SCOTT STAMP & COIN COMPANY, LTD.
Copyright 2011-2023 John N. Lupia, III
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Stamps, seals, tickets, receipts, checks, scrip, paper money, badges, tokens, medals, and coins are the principle numismatic items that have very strong markets today. For those confused about the definition of numismatics see the link NUMISMATICS DEFINED at the bottom on the left menu. Today, most stamp and coin auction sales realize multimillion dollar closed prices. Both stamps and coins have large markets with tens of millions of collectors, and dozens of organizations, societies, journals, and their respective literature, and hundreds of dealers with tens of billions of dollars spent annually combined. There was a time in numismatic history that enjoyed close intimacy of both numismatic fields of stamps and coins. The markets became more disparate since the end of the 1940's and many collectors became entrenched in one field or the other to the exclusion of the one over the other. To illustrate this point at the 2017 NYINC, the 45th Annual Convention, I was walking about with a copy of The American Philatelist. Several prominent numismatists looked at it and remarked "I thought stamps died and went out years ago." I was amazed since the stamp market today is bigger than coins. In 2004, the global number of philatelic collectors was estimated at 30 million. In 2007, Linn’s Stamp News, conducted a philatelic market survey measuring the size of the American collectible stamp industry finding it at $1.18 billion. Also, in a 2007, Mike Hall of Stanley Gibbons estimated that "About $1 billion of rare stamps trade annually in the $10 billion-a-year stamp market." In 2009, Adrian Roose of Stanley Gibbons estimated the philatelic collectors population at 48 million. In 2014, the U. S. numismatic market was estimated at $5 billion per year, half the philatelic global market estimated ten years previous in 2007. Yet, Coin World reported in 2016 the U. S. numismatic market just topped $4 billion, over $900 million less. So, is the stamp market dead? It certainly is larger and stronger than coins. The size and strength of each respective market is not necessarily detectable by the highest price ever paid for a rare stamp or rare coin, since the 1856 1c British Guiana magenta sold in June 2014 by Sotheby for a mere $9.5 million while the Neil/Carter/Contursi 1794 U. S. Flowing Hair Silver Dollar [PCGS SP66] realized $10 million at Stack's Bowers in January 2013, and the stamp market is larger and stronger than coins.
Myopia can be seen (pun intended) in the numismatic market from its leading analysts who define tangible assets exclusive as precious metals and their products, i.e., predominantly coins and bullion object d'art including ingots, medals, and proof strike specimens to the exclusion of other rarities in the tangible asset collectibles market, especially rare postage stamps. In 2013, hedge fund manager Kyle Bass reported, “at some point in time I’d much rather own gold than paper, I just don’t know when that time is.” Besides paper exclusively signifying commercial paper or paper money the rarities market of postage stamps seems never to even be considered.
Another myopic point is that numismatists have as yet to coin a word for numismatic literature, whereas, the philatelists wasted no time with the neologism bibliophilately. Why not biblionumismatic?
The root of this myopia between both fields of coins and stamps harks back to that period when Lyman Haynes Low resigned as manager of the coin and medal department of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd in mid to late May 1896, when he completed the sales of the last coin auction for that corporation. In the ensuing fifty years or so the two fields slowly grew apart and remote to the alienation and estrangement of one from the other. A record of this evolving myopia was published in both Scott's Monthly Journal and The Numismatist in the first quarter of 1930. Below is a quote from the April 1930 issue of The Numismatist page 224.
"In the February issue of the firm's house organ, Scott's Monthly Journal, it makes an announcement, "What About Coins," from which we take the following: "Our publishers have long been of the belief that there is a strong interest in coin collecting. Some twenty-five years ago we discontinued this line of activity because of reasons which at that time seemed to prove the impossibility of the hobby ever becoming popular."
" . . . it is gratifying to note that this old firm acknowledges that there is now a great interest in coin collecting. Coin collectors discovered ten years ago that there was an awakened interest in coin collecting. This interest has increased as the years have passed, but it is not as great now as it will be ten years hence.
As evidence of the increased interest during the last ten years we have only to point to the great increase in the number of collectors and in the membership of the A. N. A. , as well as in the amount of advertising carried by The Numismatist in 1919 this magazine carried 98 pages of dealers' announcements, an average of a little more than eight pages a month. In 1929 it carried 297 pages of advertising, or an average of a little more than 24 pages a month.
From our vantage point today this assessment by the stamp market of the vitality of the coin market is risible. It seems that the philatelists were the first to think and say, "I thought coins died and went out years ago," which I heard echoed by numismatists in January 2017 regarding stamps. However, the coin industry back in 1930 acknowledged that the market wained at one point in the past but recovered and continued to grow steadily strong, healthy and robust. Both stamp and coin markets have experienced continued steady growth since Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929.
