coinsandmedals

Was this the first Philadelphia Mint medal made using a reducing lathe?
Top - Description and terracotta original.
Bottom - 1840 letter describing manufacture of the medal hub.
Medallion of Benjamin Franklin (1777). Jean-Baptiste Nini, Italian (active France), 1717 - 1786. Based on a drawing by Thomas Walpole, English, 1755 - 1840. Diameter: 5 inches. Terracotta.
Label:
Clay medallions of Benjamin Franklin were among the earliest portraits of the statesman available in France. Their maker, Nini, worked for Jacques Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, Franklin's pro-American landlord. Franklin sent one example to his daughter Sarah and her husband, Richard Bache, who thought the medallion a better likeness than the print by Augustin de Saint-Aubin, which Franklin also sent them. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

(Private)
Mint of the United States
January 15, 1840
Dear Sir,
            I have the pleasure to send you by the present mail, two medals, with the head of Franklin, one of which I pray you to give to the President. We think the head the finest that has yet been executed at the Mint, but what gives it the principal interest is that the die, or rather the hub, was formed, not by the tedious and exhaustive labor of an artist, but by a portrait lathe, which I caused to be made in Paris [for our Mint], at the suggestion of Mr. Peale, and which I have before stated to you we have employed very advantageously, in making dies for the Mint.
The original of our present work was a medallion head of Franklin, in burnt clay, of about five inches in diameter. From this, as a pattern, a casting was made in iron, at Boston, and was as smooth and as perfect as the best work of the kind in Berlin. This casting formed the pattern to be placed in the portrait lathe, and enabled us to turn, in cast steel, a hub which was a reduced facsimile of it, and which needed only a slight retouching by the graver. This hub, being hardened, forms a tool with which the die, (and indeed any number of dies,) may be made by the force of a powerful screw press. With the die, the medals are struck as usual.
            The process which we have met with in this regard is due mainly to the ingenuity and perseverance of Mr. Peale, our Chief Coiner, and has not been attained without much difficulty and after many failures. It appears to me that it must lead to a new era in the making of medals, by enabling us to dispense entirely with the difficult art of the die sinker. All that is now required is a good model made in wax, clay, or any other plastic material; the rest of the process is purely mechanical.
                                    Very truly and
                                    Respectfully yours,
                                    R. M. P.

You may remember back in March I posted about a 21-D merc my daughter and I cherry picked out of a dealers junk silver bin. More than a few believed it was not a genuine coin. 
 
NGC finished with it today and it is indeed genuine, however they decided it showed evidence of cleaning. 
While I'm disappointed it didn't get a straight grade it's hard to really complain when I paid $2.50 for it...

And the answer is  that ACG called it MS66, my photos made it look slightly PL however in hand it is not and has strong luster bands which I am still working on capturing in photos.  Few attempted; and it would have been difficult from the photos; but I think this is VAM 18.   Myself I think its a liner 64/65 a coin that would be 64 5 out of ten trips to a grading room and 65 the other 5 trips.   This is one of the coins/holders I've collected as part of my holder collection, I enjoy collecting the history of the TPG's and their holders and it makes a fun side project to coin collecting for me.   I hope this was a nice break from the usual, now back to the regular parking lot find discussions.  

I’d call that an MS-65. 

There are no wrong answers so give this Morgan your best shot even though my lighting was not the very best for these photos; I'll show the grade on Wed AM.   For extra credit see if you can id the VAM for this coin. 
 
 

OK, Citizen Robespierre, as you wish.....BTW -- can you direct me to Place de la Concorde? There's a barber shop there and I need a close shave.
Minimum Unc 65 but possibly Unc 66

Sure, everyone gets an equal vote -- this is not Mississippi. The coin is consistent with pieces direct from new dies - a few of those still exist. Sadly, the situation is much like sandblast gold proofs - nearly all have been dipped multiple times, so very few actually can recognize an fully original piece. The antiqued ('pickled Peace pieces") 1921 and 1922 proof and trial strikes were so altered by their medal treatment that they are useless for assessing unaltered coins. I agree that the axial lighting might also contribute. Maybe some day I'll consign it to a TPG and then to Heritage.

