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Newman began collection in the 1930s and paid roughly $7,500 for it?

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Retired St. Louis lawyer Eric P. Newman auctioned his 1,800-piece coin collection during a two-day sale in New York City. The coins sold for $23 million, the Associated Press reports.

“It is a great honor for us to offer this collection,” Jim Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage Auctions, said in a statement. “Eric P. Newman is a titan of numismatics and one of the hobby’s greatest treasures.”

The coin collection was 90 years in the making. Newman, who is 102-years old, began collection in the 1930s and paid roughly $7,500 for it. The collection boasts rarities including a $10 gold coin from 1852 during the California Gold Rush. The coin, which has been graded a 68 on rarity on a scale of 1 to 70, is the only privately owned version of the $10 gold piece coin from the U.S. Assay Office.

John Albanese, founder and president of the Certified Acceptance Corporation, said the coin is “unbelievable, almost unreal. We did not think that it could exist.”

Halperin expected the coin would have a particular draw. “The Newman specimen of the 1852 Humbert $10 is one-of-a-kind,” he said. “We expect fierce bidding from collectors.”

Halperin said a 1795 U.S. silver dollar sold for $910,625 and one from 1799 sold for $822,500. One of the most-expensive coins was a rare quarter-dollar from 1796. Newman bought it for $100 and it was sold for $1,527,500.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society that was founded in 1958. Newman and his wife, Evelyn, of more than 70 years have remained active in numismatic research. The pair started the Newman Money Museum on the campus of Newman’s alma mater -- Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

Newman isn’t the only coin collector to sell his change for millions. In 1997, Louis Eliasberg’s rare coin collection was sold for $45 million. Eliasberg, who had died 21 years earlier, was the first person to assemble a collection of every coin minted in the U.S., dating to 1792, the Baltimore Sun reports.

"Generations of collectors have lived and died without having a chance to own these coins," Q. David Bowers, Eliasberg's biographer, said at the time. "I feel like we're having a rendezvous with history."

Comments

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  • rec78rec78 Posts: 5,828 ✭✭✭✭✭
    He probably accumulated most of it before 1960.
    image
  • keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,521 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>He probably accumulated most of it before 1960. >>

    His last proof set was 1953.
    "If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
    Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners. :smile:
  • CoinspongeCoinsponge Posts: 3,927 ✭✭✭
    I guess that would be considered Looooooong term capital gains.
    Gold and silver are valuable but wisdom is priceless.
  • hchcoinhchcoin Posts: 4,836 ✭✭✭✭✭
    We can all only hope we live as long and our collections do as well as Mr. Newman. Well done!
  • CoinosaurusCoinosaurus Posts: 9,641 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Survey says - about 12% annual growth. Not bad at all. If google is to be believed, the stock market did 9.3% in the same period.
  • bidaskbidask Posts: 14,017 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So is it true that Newman, who no doubt had a zeal for coins, did a dummy thing like cleaning his coins?
    I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
    I give away money. I collect money.
    I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




  • kimber45ACPkimber45ACP Posts: 2,399 ✭✭✭
    Worst case scenario, if he bought it all in 1930:

    $7,500.00 in 1930 had the same buying power as $100,116.72 in 2013.
    Annual inflation over this period was 3.17%.

    calculator
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  • orevilleoreville Posts: 12,126 ✭✭✭✭✭
    i feel very lucky to own one of Eliasberg's last coin acquisition which was a Peruvian gold coin dated 1965.

    It must have given him a thrill to have acquired such a coin with the twin events in 1964-1965 of 90% silver coins being phased out in the US and the bashing of US coin collectors by the US Mint Director for "causing the coin shortage" along with the semi prohibition of gold ownership.

    What is the last coin acquisition by Mr. Newman? That would be awesome to know if he is still buying coins and what coins he is purchasing.

    A Collectors Universe poster since 1997!
  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,933 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think if Newman had simply bought OBW rolls during his early days he may have done nearly as well. ......as a kid buying 10 rolls of 22-D cents
  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 29,070 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I guess that would be considered Looooooong term capital gains. >>

    i think there gonna get a good chunk of it..
  • ModCrewmanModCrewman Posts: 4,041 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>I guess that would be considered Looooooong term capital gains. >>

    i think there gonna get a good chunk of it.. >>

    Actually if I understand it correctly, the proceeds are going to his foundation. My understanding of how it would work, is that he would have had his collection appraised, and donated the coins to the foundation taking a tax deduction for the FMV upon donation and the proceeds will go into his foundation avoiding income tax all together. A pretty good strategy.

    Also, my understanding (from talking with my B&M dealer last evening) is that the $7,500 number represents what he purchased from the Col. Green collection; not the total basis in the entire collection. Of course this is hearsay and could also be incorrect, but seems more likely to me than that his total basis in the collection was a mere $7,500.


  • << <i>Survey says - about 12% annual growth. Not bad at all. If google is to be believed, the stock market did 9.3% in the same period. >>



    Twelve percent annual growth is a grand slam ... but I don't think he needed the money. image
    Let's try not to get upset.
  • AnalystAnalyst Posts: 1,438 ✭✭✭

    JustLooking: <<Twelve percent annual growth is a grand slam ... but I don't think he needed the money.>>

    Eric Newman himself will not be receiving any of the proceeds from the auctions of the Newman Collection. The EPPNES, a non-profit foundation, is the consignor. Some of the proceeds will be used to support The Newman Money Museum in St. Louis

    Newman and Burdette Johnson profited from buying coins from the Green Estate and selling them. Newman owned or co-owned some coins in the 1940s that were sold, including 1913 Liberty Nickels. It seems likely that Newman "paid" more than $7500 for Newman's share of the numismatic items in the Green Estate.

    As for prices paid for the coins that were auctioned on Nov. 15 & 16, were these written on envelopes that were included with auction lots, individually? Please read one collector's comments in my review of the auction:

    The Fabulous Eric Newman Collection, part 6: Auction Results for silver U.S. Coins

    The Fabulous Eric Newman Collection, part 1: Background


    "In order to understand the scarce coins that you own or see, you must learn about coins that you cannot afford." -Me

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