St. Paul daily globe., 1889-02-10

ing Dane," by Hans 1Iykkeiaeger. The
gentleman is to be found any day on
Hehnepin, avenue in the person of A.
NJ. Smith, the Danish wine merchant.
No one would dream, on entering the
door and viewing the foreigner sitting
on high stool behind the desk, that
stored within the massive head under
fur cap was probably the most accurate
knowledge in one branch of study
possessed by any man i'll the world.
People say that I'm the biggest
crank in the United States" he said,
as the reporter touched the soft spot in
his nature by in9uring about His Won
derful collection OF coins. land 1 guess
they are about right, but have quit it
now" At first he was reticent, but as
the thoughts OF the work he had done in
the past came back to him. he got down
from his stool, and, piling out on the
counter. book after book of his own au
thorship, his hands and tongue both be-
came free in his enthusiastic praise of
his study. In his foreign accent he
grew eloquent on the subject. -
american people live just for the
present They have no hobby, unlessit
be common hobby of grabbing and
hauling to get their great big dollars.
They spend their time the way they
think best. They go to the theater, or
to horse race, or prize fight, or even
be greater fools and sit and watch all
afternoon a base ball game; and they
grow crazy with it and talk about that.
Now, sit down to my table with my
boxes of coins, and l begin way back at
the beginning, and L take
coin in my fingers and know
that the picture is OF a man
A ricf
that it was handled by people then, and
take nv history and read of that time
and it is all so real to me, and then.I
take one coin after another, with the
different images on Them representing
the victories in war, the marriages iIi
royal families. the building of great
buildings, the birth of princes, and all
those great things: and | look in my
books and find just the same
things told there as the COINS tell.
me and people say am crazy, but
find more pleasure in that than in any
thing else, and it is my study" And
so he would run on in his enthusiastic
way, bobbing back and forth for books.
and papers and lists, and all the time
talking of history. from the most ancient
to the most modern, showing a wonder
ful knowledge, all of which he has
gained in the study of coins.
sWhat is the extent OF your coin col
ieetion?'
Fl have 10000 different pieces. Then
have great many duplicates. 1t has
cost me $2S, 600 and ten years OF hard
work, and, though l have never paid
eXtravagant prices, have. paid over
sleo lots of times for a single copper
piece. I never buy any more unless
can get a coin for One-siXth of what it's
really worth. | won't part with any of
my rare coins, but sell those of which
| have duplicates. My collection excited
a great deal of wonder at the exposition
last year. I have one of the eight or
ten 1904 United States silver dollars now
in existence. l paid s400 for it, and
would not sell it for any sum-"
rYou must have put in a great deal of
time in compiling these works, Dir.
Sinith?"
eYes sir, | did. | shut myself up
twelve hours every day for a
year when / was at work on this,''
said he, opening heavy Illustrated
volume. 'Here are the coins of julius
Caesar and here of NAPOLEON Bonaparte
and here is the widows mite, said he
turning from page to page, describing
the great personages with whom he
seemed to have an intimate acquaint-
ance.
It is beyond question that Mr., Smith
has wonderful history. and is a
man OF broad enough experience to be
entitled to a hobby. He has up to a
short time ago published "a quarterly
magazine devoted to the interests Of
coin collectors. For some reason he has
given up his study. and says he doesn't
have anything more to do with it now,
but the evidences are that he viii de-
vote his whole life to it. !.
Minneapolis has other deyotees to the
craze. and they all say that it is-a craze
that will last forever and increase in in
tsrest as more time is left as part of
the coin making past. The craze is not