This weekend the Google colonial coins email group carried tributes to collector/dealer Dick August, who passed away on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Sorry to hear the news. With permission, several of these notes are republished here. Per Jim Rosen, Dick was born May 10, 1940. Craig McDonald provided the photo of Dick taken at the 2009 Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4) convention. -Editor

"It is with profound sadness that I relate to you all that my friend Dick August died today at 12:05 PM at the age of 84. Dick and I were close friends since we first met in January of 1990 and I will miss him greatly."

"Sad news. Dick was always very very kind to me in sharing his knowledge of the finer aspects of colonial coins. I will miss him. "

"This is heartbreaking. Dick was the last of the Old Guard who were collecting in the 1950s-onwards - think Newman, Ford, Breen. Vlack, Barnsley, Anton, Partrick, Norweb, Picker, and so many more. He was our last link to that era, having known all these people, and was full of stories about the good ol' days (one that would make collectors cringe today is happily taking any new NJ copper variety he discovered to Bill Anton, who would pay him 5 crisp $20 bills for it - yep, an unlisted variety for 100 bucks!). Like all these other greats, I wish someone had given Dick a tape recorder and 1000 hours worth of tapes and said just go ahead and talk about people in the hobby or specific coins or whatever you want. It would have been fascinating to hear, for the good, the bad, and the ugly.

"Dick had eagle eyes, had memorized varieties in the state coinage series, set up relationships with dealers, and was often the first one in the doors at a coin show, zeroing in on where to go, and almost invariably turning up some unattributed rarity. As his collection comes to market people will see coins that have been hidden away for many decades, including amazing rarities. What most won't know is that Dick was never rich - indeed, he worked as a teacher for his entire life, a noble and notoriously underpaid profession. But his deep knowledge in colonial and early American numismatics - which stretched to areas that were new to most of his contemporaries, including French Colonies coinage, Spanish-American silver, contemporary counterfeit British and Irish coppers and more - allowed him to cherrypick things he wasn't as interested, sell them, and buy the things he liked more, such as his Machin's Mills and Massachusetts coppers. If Dick had the ability to hang onto every rarity he cherried, his collection would have rivaled Taylor or Syd's (at least in the state coinage areas). He also had an eye for quality, and for condition rarity. There will be some amazing coins that few of today's collectors will have ever seen (and few older collectors too, as Dick was leery about sharing too much of what he had - I highly doubt any human being actually saw his entire collection, the secretiveness part and parcel of the era he collected. If people knew what you had, then they would know what you need, and drive you up at auction or overcharge you).

"I've known Dick for close to 40 years. As a dealer, he was hard to buy from - his pricing always seemed to be full retail plus 20%. But anything you got from him would be exceptional for whatever grade it was (and he was always a conservative grader). Dick was a classic Rhode Islander - opinionated, confident, a bit standoffish, and not one to suffer fools at all. But he respected those who made an effort to learn about the hobby, and about the coins they collected. I remember bidding aggressively on a condition rarity CT copper that wasn't well known at the time, and not mentioned in the catalogue. Dick knew what it was, as did Robert Martin and one or two other collectors. The coin sold for probably 4x what it would have been worth based on rarity and grade, and I was devastated that I had ridiculously overpaid. Dick came up after the sale and said "that was a great coin," and all my fears about overpaying washed away - he was right, of course, and it proved an easy sale to someone who appreciated it for exactly that reason.

"While I was seldom able to buy a coin from Dick for inventory and make money on it - though he occasionally would toss me a bone - I would always spend a good amount of time at his table at C4. Living on the other side of the country, it was often the only show I would see him at in the last decade or so. We collected some of the same areas, for the same reasons. Underappreciated things that circulated in North America, and were available for bargain prices. We both loved counterfeits, and especially the most crude and primitive-looking ones. Dick's collection of counterfeit Spanish American pieces was quite large (and, despite 20 years of trying to get him to bring them to a show to see, still veiled in secrecy), and while his collection of counterfeit British and Irish coppers was comparatively small, every coin in it was special in some way - it had to be for him to spend the money and keep it.

