THE ALAN KESSLER MYSTERY

When I originally compiled listings for American Numismatic Biographies, I could not find information on Alan Kessler, author of The Fugio Cents. Since then, I have gone back several times looking for information on Kessler. With recent mentions in the E-Sylum, I went back again this week to check current resources.

The book title on the dust jacket, cover and spine is The Fugio Cents. The title page is The Fugio Coppers A Simple Method for Identifying the Varieties with Rarity Listing and Price Guide.

The name of Alan Kessler appears in records for FamilySearch and Findagrave. None of them can be linked to the author. There are 214 citations in the Newman Numismatic Portal. None of these mention his age or provide a middle initial.

A few addresses for Kessler appeared in Coin World.

In 1966, his address was 1105 Lexington Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02154.

In 1967, his address was 111 Concord Road, Acton, Massachusetts 01720.

Also in 1967-68, his mailing address was Box 57, Bedford, Massachusetts 01730.

In 1970, his mailing address was Box 2012 APO San Francisco, California 96555. In his 1976 book, his address was given as Box 1685 APO San Francisco, California 96555. These addresses indicated that he was serving in the military.

Many men enter military service at age 18 to 20. This is a clue to his age but not proof.

There was no address reported for him before 1966 or after 1976.

Kessler was not listed as a member of the ANA, not listed as a member of any club and not reported to attend any club meeting.

In the book, Kessler listed 25 references. These started with the 1952 article by Eric Newman "Varieties of the Fugio Cent" in Coin Collectors Journal. Fifteen articles from The Colonial Newsletter are mentioned. Other articles mentioned are from Coin Collectors Journal, Coin World, Coins Magazine, Empire Topics and The Numismatist from the 1960's. He did his research from contemporary periodicals and not from historical references. The Kessler book builds on the 1952 Newman article. The Newman files have no correspondence between Kessler and Newman.

The 1950 U. S. Census has 26 listings for Alan Kessler. They include birth years of 1903, 1910, 1920 (2), 1926, 1930, 1933, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1943 (2), 1945, 1946 (2), 1947 (2), 1948 (2), and 1949 (6). None were residents of Massachusetts at the time of the Census.

In his acknowledgments, Kessler thanks his wife Judy. This led me to an email address. I wrote and Alan Kessler responded saying he was not the author of the book.

The acknowledgements mention Dick August, Tom and Judy Oliver, Jim Spillman and Robert Vlack. Their collections provided illustrations.

The Kessler collection was sold at auction by NASCA on April 28, 1981, just five years after the book was published. The catalog does not include a biography. There is a comment that the collection was formed over more than a decade. That is a short time to build a reference collection.

The collection of a lifetime is usually sold late in life. This is also a clue to his age but not proof.

Is there any E-Sylum reader who remembers Alan Kessler? Can you provide a link to his biography?

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
ABOUT THIS ISSUE: JANUARY 19, 2025 (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a35.html)
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 26, 2025 : The Kessler Fugio Cents Book (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n04a12.html)

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