Numismatic Detective: Unraveling a Numismatic Myth by JAA USA/Philippines Collection

[CSJournals-migration]

Sometimes even the most respected numismatic scholars get their facts wrong. When this happens misinformation can be perpetuated for decades as succeeding generations of numismatists quote the original supposedly reliable source.

 

In this Journal posting I will examine and attempt to unravel one of the most enduring numismatic myths the mistaken belief that the 1920 "Wilson Dollar" (the official medal struck to commemorate the opening of the Manila Mint) was designed by Clifford Hewitt.

 

By reviewing the numismatic literature I will illustrate how the myth originated and was perpetuated over the years. I will also discuss how I first came to question the myth and the numismatic detective work which led me to the conclusion that the early experts had gotten it wrong. Lastly I will present compelling evidence that the 1920 medal struck to commemorate the opening of the Manila Mint (the So-Called Wilson Dollar) was in fact designed by the person long credited with engraving its dies U.S. Mint Chief Engraver George T. Morgan.

 

The earliest mention of this medal in the numismatic literature appeared in an article by the respected numismatic scholar Dr. Gilbert S. Perez, published in Numismatic Notes and Monographs in 1921. Perez, a U.S. citizen, who lived most of his adult life in the Philippines, was the acknowledged expect on Philippine numismatics of his day, a founding father of the Philippine Numismatic and Antiquarian Society (the Philippine equivalent of our ANA) and the author of numerous articles in prestigious numismatic journals. In his 1921 article "The Mint of the Philippine Islands" Dr. Pertz credits Clifford Hewitt with designing the 1920 medal struck to commemorate the opening of the Manila Mint. (Perez 1921, page 4)

 

In 1920 Hewitt was the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the U.S. Mint and the person responsible for designing and installing the equipment used in the Manila Mint. Hewitt was also responsible for instructing the Filipino employees of the new mint in the minting process.

 

Since both Perez and Hewitt were present in the Philippines when the Manila Mint opened in July 1920 it is reasonable to assume that there must have been some personal contact between the numismatic scholar and the mints technical expect. There is no question that Perez was an actual witness to the events surrounding the opening of the Manila Mint and the production of the first coins and commemorative medals. Given Perez's eye witness status and sterling reputation in the numismatic community it is very understandable that the information in his 1921 article became enshrined as indisputable fact in the numismatic literature for nine decades.

 

The first major step in reinforcing the myth that Hewitt designed the Wilson Dollar occurred in 1961 when numismatic luminary Neil Shafer repeated the misinformation in his monumental book "United States Coinage for the Philippine Islands". Although long out of print Shafer's book remains the definitive reference work on U.S. Philippine numismatics and is one of the "Bibles" for collectors of USA-Philippines coins. (Shafer 1961, pages 33-34)

The next step in reinforcing the myth occurred in 1963 when the "Bible" for So-Called Dollar collectors "So-Called Dollars, an Illustrated Standard Catalog with Valuations" by Harold Hibler & Charles V. Kappen, Charles V. listed the So-Called Wilson Dollar as being designed by Hewitt. (Hibler & Kappen 1963, page 64)

 

Two significant steps in reinforcing the myth occurred in 1975. In 1975 the Philippine Numismatic and Antiquarian Society reprinted Perez's 1921 article "The Mint of the Philippine Islands" in a special issue of "Philippine Numismatic Monographs" dedicated to Dr. Perez. (Perez 1975, page 7)

 

1975 also saw the publication of the second edition of "Coins, Medals and Tokens of the Philippines 1728-1974" by Aldo P. Basso. Basso was one of the most respected experts on Philippine numismatics of his day. His 1975 book is still widely regarded as one of most important reference works on Philippine numismatics and another "Bible" for collectors of Philippine coins, medals and tokens. Basso's classical reference work repeated the misinformation that the 1920 Manila mint medal (Wilson Dollar) was designed by Hewitt. (Basso 1975, page 53)

 

 

With multiple highly respected numismatic reference books and journals all reporting that the 1920 Wilson Dollar was designed by Hewitt the myth was set in concrete. For generations auction catalogs and articles in the numismatic literature would cite the earlier works by Perez, Shafer, Hibler & Kappen, and Basso and list Clifford Hewitt as the designer of the 1920 Manila mint medal.

 

My first inkling that the experts might be wrong occurred in August 2011 when I purchased a copy of "History of the United States Mint and its Coinage" by David W. Lang at the ANA convention in Chicago. There was one line in Lang's book which immediately caught my attention. In referring to the 1920 Manila mint medal Lang stated "The dies were by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver George T. Morgan, though some stock elements were employed... the reverse is an adaptation of a much earlier medal from the U.S. Mint's annual assay ceremony." (Lang 2006, page 155)

 

Wow this was earth shaking news. Could all the experts and trusted standard reference books have gotten it wrong? I was skeptical at first and had to investigate for myself. If Lang was right then the proof would be in the Assay Commission medals. I tried researching the U. S. Assay Commission medals on the internet but found that the online information was often contradictory and that there were many gaps in the information.

