The Tyrant Revealed!

ChopmarkedTrades

After years of speculation regarding the identity of the collector that was not-so-secretly assembling one of the greatest collections of US and British gold (and patterns) ever, the identity of the 'Tyrant' of the Tyrant Collection has been revealed as Dan O'Dowd, Green Hills Software CEO, Dawn Project founder, and tech billionaire.

The news was dropped by the (UK) Telegraph this morning, though the article is paywalled: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/12/billionaire-tyrant-unveils-collection-coins-minted-every-english/

DCW

Wow, this is big news!

ricko

At last... I have been wondering when this would finally be known. His 'assistant' posts here, and I had a short discussion with him once, but he never revealed the identity of Tyrant. No doubt his gold collection is the finest and most incredible assemblage of gold coins in history. Cheers, RickO

pcgscacgold

That is a great collection. I hope to see the exhibit again some day.

pcgscacgold

An additional comment; it is also extremely generous for Mr. O'Dowd to share this with the public as he has. The cost of that alone is incredible.

TurtleCat

Congrats to him for a successful career and collection. And appreciation and recognition for allowing his treasure to be enjoyed by all and not just stuck in a vault somewhere.

BStrauss3

How do you know when you have a totally awesome collection? When it's so big and beautiful you have to show "selections" at a major show like WFoM or NMS! And the rest of us get to see examples of the finest known of the best coins the US and many other mints have ever produced...

pursuitofliberty

Very interesting. I commend Mr. O'Dowd on an amazing collection, and am grateful for his generosity and meticulous effort in the selections and displays shown at the ANA last summer in Chicago. Studying the examples displayed was a highlight, and having the glossy booklet for future reference is wonderful. I remember admiring some of the coins knowing that I was standing in the realm of greatness for all of US Numismatics.

Zoins

That’s awesome. I’m glad he became public for provenance tracking!

The displays for his collection are amazing. It would be great for someone to offer similar displays for other collections.

7Jaguars

Good for him and nice that he was not out there publicly beating his chest....
As a side note I have often wondered if he and Hansen collude just a bit and agree not to compete on some coins where each would come to the fray with essentially unlimited budgets.

WAYNEAS

At 62, he has amassed what only a few others could attempt to do.
Many of us have attended a show just to view some part of this collection.
Thanks, Dan O'Dowd, for sharing this one-of-a-kind collection.
Wayne

1Bufffan

It must be nice to know you can afford anything you want especially to be able to put together something like his collection and not have to worry about someone out bidding you, just go and get it because he wants it. It is truly a one-of-a-kind collection.

johnny9434

that is interesting news

Exbrit

Floridafacelifter

Seems like a class act from top to bottom- very deep pockets, good taste, expert advice, and a willingness to share with all of us who love the hobby. Congratulations to Mr. O’Dowd on his fascinating journey- I'll bet it was incredibly fun and he probably has many interesting tales he could tell- he should write a biography of the collection from its beginnings to its current status and what the future holds.

Zoins

@Exbrit said:

II'm waiting for that coin to be revealed!

Anyone know what that coin is?

Zoins

@ChopmarkedTrades said:
After years of speculation regarding the identity of the collector that was not-so-secretly assembling one of the greatest collections of US and British gold (and patterns) ever, the identity of the 'Tyrant' of the Tyrant Collection has been revealed as Dan O'Dowd, Green Hills Software CEO, Dawn Project founder, and tech billionaire.

Good background. Here's some info on Green Hills Software which is pretty cool. Their software is used for the Nintendo Wii and AirMule flying car!

Wikipedia authors said:
In 2008, the Green Hills real-time operating system (RTOS) named Integrity-178 was the first system to be certified by the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP), composed of National Security Agency (NSA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 6+.

By November 2008, it was announced that a commercialized version of Integrity 178-B will be available to be sold to the private sector by Integrity Global Security, a subsidiary of Green Hills Software.

On March 27, 2012, a contract was announced between Green Hills Software and Nintendo. This designates MULTI as the official integrated development environment and toolchain for Nintendo and its licensed developers to program the Wii U video game console.