One of the goals of NumismaticMall.com is to reintroduce the two mighty arms of the numismatic market to one another, namely stamps and coins. They really are not two unrelated fields at all, but two sectors of one very large market of numismatic collectibles. In order to properly appreciate and comprehend numismatic history it is essential to integrate both in our historical and biographical studies. Many of the great collectors and dealers of the past were deeply involved in both stamps and coins. One of the first popular numismatic magazines of the past makes this crystal clear even in its title : Mason's Coin and Stamp Collectors Magazine. It is an anachronistic perspective that expresses the notion that preeminent dealers like S. H. & H. Chapman only sold stamps when the coin industry was slow. The Chapman Brothers were both stamp and coin dealers who enjoyed both fields as did others besides W. E. Woodward, Ebenezer Locke Mason, Jr., John Walter Scott, John W. Haseltine, David Proskey, Ed Frossard, William P. Brown, Harlan Page Smith, Robert W. Mercer, Henry Ahlborn, John Hubbard, W. E. Skinner, J. G. Bingham, Lewis T. Brodstone, Hiram E. Deats, D. T. Eaton, Frank E. Ellis, Burdette G. Johnson, John W. Kline, A. C. Roessler, to mention only just a few of the better known dealers, not including dozens of those lesser known. Many of the great collectors of the past also amassed famous collections of both stamps and coins. Perhaps, the most famous is reported by H. L. Lindquist, "Green's Coin Collection," Avocations, February (1938) : 479, "Colonel Edward H. R. Green, son of Hetty Green, is reported to have had a gross estate of over $40,000,000 when he passed away at Lake Placid in June 1936. For taxation purposes his coin collection was assessed at $1,240,299, his stamp collection at $1,298,448 and his gem collection at $1,346,664."
SCOTT STAMP & COIN COMPANY, LIMITED
The biographical sketch below is of a corporate entity known to both fields of stamps and coins, i.e., Scott Stamp & Coins Company, Ltd. which in the heyday of numismatic growth and development was the hub of unity among collectors and dealers in both sectors of the numismatic market. These two fields have become estranged since the late 1940's and leading exponents today have a muddled vision of this now defunct corporation. Surprisingly, most people, including well informed numismatists, excepting Lorraine S. Durst, have a blurred vision of just what exactly Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Ltd. was. Typically most numismatic and philatelic researchers conflate the Scott companies by mixing them up and lumping them all together as one continuous blob of corporate catalogues and auctions. In numismatic literature Lorraine S. Durst got it right keeping them separate. In philatelic literature the editors of the Crawford Catalogue, Edward D. Bacon and D. R. Beech, got it right also by keeping them separate. It is understandable how even the best researcher can get mixed up and confused. Below is a chart to help the reader understand the problem in its simplest and clearest manner.
A. - John W. Scott
Period I - 1860-1885
John W. Scott & Company, 1870-1873
Sales Nos. 1-9
Scott & Company, 1876-1885
Sales Nos. 10-69
Period II - 1889-1919
John W. Scott & Company, Limited, 1889-1919
Series B., Sales Nos. 1-19, 1889-1894
Series C., Sales Nos. 1-12, 1895-1897
Sales Nos. 41-103, 1897-1919
*Edouard Frossard and David Proskey worked for John Walter Scott.
B. - NOT John W. Scott
Scott Stamp & Coin Company Limited, 1885-1938
Sales Nos. 70-195, 1886-1918
* David Proskey worked for Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Limited for 20 months (January 1896 through August 1887). Lyman Haynes Low and Wayte Raymond worked for the corporation Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Limited.
C. NOT John W. Scott
Scott Publishing Company, 1938-Present as a Division of Amos Press, Inc.
Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Ltd., was the second of three separate companies of the Scott name though not affiliated with two others formed by John W. Scott. The original company was formed in 1867 as John W. Scott & Co., and also in 1875 as Scott & Co. For a good look at that company see the biographical sketch of John W. Scott on this website. Look for it on the left menu panel. Below is the story of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd. which resulted from John W. Scott selling all of his company stock and the syndicate that bought it wasted no time renaming it Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Ltd. The first auction catalogue bearing the new name was sale No. 70 issued February 15, 1886. The third Scott company was formed after John W. Scott left his company (now renamed Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Ltd.), in which he returned to his original name John W. Scott & Co., Ltd., and for which he was sued by Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Ltd., claiming it to be an infringement. John W. Scott won the lawsuit and was allowed to continue in business using his own personal name.
Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Limited. On December 10, 1885, in order to pursue other investments, John Walter Scott (1845-1919), sold his business to a syndicate stock company owned by Henry Lincoln Calman (1863-1935) and his older brother Gustav "Gus" Bernhard Calman (1860-1898), and their business partner Henry Collin. They renamed the firm Scott Stamp & Coin Company, Ltd. The Calman brothers were stamp dealers and hired Lyman Haynes Low as the manager of the Numismatic Department, also called the Coin and Medal Department.
[ 1. ] On June 1, 1882 J. W. Scott & Co., moved to 721 Broadway, New York. This became his 9th “Form” of his business collateral designs and addresses. In the upper right hand corner of his business envelopes, for example, it reads “Form 9, 1-6-82-5000” which means his ninth form printed on June 1, 1882, 5,000 envelopes printed. These ran out and a new batch was printed on December 1, 1882, with 25,000 printed. On November 15, 1885 he changed the form and design to “Form 8” with 20,000 printed because of the change in corporate structure as we shall see below. These envelopes were printed on brown and blue paper stock. When he sold his company to the Calman Brothers the name at this address became, Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd, the main store remaining there until February or March 1889. The first auction catalogue bearing the new name was sale No. 70 issued February 15, 1886. Over the next ten years and three months there are 71 auction sales catalogues for both stamps and coins issued from sale No. 70 through sale No. 141 issued May 15, 1896.
David Proskey left Scott Stamp & Coin at the end of August 1887 after completing the final volume of The Coin Collectors’ Journal. From August 25, 1887 until late May 1896 Lyman Haynes Low (1844-1924) was head of the Numismatic Department, as the result of a merger with the company. Low compiled all the numismatic literature, fixed prices lists and nineteen coin auction catalogues during his tenure. Low held the auctions at Bangs & Company until June 26-7, 1893, the 122nd sale. Afterwards for sale auction Nos. 101, and 117-158, Henry C. Merry served as the auctioneer at the Assembly Hall of the United Charities Building, New York City. For sale auction Nos. 159 and 160, Daniel R. Kennedy, auctioneer. For sale auction Nos. 161-163, Walter S. Scott (1869-1948), auctioneer.
