The cover of Henry Hines' annotated copy of The United States Copper Cents, 1816-1857

John W. Adams collection of papers relating to United States Large Cents, 1907-1972, bulk 1939-1949.
0.6 cubic feet (1 box)

Biographical note
Investment banker and coin collector John W. Adams (1936-) of Boston, Massachusetts, graduated from Princeton (1957) and Harvard (1960). He worked in the research department at Kuhn Loeb & Co. in New York City (1960-1961), was assistant treasurer at Corning Glass Works (1961-1966), and later became chairman of Adams, Harkness & Hill in Boston. He is the author of Monographs on Varieties of United States Large Cents, 1793-1794 (1976), United States Numismatic Literature, Volume 1: Nineteenth Century Auction Catalogs (1982), and The Medals Concerning John Law and the Mississippi System (2006), as well as numerous articles in such publications as Penny Wise, The Numismatist, and Colonial Newsletter. His noted collection of 1794 cents was sold by Bowers and Ruddy in 1982. He has served as a trustee at the Massachusetts Historical Society, a fellow of the American Antiquarian Society, and as president of both the Numismatic Bibliomania Society (2001-2007) and the Medal Collectors of America.

Collection
Collection gathered by Adams of correspondence, catalogs, notes, printed matter, and photographs from various American numismatists and large cent collectors. Includes materials relating to the collections of the American Numismatic Society, T. James Clarke, Homer K. Downing, Henry Hines, B. Max Mehl, Howard Newcomb, and Oscar J. Pearl, and to the works of George H. Clapp and William H. Sheldon. Printed matter includes Mark W. Collett's annotated and priced copy of M. Thomas and Sons sale catalog, Philadelphia, June 12-13, 1855, with a listing of sales by Edward Cogan and others (1857-1859); Hines' annotated copy of Frank D. Andrews' The United States Copper Cents, 1816-1857 (1924); and a copy of Clapp's "United States Cents of 1793" from Coin Collector's Journal (1942). Photographs include prints from Lester Merkin sales (1965-1972). Correspondents also include Walter Breen, Thomas L. Gaskill, Abe Kosoff, Sydney P. Noe, and Howland Wood. (see G. F. Kolbe's auction sale catalog no. 44, June 1, 1990).

Archival Collections