Lot 94: Presentation Heath Counterfeit Detector

Heath, Laban. HEATH'S GREATLY IMPROVED AND ENLARGED INFALLIBLE GOVERNMENT COUNTERFEIT DETECTOR, AT SIGHT.

Boston: Innes and Niles, Stereotypers and Printers, 1866/1867. Banking House and Counting Room Edition. Second edition. Newman 2-BH-3(c). Small 4to, original full brown morocco, both covers decoratively paneled in gilt within triple gilt fillets; HON. HUGH MCCULLOCH. impressed in gilt in center of front cover; spine with five raised bands, ruled, lettered, and decorated in gilt; all board edges and inner dentelles intricately decorated in gilt; chocolate endpapers; all page edges gilt. 39, (5) pages, including two final leaves featuring four Heath microscope illustrations printed two apiece on one side of each leaf, facing; finely engraved American Bank Note Company portrait of Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch bound in place of usual heraldic frontispiece; Treasury Department facsimile letter; unnumbered and unpunched Heath bank note facsimile plate; 12 finely engraved plates of bank notes or elements, with tissue guards, interspersed in the text, comprising impressions of genuine and counterfeit fractional currency notes (Plate 1), 10 engraved plates numbered 2-11 depicting genuine bank note design elements, and an impression of a counterfeit $100 First National Bank of Boston note (Plate 12). Plate 5 printed in green ink; Plate 12 printed in green and black ink and hole-punched as issued. Calligraphic inscription presenting the volume to McCulloch on behalf of the author on opening blank. Binding rubbed and a bit loose, but sound; Plates 4 and 9 are detached from the binding and loosely laid in; light marginal chipping to loose plates. Very good.

Newman 2-BH-3(c). A deluxe presentation copy of Heath's Counterfeit Detector, prepared for Hon. Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury from 1865 to 1869. Eric Newman discussed the presentation copies in his article "Heath's Counterfeit Detectors: An Extraordinarily Successful Comedy of Errors." There, he wrote that "In addition to standard editions of Heath's publications, there were special editions prepared for dignitaries and for special uses. Public officials customarily were recipients of books with ornate leather bindings and having their names stamped on the covers in gold letters. Each such issue is unique and several have survived." We are aware of the following deluxe presentation bindings of Heath's Detector that have been offered in the numismatic market in the modern era: those presented to Col. Nehemiah G. Ordway (lacks Plate 1); First Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Richard McCormick; Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Charles F. Conant; numismatist Robert Coulton Davis; Superintendent J.R. Kendrick of the Concord Railroad; and one copy that was bound in the same manner but not personalized for presentation. All of these were Banking House and Counting Room editions (varying printings of the second and twelfth editions), and the bindings are all very similar.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Heath, Laban. HEATH'S GREATLY IMPROVED AND ENLARGED INFALLIBLE GOVERNMENT COUNTERFEIT DETECTOR, AT SIGHT.(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLLK6/heath-laban-heaths-greatly-improved-and-enlarged-infallible-government-counterfeit-detector-at-sight)

Lot 95: Heath's Adjustable Compound Microscope

Heath, Laban. HEATH'S IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE. FOR EXAMINING BANK NOTES, MINERALS, FLOWERS, SEEDS, LINEN, ETC.

Boston: Manufactured by Laban Heath & Co., Patented, Dec. 25, 1877. Two tilting glass lenses housed in a folding nickel-plated brass frame with decorative scrollwork. The microscope when folded open is 12.5 by 5.5 cm wide at the base and 6 cm in height. The lens has a diameter of 4.25 cm. The patent date is stamped on the inside of one of the legs [diagnostic for Sullivan Type B]. One lens is somewhat scratched in the center; minor overall signs of wear.

The original device, as depicted in some later editions of Heath's Counterfeit Detector. An ingenious contraption, still quite useful. Heath touted it as a "valuable improvement in Pocket Microscopes... As an aid for detecting counterfeit money it has no equal..." Also known in a variant without the patent date stamped on the leg (Sullivan Type A). This is an attractive and eye-catching device that makes for a fabulous accompaniment to a collection of Heath's Counterfeit Detectors

To read the complete lot description, see:
Heath, Laban. HEATH'S IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE. FOR EXAMINING BANK NOTES, MINERALS, FLOWERS, SEEDS, LINEN, ETC.(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLLJC/heath-laban-heaths-improved-adjustable-compound-microscope-for-examining-bank-notes-minerals-flowers-seeds-linen-etc)

Lot 97: Report of the Committee on Preventing the Forgery of Bank Notes

Society of Arts. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS, &C. TOGETHER WITH THE APPROVED COMMUNICATIONS AND EVIDENCE UPON THE SAME, RELATIVE TO THE MODE OF PREVENTING THE FORGERY OF BANK NOTES.

