A variety of numismatic objects offered during the “literature” sale on June 15

Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. is one of the most famous coin collectors of all time. His catalog of cards from his worldwide coin collection was the highlight of the June 15 auction at Kolbe and Fanning Numismatic Booksellers, bringing in $15,600.

Prepared in an era before the advent of the personal computer, the offering consisted of approximately 2,858 typewritten cards, each recording information about a single coin, including country, issuer, metal, value, date of issue, mint, variety, condition, cost, and date and source of purchase. Cards for coins from around the world were grouped into three trays: one for Europe, one for Central and North America, and one for South America.

David Fanning wrote: “The first part of the card catalogue is perhaps the most important, since the cards record not only the coins constituting the Eliasberg Collection of World Coins, but also the circumstances of their acquisition, including their source, their price, and Eliasberg’s assessment of their condition.”

The notes provided the primary source material for much of the final cataloguing of the collection when it was presented at various auctions.

Also included in the lot were 603 cards for Eliasberg’s collection of medals, postage stamps, bank notes, framed objects, silver bullion, and other items. Included was Eliasberg’s collection card catalog of United States coin sales records, consisting of approximately 974 typewritten cards, each recording sales records of unique non-gold coins, ranging from U.S. colonial coins to commemorative coins, as well as 459 typewritten cards recording sales records of gold coins primarily at auction from 1973 to 1978.

Finally, the group included Eliasberg’s papers on the nearly 950 coins he had loaned to the Philadelphia Mint for display as part of the 1976 bicentennial celebrations, as well as cards with diameter measurements for English and French coins, which he had used to make custom display cases.

Fanning explained: “The care with which these exhibitions have been prepared is impressive, and some of the immense behind-the-scenes work that has gone into these exhibitions is revealed in the cards, which not only record the pieces on display, but also carefully record the diameter of each piece for which a custom case has been prepared.”

Fanning commented on the collector’s attention to detail, saying that they offer a more complete picture of Eliasberg’s collecting methods and tastes, writing: “The attention to detail and organization that served him well in other aspects of life are particularly evident here, and the curiosity that drives all well-rounded collections is clear.”

Specially designed boxes

Another interesting lot that shows the care a collector took with his objects included 331 boxes prepared to house William F. Dunham’s postage stamp collection. The boxes were made by T. James Clarke Box and Label Works, and each has a gold lid, fitted with a fabric-lined die-cut holder designed to hold a single postage stamp. Fanning called it “a remarkable survival of one of the greatest collections of cased postage stamps ever assembled.” They came from the collection of Wayne Homren, who had acquired them from John J. Ford Jr., and Homren used them to display his own collection, including at the 2004 American Numismatic Association World’s Fair, where he was also general chairman. The lot sold for $1,320.

Fantastic price for the book

One of the surprises of the Homren consignment sale was the $3,900 that a book estimated at just $150 brought: a signed second printing from 1962. The fantastic 1804 dollarThis is an exceptionally rare copy signed by authors Eric P. Newman and Kenneth E. Bressett, as well as research associates Walter H. Breen and Lynn Glaser. All four signatures appear on the title page and included emails between Bressett and Homren discussing this copy. To put the high price into perspective, another copy of this book, with a lengthy dedication to Walter Breen by Bressett, where Bressett said, “The result was something none of us anticipated when the project was started, and the word ‘fantastic’ seems a little soft now,” sold for $360.

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