Joel J. Orosz contributes the column to Coin World. The June 16 issuementions an early numismatic writer, Samuel Breck. I think he is worthy of an article.

Samuel Breck was born in Boston on July 17, 1771. His father was Samuel Breck Sr. (1747-1809) and mother was Hannah Andrews (1747-1830). The father was a prosperous Bostonmerchant and one who made a profit during the Revolutionary War. He was a fiscal agent for theRoyal Army and Navy of France and after the war, a director of the Bank of the United States.The family moved to Philadelphia in 1793.

The Revolutionary War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783. Atabout that time, at age eleven, Samuel was sent to school in France. He attended the RoyalMilitary School at Loreze, France, 1783 to 1787.

With $10,000 provided by his father in 1790, he established a shipping business as a merchant inPhiladelphia.

Breck served as a corporal during the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion.He was married to Jane Ross (1773-1858) on December 24, 1795, and had a daughter Lucy(1807-1828).

In 1797 Breck commissioned construction of a home he called at 1 SweetbriarLane in West Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Originally it occupied a spacious 33-acre plot, agift from his father-in-law, John Ross. Breck wanted a place in the county away from theseasonal yellow fever epidemics in Philadelphia. The Fairmount Dam was constructed downriverin 1821. Breck was concerned about the health risks of stagnant water. His fears were confirmedwith the Typhoid death of his daughter at age twenty-one. The building has been remodeledseveral times but remains standing in Fairmount Park.

He was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate and served 1817 to 1821. He introduced a bill toabolish slavery in Pennsylvania. This was unpopular, failed to pass and probably quashed hischances for reelection.

Breck became president of the Schuylkill Bank in 1822.

He served in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1923, to March 3, 1825.He returned to the Pennsylvania Senate serving 1832 to 1834.

Breck was a prolific writer and speaker on local history. He compiled Historical Sketch ofContinental Paper Money, published by John C. Clark in Philadelphia as part of TheTransactions of the Historical and Literary Committee of the American Philosophical Society.Volume III, part 1 (1843).

This was the first numismatic article to be republished as a booklet. It was reprinted in 1863 byA. C. Kline and again in 1869 in Mason's Coins and Stamp Collector's Magazine.

The original was based on two essays read before the APS. The Kline reprint runs 33 pages witha one-page appendix. Mason's reprint was spread over issues from May 1869 to at leastSeptember of 1870. The serialization ended abruptly and before completion, The Mason reprintis too fragmented to be of much use.

Breck also contributed to our numismatic knowledge through his biographies. He published apamphlet and another

Breck's observations offer valuable insights into his era in America. Several titles of books andpamphlets by Breck are available as modern reprints on Amazon.

I have found no record that Breck collected coins or paper money. At that time, examples ofContinental Currency would have been easy to obtain.

Breck kept diaries, lecture manuscripts. letters and travel logs. He wrote in the hope that thesewould be preserved and appreciated.

The Sanuel Breck papers are preserved at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Breck had memberships in The American Philosophical Society (APS), The Historical Society ofPhiladelphia, The Library Company of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Athenaeum.

He died at home on Arch Street in Philadelphia on August 31, 1862, and is buried in the familyplot in Saint Peter's Episcopal Churchyard.

I am disturbed by the photo of Samuel Breck. He looks to me like someone else I have seenbefore with a different name. Does anyone else think he looks familiar?

Breck, Samuel. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CONTINENTAL PAPER MONEY. Philadelphia: John C. Clark, Printer, 60 Dock Street, 1843. Offprinted from Transactions of the Historical and Literary Committee of the American Philosophical Society, Volume III, Part I (Philadelphia: Published by Carey and Hart, 1843). First edition. 8vo, self-covered and stitched. 40 pages. Inscribed "Honble. George M. Dallas, Respectfully presented by the author" in period ink at the head of the title. Folded; minor spotting. Very good. The very rare first edition, one of perhaps half a dozen in private hands.

A prominent citizen of Philadelphia, Breck (1771-1862) was the author of many historical addresses and dissertations. This essay on the paper currency of the Revolution is considered by the Dictionary of American Biography to be his most notable work.

Reissued in 1863 by the important early American coin collector A.C. Kline, it is one of the earliest American numismatic works to be reprinted. In his preface of his reprint, Kline states: "This pamphlet has now become of such rarity that its purchase is an utter impossibility, while at the same time an almost universal desire to obtain everything connected with the History of Continental Money, has caused considerable inquiry to be made for it." Only the sixth copy to come to market in the modern era: Ford didn't even own a copy. Not in Attinelli. Clain-Stefanelli 13292. Davis 135 (erroneously calling for two plates). Sigler 297. Ex Wayne Homren Library.

To read the complete lot descriptions, see:
Inscribed First Edition of Breck on Continental Paper(https://bid.numislit.com/lots/view/1-7XX2W0/inscribed-first-edition-of-breck-on-continental-paper)
Kline Edition of Breck, ex Champa(https://bid.numislit.com/lots/view/1-7XX2W2/kline-edition-of-breck-ex-champa)