American Association of Numismatists. NUMISMATIC PILOT TO ANCIENT COINS AND THEIR USES. Volume I, Nos. 1-4 (La Grange, Kentucky, October 1876-June 1877), complete. Robert Morris, LL.D, Secretary, etc. Tabloid, 4 pages each [third issue published in large quarto format with four additional leaves, each printed on one side, being a capsule biography of a Roman emperor, laid in]; text illustrations of Greek and Roman coins. Some separating at folds. Generally very good. Bourne 1870-37. All four issues of this rare periodical issued by the earliest American numismatic organization devoted to the collecting of ancient coins. Founded in 1871, the American Association of Numismatists was spearheaded by Robert Morris, the author of several notable numismatic works. In the inaugural issue he wrote: "We are attempting to popularize ancient numismatics: First, by supplying the ancient coins themselves; Second, by affording the information necessary to their reading. Each of these things has been partly done by others. Various establishments in Philadelphia, New York, etc., sell coins, and more than one teacher of history gives dissertations upon the use of coins in history, to his class. But no society has set out to do both, and unless both are done neither singly is of much advantage... A single ancient coin well read; its place in the coin series understood; the time, place and circumstances under which it was minted clearly given, is a cabinet, a museum in itself!" Under the headline Authorities in Numismatics, Morris lists some two dozen numismatic volumes with accession numbers, noting that "the following are the standards upon which he chiefly relies in his 'Coin Readings.' The numbers correspond with his private catalogue." Of his numismatic library he further notes: "We have a printed catalogue of more than one thousand publications, small and large." A correspondent writes: "When I visited you at La Grange and saw a pile of quarto volumes on your shelves, in French, Latin and German, and observed the subject of all--Numismatics--I wondered at the unfairness of modern authors. They steal and give no credit... they hooked their knowledge, and as you showed me, stole only the silver and left the gold behind. I saw in a single day there is more sound numismatic science in one volume of Patni (sic) than in a sheaf of such." All in all, a most interesting publication by this pioneering if little-known numismatic scholar and entrepreneur. This is only complete set we recall offering. Ex M. Bourne Library.

American Numismatic Association. THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIST / THE NUMISMATIST. Title varies. Volumes 1-6 (Monroe, Michigan: Dr. Geo. F. Heath, September 1888-December 1893), complete, bound in one volume. Small 8vo [20.5 by 14 cm], somewhat later red cloth, gilt. 26 + 48 + 112 + (2), 30, iv, (31)-86, (89)-106 + (3)-34, (37)-52, (57)-112 + 132, (4), (133)-176 pages; unpaginated section in Volume VI consisting of the Program to the 1893 ANA Convention; halftone portraits of Lyman Haynes Low, Samuel Hudson Chapman, Ed. Frossard, Joseph Hooper, Jos. Leroux, David Harlowe, Charles Taylor Tatman, Herbert E. Morey, P. Napoleon Breton, and W. Kelsey Hall bound with appropriate issues, inconsistently counted as part of the pagination; lithographic plate of "The Proposed World's Fair Souvenir Half Dollar"; double-page lithographic table by Brudin of Chinese numerals; text illustrations; woodcut portrait of Dr. Geo. F. Heath in the text. No printed paper covers included. First six leaves with small tape repair of about 1 cm at the center top margin. Slightly and unobtrusively trimmed. A very good set. Bourne 1880-110. One of the true landmarks in American numismatic literature. The whereabouts of about a dozen sets of the first six volumes of The Numismatist are currently known. Originally, George Heath titled his little publication The American Numismatist, but after the first issue the name was shortened to The Numismatist, perhaps to avoid conflict with C.E. Leal's The American Numismatist, which had appeared two years before (interesting commentary on both publications may be found in Joel J. Orosz's "The Printer's Devil," appearing in the Winter 1997 issue of The Asylum). Print runs of the first two volumes were small; as early as 1893, Heath no longer could supply certain issues. David Sklow has traced as many as two dozen sets through various public offerings, but the whereabouts of only 11 can be ascertained. A number of the unlocated listings likely record the appearance of sets duplicated in the known census; and, sadly, a few sets have probably perished. Sklow aptly closes his article: "There is one great, overwhelming fact concerning the magazine: the first six volumes are the most highly sought pieces of American numismatic literature. A library lacking these informative volumes just seems to fall short of greatness." This has been recognized for some time. In an article appearing in the May, 1941 issue of The Numismatist, Editor Frank G. Duffield wrote: "It is with considerable interest that we see that a set of the first six volumes of The Numismatist (or American Numismatist, as Volume 1, No. 1, was styled) catalogued in Mr. Fisher's sale of May 3rd. While it is generally conceded that the information to be obtained from these early numbers is not significant, the collectors' love of completeness and desire to have rare items, make the sale of this series of our predecessor in the [fiftieth] anniversary year of the Association an item of note. It is seldom realized how few complete sets of The Numismatist are available." Recent years have seen three sets come to market, with Eric P. Newman's set sold in 2018, D. Brent Pogue's in 2020, and Rick Bagg's in 2021. The most recent offering brought the highest price--$31,200 with the premium--suggesting that the market has not been hurt by this relative plenitude. It may be some years until the present opportunity presents itself again. Ex M. Bourne Library.

