not to mention the high and growing cost of storing all the unwanted coins.

This would make perfect sense—if Congress and the Treasury hadn’t claimed earlier that Uncle Sam would save hundreds of millions of dollars by minting the coins in the first place. And made the same claim twice before that to justify production of Susan B. Anthony dollars in 1979 and Sacagawea dollars in 2000.

The argument, simply stated, is that while it’s somewhat cheaper to print dollar bills than to mint small dollar coins, the coins would last more than 15 times longer in circulation—an average of 25 years, compared with 18 months for dollar bills. The government’s costs would rise somewhat in the short term, dollar coin advocates have acknowledged, but it would save not just millions but billions of dollars in the long run.

Last year, the Government Accountability Office estimated that complete replacement of dollar bills with dollar coins would yield savings totaling $5.6 billion over a 30-year period.

That, of course, assumed two things: that the government would stop issuing dollar bills, and that the American people would accept and use the $1 coins in their place. And this is where the totally logical theory has always run afoul of bull-headed reality. Although Uncle Sam has tried three times to get the American people to use small size dollar coins, he has never discontinued dollar bills. As a consequence, people have continued to use paper dollars and simply ignored the dollar coins.

Other countries have faced similar resistance when they sought to introduce small-size, high-value coins into daily commerce. They overcame it, though, by cutting off the equivalent paper money.Britainhalted production of £1 notes in 1983, when it started issuing thick “round pound” coins.Canadastopped making $1 bills in 1987, when it launched the “loon” dollar coin. And after initial grumbling, people in both countries gradually began to use and even like the new coins. Today, consumers inBritainandCanadaspend them without a second thought.

The Anthony and Sacagawea dollars both were dropped from regular production after just two years because of public apathy. The Anthony dollar returned for a one-year curtain call in 1999 and Sacagawea dollars were revived as “circulating” coins in 2009, co-existing with presidential dollars, because of a witless political deal.

The presidential dollars would be different, we were told, because they would be components of an ongoing series honoringU.S.presidents in the order that they served. After all, that approach had been hugely successful with the 50-stateWashingtonquarters. Then-Congressman Michael Castle of Delaware, the coins’ chief congressional booster, made that point when the authorizing legislation was passed in December 2005.

“I fully expect that having the rotating images of presidents on the coin will vastly increase demand for the one-dollar coin and help it find its natural place inU.S.commerce,” Castle exclaimed.

Quite to the contrary, the series went nowhere fast—because dollar bills were never discontinued.

The U.S. Mint will continue making coins for the presidents not yet honored—but only for special products it sells to collectors at a premium. That will also be the case for the pointless Sacagawea dollars.

In pulling presidential dollars from its regular coinage lineup, the government is missing the point of its very own argument: that it could save a much bigger bundle by scrapping dollar bills instead. It’s not only dropping the dollars; it’s also making no sense.

Chester Alan Arthur was one of this country’s most fascinating presidents. After a middling career as an utterly undistinguished political hack, he was nominated for the vice presidency following a backroom deal in 1880—in the confident expectation that this would consign him to permanent obscurity.

Within a matter of months, an assassin’s bullet claimed the life of President James A. Garfield and placed the reins of power in Arthur’s hands—and to everyone’s surprise, he rose to the occasion by carrying out his duties with dignity and integrity no one ever imagined he possessed.

Sadly, our friends inWashingtonseem to have looked upon Arthur more as the disposable hack that he had been than the first-rate president he became. They did so by distorting the “First Spouse” coin that accompanies his presidential dollar into a billboard for misplaced political pandering.

I’m not a great admirer of the First Spouse program. As I wrote when this started five years ago, it makes little sense to strike base-metal coins honoring U.S. presidents and then produce bullion coins with half an ounce of gold apiece to showcase their first ladies. The U.S. Mint offers bronze medal duplicates of the First Spouse coins for far more affordable prices—so why make the coins at all, except to fatten the Mint’s hefty profits from selling all that gold for sizable markups.

In keeping with the Mint’s recent artistic output, the First Spouse coins have been predictably pedestrian up to now. Their designs have been dull but generally relevant—Abigail Adams penning a letter to John, for example, and Mary Todd Lincoln bringing books and flowers to wounded Union soldiers.

But now, on the First Spouse coin paired with Chester Arthur’s dollar, we find ourselves confronted with a woman and a theme that have little or nothing to do with either President Arthur or the precedents established by previous coins in the series.

Arthur’s wife, Ellen, died on Jan. 12, 1880, some 20 months before he became president. Four of his predecessors—Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan—also entered the nation’s highest office without a first lady. To keep the spouse series continuous, the Mint issued substitute gold coins. The obverse of each bore an image ofLibertytaken from a coin that circulated during the president’s term and the reverse depicted a scene from the president’s life.

An obviousLibertyportrait for Arthur’s substitute First Spouse coin would have been the one on the Liberty Head nickel, which made its debut in 1883, while he was in the White House. The reverse could have shown a nattily dressed Arthur at the opening of theBrooklynBridgeon May 24, 1883, or signing the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act earlier that year. That, after all, is the piece of legislation for which he is best remembered and most universally hailed.

But in authorizing the program, Congress decreed that the First Spouse coin tied to Chester Arthur would be different. There would be no likeness ofLibertybased on a coinage portrait in use at the time he served. There would be no reverse vignette showing a pertinent scene from the president’s life.

Instead, we would get a coin “incorporating the name and likeness of Alice Paul, a leading strategist in the suffrage movement, who was instrumental in gaining women the right to vote upon the adoption of the 19<superscript>^{th</superscript>} amendment and thus the ability to participate in the election of future presidents.”

Never mind that civil service reform, not women’s suffrage, was the dominant issue of Chester Arthur’s presidency. Never mind that Alice Paul didn’t emerge as a women’s rights leader until the 20<superscript>^{th</superscript>} century’s second decade and the 19<superscript>^{th</superscript>} amendment didn’t become law until 1920.

The loose connection? Alice Paul was born in 1885, while Arthur was in the White House. Less than eight weeks passed between her birth on Jan. 11 and Arthur’s last day in office, March 4. So she was more “last baby” than first lady.

The linkage is preposterous—akin to using Jefferson’s First Spouse coin to spotlight the evils of industrial trusts, orJackson’s to focus on Prohibition.

This is a misguided effort to curry feminists’ favor. Alice Paul might very well deserve a coin—but this is not the one.