London: Printed by Order of the Society and Sold by the Housekeeper at the Society's House in the Adelphi, 1819. Tall 8vo [25.5 by 16 cm], original paper-backed blue boards. 80 pages, as follows: (4), 1-59, (1), 57*, 58*, 59*, (1), (61)-72, complete as issued; text illustration; plate of T.C. Hansard's Plan for a Typographic Bank Note; finely engraved plate of a Bank of England £1 note design submitted by Thomas Ransom; an exceptional engraved plate of bank note design elements submitted by R.H. Solly; a fine engraved folding plate of a printing press for bank notes also submitted by Solly; and 2 finely engraved steel-printed plates of geometric designs submitted by Richard Williamson. Binding rubbed and with some cracking at joints, but very well-preserved overall and an exceptional copy.

A landmark work, in its original state, untrimmed and bound in the plain boards in which it was issued. In the three or four years preceding publication, "convictions before the criminal courts for the circulation of Forgeries of the Bank of England Note" had risen precipitously, resulting in the "increasing reluctance of Juries to visit with the extreme penalty of the law." This impressive production presents the results of "an investigation for the purpose of ascertaining whether there exist any means, within the compass of the fine and the mechanical arts, not of totally preventing the Forgery of Bank Notes (for that is obviously impossible), but of increasing the difficulty of imitation, and thus of checking the prevalence of the crime." The committee's findings, largely penned by Thomas Curson Hansard, had great impact on the course of anti-counterfeiting measures and technology in America as well as Great Britain. Many of the suggestions for technological improvements were in fact derived from American sources. Very scarce, and the only copy we have encountered in its original state.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Society of Arts. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS, &C. TOGETHER WITH THE APPROVED COMMUNICATIONS AND EVIDENCE UPON THE SAM...(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLLKG/society-of-arts-report-of-the-committee-of-the-society-of-arts-c-together-with-the-approved-communications-and-evidence-upon-the-sam)

Lot 98: Thompson's Autographical Counterfeit Detector

Thompson, J. THE AUTOGRAPHICAL COUNTERFEIT DETECTOR; COMPANION TO THE BANK NOTE REPORTER, GIVEN, FREE OF CHARGE, TO ALL WEEKLY AND SEMI-MONTHLY SUBSCRIBERS TO THE REPORTER, CONTAINING FAC-SIMILE SIGNATURES OF THE PRESIDENT AND CASHIER OF EVERY BANK IN THE UNITED STATES.

New York: Published by Wm. W. Lee, Printer, No. 12 Spruce Street, 1852. Fourth edition. 8vo, modern brown quarter morocco, gilt, with marbled boards. (4), 60 pages; containing over 1500 facsimile signatures. Leaves a bit worn, with some corners torn or missing. Very good in a fine binding.

Dillistin page 150: "Probably the most unique publication in the banking field... While the facsimile signatures presented in this detector were of great value to those handling State bank notes who might question the genuineness of signatures appearing thereon, they were no doubt of inestimable value to the swindler and crook engaged in counterfeiting such notes. For that reason alone it is rather surprising that such a publication ever existed." Thompson's Bank Note Reporter was "issued to regular subscribers weekly, semi-weekly and monthly" and weekly subscribers received not only a complimentary copy of The Autographical Counterfeit Detector but a copy of the heavily illustrated Coin Book as well. Today, both are quite rare, particularly the former, suggesting that either weekly subscribers were few and far between or that the ephemeral nature of these publications engendered a miniscule survival rate. While this copy was bound without the wraps (which include the publisher's imprint and date), it can be established as the 1852 fourth edition by its introduction, which varies from issue to issue, and its pagination.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Thompson, J. THE AUTOGRAPHICAL COUNTERFEIT DETECTOR; COMPANION TO THE BANK NOTE REPORTER, GIVEN, FREE OF CHARGE, TO ALL WEEKLY AND SEMI-...(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLLJY/thompson-j-the-autographical-counterfeit-detector-companion-to-the-bank-note-reporter-given-free-of-charge-to-all-weekly-and-semi-)

Lot 6426: Dye's Bank Mirror

Dye, J.S. DYE'S BANK MIRROR. Vol. II, No. 19 (Cincinnati, December 15, 1852).

4to, original printed yellow paper covers. 40 pages. Tied in corner for hanging; a bit worn at extremities. Very good or so. Very rare: mentioned, but not cited in Dillistin, and a title that was not to be found in the extensive Newman Library. In addition to its regular listings, this issue includes illustrated warnings of eight new counterfeits.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Dye, J.S. DYE'S BANK MIRROR. Vol. II, No. 19 (Cincinnati, December 15, 1852).(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLOI1/dye-js-dyes-bank-mirror-vol-ii-no-19-cincinnati-december-15-1852)

Lot 6432: A. S. Gear National Bank Note Detecter

Gear, A.S. [publisher]. THE NATIONAL BANK NOTE DETECTER, AT SIGHT. THE ONLY INFALLIBLE SYSTEM OF DETECTING COUNTERFEIT AND ALTERED BANK NOTES, UNITED STATES BONDS, NATIONAL AND FRACTIONAL CURRENCY.

