N.M. Kaufman collection, a brief history
EagleEye
Posts: 7,677 ✭✭✭✭✭
Nathan M. Kaufman (1862-1918) formed a modest coin collection which was bequeathed to his younger brother, Louis G. Kaufman upon his passing in 1918.
Louis G. Kaufman
The sixth child of Sam and Juliet Kaufman was Louis Graveraet Kaufman. He was born on November 13, 1870. Louis graduated from the Marquette School System and as a young man worked for his oldest brother, Nathan. At first he was studying to be a mining engineer, but at 24 went to work for the same brother in the Marquette County Savings Bank where in a few years he became the vice president.
In time, Louis G. Kaufman was asked to take over as president of the Chatham National Bank in New York City. He accepted the position but only after the way was cleared for him to be able to remain as president of the First National Bank in Marquette at the same time.
In the decades between 1910 and 1930, Louis G. Kaufman went on to become a national banking figure. He engineered the merger of two old and respected banks in New York, the Chatham National and the Phoenix National to form the Chatham-Phoenix National Bank, at the time the largest in New York City. Later that bank became the Manufacturers Hanover Trust and today is known as Chemical Bank.
In 1910, Kaufman was elected to the Board of Directors of the General Motors Corporation and was responsible for the reorganization of that company in 1913. He remained on that board for 22 years and was chairman of their finance committee. Among other accomplishments, Louis Kaufman was responsible for establishing branch banking and for the introduction of the trust system into banking. He became known as the “builder of banks.”
Besides his positions in the banking world, Mr. Kaufman was president of the Petroleum Heat and Power Co., the Empire Safe and Deposit Co., the Chicago and Erie Railroad and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Marquette County Savings Bank.
The Kaufman legacy in Marquette, Michigan includes the beautiful First National Bank complex, Granot Loma Lodge, the Kaufman Mausoleum in Park Cemetery, but nothing could touch the lives of the Marquette citizens as much as the Graveraet School with its beautiful Louis G. Kaufman Auditorium and the Kaufman Endowment Fund.
The coin collection:
In 1918, Nathan Kaufman died, leaving the Nathan M. Kaufman Coin Collection to Louis.
Sometime in the late 1920's, Louis G. Kaufman, placed the Nathan M. Kaufman Coin Collection on public display in the Director's Room of the Bank. A 1927 article in the Marquette Mining Journal reported that "the collection [is] owned by Louis G. Kaufman ... who has named it after his brother, the late N.M. Kaufman..." The article further stated that "Louis G. Kaufman became interested in the collection about 30 years ago and since that time has devoted much time and money to its enlargement." When Louis died in 1942 he bequeathed the collection to his widow. During 1950 through 1952, a great part of the collection was indentured by his widow to the L.G. Kaufman Endowment Fund (Endowment Fund), a charitable trust created by Louis in 1927. The Bank was and remains the trustee of the Endowment Fund.
The Kaufman collection was "discovered" by Harry X Boosel in 1976. Harry had seen the collection on display back in 1943 and 30 years later inquired at the bank where they were stored.
On August 4 and 5, 1978, portions of the collection were sold at auction by RARCOA for a price in excess of $2.25 million dollars.
Included in this milestone sale were:
23 different Proof Coronet Double Eagles prior to 1900,
24 different Proof Eagles including a rare 1877, and
23 Proof Half Eagles prior to 1900.
The star of the sale was the ultra-rare 1825/4 Capped Head Half Eagle, one of only two known, which sold for $140,000. Other notable highlights included:
A Kellogg & Co. 1855 $50 Proof at $115,000,
Superb Gem 1831 Capped Head $5 at $35,000,
1907 Rolled Edge Indian $10 at $46,000,
and Proof Only 1883 and 1884 Coronet Double Eagles at $65,000 and $75,000 respectively.
(Keep in mind that we're talking 1978 dollars here! In 2012 dollars, that's an incredible $263,540)
Louis G. Kaufman
The sixth child of Sam and Juliet Kaufman was Louis Graveraet Kaufman. He was born on November 13, 1870. Louis graduated from the Marquette School System and as a young man worked for his oldest brother, Nathan. At first he was studying to be a mining engineer, but at 24 went to work for the same brother in the Marquette County Savings Bank where in a few years he became the vice president.
