So sorry to read this. Though I didn’t know the man personally, he was a solid contributor and passionate member of the numismatic community. My deep sympathies to his family and many friends. RIP
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
This is truly a very sad event, not only for issues related to copper coins, but for numismatics as a whole. I always appreciated my conversations with him based upon his extensive knowledge of our hobby.
My payers and sympathies to his family and love ones.
Stewart was certainly best known for his fantastic cents. However, over the years, he showed me some wonderful business strike Barber dimes. And at one time, I believe he owned what is perhaps THE finest known Draped Bust Quarter, which he acquired out of the Eliasberg sale.
@MFeld said:
Stewart was certainly best known for his fantastic cents. However, over the years, he showed me some wonderful business strike Barber dimes. And at one time, I believe he owned what is perhaps THE finest known Draped Bust Quarter, which he acquired out of the Eliasberg sale.
My earlier post was not an adequate tribute to Stewart Blay. I want to share some of my memorable experiences with him.
I first met Stewart after an introduction by Andy Skrabalak at a show about 7-8 years ago. Before that I only knew of his great collections of small cents, which I collect. He was very interested in the coins that I had in my PCGS Blue Box that I was offering for sale. Amazingly, he liked most a PR 64 BN toned IHC proof that I had purchased RAW and had it graded. The coin did have a nice appearance, but I never expected Stewart to think it nice.
You see, I collect blue copper, mostly all nicely toned BN and RB proofs. Red copper has never my forte. I have never bought a RD RAW IHC proof that did not grade any better than Questionable Color. Stewart's collection of copper small cents was/is as close to natural mint condition as I have ever seen. Many RD copper coins are not that attractive, but his were ALL spectacular.
In the upcoming auction of his collection, I hope to get at least one of his RD specimens that I can implant into my collection of BN and RB proof cents, just as a fond memory of our interactions. The provenance of small cents with Stewart Blay is way more significant than CAC endorsements over and above PCGS. I would not trust either PCGS or CAC certification on RD copper over Stewart Blay's provenance. And if I am successful, I will have them re-slabbed with argon gas to maintain their original color.
I hope others can share some of their experiences with Stewart on this thread.
So unexpected and as others have said, almost shocking. Visited with him this last FUN show and the pic below was in '20 when he and Wright displayed their remarkable Indian collections. You will be missed Stewart, caps lock and all.
My favorite Blay coin..........
Very sad to hear. I had an uber cool experience with Stewart and his Indian set comparing his set to another for upgrades. There was a coin he asked for an opinion on, I told him this was a no brainer I like this one coin much better regardless of grade and he response was you just cost me 40 grand. A very memorable day with him and his coins.
We have known Stewart for 25 years. There was no one like him! In October 2021, we had the pleasure of spending a few days with him looking at his entire small cents collection in person and hearing his comments about each one! We can say that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a definite highlight for us. He had the best eye of any collector of this generation. Thank you Stewart for that honor! RIP.
Angel Dee's Coins and Collectibles® P.O. Box 5234 Woodbridge, VA 22194 Phone/Fax: 703-580-6969, daily 10am-10pm EST E-mail: buycoins@angeldees.com Website: www.angeldees.com
Back in the summer of 2016, when PCGS was displaying my toned Lincoln set at their table at Long Beach coin show.
Stewart Blay walked by the display and noticed all my toned Lincolns -- at the same time he was planning a walk-through regrade on his 1931-S MS65BN toned Lincoln (because he thought it had a shot for a MS66 upgrade). Somehow he got my email address (I think from PCGS) and emailed me a short time later that he thought his 31-S would be a nice addition to my set. He didn't have a photo of his 1931-S, but I bought it anyway, sight unseen since he was such a big name in the field. He sold it to me for $350 which was only a tiny bit over guide. A couple of weeks later I got it TV photod and it was a beauty.
Just goes to show what a nice guy he was always looking to help out a fellow collector.