Climate change and projections of impacts are based on real data and reliable thermodynamic calculations. The climactic "cycles" are defined by sets of data points covering a very long time span - at least in human terms. The 26,000 year "wobble" in earth's rotation has little effect because the rotational tilt remains the same. Real changes can be correlated with the earth's orbit; however, all of these are on time scales much longer than those currently being observed. Further, there are direct statistical and anecdotal correlations between use of fossil fuels and both mean temperature increases and effects of weather pattern changes.
For any closed system there is a tipping point beyond which it loses the ability to self-regulate: it becomes a "runaway" system that stabilizes only at some undetermined, and entirely new set of conditions.
Public confusion arises not from the observed changes, but from an ignorantly-politicized dispute about why the sudden changes (150 years is incredibly "sudden" in climatology). Frozen dogma is useless in attacking and moderating the observed changes. The human population of earth is the only entity with the capability of remediating mean temperature increases. It is not certain what will happen if we act. If we do not act the math is clear and the impacts on all life on earth will be significant.
For those who point to events like the cold outbreak in the central and southern US and say "So how can this be global warming?" the response is that this is exactly the kind of effect expected from an increasingly chaotic weather system. Greater variability, greater intensive, unanticipated departure from historic and prehistoric patterns, all are predicted on large scales but are not understood (yet) on the small scale of local regions.
For coin collectors, the takeaway is: don't put coins in a bank box in a 1,000 year flood plain.
 

I would probably be interested in a couple. I'll check out what you have left in the thread you create. I got my eye on a couple of them. 

Thank you, I am happy to report that many of them have found new homes! To my wife's disbelief, this list only represents a tiny portion of my numismatic references. I may do several more purges between now and when we relocate. 

Very cool collection. Hopefully one of these days mine will look like that. I've been slowly reading some amazing books and old numismatic magazines and adding to it. 

A local coin collector club might be interested in a consignment arrangement. A club in me does this in order to get books into the hands of members and especially new collectors.

That's a nice collection of books. If you don't mind selling just some, rather than the entire set at once, we may can deal. Doesn't the Post Office have some boxes that are "all-you-can-fit-in-it-regardless-of-weight-for-one-price" ? I don't mind paying to have them shipped.

I’m similar to Just Bob. If you sell them piecemeal I am interested in a handful as well. 

I primarily collect the coinage, tokens, and medals produced at the Soho Mint. More broadly, the bulk of my collection consists of the numerous patterns, proofs, and business strikes of English and Irish copper spanning the 17th to 19th centuries. I imagine this will be a lifelong pursuit as there is no shortage of research topics to explore. I would ask what you collect, but I already know! 

I'd mentioned this last August, but decided to hold printing pending some promised updated information. The "pending" has now become "hanging by a thread" and I plan to move forward with publication. There is a new thread ATS about the 4 Sovereign pieces, but as is typical, it is mostly out of date conjecture. The chapter in this book will take care of that. Here's the cover image.

What do you collect now ?

You could consign to Kolbe or one of the other numismatic literature sellers.

I don't have any answers as I have never sold any, but you have some nice ones there.

