Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 164 27 Aug 2022
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Extremely Rare Issues of Mason's Herald
Mason, Jr., E. [editor and proprietor]. MASON'S COIN COLLECTORS' HERALD. Five issues: Volume I, No. 1 (lacking final leaf); Volume I, No. 2; Volume II, No. 2; Volume III, No. 1; and Volume III, No. 2. Philadelphia, June 1879 through September 1881. Tabloid [30.5 by 24 cm], self-covered as issued. Horizontal center folds with some splitting (Volume III, No. 1 is split in half and the following issue is partly split). Does not include the supplement to Volume III, No. 2. Good. Bourne 1870-60. One of the rarest important 19th-century U.S. numismatic periodicals, and generally unknown until Charles Davis's welcome 1996-1998 reprint of all of Mason's periodicals. The complete set of twelve issues in the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Library was the first to be offered publicly, and sold for a robust $3500 hammer. While the condition of these copies is unfortunate, most of the few existing issues are much the worse for wear, their tabloid format and newsprint paper contributing to their aging poorly. Mason's various periodicals are all well worth reading, and contain much commentary on the numismatic scene not to be found elsewhere. The first issue here present includes Mason's "History of the Recently Discovered Confederate Silver Half Dollar," which may be the most notable article to appear in the Herald (while this issue is lacking a leaf, the leaf in question is wholly composed of ads, and the article is complete). It's a pity that fortune didn't better favor Mason -- his enthusiasm for numismatics was frequently tempered by financial difficulties. Still, he persevered for decades, publishing whenever he could and promoting the hobby to the best of his abilities. The rarity of some of his titles today probably attests to a strictly limited circulation. Oddly, though the pagination began afresh at the start of Volume II (as one would expect), it continued thence unabated through Volume III. Ex M. Bourne Library.
(Estimate: $200)
Mason, Jr., E. [editor and proprietor]. MASON'S COIN COLLECTORS' HERALD. Five issues: Volume I, No. 1 (lacking final leaf); Volume I, No. 2; Volume II, No. 2; Volume III, No. 1; and Volume III, No. 2. Philadelphia, June 1879 through September 1881. Tabloid [30.5 by 24 cm], self-covered as issued. Horizontal center folds with some splitting (Volume III, No. 1 is split in half and the following issue is partly split). Does not include the supplement to Volume III, No. 2. Good. Bourne 1870-60. One of the rarest important 19th-century U.S. numismatic periodicals, and generally unknown until Charles Davis's welcome 1996-1998 reprint of all of Mason's periodicals. The complete set of twelve issues in the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Library was the first to be offered publicly, and sold for a robust $3500 hammer. While the condition of these copies is unfortunate, most of the few existing issues are much the worse for wear, their tabloid format and newsprint paper contributing to their aging poorly. Mason's various periodicals are all well worth reading, and contain much commentary on the numismatic scene not to be found elsewhere. The first issue here present includes Mason's "History of the Recently Discovered Confederate Silver Half Dollar," which may be the most notable article to appear in the Herald (while this issue is lacking a leaf, the leaf in question is wholly composed of ads, and the article is complete). It's a pity that fortune didn't better favor Mason -- his enthusiasm for numismatics was frequently tempered by financial difficulties. Still, he persevered for decades, publishing whenever he could and promoting the hobby to the best of his abilities. The rarity of some of his titles today probably attests to a strictly limited circulation. Oddly, though the pagination began afresh at the start of Volume II (as one would expect), it continued thence unabated through Volume III. Ex M. Bourne Library.
(Estimate: $200)