DONALD YOUNG EXONUMIA IN HOLABIRD SALE

I had the opportunity to help catalog Donald Young's exonumia collection slated for auction by Holabird Western Americana Collections in their December 9, 10, and 11 auction. Many of you are familiar with Don and some of you may have known the extent of his collection. For me, it was a pleasant surprise and now TAMS members have an opportunity to add to their own collections. Don collected with an eye to quality. If you want a catalog, call 775-851-1859 and let them know you are a TAMS member. In addition to mail bids and bidding live in Reno, you can also participate live through several online options. These are discussed at the end of the article.

We receive requests from TAMS members interested in how they might go about collecting TAMS assembly medals as well as presidential medals. One can search eBay and dealer tables at shows, but most medals are relatively low value when purchased individually and can be difficult to find. Don kept most of his collection in Dansco albums and these will be auctioned as he kept them, one album at a time. In the albums, you will find bronze and silver presidential medals, progression sets of Don's presidential medal, and gold plated, gold-filled, and 14k gold examples of some of the presidential medals presented to the presidents.

In some years, sets of the assembly medals were struck in different metals and presented to the medal's designer. Limited numbers of the sets were produced and those represented in Don's collection from 2000 through 2009 will be sold as well. Virginia Culver's gold literary award is among the more surprising and more expensive pieces we found in the collection. Lead trial strikes and rejected medal designs are sprinkled through the auction lots as well. TAMS collectors will want to read the descriptions carefully and call for more information if needed prior to bidding.

The first assembly medal issued in 1961 caught my eye. Examples are found in one of Don's albums, but a set in a capital plastics holder caught my eye. It was in a box of mixed medals because the label on the holder said, SOCIETY OF MEDAL, TOKEN AND OBSOLETE PAPER MONEY COLLECTORS. It took me a moment to realize that it was indeed the first issue of TAMS. The medal was conceived by Roy C. Small, designed by the Shawnee Hills Medallists of Harrisburg, Illinois, and engraved by Robert B. Barron. William Bryant of Wendell-Northwestern in Minneapolis arranged to have the medal struck at minimal cost to the society. All paid members received a bronze copy of the medal and one silver medal per member could be ordered for $3.00 prior to the first annual meeting at the ANA convention in Atlanta.

Don specialized in ANA badges, medal sets, and an amazing collection of 25th, 50th, and 60th year anniversary medals, appreciation medals, and award medals. Awards presented to Vernon Sheldon, Abe Kosoff, and Robert Hendershott are among the more prominent names represented as well as gold presidential medals for J. Henri Ripstra, Virginia Culver, George D. Hatie, and Vernon Sheldon.

The highlight of Don's ANA exonumia is the complete ANA badge collection with all the early examples in pristine, as new condition. The one example in less than ideal condition are two examples of the 1915 San Francisco badge, a piece missing in virtually every major collection. One of the two 1915 badges is an unknown Reception Committee badge. The name bar and medal are somewhat corroded and the ribbon is separate from the pin bar, but it is intact and easily repaired.

The first ANA badge was issued in 1908 and Don's example is flawless. But, a celluloid pin back was distributed in 1907 to promote the idea of issuing badges. Three examples of the 1907 bin back will be offered in the auction.

The 1913 Detroit ANA convention badge is a good example of the quality of the early badges. Detroit Civil War store cards were used as hangers on the ribbon. The B.N. Kneeland Stoves store card (MN-225-AR) was used on the badge presented here. The Civil War token is one of the more famous spelling errors, STOEVS. It is a beautiful badge with an uncirculated store card.

Among the other rare badges is the 1918 Philadelphia badge that was never issued and the convention was cancelled owing to a flu epidemic. Examples of the badge were thought to not exist, but did come to light when Neil Harris was writing his study of ANA convention badges for The Numismatist. Again, this badge and the two 1919 badges that accompany it are of the highest quality.

There are other surprises in the collection including two sets of the 1946 Davenport, Iowa convention medals including gold versions of the medal. Both sets are in the original gold colored boxes of issue. Another surprise is five gold badges from the 1958 Los Angeles ANA convention that were issued to ANA officers and committee members. Virtually every convention medal issued by the ANA is represented including many if not most of the gold versions of the medals when issued. Of special note are five silver examples of the large 75th Anniversary medals struck by the US Mint including the one presented to mint director Eva Adams. Only 30 of these medals were struck and it is believed only 28 were actually released for presentation. If you have been looking for this rare medal, you have a chance at one of five different copies.

Central States Numismatic Society collectors will find a long run of badges and medals dating back to 1953. Many of the early medals are from the estates of Glenn Smedley and George Hatie. Nine sets of progression strikes of high relief large and small medals along with lead die trials of many medals are included in the auction.

Medals collectors will find a number of items of interest including large calendar medals, Medal Collectors of America sets, FIDEM medals, and a variety of miscellaneous art medals. A long run (34 total) of Brookgreen Gardens medals is sure to be popular.

Don's collection of the Circle of Friends of the Medallion and Society of Medalists issues are another highlight of the auction. All twelve books and medals in the CoM set are included, as well as the large 1993 silver restrike of Victor D. Brenner's Motherhood medal. Eighty-eight Society of Medalists issues turned out to be the surprise of the collection. With the exception of the 1994 set of 6 dinosaur medals, the other 82 medals are rare silver examples of the series. The first seventy issues in silver represent an exceptional collection in and of themselves. There are no mintage figures for numbers 41 through 70 and many of these are undoubtedly rarer than other silver issues. The impressive 1990 Creation medal by Marcel Jovine is even more impressive in silver. The medal required over a hundred strikes and twenty separate annealings to produce. The silver medal contains nineteen ounces of silver. Equally impressive is the 1995 Last Supper medal by Geri Jimenez Gould struck in silver. The 155mm x 79mm medal is the largest in the set.

TAMS members may request a copy of the catalog by calling 775-851-1859 or 844-HWAC-RNO (492-2766) or email Info@holabirdamericana.com. Don's collection is scheduled to appear in the December auction, currently scheduled to run December 9, 10, and 11th. The latest information is available on their web site, http://holabirdamericana.com/. Bidders can participate by phone if there are lots that you want to be sure to buy. If you want to participate or follow the entire auction (or even just the Dan Young section), you can register and bid via ICollector (http://www.icollector.com/, look for Holabird auctions). Other online options include Invaluable (they add a bidder fee), AuctionZip, and eBay (live). AuctionMobility is an iPad and iPhone application that others are finding useful as well.

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