An 1850 numismatic book related to the California GoldRush sold for $10,625 on Sept. 21 as part of Bonhams' Fine Booksand Manuscripts auction in New York City.

New Varieties of Gold and Silver Coins, Counterfeit Coins,and Bullion; with Mint Values by Jacob Reese Eckfeldt andWilliam E. Du Bois, was published by the authors in Philadelphiaand sold both in Philadelphia and through the agencies of Adams &Co. in Panama and San Francisco. It's considered a key referencebook documenting the start of gold mining in California and theGold Rush and helped supplement an earlier book by the authorspublished in 1842.

The cover is beautiful, with embossed gold-tone coinsreproducing contemporary circulating U.S. gold coins includingthe new Coronet double eagle, which was introduced forcirculation in 1850. The book includes a leaf of "California andMormon Coins" embossed in gold.

The lot at Bonhams was noteworthy for being in the formercollection of Henry E. Huntington, the American railroad magnateand collector of rare books who today is perhaps best knownthrough the Huntington Library, Art Collections and BotanicalGardens on his former estate at San Marino, near Pasadena.

The authors were assayers for the Philadelphia Mint and thebook was intended as a guide to familiarize readers with newdevelopments in the field, specifically with the discovery ofgold in California. It goes beyond official U.S. Mint issues andpioneer gold issues to include various world coins includingChinese coins.

The book is well-known for its colorful language oncontemporary Chinese coins. Writing on the Chinese cash coin theauthors state, "The trashy coin of this great empire deservesnotice only by way of recreation," noting, "so hard is it tofasten a value upon that which is valueless. A carpenter ortailor, we are told, receives 160 of them (say thirteen cents)for a day's work; of which sixty are required for the dailybread. The coin is extremely convenient for alms-giving, a singlepiece being the usual quietus for a beggar."

Adding to the book's desirability is the inclusion of samplesof California grain and bar gold on page 45, mounted below a micadisc. The intent of including the gold was to help readersdistinguish between alloyed and unalloyed gold.

To read the complete article, see:
Book with special content linked to California Gold Rush bringshigh price(www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2016/09/book-linked-to-california-gold-rush-realizes-huge-price.html)

NUMISMATIC LITERATURE EXCITEMENT REIGNS WITH A SALE AND ASELLOUT(www.coinworld.com/voices/bill-gibbs/2016/09/numismatic_literatur.html)