Sixth Edition, Improved. New Haven: A.S. Gear, 1868. 16mo, original dark brown pebbled cloth, both sides bordered in blind; front cover with short-title impressed in gilt within oval; yellow endpapers. 79, (1) pages, including 16 full-page woodcut engravings of a simulated bank note, eight of which depict the appearance of genuine design elements, the other eight illustrating counterfeit design elements. Cloth binding somewhat worn, particularly on upper board and spine; pencil writing on endpapers; contents near fine.

Very rare. Not in the Newman, Bass, or Fuld Library sales; the 1866 edition was present in the Ford and the Stack Family Libraries. The Armand Champa Library had this edition, though it was in a later binding. Gear's treatise was a predecessor of Laban Heath's ubiquitous publications on the topic, from which, as Eric Newman notes, Heath "adopted many of his concepts and expressions." The illustrations are not finely produced for the reason stated in the introduction: "These engravings are executed in a coarse manner, that the difference between the counterfeit and genuine may be more easily distinguished."

To read the complete lot description, see:
Gear, A.S. [publisher]. THE NATIONAL BANK NOTE DETECTER, AT SIGHT. THE ONLY INFALLIBLE SYSTEM OF DETECTING COUNTERFEIT AND ALTERED BANK ...(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLOMK/gear-as-publisher-the-national-bank-note-detecter-at-sight-the-only-infallible-system-of-detecting-counterfeit-and-altered-bank-)

Lot 6450: Rawdon Wright & Hatch Wooden Lockbox

Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co. WOODEN LOCKBOX DECORATED WITH VIGNETTES FROM BANK NOTES AND LINED WITH PRINTED ENGRAVINGS TAKEN FROM BANK NOTES AND OTHER WORK.

Wooden box [30.5 by 20.5 by 13.5 cm when closed], hinged at top and with brass carrying handle, with functioning lock and original key. Exterior surfaces decorated with vignettes and design elements used on paper money, the work of Durand, Perkins & Co. Two interior compartments lined with paper printed with various bank note designs and design elements, the work of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co. and similar to the firm's Specimen of Bank Note Engraving proof sample sheets. Exterior somewhat darkened with age, with some blistering of surface at front and staining to back; undecorated bottom of box cracked, with crack extending through base of left side. Interior decorative lining rather worn, particularly in the front compartment. Still intact and impressive in appearance. A remarkable artifact of 19th-century bank note engraving. This still-function lockbox likely dates from the 1830s, and bears designs that are identical to sample proof sheets titled Specimen of Bank Note Engraving distributed by Durand, Perkins & Company (1828-1831) and Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Company (1832-1847). While worn, it remains truly impressive in appearance and makes for a fantastic accompaniment to a collection of obsolete currency and related items.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co. WOODEN LOCKBOX DECORATED WITH VIGNETTES FROM BANK NOTES AND LINED WITH PRINTED ENGRAVINGS TAKEN FROM BANK NO...(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLOK3/rawdon-wright-hatch-co-wooden-lockbox-decorated-with-vignettes-from-bank-notes-and-lined-with-printed-engravings-taken-from-bank-no)

Lot 6472: Willis Bank Note List December 1850

Willis & Co. WILLIS & CO.'S BANK NOTE LIST, AND COUNTERFEIT DETECTER. Vol. VIII, No. 3.

Boston: Thomas Groom, December 1850. 4to, original printed paper covers. (2), 24, (2) pages. Very good. Although it was published from 1843 to 1854, copies of this Boston periodical are rarely encountered today. A single issue brought over $500 in the 2018 sale of the Eric P. Newman Library. Dillistin, pages 112-113.

To read the complete lot description, see:
6472 Willis & Co. WILLIS & CO.'S BANK NOTE LIST, AND COUNTERFEIT DETECTER. Vol. VIII, No. 3.(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLOKN/willis-co-willis-cos-bank-note-list-and-counterfeit-detecter-vol-viii-no-3)

For more information, or to bid, see:
https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots?sort=sale_date&search=hardin-hudson&limit=96&lots_range=upcoming

She writes:

Lot #93: Extremely Rare 1850 Counterfeit Detector: Universal Counterfeit Detector. H. C. Foote- The Only Second Edition.- See the Coinbooks.org article written by Michael J. Sullivan.

Lot #6471: Bank Note Company Trade Cards & Advertising Circulars:Engravers Advertising Trade Cards- Featuring an original business card of Gilbert Stuart the famous portrait artist, and many more. The cards are not shown in the pictures, and are barely described. Some are virtually unattainable.

Lot #6425: Report on Counterfeits of French Revolutionary Assignats:A French Descriptive Counterfeit Detector written in 1793 during the Revolution.

Lot #6431: Foreign Bank Notes. WORKS ON THE COUNTERFEITING OF FOREIGN BANK NOTES AND RELATED SUBJECTS:4 Volumes available only to Interpol, and other Secret Service Agencies showing United States and World Counterfeit banknotes and coins spanning 1933-1938.