Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 164 27 Aug 2022
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The First Major Coin Sale in the United States--The Roper Sale, First State
Thomas, M., & Sons. EXECUTORS' SALE AT NO. 93 WALNUT ST. VALUABLE COLLECTION OF GOLD AND SILVER COINS, MEDALS, &C. CATALOGUE OF THE ENTIRE COLLECTION OF RARE AND VALUABLE COINS, MEDALS, AUTOGRAPHS, MAHOGANY COIN CASE, &C. LATE OF DOCTOR LEWIS ROPER, DECEASED, TO BE SOLD AT PUBLIC SALE... Philadelphia, February 20, 1851. First state (see comments). 8vo [22 by 14,5 cm], self-covered as issued and removed from previous binding. 24 pages; a total of 698 lots offered in 52 groupings. The 35 lots on page 10 (American Coins & Medals) and 209 lots of mostly ancient Roman coins listed on pages 15-20 are hand-priced in ink. "Philadelphia" written on the front page in period ink; first leaf slightly trimmed at fore-edge in addition to entire catalogue having been slightly trimmed in binding, not affecting text. Very good or so. The first important American coin auction. Dr. Lewis Roper (c. 1806-1850) was a Philadelphia dentist and early American numismatist. He was well-known to the Mint establishment, testifying to the avidity of his collecting. Roper headed west during the Gold Rush, and died at sea while returning home in 1850. His collection reflected the varied tastes of the time. In the American series, the sale featured Comitia Americana and War of 1812 medals, a few Franklin medals, four Gobrecht dollars, a 1792 Washington Head half dollar, colonial coins, presidential medals, etc. A Stony Point medal in gold sold for $38 to Fales (the catalogue doesn't mention the actual recipient of the medal, though Charles Bushnell had the foresight to record in his copy that it was de Fleury). Also featured were collections of French medals and coins, English coins, German and other European series, long runs of ancient Greek and Roman coins, etc. Buyers included Joseph J. Mickley, Richard Wistar Davids, Charles I. Bushnell, Henry Muhlenberg, Ammi Brown, Jeremiah Colburn, James H. Taylor, Henry Cook, and Jacob Giles Morris. Attinelli wrote in Numisgraphics (page 8) that, "This is, it is believed, the first coin sale in this country, in which sufficient interest was manifested by numismatists to take note of the prices paid for coins, and who were the purchasers." The Roper sale is one of the great landmarks in American numismatic literature, and is rare, with perhaps a dozen or so copies known. This copy is from the first state, without the Thomas firm's full "Philada." address printed at the base of the last page (see P. Scott Rubin's "Variants of the 1851 Roper Auction Sale Catalogue," in the Fall 1998 issue of The Asylum). The existence of a second state of the catalogue (see following lot) that goes out of its way to specify the city in which the sale was being held testifies that the news of the upcoming auction had spread to other locales, indicating the growing interest in the hobby. This copy originally belonged to Philadelphia numismatist William S. Vaux (1811-1882), and is signed by him at the top of the first page (slightly affected by trimming); Vaux was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Numismatic Society, and can thus truly claim to be one of the founding fathers of the organized hobby in the United States. Ex Charles Davis's June 27, 1998 auction (lot 245); ex Saul Teichman Library via Karl Moulton (2007); ex Cardinal Collection Library.
(Estimate: $1000)
Thomas, M., & Sons. EXECUTORS' SALE AT NO. 93 WALNUT ST. VALUABLE COLLECTION OF GOLD AND SILVER COINS, MEDALS, &C. CATALOGUE OF THE ENTIRE COLLECTION OF RARE AND VALUABLE COINS, MEDALS, AUTOGRAPHS, MAHOGANY COIN CASE, &C. LATE OF DOCTOR LEWIS ROPER, DECEASED, TO BE SOLD AT PUBLIC SALE... Philadelphia, February 20, 1851. First state (see comments). 8vo [22 by 14,5 cm], self-covered as issued and removed from previous binding. 24 pages; a total of 698 lots offered in 52 groupings. The 35 lots on page 10 (American Coins & Medals) and 209 lots of mostly ancient Roman coins listed on pages 15-20 are hand-priced in ink. "Philadelphia" written on the front page in period ink; first leaf slightly trimmed at fore-edge in addition to entire catalogue having been slightly trimmed in binding, not affecting text. Very good or so. The first important American coin auction. Dr. Lewis Roper (c. 1806-1850) was a Philadelphia dentist and early American numismatist. He was well-known to the Mint establishment, testifying to the avidity of his collecting. Roper headed west during the Gold Rush, and died at sea while returning home in 1850. His collection reflected the varied tastes of the time. In the American series, the sale featured Comitia Americana and War of 1812 medals, a few Franklin medals, four Gobrecht dollars, a 1792 Washington Head half dollar, colonial coins, presidential medals, etc. A Stony Point medal in gold sold for $38 to Fales (the catalogue doesn't mention the actual recipient of the medal, though Charles Bushnell had the foresight to record in his copy that it was de Fleury). Also featured were collections of French medals and coins, English coins, German and other European series, long runs of ancient Greek and Roman coins, etc. Buyers included Joseph J. Mickley, Richard Wistar Davids, Charles I. Bushnell, Henry Muhlenberg, Ammi Brown, Jeremiah Colburn, James H. Taylor, Henry Cook, and Jacob Giles Morris. Attinelli wrote in Numisgraphics (page 8) that, "This is, it is believed, the first coin sale in this country, in which sufficient interest was manifested by numismatists to take note of the prices paid for coins, and who were the purchasers." The Roper sale is one of the great landmarks in American numismatic literature, and is rare, with perhaps a dozen or so copies known. This copy is from the first state, without the Thomas firm's full "Philada." address printed at the base of the last page (see P. Scott Rubin's "Variants of the 1851 Roper Auction Sale Catalogue," in the Fall 1998 issue of The Asylum). The existence of a second state of the catalogue (see following lot) that goes out of its way to specify the city in which the sale was being held testifies that the news of the upcoming auction had spread to other locales, indicating the growing interest in the hobby. This copy originally belonged to Philadelphia numismatist William S. Vaux (1811-1882), and is signed by him at the top of the first page (slightly affected by trimming); Vaux was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Numismatic Society, and can thus truly claim to be one of the founding fathers of the organized hobby in the United States. Ex Charles Davis's June 27, 1998 auction (lot 245); ex Saul Teichman Library via Karl Moulton (2007); ex Cardinal Collection Library.
(Estimate: $1000)