In 1887 Scott Stamp and Coin Company, Limited, published Scott’s Standard Catalogues, No. 1, Part 1, 49th Edition Postage & Revenue. 128 pages, and Part 2 containing 100 pages of illustrations.
Fig. 1. Scott Stamp and Coin Company, Limited, correspondence with stamp and coin dealer Henry Chapman, Jr., postmarked March 5, 1887, New York, Station A. This was at the end of David Proskey's tenure as manager of the Coin and Medal Department. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library, Special Collection, The Chapman Family Correspondence Archive. Excessively Rare. Estimate $300-$400
[ 1a. ] In March 1888, after publishing The International Postage Stamp Album, Ninth edition, the company is listed as having a Branch Office at 155 Broadway.
In 1888, Scott Stamp and Coin Company, Limited, restablished The American Journal of Philately, and published it as the Second Series, with John W. Scott as editor until July 1889.
Fig. 2. The American Journal of Philately, Second Series. Complete Volume 1, gilt stamped leather bound. Several issues contain lavishly illustrated articles by John W. Scott, which were papers he read at the ANS in 1888 on "The Paper Money of the Revolution". Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $100-$150
Fig. 3. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., memorandum postal card postmarked March 5, 1888, near the end of that address just prior to the move to 12 East 23rd Street. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $100-$150
Fig. 4. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., March 1888 Catalogue of Postage Stamps, Albums, Coin Cabinets, Coins, Coin Collectors' Journal, Mineral Cabinets, and Minerals. Note the citation of the Branch Office at 155 Broadway. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $200-$300
Fig. 5. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., 89th Stamp Auction Catalogue, January 15-16, 1889, Collections of E. L. Nagel, E. Shorthouse and a N. Y. Collector . This catalogue was issued for a sale a few months prior to their move to 12 East 23rd Street, New York. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $100-$200
[ 2. ] In April 1889 Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., moved to 12 East 23rd Street, New York, with a Branch Office at 155 Broadway.
Fig. 6. The 1889 Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., postal card at the new address 12 East 23rd Street, New York. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $100-$150
Fig. 7. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., October 1889 Catalogue of Postage Stamps, Albums, Coin Cabinets, Coins, Coin Collectors' Journal, Mineral Cabinets, and Minerals. New address at 12 East 23rd Street. Note the citation of the Branch Office at 155 Broadway. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $100-$200
In 1890 Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., sued John W. Scott in New York Superior Court Case 379,15 N.Y. Supp. 325.
Fig. 8. The 1889-1890 Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., Fixed Price List, opened to show pages 1 and 4. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $100-$200
In 1889, Catalogue No. 3, War Medals, Decorations, and Washington Centennial Inauguration Medals, (Boston : T. R. Marvin & Son, 1889), 23 pages.
Fig. 9. Lyman H. Low writing the stamp and coin dealers Chapman Brothers as manager of the Numismatic Department of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., postmarked March 19, 1890, New York Station F. Lyman Low's personal logo is used for the Numismatic Department of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., which signaled to all of Low's old clientele that he was the manager. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library, Special Collection, The Chapman Family Correspondence Archive. Excessively Rare. Estimate $300-$400
Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd. Catalogue of rare. . . Canadian coins, medals, & tokens, also many valuable books relating to coins... New York, 1890. 16 p.
Fig. 10. A sample page from the 10th Edition of the International Postage Stamp Album of 1891. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
Fig. 11. The November 1891 Bargain List Circular. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
[ 3. ] In May 1892 the main office of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., moved to 12 East 23rd Street, New York, with a Branch Office at 183 Broadway, mailing post cards with the change of address to their customers. The address changed to 18 East 23rd Street, after the 1892/1893 street renumbering ordinance. The firm was still located here in 1903. An April 6,1904 postmarked Lyman Haynes Low printed postcards bears an addition stamp notice that “The Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., no longer deals in coins.” Scott Stamp & Coin Co. seems to have closed the coin department upon Lyman H. Low leaving the firm and striking it out on his own by mid May 1896. All numismatic inquiries after his departure were forwarded to Lyman H. Low at his addresses.
Fig. 12. The 1892-1893 Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., Fixed Price List, opened to show front and back covers. The is an illustration of the Scott store, see below the photograph from the street. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $60-$120
Fig. 13. The 1892-1903 Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd. with its bright white storefront seen in this street view on East 23rd Street. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $100
The 1893 12th edition of Scott’s Standard Catalogue of Gold and Silver Coins; and Scott’s Standard Catalogue of Copper Coins, which originally sold at 50 cents were considered rare in 1902 and fetched prices in $4.50 to $5.00
Figs. 14 & 15. Scott Letter to collector and dealer James S. Hardy, franked with scarce Scott #237 Black/Brown Columbian 10 Cents, hand canceled double oval New York, Station F; Registered Mail service markings; backstamped, August 15, 1893, New York Registry Division. Note on back by Hardy dated January 1, 1949. "I began to collect stamps in 1887 - and in this envelope bought U.S.A. 10c 1847 for $2.00! This cover is not for sale JH." Ex-David G. Phillips, 2007. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $125-$250
Fig. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., correspondence with the Chapman Brothers selling them postage stamps for their clients, franked with Scott #233 & 235, postmarked registered mail, New York, February 20, 1894. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library, Special Collection, The Chapman Family Correspondence Archive. For Sale write john@numismaticmall.com
In 1894, John Nicholas Luff (1860-1938) joined the firm of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd. He was promoted to head of the approval department, and also edited the American Journal of Philately (2nd series), co-edited the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, and cataloged the Scott stamp auction catalogs. In 1903 he became president of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., but left in 1905 to join Stanley Gibbons, Inc. His trial there did not work out and he soon returned to Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., where he remained the rest of his life.