I'm very sad to hear this. My daughter and I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Long Beach show many years ago while admiring his Indian Head Collection. He was generous enough to open the case and give us an opportunity to see them up close. He was a true gentleman.
Stewart was one of a kind. A good friend and mentor when I was collecting IHC's. We had a some fun times together, sometimes competed for the same coins and really enjoyed sharing collections years a go with the 1st Indian cent Show Downs.
My favorite memory is visiting him in his artist studio in NY. Boiler78 and I were at his entry, waiting for him to come to the door when I felt like what was a gun at my back. He had snuck up in us, then told us we needed to be more careful!
I've missed his posts aver the last few years - they were always thought provoking. He was often WAY ahead of the rest of us in knowing what was happening in the coin community. He hung onto great coins so tightly that I teased him that, the only way I was going to get certain coins from him, would be by outliving him.
He will be missed by many, including me.
RIP, Stewart.
Gone but not forgotten: IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal.
Very sad news -- I will miss his occasional (and sometimes entertaining) banter on this forum, as well as his incredible "show and tell" of his coins at coin shows. I am sure his pedigree on numerous top pop copper coins will live on for decades to come.
Never met him, never had a chat with him but he collected up some absolutely stunning Cents and he has a soulful smile.
I feel for the ones who loved him.
Death is quite sad.
You all who were touched by him now have an angel in Heaven.
RIP Stewart. Thanks for posting that pic of us @bolivarshagnasty . Is there a better historian than Rick Snow? Fantastic write up.
So here are few personal memories I can share. I met Stewart in person at the first Indian Cent Showdown at Long Beach twenty plus years ago, and he was larger than life. The bourse announcer kept blasting "message for Mr. Blay at ..." over the intercom, and he loved it of course, lol. I didn't really know what was possible in set building until that. Then we were all stunned when another collector (Ira) just walked up and pulled out a monster set of Indian's we called the "Blackberry Collection." We bought that set privately about 15 years later and split them. A substantial number of my Indian cents are from that deal, and I have him to thank for that.
In the fall of 2019, Stewart wanted to do another Indian Cent Showdown, and I was all for it. He wanted to do something "fabulous" this time so we added Flyers, along with 1856 and 1858 patterns. Stewart also convinced @boiler78 to bring and show his 12 Piece pattern set with ours, which was very special to Stewart. He had been on a mission to put the Eliasberg 12 piece pattern set back together, and this would have them all in the case together. We showed at FUN in January 2020, then all of our coins went to Long Beach the following month for display on the west coast. Later he brokered the "Boiler78" set for me as long as he could hold them for a little while together and we could post them in a combined set on the Registry as "Eliasberg Deja-vu." The set wasn't the highest graded set, but he loved the originality and consistency of what he considered an intact set from the mint. He liked things like that.
He had a story for every coin. He had a photographic memory of every coin he ever saw, and it was amazing. I would meet him at shows and we would go through the viewing rooms and look at every small cent together. I got an education every time. He was very generous with me through the years passing along his knowledge. We once took a trip to the bank and spent 3-4 hours in the SDB room going through boxes and boxes of his coins. I couldn't believe the sheer number of duplicates he had of everything. Six or so years ago, we rented a car near his place and drove a large set of coins to CAC. He "made" me buy a few odd patterns through the years because of the opportunity, even though I didn't really want them at the time. They weren't very expensive coins. But building collections was a passion for him, even if it wasn't his. We sat through many auctions together, and there were many fun times.
Aside from coins there were other great times. We watched the famous Jenner sisters attract a twitter flash mob across the street from his flat and then they all sped off to some unknown location. He was always amazed at what people did, and would say "I'm a dinosaur, Doug." Good lord when a famous music artist bought the apartment on the top floor of his building and spent a year renovating, Stewart was a little more than annoyed! He liked the soup around the corner, sushi bar across the street, and great dinners with nice bottle of wine. He enjoyed meeting my daughters, and introducing me to a few of his lady-friends through the years. One year my wife sent his girlfriend a scarf for her head while she was going through cancer treatments. He called and said "what is this for, it's not her birthday." I said it was "just a little happy," and he got so tickled at our southern hospitality and expression he repeated it to me often.
