Experts at SPPN meeting settle four decades of uncertainty

A panel of leading numismatists determined the questionable 1853 United States Assay Office of Gold $20 proof, prooflike, and similar coins to be forgeries produced from transfer dies. The panel’s discussion was the main program at the annual meeting of the Society of Private and Pioneer Numismatists (SPPN) held in Baltimore, Maryland Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 as part of the American Numismatic Association’s World Fair of Money.

The Transfer Die Forgeries first appeared during the late 1950’s, “discovered” by Paul Franklin through a bank teller in Arizona. Franklin and John J. Ford Jr. sold hundreds of these pieces throughout the 1960’s as genuine pieces struck in San Francisco by the U.S. Assay Office in 1853. An arbitration hearing of the Professional Numismatists Guild in the late 1960’s ruled that the pieces were not proof, but could not come to an agreement on the authenticity or vintage. For the next forty years the authenticity of the Franklin Hoard pieces lay in question.

In 2006 Donald Kagin, Ph.D. and David J. McCarthy of Kagin’s, Inc. of Tiburon, Calif. were processing images of one of Kagin’s client’s collection for the upcoming 2nd edition of Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States. McCarthy noticed that the client’s unquestionably authentic 1853 Assay Office $20 bore bag marks in the same location as repeating depressions on the questionable Franklin Hoard coins. The marks of the original coin appear on all of the Franklin pieces, despite the best efforts of the forgers to evidently hide them with die polish. The panel agreed that the discovery of this authentic coin and the matching of the marks was the “smoking gun” in the case, condemning all of the Franklin pieces as the products of a one-to-one transfer die made from this authentic host coin.

At the conclusion of the discussion moderator Kagin asked the panel to accurately and succinctly title the coins in question. The experts unanimously agreed these pieces are best described as Transfer Die Forgeries. The panel also agreed efforts need to be taken to educate the numismatic community about these false coins.

The approach and decision of the panel is historic, creating a model for future forums to discuss other numismatic controversies. The SPPN would like to seek answers to other mysteries and controversies in the field of pioneer numismatics and is soliciting future topics for discussion.

The Society of Private and Pioneer Numismatists has been a non-profit organization since 1992. Membership is $35 per year and includes a subscription to the Brasher Bulletin, a thrice annual publication featuring articles by leading Private & Pioneer coinage experts and historians. S.P.P.N. is operated from the offices of Kagin’s, Inc. in Tiburon, CA. For further information, please contact Kagin’s, Inc. at 888.8KAGINS or 415.435.2601.

A $5,000 finder’s fee reward is being offered by Kagin’s, Inc. of Tiburon, California for confirmation of the second known gold coin counter-stamped with the genuine hallmark of Baltimore silversmith, Standish Barry. The only coin now known with the hallmark is the unique 1735 imitation Lima 8 escudos that was found in the collection of legendary Baltimore banker, Louis E. Eliasberg Sr.

Announcement of the finder’s reward was made by Donald H. Kagin, Ph.D., President of Kagin’s, when he displayed the counter-stamped doubloon at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money convention.

“This is the first time it has been back in Baltimore since Eliasberg’s word coin collection was sold in a public auction in 2005.”

Described at the time of the action as “a highlight of the Eliasberg collection,” it has two, identical “SB” counter-stamps on the reverse, the same oval-shaped hallmark design as found on various early American silverware produced in Barry’s Baltimore workshop.

“Currently, the doubloon is the only coin we know that was countermarked by Barry. There are a small number of 1790-dated Standish Barry three-pence pieces known, but those were struck from regular dies by Barry, and not countermarked,” explained David McCarthy, Kagin’s Senior Numismatist and Researcher.

“We will pay $5,000 just to be the first to see the first, new, authentic Standish Barry-countermarked gold coin, and $1,000 per additional piece for that may turn up. We also will pay $1,000 for the first, genuine silver countermarked piece, and $500 for additional one,” said McCarthy. (more…)

(Tiburon, California) – Well-known numismatic firm, Kagin’s, Inc. (www.Kagins.com) of Tiburon, California, founded in 1933 by Arthur M. “Art” Kagin, will celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary during the upcoming American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money convention in Baltimore. A lucky visitor to the Kagin’s booth (#531) will be awarded a free half-ounce American Eagle platinum coin valued at over $1,300 in a random drawing, and all visitors can enjoy a slice from a huge anniversary cake while it lasts.

“This is our platinum anniversary, so it’s appropriate we give away a platinum coin to celebrate,” said Donald H. Kagin, Ph.D., son of the founder and a well-known numismatic researcher and dealer of pioneer gold and U. S. paper currency. Kagin, the first to receive both a Bachelor of Arts and Doctorate degree in numismatics has managed the company since 1988.

“At 75 years, I believe we are the second oldest family-owned rare coin dealership in the United States. The tradition continues with my sister, Judy, who can be seen at major currency shows, and my nephew, Jeremiah, who is taking an active role with the company,” said Kagin.

“Throughout the years, numismatics has not been just a business to us, but rather a passion and a way of life. We don’t just build collections, we build relationships.”

Company founder Art Kagin, widely known as the “Dean of American Numismatics,” passed away in 2005. He started collecting as a youth while selling newspapers and magazines when a woman gave him an 1883 “No Cents” Liberty Head nickel. (more…)