Ezra Hill (1838-1860) ANS Founder and Coin Dealer - No Pleasure Can Exceed the Smoking of the Weed
Zoins
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I was looking up @SteveHayden's website and found the following token from the Steve Hayden Collection which got me curious about Ezra Hill. A little little later I was able to find some info about him from E-Sylum here: https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n48a16.html .
Pete Smith said in 2022:
On the evening of April 6, 1858, a dozen men (and boys) gathered at the home of Augustus B. Sage for the first official meeting of the American Numismatic Society. Signing in just ahead of Sage was Ezra Hill who gave his address as 248½ Bowery. This is a few blocks west of the Sage apartment at 121 Essex Street in New York City. Sage was born on May 13, 1841, and would have been short of his seventeenth birthday. Ezra Hill would have been 19 or 20.Augustus Benjamin Sage said in 1867:
Poor Ezra Hill, long since dead and buried, a victim of consumption, commenced collecting in 1858; he never was fortunate enough to obtain any very rare pieces, but was enthusiastic, and by his earnest nature and pleasant ways assisted materially in the good work of creating a taste for the science. Many and many a night have I examined with him our collections, comparing the acquisitions of the day and speculating as to how soon our collections would rival Mickley's. A short time prior to his death he obtained a small place on Bleecker Street, No. 6, and did for a while quite a thriving business in buying and selling articles in the line of coins, autographs, etc.Pete Smith said in 2022:
I found records for an Ezra D. Hill who may have been the ANS member. He was born in 1838 making him 20 when he joined the ANS. His mother was Sarah Fisk Hill (1814-1873) and his sister was Emma D. Hill Crogan (1839-1919) who was married to Henry A. Crogan. Sarah and Emma are buried with Henry Crogan at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. I have visited there several times visiting the gravesites of numismatists A. M. Smith, William Lanphere and Elias Rasmussen.Ezra Hill died on December 31, 1860, at age 22, and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. I have not identified any other relative buried there.
Photos courtesy of @SteveHayden .
Comments
Not sure what I would find here. Interesting token, history, and thread. Thanks for posting.
Smoking did not help with his tuberculosis (consumption). Interesting post and a pleasant break from corroded and damaged "error" posts.
That E. HILL reverse die is muled extensively with many of the other stock dies of merchant tokens in the 1850s.
Nice to add some biographical information! I had no idea he died so very young
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
I agree it's nice to have some biographical background on these famous people.
It's amazing that the founders of the ANS were so young!
Good to see you posting again, @Zoins
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
It's good to still be able to find interesting things to write about!
I did a quick search for Ezra's middle name but didn't come up with anything and I'm resisting the temptation to do a more in-depth search
I can see where that token can be real popular with some
Some might call it a "gateway" token, before you know it you're tokin' at a token convention.
These "Weed" Tokens are very popular and pricey. This one is up for auction on Ebay right now.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/386922998611
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I can see it all going up in smoke anyway
Cool token and write up!
No. 6 Bleeker St. NYC