The numismatic community is losing a tremendous positive influence with the forced departure of Larry Stack from Stack's. I say "forced departure" as that is what it was. Not a mutually-agreed upon severing of ties or an early retirement.

The Anderson Bros. of Whitman Publishing, who had reportedly been trimming staff in various of their ventures, apparently had plans for a new direction in Stack's operations with which Larry strongly disagreed.

He was of the "old school" - masterfully written and researched auction catalogues of the finest visual quality, knowledge of great rarity and an aesthetic appreciation for numismatic art and history, the importance of a long term support staff (many had been there for decades, most unusual in this industry), and the care needed to cultivate long term and old-time collections and collectors. Tony Terranova, a longtime collector/dealer and a close friend of both mine and Larry's, very recently stated to me: "Nothing is forever - things change". How unfortunate... and how true. Things change, and often not for the better. This is my opinion.