EDWARD DAVID COGAN (1803-1884)

Cogan, Edward David (1803-1884), In 1866 he resided at 299 State Street, Brooklyn, New York; 408 State Street, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York; 68 William Street, Brooklyn, New York, later moved to 95 William Street, Brooklyn.

He was born on January 5, 1803 at Walthamstow, Essex County, England, son of Eliezer Cogan (1762-1855) and Mary Atchison (1769-1850). In 1851, he and his wife Louisa (1818-), and their five sons Richard, Thomas, Edwin, William and Charles and daughter Mary Louisa lived in Kent. According

His occupation in England was an accountant. In 1853, they moved from England to Camden, New Jersey... About that same year at Philadelphia he opened a curio shop as a dealer in fine art and books. According to his obituary in The Coin Collector’s Journal, May, 1884, he began in the coin trade in 1855 at his shop at 48 North 10th Street, Philadelphia, which is most probably an exaggeration.

On October 16, 1868, Edward Cogan became a Naturalized Citizen of the United States, Supreme Court of New York, Vol. 4, No. 457, witness by Peter Gilroy 614 Third Avenue, New York. It was when Cogan became a Naturalized Citizen of the United States he also became cantankerous.

There was controversy regarding the Randall catalog initiated by Ed Cogan who did not get to catalog John Colvin Randall’s second sale and might have felt that Ebenezer Locke Mason Jr. was muscling in on his turf taking away his client. These three men were all coin dealers. Apparently Cogan was furious that Mason was the one that Randall chose to deal with over him. In a rageful effort to prove to Randall and the entire collecting world his biased allegations that Mason was an inferior numismatist, inept cataloger, corrupt, money-hungry, dishonest coin dealer, Cogan began to publicly castigate and criticize him verbalizing these very allegations and false accusations either directly or by way of innuendo.

He retired on October 14, 1879 leaving the business to his sons George and Richard. According to the 1880 US Census he retired from the fur business.

At the time of his death April 17, 1884 the obituary in The Coin Collector’s Journal, May, 1884, mistakenly claimed “He was among the first to hold auction sales of coins in America, and it is stated on good authority that his catalogues, which unfortunately were unnumbered, are even yet greater in number than those of any other dealer.” Cogan has 70 coin auctions attributed to him over a span of 21 years from 1858 to 1879, whereas, John W. Haseltine, from 1870 up to April 1884 had 78 sales.

To read the complete article, see:
COGAN, EDWARD DAVID (https://sites.google.com/a/numismaticmall.com/www/numismaticmall-com/cogan-edward-david?pli=1)

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