"At 79 Dick looked like a spry 60 year old, and though he slowed down a bit in the next half decade, he still looked and acted younger than his chronological years. I, like many, just assumed he would always be around, easily passing the 100-year mark, and maybe giving Eric Newman a run in the longevity department. It seems odd to say of an 84-year old that he is "gone too soon," but that is exactly the right phrase here.

"Rest in Peace, my friend. You will be missed."

"Very well said Jeff. So very very sad. I don't think I ever bought a coin from Dick, but somehow we became good friends over many decades and spoke at length monthly. Dick was always one of my go tos on the rare or "exotic".

"Bill Anton and I once mused that no other great collection of the stature of Dick's (including some amazing Betts Medals that I know you knew about Jeff) had ever been put together for less money and more hard work.

"Dick knew his coins, hit every show big and small, every dealer, every price list, and just pounded the pavement. It is who he was. Part of his DNA.

"And despite that sometimes gruff exterior, I never experienced it and found him generous with his time and knowledge (including sharing his entire New Jersey collection multiple times) as well as every new collector that came along.

RIP Dick."

"I met Dick at one of the first C4 conventions I attended. We had a connection through teaching. He was nothing but generous and helpful, freely sharing his knowledge and giving advice. I don't recall any purchases, but I'm going to check my Connecticuts in the hope that I have at least one of his coins."

"Very sad news. I will miss him"

"Dick August was a great guy. I am sorry to hear of his passing. I am 7 years younger than he was but I counted him as a friend. I was born and raised in New Bedford, Mass about 30 miles from where he lived, and I first met Dick in the 1960's at a show in Boston.

"We met up a few times after that, but he like most dealers never knew my name. From 1960 until the late 1990s, I never volunteered my name or what my collecting interests really were. If pressed I just said that I go by Swamper Bob or just Bob. I specialized in Counterfeit Mexican coins and in the 60's and 70's many collectors looked down on guys who collected counterfeits like me. Many dealers to this day simply do not recognize as counterfeits the coins that were made in New Bedford between 1890 and 1935.

"Eventually I discovered that Dick had similar interests in colonial and early Mexico. He showed me his collection of Portrait 8 Reales counterfeits at one point. His collection numbered about 100 examples at that time, and many were high grade. When I decided to write my book, Dick photographed his collection of Portrait 8 R counterfeits, and I included them where appropriate in the book published in 2013. From the 1990s onward, he and I would trade for Cap & Ray 8 Reales counterfeits. Dick did not like them. I list 28 coins in my collection as originating with Dick August.

"We used to call each other a couple times a year after I retired to NC in 2004. We traded stories about the old days when counterfeit 8Rs sold for a dollar or less and most people laughed at our interests. Why collect that junk? was a common response. I think Dick and I knew that these were in many cases more rare than originals and that someday they would be worth more than $5 or $10 each.

"I hope Dick rests in peace and that his collection finds a home where it will be appreciated."

"I was just reading everyone's comments about Dick August and wanted to add my condolences and my memories. Dick was certainly a unique character in a hobby frequented by many unique characters. Somewhat quirky, very knowledgeable, with eclectic tastes that we both shared and often talked about. He was able to put together a notable collection comparable to people like Eric Newman, Don Partrick and John Ford, but did it on a shoestring budget by beating the bushes and finding rare items piece by piece by piece, something most of us can relate to.

"At many of the early C4 conventions, I would sit at his table and we would chat. Occasionally I might buy a piece, but it really didn't seem to matter much to Dick, who was happy to just sit and discuss topics ranging from Machin's Mills coppers to Betts medals. He was a compendium of information with anecdotes about other numismatic notables, the activities at famous auctions and his discovery of new varieties of coins and what he felt were underappreciated coins.

"I would occasionally bring coins from my collection to discuss with him and he in turn would show me some treasure from his collection to compare and discuss. In more recent years, he didn't appear as often at various Colonial numismatic events, but on the rare occasions when he did, it was always a pleasure to speak with him and reminisce. He was an important collector and researcher who was known and appreciated within the Colonial coin fraternity. His influence will remain; his presence will be missed."

