David Alexander's Coin Week article on Sheldon

Sonorandesertrat

Almost everything Alexander wrote in the article was already known to me, but to see it laid out in such a blunt manner was surprising.
See: https://coinweek.com/us-coins/confronting-sheldon/

MidLifeCrisis

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Very interesting.

From the article: "Sheldon could WRITE, an uncommon skill among large cent folk and other numismatic specialists then and now."

Wow.

Sonorandesertrat

I wonder if Alexander had anyone NOW in mind?

MidLifeCrisis

There are a lot of other reasons to say "Wow." to yourself as you read this article.

Sonorandesertrat

It's worse than Alexander let on, regarding Sheldon and Breen. Now add Ford and Breen. John Kleeburg hinted at their interrelationships years ago.

JesseKraft

Here's more (and some of the same) on Sheldon's thievery.

pruebas

@JesseKraft said:
Here's more (and some of the same) on Sheldon's thievery.

Jesse, that was a fantastic talk by Dr. Kleeberg. Very enlightening. Thanks for highlighting it.

keyman64

A very well written piece!

ricko

Very interesting .... Seems the numismatic giants were indeed human... Cheers, RickO

TurtleCat

I knew about the thefts but I wasn’t aware of all of the darker sides. It’s a shame that the good parts are overshadowed by the failings of a person.

Sonorandesertrat

After watching that video, it is evident that more than one person 'failed'....

CaptHenway

@Sonorandesertrat said:
Almost everything Alexander wrote in the article was already known to me, but to see it laid out in such a blunt manner was surprising.
See: https://coinweek.com/us-coins/confronting-sheldon/

sad but true.

astrorat

@JesseKraft said:
Here's more (and some of the same) on Sheldon's thievery.

Thanks for the link ... wow!

astrorat

@Sonorandesertrat said:
Almost everything Alexander wrote in the article was already known to me, but to see it laid out in such a blunt manner was surprising.
See: https://coinweek.com/us-coins/confronting-sheldon/

Great article!

ms70

I learned about his studies in college but never realized it was the very same Sheldon of the Sheldon Scale.

Thanks for posting!

TurtleCat

@JesseKraft said:
Here's more (and some of the same) on Sheldon's thievery.

I finally had a chance to watch the video. Absolutely well done and well presented. It’s a shame there was so much chicanery and that so much may never be uncovered.

LanceNewmanOCC

since the file path for the sheldon and breen articles are different, i'll give this link(s) to those that may desire to peruse some more of axlexander's writings.

i am/was looking for more "confronting" writings.

Home- Auctions -Confronting Sheldon
Home -Expert Columns -Charles Morgan -Confronting Breen
Home Expert Columns David T. Alexander - https://coinweek.com/category/expert-columns/david-t-alexander/ - axeldaner's archives

if anyone finds a link specific to the "confronting" series. please post a link.

Zoins

@JesseKraft said:
Here's more (and some of the same) on Sheldon's thievery.

Was Sheldon convicted of a felony?

LanceNewmanOCC

@Zoins said:
Was Sheldon convicted of a felony?

the sheldon article links the breen article which touches on a lot of his legal woes.

Zoins

@LanceNewmanOCC said:

@Zoins said:
Was Sheldon convicted of a felony?

the sheldon article links the breen article which touches on a lot of his legal woes.

From the article, it seems like Sheldon had no legal woes from the ANS thefts because it was only discovered after his death?

Specifically:

Vastly more troubling was the major numismatic scandal that erupted after his death, a huge problem with roots in Sheldon’s years of open access to the collections of the venerable American Numismatic Society (ANS), then located at Broadway and 155 Street in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan not far from Sheldon’s Riverside Drive apartment.

Jimnight

Nice read!

Zoins

After reviewing papers filed by the ANS and Naftzger, Superior County Judge Aviva K. Bobb ruled in November 1997 for the Society, awarding it the title to 38 cents still in Naftzger’s possession and ordering him to pay the ANS $229,500 for the 20 large cents he had already sold. Only 65 remained missing.

