Hirsch auction catalog online

The Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger auction catalog is now online. Antiquities, ancient coins, and over 600 lots of numismatic literature. (Mostly covering German coins, though.)

The web site is a bit difficult to navigate. I received the printed catalogs in the mail yesterday.

Interview with Bruce McNall on Roman Bronze Boy

Suzan Mazur has a brief interview with Bruce McNall on the Scoop website.

The interview implies the difficulty of forensic testing of bronze antiquities. Robert Hecht is mentioned.

Joseph Eckhel, Doctrina Nvmorvm Vetervm

I purchased two books this week. The first was Broome's A Handbook of Islamic Coins. Spink has reprinted it, and was selling it at NYINC for $50 although I couldn't find it on Spink's web site. (Used copies of the 1985 edition run about $300).

The other title was Antiquarian Books on Coins and Medals by Bassoli. This short book (88 pages) includes a 3 page chapter on abbot Joseph Hilarius Eckhel, author of the landmark Doctrina Numorum Veterum (1792-1798) (in Latin). This chapter begins with an odd anecdote about Eckhel refusing to use his connections to find his newphew a job, saying “anyone who can [read, write, and count] properly needs no other recommendations, and can make his way in life off his own back.”

I can't read Latin, but I can puzzle through basic coin descriptions and a lot of 19th century books cite it. Curtis Clay has praised the work. It was last reprinted in the 1830s, and is expensive. Spink wants $5000 for "a very fine set" "perhaps the very best set we've seen"; I couldn't find another copy for sale. So it's good news that Google has provided us with a digital copy:

Greek
[vol 1]
[vol 2]
[vol 3]
[vol 4]

Roman
[vol 5]
[vol 6]
[vol 7]
[vol 8]

Bassoli says these books have “some tables of coins”. I couldn't find them on Google's site (but didn't look to hard.) If you are interested in Bassoli you'll have to order it from Kolbe or Spink. Regular online stores don't carry it. Online book searches for Bassoli only yield the original Italian edition, Monete e medaglie nel libro antico dal XV al XIX secolo.

Masked robbers steal $4 million in rare coins

The Miami-Herald reports Masked robbers steal $4 million in rare coins at the FUN show.

A witness told police she saw the Mitsubishi pull into the hotel ahead of her, blocking her from the entrance. Three men wearing dark hooded shirts and surgical masks got out, one holding the victim at knifepoint. He ordered the coin custodian, who worked for a Minnesota man that owned the valuables, to open the sport utility vehicle and slashed its back tire.

The dealer's name was not given in the report.

UPDATE: The Orlando-Sentinal has better coverage including a photo of one of the coins.

Google book search announces new library

Google book search has an official blog, Inside Google Book Search. Announced today: The National Library of Catalonia joins the Library Project.

The libraries' website has a searchable catalog, but it was performing slowly today. The library has a lot of Catalon and Spanish-language titles.

Jewish revolt coinage at Bi-Lo grocery?

WLTX, news channel 19 from Columbia South Carolina tells us Sumter Woman Finds Possible Ancient Coin In Grocery Change.

The coin looks fake, but coin expert Ken Lyles has dated it to Bar Kokhba's revolt.

More books on Google

A bunch of new titles have been appearing on Google. Google's book search engine remains broken. Although I've found four volumes of Eckhel's Doctrina numorum veterum Google believes there is only one! It's frustrating.

DNV is important. It would be a worthwhile project to create an HTML geographical index for it.

Most public domain books can be downloaded but a few can't. Here is an interesting one: The Money of the Bible (1894), by George C. Williamson. I am becoming interested in old woodcuts of ancient coins.

Print your own money

Official PDFs of Monopoly money.

Welcome to 1922!

Robert Nagel welcomes us to 1922.

If Sonny Bono hadn't extended copyrights, the public domain have received the works of 1931 this year. Titles such as the first SNG (SNG Spencer-Churchill), George Hill's Notes on the ancient coinage of Hispania citerior, and 353 other works.

