OVERLOOKED COLUMNIST JOE T. POLLACK

 

Numismatic literature includes books, periodicals, auction catalogs, mail bid sales and fixed price lists. Perhaps overlooked are the coin columns published in local newspapers. Some of the better known columnists include Maurice Gould, Robert Obojoski, Mort Reed and Ed Reiter.

He died on November 30, 2019. His obituary noted that his wife of 45 years, Katherine Lawton Pollock, had preceded him in death. They had no children. Some other information appears in his obituary:

The obituary did not explain that one regret. It also did not include his age or date of birth. Based on other sources, I suspect he was born on October 6, 1935, the son of Joseph and Marie Pollock. His father was an oil refinery rigger.

He was active with several clubs in Indiana. In 1971 he was publisher of The Highlander, newsletter for the Highland Indiana Stamp and Coin Club. He wrote an article on BEP souvenir cards published in Coin World in 1977.

Pollock took over writing the column after the June 25, 1975, death of another collector, Fay C. Smith. Among Smith's accomplishments was service on the 1975 United States Assay Commission. Syndicated columnist Gary L. Palmer continued to fill the column into January of 1976. Some Palmer columns were also published by The Times after 1978.

Pollock's column ran weekly in The Times from February 1, 1976 through March 5, 1978. He reported on activities of clubs in the area included activities of the Hammond Coin Club and the Calumet Numismatic Club. He reported on the meetings and promoted upcoming local shows around the region. He also gave information on the Chicago International Coin Fair and the Central States Numismatic Society convention. After the shows, he gave credit to some of the exhibit winners.

Some columns promoted products like commemorative medals produced by private mints. This information would have been available in the national coin publications. He reported on things that were topical at the time like the G.S.A. sale of silver dollars and President Carter discontinuing the Assay Commission in 1977. In some columns he answered questions from readers.

In one column he admits that friends send him clippings from various publications that have interesting topics. With these clippings and a subscription to Coin World, he would have had all the information he needed for his columns. His articles were appropriate for people who were not already collectors and did not probe the depths of numismatic topics.

His interest in the Civil War was apparent with a 1976 article on the Fourth Battery, Light Artillery of the Indiana Volunteers and the 114 th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company C, two groups of Civil War reenactors.

Occasionally he suggested reference books. He had good things to say about the 1977 and 1978 editions of the World Almanac.

He joined the Numismatic Literary Guild in 1978. Their newsletter stated that The Times had a readership of more than 75,000. He specialized in silver dollars and fractional currency.

Pollock and his column provided a service to the local numismatic community. He never achieved prominence on a national level. Perhaps, like others, he has been overlooked.

I did not find any record of publication in the last forty years of his life.

How many other examples are there of coin collecting columns that ran in only one local paper?

To read the complete April 24, 1977 article, see:
Elsie Stevens Posed For Coins (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-elsie-stevens-posed-for-coins/131099418/)

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