By Stephen A. Crain

Most collectors of the Liberty Seated design are familiar with The United States Half Dimes by Daniel W. Valentine. Yet very little is known about the man who provided us with this enduring reference, which has resulted, at least for me, in so many years of enjoyment and learning of the series that we both love so much. It would seem a fitting tribute to present to the members of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club what little information on this modest and selfless man that I have been able to uncover after several years of research.

It was in 1980 that I first picked up a copy of The United States Half Dimes and began to read of the fascinating series that would so preoccupy my life for the next quarter century. My journey into the study of these beautiful little silver coins resulted directly from the passionate descriptions that Dr. Valentine provided, yet he was acutely aware of the limitations of his efforts in writing about the half dimes, and admonished “…it would be vain to believe that this list is complete. My hope is that it may stimulate others to ‘carry on’”. Certainly, that torch was passed on to Russell J. Logan and John W. McCloskey, who provided us with the masterful reference The Federal Half Dimes 1792 – 1837. It is my hope to provide a similar reference on the Liberty Seated half dimes as a result of my continuing research on the series.

Daniel W. Valentine was born in New York City, on March 7, 1863. Little is known of his early years, except that he was educated in public and private schools, and later received his D.D.S. from the New York College of Dentistry in 1887. After spending one year in Vienna, he practiced dentistry in New York City from 1887 to 1896, and later moved to Englewood, New Jersey, where he practiced for another thirty-five years.

He married Ada Belle Colwell in 1896, with whom he had two daughters, Marion and Margaret Beattie Valentine.

Dr. Valentine became interested in numismatics very early in life, and although he was a general collector, he confined himself primarily to United States issues. He was very active in several numismatic organizations, including the American Numismatic Association, American Numismatic Society, and the New York Numismatic Club, for which he served as President for two terms, in 1918 and 1920. He was commemorated on a New York Numismatic Club Presidential medal, designed by J. M. Swanson, of which there were eight silver and fifty bronze medals struck.

Valentine assembled several notable collections, including a comprehensive collection of United States fractional currency, for which he published Fractional Currency of the United States in 1924. This publication was issued in a cloth bound edition of 225 copies at $5.00 each, and in a limited, leather bound edition of twenty-five numbered copies at $15.00 each. He also assembled a collection of United States one dollar gold coins, complete by mintmark.

Dr. Valentine is perhaps best remembered for his extensive collection of United States half dimes, which he exhibited at the American Numismatic Society in 1914. He published his monograph United States Half Dimes in 1931, with the American Numismatic Society, as #48 in their series Numismatic Notes and Monographs. This work has been reprinted twice, in 1975 by Quarterman Publications, and again in 1984 by Sanford J. Durst. In each of the reprints, the original photographic plates were copied, but were printed as ‘screen’ prints, comprised of a series of dots, like a newspaper photo, which cannot be magnified or enlarged for greater detail. Collectors and researchers are advised to locate a copy of the original ANS NNM #48 for its quality ‘collotype’ prints of the photographic plates, which like a photograph can be magnified for detailed study. For the Liberty Seated series alone, Valentine identified 257 different die marriages, greatly expanding upon the previous work of Will W. Neil, published in The Numismatist in 1927. While some of the die descriptions in the Valentine half dime reference are vague and ambiguous, and it often appears that he was unaware of the distinction between die marriage and die state, he provided us with the most comprehensive reference on the series to date. Critics might argue that his die descriptions, particularly for the post Civil War dates, are so brief as to be almost meaningless, but I suspect that some of this brevity might be attributed to an imposed publishing deadline. Valentine published his monograph late in 1931, and died, evidently of apoplexy, on January 24, 1932. As a medical professional, he would have been acutely aware of his declining health, and apparently rushed to complete his work before health issues would no longer allow him to continue.

All of Dr. Valentine’s collections were sold at public auction prior to his death by Thomas Elder, in three sessions, on December 8, 9, and 10, 1927, in New York City, except for his remarkable collection of half dimes, which remained intact at the time of his death. Interestingly, very few of his half dimes have surfaced in the ensuing years, raising the question as to whether his collection might still remain intact, maybe in some safe deposit box or in the closet of one of his heirs. None of the major half dime collections sold since 1931 are attributed to Valentine by name, nor are any collections identifiable as the Valentine collection, under any name. Of course, his collection could have been sold by private treaty, or under an assumed name, but many of the half dimes, themselves, would be readily identifiable. To date, I have been able to positively identify only two early half dimes from the Valentine collection, and the 1829 V10 Capped Bust half dime, presently residing in the collections of other collectors. Several early half dimes in the Holme’s Collection (Stack’s, 1960) were described as being former Valentine plate coins. The existence of just these few Valentine plate coins could be attributed to normal upgrades during Dr. Valentine’s active collecting years. However, the recent discovery of the Valentine 1802 half dime, in Choice EF grade (now slabbed AU-50), would seem to obviate that theory, as it is unlikely that even Dr. Valentine himself could have located a finer example.

Dr. Valentine has certainly left an indelible mark on the collecting fraternity. Despite subsequent new research, renumbering of his variety sequence, countless new die marriage discoveries, and a few disparaging remarks by his critics, it cannot be disputed that if it were not for the impassioned work of this consummate numismatist, countless collectors like me would have been denied the pleasure of discovering this fascinating series.