My collecting interests have almost entirely shifted over the last two decades. In the wake of this, I find myself with a small cache of numismatic literature that no longer suits my needs. It seems prudent to put these books in the hands of fellow collectors who might glean some enjoyment from them instead of collecting dust on my overcrowded bookshelves. Beyond eBay, I am not aware of any other venues to sell/trade inexpensive books where the shipping charges wouldn't get out of hand quickly. In several instances, the shipping charge would likely exceed the cost of the book. Any suggestions? Are there dealers who would likely purchase the entire lot (obviously at a deeply discounted price)? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I have included a list of the books below to give a general idea of the subject matter.
United States Coins
Numismatics of Massachusetts, Malcolm Storer, 1981, hardcover, 319 pages. John Hull, The Mint and The Economics of Massachusetts Coinage, Louis Jordan, hardcover, 348 pages. Contemporary Counterfeit Capped Bust Half Dollars 2nd Edition By Keith Davignon, 2010, 326 pages. Counterfeit, Mis-Struck, and Unofficial U.S. Coins, hardback, 221 - Don Taxay Dan Holmes Collection of Large Cents, catalogues by Goldbergs McCawley & Grellman, Part III, Large Cent Errors. COMBO The Davy Collection of Half Cent Errors. Flying Eagle & Indian Cents, Richard Snow, 1992, hardcover, 161 pages. Getting Your Two Cents Worth, Kevin Flynn, 1994, 112 pages. The United States Half Dimes- D.W. Valentine, hardcover, 186 Pages. Early Quarter Dollars of the United States 1796-1838 AW Browning, Hardcover, 44 pages, 1981 Elite Clashed Morgan Dollars by Kimpton 1st Ed., Soft Cover, 2005,151 pages. Standard Catalogue of United States Coins, 1947, hardcover, 224 pages. History of the United States Mint and its Coinage, Hardcover, 2006, 190 pages. The Treasure Ship S.S. New York Her Story, 1837-1846, Bowers, 2008, 94 pages. United States Tokens/Medals/Currency
Patriotic Civil War Tokens Revised 4th edition 1982 Update 1993 die photos, softcover, 124 pages. Atwood Coffee Catalogue of US & Canadian Transportation Tokens 4th Ed. Vol.1 , hardback, 548. 1973 2nd Edition Feisel's Catalogue Of Parking Tokens Of The World, hardcover, 244 Pages. Alaska Tokens, Ronald J. Benice, 179, hardcover, 208 pages. So-Called Dollars, 2nd Edition, 2008, 191 pages. (Covers intact but multiple folds; contents are okay). 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens by Jaegar and Bowers (2007), hardcover, 119 pages. College Currency Money For Business Training Illustrated, Schingoethe, 1993, 463 pages. World Coins
(2 Books) J. J. North: English Hammered Coinage. Volume I. c650-1272, 1963, 198 pages [and] English Hammered Coinage Volume 2, Edward I to Charles II 1272-1662, 1960, 183 pages. The first editions. Brand J. D., The English Coinage 1180-1247: Money, Mints and Exchanges British Numismatic Society Special Publication No. 1. 1994. 92pp, 5 b/w plates The English Silver Coinage since 1649. 5th ed., Rayner, 1992, hardcover, 254 pages. Spink. Coins of England & The United Kingdom. Decimal Issues. Standard Catalogue of British Coins. Part 3. London: Spink & Son, Ltd., 2018, Fourth edition, 227 pages. Coins of England and the United Kingdom 48th Edition 2013, Hardcover, 648 pages. Illustrated History of Coins and Tokens Relating to Canada English/French 2005, paperback, 239 pages. (324281726755) Charlton Standard Catalogue Canadian Coins 1995 49th Ed Coins And Tokens Of Scotland, Seab, 1972, hardcover, 160 pages. Sylloge of Coins of The British Isles 22 Part V Hiberno-norse and Anglo-Irish coins, 1975, hardcover Coinage in the Celtic World, Daphne Nash, 2004 Reprint, 153 pages. 2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins 2001-date, softcover, 432 pages. Thomas Simon His Life and Work 1618-1665, Alan J Nathanson, hardcover, 60 pages. World Tokens/Medals
Price Guide to 18th Century Tokens, Schwer, 1983, 175 pages. Seventeenth Century Tokens Of The British Isles Michael Dickinson, first edition, 1986, hardcover, 292 pages. Schwer Price Guide To Unofficial Farthings, paperback, 248 pages. British Tokens And Their Values by Seaby 1970. Hardcover, 199 pages. General
Metallurgy in Numismatics Volume 4 Royal Numismatic Society Special Publication, 1998, hardcover, 538 pages. The Coin Collector's Survival Manual, Revised Seventh Edition Scott A. Travers, Softcover, 401 pages.  
If this post violates any rules, I apologize and respectfully ask the moderator to remove the thread.

It looks like Spring 2013, Issue #2 will be a nice cache of useful information for one of my projects. Thank you for sharing! 

Franklin Peale brought the US Mint into the 19th century. It was not until near the turn of the 20th century that substantive changes were made.