In time, Louis G. Kaufman was asked to take over as president of the Chatham National Bank in New York City. He accepted the position but only after the way was cleared for him to be able to remain as president of the First National Bank in Marquette at the same time.
In the decades between 1910 and 1930, Louis G. Kaufman went on to become a national banking figure. He engineered the merger of two old and respected banks in New York, the Chatham National and the Phoenix National to form the Chatham-Phoenix National Bank, at the time the largest in New York City. Later that bank became the Manufacturers Hanover Trust and today is known as Chemical Bank.
In 1910, Kaufman was elected to the Board of Directors of the General Motors Corporation and was responsible for the reorganization of that company in 1913. He remained on that board for 22 years and was chairman of their finance committee. Among other accomplishments, Louis Kaufman was responsible for establishing branch banking and for the introduction of the trust system into banking. He became known as the “builder of banks.”
Besides his positions in the banking world, Mr. Kaufman was president of the Petroleum Heat and Power Co., the Empire Safe and Deposit Co., the Chicago and Erie Railroad and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Marquette County Savings Bank.
The Kaufman legacy in Marquette, Michigan includes the beautiful First National Bank complex, Granot Loma Lodge, the Kaufman Mausoleum in Park Cemetery, but nothing could touch the lives of the Marquette citizens as much as the Graveraet School with its beautiful Louis G. Kaufman Auditorium and the Kaufman Endowment Fund.
The coin collection:
In 1918, Nathan Kaufman died, leaving the Nathan M. Kaufman Coin Collection to Louis.
Sometime in the late 1920's, Louis G. Kaufman, placed the Nathan M. Kaufman Coin Collection on public display in the Director's Room of the Bank. A 1927 article in the Marquette Mining Journal reported that "the collection [is] owned by Louis G. Kaufman ... who has named it after his brother, the late N.M. Kaufman..." The article further stated that "Louis G. Kaufman became interested in the collection about 30 years ago and since that time has devoted much time and money to its enlargement." When Louis died in 1942 he bequeathed the collection to his widow. During 1950 through 1952, a great part of the collection was indentured by his widow to the L.G. Kaufman Endowment Fund (Endowment Fund), a charitable trust created by Louis in 1927. The Bank was and remains the trustee of the Endowment Fund.
The Kaufman collection was "discovered" by Harry X Boosel in 1976. Harry had seen the collection on display back in 1943 and 30 years later inquired at the bank where they were stored.
On August 4 and 5, 1978, portions of the collection were sold at auction by RARCOA for a price in excess of $2.25 million dollars.
Included in this milestone sale were:
23 different Proof Coronet Double Eagles prior to 1900,
24 different Proof Eagles including a rare 1877, and
23 Proof Half Eagles prior to 1900.
The star of the sale was the ultra-rare 1825/4 Capped Head Half Eagle, one of only two known, which sold for $140,000. Other notable highlights included:
A Kellogg & Co. 1855 $50 Proof at $115,000,
Superb Gem 1831 Capped Head $5 at $35,000,
1907 Rolled Edge Indian $10 at $46,000,
and Proof Only 1883 and 1884 Coronet Double Eagles at $65,000 and $75,000 respectively.
(Keep in mind that we're talking 1978 dollars here! In 2012 dollars, that's an incredible $263,540)
Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins, Inc.Check out my new web site:
0
Comments
Here's a selection of his coins. Some of his proofs are quite stunning. Link to HA.com
And many of the coins still exhibit rim damage from the tacks used to hold the coins in place on the wall!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Many or most of those are Philip Kaufman. Not the same pedigree.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Yes, here is the 1856 Flying Eagle. It has the look of a PR65 or PR66, but does show some mounting depressions on the rim at 10:00. Too bad, as it's only a 64+
...when Harry Boosel examined the collection he found that most of the coins had been displayed in the bank conference room in an unsafe manner that makes most numismatists shudder: They were tacked to boards. On most of the Kaufman coins the tacks created rim bumps.
AB
my box of misc. numismatic items.
Ed Milas was nice enough to let me
take about 4-5 of 'em when I viewed
the coins at Rarcoa.......
My family has had land outside of town, on the Escanaba river, since I was a boy and I spent much of my summers there.
In fact, my wedding is in Marquette, on Presque Isle, in late June with the reception at the Landmark Inn. Hope to see a few board members there.
siliconvalleycoins.com
<< <i>I have some "Kaufman Nails" in
my box of misc. numismatic items.
