Name the ten most important US coin dealers of all time...

MrEureka

Past or present.

They don't necessarily have to be the biggest or most successful dealers. However you decide to determine "importance" is up to you.

BBN

centsless. Everyone else fights for second place.

Shamika

People or companies. Steve Ivy or Heritage?

savoyspecial

Mehl
Chapman
Bowers/Empire
Kosoff
Kagin
Behmer
Harlan Berk
Halperin
Albanese
Heritage et al

rgCoinGuy

For making coin buying for the common man easier.

On a more numismatic note, QDB for sharing so much knowledge with so many of us through his books.

MidLifeCrisis

Interesting question that may stimulate some rather heated debate.

Off the top of my head and in no particular order:
Q. David Bowers
Harvey Stack
B. Max Mehl
Wayte Raymond
John Ford
Jim Halperin and Steve Ivy (collectively because of Heritage)
David Hall (for taking the TPG concept to where it is today)
Rick Snow (for his Photo Seal, the predecessor of CAC)
Julian M. Leidman (he was the first nationally recognized dealer I met and did business with)
John Agre and John Kraljevich (collectively because of their assistance with my personal collecting goals)

RYK

Lyman Low
Chapmans
Max Mehl
Birdie Johnson
Abe Kosoff
QDB
Stack's
Jay Parrino
John Ford, Jr.
Heritage

If I had eleven, I would include Andrew and Aki Lustig and Co.

Great topic for a thread, BTW

Mark

Andy:

Interesting question. I bet most of the responses will be heavily weighted toward more recent dealers. I think that's not correct--we need to acknowledge the dealers who were before us. However it is difficult to rank old-time dealers with modern dealers. In my ranking I tried to envision their importance to numismatics, both at the time and what we, current-day collectors and dealers, have inherited from them. It's tough! However, here is my attempt:

B.Max Mehl, definitely
Q. David Bowers, definitely
Wayte Raymond, definitely
David Hall, definitely
John Ford, probably
Chapman brothers, probably
Farran Zerbe, probably
Steve Ivy/Jim Halperin, probably
Edward Cogan, probably

Lyman Low, probably not. but close
Thomas Elder, probably not, but close
Abe Kossoff, probably not

Bochiman

The US Mint
Ebay

ChrisRx

Anyone that says Anaconda will be SHOT!

MrHalfDime

Every coin dealer is important to someone.

lasvegasteddy

mark feld must always sit on such list as...
brian wagner should always be found on it too

RYK

There are some laughable responses to this thread...some intentionally so, others...

ziggy29

eBay is not a dealer. It's a venue, remember?

jhdfla

Chapman
Kosoff/ Kreisberg
Mehl
Breen
Hall
Halperin
Edwards
Ahwash
Nagle
Albanese

Some were before my time and only known to me from reading about them and what they accomplished and how they were instrumental in promoting the hobby or in helping others to assemble great sets of coins. Hall and Albanese for starting the TPG era of numismatics. Edwards as one of the proponents for Gem material. Nagle for his grading abilities, knowledge, and providing me with invaluable information through the years.

john

(Edited to add, not listed in any particular order of importance...)

saintguru

No mention of David Akers/Paramount?

tsk! tsk!

Barry

<< <i>centsless. Everyone else fights for second place. >>


Senseless above Blue Moon?
How about hager?

lasvegasteddy

what no laura lovin here...she'd be hurt

hey...where's russ???

Quarternut

Ed Cogan -- Known as the first American coin dealer. Helped build J.J. Mickley collection as well as other famous early collections.

John Haseltine -- Known for the dissemination of many unique items from the mint (If only we knew all of the information that he did about the 1860-1880 goings on in the US Mint!), and giving the Chapman brothers their first job in numismatics.

Samuel H. & Henry Chapman –- The first career numismatist dealers. Catalogers of multiple famous collections, whose plated editions are avidly sought by collectors.

B. Max Mehl -- A tireless promoter who brought numismatics to the unwashed masses like no other before him and no one after. One of only a few dealers with a numismatic career of more than 50 years.

Wayte Raymond -- Clearly one of the giants in promoting numismatics. Through publishing numismatic references and educational periodicals he created many new collectors (and can you say, National Coin albums? nuff said!).

John J. Ford -- Along with Wayte Raymond he understood the need for research and more information and was essential in the employment of Walter Breen.

Abe Kosoff -- Given much support from more obscure collector/dealers, he went on to be an ambassador and staunch supporter of numismatics for almost 50 years.

