Essays in Appreciation of His Life and Legacy
Leslie A. Elam is Executive Director of the American Numismatic Society in
New York.
Part Four
Harry W. Bass Jr. - Life and Legacy
Leslie A. Elam
The 1989 ANS COAC EXHIBITION
The greatest public appreciation of Harry Bass's collecting acumen and the depth
and quality of his research on U.S. Federal gold coins took place at the sixth annual
Coinage of the Americas Conference at the American Numismatic Society, November 4-5,
1989. For this occasion, Harry displayed over 1,500 prize coins from his collection,
accompanied by a preliminary report of his collection by die variety and die state,
using a system of his own devise, based on the prior work of Walter Breen.
The Keynote Address
In a Keynote Address to the gathering of over 80 attendees, Harry stressed the joys
and the difficulties of collecting American gold, and outlined his reasons for using
the descriptive nomenclature, "The Harry W. Bass Jr. Reference Collection of
United States Federal Gold Coins." The exhibition amply justified his choice
of terms.
"This exhibit," said Bass, "is the realization of my lifelong dream,
the culmination of my efforts to build a collection that merits being shown at the
American Numismatic Society to a gathering of preeminent colleagues." He went
on to highlight some of his discoveries that were included in the exhibition: a rediscovery
of the first reverse of the 1796 quarter eagle; the 1825 quarter eagle with a new
obverse die; the 1856 proof $3 -old with DOLLARS in large letters over the same inscription
in small letters; and the 1803 eagle with a fourteenth star (his initial discovery).
The late Walter Breen, whom Bass credited with paving the way for his own research
by virtue of the work he had published on the gold coinage by denomination, was a
participant in the 1989 COAC and openly admired the quality and scholarly presentation
of the Bass exhibit. One of the most endearing memories of those present was captured
in a photograph by Margo Russell-Harry Bass thoroughly enjoying the close, respectful
scrutiny given his coins by Walter.
It was our intention at the ANS to publish the catalogue prepared by Harry for the
exhibition as an Appendix to the Proceedings volume of the conference. We got as
far as having him approve the brief Introduction, culled from his Keynote Address,
and the form of the catalogue entries. There it ended; Harry could not bear the tbought
that among his vast array of unique treasures, he might have missed a detail that
another would bring to his attention. Since his oral description of the collection
and his intended catalogue listing have not heretofore seen publication, those remarks
are warranted here as part of the historical record. Perhaps they may, some day,
comprise the Preface to the published record of a unique endeavor.
A Personal Introduction
"The listing that follows represents the first effort that I have ever made
to describe in writing the United States Federal coinage forming the principal focus
of my personal collection. It was prepared in conjunction with an exhibit of selections
from the collection at the 1989 Coinage of the Americas Conference. 
"My particular interest in the study of early Federal gold is to discern
die varieties and die states which permits an extremely accurate ordering of the
coinage within each year of issue. Two reasons come to mind why I have not previously
found it necessary to compile a detailed catalogue. Over the years my basis for acquiring
a particular piece has been a coin to coin comparison, matching what I owned
with what I was considering. Once I acquired a piece, all I had to do was make a
few brief notations.
"On the "flip" and the coin would be sufficiently documented for my
purposes. The second reason why from the beginning I did not have to reduce the information
to writing is probably equally the genesis of my interest in these gold coins.
"An apt subtitle of my COAC exhibit might well have been 'Twenty-three Years
of Following the Path of Walter Breen.'The fact that he was able to put together
his Encyclopedia [Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins
(New York, 1988)] is one of the most awesome intellectual feats that I have been
witness to. That a person can have amassed, over a finite period of study, such a
wealth of information - provenance, varieties, minting practices, the most minute
descriptive details - is not less than fantastic. For many years now he has been
receiving research assistance from a number of us interested in American coinage
but when it comes to gold, his important monographic contributions began in the 1960s.
"Those readers who may have started collecting coins as youngsters are familiar
with the old Whitman blue- covered folders where one acquired coins to fill the slots.
