"The Wonders of Ancient & World Coin Catalogs and the 2017 New York International Numismatic Convention"

Pete LaConte's Catalog Gift
The adventure started in the cover of night. Pete LaConte, fellow member of the New JerseyNumismatic Society (NJNS), gave me an armful of ancient and world coin catalogs after ourNJNS meeting on the night of June 15, 2015. The wide array of recent (2013 to 2016) catalogsincluded iNumis (Paris), Kunker (Osnabruck), Dix Noonan Webb (London) and a number ofother companies.

As I read through these documents, I found myself drawn to certain Swiss,Belgian and French coin listings from the 18th to the 20th centuries. There is something magicalabout the smell, color and tactile sensation of holding a catalog in your hands and carefullyexamining each page of vividly illustrated coins! My favorite catalog references were in theworld medals, orders and decorations section pertaining to the centennial of Ireland's EasterRebellion of 1916 in a Spink 2016 catalog which I keep on my bookshelf.

Pete LaConte grew up in northern New Jersey and started collecting coins at the age of 10. Hisfirst project was to plug the holes in a Whitman cent album. Today, LaConte concentrates moreon world and medieval coins in our cherished hobby, with a secondary interest in Bust andSeated U.S. coinage. LaConte is an engineer in the telecom industry. (E-mail exchanges withLaConte, 10. 9 & 11.16).

Pete also gave me a shopping bag full of U.S., ancient and world coin catalogues prior to thestart of our November NJNS meeting at the Chatham Public Library. Catalog selections includedJean Elsen & ses Fils s.a. (Brussels), Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. (London), Ibercoin(Madrid), Spinx (London), Monnaies (Paris), and H.D. Rauch (Vienna). LaConte gave meanother heavy bag of catalogs after our January 2016 NJNS meeting. The catalogs includedAureo & Calico (Barcelona), Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc. (Los Angeles),Nomos (Zurich), and the New York Sale Auction XXXVII of Ancient and World Coins, January5-6, 2016, in conjunction with the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC). Ireceived a copy of Numisma (Lisbon) from Pete in March, Schulman b.v. (Amsterdam) inSeptember, and cgb.fr (Paris) in November. A house cleaning by Pete resulted in a box ofcatalogs for me in December, some of which date to 30 years ago. What fun!

I had only owned two ancient coins in my life: a Roman coin that I bought for my wife Beth, anda high grade widow's mite (in VF-EF) that I purchased at a local coin show near Worcester, MA,in 2008. At the time, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at College of theHoly Cross in Worcester. Professor Rick (Frederick J.) Murphy, one of my Holy Crosscolleagues, was teaching a course entitled "Jesus and His Contemporaries," so I bought thewidow's mite for him to share with his class. His students passed the piece around the classroomand were thrilled to hold this actual piece of history in their hands!

The New York International
Despite having had limited experience with ancient and foreign coins, I was curious and eager tolearn more about them. The late Dave Ginsburg suggested that I attend the NYINC, which I didfor the first time on January 14, 2017. I bumped into our own Wayne Homren, founder andeditor of The E-Sylum, in the Park Avenue lobby of the Waldorf Astoria. I was honored andthrilled to meet him! Wayne had just done some sightseeing in New York with his family andwas headed back to Virginia. Next, Beth and I paused to look at several exhibits on the history ofthe hotel before taking the elevator to the 18th floor to explore the bourse.

We were in awe of the ancient and world coin offerings from around the world, nestled withinthe elegant Waldorf Astoria, reflective of the coin catalogs I've been studying for the past severalyears. I happened upon the cove of Charlie Davis and felt the pure joy of admiring his stunningarray of numismatic works for sale. It was exciting to meet Charlie for the first time! We had adelightful conversation as Charlie showed me some of his leather-bound tomes and otherselections he had at the show.

Most Beautiful Coin ofthe 20th Century?

Beth was entranced by a silver coin bearing the image of a lone figure gazing out over the sea,which she declared to be perhaps the most artistically designed coin she had ever encountered.Later she identified it online as the Norwegian 1914 2 Kroner. She also discovered she was notalone in admiring the coin, finding Kevin Goldberg's article, "Is This the Most Beautiful Coin ofthe 20th Century?" in Coin World (Sep. 1, 2015)!

1794 Cork Halfpence Conder Token

As for me, my attention lingered on an extensive display of Irish coins and tokens. After carefulconsideration, I ended up buying a Cork DH. 2 1794 Halfpence Conder token. The provenanceof this choice uncirculated piece includes Jerry Bobbe; Robinson Brown; and Del Parker, whopurchased the token through a Dix Noonan Webb of London auction in 2013. I was captivatedby the luster and design of the piece along with its pedigree, since I am an early copperenthusiast.

Alas, it was time to leave the show. Beth and I headed out into a snowy Manhattan evening,looking forward to further numismatic adventures down the road.