Fig. 16. Scott's December 1894 Catalogue of Books Relating to Coins and Medals, edited by Lyman H. Low. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $100-$200
In 1895 Augustus Goodyear Heaton published “A Tour Among the Coin Dealers,” in The Numismatist which read : "The Scott Stamp and Coin Company has become a conspicuous location on Madison Square, one of the handsomest centers of the metropolis. The stamp department occupies the large and deep first floor of the building and many clerks are employed. The coin department is in a basement floor nearly level with the pavement. Near the show window two or three young ladies are behind a counter, busy at desks, or showing any desired part of the coin stock of several large fireproofs [safes] to the customers. Many coin publications are on the counter. Far in the rear, in a sky lit office and numismatic library, is found Mr. Lyman H. Low, the manager. He is a scrupulously attired gentleman in middle life, with white hair, mustache and goatee, a military aspect, but with a brisk genial manner. He is a member of the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society of New York, one of the editors of the American Journal of Numismatics, and a man of great experience in the science and of sagacity in business.”
Joseph S. Rich (1860-1932), joined the firm in 1895. Joseph S. Rich, who was one of the proprietors of the Scott Stamp and Coin Co. and a founder of the Collectors Club of New York. He was secretary treasurer off Scott & Co., until 1913. He had two stamp auction sales of his collections; sales Nos. 178 & 182.
Early in 1896, probably up to May 15th, the last coin auction sale #141, selling off the coin stock of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., Lyman H. Low left the firm when Henry Collin was president, and Henry L. Calman was Secretary and Treasurer, in all sense and purposes they closed its coin and medal department. There were five coin auction sales catalogued by Low to liquidate the numismatic stock. Low wound up moving into the very building he used for Scott Stamp & Coin Co. auctions, probably renting a room for office space sometime in March or April 1896.
Fig. 17. Scott Letter Sheet, postmarked April 20, 1897. The old design incorporates a Liberty Cap Large Cent since coins were part and parcel of their business until Lyman Low resigned. Note the address number has changed from 12 to 18 East 23rd Street due to the 1893 ordinance on street renumbering in New York. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $100-$200
In 1898, the firm issued a new catalogue of 169 pages : Scott Stamp and Coin Co.'s Standard Catalogue of Postal Cards and Letter Cards . Fully revised and corrected, and containing all issues up to January 1, 1898.
Fig. 18 & 19. Left : Scott's 1898 Bargains Right : 1898 Invoice form. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Each Estimate $50-$100
Fig. 20. Scott's 1899 Imperial Stamp Album. Note the embossed gold Pan-American Exposition Medal. Yes, it contains stamps! Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $250-$350
Fig. 21. Scott Stamp & Coin Company acknowledgement and circular form of 1899 soliciting sales for the new album and stamps while acknowledging your order sending the requested stamps. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $50-$100
In 1900, Henry Collin retired and Joseph S. Rich became the new Secretary Treasurer until 1913.
Fig. 22. The 1900 Scott Stamp & Coin Company Catalogue, lists only stamps since 1897. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
In 1901, Scott Stamp & Coin Company merged with the American Collectors' Company, and the New England Stamp Company, now subsidiaries of Scott.
[ 4. ] In 1903 Scott Stamp and Coin Co., Ltd., opened a shop at 1204 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, managed by Percival Parrish. Parrish began to hold stamp auction sales in February 1904. In 1913, Henry Chapman, Jr., sold part of his stamp collection by Parrish at the Philadelphia branch of the Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd.
Fig. 23. Clientele of Scott Stamp and Coin Company, Ltd., wrote directly to Percival Parrish at the 1204 Chestnut Street Branch Office on preprinted postal stationery by the Hartford Manufacturing Company, Thorp-Bartles No. 1937. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
In 1912, Hugh Massey Clark (1886-1956) joined the firm of Scott Stamp and Coin Co., Ltd. That year he met fellow employee Theresa M. ScheidemantelI, who joined the firm as an editor six years earlier in 1908. In 1914 he was promoted to manager. In 1938 he purchased the company, selling the business and retaining the rest as Scott Publications.
In 1916, Eugene N. Costales (1894-1984), joined Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd.
[ 5. ] The Scott Stamp & Coin Company moved to 127 Madison Avenue in 1902.
Fig. 24. Detail of post card. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., at their new address 127 Madison Avenue circa 1902/1903, printed on the company post card. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
Fig. 25. A 1913 post card circular of Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., at their new address 127 Madison Avenue. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
Scott Stamp & Coin (corner card) to N. J. Burschbach, postmarked New York Station F., mute for date, Waterloo, Ontario, December 27, 1915, on back receiving back-stamp Dorchester, Ontario, Canada. Estimate $50-$80
[ 6. ] The Scott Stamp & Coin moved in 1919 placing a full-page ad in Philatelic West, Vol. 75, No. 2, January-February, p. 30, giving the new address at 33 West 44th Street, New York City, New York. Branch Office 207 Broadway, New York.
