Three mysteries, however, still swirl around this great book.

First: Why were sales of the original 1876 edition of Numisgraphics so dismal?

Second: 10 special "large paper" copies were published. Where are they today?

Third: What happened to the photolithographs Attinelli made of the Watkins Broadside (the earliest coin auction that he could find)?

Only the first mystery has been solved; the other two still confound us.

Regarding that first question, the market of those interested in books about coin books was smaller than the market for those interested in books about coins. As John W. Adams observes in his Foreword to the 1976 Quarterman reprint of Attinelli's work, Attinelli made matters worse by choosing to distribute Numisgraphics himself, thus foregoing a publisher's marketing budget.

Numisgraphics received only one blandly positive review. All of these factors combined for dismal sales. Only about 50 copies were printed in 1876, and estimates of survivors range from Adams' less than a dozen, to Charles Davis' reckoning, in his American Numismatic Literature, of less than 25.

As Adams notes, the original edition was recognized as a rarity almost from the moment of publication; it began appearing on collectors' want lists as early as 1879.

To read the complete article, see:Two mysteries left to solve(www.coinworld.com/Articles/ViewArticle/two-mysteries-left-to-solve)