254-E-Gobrecht-Volume22-Issue3-March2026

Uniting collectors of Liberty Seated coinage since 1973 Liberty Seated Collectors Club

National Officers

President Leonard Augsburger leonard_augsburger@hotmail.com

Vice President

Craig Eberhart craig@eberhart.us

Secretary Jeff Pritchard PO Box 10771, Bainbridge, WA 98110 jjpsr2@gmail.com

Treasurer [Open position]

National Positions

The Gobrecht Journal Publication Greg Johnson (Editor/Publisher) lscc@lsccweb.org

E-Gobrecht Monthly Newsletter Leonard Augsburger (Acting Editor) leonard_augsburger@hotmail.com

E-Gobrecht Layout Artist Maria Fanning

New Membership Chairman Joe Casazza jsazza236@gmail.com

Education Director John Frost john.frost@doubledimes.com

Advertising Director Jeff Pritchard jjpsr2@gmail.com

Team Leader - Regional Directors

Ken Otto kenotto53@gmail.com

Director - Southern Region

John Lundsten john.lundsten@yahoo.com

Director - Northeast Region Joe Casazza (email above)

Director - Western Region [Open Position]

Director - Central Region

Dennis Fortier ricajun@msn.com

Liberty Seated Collectors Club Mission

To encourage, promote, and dispense numismatic knowledge of Liberty Seated coins; to cultivate fraternal relations among its members and all those interested in the science of numismatics.

LSCC website: www.lsccweb.org

LSCC email address: lscc@lsccweb.org

LSCC Membership Information: Dues are bargain priced at $30 per year and include 3 packed issues of The Gobrecht Journal, an award winning numismatic publication printed in glossy, full color. To join the Liberty Seated Collectors Club, for The Gobrecht Journal mailing address changes, or for other membership questions, please correspond with Jeff Pritchard, LSCC Secretary listed on this page.

Articles, comments, or advertisements for publication in The Gobrecht Journal magazine may be addressed to Greg Johnson, The Gobrecht Journal Publication Editor.

Submissions, correspondence, information and comments for this digital publication (E-Gobrecht) are actively encouraged from its subscribers and may be sent to Leonard Augsburger, E-Gobrecht Publication Editor.

To be added as a “free” subscriber to E-Gobrecht or removed from the mailing list or to change your email address, please send an email message indicating your preference in the subject line to: e-gobrecht@msn.com

Wanted: Submissions for this newsletter!

Please consider submitting something for print. It need not be elaborate; it can be something as simple as a short note on a favorite coin, variety, neat find, happening at a coin show or local club, Liberty Seated coinage at auction, etc. If you are interested in it; rest assured, others will be too!

Sharing information is a goal of this newsletter and you need not be an experienced writer to submit material of interest to others. “This is your monthly digital publication. It is what you make of it!”

Please be sure to quote the E-Gobrecht and the LSCC as its contents are not copyrighted. Use its contents freely.

Welcome to the following new LSCC members this month:

DanFrench#3079

FredThawley#3080

GreggOleska#3081

JackRiegel#3082

There are currently 1519 active subscribers to E-Gobrecht and counting, including 350 local coin clubs across the country.

Cover image: This month’s cover image is a high-grade 1843 half dollar, an issue well known for reverse die cracks. Can you attribute this coin?

Images are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

The E-Gobrecht is an award winning informal electronic publication of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC). The LSCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to the attributions of the Liberty Seated U.S. Coin series. The LSCC provides the information contained in this “electronic” e-mail newsletter from various sources “free of charge” as a general service to the membership and other subscribers with a numismatic interest. You do

not have to be a LSCC member to benefit from this newsletter; subscription to the E-Gobrecht is available on a complimentary basis to anyone. All disclaimers are in effect as the completeness and/or accuracy of the information contained herein cannot be completely verified. Contact information for LSCC and this publication can be found on the last page.

President’s Message

Len Augsburger

Welcome to the March issue of the E-Gobrecht. You may notice a few changes to the E-Gobrecht this month, as Maria Fanning has assumed the graphics and layout responsibilities. You may recognize Maria’s name, as she, with her husband David Fanning, operates Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers. While Maria will take care of things on the artistic side, article and image submissions should come to yours truly going forward, and these may be sent to me at leonard_augsburger@

hotmail.com.

Many thanks to Paul Kluth for having taken the editorial helm of the E-Gobrecht, and we wish him well in future activities. Succeeding Bill Bugert, Paul edited the E-Gobrecht from 2020 to 2026 and greatly expanded its footprint and distribution. In honor of Paul, we are rerunning a piece from April 2022 (page 13) that discusses his business at the Adam Good Tavern site in Taneytown, Maryland.

