Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 165 3 Dec 2022
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Elder's Lawrence Sale, with 20 Plates
Elder, Thomas L. CATALOGUE OF THE IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF RARE COINS AND MEDALS FORMED BY THE LATE DR. GEORGE ALFRED LAWRENCE, OF NEW YORK. FINE AND RARE ANCIENT, MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN GOLD, PLATINUM, SILVER AND BRONZE COINS AND MEDALS... New York, June 26-28, 1929. 4to, slightly later butterscotch cloth, gilt. 107, (5) pages; 11 blank leaves interspersed throughout the text; 1544 lots; 20 (of 22) superb photographic plates, bound in. Original printed prices realized list bound in. Very good. Adams 222, with plates. Rated A+ overall: "Biography of Lawrence. Superb ancients. Outstanding medieval: Anglo-Saxon, coins of the Crusades. Definitive Maltese. Siege pieces. Baltimore shilling, 6 pence. Perhaps best territorial gold ever: 1850, 1851 Baldwin $10; Gem Humbert 1851 $50 (3); Kellogg's own 1855 $50; Mass. & Cal. $5; Schultz $5; superb fractionals; Cal. gold notes." The Deluxe Special Quarto Edition, with very fine photographic plates. A perplexing Elder production. Often, as here, plated copies come with only some of the plates, rather than all 22 that were produced. In addition, there are also at least three different varieties of the text, and two different versions of the prices realized list. Four of the superb photographic plates depict ancient Greek and Roman coins; nine illustrate English and European coins; one depicts American colonial coins; and the remaining eight (of which six are present in this copy) plates illustrate American pioneer gold coins. A well-known neurologist, Lawrence wrote a number of books on the topic. His coin collection was remarkably varied but is best known for its outstanding collection of California and other pioneer gold coins. Elder explains the reason for this predilection in his introduction: "The late Dr. George Alfred Lawrence was born at Lawrence, California, a settlement named for his ancestors, on June 6th, 1869. As California was the principal seat of the coinage of private gold issued between 1849 and 1855, it was natural that the Doctor should specialize in the American Private Gold Coinages." Plated copies of the Lawrence catalogue have long been desirable and are infrequently obtainable. Davis 370. Fanning, Ancient Coins in Early American Auctions, 39. Ex Stack Family Library (Kolbe Sale 111, lot 66); ex Cardinal Collection Library.
Estimate: 500 USD
Elder, Thomas L. CATALOGUE OF THE IMPORTANT COLLECTION OF RARE COINS AND MEDALS FORMED BY THE LATE DR. GEORGE ALFRED LAWRENCE, OF NEW YORK. FINE AND RARE ANCIENT, MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN GOLD, PLATINUM, SILVER AND BRONZE COINS AND MEDALS... New York, June 26-28, 1929. 4to, slightly later butterscotch cloth, gilt. 107, (5) pages; 11 blank leaves interspersed throughout the text; 1544 lots; 20 (of 22) superb photographic plates, bound in. Original printed prices realized list bound in. Very good. Adams 222, with plates. Rated A+ overall: "Biography of Lawrence. Superb ancients. Outstanding medieval: Anglo-Saxon, coins of the Crusades. Definitive Maltese. Siege pieces. Baltimore shilling, 6 pence. Perhaps best territorial gold ever: 1850, 1851 Baldwin $10; Gem Humbert 1851 $50 (3); Kellogg's own 1855 $50; Mass. & Cal. $5; Schultz $5; superb fractionals; Cal. gold notes." The Deluxe Special Quarto Edition, with very fine photographic plates. A perplexing Elder production. Often, as here, plated copies come with only some of the plates, rather than all 22 that were produced. In addition, there are also at least three different varieties of the text, and two different versions of the prices realized list. Four of the superb photographic plates depict ancient Greek and Roman coins; nine illustrate English and European coins; one depicts American colonial coins; and the remaining eight (of which six are present in this copy) plates illustrate American pioneer gold coins. A well-known neurologist, Lawrence wrote a number of books on the topic. His coin collection was remarkably varied but is best known for its outstanding collection of California and other pioneer gold coins. Elder explains the reason for this predilection in his introduction: "The late Dr. George Alfred Lawrence was born at Lawrence, California, a settlement named for his ancestors, on June 6th, 1869. As California was the principal seat of the coinage of private gold issued between 1849 and 1855, it was natural that the Doctor should specialize in the American Private Gold Coinages." Plated copies of the Lawrence catalogue have long been desirable and are infrequently obtainable. Davis 370. Fanning, Ancient Coins in Early American Auctions, 39. Ex Stack Family Library (Kolbe Sale 111, lot 66); ex Cardinal Collection Library.
Estimate: 500 USD