Fig. 26. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Circular, No. 147, April 1919. This Circular was sent free for one year to all purchasers of the Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. Note the claim "In Business Since 1860", riding on the coat tails of J. W. Scott. In all actuality Scott Stamp & Coin really began sometime between 1885 and 1886 when the name change occurred. To enhance the sense of nostalgia harking back to yesteryear the cover design is framed in a decorative Art Nouveau rinceau motif. It is propaganda like this that causes researchers to mix up the companies into one massive incoherent mess of conflated catalogues and auctions. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $20-$30
Beginning in 1918 Scott published Scott's Monthly Journal, designed as a monthly update supplement to the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, keeping collectors abreast of the newest postage stamp issues released.
In March 1920, continued as, Scott Monthly Stamp Monthly, volume 1, no. 1 was published with John N. Luff as editor.
Fig. 27. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Inc., correspondence to stamp dealer A. W. Dunning, missent to his old address in Wilton, New Hampshire and redirected to Brookline, Massachusetts, postmarked November 6, 1919 at New York, and November 7, 1919, at Wilton. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
Fig. 28. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Inc., correspondence to Amo Kiessling, APS Member No. 5557, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, sent from the Branch Office 207 Broadway, New York, postmarked February 19, 1919. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
[ 7. ] The Scott Stamp & Coin Co., moved again to 1 West 47th Street, New York, New York at least by January 1926.
Scott Stamp & Coin Company Approval Envelope with Back Flap Seal circa 1926. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library.
In 1928 the Oregon Trail Memorial Commemorative Half Dollar was sold through Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd.
In the February 1928 issue of The Numismatist, page 103, John Rausch of San Francisco wrote a brief note "Urges Yearly Coin Catalogs and Coin Albums", and says, "What we numismatists need is a coin catalog issued once a year or every two years by some dealer, a catalog on the principle of Scott's Stamp Catalog, which other dealers could go by in setting their prices, and which would be taken as a standard, and which would give a description of each coin." Numismatists were aware they needed to bring themselves up to the standards long set by the stamp collectors years previous. The first excellent stab at that was Wayte Raymond, who soon followed with an annual Standard Premium List of United States and Early American Coins, reprinted annually beginning in 1933, that was superior to that of Dick Yeo's original 1946 plan for Whitman Publishing.
Fig. 29. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Inc., served as the distributor of Wayte Raymond's, Standard Premium List of United States and Early American Coins. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $100-$200
Soon afterwards imitators attempted to muscle in on the market like Edward T. Wallis, The National Catalog Of United States Coins. (Hugh F. Brady for California Stamp Company, 1935). Regardless, Scott Stamp & Coin Co., was long recognized as creating the market standard and in 1930 Wayte Raymond joined them in order to introduce this needed market tool under their banner.
In 1930, Wayte Raymond (1844-1924), ran the numismatic department and published three years later the Standard Premium List of United States and Early American Coins, reprinted annually.
Fig. 30. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Inc., Letterhead printed on Airpost Bond watermarked paper, and letter to client Rose F. Yancey, Lynchburg, Virginia, dated July 9, 1931, signed by Edson J. Fifield (1892-1967). Fifield became the editor of the Scott Postage Stamp Catalogues. Charles E. Hatfield, president, Hugh M. Clark, Treasurer, John N. Luff, Expert, Arthur C. Zimmermann, Manager Publication Department. Note, the incorporation of a coin of New South Wales in the design to sustain the name Scott Stamp & Coin, which by this date was already the name in the industry. Scott has a Branch Office 178 Fulton Street, New York. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $100-$200
Fig. 31. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Inc., bought J. C. Morgethau & Co., Inc., operating it as a subsidiary from which Wayte Raymond worked and auctioned coins. This advertisement published in H. L. Lindquist's, The Blue Book of Philately, 1935 First Edition, page 390. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library.
Fig. 32. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Inc., correspondence to stamp and coin dealer Henry Chapman, Jr., postmarked July 26, 1932, New York, Zone 7, during the tenure of Wayte Raymond. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library, Special Collection, The Chapman Family Correspondence Archive. Excessively Rare. Estimate $300-$400
The November 6, 1937, George B. Sloane, Sloane's Column, Stamps, "Scott Co. Offered for Sale," reported that Charles E. Hatfield, owner of Scott Stamp & Coin Company wishing to retire was selling the company in its entirety including its annual catalogue. Also, Hugh M. Clark, general manager for over twenty years also wished to retire. The following month, December 4, 1937, Sloane reported that the Scott Co., denied any rumor of a sale publishing their official statement in the New York Times.
In December 1937, Norman Serphos (1890-1974), became Scott's merchandising manager. This is the hallmark of Scott, which the following year became Scott Publishing Company, the most internationally recognized name in stamp collecting and full service industry provider being both a publisher and merchandiser of stamp related products.
Postmarked April 14, 1938. Estimate $50
In March 1938, Maria Theresa Scheidemantel Clark (1890-1953), and her husband Hugh Massey Clark bought Scott Stamp & Coin Co., and in April 1938 sold off the stamp dealership to its former president Norman Serphos, and renamed it Scott Publishing. Charles E. Hatfield a Boston Bank president remained as editor of the Scott Stamp Catalogue.
Fig. 33. Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Inc., correspondence to Dr. William H. de Rouville (1909-1977), of Albany, New York, postmarked October 20, 1939. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50-$100
In 1946 Scott Publishing, Inc. Hugh M. Clark, president, Theresa M. Clark, vice president, Arthur C. Zimmermann, Treasurer.
