Not many people understand the connection between Edgar Allan Poe and the City of Baltimore, home to the 2008 World’s Fair of Money®. But anyone purchasing a 117th Anniversary ANA Convention medal will own a striking collectible and gain a greater understanding of Poe’s connection to the city where he lived, wrote, died and was buried. Artist Jamie Franki conducted countless hours of research on Poe, searching for images preserved in portraits, daguerreotypes and drawings – as well as numismatic items that may have celebrated the author and his genius. But for all of his efforts, he found just one lowrelief, traditional side-view medal of Poe – used as a literary award by the New York Public Library in the late 19th century.

“This is quite possibly the second medal ever struck with Poe’s image,” Franki said. “This should give the medal an unusual appeal and make it quite collectible – especially for anyone who is a fan of Poe or American literature.”

Franki’s design features a three-quarter view of Poe in high relief. The portrait on the obverse is inspired by an oil painting by Baltimore artist Oscar Halling and “informed by every image I could find,” said Franki. The word, “Nevermore,” immortalized in The Raven, circles the edge above Poe’s head and a small incused silhouette of a raven is perched on his signature, which was taken from an archival scan.

The reverse tells the tale of the annual “Poe Toast,” where for each of the past 59 years on Poe’s birthday, a black-clad figure visits the gravesite and raises a cognac toast. The toaster then leaves a half-bottle of cognac and three roses on the grave.

“Poe is an absolutely fascinating person to draw,” said Franki, a coin collector who teaches art at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. “He was poor, sickly, a substance abuser and an odd character. His face is asymmetrical; his mouth is at a different angle than his eyes, and he has a misshapen, sunken nature to his features. I wanted his expression to reflect his wit and intelligence as well as the somewhat tortured life that he lived. I looked at so many paintings, drawings and daguerreotypes that I’m confident I produced a pretty fair likeness of the man.” (more…)

Douglas Winter Market Report – Baltimore and Pheonix

I love the Baltimore show. Unlike some conventions that feel like they are in a death spiral, you can clearly sense that this show is fresh, healthy and on the upswing. And this year’s first edition was excellent.

The only negative about this show, at least for me, is the epic day-long schlep that entails getting to Baltimore from Portland. If anyone reading this would like to exchange trips on their private jet for U.S. gold coins please feel free to propose a trade immediately.

I spent two full working days in Baltimore. The first, a Thursday, was essentially a wholesale-only day. As you will probably guess, the usual “it was hard to buy and easy to sell” mantra held to form. Except that this time it was exceedingly hard to buy and really easy to sell. Every dealer I chatted with, even those with reputations for exageration, confirmed this. In the world of nice, interesting coins it’s as dry as the Mojave on the bourse floor!

My second day, a Friday, was more of a retail day. From the opening of the show until the end of the day I had a constant stream of serious buyers at my table. Most walked away with a new purchase or two and most seemed very enthusiastic about the show. (more…)

The second and third in a year-long series of free Professional Numismatists Guild “Share the Knowledge” educational seminars will be conducted in conjunction with the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention on February 29, 2008 and at the American Numismatic Association’s National Money Show™ in Phoenix on March 8, 2008. A complimentary light lunch will be available at both programs.

Robert Rhue of Denver, Colorado, a member of the PNG Board of Directors, will present a seminar entitled, “Collecting Coins, Medals and Tokens From the Back of the Redbook,” at Noon on Friday, February 29. The one-hour program will be conducted in room 303 of the Baltimore Convention Center.

“If you want to learn about many interesting areas of numismatics apart from Federal issue coinage, come to this short overview seminar on ‘the back of the Redbook’ (the popular, annual reference, A Guide Book of the United States Coins). Knowledge is king, and knowing more about Territorial coins, Lesher dollars, errors, patterns, Hawaiian coinage and other fun, esoteric areas, might just someday present an opportunity for you that could translate into a pleasant financial reward,” said Rhue.

Internationally known bank note expert, Tom Denly of Boston, also a member of the PNG Board, will present a seminar entitled, “The History of U.S. Paper Money and How to Collect It,” at Noon on Saturday, March 8, at the ANA’s National Money Show in room 102-A of the Phoenix Convention Center West Building. (more…)