Q. David Bowers -- Bowers stands alone in numismatic literary output, not to mention his many coin companies over the years, involved in building and then selling many famous collections over the course of more than 50 years.

Stacks -- A family owned and run coin dealership for over 70 years. They have been instrumental in helping many famous collections being formed and dispersed back to collectors.

Heritage Galleries – From a small operation to the 1000 pound gorilla they have now become, all current collectors have to admit that they now dominate the numismatic scene.

QN

MidLifeCrisis

<< <i>No mention of David Akers/Paramount?

tsk! tsk! >>


So who's on your list saintguru?

StampAlarm

David Lawrence

mozin

For Bust series coins, Sheridan Downey---and, he is currently active as a dealer.

Mark

Quarternut:

Good list; Haseltine slipped my mind. I disagree with Kosoff-I think he was important, just not in the top 10. I believe that Zerbe, while he likely was a sleeze, probably belongs on the list in place of Kosoff.

pennyannie

B. Max Mehl
QDB
Stacks
Heritage (ivy/ halperin)
Raymond Wright
Jon Albanesse CAC
David Hall
David Lawrence Rare Coins
Jack Lee
Lou's Coin, Porn and Barbershop

And the guy that is on his farewell coin tour (Nachbar??) Maybe he will make a comeback in 5 to 10 years like the Doobie Brothers, Styx, REO etc.

RWB

Given Zerbe's possible role in the 1910 destruction of pattern hubs, his absolute ignorance of marketing and failure to distribute multiple commemorative coins, his ethically-challenged public arguments with Tom Elder, ceaseless self-promotion and a general shadiness (as noted by Treasury staff), I think Zerbe belongs on the "Large Mouth, Small Value" list.

Quarternut

<< <i>Given Zerbe's possible role in the 1910 destruction of pattern hubs, his absolute ignorance of marketing and failure to distribute multiple commemorative coins, his ethically-challenged public arguments with Tom Elder, ceaseless self-promotion and a general shadiness (as noted by Treasury staff), I think Zerbe belongs on the "Large Mouth, Small Value" list. >>



Some of the many reasons why I didn't pick Zerbe!

It was difficult in deciding on just 10, but my choices were geared more towards how they impacted numismatics the most (more in a positive way).

QN

saintguru

David Akers
B. Max Mehl
John Albanese
Jim Halperin
Stacks
Heritage
Parrino, even though I don't like him
Izzy Switt
Kevin Lipton
King Farouk

I don't know many of the old time dealers

Mark

rwb:

So I suspect you will not be working a book titled "Farran Zerbe--the Mother Teresa of Numismatics" any time real soon?? Given Zerbe's character, it's at at least passingly ironic that the ANA's top award is the "Farran Zerbe Memorial Award".

All that said, I still think Zerbe deserves a spot on the top 10. I think John Ford might have had feet of clay and potentially was as a least as ethically challenged as Zerbe. Yet quarternut and I both put him on our list of the top 10. After all, a list of the top 10 saints of the last 200 years and the top 10 coin dealers won't not have much of an overlap.

Quarternut

<< <i>David Akers
B. Max Mehl
John Albanese
Jim Halperin
Stacks
Heritage
Parrino, even though I don't like him
Izzy Switt
Kevin Lipton
King Farouk

I don't know many of the old time dealers >>



Sorry, i don't think king Farouk would qualify as he was a collector (hoarder) not a dealer, not to mention that he was Egyptian not American as stated as a qualifier in the OP.

Respectfully,
QN

Quarternut

<< <i>rwb:

So I suspect you will not be working a book titled "Farran Zerbe--the Mother Teresa of Numismatics" any time real soon?? Given Zerbe's character, it's at at least passingly ironic that the ANA's top award is the "Farran Zerbe Memorial Award".

All that said, I still think Zerbe deserves a spot on the top 10. I think John Ford might have had feet of clay and potentially was as a least as ethically challenged as Zerbe. Yet quarternut and I both put him on our list of the top 10. After all, a list of the top 10 saints of the last 200 years and the top 10 coin dealers won't not have much of an overlap. >>



I have some problems with Ford as well, but you have to look at his oveall impact. from the raising of numismatic catalog content in the New Netherlands publications to the monumental collection auctioned by Stacks the impact to the future of numismatics has been huge and may even have later repercussions as future collectors discover the catalogs of his collection.

Zerbe has only been deified by the ANA and they have turned a deaf ear to any of the bad things associated with him. Evidently time is forgiving and someday perhaps Ford will be looked at in a different light.

