Mementos from the King Farouk Auction (Updated--More Photos!)

GeorgeKellogg

Here's my latest gold coin purchase, a rare 1857-D gold dollar, traced to the King Farouk auction in Cairo in 1954. After doing a little detective work, I can add to the story. I bought the coin at the Blue Ridge show from Gold Rush Gallery, via the recent Stacks-Bowers auction at the Philadelphia ANA.

I've got Sol Kaplan's annotated King Farouk auction catalog (previously in the Armand Champa Library), which indicates that Abe Kosoff purchased the Farouk lot which contained the 1857-D gold dollar. For those who aren't familiar with the auction, the collection was so large that most lots contained a group of coins, encompassing all mint marks for issues over a span several years. I just had one big question: Why was Sol Kaplan listed as the purchaser on the card above, not Abe Kosoff?

After doing some research, I discovered the solution to the mystery: Abe Kosoff had these cards printed up after the Farouk auction and sent them along whenever he sold a Farouk coin in the aftermarket. He must have sold this piece to his good friend Sol Kaplan, who also attended the Farouk auction. This was a common practice, since most lots contained many coins. The piece wound up in the cabinet of old-time collector Broadus R. Littlejohn of South Carolina. It was sold in the San Francisco Schuyler Rumsey auction this past February.

The coin is lustrous, with delicate orange highlights and is housed in a PCGS AU50 holder, with "Farouk - Littlejohn Collection" on the certification label.

Edited to add Todd's (BluCC Photos) images of the coin.

Matrix1980

Very nice...very nice indeed!!!

GeorgeKellogg

<< <i>Great coin, great history and great pedigree. Why [was] Sol Kaplan listed you ask, well imho they were both partners so why would it matter to them who was listed, either name listed would have been acceptable, since if they were partners and both asssumingly were on their company joint checking account either individual partner was responsible for the indebtedness of the other etc etc. >>



At the time of the Farouk auction, Abe was partnered with Abner Kriesberg, under the company title "Numismatic Gallery." My point was that at first, I thought the card above was from the Farouk auction, but Abe had the cards printed up afterwards (see page 194 of ABE KOSOFF: Dean of Numismatics). The Sotheby's auction catalog didn't refer to King Farouk by name, but called the sale "The Palace Collections of Egypt."

CaptHenway

From what I have heard there was a lot of collusion in that sale, so it may have been determined before the auction that Abe was buying "Lot XYZ" and that of that lot Sol was buying coins 2, 5, 7 and 12. Then somebody else would buy the next lot and split it with his partners. This kept the bidding super cheap, and everybody got bargains.

In other words, Sol may have been the original buyer of this coin, even though Abe bought the lot.

RYK

Great story!

I have four coins from the Littlejohn Collection but not are presently traced back any further.

GeorgeKellogg

I wanted to thank my good friends Al and David, who had me in mind when they bid on this coin at the Philly ANA. In an ideal world, I would have been there too, but wasn't able to make the trip. Thanks, guys!

Sonorandesertrat

Really nice, GK!

Realone,
The Littlejohn Sale surprised a lot of people, in part because it was a February 2012 auction conducted by Schuyler Rumsey, which is not known for coin auctions. The owner, Broadus Littlejohn, patiently acquired coins and stamps over many decades. The gold coins were not always of the best quality, but were clearly not recently dipped---some have very old-time toning that is a treat to see. The coin images in the catalog are poor. This, together with the auction house itself, and the fact that few (if any) numismatic gold dealers were even aware that the collection existed prior to seeing the auction catalog, caused the sale to fly under the radar.

crypto79

<< <i>Really nice, GK!

Realone,
The Littlejohn Sale surprised a lot of people, in part because it was a February 2012 auction conducted by Schuyler Rumsey, which is not known for coin auctions. The owner, Broadus Littlejohn, patiently acquired coins and stamps over many decades. The gold coins were not always of the best quality, but were clearly not recently dipped---some have very old-time toning that is a treat to see. The coin images in the catalog are poor. This, together with the auction house itself, and the fact that few (if any) numismatic gold dealers were even aware that the collection existed prior to seeing the auction catalog, caused the sale to fly under the radar. >>



I agree with everything you said except the auction flying under he radar. Heck even I followed live on line and was precleared to bid and I don't even collect gold. Most gold bugs saw it coming a mile away

Timbuk3

Very nice !!!

ColonelJessup

The Palace Collection

The Boss' take on Life

You can't get out
of this world , buddy,
without your feet a little dirty
and your hands a little bloody

Moralists, at your keyboards. Ready?

