I just received a lot of 8 antoniniani that I won in the last CNG auction. Three of the coins came with paper envelopes. The envelopes seem pretty old, maybe 1950s? I know it's a long shot, but does anyone recognize them? Does the style seem familiar to anyone? It would be really neat if I could figure out who made them.
I'd say they could have been done by anyone with a typewriter in the '40's, 50's or possibly even in the 30's or before. It would be cool if they were recognized and traceable to a more specific time and collector/dealer. I have flips that are similarly detailed but are handwritten and have dates written on them from circa 1960 myself.
I received a coin in a similarly typewritten envelope a few weeks ago.. probably not from the same source - but this shows that this was done as late as 1979 and I would guess into the early '90s by some holdouts..perhaps beyond if they had a nice system going...
This reminded me of a coin I bought on Ebay a while back that came in a similar envelope. There are several differences so I doubt it's what you're looking for, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case. The coin flip that came in it has an insert from Alex G. Malloy Ancient and Medieval Coins, although of course that doesn't mean the envelope came from there. Good luck with your search!
In 2000, I went to a cemetery in Chicago to see the graves of some ancestors. The employees in the office were still using typewriters. Pretty cool, I'd say. Using old but perfectly good technology exemplifies quite well the mantra of "If it's not broke, don't fix it."
I've gotten coins in envelopes before, but these seemed older than any I'd gotten. I'm judging that by the feel of the paper, not just by the fact that they are typewritten. They all have writing on the back in pencil that is so light, much of it is illegible. One of them also has some writing in pen. I will try to take a photograph of the writing and share it.
Gsimonel's three envelopes were typed by my old friend Phil Peck of NYC, who began collecting in the 1950s and whose collection Heritage has recently been selling off under the pseudonym Morris Collection. I'm not sure when Phil began typing envelopes for his coins; I would guess in the 1960s.
I got this one the other day. 8 danish kroner for a Vespasian denarius. That's about a dollar. I think the envelope is a collectible in itself.
I apologize to long term members here but when it comes to envelopes my favorites are those from the Bavarian collection as sold by NFA about 27 years ago. I did a page: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/feac16.html I got mine from Victor Failmezger about the time I was doing the photos for his book on late Roman bronzes from a lot he bought at the sale. The collection was largely ordinary coins that would interest guys like me but not most NFA customers. Each coin was housed in a home made envelope recycling paper available to a German collector a hundred years ago. Victor wrote an article for the Celator magazine explaining the matter. I prefer the idea that the collector was a disabled WW1 veteran who was on a budget and had plenty of time to kill. The one here retains a part of a German postage stamp from the envelope that was used to make the envelope. The tag is dated June 17, 1920. I only got one with a partial stamp. A few others had traces of other identifiable paper. I consider those do fit in the category mentioned by svessien as collectible in itself. I value this envelope above the coin it contains.
Thank you, Curtis. Just being able to connect a name with them makes them seem more special to me. The fact that you knew Phil Peck and considered him a friend makes them even more so.
