The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 41, October 14, 2007, Article 6

WHAT OTHER JOHN J. FORD NUMISMATIC PROPERTIES AWAIT?

Last week I inquired about the whereabouts of John J. 
Ford's 1783 Nova Constellatio pattern set. I've heard 
several speculations, but there has been no word from 
anyone associated with Stack's. All the rest of us can 
do is wait and wonder. 

Alan V. Weinberg writes: "In the last E-Sylum you inferred 
from reading Larry Stack's preface to catalogue XXI (the 
ingot sale), that there'll be no further Ford collection 
auction catalogues. It may be more accurate to say that 
there are no further 'scheduled' sales."

The following segments, known to me, are still intact in 
the Ford collection and simply not scheduled for auction 
at this time:

* The reportedly finest known collection of "pseudo-Low" 
(proven, documented Hard Times Tokens but not listed by 
Lyman Low in his classic reference) 

* Hard Times tokens, allegedly a group more valuable than 
the "official" Hard Times Token Ford collection auctioned 
by Stack's in Chicago 

* one of, if not the finest, collections of DeWitt/Sullivan 
-listed political tokens and medals

* reportedly over 500 political ferrotypes (small campaign 
tintypes, usually encased for wearing during early campaigns 
from Lincoln - Garfield)

* superb selections of rare Sutler tokens, Western Indian 
and Post Trader, and territorial trade tokens 

* a collection of earlier Lincoln tokens and medals including 
many rarities

* a collection of earlier Lafayette tokens and medals including 
many rarities

"Despite numerous inquiries to Stack's concerning the above 
collections, there have been no specific explanations forthcoming. 
It is a total mystery to token and medal dealer Steve Tanenbaum, 
myself and others who have repeatedly inquired. Speculations 
range from assumptions that Stack's doesn't want to deal with 
such 'low value' material (unlikely due to the significant 
value of much of the above and the fact that Stack's is now 
auctioning single lot, common so-called dollars in their main 
sales, to speculation that taxes are already too high on the 
Ford estate, to reports that certain segments yet unsold are 
of personal interest to members of the Ford Family - quite 
likely as Ford's son-in-law Brian reportedly collects political 
campaign tokens and medals. 

"Other unsupported stories that some of these segments have 
been sold or will be sold intact privately to interested parties 
or 'farmed out' to other auction houses is baloney in my opinion. 
So there may be more Ford 'treats' down the line - 
just not now."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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