BURTON HAROLD HOBSON

When Fred Reinfeld died at age 54 in 1964, Burt Hobson took over as the writer of books for numismatic novices.

Burt Hobson was born in Galesburg, Illinois, on April 16, 1933, the son of Burt (1909-1985) and Geneva Sornberger Hobson (1908-2003). His father was an electrical supplies salesman.

Hobson married Maxine C. Meyer on August 9, 1953. They had a daughter and two sons.

Hobson was an outstanding student in high school and won a partial scholarship to the University of Chicago at age 17. After completing his junior year at Rock Island High School in 1950, he was admitted as an early entry to the University of Chicago. He received a B. A. from the University of Chicago in 1953.

His first job was manager of the coin department at Marshall Field & Company in Chicago. In 1961 he became sales manager for President Coin Company, a subsidiary of Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. in New York City. Sterling was noted for publishing the Guinness Book of World Records. He advanced to vice president of sales for 1966-1972, executive vice president 1972-1979. Hobson became president of Sterling in 1979 and chairman of the board after 1995, now retired.

Burton H. Hobson joined the ANA in 1955 as member 24738. He was honored as a 40-year member in 1995 but not as a 50-year member in 2005. He was also a member of the American Numismatic Society.

 

Hobson got started in numismatic writing with Getting Started in Coin Collecting published in 1961. He is listed as co-author of several titles with Fred Reinfeld. Most of Hobson's contributions were completing unpublished works of Reinfeld and later revisions following the death of Reinfeld. He received a Robert Friedberg Award from the PNG in 1972 for Historic Gold Coins of the World.

Hobson had extensive interests outside numismatics which he supported with financial contributions. Burton served as national president of Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs. Burton and Maxine were trustees of the Culinary Institute of America. Burton was a trustee of the Wildlife Trust. He was an honorary trustee of the American Academy of Chefs.

I could not find a photo of Burton while he was writing his numismatic books. I did find a photo of Burton and Maxine at a 2002 event in Palm Beach. [Palm Beach Daily News January 24, 2002]

In 2002, Hobson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Johnson & Western University. Also in 2002, his book Gastronome was published including reprints from the magazine. Hobson was credited with converting the magazine to a full color format. Compounding the honors, he was inducted as an honorary member of the American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame.

Maxine Hobson died on February 18, 2019, leaving her husband Burton as a survivor. At last report, he is still living.

   

 

Books by Burton Hobson

• Getting Started in Coin Collecting (1961, 1967, 1969)
• Coin Collecting as a Hobby (1964, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1986)
• Coins and Coin Collecting (1965, 1971)
• Hidden Values in Coins (1965, 1966)
• What You Should Know About Coins & Coin Collecting (1965)
• International Guide to Coin Collecting (1966)
• Coin Identifier (1966)
• Coins You Can Collect (1967, 1970)
• Catalogue of Scandinavian Coins (1970, 1972)
• Historic Gold Coins of the World (1971)
• Catalogue of North, South and Central American Coins (1980)

Books by Burton Hobson and Fred Reinfeld

• Pictorial Guide to Coin Conditions (1962, 1968)
• Picture Book of Ancient Coins (1963)
• Manual for Coin Collectors and Investors (1963)
• U. S. Commemorative Coins and Stamps (1964)
• Catalogue of the World's Most Popular Coins (1965, 1969, 1971. 1976, 1979, 1983, 1986)
• New Treasury of the World's Coins (1967)
• How to Build a Coin Collection (1972, 1973, 1977)

Books by Burton Hobson and Robert Obojski

• Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Coins (1970, 1983)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
FRED REINFELD (1910-1964) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n31a13.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web