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LESTER, WALTER, JACKIE AND LIZ
"While looking through the Spring 1989 issue of Legacy magazine, I discovered a classic Walter Breen story from Lester Merkin that I had to share. Breen worked for Merkin at his store in NYC in the 1960's a few days a week while also working for John J. Ford Jr. at New Netherlands. I'll let Merkin take it from here." Legacy was a Heritage publication noteworthy for its interviews of famous numismatists. Here's a longer excerpt from the Newman Numismatic Portal. Also see my note in this week's "About This Issue" article. -Editor LEGACY: Your principal catalogers seem to have been Walter Breen and Doug Smith. MERKIN: Breen didn't come to work for me to catalog. He was with me to do some research. He started with me before 1964. Actually, Breen was very important because he could do so many things so easily that I just let him go, let him do whatever he wanted to do. LEGACY: How did you get Breen to come to work for you? MERKIN: I had known him for some time. He was in New York and was working about two or three days a week with New Netherlands. They thought it was all right if he cataloged our sales too. So, he came to work for me for two or three days a week also. LEGACY: How was he received by your retail clientele in the store? MERKIN: In the store on 56th Street Walter had his own room, and he did as he pleased. He always did all his work, got everything done quickly, and I never had to worry about him. One day Jacqueline Kennedy came into the store with the Secret Service people. While she was there talking and looking, out came Walter Breen from the back with his bare feet and Bermuda shorts and he just toddled right up and said hello to Jacqueline Kennedy. She said hello. The Secret Service men stiffened, they were ready for anything. The next thing I knew, they were talking about astrology, and he did her astrological chart right there. She was having the greatest fun and laughing. The same thing happened with Elizabeth Taylor. Walter walked out and did her astrological chart. He got along so well with them both. Mike adds: "I would have given anything to have been there!"
To read the complete Legacy issue on NNP, see:
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 To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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