Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 166 25 Feb 2023
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One of Four Extra-Illustrated Deluxe Copies of Collins & Breen on the 1794 Dollar
Collins, Jack, and Walter Breen. 1794: THE HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF THE FIRST UNITED STATES DOLLAR. (Crestline): George F. Kolbe and Alan Meghrig, 2007 [printed April 26, 2008]. 4to, original full blue morocco lettered in silver; front cover with silver impressions of both sides of a 1794 dollar. Limitation leaf; (16), 269, (15) pages; illustrated throughout, partly in color. Fine. One of only four copies thus bound. This edition brought to light this important manuscript as it existed at the time of Collins's death in 1996 (Breen having died in 1993). The manuscript was nearly complete, and includes chapters exploring the history of the dollar, its American adoption and adaptation, the people behind the creation of the first U.S. dollars, fakes and fantasy pieces, and, perhaps most importantly, a condition census for the 1794 dollar that sought to not only describe but illustrate every surviving example of this foundational coinage. While most of the illustrations throughout the text had not yet been entered into the manuscript by Collins, most of the coins included in the census were illustrated; for this 2008 edition, many of the front-matter illustrations missing from the 2007 edition have been put in place, frequently in color. The value of this posthumous contribution by Collins and Breen is considerable. Ex George F. Kolbe Library (Kolbe & Fanning Sale 154, lot 454 at $2500 hammer); ex Cardinal Collection Library.
Estimate: 1500 USD
Collins, Jack, and Walter Breen. 1794: THE HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF THE FIRST UNITED STATES DOLLAR. (Crestline): George F. Kolbe and Alan Meghrig, 2007 [printed April 26, 2008]. 4to, original full blue morocco lettered in silver; front cover with silver impressions of both sides of a 1794 dollar. Limitation leaf; (16), 269, (15) pages; illustrated throughout, partly in color. Fine. One of only four copies thus bound. This edition brought to light this important manuscript as it existed at the time of Collins's death in 1996 (Breen having died in 1993). The manuscript was nearly complete, and includes chapters exploring the history of the dollar, its American adoption and adaptation, the people behind the creation of the first U.S. dollars, fakes and fantasy pieces, and, perhaps most importantly, a condition census for the 1794 dollar that sought to not only describe but illustrate every surviving example of this foundational coinage. While most of the illustrations throughout the text had not yet been entered into the manuscript by Collins, most of the coins included in the census were illustrated; for this 2008 edition, many of the front-matter illustrations missing from the 2007 edition have been put in place, frequently in color. The value of this posthumous contribution by Collins and Breen is considerable. Ex George F. Kolbe Library (Kolbe & Fanning Sale 154, lot 454 at $2500 hammer); ex Cardinal Collection Library.
Estimate: 1500 USD