QN

saintguru

<< <i>

<< <i>David Akers
B. Max Mehl
John Albanese
Jim Halperin
Stacks
Heritage
Parrino, even though I don't like him
Izzy Switt
Kevin Lipton
King Farouk

I don't know many of the old time dealers >>



Sorry, i don't think king Farouk would qualify as he was a collector (hoarder) not a dealer, not to mention that he was Egyptian not American as stated as a qualifier in the OP.

Respectfully,
QN >>



YEAH??? Well that's why I used Mr. Winky so get over ot.

Coin Finder

"most important" can mean many things so I cannot decide.

Coin Finder

Joseph Levick

Joseph N.T. Levick was born circa 1828 and died in October 1908. He was a captain with the New York Volunteers in the Civil War. It was Levick who proposed that the American Numismatic Society have a published magazine and the American Journal of Numismatics was begun in 1866. He served as treasurer of the ANS from 1867 to 1874. Levick advertised himself as a banker and broker of government securities, foreign and domestic specie, stocks, bonds, and gold. He also dealt in rare coins. His name appeared in conjunction with several 19th century auctions sales including W. Elliott Woodard’s sale of October 1864

Coin Finder

Wayte Raymond

Wayte Raymond was a dealer and publisher who was born in South Norwalk, Connecticut on November 9, 1886. He and his wife Olga were married in 1917. The couple remained childless. Raymond was employed as a bank teller from 1901 to 1912, working for the City National Bank of South Norwalk. He was a member of the Sons of the Revolution and also a mason. Raymond joined the ANA at age 16 and later joined with Elmer Sears to form the United States Coin Company, conducting 43 auctions sales from 1912 to 1918.

He later joined with James G. Macallister as numismatic catalogers for J.C. Morgenthau and Company, holding over 50 sales. From 1908 to 1950 he held 69 auctions sales under his own name and served the Scott Stamp and Coin Company from 1934 to 1946, handling important clients such as Col. Green. From 1946 until his death on September 23, 1956, he operated New Netherlands Coin Company. Raymond produced his own line of coin albums and also wrote or compiled several monographs, books, and other references. He published Coin and Medal Bulletin from 1924 to 1933, Coin Collector’s Journal from 1934 to 1954, and Coin Topics from 1936 to 1940.

Aegis3

In no particular order

Chapman Brothers
Ed. Frossard
Wayte Raymond
Abe Kosoff/Numismatic Gallery
B Max Mehl
Thomas Elder
Stack's
New Netherlands
Q David Bowers
Heritage

bidask

Legend and Blanchard.

Mercfan

I'm mildly surprised that nobody has named Littleton on this thread.

My experience is that they have sold a ton of worn widgets at inflated prices for decades, but those sales have played a very important role in creating A LOT of past and present collectors.

(I just wish they had never sold me the coin cleaning kit--including the little copper wire bristle brush--that made some of my great grandfather's AU BN IHCs look so bright again!)

The horror!

SDSportsFan

Wayne Miller


If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't even be collecting coins



Steve

saintguru

Still no one recognizes David Akers!

In the 1960-S thru 80's he handled just about every great collection in one way or another as the head numismatist at Paramount. He's still the most knowledgable person I know in the business by far. He remembers every coin he's handlesd with precise detail. And his commitment to the highest quality original coins is uncompromised.

Modern gold is referred to as being "Akers-like" among many dealers and collectors. It's the highest compliment that can be paid to 20th C. gold coins, IMO.

morgannut2

Julian Liedman at Bonanza and Albannese have quietly

handled many, many, big coins to anonomous collectors

in the last 25 years--no fanfare though.

KentuckyJ

Legend has helped build some of the finest known sets.

speety

These 6 should be on every list imho:
Bowers
Kosoff
Mehl
David Hall
Heritage
Sperber

Elcontador

Paul Sims
Jonathan Hefferlin
Bob Patterson
The nameless thieves who ripped everyone off in the pre-slabbing days

Longacre

I think that B Max Mehl should be on the top of that list. He brought coin collecting to the unwashed masses, and was a master at marketing. Although I really like the dealers named in this thread who followed Mehl, when you boil it down, each of those dealers just did business as a derivation of the way Mehl did business. Some of the subsequent dealers leaned more toward research (Bowers, Ford, etc.), while other had more of a marketing angle (like Hall and Heritage). You can argue that Mehl's research was not the greatest, but he was the first dealer looking out for the "everyman" collector, and everyone else just copied/followed his lead.