By Bob Korver – NumiStorica.com….
Longtime noted numismatist Robert Korver has announced the launch of his new website, NumiStorica.com, a site devoted to the amazing tales, interesting connections and fascinating characters that make numismatics such compelling hobby. Using his keen sense of synchronicity, parallels and correlation, Korver brings to life his diverse subjects with a lively spirit.
“NumiStorica.com was created to provide free entertainment and education for coin clubs and advanced numismatists,” summarized Bob Korver. “After 50 years in the hobby and business, and working at places like the Smithsonian Institution and Colonial Williamsburg, I realized that despite extensive writing in the past, I had a few stories worth sharing! And as my friends would be quick to add, perhaps an opinion or two… I currently have three slide shows and a half dozen articles posted at the website. Many more will be posted during the coming months.”
“ALL WE LIKE SHEEP” is a 35-minute multimedia article (slide show with some music) examining a key numismatic topic: how much does art really reflect the times? The subtitle (“Is the Numismatic Iconography of Sheep on American Obsolete Currency Serving God or Mammon?” makes it sound less fun than it is! The music spans Gregorian chant to Johnny Cash! I guarantee you will be surprised at my conclusions.
“GAZAWAY BUGG LAMAR, “A True Southern”” is a 25-minute presentation resulting from the intersection of family history and a numismatic investigation centering on the Civil War. I’ll provide the spoiler: what fun to discover connections — granted distant — to Gazaway Bugg Lamar, James Taylor Soutter, and General John Adams Dix. Numismatic research can unfold in a surprising fashion — research that I now wish I had done 30 years ago!
“A NIAGARA BRIDGE? Researching a Common Bridge Separating Two Peoples” is a 25-minute Keynote (Apple) slide show of how I do research. The topic started simply enough: Was a bridge vignette on an Obsolete banknote generic, or unique? Confusion over more than 12 bridges yielded an astonishing conclusion (soon to be tested). If you have ever made numismatic assumptions and had them go bad, you should enjoy watching!
“The slide shows were created in Apple Keynote as ‘slide’ presentation; on the NumiStorica.com website, they are posted as .pdf files due to size issues. Coin clubs who wish to use them as the entertainment can use the .pdf, or they can email me at [email protected] and be linked to the Keynote version on iCloud.com. In most cases, I can telephone in to their meetings for questions and discussions. I will also be creating QuickTime versions (movies) very soon.”
The articles run the gamut from light-hearted looks at numismatic themes used on television and in the movies, to more serious economic and legal topics.
“Briscoe v. The Commonwealth Bank of Kentucky” examines the chaotic banking of early Nineteenth Century America, and how Jackson’s Supreme Court Justices declined to destroy what was left after Jackson’s bank war.
’Tis Death To Counterfeit is an old article investigating the legal ramifications of counterfeiting in Colonial Virginia, soon to be superseded by a major work on Colonial Virginia currency.
Another upcoming article will investigate Shakespearean Metaphor.
The slide presentations are presented for a broader audience, while the articles will appeal to more serious numismatists who enjoy the back story as much as the object.
Bob Korver can be contacted at [email protected] or (214) 244-5478 for more details and notifications of upcoming additions to the website.
