DAN FREELAND MICHIGAN NATIONAL BANK NOTES

 

Dan Freeland, (born on Nov. 4, 1949) was a man of many interests. The oldest of three boys, Dan graduated from Mayville Community Schools in 1967, after attending country school for a number of years, then from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in mathematics in 1971. He began teaching in Millington in 1972, enjoying 30 years of mathematics education before he retired. He was the geometry teacher for most of those 30 years, and to this day, I have students who tell me that they had Mr. Freeland for geometry class! Even then, he had a keen interest in numismatics, starting to collect coins in 1961 when he was 12. His students used to say that if they wanted to get Mr. Freeland off the topic of math, all they had to do was bring up coin collecting and ask questions, and it worked every time.

 

Dan was a member of the Mayville United Methodist Church his entire life, and his faith was very important to him as was serving others. Dan loved his hobbies, which included playing cribbage, double pinochle, collecting Hallmark ornaments and traveling (as long as it was by car). He even owned a motorcycle that he enjoyed riding and attempted to play golf (I have great stories to tell from his friends), but numismatics was the top hobby right up to the end. Even though he started off with coins, his collecting interests were many, as were his memberships in various organizations. He always found ways to give back to the hobby, including serving on the Michigan State Numismatic Society board for a number of years, belonging to the Flint Flying Eagle and Marysville Coin Clubs and being Secretary/Treasurer of the Paper Money Collectors of Michigan.

He collected coins (US Commemorative coins, Canadian coins, proof sets and mint sets). He also assembled collections of a variety of different tokens and medals, including Krause Publications related medals, tokens and ephemera, national commemorative medals, Society of Medalist and Heraldic Art medals, and many different types of tokens, including Civil War storecards related to Michigan, trade tokens, Gallery Mint and OHNS tokens and transportation tokens, among others. While he concentrated on nationals, he also collected Canadian Tire company notes (thanks to a trip through Sarnia to Stratford), JGS Boggs and Prusmack notes, and souvenir sheets from ANA, CSNS, and SPMC. We were both a part of the MPCFest group, serving as the coordinators for the scholarship fund that sends people to Colorado Springs for ANA classes, and he collected military notes as well, ranging from WWII war savings certificates to war bonds to POW chits and others. And…did I mention that we had all the books to go with the collections?

 

The collection he was proudest to own is what you will see here – his Michigan National banknotes collection, which he said took him 30 years to complete. And not only did he collect the banknotes, he collected all the other stuff to go with it – small banks, rulers, and other advertising items associated with many different names of the banks, with probably the most extensive collection being of the Second National Bank of Saginaw.

He enjoyed going through antique stores looking for these items along with postcards of the various banks and many other items he used to build displays. Ebay was his friend as he got older, and he was able to find a number of things through their auctions, using a number of searches to find the juicies as he called them. He was also able to find items through different currency dealers and auctions, including those of the collections of Dr. Wallace Lee and Bill Rau, the Steve Davis auction of Jack Lavis' collection, including a sheet of 4 $10 notes and a $20 note that was probably the last one he purchased.

One of his greatest accomplishments, at least from my viewpoint, were the talks he gave about many of his collections. While he was a quiet man, the love he had for teaching and collecting was very evident in his talks, which ranged from the paper money he collected to all things Christmas, and in his exhibits which yielded many awards, including 4 Best-of-Shows, the first being in Pittsburgh in 1989, his first National ANA Show! For the last four months of his life, we had therapy people at our home, and Dan's greatest joy, combining his love of teaching and numismatics, was to show them some of the things he collected, especially his notes, and get them excited about collecting them as well.

Dan and I enjoyed many years of marriage (we would have celebrated 28 this October) and while he is sorely missed by many, I know that he is remembered for his passion, his kindness to others, and his work in the hobby.

We are pleased to announce the sale of the Dan Freeland Collection of Michigan National Banknotes. Dan built this collection featuring towns and banks that he cared about. It is a lovely offering including nearly all types and even uncut sheets. This sale will be held on KNIGHT LIVE December 8 at 1 PM CST.

To bid in the sale, see:
Dan Freeland Collection of Michigan National Banknotes (http://www.lynknight.com/catalog_sessions/1772)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
DANIEL ALLEN FREELAND (1949-2021) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n22a06.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web