Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 164 27 Aug 2022
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Ralph Barker's Plated Parmelee Sale
New York Coin & Stamp Co. CATALOGUE OF THE FINEST EXISTING COLLECTION OF AMERICAN COINS, THE PROPERTY OF MR. LORIN G. PARMELEE, OF BOSTON, MASS. New York: Bangs & Co., June 25-27, 1890. Tall 8vo, later blue cloth, gilt; original gilt-printed paper covers bound in. 96 pages; title printed in blue, black and red; 1443 lots; fine portrait of Parmelee; 13 fine tinted photographic plates. Hand-priced throughout in ink, with buyers' names and additional annotations occasionally found in both contemporary and modern hands. Much of the catalogue is affected by an old stain that lightly affects the upper right of the plates and some pages, though it never obscures the images. Signed by Ralph Barker on opening blank; newspaper clipping about the sale affixed to inside rear cover. Very good or so. Adams 4, with plates. An exceptionally important catalogue, with the full complement of plates, and annotated with prices and some names recorded. An outstanding sale, rated A+ by Adams: "Absolutely definitive for patterns, colonials (several unique), and regular issue gold, silver and copper." Parmelee's remarkable collection has frequently been regarded as the finest collection of American coins ever formed. One hundred copies were issued with plates (though most haven't survived), attractively tinted to approximate the metal color of the coins depicted. The presentation of the Federal issues is unusual. Arranged chronologically rather than by denomination, this innovation was not well received at the time, and has seldom been used since. A famous and highly successful Boston bean baker, Parmelee began collecting coins by sorting through the large cents from his daily receipts. He sold duplicates but continually upgraded his personal collection. In his first major coup, he purchased the superb collection formed by George F. Seavey, which was slated to be sold at auction. He acquired the Brevoort collection in 1876, the magnificent Bushnell collection in 1882, and purchased many rarities from Sylvester Crosby. The first two plates illustrate copper patterns and colonials; plates 3 and 4 depict silver patterns and colonials; plate 5 illustrates copper colonials and Washingtonia; plate 6 is mainly devoted to early cents and half cents; plates 7 and 8 largely depict superb early United States silver coins; plates 9 and 10 are devoted to choice cents and half cents; plates 11 and 12 mainly illustrate United States and gold patterns, including a Brasher doubloon; and the final plate is devoted to large denomination nineteenth-century United States silver coins. Copies with even occasional buyers' names recorded are rare and very useful for provenance research. Buyers included DeWitt Smith, Crosby, Woolf, Ball, Sterns, Ropes, Hall, Newlin, Warner, Jenks, Mougey, Wilson, Mills, Reed, and many others, in addition to virtually all of the major U.S. dealers of the day. Ex Cal Wilson Sale 9, lot 859; ex Kolbe Sale 105, part of lot 520; ex Cardinal Collection Library.
(Estimate: $750)
New York Coin & Stamp Co. CATALOGUE OF THE FINEST EXISTING COLLECTION OF AMERICAN COINS, THE PROPERTY OF MR. LORIN G. PARMELEE, OF BOSTON, MASS. New York: Bangs & Co., June 25-27, 1890. Tall 8vo, later blue cloth, gilt; original gilt-printed paper covers bound in. 96 pages; title printed in blue, black and red; 1443 lots; fine portrait of Parmelee; 13 fine tinted photographic plates. Hand-priced throughout in ink, with buyers' names and additional annotations occasionally found in both contemporary and modern hands. Much of the catalogue is affected by an old stain that lightly affects the upper right of the plates and some pages, though it never obscures the images. Signed by Ralph Barker on opening blank; newspaper clipping about the sale affixed to inside rear cover. Very good or so. Adams 4, with plates. An exceptionally important catalogue, with the full complement of plates, and annotated with prices and some names recorded. An outstanding sale, rated A+ by Adams: "Absolutely definitive for patterns, colonials (several unique), and regular issue gold, silver and copper." Parmelee's remarkable collection has frequently been regarded as the finest collection of American coins ever formed. One hundred copies were issued with plates (though most haven't survived), attractively tinted to approximate the metal color of the coins depicted. The presentation of the Federal issues is unusual. Arranged chronologically rather than by denomination, this innovation was not well received at the time, and has seldom been used since. A famous and highly successful Boston bean baker, Parmelee began collecting coins by sorting through the large cents from his daily receipts. He sold duplicates but continually upgraded his personal collection. In his first major coup, he purchased the superb collection formed by George F. Seavey, which was slated to be sold at auction. He acquired the Brevoort collection in 1876, the magnificent Bushnell collection in 1882, and purchased many rarities from Sylvester Crosby. The first two plates illustrate copper patterns and colonials; plates 3 and 4 depict silver patterns and colonials; plate 5 illustrates copper colonials and Washingtonia; plate 6 is mainly devoted to early cents and half cents; plates 7 and 8 largely depict superb early United States silver coins; plates 9 and 10 are devoted to choice cents and half cents; plates 11 and 12 mainly illustrate United States and gold patterns, including a Brasher doubloon; and the final plate is devoted to large denomination nineteenth-century United States silver coins. Copies with even occasional buyers' names recorded are rare and very useful for provenance research. Buyers included DeWitt Smith, Crosby, Woolf, Ball, Sterns, Ropes, Hall, Newlin, Warner, Jenks, Mougey, Wilson, Mills, Reed, and many others, in addition to virtually all of the major U.S. dealers of the day. Ex Cal Wilson Sale 9, lot 859; ex Kolbe Sale 105, part of lot 520; ex Cardinal Collection Library.
(Estimate: $750)