JAMES EDWARD SKALBE (1955-2017)

For the 2017 ANA Convention, I created an exhibit on the "Worthy Coin Anniversary Medals." I was aware that these medals were created by James E. Skalbe who was an employee of the Worthy Coin Company in 1988. I was also aware that Skalbe punched his name into various old coins and some more recent coins. He was well known as a dealer in Colonial coins and member of C4.

As background for my exhibit, I wanted to learn more about Skalbe. He was affiliated with The Collector’s Shop, Inc. between 1991 and 1998. He also worked for Colonial Trading Company after leaving Worthy. I contacted the company and talked with the current owner. He reported that Skalbe died in March of 2017 and the family did not want to announce his death. Another acquaintance indicated that Skalbe had been in poor health in recent years.

There are many websites that pretend to provide biographical and directory information. Such information is frequently not current and otherwise unreliable. One such website gives his date of birth as February 16, 1955. Most such sites give a current address in Winthrop, Massachusetts. None of these sites report his death.

The Social Security Death Index is an excellent source of dates of birth and death. However, dates of death are withheld for three years. That information may become available later this year.

There may be a story behind the family reluctance to announce the death. Without a published obituary, much of his life story will be unrecorded.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 19, 2020 : Query: James Skalbe Information Sought (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n03a10.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web