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HENRY CLAY EZEKIEL (1846-1930)

I recently wrote about Peter Mougey of Cincinnati. While doing research on him, I came across an article in The Cincinnati Inquirer of June 4, 1911, which mentioned another local collector:For many years he has paid particular attention to coins and medals, and since the death of Thomas C. Cleneay and Peter Mougey is the most notable numismatist in the city.

The collector continued the narrative, Most of these collectors have passed away, and theircollections dispersed. Mr. Peter Mougey, recently deceased, had the best collection of the UnitedState coinage, while my own collection is the most extensive in all the various branches ofnumismatics, I also have a very large collection of autographs, stamps, historical and literarycuriosities, which is possibly the most extensive of any private collection in the United States.

In another part of the article was stated, Mr. Henry Clay Ezekiel, which is his real name, has fora number of years been collecting everything possible relating to the Early Money ofCincinnati. and has written several papers on the subject, particularly for Greve's History ofCincinnati, for numismatic journals, and an extensive one read at Columbus, Ohio, last yearbefore the Ohio Numismatic Society.

Ezekiel was born in Richmond, Virginia, on January 30, 1846, the son of Jacob Ezekiel (1812-1899) and Catherine DeCastro Ezekiel (1818-1891). He served with the Confederate Armyduring the Civil War as a guard for Union prisoners.

Ezekiel began to collect coins at age 13. He claimed that he was in the office of Richmondbanker Edward Cohen around 1860 when a negro came in and sold a lot of silver coins thatincluded an 1804 dollar.

He moved to Cincinnati in 1870 and worked in the auction and commission business. He was thepresident of the Ezekiel and Bernheim Company conducting sales of art, books and rugs formore than fifty years. Each year he conducted an auction for choice seats at the CincinnatiSymphony Orchestra.

 

H. C. Ezekiel placed an ad in the June 1904 issue of The Numismatist before he was listed as anANA member. He was looking to buy all kinds of early Cincinnati money. In the issue of April1905, he placed an ad looking for various priced auction catalogs.

He joined the ANA in 1905 as member 724. For the July 1911 issue of The Numismatist(24:236), he submitted an article on Cincinnati Civil War Store cards. This was a listing ofmerchants with no coin descriptions. He followed with Cincinnati Civil War Tokens for theissue of April 1912 (25:119), Civil War Card Money of Cincinnati, 1861-1865 in the issue ofJune 1912 (25:218).

He wrote The D. B. S. War Token for the issue of May 1913 (26:242). This included a briefbiography for David Benjamin Sterritt who had a grocery store at 541 Main Street.

In the April 1918 issue of The Numismatist, Ezekiel offered the coin cabinet of Peter Mougeyfor sale.

Ezekiel specialized in the study of early money in Cincinnati from the foundation of the city in1788 through the end of the Civil War. The June 4, 1911, article in the Cincinnati Inquirerdescribed this money in some details. This was an unusually long article on numismatics in alocal paper. In the early days trade was done through barter. Montroville Dickeson believed thatcoal disks found in mounds near Cincinnati were used as currency. It was Dickeson's habit tothink any disk found in a mound was used as currency.

The first bank in Cincinnati, The Miami Exporting Company, was founded in 1803. That bankfailed in 1842. Ezekiel studied the history of early banking and collected the banknotes.

During the Civil War, many banks and local businesses printed currency for use in trade. OneCincinnati lithographer also produced counterfeits of Confederate currency to pass across theOhio river in the South.

Ezekiel published a list of counterfeit detectors and bank note reporters published in Cincinnatiduring 1841 to 1863.

Gold coins were struck in 1849 for the Cincinnati Mining and Trading Company. The namereflects the ownership group and not the source of the gold, which was in California. Ezekieladvertised that he wished to purchase specimens but without success.

Cincinnati collector H. A. Ratterman assembled a collection of card money or printed tokensgood for products like bread or milk or coal. Ezekiel purchased that collection from one of theheirs.

Ezekiel knew John Stanton, a prolific issuer of Civil War tokens, and wrote about him while hewas still living at age 82. Stanton could not remember how many he produced, but there werehundreds. Stanton also produced Sutlers' Checks.

Robert Wright was a large customer for Stanton's tokens. He had a standing order for 10,000tokens a week and bought more than a million pieces over the course of the war.

Ezekiel wrote brief biographical sketches for James Murdock, Jr., William Spencer and JohnStanton. Collectors of Civil War tokens are indebted to Ezekiel for recording this informationshortly after the tokens were made.

Four dry goods companies in Cincinnati issued encased postage pieces while only one other drygoods company in New York was known to have produced one.

Ezekiel wrote about the early collectors in Cincinnati. The Western Museum Society opened theCincinnati Museum in 1818. Letton's Museum operated after 1829. He wrote in 1911 that theCincinnati Art Museum, the Ohio Historical Society and the Van Wormer Library currentlymaintained collections of coins and medals.

 

Notable Cincinnati private collectors included Dr. M. L. Amick, James Bindley, Enoch T,Carson, Robert M. Brazner, Thomas C. Cleneay, T. Bishop Disney, Robert Downing, Alfred S.Field, Louis J. Hauck, James J, Hughes, Joseph Kluber, Robert Leslie, Abraham Mayer, SamuelA. McCune, Robert W. Mercer, Peter Mougey, Dr. William L. Prescott, Henry Probasco, CharlesC, Reakirt, Henry Sayre, J. M. Tilton, and Joseph Zanoni. Few of them were notable enough tobe mentioned in American Numismatic Biographies.

Henry Clay Ezekiel acquired intact the J. Murdock, Jr, Collection of Civil War tokens about1917. This included tokens made in Cincinnati by John Stanton and Murdock. After picking outa few to enhance his collection, he consigned the remainders to Thomas Elder for his sale ofMarch 20, 1918. Elder eventually sold Ezekiel coins in five of his auctions.

Henry Clay Ezekiel was married in 1894 to Jessie Myers Ezekiel (1856-1929). He died onSeptember 18, 1930, and is buried with his wife at Walnut Hill Jewish Cemetery in Evanston,Ohio.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
PETER MOUGEY (1842-1908)(https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n11a17.html)