Thieves steal valuable art for scrap metal

An anonymous UPI report shows thieves in the US stealing art treasures for scrap. Dozens of bronze scuptures by John T. Scott were stolen from a warehouse in eastern New Orleans.

(Hat tip: Art Law News).

More details are given in a Times-Picayune story by Doug MacCash, 'Famed sculptor falls prey to thieves'. A followup offers a $5000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the thieeif (sic).

Photos of Scott's art are shown on the Arthur Roger Gallery web site, and there is a nice page on Scott at the Tradtional Fine Arts Organization site.

Ancient coin collectors sometimes argue that we shouldn't respect the export laws of countries which nationalized undiscovered antiquities. By buying coins we save them from the melting pot.

Even with our brick warehouses and honest police detectives art is being stolen and melted in the USA.

It wouldn't be ethical, for example, for a German to buy and keep Scott's hacked up sculptures to save them from the furnace. So the policy shouldn't be “It's always worthy to acquire smuggled goods to save them from the pot.”

Nationalized undiscovered coins are somehow different enough from named modern sculptures that different ethics should apply.

Kolbe moving sale

George Kolbe Fine Numismatic Books is having a sale. The sale started on December 9th but I just found out about it.

A 16 page PDF catalog containing 1659 lots is online. Much of the material is highly obscure, specialist stuff, on ancient and modern coinage.

Mr. Kolbe is also offering 50% off many of his own titles, for orders before December 31st. This includes Elizabeth Savage's translation of Babelon's Ancient Numismatics and it's History, which describes all the important books of the 19th century. Highly recommended.

New Malter numismatic literature auction

Malter Galleries will be auctioning 332 lots, including many important ancient titles. Closing January 7th.

Lake Books numismatic literature auction

Lake Books sale 87 is now online. 476 lots of numismatic literature. Closing February 6. Only a fraction of the lots are about ancient coins.

Copper is the new gold

USA Today reports: New rules outlaw melting pennies, nickels for profit.

People used to believe in Gresham's Law, which says “When there is a legal tender currency, bad money drives good money out of circulation”. That 'law' no longer applies — no one has the time to hoard cents and nickels. USA Today reports that a zinc cent contains 1.12 worth of metal, a 5¢ nickel is worth seven cents. The mint doesn't pay the full value for the cent — they are locked into futures contracts.

The new law makes it a crime for travellers to carry more than $5 of nickels, although $100 (face) can be shipped. Why is it a crime to hand-carry $6 of nickels but legal to ship them?

Suppose a Canadian coin dealer brings 200 nickels to a US coin show. Is it really illegal for him to bring them back in his car if he doesn't sell them? The article says violators face five years in prison. That seems like a long time. Probably violators wouldn't get that for just three nickel rolls.

The US Department of justice reports median sentencing of 4 years for rapists, 3 years for robbers, and 9 months for assault. Carrying too many pennies is more like assault than like raping/robbing, so the five years sentence will probably be unusual and reserved for the really hardened melters.

I grew up in the 70s and remember pamphlets warning me the government might declare gold illegal for US citizens to hold again, as in 1933. The fear mongers were right, just about the wrong metal. Copper is the new gold.

The New York Sale

The New York Sale auction XIV catalog is online, and includes 494 ancient coins. The auction will be held January 10th, at the New York International.

Lot 93 caught my eye. It's an 520-500 BC obol of Athens.

Google and Microsoft books searching

The Classics in Contemporary Culture blog has put together lists of Google Books on Greek and Latin literature.

(via rogueclassicism)

I've been annotating the Historia Numorum bibliography with Google Books entries, for much the same reasons. Google Books is hard to search.

Google books now has competition from Microsoft. TeleRead reported last week that Microsoft's engine can already be searched using http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=&scope=books. It works. I didn't find much there, although the British Library is supposed to be onboard.