Walter Breen's variety monographs were my 'Whitman folders.' They were my checklists.
It was not very long, of course, in fact right from the beginning, that I wanted
to find varieties not recorded, not known to exist - that is where the thrill is.
The object of collecting is not only to acquire objects, study them, and assemble
them in a meaningful progression or array; and then try to improve your conditions;
but to discover the undiscovered or rediscover the previously but forgotten discovered.
The opportunity to do this in my area of specialty has heightened for me the charm
and the excitement of collecting.
"Since my collection has grown to a fairly substantial size over the years,
I feel that I can justifiably use the term 'Reference Collection' to describe an
assemblage sufficiently broad from a year, mint mark, and denomination standpoint,
and sufficiently deep from a variety and die state standpoint, to serve as a primary
research tool for the specialist."
Introduction to the Exhibition Listing
"The entries are ordered primarily by denomination and date, consistent
with the organization of Breen's Encyclopedia. The date range of the various
denominations is: $2.50, 1796-1839; $3, 1834-1989; $5, 1795-1838; $10, 1795-1804.
[The catalogue listing was incomplete for the $3 and $5 issues.] 
Walter Breen and Harry Bass at ANS, 1989.
"As noted the listing follows the sequential numbering in Breen (Breen No.),
to which I have added alpha suffixes to further distinguish different reverse
dies. The entries under Breen Var. refer to the varieties identified in the
relevant Breen monographs:
Varieties of United States Quarter Eagles (Chicago, 1964).
Major Varieties of United States Three Dollar Gold Pieces (Chicago, 1965).
Early United States Half Eagles, 1795-1838 (Chicago, 1966).
United States Eagles (Chicago, 1967).
"The record of the first three denominations is augmented by the supplementary
publication:
New Varieties of $1, $2.50 and $5. 00 United States Gold (Chicago, 1968).
"Bass var. references further refine the variety designations (Obv.: dies,
numeric; die states, lower case alpha. Rev.: dies, alpha; die states, lower
case alpha; when a reverse is carried over from a previous year, it is identified
by the first year used together with the appropriate die alpha). For clarity, obverse/
reverse designations are separated by a diagonal. The Description section
provides information unique to the individual specimens as well as that instrumental
in the discernment of die varieties and die states."
By example the following table would constitute the beginning of the catalogue of
quarter eagles:
U.S. $2.50 GOLD
Date/MM Breen No. Brn. Var. Bass var. Description
1796 6113A 3 1(a)/A Obv. Full bottom curls. Rev. Cracks!!
1796 6113A 3 1(a)/A Obv. Full bottom curls. Rev. Cracks!!
1796 6113B 1 1(b)/B Obv. Weak crack in field at 9 o'clock; lapped; bottom
curls weak.
1796 6113B 1 1(c)/B Obv. Weak crack in field at 9 o'clock; additional lapping;
bottom curls now strands.
1796 6113B 1 1(d)/B Obv. Weak crack in field at 9 o'clock; lapped; bottom
curls weak.
1796 6113B 1 1(c!)/B Obv. Weak crack in field at 9 o'clock; additional lapping;
bottom curls now strands.
1796 WS 6114 2 1/A Obv. 16 stars. Clashed Obv. and Rev.
1797 6115 1 1/A Obv. Crack!!
1798 6116 1 1/A Obv. Close date. Rev. 4 berries.
1799 6117 2 2/B Obv. Wide date. Rev. 5 berries.
1802/1 6118 ? 1/B Obv. Date repunched. Rev. Spike shield to wing.
1870-S $3 Proof. The only known specimen, this coin was purchased by Harry Bass
at the Eliasberg Sale conducted bv Bowers and Ruddy/Stack's in 1982.
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Part One - Coming of Age
Part Two - Bass Buys A Mountain
Part Three - The Lore of Numismatics
Part Five - The Harry Bass Era at ANS
Part Six - Harry Bass Foundation