The Top Error Coin Collector Pedigrees!
Zoins
Posts: 34,113 ✭✭✭✭✭
Error coins can be beautiful and are often unique.
Given how many great ones are out there, I was wondering who had the great collections?
The provenances I'm aware of are few and far between (alphabetical by first name):
- Dr. A.K. Berry
- Tommy Bolack
- Dr. Conway Bolt
- Don Bonser
- Mike Byers - trackable via Mint Error News
- Mike Chambers
- Milt Cohen
- Ray Czahor - trackable via auction catalogs
- Chris Talbot Frank - been looking for an easy way to track provenance
- Natalie Halpern
- Frank Leone
- Mike Maloney
- Larry Rausch
- Dr. Phillip Spear
- Michael Sussman
Any other known collector pedigrees?
The following is from @FredWeinberg:
Tagged:
4
Comments
Are you talking only current, or past collectors also?
If past, then I'd say Dr. Conway Bolt was a very advanced
error collector from the 40's to mid-50's.
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
I'm thinking all time and especially ones where coins can be tracked.
I've been trying to figure out a way to trace EOC's provenance for the "Collecting from Inventory" strategy which I've been taking to mean his entire inventory. I like tracing dealer provenance too, which tends to show up for the highest priced coins.
Frank Leone for 2 cent pieces.
BHNC #203
Your first post lists two dealers -
are you asking for older error dealers?
Lonesome John
Natalie Halpern
and I could add lots more.
Collectors:
Milt Cohen
Dr. Phillip Spear
Dr. A.K. Berry
Mike Maloney
Mike Chambers
.....lots more
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
I was an error coin collector who turned into an error coin dealer.
I am working with some (unnamed ) error coin collectors who are building some very impressive sets.
A person or persons with deep pockets could certainly put together a world-class error coin set with what is on the market today.
Specifically dealers where we can trace their provenance.
For examples, Mike's top coins are easy to trace.
EOC's coins are okay to trace when they are in inventory but I'm not sure how easy they are to trace afterwards. It would be nice to have some way to trace them with his provenance. I think I have an approach but haven't tested it yet
I know you are a great dealer too, and I've been wondering how easy it would be to trace all the coins with the Weinberg provenance
Are their collections easy to trace?
I like Ray Czahor's collection because they are on Stack's with his name against them.
Some, but not all, of Milt's and Chambers coins are traceable.
Dr. Berry's great Ike Dollar Error Collection was donated to the
ANA Museum many decades ago, and is still there.....
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
I just got off the phone with one
Is this collector known? Or anonymous?
No, the client is anonymous like most all I deal with.
Then that collector may not quality for this list as this is for provenances and pedigrees, such as ones that will end up in auction catalogs of great coins. Most anonymous collectors don't have have a provenance / pedigree though it is possible to use an anonymous collection name like the Knoxville Collection or Missouri Cabinet.
I personally never follow provenances and pedigrees.
I follow coins and I know some who have them.
Nothing wrong with that and that's a fine way to collect, but it still means there's no provenance / pedigree. Usually, it just mean they show up as dated sales venues in the provenance chain, or not at all.
I edited the title to make it more clear.
So many of these coins go back and forth many many times between different dealers and different clients.
It would be hard to follow the chain of custody IMO.
Some do hoard for a generation so that may be more what you are thinking of.
It's a fun way to track great coins. It's common for non-errors and I think it would be great for it to become popular to trace great error coins. For example, this Donald Partrick coin was cataloged in Rulau. Okay, it's an overstrike, but an off-center one
That's what makes it fun. It makes coins from Byers stand out. For example, I have a piece that has a Byers-Julian provenance chain.
Not necessarily. I care about anybody that can be traced, even things like Knoxville Collection
😃😃😃
Many coins, especially cents, are traceable back to Lonesome John because they have turned orange and purple from his "special sauce".
I would add Michael Arconti to your list, he had an amazing collection of large cent errors that went to auction in the early 00s. There was a well illustrated catalog that is definitely worth looking for if you want to track the provenance.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
Is Milt a collector or dealer?
I just ran across what seems to be Milt Cohen's dealer token?
Does the ANA still have "Error Day"?
And then a Google search turned up his pre-CONECA catalog on Mint Error News:
https://minterrornews.com/features-11-14-06-milt_cohen_collection.html
'Error Day' at the 1977 ANA was in honor
of the ANA having for the first time, a
separate category for Mint Errors in their
display area. There is another token issued,
by Arnie Margolis, I believe, that also
'commemorated' this milestone.
Milt Cohen (passed away approx. 15-20 years ago)
was a very advanced major mint error collector, and
his collection, as shown in the catalog above, was an
event, handled by Natalie Halpern, another N Y city
error dealer.
I met Milt at the very first Error-A-Rama in June 1967,
as well as all of the notables in the hobby at that time.
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
Many of Milt’s mint errors are traceable in Natalie’s catalog that was featured in Mint Error News.
Milt purchased many mint errors from me. It was sometimes difficult to determine if the purchase was for his collection or resale. Overall I would classify him as a collector.
Good to know @FredWeinberg and @Byers!