The Journal of Numismatic Research (JNR) was begun nearly a decade ago with the goal of giving authors a place to publish their research without limitations of length, subject, or sources. After five issues it was discontinued because of limited interest in the concept by writers. However, the published issues contain numerous articles by the present writer on multiple subjects affecting US coinage. In the interest of making more collectors aware of this "hidden resource" and its content the following abstracts are presented. Internet searches will reveal reviews and other comments.
Journal of Numismatic Research (JNR) – Autumn 2012, Issue #1.
“Oberlin Smith – Patent for a Coining Press, 1896.” United States patent number 574227 was issued to Oberlin Smith on December 29, 1896. Smith was owner of the Ferracute Company and had many years of experience in designing and manufacturing industrial and machine shop presses, lathes and other equipment. His company produced only two sizes of coin presses and sold a few to the U.S. Mint and others to foreign governments. This is the first publication of Smith’s complete patent text and illustrations.
“Victor Janvier – Patent for a Model Reducing Machine, 1899.” (translation by Margaux C. Thieme-Burdette)
Among American numismatists Victor Janvier is known almost entirely for the model reducing machine of his invention that was installed in the Philadelphia Mint in 1906. The French patent, number 294123, was issued on November 8, 1899 and amended in February 24, 1902. This is the first publication of his patent and includes all documents remaining in the French patent office archive.

