If Louis Eliasberg, Sr., were alive today would he...

RLinn

...be sniping Pop Tops on eBay or would he buy the best he could find and crack it out since we all know he bought the coin and not the plastic?

P.S. If you aren't familiar with the significance of Louis Eliasberg, Sr., Look Here

TheNumish

He'd pay the same for a coin whether it was slabed or raw. He'd consider the slab an opinion that would help in making a decision about the coin but would ultimately make his own decisions. I don't know if he would break the coins out. Depends on what value he placed in the slabs. I'd like to think he'd break them out but he was a pragmatic man and might find some value in keeping them in the holders.
I don't think he'd be into top pops on common stuff. Think he would think it was silly. He'd be more into getting the rare stuff. Maybe key coins he'd be into top grades.
Would he be sniping auctions? He'd have to to get anything. Anytime someone would see him bidding they'd jump on the coin.

Trime

He would probably not be buying CLCT stock

kryptonitecomics

I would say their is probably 0% chance he would be buying anything off Ebay. He struck me as the type of person that would need to see a coin up close and personal before making a decision to buy.

Pushkin

Based on the information from one of yesterday's posts, he would certainly make sure that his undertaker wasn't a collector.

STEWARTBLAYNUMIS

For those of you who are not familiar with the Louis Eliasberg collection,Louis Eliasberg was a banker who bought the Clapp collection from Stack's in 1942.Mr Eliasberg was not concerned with moderns as finest knowns.He was concerned with real coins as finest knowns.Pop Tops is an invention from the Forum ? or did David Hall coin the phrase ?

Stewart

nwcs

He would be buying mint sets

Mark

Stewart:

Am I correct in thinking that when Mr. Eliasberg was buying the majority of coins, ie, the 1940s, the mania for the highest grade coins was non-existent? I thought that back then, there was one mint state grade--UNC--and several circulated grades.

Mark

P.S.: Keep in mind that when Mr. Eliasberg was actively collecting, buffalo nickels/mercury dimes/standing liberty quarters/and walking liberty half dollars probably would have been considered "modern coins."

kieferscoins

Didn't Al Gore invent the phrase pop top?

I think he would be like any modern day collecotr and use all his resources to find the coins he wants.

Cameron Kiefer

RLinn

<< <i>Didn't Al Gore invent the phrase pop top >>

Hmmmmm....you might be on to something there. I'm pretty sure he invented the slab also.

dorkkarl

i think eliasberg had a lot of help, didn't he? like, wasn't bowers 1 of the main dudes helping him out?

K S

kieferscoins

<< <i>Hmmmmm....you might be on to something there. I'm pretty sure he invented the slab also >>



RLinn:

Are you suggesting Alan hager and Al Gore were buds back in the early 80's? Both their first names sound nearly the same.

Cameron Kiefer

gemtone65

Mr. Eliasberg, a businessman from Baltimore, wanted one example of each denomination, date, and mintmark, and I believe he achieved that goal -- perhaps the only collector ever to do so. He also wanted the best examples of each piece he could find, but he wasn't a toning fanatic (although he had many naturally and lightly toned pieces) and would not have been caught up with Monster toned common date dollars, mint sets, moderns, etc. He had some very nice pattern pieces, but his collection in this area was not comparable to other such specialized holdings. I think Bowers sold off Mr. eliasberg's gold collection (under a different name) in the early to mid-1980's or so, followed by the remainder of the collection in 1996 and 1997. Of all the coins that have been discussed here recently, I think he would have most liked to have added Anaconda's proof NGC67 1834 quarter to his collection.

coinguy1

The sale of the gold part of the collection that gemtone65 refers to was conducted by Bowers and Ruddy Galleries, October 27-29 1982 and was called "The United States Gold Collection".

I believe that there was a legal reason for not being able to use the Eliasberg name back then, though most everyone on the planet knew whose coins were being sold anyway. There were some amazing coins obtained straight from the U.S. Mint included in that sale. Every once in a while, one surfaces in the marketplace and is often easily identifiable as an Eliasberg coin, even without a pedigree on the grading lable. Many of those coins have their own special look and their quality speaks for itself.

