New York Coin & Stamp Company. Catalogue of the Finest Existing Collection of American Coins, the Property of Mr. Lorin G. Parmelee of Boston, Mass. June 25-27, 1890. By Bangs & Co. New York. Very Fine.Octavo. Hardbound in black half calf with gilt borders, binder’s ticket inside back cover. Gilt titles on the cover and spine, with the auctioneer, Bangs & Co., identified on the lower cover rather than the catalog preparers, New York Stamp and Coin. Hand priced in ink throughout and with all original tinted photographic plates. Faint staining or light foxing on some plates, though the catalog pages are quite clean overall. Original paper covers bound in, with plain end papers at front and back. This sale of the major portion of the Parmelee Collection was another landmark event of immense importance. He seems to have begun collecting in the 1850s and was known to have bought major collections in their entirety, then selling off portions he did not need. He is known to have purchased the collections of George Seavey (sold under the combined Seavey and Parmelee names in 1873 by William Strobridge), and Charles Bushnell (sold by the Chapman brothers in 1882 under the Bushnell name), among others. At the time of the sale, his collection generated considerable attention and was considered the finest and most complete collection of the American series. Indeed, many famous coins may be found on the plates including the finest known Strawberry Leaf cent of 1793 (offered once again in the present sale), a silver Continental dollar, a Brasher doubloon and many other notable properties. It was the fourth sale of New York Coin & Stamp, a follow-up to their R. Coulton Davis sale the same year. Together, these sales represent the apex of the firm’s two decades of numismatic auctions. Though less than half as many lots as the “magnificent” Davis sale, this one was referred to by John Adams as “Absolutely definitive for patterns, colonials (several unique), and regular issue gold, silver and copper.”From the D. Brent Pogue Library.