Carved it up like a Christmas turkey.

Hans M.F. Shulman was somehow given a $200K+ (anyone got a 1954 Redbook?) credit from the Nasser government for coin purchases to substitute for payment for coins which he delivered but for which he had yet been paid. The credit only valid for use in the auction. Use it or lose it.

Quite a few people bid on his paddle.

there were lots like:

"Lot of 5 US $20 gold (1883,1884,1885,1886,1887)". Not mentioned - Three are proof-only and the mintages of the other two are minute.

Gold was $35 oz. The playboy Farouk had a lot of coins.

John Pittman mortgaged his house to have the cash in his pocket.

His 1833 $5 (large lot!) - now PCGS PR67DCAM and in that Southwestern collection along with the Childs 1804. Pittman-Gold Rush (Al Adams)-SWC, who paid just under $1 mil in a Heritage FUN Platinum sale a few years ago. You owe it to yourself to go to the archives.

There were quite a few nice large lots in the Palace sale.
The Secret Service made them withdraw the 1933 $20.

The Internet was down and so the rest of the stuff went way cheap

fivecents

A great coin with a great story behind it.

Analyst

CaptHenway: <<From what I have heard there was a lot of collusion in [the Farouk] sale ...>>

I have heard this, too, from reliable, though secondary, sources. Who told CaptHenway?

The placement of assortments of rarities in various, poorly planned single lots invited collusion.

RealOne: <<Can you tell us more about the Littlejohn pedigree? >>

There is some information about Littlejohn in my review of the auction of Littlejohn’s collection of U.S. gold coins. I have more information in my notes. Please read this article and indicate what else you would like to know?

Major Gold Rarities in Auction by Stamp Company

ColJessup: <<The Secret Service made them withdraw the 1933 $20.>>

This is not what happened, in regard to the Farouk 1933 DE.

keyman64

GREAT PEDIGREE! CONGRATS!

EagleEye

Hans M.F. Shulman had a credit because Farouk was notoriously slow payer. At the time of his exile, he owed Shulman the money that was later set up as a bidding credit in the sale.

GeorgeKellogg

<< <i>Hans M.F. Shulman had a credit because Farouk was notoriously slow payer. At the time of his exile, he owed Shulman the money that was later set up as a bidding credit in the sale. >>



Shulman had threatened to get a court injunction to stop the sale, until the Egyptian government granted him a bidding credit amounting to the value of Farouk's unpaid bills, which reportedly totaled more than $300,000, which was a lot of money in 1954.

bigjpst

Saw the reference to the LittleJohn auction, and just so happens the auction catalog was on my desk, so I figured I'd post pics of the lot description in case anyone was interested.

ColonelJessup

The Captain, who, in many areas of this hobby out-ranks me, has been around (sorry Tom) a long long time. Previous generations were more closely in touch with principals in this story. Virtually everything I've seen posted here about the Farouk sale is right on the money (groan)

You could describe some of the stories about this sale as apochryphal, or at least of urban legend quality. However, when many of the participants were still alive, their stories often jibed. JJP himself was a source for some of these little snapshots of history. I got a lot of my information from Mike Kliman, a revered mentor of mine. Retired now, he was a nationally known dealer and may have a few more insights than most. He was Abe Kossoff's son-in-law.

ColonelJessup

<< <i> .... ColJessup: <<The Secret Service made them withdraw the 1933 $20.>>

This is not what happened, in regard to the Farouk 1933 DE. >>

.

Won't be the last time, Greg. I, among many, would benefit from a more knowlegeable description of this aspect the sale. Your on-going research makes you a "go-to guy" on lots of points like this one.

From what I can recall from JJP and a few original second-hand reports, few attendees cared about this coin all that much. Couldn't be sold (safely) in the US anyway. Too much joy around for the attendees to think hard when so many other cheap and more easily saleable deals abounded.

CaptHenway

<< <i>The Captain, who, in many areas of this hobby out-ranks me, has been around (sorry Tom) a long long time. Previous generations were more closely in touch with principals in this story. Virtually everything I've seen posted here about the Farouk sale is right on the money (groan)

You could describe some of the stories about this sale as apochryphal, or at least of urban legend quality. However, when many of the participants were still alive, their stories often jibed. JJP himself was a source for some of these little snapshots of history. I got a lot of my information from Mike Kliman, a revered mentor of mine. Retired now, he was a nationally known dealer and may have a few more insights than most. He was Abe Kossoff's son-in-law. >>



I honestly can't remember who told me about the collusion. I knew Abe Kosoff when I worked at Coin World in the mid-70's and later at ANACS, and gave him some contributions to the 6th and 7th Editions of the Judd Catalog. I knew Pittman when I worked for the ANA from 1978 to 1984. Could have been either of them, or somebody else.