Ed Milas was nice enough to let me
take about 4-5 of 'em when I viewed
the coins at Rarcoa....... >>
Tacky.........
You nailed it!
Are you thinking of the 1831? At the time, it was in an NGC holder, but may very well have crossed since then. Not sure if it was a Kaufman coin.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
<< <i>Tom,
You nailed it! >>
Did you meet Kaufman's great-great-grandson, Brad?
but as I recall, it was at that
viewing that Ed showed Harry
Gordon and I the newly discovered
1870-S Half Dime.....
Do You remember what I did to Ed
with that coin? (with some help from
Jim S.)
<< <i>No, I don't recall meeting 'Brad' -
but as I recall, it was at that
viewing that Ed showed Harry
Gordon and I the newly discovered
1870-S Half Dime.....
Do You remember what I did to Ed
with that coin? (with some help from
Jim S.) >>
I know how it was priced, if that is what you mean.
I remember that coin when it came into ANACS. Neat!
<< <i>ok guys you have made your point(s)! >>
Almost 5 o'clock....time to go out and get hammered!
Just in the nick of time!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
<< <i>Almost 5 o'clock....time to go out and get hammered!
Just in the nick of time! >>
I reed you loud and clear!
<< <i>Do I recall MrEureka having an amazing early $5 graded MS65 (MS67 very noticeable rim problems) by our hosts?
Are you thinking of the 1831? At the time, it was in an NGC holder, but may very well have crossed since then. Not sure if it was a Kaufman coin. >>
Always thought it was. Truly amazing coin
Many of the coins were displayed in the bank by being held against a wall by three or more nails driven into the wall around the coin. Some, but far from all, of the coins were damaged in the process.
Bumping an old thread that has history which never becomes obsolete. Although the string of puns in it could hurt like smacking your thumb with a hammer.
Here is a good example of the tack marks on an 1831 $5 gold and further explained in the 1986 lot description by Mid-American Rare Coin Auctions. The prices realized for that sale shows $35,200. It later appeared in a May 1991 Superior auction as PCGS-65 at $104,500 (same sale from when the now $10 Million 1794 $ was just a small pup bringing $506,000 as a mere PCGS MS-65 -guess one did slightly better than the other -2x increase vs 20x). This 1831 just sold again in Pogue IV as PCGS-65+ for $235,000.
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
Many of the coins were displayed in the bank by being held against a wall by three or more nails driven into the wall around the coin. Some, but far from all, of the coins were damaged in the process.
Bumping an old thread that has history which never becomes obsolete. Although the string of puns in it could hurt like smacking your thumb with a hammer.
Here is a good example of the tack marks on an 1831 $5 gold and further explained in the 1986 lot description by Mid-American Rare Coin Auctions. The prices realized for that sale shows $35,200. It later appeared in a May 1991 Superior auction as PCGS-65 at $104,500 (same sale from when the now $10 Million 1794 $ was just a small pup bringing $506,000 as a mere PCGS MS-65 -guess one did slightly better than the other -2x increase vs 20x). This 1831 just sold again in Pogue IV as PCGS-65+ for $235,000.
thanks for sharing, great info + pictures of the tack marks on the coin...
This created a peculiar effect where Kaufman's collection had one good side and one bad, much to the chagrin of future generations of collectors.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Latin American Collection
So is it known where it was being stored in 1976?
Fred: "I have some 'Kaufman Nails' in my box of misc. numismatic items. ... Ed Milas was nice enough to let me take about 4-5 of 'em when I viewed the coins at Rarcoa......" Cool!
Captain Henway: "Tacky" .... Fred: "You nailed it!"
WinLoseWin: "Bumping an old thread that has history which never becomes obsolete. Although the string of puns in it could hurt like smacking your thumb with a hammer. "
Humor notwithstanding, I am concerned about this coin. Collectors spend a lot of money on coins. This 1831 half eagle has many rim problems, some of which are more serious than others. There is even a small portion of the rim/edge missing, like it was sliced out with a tool. While this coin has pleasing eye appeal, its grade should have been knocked down, considerably, IMO.
The Marvelous Pogue Family Coin Collection, part 19: Most Dynamic Half Eagles in 4th Auction
Pogue IV catalog entry:
https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-4HYLN
and the provenance confirms ColJessup's recollection: