REMEMBERING ROBERT LLOYD

Bill Groom writes:

Some sixty years ago, I acquired a few old coins and, curious kid that I was, I made a visit to my local library to see what I could learn about them. Little did I suspect that event would lead to a now lifelong journey in the pursuit of learning about things numismatic. Along the way, I discovered early tokens, principally those that circulated during the Civil War. These tokens spoke to me of times past, arousing my curiosity about the merchants who issued them and what life was like for folks living back then.

I recently happened to acquire the below token. Dated 1932, it's not a Civil War token. It was issued during the Great Depression. It's the personal token of Robert Hepworth Lloyd, numismatist, from North Tonawanda, NY. Mr. Lloyd evidently belonged to a surprising number of numismatic organizations in his earlier years of collecting!

 

At one time Robert Hepworth Lloyd was the oldest ANA member, the one with the longest membership, or both. He lived from May 18, 1906, to October 10, 2009, passing at age 103.

Mr. Lloyd was particularly active in the Buffalo Numismatic Association, and it was at one of the club shows that I first met him. I was introduced to him by mutual friend and dealer, Les Heilbronner. Les had previously introduced me to the series of Buffalo Civil War era storecards. As Mr. Lloyd shared that interest, we then commenced to participate in an impromptu, roundtable discussion at Les's bourse table. At a subsequent B.N.A. sponsored show, Mr. Lloyd approached me and presented me with a surprising gift. The gift was a pair of pieces (each having a blank reverse like the center pic) shown below.

 

Mr. Lloyd described the above pair as being one ofHoppy's experiments. Back in the thirties, his friend, Nelson S. Hopkins had used a Buffalo Civil War storecard token to impress reversed images upon two, thick, aluminum planchets.

Mr. Lloyd's friend and fellow member of the B.N.A., Nelson Hopkins, was a chemist and metallurgist from nearby Williamsville, NY.Hoppy's, as Mr. Lloyd fondly called him, main interests were tokens and medals. It was upon the urging ofHoppy that the B.N.A. issued a series of its club medals in a variety of metals. Mr. Lloyd then followed suit, issuing this, his own, personal token/card. did give me that thought. So, it goes ....

When I met Mr. Lloyd, he was about eighty years old, yet he possessed a virtually youthful enthusiasm for the hobby. In addition toHoppy's experiment, Mr. Lloyd's sharing of that enthusiasm gave me a desire to learn more about numismatics. So, it was only fitting for me to honor my memory of Mr. Lloyd by recently giving an old coin and a coin guide to our roofer's young helper, his twelve year old son. Perhaps, that youngster will someday become an enthusiastic collector, himself? His instant glee did give me that thought. So, it goes ....

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ROBERT HEPWORTH LLOYD (1906-2009) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n49a13.html)

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