"Dick and I have been friends for over 40 years. He was both my mentor as well as a great friend. We would talk for hours mostly about coins, but also about gardening, mathematics, or just about anything else that popped into our minds. Dick also had a sense of humor that was second to none.

"Dick taught me about state coppers early on as to what characteristics to look for when I was pondering a particular coin. Eventually, we would discuss Massachusetts silver, Machin's Mills halfpence, colonial paper, foreign money that circulated in the colonies, as well as federal coinage. He was kind enough to send me listings of what he had in his collections and would let me know of great rarities that he would pick up along the way. Some of the stories he would tell me as to how he secured a particular item were amazing. It seemed like he knew every dealer in the world. He was very aggressive chasing down coins, yet very kind and generous to me. I would be thrilled when he upgraded a coin and he would offer me his old piece. One time out of the blue he mailed me a package. In it was his duplicate 9-76 small date Machin's that he offered to me. To say that I was stunned would be an understatement.

"One story that he was always proud of telling me was not about coins but of a particular student that was failing his math class. Dick tutored the student on his own time to the point where he was able to grasp the concepts and earned himself an A in the class. Dick was that kind of person, always willing to help someone.

"Dick, I'm really going to miss you.

"Rest in peace."

"Dick was not a prolific writer but what he did publish - mainly in the C4 Newsletter of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club - was worth reading. He and Ed Sarrafian wrote a series of stories about the mint at Machin's Mills. New York. Jack Howes, Jim Rosen and Gary Trudgen, co-authors of the definitive study The History and Coinage of Machin's Mills published by C4 in 2020, gave him a shout-out in their acknowledgments: "Richard August helped immensely with the coin listings. His vast experience and knowledge with all aspects of these coins was invaluable and late night calls to him often elucidated issues that might have taken months to ferret out."

"I got to know Dick through Clem and Frank McGrath. Dick was a good guy and was one of the first to share his Saint Patrick collection with John Griffee and more importantly he allowed them to be photographed by Bill Noyes. Years later he shared his coins with Syd Martin for Syd's various book projects. I always enjoyed seeing Dick at C4 and I will miss him."

"Looking back in my records, I purchased my first coin from Richard, a nice Vermont baby head in February 1994 for a strong price. More recently, I purchased a number of US contemporary counterfeits in December and in January 2024 at local shows where Dick was a fixture. I was a steady customer of Richard August as we shared common collecting interests.

"When I moved to Massachusetts in 1998, I would meet up with Richard many times at local shows or roadside restaurants to see what he had available. I collected NJs, Vermonts, Machins and contemporary counterfeits at the time.

"Richard had visited my home several times to get parts of his collection photographed by Angel Pietri. We co-authored an article (2001) on the NJ 73-1/2-jj which Richard discovered in a NYC coin shop.

"Richard had many stories about the "good old days" which he shared with me. He allowed my son Mike and myself to view his entire NJ collection in a coffee shop next to his bank. The quality was amazing as he was always upgrading as an active dealer.

"Dick will be missed as he joins the group of true colonial collectors that have left us over the last decade."

"He was a mentor to the advanced colonial numismatist as well as the novice and shared his knowledge with anyone who asked for help. So many people owe their love, advice and quest of colonials to Dick. The last of a generation. He will be greatly missed.

"A few things that people probably didn't know, he was a runner beginning in his early 30s, ran marathons. When rooming with him at the FUN show, in the 90s, he would get up at 6 and take off for a run. In his later years when running was no longer in his sights, he turned to coaching track and actually one of his students went to the Olympics.

"Additionally, Dick was a master gardener, installing and maintaining gardens for his friends, including helping me at my summer home in Kennebunkport, ME. He would often call me at 7 am just to chat right after he finished watering his garden outside his apartment… ”isn’t everyone watering at 6 AM”… no, I replied.

"One last thing, Dick loved writing poetry and helping college students with math... not too many people would have a one way math conversation as he often had with me... I tuned out after 15 seconds, fortunately he never knew."

Thanks, everyone. -Editor