Michael Hodder and Q. David Bowers
January 28, 1983
My Dear Eric:
It was a delightful look back in the past to read your letter.
How many days of pleasure I have had collecting coins, no one will ever know. It is true I started' in 1907 and have not stopped collecting even now. I just got a Tinea from Brazil which completes that set. Unfortunately, years creep on and don't give me much leeway.
I am glad you are doing a lot of writing because .that is certainly your chief forte. I hope that you are finding coins for your collection as I know how you love them. My only new accomplishment is the publishing of English 17th Century tokens. When I had made the arrangement with Spink to do so the British Academy asked if they could not be the ones to put it in their sylloge and so there will be three volumes and an index for the whole thing when done. The first volume is supposed to come out in April of this year. It will be pleasant to know that this is true. Christopher Blunt has said that the information on the tokens is accumulated and plentiful and that the whole volumes together will form a definitive collection.
My love to all of you.
Emery May.
Richard Picker
Richard Picker maintained a business in buying and selling colonial and other early American coins and 'was active from the 1950s through the early 1980s. He did business from Box 33, Oakland Gardens Station, Flushing, New' York, and by personal attendance at many coin conventions. He was considered to be an expert numismatist, and the contributions he made to the fund of technical knowledge were considerable, especially regarding American colonial and state coinage. Only a few of what must have been many letter and invoice copies remain in the Norweb files.
January 12, 1955
Dear Mr. Norweb:
I find that I must write this letter of explanation in regard to my business policies. There is no .doubt about the fact that you are one of my more valued clients, and we do quite a bit of business together. It is for this reason that I have made certain con-cessions to you that I would not make to other people. I feel that I have been pricing my coins fairly to the best of my ability. In some cases, the prices may be over catalogue, but that only occurs when I have been forced to pay a high price to get a choice coin.
Everything that I offer to you is, of course, on approval, and I would much rather prefer that, in the future, you return anything that you feel is overpriced, and keep anything you feel you would like, at the net price.
Although I hope to see you before you leave for Florida, in the event that I do not, I would like to wish you and Mrs. Norweb an enjoyable vacation.
Very sincerely yours,
Richard Picker
January 18, 1955
My Dear Mr. Picker:
Before receipt of your favorable response to my telegram I was again underway. Here is my check for $600. Many thanks for your cooperation. At the same time I am returning the three Pine Trees originally sent Mrs. Norweb, since her examples are equally good.
With reference to your letter of the IZth, we are in complete agreement as to values, as you know from Mrs. Norweb's earlier letters. Anything we consider overpriced will be promptly returned. We hope however you will continue to submit material to uson an approval basis.
Sincerely yours,
Hon. R. Henry Norweb
September 3, 1957
Dear Dick:
On looking through the coins that came in our absence I do not find the package from you containing the half cents bought at the Philadelphia sale.
Will you please look them up and send them on their way to the above address, together with an indication of what I owe you.
With regards,
Very sincerely yours,
Hon. R. Henry Norweb
September 25, 1957
Dear Dick:
The coins have been found and my wife is writing to you about their remarkable oddity.
Meanwhile here is a check for the two half cents purchased from us at the Philadelphia convention.
with regards,
Very sincerely,
Hon. R. Henry Norweb
October 21, 1957
Dear Mrs. Norweb:
Enclosed are the coins that I have had aside to send you, in addition to a few acquisitions from the Boston convention. The 1822 half dime and 1831 dime are genuine Proofs and are so guaranteed. The 1822 quarter, though having a beautiful surface, I don't know whether or not it should be called a Proof. I am more inclined to think that it is a very nice first strike.
The new variety of 1806 quarter dollar was discovered by a friend of mine and given to me to sell on consignment. To my knowledge, it is the second one known. It has the obverse of Browning-6 but a new reverse die that Browning didn't describe at all. Breen wrote about discovering one like this in an article in the Numismatic Scrapbook in February 1954, but unfortunately did not show a photograph. The Mark Newby pieces are a few that you have not as yet seen. The two Washington items may be of interest to you, and since I acquired them both on trade, have left them unpriced, and am offering them to you on the same basis. These could all be used against the coins you are sending to me.
To date, I have not as yet received your coins, but if you sent them by express, that may account for the delay, for they cannot deliver to a post office box. When they arrive at the express office they will send me a card, and I will have to pick them up at the express office.
I have just been going through the Stack catalogue and see quite a bit of interesting material in the United States silver, as well as the half cent and colonials. I expect to go to the city during the week of October 28th and inspect the material. It would be helpful if I could receive a list of the items in which you may be interested before then, so that I might inspect them at the same time, and give you a report on them.
Kindest regards to you and Mr. Norweb,
Sincerely,
Richard Picker