FRANK JOHN JOSEPH (1838-1895)

This week I came across an unfamiliar name that got my attention. Of Frank John Joseph, Wikipedia stated Reportedly had one of the finest private collections of coins and medals in North America worth an estimated $30000 at his death. He was not mentioned by Attinelli (A Bibliography of American Numismatic Auction Catalogues 1828-1875); not mentioned by Bowers (American Numismatics Before the Civil War); not in the Centennial History of the A.N.A. In fact, I did not find him in any book in my library.

Perhaps the first problem is that he was Canadian. He was born in Toronto on June 5, 1838, the son of John Joseph and Elizabeth-Anne Macaulay. He was unmarried.

He was a barrister at law and served as a law clerk in the Ontario legislature. He was the author of legal handbooks including A Digest of the Reported Cases Determined in the Superior Courts of Ontario.

He was described as having the finest collection of British war medals in North America. He also had significant holdings of British, Canadian, United States and ancient coins.

He died in a railroad accident near Toronto on February 8, 1895, and is buried at Cathedral Church of Saint James in Toronto.

His obituary in the American Journal of Numismatics, July 1895, is the only reference on Joseph found on the Newman Numismatic Portal.

I yield to our Canadian readers to explain why he belongs on the Wikipedia List of Coin Collectors.

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web