 

My next step was to contact the ANA library and request their assistance. The ANA reference librarian was very helpful and recommended several reliable reference books that I could check out on loan.

 

The book that I found most helpful was a 1989 publication of The Token and Medal Society "Medals of the United States Assay Commission 1860-1977" by Julian and Ernest Keusch. In this definitive work on the Medals of the United States Assay Commission the Keuschs identify George Morgan as the designer and engraver of the reverse design used on the 1882 Annual Assay Commission Medal. The Keuschs state that this reverse vignette was used again for the 1883, 1884, 1885, 1890, and 1892 Assay Commission Medals and "was the direct inspiration, though in mirror image, for the reverse of the 1920 Manila Mint medal." (Keusck & Keusek 1989, pages 22-24, 26, and 28)

 

The Keuschs also identify Morgan as the designer and engraver of the portrait of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson used on the obverse of the 1919 and 1920 Assay Commission Medals. (Keusck & Keusck 1989, page 42)

 

A close look at this portrait leaves no doubt that it is the same portrait of President Wilson that was used for the obverse of the 1920 Wilson Dollar.

 

A careful review of the U.S. Assay Commission medals leaves no doubt in my mind that Morgan designed both the obverse and reverse of the 1920 medal commemorating the opening of the Manila Mint. The portrait of President Wilson on the obverse of the 1920 Manila medal is clearly the same as the portrait used for Morgan's 1919 Assay Commission medals. The reverse design of the 1920 Manila mint medal shows a representation of "Juno Moneta" (the goddess of money and minting), kneeling and watching over a nude youth who is pouring planchets (coin blanks) into a coining press. The design is in typical Morgan style and is clearly inspired by his 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1890, and 1892 U.S. Assay Commission medals.

 

The attached picture shows the reverse of a bronze 1890 U.S. Assay Commission medal on the left and the reverse of one of my 1920 So-Called Wilson Dollars on the right. You can clearly see the similarity between the two medals which appear to be almost mirror images of each other.

 

Over the past year there have been two passing references in the numismatic literature that Morgan may have designed the 1920 Wilson Dollar.

 

A brief E-Sylum article in February 2012 challenged the idea that Hewitt, the Chief Mechanical Engineer for the US Mint, was ever involved in design work and credits the design of the Wilson Dollar entirely to Morgan. (Johnson 2012) http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v15n06.html#article8

 

In the auction catalog for "The Dr. Greg Pineda Philippine Collection", Neil Shafer noted the recent controversy over who designed the Wilson Dollar and cited the E-Sylum article of 2/12/2012. Shafer went on to comment that "Some reverse design elements appear to have been borrowed from the reverse of the 1915-S Panama-Pacific commemorative half dollar that shows a nude boy with cornucopia. Coincidentally that reverse was also a Morgan design." (Shafer 2012, page 86)

 

Despite the cracks in the myth that have occurred since 1989 most numismatic publications continue to perpetuate the myth that the 1920 Wilson Dollar was designed by Hewitt. Some of the most notable examples of this are:

 

1) Steven Bieda's article "The So-Called Wilson Dollar: A Medal for Several Different Collections", which appeared in the Mich-Matist in the Fall of 2008. http://www.michigancoinclub.org/Bieda_Wilson.html (Bieda 2008)

 

2) The 2012 7th Edition of U.S./Philippine Coins (the Allen Catalog) which was recently updated and edited and by Tom Culhane/ (Allen 2012, page 32)

 

3) The recent "Coin World" article by Coin World staff writer Martin, Erik, "Wilson Dollar Medal Obverse Die Surfaces" in _Coin World_ 02/13/2012. http://www.coinworld.com/articles/wilson-dollar-medal-obverse-die-surfaces

 

I really enjoyed my numismatic detective work and hope that I made a convincing case that the 1920 Medal Commemorating the Opening of the Manila Mint was designed by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver George T. Morgan.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Lyman L., _U.S./Philippine Coins_, 6th Edition 2008-2009. Lyman Allen Rare Coins, Virginia City, NV, 2008.

Allen, Lyman L., _U.S./Philippine Coins_, 2012 7th Edition. Updated edited and published by Tom Culhane, Union, NJ, 2012.

