Michael Hodder and Q. David Bowers
The correspondence between Hon. R. Henry Norweb and coin dealers of the 1950s provides an interesting insight into numismatics of the era. Although nearly all of the surviving correspondence was generated by R. Henry Norweb, the transactions often involved coins selected or desired by Emery May Holden Norweb and other members of the Norweb family. In some letters, R. Henry Norweb is addressed as Harry, his nickname.
The correspondence files are incomplete and are for just a few years. It is often the case that a file copy exists of an inquiry, but the reply has not been preserved. In other instances the reply exists but the inquiry does not.
The correspondence has been lightly edited to reflect modern usage (such as the capitalization of coin grades) and grammar. An effort has been made to select interesting items from a large body of correspondence consisting primarily of invoices and receipts.
Unfortunately, the surviving correspondence files represent only a tiny fraction of the letters, invoices, and other documents which members of the Holden and Norweb families sent or received over a long period of years, beginning in the late 19th century and continuing to relatively modern times.
American Numismatic Association
In the 1950s, Lewis M. Reagan was general secretary of the American Numismatic Association. In the years before the head-quarters building was erected in Colorado Springs, the center of the ANA's activities was literally Reagan himself, who carried data with him in a briefcase when he visited conventions.
The correspondence reproduced here has to do with one of the releases of the Treasury Department of earlier-dated Morgan silver dollars, a situation which occurred regularly around the Christmas season, as banks requested dollars from the Federal Reserve in response to demand for them as Christmas gifts. Occasionally, date and mintmark varieties previously considered rare would be released.
December 27, 1954 Dear Mr. Reagan:
With reference to the recent publicity of the so-called "inadvertent" release of the 1880-1890 series of silver dollars, I am going to add my voice to the many inquiries you are undoubtedly receiving as to whether there are any regularly published figures showing, of the coins minted, how many are being held in reserve. To my knowledge this is not the first time coin collectors have had this sort of unsettling experience. In any event it would appear to be a situation in which the American Numismatic Association might be of some help in digging up the facts. Yours sincerely,
Hon. R. Henry Norweb
January 3, 1955
Dear Mr. Norweb:
I am obliged to you for the comments on the recent release of silver dollars and the newspaper clippings pertaining to this matter. This has, of course, been a concern to the numismatists and will result in substantial financial loss to those who have had previous stocks of those date, purchased at prevailing prices at the time.
Mint officials and bank officials state that there are no records of the number-of coins of any particular date that are being held or which have been released. Bags are not marked as to date, and those released were not examined or tabulated as to date.
There is some evidence that those recently released included coins from several mints, and were not all of Philadelphia issue. There have been previous releases of a similar nature, not attracting as much publicity, but with a consequent drop in catalogue value of the coins involved.
This recent release has caused so much comment that it is possible that those still in storage will be examined and the number of each date reported. It would appear, however, that the Mint officials do not feel any special responsibility for the welfare of collectors and are not restrained, because of numismatic considerations, from releasing coins in storage when needed for commercial purposes. I don't know that we have a legitimate complaint, for the coins were not produced primarily for our benefit. With kind regards,
Lewis M. Reagan
January 5, 1955
Dear Mr. Reagan:
I am indebted to you for your informative letter of the third, even though it confirms my doubts that there is very little particular information to be had on this matter.
It would seem however that in view of the recent inventory of the nation's metal reserve ordered by Secretary Humphrey it might be possible to glean from those figures an indication of how much coined United States gold and silver is held in reserve to back up our paper currency, etc. My understanding is that the inventory was broken down into categories showing denominations (values). We can pretty safely assume that the coined silver reserve is mostly in dollars, whereas the coined gold is listed by denominations, that is, quarter eagles through double eagles.
Under the circumstances might not an inquiry at the Treasury be in order? Certainly the Association representing collectors and dealers together would appear to have the best chance of getting this information. Personally, I think there is a good likelihood that we can get this generalized information, which though. not as detailed as we would like, would nevertheless help throw some much needed light on the true state of affairs.
Please be assured that the original inquiry was not in the nature of a protest, for there are no grounds for such an approach, but I do feel that it would be in order for us to ask to be given a break-down of the inventory as ordered by the secretary of the Treasury when the new administration took over.
With every good wish for the new year, Very sincerely yours,
Hon. R. Henry Norweb
The following letter pertains to the unusual case of Robert H.
Burnie, a Pascagoula, Mississippi coin dealer who prepared a listing of coins for sale, solicited orders and deposits, and then disappeared with the money:
March 27, 1957
Dear Mr. Reagan:
Just in case it has not come to your attention, I hear that Mr. Robert H. Burnie, who fled to Mexico last year after defrauding many collectors, has "pleaded guilty at Tyler, Texas on February 26, 1957 to five counts of an indictment in the Eastern District of Texas, charging mail fraud in this case, and on March 15, 1957 to an indictment in the Western District of Arkansas, charging another offense of mail fraud in this case. He stated that restitution could not be made. He was sentenced on March 15, 1957 to imprisonment for a term of three years.
Very sincerely,
Hon. R. Henry Norweb