Microsoft's search led me to Berlin banker to California numismatist, 1887-1987: oral history transcript / 1983-1987, a 326 page interview with dealer Edward Gans, founder of Numismatic Fine Arts. (Text starts about page 11).

The copyright page on the Gans manuscript clearly says the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley owns the rights. Written permission is needed for quoting and publishing. Presumably the archive.org and/or Microsoft obtained these rights? I know of no way to check. It's an interesting historical document. Probably a copy should be at the ANS library, as Gans mentions the ANS and Newell a lot. Would it be breaking the law to print a copy for the ANS library?

Portable Antiquities Scheme

The Portable Antiquities Scheme, which records all archeological objects found in England and Wales, has partnered with eBay UK in an attempt to stop sales of unregistered treasure.

The Ancient Coin Collectors Guild has sent a letter to the Scheme expressioning concerns. The text of the letter is available on the ACCG web site.

One Year Blogging

A Gift for Polydektes is one year old this week. I've done 125 posts, so about 1 post every three days. The subject matter is computers, numismatics, and digital numismatics.

I'd like to post more frequently, but I'm having a hard time finding great things to write about or link to. Most blogs link to important stories on other blogs, but there aren't many coin blogs. Wayne Sayles has some good stuff on his blog, but his posts are not frequent. The most recent is Beware the encroachment of dilettantes, about the value of amateur authors, and is worth reading.

Ed Flinn's HobbyBlog is the only ancient coin blog with regular content. Mr. Flinn posts an ancient coin with discussion nearly every day. My favorite are his coins of Anemourion featuring Artemis wrapped as a mummy (second specimen) because that coin is one of my favorite types.

Sometimes I see something that is so great I want to share it, even though it has nothing to do with coins. Professor Akiyoshi Kitaoka has created some new motion illusions, including an amazing graphic of waving purple sweet potatoes. These images appear animated, but are not.

Gemini auction

The Gemini Auction catalog is now online.

Egyptian government forcibly ejecting 3,200 families from their homes

I don't discuss current politics here. I doubt my readers care what I think about electronic voting machines, Supreme court decisions, or mid-term elections. However, these articles might be of interest.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/03/news/luxor.php
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E4EAD4C4-3393-4099-859F-D9B6AE71BD84.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6202342.stm
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Villagers_cling_to_business_memorie_12022006.html

The Egyptian government is forcibly confiscating the homes of 3,200 families in al-Qurna town, some of whom have lived on the spot for 1000 years. Their crime? Living in homes above archeological sites.

I am not expert in archeology, urban planning, or law. Perhaps these evictions are good? Yet it seems cruel to eject families from their homes merely to allow other people to dig up the town looking for stuff. If the land is valuable, why not offer to buy it from the residents? This forced eviction has been the life dream of 'Zahi Hawass, Egypt's head of antiquities' (according to the Al Jazeera story which runs without a byline). Mr. Hawass claimed that 'archaeology is regaining its rights here'. It seems unlikely to me that archaeology had rights in the past! I suspect 'archaeology' is getting new rights.

I wonder any of the 10,000 displaced citizens had any 'life dreams' that involved keeping their homes?

(quotes from articles linked above)

'We have been living here for a thousand years,' said another resident, Alaa Ahmed, a local tour guide and one of al-Qarna's younger residents.

The government began trying to get the families to leave after World War II, but talks repeatedly bogged down. Many residents, who depend on Luxor's tourist business to earn livings, argued that new homes being offered were too small and didn't come with new jobs.

In an effort to preserve the ancient tombs, the authorities prohibited the homeowners from adding to their residences or installing modern plumbing, which forced people to bring water uphill using donkeys.

Elina Paulin-Grothe, an archaeologist involved in tomb excavation, said the best way to preserve the artifacts below is to move the residents.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt's head of antiquities, said: 'The fact that archaeology is regaining its rights here is the dream of my life. Hidden treasures are there.'