The Bass & Fuld Set

Leal, C.E. [editor]. THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIST. PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN THE INTEREST OF COIN COLLECTORS. Volume I, Nos. 1–11. Paterson, September 1886–November 1887. Small 4to, later orange cloth lettered in black; original printed paper covers bound in. 94 pages, somewhat irregularly numbered and including inserts; occasional text illustrations. A few issues folded for mailing, else a fine set. Ex libris Melvin and George Fuld; ex November 27-28, 1971 Katen Fuld sale, lot 306, described therein as “All printed,” though it lacks the final issue. Nonetheless, a rare and interesting publication. Two early articles on “Coin Collecting as an Investment” are featured, and numismatic events of the day are widely reported upon. A postponement in the case of Dexter versus Chapman is noted and the article states that “It is maintained by all experts that no Dollars dated 1804 were struck in that year; but it is an established fact that they have been struck on several occasions since 1827, from differently engraved dies.” Another article, headlined “Postponement of the Linderman Sale,” notes that the sale of pattern coins featured “a beautiful sharp proof silver dollar of 1804” and that the “many dealers and collectors, who had gathered at Bangs’ rooms were greatly disappointed to hear that the sale was postponed indefinately [sic].” The article concludes: “Col. A.L. Drummond, of the Secret Service, attempted to seize the collection. Curiously enough, no one knew just where it was. Mr. Low, however, told the District Attorney that he would not dispose of the coins or take them out of the city until the case was finally settled.” This elusive publication is probably best known today for events that transpired after it had ceased publication. In 1888, Dr. George Heath titled the first issue of what became the official publication of the American Numismatic Association, The American Numismatist. Thereafter the name was shortened to The Numismatist, probably to avoid conflict with the publication at hand, which had ceased publication several months earlier. An interesting and detailed article was published concerning this periodical by Joel J. Orosz in his Printer’s Devil column appearing in the Winter, 1997 issue of The Asylum. Ex Kolbe Sale 77 (Bass II), lot 387.