JEFF GARRETT ON SHARING YOUR COLLECTION

One of the highlights of the recently completed 2024 ANA World's Fair of Money was the exhibit of the Egyptian portion of the "Tyrant Collection." The collection is billed as the world's most valuable private coin collection, and for anyone who has seen this magnificent assemblage, it would be hard to dispute. The ANA show exhibit focused on Egyptian coinage starting with coins from antiquity and continuing chronologically through the Islamic period.

Besides being worth hundreds of millions of dollars, what truly makes the "Tyrant Collection" special is that O'Dowd has gone to so much effort to share his collection with the public. He has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to showcase his collection in exhibits at coin conventions around the United States. His exhibit cases are state-of-the-art, and each is accompanied by an exhibit catalog. The collection of his exhibit catalogs is destined to be important collector items for future numismatists. The chronicling of this seminal collection is an amazing contribution to numismatics.

Obviously, O'Dowd sees value in expending so much time and money to share his collection with others in the numismatic community. Perhaps his exhibits will inspire others to explore numismatics more carefully. The "Tyrant Collection" also exposes areas of the hobby that many have never considered. Regardless of his true intentions, growing the hobby is a natural result of his efforts and should be applauded by everyone.

Not all great collectors of the past shared their mega collections so freely. The infamous collector and dealer John J. Ford Jr. never shared his giant collection with other collectors. After he passed, Stack's Bowers sold his massive collection, the catalogs for which take up nearly the entire shelf of a bookcase in my office. One dealer related to me that when the collection was picked up for auction, some of the safety deposit boxes had not been opened for decades. Ford was also stingy about sharing numismatic knowledge about his collection, instead choosing to safeguard the information for his own use.

One of the greatest collections ever assembled was the Louis Eliasberg collection that was billed as the only complete set of US coins ever put together. According to articles in the numismatic press in the 1970s, Eliasberg exhibited the collection in 1976 to help celebrate the nation's bicentennial. The public was able to see the complete story of US numismatics in one exhibit, which must have been truly a sight to see. By 1982, portions of the collection were auctioned by Stack's of New York City.

Another famous collector who enjoyed sharing his collection was the ever-enthusiastic John Jay Pittman. I have fond memories of seeing highlights of his stellar collection on exhibit at major shows such as the ANA and FUN conventions. Pittman was a famous collector of early Proof US coinage, which he pioneered the appreciation of. I remember looking at his two-coin set of Proof 1854 and 1855 Gold Dollars in amazement. Years later, I had the opportunity to handle each of the coins.

You do not have to be a billionaire to share your numismatic passions. Many major coin conventions have numismatic exhibits of every shape and size. The recently completed ANA World's Fair of Money featured an outstanding exhibit section this year with over 250 showcases. Collectors young and old shared their numismatic passion and competed for ribbons.

For our local coin club in Lexington, Kentucky, collectors often perform a "show and tell" of their prized possessions. Many of the attendees claim this is their favorite part of the monthly meetings. The numismatic camaraderie and education created by these local collectors is admirable.

To read the complete article, see:
Jeff Garrett: Sharing Your Coin Collection (https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/13229/)

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