Watch List notes:

Clapp, J.M., and John H. Clapp. JOHN H. CLAPP NOTEBOOK RECORD OF U.S. GOLD & REGULAR ISSUE COINS. Spine title cited. Small 4to [27 by 20.5 cm], later maroon cloth; spine ruled and lettered in gilt. Original rear cover, black half calf with marbled sides and annotated pastedown, laid in. 192 ruled pages [recto of rear unruled flyleaf numbered 193], onto most of which are recorded a comprehensive listing of United States coins, with detailed records of those coins present in the Clapp Family collection, their condition, and (where known) their provenance, price paid, and acquisition date; "List of Coins bot of Chas Steigerwalt Nov 6. 1893," written on back of unrelated letter addressed to J.M. Clapp, bound in between pages 2 and 3; sheet of plain notepaper with handwritten list of seventeen foreign coin purchases tipped in between pages 168 and 171; sheet of ruled notepaper with handwritten list of twenty questions awaiting answers, with short list of names on verso, tipped in between pages 182 and 183; halftone reproduction of an engraving by F.G. Kernan & Company of an unidentified gentleman, accompanied by a typewritten listing of $20, $10 and $5 gold pieces wanted for the collection at one time, tipped in between pages 190 and 191; later cardboard folder bound in following original notebook, in which has been stored a 2004 clipping from The Numismatic Sun about the Clapp Family. The leaf comprising pages 21–22 has been removed from its proper place and tipped in between pages 46 and 47; the leaf comprising pages 169–170 [presumably blank, as are the pages around it] is lacking. Pages 35, 83, 85–99, 106–107, 114, 126–139, 152–192 are blank [numbered and ruled, but without entries], as is the flyleaf numbered 193. Minimal chipping at extremities; when the volume was rebound, some minor repairs were made to a number of leaves at the gutter. Overall condition very good or better. Of the highest importance, being the record of one of the greatest collections of United States coins never to have been properly catalogued or sold at auction (and hence generally absent from the provenance record). This is the original inventory ledger of the Clapp Family, used by two generations to record the development of their extraordinary collection. Given that the collection was ultimately acquired in its entirety by Louis Eliasberg, the ledger is of particular importance when tracing the provenance of Eliasberg coins. While it has been quoted and discussed by various researchers, it has never been fully published nor is it available online. This marks the first time it has been offered for sale.

The collection started by J.M. Clapp (1835–1906) and continued by his son John H. Clapp (1880–1940) was carefully and meticulously formed over the course of several decades, with the bulk of the cabinet formed by the time of the father's death. Clapp Sr. showed remarkable foresight in his collecting. He not only bought through established dealers and by bidding in the major auction sales of the day, but he also methodically added new issues to his collection, taking particular care not to ignore the productions of the branch mints. This was still unusual in the first decade of the 1900s, but was almost unheard of in the 1890s. Clapp's friend Augustus Heaton may have influenced him in this regard, as Heaton's 1893 Treatise on the Coinage of the United States Branch Mints was the first popular work to focus attention on these issues. Through his annual correspondence with the branch mints, Clapp was able to add a number of modern pieces that were ignored by most advanced collectors. His 1895-O dime, 1901-S quarter, 1904-S half dollar, 1895-O silver dollar, and 1894-S half eagle, to name a few, were all acquired from their mints of issue, newly struck and for face value.

Of course, older coins required delving into the established numismatic market, and Clapp Sr. was not shy about stepping up when circumstances demanded. Clapp's 1802 half dime, which is recorded in the ledger as being heavily worn, was acquired from Ed Frossard's June 1894 sale of the Friesner collection for $60.50 (this is not the example in the 1996 Bowers & Merena sale, despite the stated provenance). $150 was paid for Clapp's 1827 quarter (from the Chapman Brothers' 1895 Winsor sale). The 1861-D and 1870-S gold dollars were purchased for $100 each, while the 1827 and 1829 (large date) half eagles required $260 and $240, respectively, from the 1906 Chapman Brothers sale of the Harlan Page Smith collection. Clapp bought heavily at the Smith sale, with two extraordinary acquisitions being the 1819 half eagle at $550 and the 1815 at $1050-an amazing price at the time. Clapp put considerable emphasis on quality, and was willing to stretch when a magnificent example of a desired coin was offered-indeed, many of the truly gem pieces in the Eliasberg collection were Clapp coins on which Eliasberg was never able to improve.

In some cases, more than one example of a coin is listed in the inventory. Two 1794 dollars are included, for instance. The first, purchased in S.H. & H. Chapman's May 1894 sale of the E.S. Norris collection for $106, is indicated as being in worn condition. This example is illustrated in the exceptionally rare plated edition of George Cogan's 1883 catalogue of the Charles Britton collection, a provenance that was unknown to Collins and Breen in our day, just as it was unknown to Clapp and Eliasberg. This is lot 2167 in the 1997 Bowers & Merena Eliasberg sale, which also doesn't mention Britton. The second 1794 dollar was acquired from Ben G. Green in in September 1905 for $125, which is likely the one sold as lot 721 of the October 1947 Stack's "Lee" collection sale of Eliasberg duplicates.

The ledger would appear to have been acquired by J.M. Clapp from coin dealer William P. Brown sometime around 1900. It begins with a listing of coin dealers and auctions from which coins listed were acquired; the sales listed on this page took place during a brief time period, between 1893 and 1899. The records themselves span the years 1891–1910, when the great majority of the collection was formed, and occupy 115 pages of neatly handwritten text (it is likely that the original inventory was written by a secretary, with both J.M. and John H. Clapp adding to it after the original framework was completed). Information recorded includes the denomination, date, mint, variety (if deemed relevant), the condition of the example in the collection, when it was acquired and from whom, and at what price. Condition is recorded using a large X, with dots placed within the crossbars: dots in all four angles represents a proof; dots in three angles indicate a mint state piece; dots in two, a circulated piece; and a dot in only one angle a worn specimen. An X in which there are no dots at all suggest only that the coin is present, but its grade has not been recorded. Lines are in place for the relatively few coins not represented in the collection, and occasional entries are squeezed between lines when a new date/mint combination or major variety was discovered. The state of the hobby's knowledge at the time of compilation is revealed in the ledger, with some coins we know to exist not being listed (e.g., the 1870-S $3 gold piece), while a few coins we know to be apocryphal (e.g., the 1858-S quarter eagle) are included. Q. David Bowers devoted an entire appendix of his 1996 Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.: King of Coins to "The Clapp Notebook," which is well worth reading.

The Clapp Family collection was sold intact to Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. in February 1942 for what was at the time the extraordinary sum of $100,000. Upon the sale of the collection, the Clapp Family ledger passed into the hands of the Eliasberg Family, where it has remained until today. The addition of the remarkably comprehensive Clapp collection to Eliasberg's already impressive holdings elevated the Eliasberg collection to the forefront of American coin collections and set the seed for the most ambitious collecting goal one could set: obtaining an example of every date and mintmark combination of regular-issue United State coin. That such a goal was even entertained testifies to the determination of the man and the extent of the collection as it existed in 1942. That the goal was achieved on November 7, 1950 is nearly incredible and bestowed the name of Louis Eliasberg with immortality in the realm of numismatic history. The present volume records the genesis of much of the Eliasberg collection and provides information available nowhere else. Begun in 1900, it is only now in 2023 that it is being offered for sale. This is quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Ex John H. Clapp Library; ex Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Library; ex Richard A. Eliasberg Library.