Did the ANS ever get the 38 cents in Naftzger's possession?

Should Naftzger's provenance be removed from all slabs due to his unsavory practices?

TurtleCat

@Zoins said:

@JesseKraft said:
Here's more (and some of the same) on Sheldon's thievery.

Was Sheldon convicted of a felony?

No, and apparently Naftzger escaped jail. The video link above goes into detail on everything and what was recovered. Some of the ANS stuff was recovered but other estates/companies were also looted by Sheldon and they may never be made whole.

JesseKraft

We're still missing 49 or 50 large cents due to this.

Zoins

@JesseKraft said:
We're still missing 49 or 50 large cents due to this.

It’s interesting that the collectors with these coins don’t want to relinquish them.

TurtleCat

@Zoins said:

@JesseKraft said:
We're still missing 49 or 50 large cents due to this.

It’s interesting that the collectors with these coins don’t want to relinquish them.

My guess is some of the collectors may not even be aware of the coin’s history and some don’t want to lose possession of them with no compensation (or very difficult to obtain compensation).

LanceNewmanOCC

@Zoins said:
From the article, it seems like Sheldon had no legal woes from the ANS thefts because it was only discovered after his death?

yes. i misread your question and apologize. i thought you asked about walter.

JesseKraft

@TurtleCat said:

@Zoins said:

@JesseKraft said:
We're still missing 49 or 50 large cents due to this.

It’s interesting that the collectors with these coins don’t want to relinquish them.

My guess is some of the collectors may not even be aware of the coin’s history and some don’t want to lose possession of them with no compensation (or very difficult to obtain compensation).

The person will be compensated...with the lesser coin that Sheldon used to replace the stolen piece.

Zoins

@JesseKraft said:

@TurtleCat said:

@Zoins said:

@JesseKraft said:
We're still missing 49 or 50 large cents due to this.

It’s interesting that the collectors with these coins don’t want to relinquish them.

My guess is some of the collectors may not even be aware of the coin’s history and some don’t want to lose possession of them with no compensation (or very difficult to obtain compensation).

The person will be compensated...with the lesser coin that Sheldon used to replace the stolen piece.

That's a great way to close the loop.

I hope collectors take up the ANS offer and help close out this sad chapter in our hobby's history.

TurtleCat

@JesseKraft said:

@TurtleCat said:

@Zoins said:

@JesseKraft said:
We're still missing 49 or 50 large cents due to this.

It’s interesting that the collectors with these coins don’t want to relinquish them.

My guess is some of the collectors may not even be aware of the coin’s history and some don’t want to lose possession of them with no compensation (or very difficult to obtain compensation).

The person will be compensated...with the lesser coin that Sheldon used to replace the stolen piece.

Interesting. I guess the loss of what they paid vs the lesser piece value is the sticking point for some. Not to mention loss of registry points or ego points, lol. In any case, hopefully one day everything will be restored to where it should be.

Zoins

@TurtleCat said:

@JesseKraft said:

@TurtleCat said:

@Zoins said:

@JesseKraft said:
We're still missing 49 or 50 large cents due to this.

It’s interesting that the collectors with these coins don’t want to relinquish them.

My guess is some of the collectors may not even be aware of the coin’s history and some don’t want to lose possession of them with no compensation (or very difficult to obtain compensation).

The person will be compensated...with the lesser coin that Sheldon used to replace the stolen piece.

Interesting. I guess the loss of what they paid vs the lesser piece value is the sticking point for some. Not to mention loss of registry points or ego points, lol. In any case, hopefully one day everything will be restored to where it should be.

I don't think people should get registry points for stolen coins...

Coinosaurus

I'm guessing that most of us own stolen coins, if one could go far back enough to prove it.

The ANS theft was so systematic and egregious, and the large cent pedigree paper trail so rich, that eventually someone was going to figure it out. The fact that it was done in the pre-Internet era tells you what a dogged researcher Del Bland was.