Introduction

This volume presents the proceedings of the sixth Coinage of the Americas Conference held at the American Numismatic Society on November 4 and 5,1989. The paper of Q. David Bowers on collecting of gold coins in America pinpoints one of the obstacles facing anyone who would contemplate a gathering devoted to American gold: gold coins have never been as widely collected or studied as, say, colonial or early federal coppers, and even today the number of specialists is relatively small.

The 1989 effort faced other problems. Several individuals whose participation had been hoped for were unavailable, and an unexpected change of staff meant that organization of the gathering had to be assumed in mid-course by a non-specialist. But groundwork already laid, combined with the willingness of old friends to come forward on short notice—and, above all, the momentum generated by five successful conferences—both filled out and lent surprising variety to the program.

One fixed point in the Coinage of the Americas Conferences has been John W. McCloskey. For the second time he prepared the booklet and slide set published in connection with it, and here presented the most technical of the studies, on Half Eagles of 1834-1838. His preliminary results should provide both a paradigm and a stimulus for further studies.

Similarly technical was a paper on the 1861 Paquet Double Eagles, which subsequently became the focus of controversy as reported in the numismatic press. In sum, it was the Society's position that the paper submitted was not that which had been invited; even so, the substantive point of contention was resolved in favor of the authors, and it is regrettable that they nonetheless decided to withdraw their paper from publication here.
Three other papers illustrated the sluggish and haphazard development of minting policy in the United States. The first of these was provided by Richard G. Doty of the National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution. His discussion of the vicissitudes of the short-lived Charlotte and Dahlonega mints is a reminder that technology available is not necessarily technology implemented, and of the impact of personalities now all but forgotten on the history of our coinage. Cory Gillilland, also of the National Numismatic Collection, discussed the antiquity of what many regard as a modern use for coinage. Walter H. Breen both instructed and amused with his brisk review of the interplay of monetary theory and coinage during the last decades of the nineteenth century.

David Bowers's paper has already been mentioned; it provides not only a glimpse into the development of numismatic connoisseurship in this country, but an illustration of the symbiosis between collecting and research. It was only when gold coins began to be a focus of collector interest that it was possible to move beyond widespread misinformation and toward understanding. The printed version of his paper understates its effectiveness as presented, since many of the coins mentioned were on view in the Society as he spoke.

Almost from the moment they were created, coins began to be counterfeited. Charles R. Hoskins's paper is necessarily anecdotal: though some counterfeiters have been proud enough of their work to boast about it for posterity, it is in the nature of the trade that inside information is hard to come by. It is welcome news— particularly given the dangerous nature of some of the conterfeits— that the phenomenon is in at least a temporary decline.

The conference was rounded out by two papers that were conceived in relationship to one another, as the speakers represent opposite ends of the road to the creation of coinage. Representative James A. Hayes of Louisiana, a member of the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs and its Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage, traced the intricate legislative path a proposal must follow before a coin can come to be, employing for context the bicentennial of the United States Congress. Cynics will see "politics as usual" in Rep. Hayes' account of the creation of the Congressional commemoratives, but that very fact lends value to his documentation of the factors affecting coin production and design.

The closing paper was delivered by Elizabeth Jones, Chief Sculptor and Engraver of the United States Mint, who has ultimate responsibility for the appearance of our coins, and has herself designed
many of the commemoratives of which Rep. Hayes spoke. Miss Jones focused on the marriage between politics and art that produced the most beautiful of modern coins, as well as less successful encounters in the history of U.S. coin design. No other Chief Engraver, active or retired, has commented so substantively on the artistic merits of earlier coins.

This volume was to have closed with a catalogue of a portion of the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Reference Collection of United States Federal Gold Coinage, together with reminiscences about Mr. Bass's collecting career. Unfortunately that project proved far more complex and time-consuming than originally anticipated. The ANS hopes and expects to be able to publish this unique contribution at some future date. The Coinage of the Americas Conferences have often been remarked as the legacy of Mr. Bass's Presidency of the American Numismatic Society; the subject matter of the 1989 conference surely came closest to his own principal interest in the coinage of this hemisphere. Those who were present are unlikely to forget the excitement surrounding the display of over 600 pieces from the Bass collection. Specialists had available an array of die varieties so unprecedented that the revelation of the current ownership of the unique 1870-S $3 gold piece seemed almost an anticlimax, and amateurs were dazzled by the sheer mass of his material gathered in so small a compass.

At the end of two days even those who, like the editor, knew little of America's gold coinage were surprised by its variety and complexity. Virtually all the papers published here reflect the oral presentations almost verbatim, and perhaps this volume will succeed in communicating not only the substance but the spirit of the 1989 Coinage of the Americas Conference.

William E. Metcalf Conference Chairman