On February 25, 2014, it was announced that the operating system Integrity had been chosen by Urban Aeronautics for their AirMule flying car unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), since renamed the Tactical Robotics Cormorant.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Hills_Software
• https://www.ghs.com/

Here's the flying car!

https://verticalmag.com/news/urban-aero-moves-forward-distinct-vtol-aircraft/

Of note, Google turns up Dan O'Dowd, General Manager of the Colorado Rockies!

Zoins

@1Bufffan said:
It must be nice to know you can afford anything you want especially to be able to put together something like his collection and not have to worry about someone out bidding you, just go and get it because he wants it. It is truly a one-of-a-kind collection.

It seems like many of the top collectors tend to be businessmen and CEOs, and less so kings.

So perhaps coin collecting is the "Hobby of CEOs"?

The aspirational journey for a YN could be:

1. Love coins as a YN
2. Build a business
3. Become a billionaire
4. Build a world class coin collection as a billionaire

I think it would be instructive to have a booklet with biographies of great collectors including how they amassed their fortunes to assemble such great collections. This could then be instructive for YNs.

BryceM

Really cool news. I hope his identity was revealed when and how he desired.

Zoins

@BryceM said:
Really cool news. I hope his identity was revealed when and how he desired.

He did provide some nice quote for the article. It seems like he's done building his set from the article.

Dan O’Dowd said:
Bill Gates builds a house, Jeff Bezos builds a yacht, everybody has something they want to do. I didn’t really want to buy a yacht because I get seasick. I collect coins.

It’s my hobby, it’s my release. It’s completely separate from everything I do in business. It’s just something that’s always fascinated me.

When you build a coin collection, if you’re too big, and people find out what you are doing, they can hold you up.

If anyone knew what I was doing, the collection I was trying to build – they could charge me whatever they want. They could extort me on every coin because they would know I needed that coin or I wouldn’t have the complete set. I did it completely in secret. Nobody knew there was even a collection being built, so I managed to get it without being taken advantage of.

Here's some more info:

Dan O’Dowd kept both his identity and his ambition to own a coin featuring every English and British monarch secret to avoid being held to ransom on the price, but the designer of software for fighter jets has revealed himself after completing his dreamed-of collection.
[...]
The founder of Green Hills Software, which provides technology for nuclear bombers, is worth around £1.5 billion, and has been collecting the world’s rarest coins since 2005. His 1,000-strong collection of coins minted by this country’s rulers has examples dating back beyond the Royal Mint’s 1,100-year history, and includes currency issued by obscure 7th-century Kentish king Eadbald, and Mercian ruler Offa.

greatcollection

Everyone in the loop knows dan. nice guy.

his dealer is john dannruther.

golden

I saw the exhibit at the ANA in Chicago. Just super!

DisneyFan

@Zoins said:

@Exbrit said:

II'm waiting for that coin to be revealed!

Anyone know what that coin is?

Article states: a George III

ScarsdaleCoin

I’m a big admirer of just how much class this man has. Truly he does it right.

MrEureka

.

@Zoins said:

@1Bufffan said:
It must be nice to know you can afford anything you want especially to be able to put together something like his collection and not have to worry about someone out bidding you, just go and get it because he wants it. It is truly a one-of-a-kind collection.

It seems like many of the top collectors tend to be businessmen and CEOs, and less so kings.

So perhaps coin collecting is the "Hobby of CEOs"?

The aspirational journey for a YN could be:

1. Love coins as a YN
2. Build a business
3. Become a billionaire
4. Build a world class coin collection as a billionaire

I think it would be instructive to have a booklet with biographies of great collectors including how they amassed their fortunes to assemble such great collections. This could then be instructive for YNs.

I kind of hate that approach. Better to advise kids that the harder they work at learning about coins and the harder they work to build their collections, the better their collections will become. In other words, simple encouragement. And no need to explain that the same will be true for whatever career they choose, and the wealth they may build in the process. When they're old enough to choose a career, it's obvious enough. And for the 99.99% who don't make billions, they won't be quite as disappointed with their hobby, or their lives.

ianrussell

I do think it's strange that it leaked through a British newspaper.

Press from a U.S. newspaper approached me a few years ago to ask who Tyrant was. Clearly, I wasn't going to say anything, and since nothing appeared in the paper, I don't think anyone else did in the industry either.

• Ian

pruebas

@ianrussell said:
I do think it's strange that it leaked through a British newspaper.