In the summer of 1946, the Clarks sold Scott Publishing to Englishman, Gordon R. Harmer. The Clarks continued as editors of Scott Publishing, together with Lilly B. Freed, William W. Cummings, Barbara Bullied, and Harvey R. Warm.
From 1950-1951, Souren Serebrakian, an Armenian-Belgian stamp dealer who immigrated to America at the outbreak of WWII held four Scott Stock auctions liquidating the company's inventory.
Fig. 34. Serebrakian auction held May 11-12, 1951, the Scott Stamp & Coin Co. Stamp Stock Sale, Part 4, 1,700 lots. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Excessively Rare. Estimate $50
Fig. 35. General James O. Amos, founder of Amos Press, Inc.
Fig. 36. Coin World Logo.
In 1960, Scott Publishing, Inc., was located at 461 Eighth Avenue, New York City, New York.
In 1960, media giant Amos Press, the future owner of Scott Publishing Company, launched Coin World, a weekly magazine in a newspaper format.
Fig. 37. The 1960 Edition of Scott's American Album For United States Stamps. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50
In 1969, Amos Press bought Linn’s Stamp News, which was founded in 1928.
In June 1970, Harmer Rooke & Co., became associates of Scott Publishing Co., Omaha, Nebraska, in its acquisition of the Scott Publications Division of Esquire, Inc.
Fig. 38. Charles N. Micarelli, Identification Guide to U. S. Stamps : Regular Issue 1847-1934. (1979) printings in 1981, 1991, 2001, 2006. A critical diagnostic tool published by Scott Publishing for United States postage stamps. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $50
In 1984, Scott Publishing Company was purchased by Amos Press, Inc. General James O. Amos founded Amos publishing in 1876 with the purchase of The Shelby County Democrat. Today Amos Press publishes 16 (sixteen) different magazines
Today, Scott Publishing Company issues an annual 8 (eight) volume Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. That's a whole lot bigger than Whitman's Red Book and the Krause World Coins catalogues.
Editors of Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers :
Charles E. Hatfield
Hugh M. Clark, 1922-1938
Eugene N. Costales, 1923-
Gordon R. Harmer, 1950-1967
Sidney F. Barrett (-1958), 1957-1958
James B. Hatcher
James E. Kloetzel
Charles Snee
Donna Houseman
Below : the following three paragraphs are taken from the www.scottonline.com webpage.
In October 2003 Amos Hobby Publishing launched the first new monthly magazine for U.S. coin collectors in 40 years. Coin World's Coin Values is a slick 100-page-plus four-color magazine that offers retail pricing information for more than 45,000 U.S. coins along with special features and regular columns on topics such as grading tips, how grade relates to the value, spotting undervalued coins, and what's hot and what's not in the current coin market.
The magazine was launched as a front-line effort to grow and broaden the appeal of coin collecting through monthly and single-copy purchase on newsstands and in bookstores, in hopes of attracting new and casual collectors that were not being reached through the pages of Coin World.
Expansion continued in the coin market with the introduction of Paper Money Values in January 2005. Like Coin Values, Paper Money Values is a four-color magazine produced quarterly that offers readers valuing information on currency and bank notes along with a variety of special feature articles.
In 2017, Bruce Boyd, CEO of Amos Press, Inc.
Fig. 39. The 2017 95th Edition of Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps & Covers published by Scott Publishing Company, a Division of Amos Press, Inc., Sidney, Ohio. Courtesy Lupia Numismatic Library. Estimate $200
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS :
Special thanks to Dr. Stanley M. Bierman for kindly reviewing this article.
Scott Stamp & Coin Auctions
NOTE * asterisk signals a numbering error or conflict between various sources
David Proskey Coin & Stamp Auction Cataloguer. Proskey's stamp collection was sold in Sale No. 113 May 4-5, 1892
Proskey Catalogued 23 earlier auctions under Scott & Company from coin auction sales Nos. 13-55.
[70] February 15, 1886, stamps & U. S. Envelopes, E. Shorthouse [Thomas L. Bucken & Co., auctioneers]
[071] March 8, 1886, 502 lots, coins, Charles H. Edeson, Photograph of Brattelboro sheet. [Ortgies & Co. auctioneers]
[072] March 16-17, 1886, 502 lots, Adams C, coins, P. H. Hill [Ortgies & Co. auctioneers] (Adams 27)
[073] April 12-13, 1886, stamps & U. S. Envelopes, 261 lots of Envelopes. First photoplates 1 plate, E. Harrison Sanford [Ortgies & Co. auctioneers]
[074] June 1, 1886, stamps, E. Harrison Sanford [Ortgies & Co. auctioneers]
[075] June 16, 1886, stamps, E. C. Goddard [Ortgies & Co. auctioneers]
[076] November 29-30, 1886, Match & Medicine, and U. S. Revenue stamps, N. Y. Collector [Ortgies & Co. auctioneers]
[077] December 13, 1886, stamps, Joseph Rechert [Ortgies & Co. auctioneers]
[078] January 24, 1887, stamps, E. Harrison Sanford
[079] February 13, 1887, stamps, James M. Chute
[080] March 7, 1887, stamps, Rev. A. Hoenecke
[081] May 26, 1887, stamps, Charles J. Phillips, and E. Shorthouse
Scott Stamp & Coin Auctions
Lyman Low Coin Auction Cataloguer since September 1887, except the stamp auctions
[082] January 16, 1888, stamps, Charles J. Phillips, and John Bendinger
[083] February 27, 1888, 621 lots, Adams B-, coins, G. J. Bascom, Byzantine & Roman Coins. (Adams 28)
[084] February 28, 1888, 188 lots, Adams A-, coins, The Late Dr. Henry R. Linderman, director U. S. Mint & Assay Offices. (Adams 29)
[085] March 14, 1888, U. S. periodical stamps, E. H. Sinsabaugh
[086] April 23-24, 1888, stamps, S. P. Kellogg, and Charles J. Phillips
[087] June 13, 1888, stamps, Charles J. Phillips, and E. Shorthouse
[088] November 17, 1888, 115 lots, Adams B, coins, Rev. Foster Ely (Adams 30)
[089] January 15-16, 1888, Confederate stamps, etc., E. L. Nagel and E. Shorthouse and N. Y. Collector
[090] March 5-6, 1889, stamps, A. S. Crowell, and Charles J. Phillips
[091] March 25, 1889, stamps, N. Y. Gentleman
[092] May 27, 1889, stamps, Washington Collector
[093] November 20, 1889, 565 lots, stamps & coins, Charles S. Wilcox.
