On September 18th, 2008, George Frederick Kolbe/Fine Numismatic Books will conduct their 106th auction. Some highlights include an 1861 handwritten letter from James Ross Snowden to Jeremiah Colburn about his book on Washington medals and the restriking of medals; 19th and 20th century auction sale catalogues from the library of John J. Ford, Jr., featuring a number of sales room copies annotated by Ford and by Walter Breen; runs of W. Elliot Woodward, Ed. Frossard, Barney Bluestone, and M. H. Bolender auction sale catalogues; scarce Lyman Low sales; Ford’s complete set of Kolbe’s The Numismatic Bookseller; Ford’s annotated Alexander Vattemare Presentation Album sales; a fine copy of Vattemare’s 1861 “first comprehensive catalogue of American Numismatics” from the numismatic department of the French National Library; Ford’s set of annotated NASCA sale catalogues; an exceptional, complete set of Ruddy’s Review; a complete original subscriber’s set of hardbound Remy Bourne sales; Elder’s 1908 James B. Wilson Sale with 28 photographic plates; a copy of Henry Chapman’s 1916 Bement sale catalogue with six unique photographic trial plates; standard multi-volume works on ancient coins; Meili’s monumental 1903 work on Brazilian paper money; a set of Calciati’s Pegasi; Storer’s 1931 Medicina in Nummis, etc.

Copies of the printed catalogue may be obtained by sending $15.00 to George Frederick Kolbe, P. O. Box 3100, Crestline, CA 92325. Telephone: (909) 338-6527; Fax: (909) 338-6980; Email: GFK@numislit.com. The catalogue will also be accessible free of charge, several weeks before the sale, at the firm’s web site: www.numislit.com.

Kolbe Books is also pleased to announce the sale of the highlights of two important numismatic libraries on January 10, 2009 in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, during the New York International Numismatic Convention.

The first is the superb library of antiquarian numismatic books dating from the early 1500s, along with classic works on Italian numismatics from the library of Dr. Ferdinando Bassoli of Turin, Italy.

Following it will be a select but remarkable collection of classic works on United States large cents and auction sale catalogues with photographic plates, featuring some three dozen plated Chapman Brother catalogues and nearly all the great large cent literature rarities, including an 1881 Andrews and leather-bound editions of Newcomb on 1801-1803 cents and Clapp on 1799 cents.

Copies of either printed catalogue may be obtained by sending $25.00 to George Frederick Kolbe or $35.00 for the pair.

GEORGE FREDERICK KOLBE AUCTION SALE 105: MARCH 20, 2008

On March 20, 2008 George Frederick Kolbe/Fine Numismatic Books will sell at auction the Numismatic Library of Dr. Dan Koppersmith, part three of the Alan M. Meghrig Library, further selections from the library of Bob Vail, and other notable properties.

Leading off the sale is the superb Koppersmith library, which includes a complete set of the Numismatic Chronicle, a complete run of the Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, standard works on ancient Greek coins in outstanding condition, and important auction sale catalogues featuring archaic and classical Greek coins.

A nice consignment of works on British and American numismatics follows. It features a fine original set of Dalton and Hamer’s Provincial Token-Coinage of the 18th Century, heavily annotated by a knowledgeable collector. Complete sets of Barney Bluestone, New York Coin & Stamp Co., and J. C. Morgenthau sale catalogues are featured in the Bob Vail consignment, which also includes an extensive run of elusive United States Coin Company sales, among them a fine 1913 Malcolm Jackson sale with photographic plates. (more…)

THE CORE NUMISMATIC LIBRARY OF DR. DANIEL LEONCE KOPPERSMITH:
KEY WORKS ON ARCHAIC & CLASSICAL GREEK COINS AND KINDRED TOPICS

On March 20, 2008 George Frederick Kolbe/Fine Numismatic Books will sell at auction the core numismatic library of Dr. Dan Koppersmith. Beyond the dazzling array of standard references and often rare specialized die-studies in the library, perhaps the most remarkable thing about it is the uniformly superb condition of the contents. The library is perhaps best described by the collector, who writes in the introduction to the sale:

“My library has been carefully and thoughtfully assembled over the past fifteen years. In my opinion, it contains all the important references for Archaic and Classical Greek Coins, including every Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum produced to recent date. Condition is generally exceptional, as worn copies have been replaced. (more…)