Table of Contents

Editor's Preface

The Coins Made by the French West India Company (1670)
Jérôme Jambu

The Letter from the Officer of the 64th Regiment was not About the1776 Continental Dollar
Julia H. Casey

The Crane Ring of Rupert, Vermont:A Family of Counterfeiters at Reuben Harmon's Mint
Julia H. Casey

The Most Persistent Patent Farthing Counterfeiter
Mark A. Sportack

Evasion Coppers: A Rose by any other Name
Jeff Rock

I am very proud of the issue you are holding. It has a great mixture of topics from variousauthors and brings new insight to a host of numismatic subjects. This is the finest and mostnuanced issue we have yet produced! My sole compensation as 'Ye Editor is that I have the joyof reading great articles months before anyone else. This may seem a small benefit compared tothe work involved; however, every once in a while an article comes along that makes it allworthwhile. In this issue there is an article by Jérôme Jambu, the former curator in charge offoreign coins, département des Monnaies, Bibliothèque nationale de France. It is, in my humbleopinion, one of the finest pieces to ever appear in CNL or JEAN. It blew me away! Jérôme dedicates his article to Sydney Martin. As the article touches on Syd's prior published researchand overturns centuries of numismatic conventional wisdom and lore, I immediately sent it tohim for his review and opinion. The primary topic of my last conversation with Syd was thisarticle's merits, which we both agreed is an extraordinary achievement. However, like adiscussion of the movie The Sixth Sense, it is difficult for me to impart the importance ofMonsieur Jambu's monograph to people who have not yet seen it without spoiling the ending. Istrongly encourage our subscribers to read this article.

There are two articles in this issue penned by my friend Julia Casey-a short piece that toucheson the Continental Dollar controversy and another that uncovers a major early Americancounterfeiting ring. With respect to the more concise article on the Continental Dollar, Ipreviously stated that JEAN would not publish on this topic again unless something new camealong. Well, Julia has found something new, something that knocks out one of the majorunderpinnings of the argument that these pieces were struck in America, and proves theimportance of actually reading primary source material as opposed to relying on secondarysources. Julia's second monograph deals with the Crane counterfeit ring that operated, in part,out of Rupert, Vermont, using the same equipment employed to strike many of the Vermontcoppers. No one has delved into the coincidental appearance of this major counterfeitingorganization in the same small town as the Vermont mint before, and it is about time someonelooked into it. This article puts a new spin on the Vermont mint that is sure to have a lastingimpact on how that operation is viewed from this day forth. I know that I will never view it thesame.

Two of the articles in this issue are long-time labors of love. Jeff Rock and Mark Sportack havespent their adult lives dedicated to numismatic topics that touch on the American Colonialexperience. First, Jeff Rock presents us with what I call the for this issue. Apiece that takes up half of these pages on the topic of Evasion coppers. Jeff had wished to write abook on Evasions but converted it to an article for our readers, and we are very glad he did. AsJeff points out, Evasions have historically been misunderstood by collectors and researchers. Atone time, there were widely collected and sold here in America as This, under the mistaken belief that they were manufactured in the Backwoods ofPennsylvania for distribution in this country. Many noted numismatists, with the willingparticipation of famous dealers, promulgated this falsehood. Jeff uncovers the true history ofthese fascinating pieces in what is sure to be the definitive work in the area of Evasion coppersfor our lifetime. I informed JEAN's editors that they would learn a great deal by reading Jeff'sarticle, and all of them came back saying that I was correct. There is a lot of information tounpack in this article, but those you set aside the time to do so will be richly rewarded.

Mark Sportack ventures into the relatively unexplored area of Patent farthings. Mr. Sportack is toPatent farthings as Mr. Rock is to Evasion coppers, i.e., the undisputed American expert on thetopic. Mark has conducted tremendous research on Patent farthings, and his article, like Jeff's,will be the last word for many years to come. Mark helps unlock centuries of mysterysurrounding these enigmatic pieces. The depths of his knowledge is expressed by his astoundingresearch and writing ability. Even if you have no current interest in Patent farthings, this article isworth a peek because after you read it, you shall have a new appreciation for them.

For more information on the American Numismatic Society, see:
http://numismatics.org/

For more information on the Journal of Early American Numismatics, see:
Journal of Early American Numismatics (was Colonial Newsletter)(http://numismatics.org/store/cnl/)