Pictures from Childs Sale (1804 dollar)
JohnF
Posts: 401 ✭✭✭✭✭
Rainy day post here. I was cleaning my office this morning and came across some cool pics that I snapped in August 1999 during the Walter Child's auction which featured the 1804 PCGS PR68 dollar. It was acquired by the Pogues that day and I was in the room with a lot of other folks. As soon as the coin hammered for ~$4.1 million
Here's the auction room. At the bottom of the pic, you'll spot @ColonelJessup sitting next to the legendary Martin Paul. Martin was a voracious buyer known to buy enormous percentages of an entire auction in those days.
A classic pic of @specialist and I. 
Chris Karstedt nicely actually allowed me to take a pic holding the just-sold 1804, which was sort of unprecedented considering we seldom see the actual coin in the auction room. 
Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com)
PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
Comments
That very morning, Jay Parrino sold me the Eliasberg 1885 trade dollar in order to raise funds to bid on this coin. And what an underbidder he was....
I was there. Lost one (fortunately) and won one (fortunately). Both not nearly in the same price range as the subject coin.
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
Nice pictures.... Thanks....Cheers, RickO
Martin paid me $10K to grade and price the Childs sale at least twice over. Had the same deal with him for a couple of Bass sales. In Childs, during floor bidding, he gave me permission to outbid him on one coin, the 1794 $1 I graded VF+++ (now glorious XF40,CAC). Likely because I was bidding against Jesse Lipka, Martin's arch-enemy. Jesse ended up with the coin a few bids later as agent for Warren Miller.
"Weird scenes inside the gold mine"
I met Gene Gardner for the first time at Childs. Half-a-century and more of delicious mint freshness.
John, you look so young! I remember gawking at the Childs dollar at lot viewing. Funny, I was sitting between Mike Fey, an underbidder and David Akers, who ended up being the winning bidder on behalf of the Pogues.
carolinacollectorcoins.com
Thank you for posting the pic!
I was there and it brings back memories.
Loved the story of Child's misplacing the 04!
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
If someone would be so kind to PM me with more information about Walter Childs, I would greatly appreciate it. Childs is a family name in my heritage (in fact the Childs name was given to me as my middle name!) and I wonder if we might be related. In fact, my grandmother was from Chicago. So, I've always wondered and don't know enough about Walter Childs to do the research.
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress,
running like a water color in the rain...."
Great post!
Thanks for sharing; those were the days!
I remember reading about at the time. Thanks for the memories.
Dang, I forgot JF and I were a couple back then...LOL!!!
That was a great sale
I just looked it up and yes, you are related. I would file an estate claim ASAP.
Even back in 1999, I can't help but notice how many young bidders are in the room.
Not the homogenous grey-haired (or no hair) crowd you find today.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
I enjoyed it.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Sometimes history on an auction floor can be too fast to comprehend........until later. But I typically only follow coins that I can afford,
OINK
This article should be helpful.
https://coinweek.com/auctions-news/stacks-bowers/classic-us-coins-sultan-muscat-watters-brand-childs-pogue-1804-dollar/
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
You are much younger than I thought .... base on reading your rebuts
Thank you for sharing
Actually, it's almost exactly the same crowd you find today! LOL
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I'm not saying he is old, but that photo is 19 years old.
It’s sad that the next generation of American numismatists won’t get to learn and network by attending auctions and watching who bids on what, like we commonly did a couple of decades ago. Not to mention the social aspects of interacting with the other bidders. And you can’t entirely blame the internet. Check out the crowd at the sale I’m attending today in Sweden.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
@MrEureka I believe the Internet exists in Sweden (
). So, what do you see accounting for the difference in attendance between US auctions and Swedish auctions?
Thanks!
I believe I have the nicest pictures of the Child auction including David Akers showing the 1804 silver dollar and posing in an interview as he was highest bidder on behalf of Pogue who darted out of the room right away. I sat right behind Laura Sperber who wore a very pretty sweater (which was not shown in her other picture).
She even let me take a picture of her with her sweater on.
Alas, these were the last of my old fashioned camera with a printed photo and do not know how to put them on the internet.
After the auction ended, Ray Merena was going to throw out both large posters of the 1804 silver dollar and decided to give them to me instead.
At the Pogue sale, I brought one of the Childs 1804 silver dollar posters to Dave Bowers who promptly signed the back of it. Too bad I never got Ray Merena to sign one of the posters when he gave them to me years ago.
There are only a few major sales in Sweden every year so they’re “must attend” events. In the US, it has become a non-stop flood of coins and auctions. The regular bidders barely have time to look at everything and figure bids, much less attend the sales. Sure, we show up sometimes, but it’s nothing like it used to be.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
@MrEureka Thanks. That makes sense.
@oreville You need to come back around here more often!!!
@MrEureka I placed a bid on Lot #44 in that auction.
Would it be possible for you to tell me how much it
went for. Thank you in advance, Tibor
Sorry, I don't know what it brought.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Thanks for this great post @JohnF
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Sorry, I fell out of the habit of going to this site.
Now that’s what I call getting a second opinion! And likely money well spent by the sounds of these prices.
PLEASE find a way to post those pictures! I'm sure a local drug store with scan them for you onto a thumb drive or email send.
In all my years of traveling to hundreds and hundreds of shows I have precious few pictures. Everyone back then was really paranoid about being photographed, for fear of being targeted for robbery. That was wise, of course, but we have few photos from those days.
Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com)
PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
With all the great rarities selling right now, I thought this would be fun to resurrect
Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com)
PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
Probably the same people. High dollar coin management can make one gray headed.
Jim
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