HARVEY STACK ON THE JOHN J. FORD COLLECTION SALES

John got a great deal of information and training from Richard Picker and Ted Craige, superb collectors and dealers in early Americana. Harvey remembers being taught by John about die varieties, early American colonial issues, territorial and pioneer items and the history of broken bank issues. Norman also learned and benefited from his teaching. Sometimes his explanations were long but always loaded with detailed facts. John also helped Q. David Bowers develop his abilities in Americana and numismatic research, areas in which he became very proficient.

John championed many a numismatic debate, doing weeks of research in preparation and then smothering the opposition with facts. He wrote many articles and often lectured at local coin clubs. Larry Stack, my son who joined Stack’s full time in 1973, was an early student and devotee of John. John had such a wealth of knowledge that discussions between Larry and John often lasted for hours. Larry attributes his current expertise to the days spent with John in combination with training by the Stack’s elders.

Because of health reasons, in the 1980s John’s wife, Joan, suggested they move to Arizona where the dry weather would help her lung problems. John meticulously packed all of his collections, wrapped items in special tarnish-proof paper (which he searched out for months before using), and moved with her to Arizona where he lived until his passing in 2005.

The 24 catalogs meticulously prepared by Stack’s and Stack’s Bowers Galleries are a composite of all the wonderful coins, medals and currency that John assembled over 60 years. The Stack family assigned certain of the research and writing to Michael Hodder, a prodigy of John’s, who came to work with Stack’s in the late 1980s. Together with Larry and Harvey (and other team members) they prepared the earlier catalogs which will be forever remembered as essential references. Dave Bowers and Bruce Hagen made numerous contributions for the catalogs and helped make this suite of catalogs on numismatic Americana the most valuable ever produced. And, as I write these words, the John J. Ford Jr. Collection itself has become THE most valuable United States coin collection ever sold, with prices realized from our previous two catalogs pushing the grand total over $59.5 million! And there is still more to come!

To read the complete article, see: Remember When: One Of The Greatest Collections Of The Twentieth Century (stacksbowers.com/Blogs/remember-when-one-of-greatest.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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