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. Most of the books are bound, as described in the catalog. The library was much larger, but less important works were removed, leaving an extremely important, concise core, if over one hundred feet of literature can be described as concise. In my opinion, the auction catalogs are all the essential ones for Archaic and Classical Greek Coins, again with less important catalogs culled to minimize space. I wrote an article published in The Celator to this end (Volume 21, Number 5, May 2007), which is reproduced here through the kindness of the Publisher/Editor, Kerry K. Wetterstrom.”

Among the sale highlights are a complete set of the Numismatic Chronicle, complete from 1838 to date; as previously mentioned, a complete run of the Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, including exceptionally fine original sets of SNG Danish and SNG von Aulock, along with all of the recent volumes published in various countries; superb sets of the original editions, mainly leather-bound, of the great series of multi-volume ancient coin collection catalogues, including Forrer’s Weber collection, Grose’s McClean collection, the Jameson collection, and Macdonald’s Hunterian collection. Also featured are Leonard Forrer’s complete, unusually fine, 29 volume set of Greek Coins in the British Museum, all in the original blue cloth bindings; Edward T. Newell’s superb original set of Babelon’s Traité des Monnaies Grecques et Romaines; Dr. J. Hewitt Judd’s original Die Münzen von Syrakus by Erich Boehringer; a complete, very fine original set of von Fritze & Gaebler’s Nomisma; Georges Le Rider’s very fine leather-bound set of Die Antiken Münzen Nord-Griechenlands; Oscar Ravel’s own set of his rare, still important two volume work on Corinthian staters; and a pristine original example of Svoronos’ Les Monnaies d’Athènes.

Other consignments following the Koppersmith library will feature important numismatic works on a wide variety of topics covering the numismatic spectrum.

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.