Book Review - Truthseeker: the Life of Eric P. Newman researched and written by Leonard Augsburger, Roger W. Burdette, and Joel Orosz, edited by James L. Halperin, Ivy Press, 2015. Eric P. Newman came to numismatics as a youngster, not so unusual. Born in 1911, he saved his nickel-a-week allowances, counting the bus fare to and from, and every so often buying a coin from Burdette Johnson. After graduating from MIT with a degree in engineering economics, Newman graduated from the law school at Washington University in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. On his own initiative, he pursued the liquidation of the Edward Howland Robinson Green estate. "Colonel" Green was the son of Hetty Green, "the witch of Wall Street." (She did not have magical powers, but "witch" was the limit of propriety in the late 19th century.) She set her son up as president of the Texas Midland Railroad. When she died, he inherited. "Colonel" Green was an accumulator, not a numismatist. He had tons of stuff, all rare, and little of it properly attributed. The liquidators of his estate were at once cautious and demanding. The preferred to sell in whole lots, only. Eric P. Newman bought all of the banknotes from Missouri, but only after over six months of wrangling, from 1939 to 1940. Based on his success, he struck up a relationship with Burdette Johnson. From there, Newman entered the highest strata of U.S. numismatics. He and Johnson acquired, and then resold, the most amazing examples of rare U.S. coins. They kept the very best for themselves. They sold the rest to Max Mehl, Wayte Raymond, and other dealers of the era before the explosion in numismatics after the close of World War II. Newman's early family life, his education as an engineer, and his training as a lawyer combined to shape him - and ultimately his personal collection. He owned all five 1913 Liberty Nickels, but wanted nothing to with them when he determined that they lacked authenticity. His interest turned to the 1804 Dollar. He worked with Walter Breen, Lynn Glaser, and Ken Bressett. Breen and Glaser dropped out of the project. Eventually, Newman and Bressett published The Fantastic 1804 Dollar to condemn them all as novodels: new-made fakes from the Mint for special friends. Over the years, Newman had an on-again-0ff-again relationship with John J. Ford. Ford was a consummate researcher, but Ford was like Darth Vader: using his power for evil. John J. Ford worked with one Paul G. Franklin to create fake Western Assay Bars and similar numismatic items. Eventually, the showdown was inconclusive. Ford died. Newman lived on. The facts have to fall where they do. The recent finds of the lost ships Central America and Brother Jonathan condemn Ford's forgeries. They also condemn Stack's and Bowers who sold John J. Ford's forgeries. Bowers admitted to being duped. The Stack family never did. The merger of the Bowers and Stack firms makes the matter moot.
Great write up. I have Newman/Bressett's 1804 $ book-- both versions. I even as was able to get Eric to sign both copies.
Proud owner of some the said banknotes that Newman bought in 1940 from the Green estate. For me the one pioneering endeavour that Newman undertook was the book on colonial paper money that I bought as a youngster that got me started collecting American colonial notes and having the knowledge to find some great rarities along the way.
Newman is one of the giants whose shoulders we stand upon, in order to be able to see as far as we do. The Pearly Gates will be wide open for him when his time comes.
The Fantastic 1804 Dollar is probably his most popular book. Early Paper Money of America is clearly second, but still widely known. I have the latter. I never read the former. I came to numismatics per se only in 1991. By then, the truth about the 1804 dollar was common knowledge. In the back of the book is a complete bibliography of Newman's published works: over 90 articles and books under his own name; another 17 collaborations. He worked with George Mallis, Russell Rulau, Don Taxay, and, of course, Kenneth Bressett. His research on "Bungtown coppers" and the origin of the US Dollar Sign stand out for me. I just sent a review to the MSNS MichMatist. That is a new piece. The introduction above also appeared on the ANA website, though, apparently, some watchful person edited my comment about "the witch of Wall Street."
Odd, that. It was the actual appellation her contemporaries applied to her, in a far more conservative society than today's. Sounds like the Editor is unaware of the difference between introduction and content, and wishes their social mores to be ours. You were repeating fact, not offering opinion.
I have copies of his Fugio works, both his Wayte Raymond published early work, and the Fugio coppers book. Great pieces, both of them.