[094] February 17-18, 1890, stamps, Robert C. H. Brock, Part I
[095] March 3-4, 1890, stamps, Robert C. H. Brock, Part II
[096] March 17-18, 1890, stamps, Robert C. H. Brock, Part III
[097] March 31-April 1, 1890, stamps, George F. Crane
[098] April 21-22, 1890, stamps, George B. Mason
[099] May 19, 1890, stamps, Charles B. Corwin, Part I
[100] May 26, 1890, stamps, Charles B. Corwin, Part II
[101] August 5, 1890, stamps, Hugo S. Mack
[102] February 16-17, 1891, 996 lots, Adams B+, coins, Greek, Roman (Adams 31)
[103]March 5-6, 1891, stamps, George B. Mason
[104] March 18-19, 1891, Finest British North America stamps ever offered, Lieutenant John Hooper
[105] March 31-April 1, 1891, stamps + 8 coin lots, Lieutenant J. M. T. Partello
[106] April 8-9, 1891, stamps, N. Y. Collector
[107] April 21-22, 1891, stamps, August Lehmann, Jr., Part I
[108] April 28-29, 1891, stamps, August Lehmann, Jr., Part II
[109] June 22, 1891, 451 lots, Adams C+, coins, E. L. Nagel (Adams 32)
[110] February 4-5, 1892, Herman Determann
[111] February 25, 1892, stamps, Ferdinand Loeb
[112] March 30, 1892, stamps, G. Bilgenroth
[113] May 4-5, 1892, U. S. Envelopes, Locals, and Confederate stamps, David Proskey
[114] May 18-19, 1892, stamps, C. L. Moreau
[115] June 9, 1892, stamps, + 1 coin lot, Ralph Wormeley, Jr.
[Private 116] June 13, 1892, Greatest Known Rarities Stamp Sale
[116] June 29, 1892, 586 lots, Adams C+, Paper Money-Colonial, Continental, Confederate and Fractional Currency (Adams 33)
[117] December 13-14, 1892, stamps
[118] January 18-19, 25-26, 1893, stamps, George Hencken
[119] February 8-9, 1893, stamps, Henry Clotz
[120] February 24, 1893, stamps, Herman Determann
[121] March 15-16, 1893, stamps, Marcus Mayer
[122] June 26-27, 1893, 893 lots, (Adams B-), coins, Joseph Edward Herman (1840-1895), Boston, Massachusetts + Two Other Consignors (Adams 34)
[123] February 14, 1894, stamps, W. C. Skinner
[124] March 5-6, 1894, stamps, Several Consignors
[125] March 14-15, 1894, 1,141 lots, (Adams B-), Wm. B. Walker, George H. Skilton, Oliver Huffman (Adams 35) (Durst 1445)
[126] April 2-3, 1894, stamps, Several Consignors
[127] April 30, 1894, stamps, E. Harrison Sanford
[128] May 31, 1894, 690 lots, 1 Plate, (Adams C+), coins, Modern Chinese coins of Rev. Henry Kingman, G. Wells Root (Davis 913) (Adams 36) (Durst 1446)
[129] June 26, 1894, 473 lots, (Adams B-), coins (Adams 37) (Durst 1447)
[130] December 12-13, 1894, 1,310 lots, (Adams B), coins, "The Paris Collection", European Silver Coins + Cabinet of American Coins (Adams 38) (Durst 1448)
[131] March 8-9, 1895, stamps, A. Gerald Hull
[132] April 13, 1895, 619 lots, (Adams A), Gerald Ephraim Hart (1849-1936), Montreal, Canada (Davis 914) (Adams 39) (Durst 1449)
[133] May 27-28, 1895, Entire U. S. Envelopes, stamps, Gilbert Harrison
[134] June 27-28, 1895, 865 lots, (Adams B-), coins, Greek, 2 plates (Davis 915) (Adams 40) (Durst 1450)
[135] November 6-7, 1895, 1,079 lots, (Adams B-), coins, The Late A. Gerald Hull, Saratoga, New York (Adams 41) (Durst 1451)
[136] January 20, 1896, 618 lots, (Adams C+), coins, - Part I : discontinuing the coin and medal department sale (Adams 42) (Durst 1452)
[137] February 3-4, 1896, stamps, Several Consignors
[138] February 29, 1896, 626 lots, (Adams C+), coins, - Part II : discontinuing the coin and medal department sale (Adams 43) (Durst 1453)
[139] April 6, 1896, 619 lots, (Adams C+), coins, - Part III :discontinuing the coin and medal department sale (Adams 44) (Durst 1454)
[140] April 20-21, 1896, stamps, Mr. Heyer of Cologne, Germany
[141] May 15, 1896, 633 lots, (Adams C+), coins, - Part IV :discontinuing the coin and medal department sale (Adams 45) (Durst 1455)
Not Scott Stamp & Coin Co.
