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Scarce First Edition Evans

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:65.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 USD
Scarce First Edition Evans
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Evans, George G. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES MINT AT PHILDELPHIA, ILLUSTRATING THE PROCES OF MELTING, ASSAYING, REFINING AND COINING GOLD AND SILVER, WITH SHORT BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE PAST AND PRESENT OFFICERS, TO WHICH IS ADDED THE LATEST OFFICIAL TABLES, SHOWING THE PRODUCTS OF GOLD AND SILVER IN THE DIFFERENT STATES, WITH MONETARY STATISTICS OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD. ILUSTRATED WITH PHOTOTYPES AND ENGRAVINGS. Philadelphia: Evans, 1885. First edition. 8vo, original brown cloth decorated in blind and black and with very attractive image of the Mint building impressed on the front cover in gilt and the back cover in blind; decorative endpapers. Frontispiece engraving of Washington medal with tissue guard; vii, (1), 153, (1), 9, (3) pages; 12 plates. Binding extremities rubbed; later illustration affixed to blank margin of Plate XII; previous owner’s signature and a later rubber stamp impression. Very good. A decent copy of the scarce first edition of this venerable guide book. By the turn of the century, over 100,000 copies of this famous work had been issued in at least a dozen different editions and upwards of two hundred different varieties. Although of considerable interest to American numismatists, this work was not written from that perspective. Like his predecessor A.M. Smith, Evans mainly sold copies to persons visiting Philadelphia, more specifically, the Mint. Evans also published a hardbound general tourist guide to Washington, D.C., among his many other publications. Although the technical numismatic information is not always entirely accurate, reading Evans is enjoyable and instructive. Particularly entertaining is his kow-towing to Mint officials in office at the time the various editions were published. Lavish biographies, usually enhanced by a portrait plate, apparently were an essential component in enabling him to retain his position as the primary supplier of Mint histories for two decades. The original binding present here is rather striking, especially the gilt impression of the Mint building.