American Numismatic Association. THE NUMISMATIST. AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY DEVOTED TO THE SCIENCE OF NUMISMATICS / THE NUMISMATIST. AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY DEVOTED TO MONEY AND MEDALLIC ART / THE NUMISMATIST. Volumes 1-86 (1888-1973), complete, with Volumes 1-6 (1888-1893) present in reprint form. Monroe, Michigan, etc.: George Heath and the American Numismatic Association. 8vo, bound in varying cloths, as follows: the reprint of Volumes 1-6 is in maroon cloth, gilt; Volumes 7-77 are separately bound in later blue cloth, gilt [1894-1900 and 1903-1916 volumes include original printed card covers]; Volumes 78-86 (1965-1973), are bound similarly in two volumes each. Also present are Volumes 87-90 (1974-1977), lacking two issues, all in the original pictorial card covers. Also included is one volume (matching blue cloth, gilt) bringing together the indexes issued for Volumes 1-51 and 52-71. All ex Charles M. Johnson. Some spotted page edges; generally near fine interiors. Bourne 1880-110. A complete original set from 1894 through 1973, accompanied by Volumes 1-6 in reprint form. The Numismatist remains one of the mainstays of American numismatic literature, though it has never had scholarly pretensions, nor has it been primarily a commercial publication. Its founder, Dr. George Francis Heath, was, in essence, a collector, and the publication has always endeavored to serve first the needs of coin collectors. About the time that the American Journal of Numismatics became exclusively a scholarly journal, The Numismatist unfurled its banner. It is filled with vignettes of collectors of the day, results of important sales, and fascinating gossip on a wide variety of topics. Numismatic scholars will also find much of interest in its pages, with significant articles on a wide variety of subjects appearing through the years. It is an unparalleled, comprehensive chronicle of coin collecting in America from the turn of the century to the present. The modest amounts that sets have brought in recent years truly make it one of the great bargains of American numismatic literature. Voted No. 3 on the Numismatic Bibliomania Society's "One Hundred Greatest Items of United States Numismatic Literature." Kolbe 813. Ex M. Bourne Library.

[American Numismatic Association]. ANA CONVENTION AUCTION CATALOGUES. Seventeen different catalogues, being those for the following conventions: 1949 (Numismatic Gallery); 1951 (Kelly)*; 1954 (Federal Coin Exchange, with program)*; 1955 (Bebee's); 1957 (Federal Brand); 1959 (Young); 1964 (Federal Brand); 1966 (Kosoff); 1974 (Paramount); 1975 (Superior); 1976 (Stack's); 1979 (New England, US catalogue only); 1983 (Kagin's); 1985 (Heritage); 1988 (Heritage); 1990 (Heritage); and 1992 (Heritage). Catalogues indicated with an asterisk include an original prices realized list. 1955 catalogue stained; else very good to fine copies. Includes some very important sales.

[American Numismatic Society] American Numismatic & Arch�ological Society; Boston Numismatic Society; American Numismatic Society. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NUMISMATICS. A partial set (New York and Boston, 1866-1924), being most of the volumes held to be significant for American content, as follows: Volumes 1-31, variously bound (see comments), with one issue (Volume 6, No. 4) missing and with Volumes 25 and 29 present in reprint. Volumes 48-53, variously bound (see comments), with Volume 50 present in reprint. Condition varies, with the bound volume including Volumes 3 and 4 having some loose pages (the photographic plates are intact). Generally very good or better. Bourne 1865-3. A substantial set of this extraordinarily important U.S. journal, including most of the 19th-century issues. The bindings are as follows: Volumes 1, 3-5, 8-15, 19-23, 26-28, 30-31 and 51-52 are bound in fifteen volumes in modern maroon cloth, gilt, with the original printed paper covers bound in. Volumes 2, 6 (partial)24 and 53 are present in the original printed paper covers (Volume 53, Part 1 lacks the covers). Volumes 7-8 and 15-18 are bound in three volumes in worn contemporary half calf, with the boards detached from each volume (there are duplicate Volumes 8 and 15 in this set due to their present in different bound volumes). Volumes 48 and 49 are separately bound in later blue cloth. Volumes 25, 29 and 50 are all the Johnson Reprint Company editions, bound in later maroon cloth to match most of the rest of this set. Still an indispensable source of numismatic information and lore. Many of America's greatest contributions to numismatic scholarship first appeared in the pages of this most important publication. Crosby's classic works on large cents, parts of his Early Coins of America, Frey's Dictionary of Numismatic Names, Edgar Adams's extensive work on California pioneer gold coins and, later on, the essential works on state coppers are but a small sampling. For American researchers, the Journal is interesting for the reminiscences and other fascinating tidbits of information to be found in the earlier volumes, much of which is little known today except among the few fortunate to possess a set of this remarkable storehouse of knowledge. Ex M. Bourne Library.