Retired Editor’s Viewpoint

Stepping forward in time to a new era of E-Gobrecht...

In progressing on with a planned retirement as E-Gobrecht Editor, I am a bit sad to announce that the recent February issue was my last. After 6+ years (74 issues), our Club President was able to find a suitable replacement to take on the reins going forward with the March issue.

Thank you Len for making for such a smooth and easy transition, and for your professional support and compliments all these many years!

E-Gobrecht may look a little different now and come from a different email location, but rest assured the Club will continue to provide timely information about the Club. You may not always realize it if you are an avid reader of the publication or only catch it from time to time, but the Liberty Seated Collectors Club probably has the most dedicated group of officers and department leaders of any specialty club in the hobby. Year after year, they work tirelessly behind the scenes, travel to faraway places in the country to represent the LSCC at coin shows, and passionately share their knowledge of the series with other collectors.

I can’t say abundantly enough… about the solid support this publication has received from its contributors,

sharing their interests with you each month. And the financial support from our advertisers has been greatly appreciated by the Club and myself.

Keep the articles and feedback coming to the new staff, but remember to send communications via a different “stagecoach” to the new email drop-off point.

In saying goodbye from this Rim’s View… It is through such publications as E-Gobrecht and The Gobrecht Journal, where we can probe into the past, we make history seem to come alive through our hobby. U.S. coins, tokens and medals have all stood the test of time seeing the coming of the scientific wonders of our age, electricity instead of the candle and kerosene lamp, communications by telephone, radio and television, and the industrial, atomic and digital age. Coins have seen our nation weak and struggling, torn with strife both within and without, but finally powerful and united!

Will our coinage last to see the nation recover from a now fracturing union again?

Your friend in the hobby, Paul Kluth

Carson City Half Dollar Registry

By Jeremy Eaton

Editor’s note: Last month, Jeremy noted his pedigree work on the 1870-CC, 1874-CC, and 1878-CC half dollars. Owners of any of these coins may wish to communicate with Jeremy at jeremyeatonl1@gmail.com. This month, Jeremy shares images of an 1870-CC half dollar that has been graded by four different firms. Jeremy writes:

Since 2005, I have identified this 1870-CC WB-5 in 4 very different holders. Can you spot the diagnostics indicating that there are all the same coin?

• 2005: ANACS AU Details

• 2009: NCS XF Details (not pictured here)

• 2010: PCGS XF40

• 2017: NGC VF30

Since 2005, I have identified this 1870-CC WB-5 in 4 very different holders.

• 2005: ANACS AU Details

• 2009: NCS XF Details (not pictured here)

• 2010: PCGS XF40

• 2017: NGC VF30

Liberty Seated Collectors Club Hall of Fame

Nominations are now open for the Liberty Seated Collectors Club Hall of Fame and may be forwarded to Craig Eberhart (craig@eberhart.us). The nomination form is available online at https://lsccweb.org/LSCC/ Hall-of-Fame

The LSCC Hall of Fame recognizes club members who have made significant contributions to expanding the literature on Seated coinage, who have built an important collection of Liberty Seated coinage or who have served in a leadership position while contributing to the success of LSCC. Individuals will be selected for this honor by a committee of five club members appointed by the club officers. The committee selections are announced during the club meeting at the ANA Summer Convention. Individuals selected for this honor will receive an award recognizing their admission to the Hall of Fame and a citation describing their contributions will be published in the Gobrecht Journal.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a person shall have been a club member for at least ten (10) years and shall have made contributions worthy of recommendation including one or more of the following:

1. Significant advances in numismatic research on

Liberty Seated coinage;

2. Significant advances in numismatic literature on Liberty Seated coinage;

3. Building of a significant collection of Liberty Seated coinage;

4. Significant service as a Liberty Seated Collectors Club officer for at least five (5) years.

Previous Hall of Fame entrants are:

2008 Inductees - John McCloskey and Kamal M. Ahwash

2009 Inductee - Al Blythe

2011 Inductee - Randy Wiley

2012 Inductee - Brian Greer

2013 Inductees - Gerry Fortin and Jim O’Donnell

2014 Inductee - Eugene Gardner

2015 Inductee - Jim Gray

2017 Inductee - Bill Bugert

2018 Inductee - Len Augsburger

2020 Inductee - John Frost

2021 Inductee - Roy Ash

2024 Inductee - Carl Feldman

2025 Inductee - Dick Osburn

Returns to the ANA Summer Seminar!

