Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 164 27 Aug 2022
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The First Major Coin Sale in the United States--The Roper Sale, Second 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. Second state (see comments). 8vo [22.5 by 14 cm], sewn and self-covered as issued. 24 pages; a total of 698 lots offered in 52 groupings. Contemporary paper strips have been pasted in the "Remarks" column up to and including page 20, with handwritten prices realized recorded in ink for the first 597 lots and, for the first 15 lots, the names of the buyers. Spine lightly reinforced with glue; first and last pages dusty. 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 second state, with 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 version of the catalogue that went 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 is one of the two copies owned by Harry W. Bass, Jr., both of which included this reference to Philadelphia. Ford's copy also had it. Every other copy we have handled lacked it. Ex Harry W. Bass, Jr. Library (Kolbe Sale 78, lot 386) at $1200; ex Jim Neiswinter 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. Second state (see comments). 8vo [22.5 by 14 cm], sewn and self-covered as issued. 24 pages; a total of 698 lots offered in 52 groupings. Contemporary paper strips have been pasted in the "Remarks" column up to and including page 20, with handwritten prices realized recorded in ink for the first 597 lots and, for the first 15 lots, the names of the buyers. Spine lightly reinforced with glue; first and last pages dusty. 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 second state, with 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 version of the catalogue that went 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 is one of the two copies owned by Harry W. Bass, Jr., both of which included this reference to Philadelphia. Ford's copy also had it. Every other copy we have handled lacked it. Ex Harry W. Bass, Jr. Library (Kolbe Sale 78, lot 386) at $1200; ex Jim Neiswinter Library.
(Estimate: $1000)