Numismatic literature dealer Orville "Jim" Grady has passed. Thanks to Stephen Searle for alerting me. -Editor

"I did not know Orville well. He seemed to be a credit to our field and it was clear he loved books."

"I'm sorry to hear that Orville Grady has passed away.I remember purchasing a number of items from his early auction sales in the mid 1980s. While occasionally listing higher end material, the majority of his catalogs listed individual catalogs and periodicals valued from $5.00 to $20.00. I met and enjoyed a nice chat with Orville about 15 years ago when I took my nephew to the Missouri Numismatic Society's annual coin show in St.Louis. Both his cataloging efforts and the challenges of traveling to coin shows were certainly a labor of love. Rest in peace, Orville."

"I met Jim Grady in the early 1990s. Being located in Nebraska gave him access to some Midwest collectors and bookstores from which he secured inventory away from the East Coast/West Coast dealers. We would talk by phone from time to time about the hobby, collectors, auctions, and material he had acquired.

"With the dispersion of the Boys Town coin collection in 1990 by Superior Galleries, Jim was subsequently able to handle part of the numismatic library collection including some items secured in library sales. I was fortunate to secure one rare Foote Counterfeit Detector via Boys Town and Jim.

"He was a pretty pragmatic and humble guy, but never had access to a leading numismatic library, leading to a series of ho hum literature auction sales. Jim's passing does bring fond memories of when we had numerous numismatic literature dealers, frequent literature auctions, and a bit of collecting frenzy."

"Numismatic literature dealers tend to fall into two categories, the Coastal and the Mid-Continent. Most of the marquee collections have been sold by the Coastals, while the Mid-Continent guys tended to offer the meat-and-potatoes collections. O. J. was the consummate Mid-Continent dealer. Rarely did he offer a plated Chapman, or a priced-and-named Woodward, but he was the guy to see if you were trying to fill gaps in your runs of 20th century catalogs, or if you delighted in ephemeral material, or if you were trying to find an obscure reprint, or an offbeat periodical.

Besides having the goods of all descriptions, O. J. had the decency—Minnesota Nice moved south to Nebraska—to treat everyone with respect and consideration. He was a member of The Silent Generation who helped to build the pastime of numismatics into a mass hobby. He served us all well, and we who knew him will salute his accomplishments and honor his memory."

"I was sorry to hear about Jim Grady. I remember receiving his mail-bid catalogues in the 1980s, back when there were several numismatic booksellers plying their trade in this country on a full-time or (more generally) part-time basis. His sales always had a lot of useful material in them, even if he didn't usually get to offer the best material on the market. I was pleased when he contacted me a few years ago to help him sell some remaining items, and we had several nice conversations over the course of a year or so. I have fond memories of the hobby in the 1980s and I'm sad to think that another link to that era is no more."

Like many others, I looked forward to Jim's catalogs over the years and often found a few items to buy or bid on for my library. I met him in person once or twice at coin shows, and purchased some numismatic ephemera from him within the last year or so. Sorry to hear this news. -Editor