This class is offered during the first session, June 2124. Registration is available at https://www.money.org/ summer-seminar/ New Orleans Mania

Once again, your fellow LSCCers Craig Eberthart, John Frost, and Len Augsburger will be teaching the New Orleans coinage class at the American Numismatic Association Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs.

Dunk, the Druggist

By Bill Groom

The first time I became aware of the DUNK, THE DRUGGIST counterstamp was when I thumbed through Dr. Brunk’s Merchant and Privately Countermarked Coins. I recall smiling and making a mental note to place this merchant on my watch list. Some years later, good fortune smiled upon me when I was able to purchase a pleasing example at a show, pictured below.

It took more than a decade for this second specimen to ignite another smile …

Dunk, the Druggist by Bill Groom continued

In 2003, Dr. Brunk had recorded two examples of this Dunk counterstamp on Liberty Seated quarters, dated 1853 and 1854. No attribution was then cited by Dr. Brunk. Sadly, Greg Brunk’s vision became seriously impaired, so he was unable to complete a subsequent edition. He has long since passed.

U.S. and Canadian coins were often counterstamped outside their respective borders. To my knowledge, the 1870’s dated Canadian half dollar is the latest dated coin, and that decade is likely when Dunk’s stamps were applied. This is important, as one Fredrick A. Dunk, a druggist, established his store in Grayson, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1907. He may have been a relative to the likely issuer of this counterstamp, being Alfred Allen Dunk of East Saginaw, Michigan.

A profile of Dunk’s drug store business appears in the History of the Saginaws and the Settlement of Saginaw County from the year 1819 to the Present Time – dated 1879.

The first drug store in East Saginaw was established by Dr. Curtis in 1851, on the corner of Genesee avenue and Washington street, in a building then owned by Moses B. Hess. In 1852 Mr. Hess bought out Dr. Curtis and continued the business until 1862, when he sold out to the Frezelle Brothers. The Frezelle Brothers afterwards sold to a Mr. Hobbs, who, in 1864, sold to L. Simoneau. In 1865 Mr. Simoneau sold to A. A. Dunk, who still continues at the old stand, and carries on one of the largest and finest establish ments of the kind in Saginaw valley. Mr. Dunk is a thorough, practical, energetic man, alive to the best interests of the city, and so conducts his business that nothing but success can follow. His store is a model of taste and elegance, and there is an air of solidity and enterprise about the place that gives the most favorable impression to everybody who enters it. Mr. Dunk keeps abreast of all the wants of the thriving city, and pr most satisfactorily keeps up his reputation of the best and most complete drug house here. And his success is entirely owing to his enterprise and indefatigable push for the front.

Dunk’s drug store occupied the ground floor, corner (right) of the Crouse Block, in East Saginaw. The Goodridge Brothers, photographers, located above Dunk’s store, took the below photo in 1870.

It’s rare to find a photo of a nineteenth century issuer of a counterstamp. Below is pictured Alfred A. Dunk, standing behind his store counter in 1872. Fire destroyed the Crouse Block that October.

What follows is a photo of some folks posing on the corner, outside Dunk’s store. Alongside that photo is a copy of one of Dunk’s advertisements, dated 1879. Note that Dunk’s sense of humor shines through in his ad, even more so than it does with his counterstamp!

The History of Saginaw County Michigan, 1918, presents an informative sketch of Alfred Allen Dunk.

He was born on February 20, 1846 in Syracuse, NY. His family relocated to Binghamton, NY, wherein Alfred received his education, and he began working in the drug store of Brownell & Stocking. Moved by stories of the golden west, he determined to cast his fortunes in the pineries of Michigan. At the age of nineteen, he purchased an established drug store, Simoneau’s, in East Saginaw. A booming lumber industry was attracting others to relocate there. When a terrible fire destroyed his business in October of 1872, Dunk quickly set up business in a temporary location. His former location was rebuilt on the newly named Hoyt Block, and he installed “new and elegant fixtures” therein. By all ac-

counts, it was a popular and prosperous business. Dunk had married Maria E. Owen in 1871. She was the eldest daughter of an enterprising lumberman. They had two children, Alfred O. and Mary who, as adults, settled in Detroit. Sadly, Dunk, the druggist died on December 10, 1879, at age 33; reportedly, from a gall bladder problem. It appears that he was living the American dream of self-made success. Short life that he had, he persevered beyond hardship, enjoyed the lasting respect of his fellow citizens. Judging from his advertising, on both paper and coin, he had a jovial nature about him. Now, over a century later, a handful of his counterstamped coins provides Mr. Dunk with a lasting legacy.

Reprinted from E-Gobrecht April 2022

The Curious Collector

by Len A ugsburger, LSCC #1271

In Washington’s Footsteps

Note: this article originally appeared in the E-Gobrehct in April 2022.