Journal of Numismatic Research (JNR) – Spring 2013, Issue #2.
“Benjamin Franklin Peale – Inventions and Improvements for the United States Mint, 1835 to 1852.” During Franklin Peale’s employment at the U.S. Mint from 1833 to 1854, he invented machinery and improved processes. These changes moved the mint from an outdated backwater, into the forefront of international coinage technology. This issue of JNR presents the first comprehensive review of Peale’s important contributions to the economic growth of the United States.
“Improvements in the Method of Making Working Dies and Reductions – 1835.” One of the goals of mint officials was uniformity of the coinage. Every piece of a certain denomination should be identical in weight, purity, size, shape and design to every other of the same denomination. To accomplish this, the mint went to considerable trouble to verify the all the blanks and planchets for coining were uniform. But when it came to actually making dies and striking coins from them, a multitude of factors intruded.
“Improvements in Assaying and Parting Silver, and Recovering Precious Metals from Waste Water – 1835.” The two primary reasons for sending Franklin Peale to Europe in 1833 were to learn how to perform the “humid assay” of silver, and how to perform large scale parting of gold and silver using sulfuric acid. As with most tasks, Peale overcame reluctance by some of his European hosts and succeeded admirably in his assignment.
“Invention of a Toggle-Joint Coinage Press – 1835.” The steam powered coining press designed by Franklin Peale is simultaneously his most recognized invention and the least well understood by coin collectors. This is understandable when one realizes that popular descriptions emphasized the use of steam power, rather than the singular technology of the press.
“Improvements in Rolling, Drawing and Annealing – 1835-1839.” Among lesser known mechanical improvements made by Franklin Peale were changes in the rolling mills, drawbenches and annealing furnaces. At present we have none of Peale’s drawings relating to these improvements and only incomplete descriptions of his work.
“Invention of the Eccentric Drive Blank Cutting Press – 1836.” The new presses were fast and required large quantities of blanks and planchets. To solve the problem of cutting blanks, Peale designed two somewhat different blank cutting presses for the U.S. Mints. A small version was introduced in 1836, and a second much larger type was designed and built between 1837 and 1851. Both designs dispensed with the obsolete screw press mechanism.
“Invention of the Upsetting Machine – 1836.”
While Franklin Peale was melter and refiner he invented and introduced the upsetting (or milling) ma­chine, moved by steam power, for placing the raised edge on the rim of the coin. This machine was substituted for the imperfect and inefficient band machine, the only one previously known in the Mint. Such was the efficiency of the machine introduced by Peale that eight hundred (800) of the smaller denominations of coin per minute do not by any means limit its capacity.
“Improvements of the Piling Box and Coin Counting Board – 1837 and 1839.” Counting boards and piling boxes might appear to be trivial innovations. Making piles of coins or blanks was a simple matter and counting was basic to most mint operations. Counting coins has been an important requirement of money-based economies since the first use of coinage. Stacking or piling coins is a more recent, though still very old practice. As a growing economy demanded larger quantities of coins, simple piece-by-piece counting failed.
“Design for a Steam Engine – 1839.” Peale’s 1839 horizontal steam engine was not the first used by the Philadelphia Mint, but it was the first to be fully designed and built with specific needs of the mint in mind. Power production was modest – just twenty-five horsepower – but the machine was quiet, reliable, and simple to operate by standards of the time.
“Improvement of Balances – 1835-1847.” Accurate analytical and bulk weighing balances were critical to the quality of American coinage. But when Peale visited the Paris Mint in 1833 he realized that the U.S. Mint was laboring with poor quality equipment. He acted quickly to relieve the situation and continued improving weighing equipment for the next fifteen years.
“Improvements in Electrotyping from Models of Metal, Wax and Plaster – 1840.”
The miracle of electricity was a primary subject of scientists and philosophical experimenters in the early nineteenth century. Working mostly as individuals, and collaborating through numerous letters and publications, electrical researchers rapidly gained a basic understanding of what electricity could do. Franklin Peale worked with a very simple electrotyping apparatus known as single cell deposition. This method did not require constructing a battery, but depended only on the small current developed within a container, to deposit copper onto a mold.
“Hiring of Women to Adjust Planchets and Operate Presses – 1850.” Men were employed to adjust planchets and operate presses until early 1850 when women were given a trial as adjusters by coiner Franklin Peale. His innovation was to turn a significant part of the coining process over entirely to female employees, and to do this within a major government bureau. His decision was evidently inspired by a combination of errors by the male adjusters, and the drive to save money.
“Design for a Steeple Engine – 1851.” The last major design project by Franklin Peale was for a new vertical steam engine for the Philadelphia Mint. By this time the science of machinery had left the designer in the dust and his best effort was functionally obsolete before it was completed.
“Opinions and Comments on Coinage and Mint Operations 1855, 1870.” Peale’s opinions about American coinage were remarkably consistent during his lifetime. Some found their way into the Coinage Act of 1873, others fell by the wayside, and still others have yet to be considered. This brief article presents his opinions and suggestions for present and future numismatists to contemplate.
Journal of Numismatic Research (JNR) – Summer 2013, Issue #3.
“Saving Philippine Gold at the beginning of World War II: January to March 1942.”
Following the surprise attack on Manila on December 8, 1942, banks and individuals sought to get their valuables, including gold bullion from local mines, to safety. One American submarine was able to help by using the gold and silver as ballast.
“Silver Divers of Corregidor, World War II: May to November 1942.”
Just before the Philippine island of Corregidor fell to the Japanese, large quantities of silver coins were dumped in Manila Bay. It was hoped that the coins could thus be hidden from the invaders. Within days, the silver coins were located and American prisoners conscripted to bring the valuables to the surface.
“U.S. Mint & Nazi Gold, Merkers Kaiseroda Salt Mine Treasure, World War II: June to August 1945.”
Under orders from Nazi leadership, primarily Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler, conquered people and nations were systematically stripped of art, gold and other valuables. Recovery of the treasure after the end of the European war had an unexpected connection to the U.S. Mint.
Journal of Numismatic Research (JNR) – Autumn 2013, Issue #4.
“Origin of the 3-Cent Silver Coin.”
 Beneath the angry public debates on slavery, new state admissions and regional commerce, two important topics permeated the country. One was the need for a consistent national currency of gold and silver coins that was uniformly available and of equal value everywhere. The other was revision of the postal service so it could cheaply and securely ensure written communication across a vast, largely unpopulated continental nation.
“James B. Longacre as a Die Engraver”
A reassessment of the artistic and engraving talent of the Engraver of the United States Mint.
“Purpose of the $3 Gold Coin”
Coin collectors have long wondered why Congress approved introduction of a $3.00 gold coin in 1854. Numerous speculations have been put forward, but none identified the initial motivation for this odd, seemingly useless denomination.
“Gold Dollars Used for Jewelry”
Necklaces, bracelets, cufflinks, rings, pendants and a multitude of other items of personal adornment became the final resting places of thousands of tiny gold dollars. Coin collectors were the only refuge for these forgotten gold pieces.
Journal of Numismatic Research (JNR) – Winter 2014, Issue #5.
The Women Who Ran the Mint
The United States Mint was one of the first Federal government departments to hire women as full time employees. It was also among the forefront in promoting women to positions of managerial responsibility, and having them testify before Congress as civil service professionals. This article presents the stories of three outstanding women who helped open the doors to equal employment opportunity.
“Margaret Ellen Kelly – Acting Director of the Mint”
“Mary Margaret O’Reilly – Assistant Director of the Mint”
“Nellie Tayloe Ross – Director of the Mint”
 

Thanks for posting that!

Also check: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/562548