HARVEY STACK'S NUMISMATIC FAMILY, PART 33

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V21 2018 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 21, Number 51, December 23, 2018, Article 14

Harvey Stack's blog series focuses on growing up in a numismatic family. Here is part 33. Thanks, Harvey! -Editor

The year of 1962 had proved to be quite successful. We were pleased with the results of our first offering of the Samuel Wolfson Collection and we also had the feeling that 1963 would even be better, as there were several important offerings scheduled for our public auctions. In addition to having the Wolfson silver and copper coins already in house, we also had been tapped to sell the George Walton Collection, as Mr. Walton had died in a horrible accident the year before.

The numismatic community was growing with more new members joining clubs and the ANA, and attendance increasing at shows and conventions. Specialists vied for rarities and varieties from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Competition for rare coins became keen and published price guides reflected the growth in interest.

Publications, including those published monthly and the weekly Numismatic News and the more recently started Coin World, had a great effect on the hobby. There was much information easily available, as well as advertising opportunities that were beneficial to both buyers and sellers. The two weekly publications were especially sought after and well used by collectors.

We still had to deal with the import regulations for world gold coins that were affecting the supply and availability of coins on this side of the ocean. As there was less to choose from, dealers and collectors began bidding more for gold coins of all series, both those from the United States and around the world. The prices in the Wolfson sale in October 1962 confirmed this increase in value. Stack’s was fortunate to have developed relationships with many collectors both established and new, and this resulted in our being able to find a lot of the items we needed for our customers.

Changes in the economy and increased ease of travel meant that collectors and investors could attend more auction sales, visit more coin shops, and go to more numismatic shows and conventions. This increase in activity naturally led to more money being spent in the hobby.

Our first major public auction sale for 1963 was The Samuel Wolfson Collection of United States Silver and Copper Coins. This portion was quite comprehensive for dates and mintmarks from 1793 to 1962 and featured many great rarities and highlights, a list of which would take a lot of space. Instead, I will focus on a major rarity the R. Coulton Davis 1804 silver dollar. This spectacular coin, along with the other coins in the collection, many of which were Proof or Mint State, attracted bidders in all series. Attendance was incredible, with about 500 collectors and dealers in a huge ballroom. In addition there were several thousand bid sheets and a record number of phone calls, all of which helped make the sale a great success.

The R. Coulton Davis 1804 silver dollar in the Wolfson Collection was a coin that we had first offered at auction in 1954 where it was bought by a collector who resided in Fairbanks, Alaska. It realized $8,000, a huge sum for a rare silver coin at that time. The Alaskan collector completed his silver dollar collection and decided to sell it at public auction through Stack’s in early 1960. At that sale, the 1804 dollar sold to Wolfson for $28,000, a new record price. At the 1863 Wolfson sale, it again set a new record, selling for $36,000.

In June of 1963 we offered the first part of the George Walton Collection, the largest holding of gold coins of the southern mints ever offered for sale. This included coins made by members of the Bechtler family, as well as those made at the Charlotte and Dahlonega mints. There were also numerous other gold coins from 1795 to 1932, a virtually complete collection of U.S. Mint gold coins. In my next article I will tell more about George Walton and how he built his collection.