Don't believe everything you may read about C. Wyllys Betts. In the June 2000 issue of The Numismatist,an inexperienced researcher wrote this about Betts. The two-faced Janus might be a good choice torepresent Charles Wyllys Betts who began his numismatic career as a scoundrel and ended as a scholar.Today a more experienced researcher might be more forgiving of his youthful indiscretions.

Charles Wyllys Betts was born at Newburg on the Hudson, New York, on August 13, 1845. His fatherwas Judge Frederick Joel Betts (1802-1879). His mother was Mary Ward Scoville (1812-1868). JudgeBetts moved the family to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1855 so his sons could be educated at Yale.

Mary Ward Scoville had a common ancestor about five generations back with James Mitchell LawsonScovill and William Henry Scovill, who started the company that became Scovill Manufacturing, makersof transportation tokens and coin blanks for the U.S. Mint. However, the connection is too distant to beworth including here.

Charles was taken out of school with health issues and was home-schooled. He took up coin collecting forrecreation and searched for old coins that might be found around New Haven. In 1860 he began toexperiment with die engraving and primitive methods for striking coins.

His 1860 sale of duplicates made him a coin dealer and he produced crude storecards with his name. In1862 he received a set of letter punches and better engraving tools. Many of his productions were unique.His early interest in numismatics ended when he entered Yale College in 1863.

An auction was catalogued by Woodward and sold by George Leavitt on May 17, 1864, with the titleCollection of C. Wyllys Betts, of New Haven, To be sold at Public auction as Addenda to the Collectionof W. Elliott Woodward. The title was followed with Note. - Very many of the pieces here offered, arestruck from excessively rare dies, recently engraved, all of which are destroyed, and every piece being thebest in existence. It is the sincere wish of the owner that they meet with satisfaction, This was thenfollowed with the title Fabrications, Struck Copies, &c. and then a listing of 22 pieces. The catalogidentified that these were fabrications, recently made, from the collection of Betts. There was no intentionto defraud the buyers.

In his house organ, Numisma for November 1877, Eduard Frossard announced the discovery of animportant colonial coin shown to him by Captain William Defendorf on September 19, 1877. Hedescribed it as: Obverse. Earl's crown, PETER MINVIT, Reverse, Triangular shield with slightly curvingborder, and beaver in field of rippling waters, NOVVM BELGIVM 1623; border serrated, size 18.Frossard did extensive research and declared it to be a genuine piece for New Netherlands. Heacknowledged the possibility our theory must be accredited as correct, unless, indeed, the very spirit ofcunning and deceit assisted by the utmost mechanical skill presided at its birth in a modern attelier defaussaire! Frossard did not mention that this piece was number 8 from the 1864 Betts sale.

J. W. Scott was quick to point out the truth in the December 1877 issue of his Coin Collectors Journal.He wrote, A young gentleman, finding time hang heavily on his hands, amused himself by engravingdies in imitation of rare coins; afterward he branched out and designed some altogether fictitious ...Scott and other critics took the opportunity to mock Frossard for being duped by an obvious and easilyidentified fabrication. (The entire article is amusing and worthy of reading.)

In the March 1877 issue of Numisma, Frossard admitted that he had been in error. The same documentsFrossard used to authenticate the piece had been used to inspire its fabrication. He included a letter fromthe creator but did not name him.

An excerpt from the Numisma article was included in The Numismatist article mentioned previously.

C. Wyllys Betts admitted production of such fantasy pieces between the ages of fifteen and eighteen.They were done more for his amusement than from any intent to profit from his deception.

Betts dies that had not been destroyed prior to the 1864 auction, were later given to Yale College. Theyhave since disappeared, possibly during the May 29, 1965, unsolved theft from the Yale library.

The American Numismatic Society in New York has a number of the Betts dies including those for theNovum Belgium piece. These were donated by Frederick C. C. Boyd.

This story, with copies of the relevant documents, was told by Don Taxay in his 1963 book, CounterfeitMis-Struck and Unofficial U. S. Coins on pages 139 through 147. As this is still covered under theoriginal copyright, it will not be found on the Newman Numismatic Portal. Readers would be required topick up the actual physical object and turn through the pages.

The story started with Betts but became the story of the commentary and bickering among the prominentdealers of their time, Frossard, Mason, Scott and Woodward.

If the Betts story ended there, his fabrications would probably be ignored as the amusements of an idleteenager. What he did in the last twenty years of his life is still topical and relevant in 2023. Perhaps thatstory will be in The E-Sylum next week.