As I recall, nobody was the least bit ashamed by this "collusion," which nowadays is a criminal offense. Back then it was just a necessary (and legal) response to the totally absurd way in which the new Egyptian government was selling off the collection.

TD

GeorgeKellogg

In Abe's own words (see page 62 of ABE KOSOFF REMEMBERS...): "As if psychological pressures exerted by various factions long before we ever got to Cairo were not enough, it became evident early in the game that a battle of wits was developing over the Farouk sale."

"There were attempts to draw me out (and others, I know) as to how much I planned to spend, what I wanted to buy, how much I was planning to bid. Did I know anything about other Americans' plans, and so on. During the early sessions, snoopers moved around the room trying to pick up information, looking over our shoulders for any pertinent notations, conversing in Arabic with officials on the dais. We, in turn, entered ficticious numbers and otherwise tried to protect ourselves."

"So we had pre-sale meetings to plan strategy, a procedure none of us would favor in the usual, legitimate auction sale. It seemed to be the only way to offset not only what we knew they were doing, but what else were they trying of which we were unaware. We knew they were tapping telephones."

"So careful were we that our pre-sale meetings were held in different locations each time, with those decisions being made as close to the last minute as possible. Are we sure we weren't bugged despite our precautions? Not in the least. We could hardly prevent them, we could only take precautions."

It's just the kind of "cloak and dagger" described above by Abe that got me intrigued with the King Farouk auction in the first place!

JJM

super ........ Do you have a pic of the whole slab ?

GeorgeKellogg

<< <i>super ........ Do you have a pic of the whole slab ? >>



I've got one taken by my iPhone camera, but it's not in URL format. I can send it to you, if you'll PM me with your e-mail address. I plan to have Todd (BluCC) shoot it when I get the chance.

Here's a photo of my other Dahlonega piece that's known to have come from the King Farouk Collection. It was purchased by Buffalo, NY collector Gaston DiBello in Cairo. King Farouk bought it from Stack's, in the large group of half eagles that were previously in the Col. E. H. R. Green Collection. In 1970, Harry Bass purchased the piece, in Stack's auction of the DiBello Collection. Gold Rush Gallery bought the coin on my behalf, in the Bass III auction in 2000. The photography is courtesy of BluCC.

MidLifeCrisis

Such an interesting provenance and history!

GeorgeKellogg

Here are a couple of neat photos of King Farouk. The second shows the monarch engaged in numismatics in his "coin room," in 1943. To me it's obvious that King Farouk has received a bad rap, relative to his numismatic skills. As the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

GeorgeKellogg

Since I posted late last night, I'm giving this thread a gentle nudge.

ranshdow

Crazy. These threads are what make this board worthwhile.

coindeuce

From my relationship to the Pittman family, I have had some detailed accounts shared, of some of the experiences of JJP and others while in Cairo. For many who travelled from the U.S. for the sale, there was much trepidation, given the highly unstable nature of the military takeover at the time. That certainly didn't prevent JJP from acquiring the notoriety of having been the single most successful bidder at the sale (which was made evident by the results of the Akers sale of Pittman 40+ years later).

philographer

I am reading Alison Frankel’s excellent book “Double Eagle” and was wondering if the Farouk coins are pedigreed by PCGS. A quick Google search says yes and brought me here.

shorecoll

I thought most Farouk coins were harshly cleaned by a full-time staff of cleaners, however people keep coming forth with coins that don't look like that at all. What gives?

RogerB

This should be fun for readers.

The parenthetical note says: "Original letter prepared in Gold Unit, revised by E.K.W. [Ednis K. Wilkins] at request of Dr. Howard." The original draft letter and an accompanying note by EKW indicate the Gold Unit version was too harsh. The above is the revision sent to the Egyptian Legation.

Jimnight

I enjoy threads like this one. Thanks.

tommy44

Thank you @philographer for resurrecting this interesting thread and thank you @GeorgeKellogg for starting it. I wasn't a member here in 2012. I love both the 1857-D $1 and the 1858-D $5.

I lived in Rochester, NY from 1973 thru June of 1975 and regularly attended RNA meetings where Pittman was a frequent speaker and continued to see him at ANA Conventions until a few years before his death in 1996. I doubt he remembered my name but when I approached him he would always greet me with his big grin and act as though we were long lost best friends. He was a true class act and his reputation was legendary.