I don't. The US press is but a shell of it's former self, hence doesn't attract the kind of reporters it once used to.

The British press hasn't gotten as bad yet.

LanceNewmanOCC

@pruebas said:
I don't. The US press is but a shell of it's former self, hence doesn't attract the kind of reporters it once used to.

.
BUT A SHELL...

overall, i've been wholly unimpressed with the average agencies reporting accuracy. i don't necessarily blame the reporters as they have bosses and their bosses bosses have bosses but c'mon already. i take whatever i read with a grain of salt. i'm not saying it is easy to do but once you lose confidence, it can be tough to get it back. is it REALLY that hard to report truth?

on-topic.

i bet his reasons for not having a registry set?, remaining anonymous, putting a collection like this together, the video being posted going private etc etc would be very interesting and enjoyable to hear.

Zoins

@MrEureka said:

@Zoins said:

@1Bufffan said:
It must be nice to know you can afford anything you want especially to be able to put together something like his collection and not have to worry about someone out bidding you, just go and get it because he wants it. It is truly a one-of-a-kind collection.

It seems like many of the top collectors tend to be businessmen and CEOs, and less so kings.

So perhaps coin collecting is the "Hobby of CEOs"?

The aspirational journey for a YN could be:

1. Love coins as a YN
2. Build a business
3. Become a billionaire
4. Build a world class coin collection as a billionaire

I think it would be instructive to have a booklet with biographies of great collectors including how they amassed their fortunes to assemble such great collections. This could then be instructive for YNs.

I kind of hate that approach. Better to advise kids that the harder they work at learning about coins and the harder they work to build their collections, the better their collections will become. In other words, simple encouragement. And no need to explain that the same will be true for whatever career they choose, and the wealth they may build in the process. When they're old enough to choose a career, it's obvious enough. And for the 99.99% who don't make billions, they won't be quite as disappointed with their hobby, or their lives.

I think this is the approach to build a great coin collection, but I don't think this is actually how it works.

From what I've seen happen, the way it works is:

1. Have business-minded mentors that each a kid to build a business
2. Have coins as a hobby
3. Build a great business
4. Need a hobby on the side which turns out to be coin collecting
5. End up with great coin collection

So I'm not sure how much coins are in the focus of a maturing YN, but I think building a great business is. It just so happens that the business person needs a hobby and turns to one they had as a kid.

Zoins

@ianrussell said:
I do think it's strange that it leaked through a British newspaper.

Press from a U.S. newspaper approached me a few years ago to ask who Tyrant was. Clearly, I wasn't going to say anything, and since nothing appeared in the paper, I don't think anyone else did in the industry either.

• Ian

The interesting thing is that the Tyrant collection is full of British and other European coins, so I can see the interest there.

greatcollection

Many dealers and auction houses do business with him. They know not to mess with someone of his size. Everyone wants to keep doing business with him. Thus he has been able to remain private.

jmlanzaf

@greatcollection said:
Many dealers and auction houses do business with him. They know not to mess with someone of his size. Everyone wants to keep doing business with him. Thus he has been able to remain private.

Professional dealers and houses are respectful of ALL of their customers.

MrEureka

@Zoins said:

So I'm not sure how much coins are in the focus of a maturing YN, but I think building a great business is. It just so happens that the business person needs a hobby and turns to one they had as a kid.

I think you underestimate the passion many YNs have for numismatics, and overestimate the adult's "need" to find a hobby. But I guess we can agree to disagree.

Zoins

@MrEureka said:

@Zoins said:

So I'm not sure how much coins are in the focus of a maturing YN, but I think building a great business is. It just so happens that the business person needs a hobby and turns to one they had as a kid.

I think you underestimate the passion many YNs have for numismatics, and overestimate the adult's "need" to find a hobby. But I guess we can agree to disagree.

I could be underestimating the passion of YNs. I just didn't see a lot or, really any, coin collecting growing up among my peers. I'm an Eagle Scout that earned the Coin Collecting Merit Badge. None of my Scouting friends talked about coins outside the Merit Badge, and neither did I, but I wouldn't consider my passion that high at the time. Also, there were no coin clubs in high school, where we had things like the Year Book Club, Glee Club, Debate Club, Science Club, Chess Club, etc. This is why I think the Internet is a game changer for YNs, allowing YNs to connect with others, and also the Witter University is so great to get YNs together.

