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by Wayne Homren, 1 Nov 1994
I thought I'd post a mini-diary of my experience this past weekend at the 1994 Coinage of the Americas Conference (COAC) at the American Numismatic Society (ANS).
This was the 10th annual COAC, and the first I've attended. They are held at the ANS headquarters in New York (155th and Broadway). They had the largest turnout ever; I'd guess about 60 people were there.
I won't rehash the agenda since that will be printed in the coin papers. It was a pleasure to hear presentations from such top-notch researchers as Dan Friedus, Dave Bowers, Bob Leonard, John Kleeberg, George Fuld, and Jules Reiver.
I arrived Friday afternoon to set up the slides for my talk. John Kleeberg gave me a whirlwind tour of the vault, throwing open cabinets and pulling out drawers full of gorgeous coins, U.S, foreign, and ancient. Next I stormed into the library, where librarian Frank Campbell pulled out some rare Pittsburgh numismatic ephemera at my request.
After checking into my hotel and taking a short walk in Central Park I met John Kleeberg and Bob and Janet Leonard for dinner at an Indian Restaurant on 72nd St. ANA Curator Bob Hoge and David Vagi walked in as we were finishing dinner. I stayed with Bob and David til we finally got our check at 11pm. I walked back to the hotel (The Excelsior on 81st St. Nice Place, and cheap for New York).
Saturday morning I put on my suit and hopped on the uptown subway. At the 157th Street station I ran into George Cuhaj, who recently relocated to Iola, WI to work for Krause Publications. Hadn't seen George in years. At ANS they had coffee and pastries waiting. Dave Bowers arrived. I gave him a book I'd been holding for him (Linderman's Money and Legal Tender) and sold him a very odd counterstamped Large Cent owned by a local dealer.
Many other old friends arrived: Barry Tayman, Smithsonian Curator Dick Doty, Jules Reiver, Paul Bosco, and others. I met James Lamb for the first time. Lately of Christie's, James and David Vagi had just last week announced they were going into business together as "Spink America", operating out of offices at Christie's in New York.
We all hustled into the auditorium for opening remarks and the first five presentations. From 12:30 to 2 we broke for lunch, which many folks enjoyed on the terrace in front of the building. It was a cool, but sunny fall day.
When the afternoon presentations were done I hopped back on the subway with Bob Hoge, James Lamb, and David Vagi. We rode to Penn Station then walked to Keen's Chop House for the evening banquet. About 48 people attended. The meals were marvelous and the drinks were paid for, so lots of wine and conversation flowed. At my table were Henry Norweb, ANS Director Leslie Elam and his wife, Mr and Mrs. Donald Partrick, and Dan Freidus and his wife.
It was such a wonderful day I hated to see it end. The Leonards and I caught a cab back to the hotel around 11pm.
I had such a throughouly enjoyable time that I'm already planning to attend next year's COAC.
Since someone asked, the title of my ANS presentation was "John Gault and J.C. Ayer: Encased Postage Maker and His Largest Client". I've been interested in Civil War emergency monies for many years, and encased postage stamps are my specialty. In 1982 I teamed up with Bob Kincaid of Nebraska to research EPS issuers. I did a lot of digging in the New-York Historical Society and New York Public Library. We quickly joined forces with Fred Reed, who had been working on some of the same areas. Fred has compiled a manuscript for an extensive book on EPS, which hopefully will be published in 1995.
My talk focused on John Gault, the inventor and marketer of EPS, and James Cook Ayer, who advertised his products extensively on EPS: "Ayer's Sarsaparilla", "Ayer's Cathartic Pills", and "Take Ayer's Pills". The information was stuff Bob and I dug up over ten years ago. Fred's book will be much more comprehensive.
Although I'd worked with Fred off and on since 1982, I'd never actually met him. Our paths must have crossed a dozen times at the Memphis Paper Money show earlier this year, but we never ran into each other. Finally on Saturday we were introduced by George Cuhaj. Fred showed me a copy of the manuscript, and it looks wonderful--it will be worth the 12-year wait. But in the meantime, be sure to buy a copy of the COAC Proceedings to read not just my paper, but all of the presenters. The book will be available sometime in 1995 as well.
Wayne Homren
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