Colonial Coin & Stamp Company

Before Whitman assumed publication of Post's coin boards late in 1935, a rival publisher had already decided to capitalize on the growing popularity of coin boards. Leiser Wolf Schnelling was a newly-arrived immigrant from Germany when he established himself as the proprietor of Colonial Coin & Stamp Company in New York City around 1931. Two years later he published an illustrated catalog of United States coins cover-dated 1934 that gained him some national attention. In 1935 he debuted his own line of coin boards that were similar in concept to those of J. K. Post but offered a feature not available with other coin boards---visibility of both sides of each coin. His handsome boards had clear, cellophane backings in place of the standard backings of opaque paper. They also featured a handsome masthead and several illustrations. This masthead depicted a boy of perhaps 12 or 13 examining his coin collection with a magnifying glass. In the First Edition, printed only during 1935, this illustration was oddly old-fashioned, and it was soon replaced with one having a more contemporary appearance. In this form Colonial brand boards remained in production through 1940, and they appear to have sold quite well. Assorted titles were offered from one cent through half dollars. A quality product, Schnelling's boards retailed at 35 cents, as opposed to the 25-cent price typical of all other brands.  Like Whitman, Colonial also offered a two-volume album of bound boards.