In conjunction with the recent Baltimore coin show, capably hosted by Whitman from March 31 to April 2, a few of us visited Paul Kluth’s latest venture, the Ambassadors general store and private residence club in Taneytown, MD. The drive from downtown Baltimore toward Taneytown is full of suburban strip malls, tract developments, and the like, but Taneytown is an older community with a more colorful, vintage downtown area. Ambassadors is situated at 6-8 Frederick St. on the site of the old Adam Good Tavern. A bronze plaque greets visitors with the fact that President Washington visited the Tavern in 1791 while traveling north to Philadelphia (where the federal government was seated prior to moving to Washington, D.C.).

Legend has is that Washington interpreted the name as “a dam good tavern”. Whether true or not, it’s a good story, even if the tavern was not “damn good”. In any case, Paul will be challenged to live up to Washington’s supposed assessment of “damn good”. The Adam Good Tavern was demolished long ago, and in the late 18th century a prominent citizen (Norman Hagan) erected a stately residence on the site, with a storefront, to the right, incorporated into the structure. Hagan operated the retail space as a general store. The foundation, visible in the cellar, retains some of the original stonework from Washington’s time.

The property today is massive, with an addition added behind the storefront in the 1950s, to accommodate a bowling alley. Graffiti from the pinsetters remains evident on the back wall of the addition, which today serves as workshop space. Paul notes the total size of the complex is 7,500 square feet, while my eyeball estimate was a bit higher. In any case, he has plenty of space to build the business.

The storefront previously operated as an antique store, until 2008, and has been vacant since. The store inventory was left behind, and Paul has been busily organizing the contents for a relaunch this month. He intends to initially open the store on the weekends. The residence portion of the property will be offered for non-profit use, group events, gallery space, and other purposes.

Paul hosted lunch for the three of us (Bill Bugert and Dennis Fortier were also in attendance) and a good time was had by all. I’m looking forward to seeing what Paul continues to do with the space and build the business. Check it out on your next trip to the Baltimore show, or if you are simply passing through the area.

(Continued on next page)

Mint Director Paul Hollis Attends Spring ANA Show

Paul Hollis is the 41st Director of the United States Mint, sworn in on January 5, 2026, to oversee all coin production, including for the nation’s 250th anniversary. A lifelong numismatist and former Louisiana State Representative (2012–2024), Hollis brings decades of rare coin experience to the role, as a collector, dealer, and author. At the recent spring ANA show in Savannah, Hollis stopped by the LSCC table and is pictured here with John Frost and Jeff Pritchard. The Mint Director will also attend the upcoming Central States show, where he will be speaking at 10:30AM, Thursday, April 23. This event will be live-streamed, details will be posted at https://nnpsymposium.org/.

WE WANT YOU as an LSCC volunteer

The club currently has volunteer opportunities as follows:

LSCC Treasurer: Collect and disburse LSCC funds, keep track of overall spending and prepare summary data for the LSCC Annual Meeting. Present monthly financial status to the LSCC officers and directors.

E-Gobrecht Editor: Gather LSCC news and notes on a monthly basis and forward to the Graphics & Layout editor (Maria Fanning). Publish the finalized E-Gobrecht via the LSCC email distribution account.

Many thanks to John Lundsten, our previous Treasurer, and Paul Kluth, former E-Gobrecht editor, for their dedicated service to the club!

Contact Len Augsburger (leonard_augsburger@hotmail.com) for further information.

LSCC Looks Forward to Spring Coin Shows

The winter ANA show in Savannah in late February was a good national coin show which was well attended. Most dealers reported good results at the show with strong activity during the first day of the coin show. The results of the Savannah coin show along with the strong showing at the winter FUN show in early January continues to indicate that 2026 will be a reasonably strong coin market. Of course, the rapid escalation of gold and silver prices in early 2026 has contributed to the strength in the coin market.

There will be many regional coin shows over the next few months and the LSCC regional team will be present at many of them. Of particular note, we will participate in the Whitman Baltimore Spring Expo in early March and the annual Central States coin show in late April.

The regional LSCC team will participate in the Whitman Baltimore Spring Expo which will be held on Mar 5-7 at the Baltimore Convention Center, 1 West Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21201. This is a major coin show and we will conduct a club meeting during the event. The club table will be hosted by John Frost, Dennis Fortier, Greg Johnson, Ken Otto and others.

The regional team plans to participate in the New Hampshire Coin & Currency Expo which will be held on April 3-4 at the Doubletree by Hilton Manchester Downtown, 700 Elm St, Manchester, NH 03101. The club table will be hosted by Joe Cazassa and John Frost.