BASEagle

I don't understand you guys saying he would not be into moderns. He wanted one of everything and the best examples he could get. He would probably buy 100 proof sets, mint sets, commemoratives, everything the mint had for sale, cherry pick the best ones and sell the rest on ebay.

Mike

dbldie55

I just don't see Eliasberg spending any time on Ebay. Buying or Selling. He would work with a specific dealer or group to acquire his coins. Just the way it seems he would work. He was also wise with his money, so I am not sure he would get worked up into the modern craze, but would still want exceptional examples of each. Since he died in the early 70's, he should of had examples of coins from the 60's and early 70's. What were the grades on these? Did he spend an enormous amount of time to get these coins?

Also, he usually had proofs instead of Mint State coins where they could be substituted. Many of his complete sets would not be complete by todays standards as he did not have Philadelphia mint state coins for many types.

STEWARTBLAYNUMIS

Mark - Gemmania did not exist in the 1940's........and 1963 d Lincoln cents are not rare !!!!!

Dorkkarl - He owned a bank and had some of the deepest pockets in numismatic History.I also believe FDR also encouraged him to complete the collection

John Clapp sr was the greatest numistmatist that ever lived....period.....He knew varieties before the books were written

Louis Eliasberg was not a cherry picker buying proof sets.I believe Mr. Clapp bought ALL his coins in the 1880's 90's and into the 20th century directly from the mint.AND the grades prove it.

Read the Q david bowers book !!!!!!!

Stewart

gemtone65

BASeagle: I don't think you inference is accurate. I don't believe Mr. Eliasberg added coins to his collection such as from the 1950's and 1960's, for example, although he was alive at the time and certainly could have done so. I think he would have found the notion of searching for the finest known 1968 half dollar or 2002 state quarter somewhat amusing.

cladking

Gemtone 65 is probably exactly right. There were almost no collectors
of late date coins after 1965. For the main part collectors of this era did
not even use a filler coin for later dates. The sets of clads that the Smith-
sonian had on display in the early 80's was amusing. The coins were al-
most uniformly poor strikes and many appeared to have a light rub! I
think I read somewhere that Eliasburg only collected up to about 1950.
It's not unusual for a collector to end his collection at an arbitrary date,
but usually it is within a few years of the current one.

CalGold

Would be very old

lsica

<< <i>Am I correct in thinking that when Mr. Eliasberg was buying the majority of coins, ie, the 1940s, the mania for the highest grade coins was non-existent? I thought that back then, there was one mint state grade--UNC--and several circulated grades. >>



Oh, I think Mr E. was definately a cherry picker. A good deal of the stuff from his collection has been slabbed MS68. If he was just interested in "one mint state grade--UNC", that wouldn't be the case.

relayer

...He would be wondering why I paid $220 for an MS63 1883 No Cents 5c just because his name was on the insert.

boiler78

I think he would scoff at the notion that his complete gold type set is considered to be the second finest of all time by PCGS.

Lakesammman

Very interesting question.... most of what he bought was outstanding but I bought a lot of about 20 large cents that were very ugly, thinking there might be some value in the pedigree (there wasn't - I broke even). So, my guess is that, while he appreciated great coins, his primary objective was to have a complete run of US coins. The dogs I bought, which helped him complete the run, could have easily been upgraded but weren't.

dbldie55

<< <i>...He would be wondering why I paid $220 for an MS63 1883 No Cents 5c just because his name was on the insert. >>



So would I. I have been tracking these pieces. Interesting price trends I have seen, but that price is still above most of the MS64 pieces I have seen sold. Luckily, my dealer found me a MS65 piece for just over regular bid.

mdwoods

Hi is alive. He and Elvis are working at a Burger King in Kalamazoo, MI. Thought everyone knew that!!!

Nic

Mr. Eliasberg BOUGHT more than collected...as most define. Mr. Clapp collected ... totally amazing what he achieved when you look back in time. K