It would be great to match up coins in the catalog to Milt's provenance today, via PCGS TrueViews
Don't know if I'm not supposed to do this here,
but one of my coins to be sold by Heritage
next year is the 1873 Shield Nickel struck on
a Cent Planchet - with the NGC label saying:
"Farouk-Weinberg" (it's also Ex-Zabriskie Sale, 1909)for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
That's great Fred! It's okay. We certainly talk about other King Farouk coins months before the sale, like the 1933 DE. Of course, if we talk about a coin before the sale, we need to guess how much it will sell for
Hopefully all 3 names, Zabriskie, Farouk and Weinberg will be on the new insert!
It’s ok Fred😉
Here is the article published years ago in Mint Error News:
https://minterrornews.com/features-10-12-04-shield_nickel_on_cent.html
Great article! Amazing that @FredWeinberg's had this coin since 2004!
Here's the PDF issue it appears in:
https://minterrornews.com/issue8.pdf
@Zoins
Fred’s Shield Nickel on a Cent planchet is lovely. The Mint Error News article shows it in a PCGS MS 62 holder. It’s now in a NGC holder obviously, and I believe the grade is MS 64.
Lindy, you've been one of the really nice, and FUN
folks to talk to over the years.
And, you know what you like, appreciate the rarity of
those items; understand how they're minted, and in
my opinion, really enjoy the error coin segment of numismatics.
Kathy and I love getting your emails, and the scarce
occasional phone call!
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
Argh, my comment got trashcanned here yet again.
Glad you saw it so it was not an absolute total waste of my time.
Frustrating...
Fred- you’re still in the office?
Thought you would already be in Maui.
I know of a mediocre collector from west tn
My 1811 Bust Half Dollar 25% Off Center XF 45 PCGS is from the Milt Cohen Coll.
what do you think ?
@easternwoods
That’s a nice off-center Bust Half Dollar with a great provenance!
Here's a catalog of "Sam Thurman's Cud Collection: Quarters through Dollars" by Frank Leone.
Was Sam Thurman a famous error collector too?
Photo is from Jon @SullivanNumismatics
Sam Thurman had a massive cud collection, which was sold (part or all of it) to Frank Leone, who wrote the book. A handful of dealers sponsored the book (including myself), and about 1,000 copies or so were printed. Unfortunately, that's the only guide to come out so far from the collection; hopefully more will come out down the road.
amazing!
BHNC #203
A superb off-center bust half. That far off and in that nice a grade is super tough.
Here's another @FredWeinberg coin
From the Michael Sussman collection:
From the Larry Rausch collection:
Fred mentioned Natalie Halpern from NY; at the 1973 Error-O-Rama I cherrypicked four 1973 broadstruck Lincolns from her that in reality were broken collar errors. She was very surprised that she missed that. I later sold her my '69-S double die.
Here's one from Natalie!
Ref: https://coins.ha.com/itm/half-cents/1829-b-1-c-1-off-center-au58-pcgs-our-eac-grade-au50-pcgs-35267-/a/1348-3233.s
This one is pedigreed to: Dr. Conway A. Bolt; Numismatics, Ltd.; Kenneth M. Goldman; George Szykir (7/1980); James R. McGuigan. Conway Bolt is an error collector but I'm not sure if the others are errors collectors or half cent collectors that happened to get this coin.
Ref: https://coins.ha.com/itm/half-cents/1795-plain-edge-no-pole-b-5b-c-5b-low-r4-struck-over-a-1795-s-76b-cent-ms66-red-and-brown-pcgs-our-eac-grade-ms66/a/1348-3038.s
I was running Collectors Clearinghouse at that time, and I remember sitting at the error meeting that day with Bill Fivaz. He was showing me his new purchases, and he handed me a high grade 1857 F.E. Cent with some odd raised metal in the fields and said "What do you make of this?" We had seen these in low grade at Clearinghouse over the years, but had never been able to figure them out.
I studied it for a while and kind of zoned out of the meeting and suddenly an image popped in to my mind and I said to Bill "Those are clash marks from a Seated Liberty half or quarter obverse die." Bill got back up off the floor and looked at the coin and said "Your right." That was the first attribution of a dual-denomination clash mark.
It is not a Pedigree yet as the collector still wishes to remain anonymous, but my former employer, Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., has been building a fabulous error collection for a client that I am occasionally consulted on.
I tipped them off to the 1903 Morgan Dollar Die Cap that Fred revealed in this thread:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/884052/13-year-acquisition-time-finally-die-cap-morgan-dollar/p1
What's the denomination? The True View page says "Denominations: Various". At first I was thinking maybe Golden Dollars, but they're only one denomination.
Mike – that’s a Sac. dollar scrap piece that came from the Denver mint -
Some times the PCGS label will say various but that’s a data entry mistake – not ‘various denominations’
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
Thanks.
Thanks for the info @FredWeinberg! That's one of my favorite scrap pieces.
Do you happen to have a link to the TrueView for your off-center Morgan dollar (cert 16060721)? I wanted to use that one but it looks like the coin was re-certified quickly so I can't get the TrueView anymore.
I don’t have the link to the true view of that 1880 off-center Morgan dollar heritage sold last summer.
At the February Long Beach show last month the collector who bought the coin from the Heritage auction, came up to me to say how much he loved the coin and how surprised he was that it went for under $100,000 – it was great to talk to a Collector who appreciated it For his collection
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
Last night I bought a top error coin that Mike found. Double pedigree.
I also bought back a coin that I used to own that I bought from Jon originally. Jon to me to a collector to auction and back to me