Wow. Numismatic Bibliomania Society co-founder and longtime numismatic literature dealer George Kolbe is retiring, and I'm speechless except to say it's well deserved - good luck, have fun, and keep in touch! Here's the press release.
-Editor
GEORGE KOLBE RETIRES FROM BOOKSELLING
George Frederick Kolbe, numismatic bookseller and author, has announced his retirement from
the partnership of Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers. The firm will continue to operate
as Kolbe & Fanning under the ownership of David and Maria Fanning and will remain in their
Gahanna, Ohio offices.
Kolbe began his career as a numismatic bookseller in May 1967 with the publication of his first
fixed price list, a three-page typewritten compilation sent from Redondo Beach, California, to
no more than two dozen potential customers. Subsequent lists grew in sophistication both of
content and format, and in 1976 Kolbe (by now in Mission Viejo) held his first auction, a mail-
bid sale of 763 lots. Three subsequent mail-bid sales were followed by Kolbe's first public
auction, held in conjunction with the 1979 Convention of International Numismatics in Los
Angeles.
To date, George Kolbe has been associated with some 168 auctions conducted under his name
or (beginning in 2010) under the Kolbe & Fanning banner. Many of these sale catalogues
function as references within the field of numismatic literature. A listing of notable libraries
sold over the years would consist of too many names to include here, though the Harry W.
Bass, John J. Ford, and Stack Family libraries require particular mention, as do the fifteen New
York auctions conducted jointly with Douglas Saville of Spink. During his career, Kolbe also
published The Numismatic Bookseller, which variably functioned as a house organ, fixed price
list, and mail-bid sale, and founded the Numismatic Bibliomania Society with his friend Jack
Collins. In 2012, Kolbe published a bibliography, The Reference Library of a Numismatic
Bookseller, based on his personal working library.
David Fanning writes, When Kolbe & Fanning was established in 2010, it was a great honor for
me to join forces with the preeminent numismatic bookseller of our day. As our partnership is
ending and our firm prepares to move forward on our own, it is our honor to do so with the
Kolbe name firmly attached. We are enormously grateful to George for providing us with the
opportunity to go into business with him, and we send our very best wishes with him into his
well-earned retirement.
Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers will be holding their next auction on February 17,
2024, when they will be offering highlights from the extraordinary BCD Library on ancient
numismatics. The firm's website will remain at
numislit.com.
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor
at this address: whomren@gmail.com
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