W&ET - Ask Mark Parker Vol. 34 December 2000

Ask Mark Parker

Vol. 34 - Dec. 2000

ON THE MAP
Q. Mark, can you help me determine the true value of this 30 x 50" "Map Showing the Overland and Overseas Flights of Charles A. Lindbergh"? I've shown it to curators at a number of museums, and their response is always the same: "We can't afford to purchase it, but why don't you give it to us and let us put your name on it as the donor?"
A. That would indeed be a generous gesture! Designed by Ernest Clegg and published by the John Day Co. of New York in 1928, this large, ornately illustrated color litho novelty map is highly prized by collectors of Lindbergh memorabilia, and you should have little difficulty finding a buyer for it. Price? Well, all I can tell you is that an identical example was recently tagged by a leading gallery specializing in antique globes and maps at $5,200.

ABSOLUTELY STUMPED
Q. This Washington Inaugural button was among the items found in a metal box buried under a stump in Fairfax, Virginia quite some time ago, and I am now attempting to determine its rarity and value. I have written to the Virginia Historical Society and the Smithsonian Institution about it, but would like your opinion as well.
A. Greetings from the other extreme of the expertise spectrum! It's doubtful that I can offer anything to rival what you're sure to receive from those authoritative sources, but I can tell you that your "Linked States" button- #WI 4 in Albert's Record of American Uniform and Historical Buttons- was assigned a rarity rating of R2 back in 1976, meaning that 51-75 were known to exist at that time. As you might expect, there have been additional discoveries since then, including a few documented here in W&ET. So, even though all Washington Inaugural buttons are quite scarce, this is among the more "common" ones. Assuming that it's genuine (there are 19th and 20th century replicas) and in Fine to Very Fine condition, it would probably retail for $1,250-1,500.

POPULAR "MECHANICS"
Q. This $5 bank note, or whatever it is, was lying beneath a handful of coins- 15 or so, all from the 1850s- that I located with my metal detector. It was issued by the Mechanics Bank of Augusta, Georgia and is dated 1854. Any value?
A. During much of the 19th century, and especially in the "wildcat" days from about 1836 through 1864, state and private banks freely cranked out their own currency- often in enormous quantities and with very little silver and gold reserved to redeem them. In fact, some banks were created expressly for the purpose of producing such "shinplasters." Today, the age, great variety, elaborate graphics, and affordablity of those once-worthless notes make them especially popular with currency collectors. The Mechanics Bank of Augusta, Georgia issued dozens of different notes from the 1830s to 1860s, in denominations ranging from $1 up to $1,000, as well as fractional notes of 5¢ to 50¢ during the Civil War. An 1854 note like yours brought just $12.50 at an internet auction site a while back; however, a Georgia relics & antiques dealer reports that they sell for $20-30 in local shops.

HE NAILED IT!
Q. While playing in our shed, our son hammered a nail into the ground, and when he dug up the nail he also uncovered this silver coin dated 1780. As you can see, there was once a pin attached to the side that has a man's head on it. Please identify it for us, if possible.
A. "If I had a hammer, I'd..." Oh, all right- down to business. Your lucky lad now owns a thaler of Regensburg (also called Ratisbon), a Bavarian port city situated at the confluence of the Danube and Regen Rivers in southeastern Germany. At the time the coin was struck, Regensburg was a city-state of the Holy Roman Empire (Austria). The portrait, as its surrounding Latin legend pompously proclaims, is that of "Joseph II, by the grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, ever august," who ruled jointly with his mother, Maria Theresa, from 1765 to 1780, and alone from the year of the coin's issue to 1790. The inscription above the scene of the city on the reverse identifies the thaler as "Money of the Republic of Regensburg." As is, the coin might bring $100; without the pin-attachment damage, it would have been closer to $225.

DOWN AT THE HEELS
Q. This spur is bent, broken, and probably not worth too much; but I'd still like to know when it was made, used, etc. It's stamped "US" and "A"(smaller) inside.
A. It appears to be a Model 1911 U.S. cavalry spur. The "A" may be an incomplete "AB" mark, indicating the August Buermann Mfg. Co. of Newark, New Jersey. What could you get for a pair in nice shape? The average seems to be about $100, but within the past year I've seen them listed for as little as $47, and as much as $150. Unfortunately, as you noted, rough condition relegates yours to the "conversation piece" category.

TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT
Q. What can you tell me about this silver medal that I dug earlier this year?
A. It's a marksmanship badge (now obsolete) awarded to a U.S. Marine who qualified as a sharpshooter with a service rifle. A gold-colored badge of the same design was awarded to Army and Army Reserve sharpshooters. If it dated a few years later, say, from the early 1900s, your find would likely fetch no more than $50. However, there is increased interest in Spanish-American War era militaria, and its "1897" bar boosts this badge to $100+.

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