Basso, Aldo P., _Coins, Medals and Tokens of the Philippines 1728-1974_, 2nd Edition, Bookman Printing House, Quezon City, 1975

Bieda, Steven, "The So-Called Wilson Dollar: A Medal for Several Different Collections", in _Mich-Matist_, Fall 2008, Michigan State Numismatic Society, 2008 http://www.michigancoinclub.org/Bieda_Wilson.html

Hibler, Harold, & Kappen, Charles V., _So-Called Dollars, an Illustrated Standard Catalog with Valuations_ , Coin & Currency Institute, NY,1963.

Johnson, , "Clifford Hewitt -- Chief Engraver or Chief Engineer" in _E-Sylum_, Vol. 15 No. 6, February 2012. http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v15n06.html#article8

Keusch, R.W. Julian and Ernest, _Medals of the United States Assay Commission 1860-1977_ TAMS Journal 29: 5(2), The Token and Medal Society, 1989.

Lang, David W., _History of the United States Mint and its Coinage_, Whitman Publishing, Atlanta, GA, 2006

Martin, Erik, "Wilson Dollar Medal Obverse Die Surfaces" in _Coin World_ 02/13/2012. http://www.coinworld.com/articles/wilson-dollar-medal-obverse-die-surfaces

Perez, Gilbert S, Ph.D., "The Mint of the Philippine Islands", in Numismatic Notes and Monographs, No. 8. American Numismatic Society, N.Y., 1921

Perez, Gilbert S, Ph.D., "The Mint of the Philippine Islands", in _Philippine Numismatic Monographs_, Number 19. Pages 6-9, Philippine Numismatic and Antiquarian Society, Manila, 1975

Shafer, Neil, _United States Territorial Coinage for the Philippine Islands_, Whitman Publishing Company, Racine, Wisconsin. 1961.

Shafer, Neil, "The Celebrated 1920 Wilson "Dollar" Medal In Gold" in _Lynn Knight Currency Auctions, Memphis IPMS 2012, The Dr. Greg Pineda Philippine Collection, June 10. 2012_ (Auction Catalog), page 86

 

See more journals by JAA USA/Philippines Collection

[RWB]

A complete set of Assay Commission minutes from about 1800 to 1943 can be purchased on a 4-DVD set from Wizard Coin Supply. The cover price is $75.

 

This is the ONLY electronic (or paper) edition of the Assay Minutes except for the original documents in NARA.

[coin928]

It's nice to read that the assertions from my January 22, 2012 Journal entries My Latest USA/Philippines Acquisition and My Latest USA/Philippines Acquisition - the flip side can be substantiated in such detail. Lately though, I have begun to doubt one of those assertions as I am reconsidering exactly what is meant by the word design. To state flatly that Clifford Hewitt did not design the Manilla Mint medal may be a bit too strong.

 

Clearly, the elements on both sides of this medal were derived from previously issued medals. It is equally clear that George T. Morgan designed those prior pieces and that he was the engraver of this medal. His initial "M" appears on both sides. Clifford Hewitt however, devoted several years of his life to making the Manila Mint a reality. He designed the equipment, assembled it, shipped it to Manila through the Panama Canal, and spent seven month installing it and training the Filipino staff in the art and science of coin production. All of this effort came to fruition on July 20, 1920 with the striking of the first One Centavo coins and these "So-Called Dollars." Given the scope of Hewitt's responsibility and involvement, it seems quite likely that he was also involved in and responsible for the "design" of the medal which would commemorate the opening. Although we know he did not create the elements or execute the engraving, Hewitt may have conceived the idea for combining these particular elements into a single medal which would symbolize the successful completion of all of his efforts. This too could be considered design. Unfortunately, the details of the conversations between Clifford Hewitt and Dr. Perez will never be known, and we will never know exactly what Dr. Perez meant when he credited Hewitt with the design of the Manila Mint Medal.

 

George T. Morgan should receive credit for his work, but I think Clifford Hewitt should continue to receive credit for his participation in the design.

 

 

 

[RWB]

Under operating conditions at the US Mint in 1919-1920, a machinist would have had absolutely no input on the design of a medal or coin. Ideas would have come from Philippine officials, the Superintendent-designate, the engraver and Secretary of the Treasury.

 

The only machinists known to have possibly had design input were Jacob Eckfeldt and Albert Leslie Lambert, who was often the acting Superintendent.

 

In reality Hewitt designed the Manila Mint, itself, not the medal. That was a far more difficult and substantive job than Morgan's mule of old designs. The medal suggests to me something put together quickly with little concern about its relevance to the event. I therefore doubt there was much meaningful "design work;" Morgan was told to come up with a medal for the opening of the Manila Mint, and he had little time to do more than grab some hubs and make a couple of reductions.

 

[mkman123]

we have many great members who provide such great research and information!