LOUIS HUDSON, 1942-2014

I am very sad to report that Louis Hudson died Wednesday. He was a magnificent numismatist, vastly knowledgeable in the field of Latin American numismatics and a truly good man. He was a great mentor to me and good friend to all who knew him; he loved sharing his knowledge and was generous to a fault. But for a series of unfortunate hard knocks in life he would have been one of the most successful numismatists in the business.

Louis got his start in numismatics while working for an American tobacco company in Argentina in the 1960s. There he became fluent in Spanish and began to make contacts throughout South America. He handled many of the greatest rarities in Latin American coins and paper money known today, and helped to build significant collections such as the Amon Carter collection.

Louis lived out his final days in Greensboro, North Carolina, and died of kidney failure. I will miss him always. Donations in his memory can be made to the Patrick Henry Boys and Girls Home in Brookneal, VA, www.patrickhenry.org

Louis grew up on a tobacco farm in Virginia and was attracted to early colonial coins uncovered by his plow at a young age. In 1967, Louis moved to Argentina after responding to a Philip Morris ad to teach tobacco farming to the local community. While there, Louis became fluent in Spanish and began visiting local silversmiths to buy coins. He brought those coins back to sell in the US and this avocation led to full time dealing when the Philip Morris project ended a few years later.

Louis Hudson is one of the foremost authorities in Spanish colonial coinage. He was a fixture at coin shows and important auctions around the world. His knowledge and influence were evident in countless publications and numismatic collections, perhaps the most important of which was that of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, which he single-handedly appraised in 2002 for over 50 million dollars by today's standards. Louis was assisted in the last years of his career in the numismatic business by his daughter, Stephanie who today continues Louis' legacy.

To read the complete article, see: HUDSON, LOUIS (www.news-record.com/obituaries/article_1ef26b67-c758-5047-9732-2826ad21a6a9.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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