J. W. Scott & Co., Ltd.
[142] February 8-9, 1897, stamps, Two Consignors
*[143] March 15-16, 1897, stamps, Joseph B. Leavy
*[143] October 21, 1897, 404 lots, (Adams C+), coins, F. S. Winston (Adams 46) (Durst 1440)
[144] February 16-17, 1898, stamps, Several Consignors
[145] March 18, 1898, stamps, Several Consignors
[146] February 1-3, 1899, stamps, Raymond Lesher
[147] April 26-27, 1899, stamps, Albert R. Gallatin
*[148] June 12, 1899, 408 lots, (Adams C+), coins, Dr. S. L. Lee (Adams 47) (Durst 1441)
*[148] December 14-15, 1899, stamps, Several Consignors
[149] January 10-12, 16-18, 1900, 3,321 lots, F. W. Hunter, Folio Catalogue, 6 Plates
[150] March 28-30, 1900, stamps
[151] April 25-26, 1900, stamps, William Herrick, 2 Plates
[152] May 22-23, 1900, stamps, Hiram Edmond Deats
[153] February 15, 1901, Philatelic Literature & stamps, Corwin Library
[154] March 7-8, 1901, stamps
[155] May 23, 1901, stamps
[156] February 6, 1902, stamps
[157] March 19-20, 1902, stamps, 2 Plates
[158] May 1, 1902, Match and Medicine stamps, Alexander Holland
[159] March 4-5, 1903, stamps
[160] January 13, 1904, stamps, Captain F. M. Schreiner
[161] March 22, 1905, stamps
[162] May 25-26, 1905, stamps
[163] May 10, 1906, stamps
*[164] April 6, 8, 10, 14, 1908, stamps
*[164] October 26, 1908, 1,040 lots, (Adams B-), U. S. Silver & Gold, Encased Postage Stamps (Adams 48) (Durst 1442)
*[165] May 3, 1909, 522 lots, (Adams C+), coins, W. A. Aiken - (Adams 49) (Durst 1443)
*[165] November 11, 1909, stamps
*[166] January 17, 1910, stamps, Photographic Plate
*[166] January 31, 1910, 663 lots, (Adams C+), coins, (Adams 50) (Durst 1444)
[167] February 14, 1910, stamps
[168] March 8, 1910, stamps
[169] May 12, 1910, 225 lots of Philatelic Literature, Philatelic Library of Henry L. Calman
[170] November 14-15, 1912, stamps
[171] December 6, 1912, stamps
[172] January 28-29, 1913, stamps
[173] February 18, 1913, stamps, 182 lots of stamps on covers
[174] March 11-12, 1913, stamps
[175] April 15-16, 1913, stamps
[176] May 14, 1913, stamps
[177] January 14-15, 1914, stamps
[178] February 4-5, 1914, U. S. Envelopes & Confederate stamps, Joseph S. Rich
[179] February 25, 1914, stamps, H. D. Bounetheau
[180] March 17-18, 1914, stamps
[181] April 21-22, 1914, stamps
[182] June 9-10, 1914, stamps, Joseph S. Rich
[183] December 3, 1914, stamps, H. Sidney Smith
[184] March 25-26, 1915
*[187] March 14-15, 1917, stamps, Louis E. Laflin
[185] April 2-3, 1917, stamps, Mrs. Henry Clarke Coe
[186] April 30, 1917, stamps, Mrs. Henry Clarke Coe
[188] June 4, 1917, stamps
[189] November 1, 1917, stamps
[190] December 7, 1917, stamps, Gordon M. Stanton
[191] February 6, 1918, stamps
[192] February 20, 1918, stamps, Charles E. Hatfield
[193] March 12-15, 1918, stamps
[194] April 2-3, 1918, stamps,
[195] May 20-22, 1918, stamps, Various Consignors
Bibliography :
“Dealers Directory” The Numismatist, Vol. 3, No. 3 & 4, February (1891) : 18 (ad)
The Cumberland Collector, A Monthly Magazine Devoted to Stamps, Coins and Curiosities. Vol. 1, No. 12, April (1887) : 95
Heaton, A. G., “A Tour Among the Coin Dealers,” The Numismatist, Vol. 8, No. 1, January (1895) : 8
Anon. “Gordon Hammer Purchases Scott Publications. " Mekeel 's Weekly Stamp News, 1946, July 15
Scott Monthly Journal, Vol. 55 (1974) :
Dr. Stanley M. Bierman, M. D., "J. W. Scott Sales 1870-1919," Philatelic Literature Review, Vol. 35, No. 4 (1986) : 113-136
Lorraine S. Durst, United States Numismatic Auction Catalogs : A Bibliography.
John Weston Adams, United States Numismatic Literature, Vol. 1
Martin Gengerke, American Numismatic Auctions.
Catalogue of the Crawford Library of Philatelic Literature at the British Library (British Library, 1991) Revised Edition. : 28, listing of 58 Scott Stamp & Coin Co., Ltd., catalogues