This week I went down a research rabbit hole and came up somewhat short of catching therabbit. My interest started with William Spohn Baker who wrote a book about Washingtonmedals. This led me to James Ross Snowden who also wrote a book about Washington medals.Next came Snowden's 1860 Mint Manual. Turns out that book was compiled by a little-knowncurator of the Mint Cabinet, George Bull.

George Bull was born in Towanda, Pennsylvania, on May 21, 1838, the son of Colonel JamesPerry Bull (1802-1842) and Ann E. Wallis (1809-1886). His sister Ann Wallis Bull (1830-1893)married Orville Hitchcock Platt who served as senator from Connecticut.

To add to the confusion, James Perry Bull had an older brother named George Hart Bull (1796-1870). George Bull and George H. Bull lived in Towanda at the same time.

The 1850 U. S. Census, taken in September, showed George Bull, age 13, living in Towanda,Pennsylvania, with his mother Ann E. Bull.

This brings me to the first question that could not be answered by that pesky rabbit I waschasing. What are the credentials required for a person hired to be curator at the Mint? Howwould a person get educated on numismatics when there are no books? Whatever the answers,George Bull was in that position by age twenty.

A theft occurred at the Mint in 1858 and one of the crooks attempted to spend a rare gold coin.At trial, George Bull testified that he recognized the coin as being in the Mint Cabinet.

The 1860 U. S. Census, taken in June, showed George Bull, age 22, working at the Mint. Hewas not linked to his parents or siblings. The only link to George Bull of Towanda is his age.

In the preface to the Mint Manual, also known as A Description of Ancient and Modern Coins inthe Mint of the United States, Mint Director Snowden states:

While the Mint Manual is usually credited to Snowden, and his authority as Director of the Mint,the actual work was done by George Bull, then a twenty-two-year-old employee. The bookrequired a considerable effort. Did Bull compile this in his spare time while guiding visitorsthrough the Mint Cabinet? This remains a puzzle.

In July of 1860, George Bull bought the Carbon Democrat. This may have given him an entryinto politics. He became very active in the party. In 1861 he was identified as ArmyCorrespondent for the Cincinnati Times.

George was married to Annie Vincent Moodie (1846-1882) on May 1, 1861. At the time hisprofession was listed as painter.

In 1865 he was president of the Dunkard Oil Company.

In 1868 he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Philadelphia County.

The 1870 and 1880 U. S. Census listed George Bull as an attorney. There are references to theattorney coming from Towanda.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for the U. S. Congress in 1880. In 1881, he was electedchairman of the Democratic city executive committee.

Attorney George Bull is not noted for any numismatic activity after 1860. He died ofconsumption (tuberculosis) at the home of his sister and Senator Platt in Meriden, Connecticut,on February 16, 1886.

When I started this article, I did not recall ever paying attention to George Bull previously. He ismentioned in The Numismatist three times. One of those is a column I did on Snowden in 1999.

The following story has no numismatic content. It may be of slight interest to those whounderstand the pursuit of rabbits down holes.

On the morning of July 28, 1881, George Bull had breakfast in the Girard House when he read adispatch in The Times. On the previous day, a guide made an attempted assault on his wife. Mrs.Bull was on the way to Long Lake in the Adirondack Mountains to visit Senator Platt ofConnecticut. While on a portage, a guide had assaulted her, attempted to choke her and tore herclothes. The guide ran off into the woods with other guides searching for him. Mr. Bull quicklycaught a train to be with his wife.

Much printers' ink was sacrificed in the telling and retelling of the story. The victim wasdescribed as "a lady of attractive personal appearance and marked affability of manner." She wasnever mentioned by name but rather as Mrs. George Bull. The papers reported she was on herway to visit Senator Platt but fail to mention that the wife of Senator Platt is her sister-in-law.

An August 4th letter to The Philadelphia Times had comments:

The alleged perpetrator, Charles Parker, was arrested by Constable Warren S. Cole in Kingston,Ontario, on Thursday, July 28. That night Cole and Parker went to bed handcuffed to each other.Somehow. Parker got out of the handcuffs and escaped. Constable Cole tracked him for days andcaught up with him on August 5. When Parker reached for his gun, Cole shot him from ahundred yards away. Parker died of his wound a few days later on August 9.

Mrs. George Bull, Annie Vincent Moodie, died of consumption on May 15, 1882.

In June of 1882, Warren J. Cole was arrested and indicted for murder by the Grand Jury ofHamilton. Earlier a Coroner's jury had acquitted Cole on grounds of justifiable homicide. InOctober of 1882, the Hamilton County Grand Jury ignored the bill of indictment, effectivelyvindicating Cole.

George Bull was also accused as an accomplice before the fact in a bill of indictment. Bull wasaccused variously of paying Cole $500 to kill Clark, asking Cole to kill Clark and insultingAdirondack guides at a hotel. They vowed to get even with Bull. In October the Grand Juryignored the bill and vindicated Bull.

So, after all of this, I can't confirm that attorney George Bull from Towanda was the same asMint Curator George Bull. Perhaps some E-Sylum reader can find that confirmation.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
GREAT NUMISMATIC THEFTS(https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n08a15.html)
NUMISMATIC RESEARCH AND THE ONLINE BROOKLYN EAGLE 1850-1900(https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v09n47a12.html)