The regional LSCC team plans to participate in the Georgia Numismatic Association coin show to be held April 17-19 at the Dalton Convention Center, 2211 Tony Ingle Parkway, Dalton, GA 30720. This is an important regional show in north Georgia. The club table will be hosted by Dennis Fortier and Ken Otto.

The regional LSCC team will participate in the Central States coin show to be held April 23-25 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel, 1551 North Thoreau Dr, Schaumburg, IL 60173, The Central States coin show is a large coin show that we look forward to each year. The club table will be hosted by Dennis Fortier, Ken Otto, Craig Eberhart and others. A club meeting will be held at the show.

The regional team will also participate in the Pawcatuck Valley Coin Club (PVCC) annual coin show to be

held May 3 at the Holiday Inn, 10 Laura Blvd., Norwich, CT 06360. The club table will be hosted by Verne Pitman.

The regional LSCC team will participate in the PAN spring coin show to be held May 28-30 at the Monroeville Convention Center, 209 Mall Blvd., Monroeville, PA 15146. This is a very important regional coin show that is well attended. The club table will be hosted by John Frost and Greg Johnson.

The regional team plans to participate in the Cincinnati Numismatic Expo to be held June 5-6 at the Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Rd., Sharonville, OH 45246. This is the second year in a row that we have had a club table at this show. The club table will be hosted by Dennis Fortier and Ken Otto.

The regional team participated in the Wasatch Winter Coin Show which was held Jan 30-31 at SLCC Conference Center, 9750 300 West, Sandy, UT 84070. The club table was hosted by Ernie Ely.

The regional LSCC team also participated in the

Knoxville Coin and Currency Show which was held Feb 6-7 at the Rothchild Conference and Catering Center, 8807 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37923. The club table was hosted by Dennis Fortier and John Frost.

The regional LSCC team participated in the Charlotte Coin Club annual coin show which was held Feb 13-14 at the Park Expo and Conference Center, 800 Briar Creek Rd., Charlotte, NC 28205. John Lundsten and Ken Otto hosted the club table.

The regional LSCC team participated in the ANA National Money Show (winter ANA show) which was held on Feb 26-28 at the Savannah Convention Center, 1 International Drive, Savannah, GA 31421. This was the second year that we participated in the winter ANA coin show with a club table. The club table was hosted by John Frost, Dennis Fortier, Joe Cazassa, Ken Otto, Jerry Sajbel and Jeff Pritchard. The show was reasonably well attended and two LSCC members signed up at the show; one is a new member and the other member renewed his dues for 2026.

LSCC Attains Charitable Status!

By Jeff Pritchard

This week we received notification that the IRS approved the Liberty Seated Collectors Club’s application to become an education-based public charity; or in the vernacular of tax specialists, a 501c3 organization. Now, just like the American Numismatic Association (ANA), or the American Numismatic Society (ANS), contributions made to LSCC in excess of membership dues, qualify for tax-deduction consideration on your income taxes.

What it Means for You: Collectors wishing to financially support the long-term mission of LSCC (advancing the field of numismatics and the study of Christian Gobrecht inspired coinage) can do so with their contributions qualifying for a charitable tax deduction. And just like the ANA or ANS, contributions of coins themselves can be made with the possibility of additional tax advantages.

A Fortuitous Change: LSCC’s transition to a charitable organization coincides with an historic change in 2026 tax regulations. In the past, you had to separately itemize your various deductible expenses (mortgage

interest, medical costs, charitable gifts) to deduct those items from your taxable income. But 90% of Americans just take the standard deduction rather than itemizing. However, beginning in 2026, even if you continue to use the standard deduction, you can now deduct up to an additional $1,000 in charitable gifts from your taxable income ($2,000 for couples). That’s a little like having our cake and eating it too! (To qualify for this specific tax break, the charitable gift must be in cash, check or credit card – not rare coins.)

Consult your Expert: Everyone’s financial and tax situations are unique, and there can be tax complexities to charitable contributions. It’s always wise to consult with your tax professional if you’re considering a significant contribution to LSCC – or any organization.

In the months ahead we’ll provide more information about LSCC’s charitable tax status and the opportunities this represents, but we wanted to share this exciting news with you as soon as possible.

(Prices are per issue. All ads should include some Liberty Seated coins and/or related material.)

Full Page $100

Half Page $ 50

Quarter Page $ 30

Inquires & Special Rates: Contact Advertising Manager

Jeff Pritchard at jjpsr2@gmail.com

Deadline: 25th of the month prior to month of issue

For Advertising in The Gobrecht Journal, see contact above.