At the same time, I can understand the need for a more sedentary hobby after many people change lifestyles.

FrankH

Rare coins have always been a magnet for wealth.
I see this accellerating at least in the scarcer and rarer coins.
Portable, internationally desired, easily and quickly liquidated ....or... purchased.

asheland

I’d love to see the exhibit at a show someday. I’ve only seen the videos on YouTube. Sounds like an interesting guy. 👍

WillieBoyd2

He's going into politics:

From the San Francisco Chronicle (sfgate.com):

WASHINGTON - This tech billionaire wants to take on Tesla - on the way to the United States Senate.

Dan O'Dowd, founder and chief executive officer of Green Hills Software, which builds operating services and programming tools for computer systems, announced his bid for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

O'Dowd simultaneously launched a multimillion-dollar national advertising campaign against Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology. The television advertisement, "Unsafe at Any Speed," includes videos of Tesla's self-driving car malfunctioning.

O'Dowd challenges incumbent Sen. Alex Padilla, California's former secretary of state, who was tapped by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill Vice President Kamala Harris' seat when she became vice president.

Article:
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-tech-billionaire-launches-Senate-17105926.php

BestGerman

@WillieBoyd2 said:
He's going into politics:

From the San Francisco Chronicle (sfgate.com):

WASHINGTON - This tech billionaire wants to take on Tesla - on the way to the United States Senate.

Dan O'Dowd, founder and chief executive officer of Green Hills Software, which builds operating services and programming tools for computer systems, announced his bid for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

O'Dowd simultaneously launched a multimillion-dollar national advertising campaign against Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology. The television advertisement, "Unsafe at Any Speed," includes videos of Tesla's self-driving car malfunctioning.

O'Dowd challenges incumbent Sen. Alex Padilla, California's former secretary of state, who was tapped by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill Vice President Kamala Harris' seat when she became vice president.

Article:
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-tech-billionaire-launches-Senate-17105926.php

Interesting. Political campaigns aren't cheap.

Relaxn

Going into politics because he wants to go after Tesla.
He is very very anti the self driving program at Tesla
Will not get too political but believe he has deeper issues with Musk than Tesla... since Musk is a 1A absolutist.

WillieBoyd2

Did Elon outbid Dan for a coin?

MsMorrisine

no more calendars once in office!!!

Zoins

@BestGerman said:

@WillieBoyd2 said:
He's going into politics:

From the San Francisco Chronicle (sfgate.com):

WASHINGTON - This tech billionaire wants to take on Tesla - on the way to the United States Senate.

Dan O'Dowd, founder and chief executive officer of Green Hills Software, which builds operating services and programming tools for computer systems, announced his bid for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

O'Dowd simultaneously launched a multimillion-dollar national advertising campaign against Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology. The television advertisement, "Unsafe at Any Speed," includes videos of Tesla's self-driving car malfunctioning.

O'Dowd challenges incumbent Sen. Alex Padilla, California's former secretary of state, who was tapped by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill Vice President Kamala Harris' seat when she became vice president.

Article:
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-tech-billionaire-launches-Senate-17105926.php

Interesting. Political campaigns aren't cheap.

@Relaxn said:
Going into politics because he wants to go after Tesla.
He is very very anti the self driving program at Tesla
Will not get too political but believe he has deeper issues with Musk than Tesla... since Musk is a 1A absolutist.

I wouldn't be surprised if there's a business aspect to this. The interesting thing about the self-driving car focus is that Dan is a billionaire tech CEO who’s company makes software used in self-flying vehicles. Would his company’s software have better results? Are they going after the same self-driving software contracts? If there's a business goal, I don't think he even needs to be elected to accomplish his goal. Dan is clearly very smart and successful so I don't think he's doing this just on a whim.

renomedphys

Apparently he bought the 1821 proof $5 for $4.62M that was auctioned last week in Long Beach. I saw and held the coin. Unlike so much proof gold, the coin was ALL THERE! How nice that a coin like that could be preserved so well for 200 years. Wonderful!

My lot notes:

-Might as well be $10M
-I can say I got to hold it!!

tcollects

You know he's at a coin show when a car flies into the lot