So, here's a tribute to you Stewart as "a little happy."
@DMWJR said:
RIP Stewart. Thanks for posting that pic of us @bolivarshagnasty . Is there a better historian than Rick Snow? Fantastic write up.
So here are few personal memories I can share. I met Stewart in person at the first Indian Cent Showdown at Long Beach twenty plus years ago, and he was larger than life. The bourse announcer kept blasting "message for Mr. Blay at ..." over the intercom, and he loved it of course, lol. I didn't really know what was possible in set building until that. Then we were all stunned when another collector (Ira) just walked up and pulled out a monster set of Indian's we called the "Blackberry Collection." We bought that set privately about 15 years later and split them. A substantial number of my Indian cents are from that deal, and I have him to thank for that.
In the fall of 2019, Stewart wanted to do another Indian Cent Showdown, and I was all for it. He wanted to do something "fabulous" this time so we added Flyers, along with 1856 and 1858 patterns. Stewart also convinced @boiler78 to bring and show his 12 Piece pattern set with ours, which was very special to Stewart. He had been on a mission to put the Eliasberg 12 piece pattern set back together, and this would have them all in the case together. We showed at FUN in January 2020, then all of our coins went to Long Beach the following month for display on the west coast. Later he brokered the "Boiler78" set for me as long as he could hold them for a little while together and we could post them in a combined set on the Registry as "Eliasberg Deja-vu." The set wasn't the highest graded set, but he loved the originality and consistency of what he considered an intact set from the mint. He liked things like that.
He had a story for every coin. He had a photographic memory of every coin he ever saw, and it was amazing. I would meet him at shows and we would go through the viewing rooms and look at every small cent together. I got an education every time. He was very generous with me through the years passing along his knowledge. We once took a trip to the bank and spent 3-4 hours in the SDB room going through boxes and boxes of his coins. I couldn't believe the sheer number of duplicates he had of everything. Six or so years ago, we rented a car near his place and drove a large set of coins to CAC. He "made" me buy a few odd patterns through the years because of the opportunity, even though I didn't really want them at the time. They weren't very expensive coins. But building collections was a passion for him, even if it wasn't his. We sat through many auctions together, and there were many fun times.
Aside from coins there were other great times. We watched the famous Jenner sisters attract a twitter flash mob across the street from his flat and then they all sped off to some unknown location. He was always amazed at what people did, and would say "I'm a dinosaur, Doug." Good lord when a famous music artist bought the apartment on the top floor of his building and spent a year renovating, Stewart was a little more than annoyed! He liked the soup around the corner, sushi bar across the street, and great dinners with nice bottle of wine. He enjoyed meeting my daughters, and introducing me to a few of his lady-friends through the years. One year my wife sent his girlfriend a scarf for her head while she was going through cancer treatments. He called and said "what is this for, it's not her birthday." I said it was "just a little happy," and he got so tickled at our southern hospitality and expression he repeated it to me often.
So, here's a tribute to you Stewart as "a little happy."
Doug, thank you, so much for that post! It says a great deal about Stewart and you, as well.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
So sorry to hear this news. I always looked forward to catching up with Stewart at major shows every year but hadn't seen him since the FUN show exhibit in 2020. He was shrewd negotiator and had a fantastic "eye" for grading ..... not just for copper. I will miss his wry sense of humor.
Never knew him but really admired what he had put together for his cent collection. That MS-69 RD 1919 cent is a crown jewel for the Lincoln cent series. RIP.
Competing against collectors like Stewart can be infuriating. But every field of collectables needs an obsessive "money-no-object" person to really bring the beauty of the field into focus.
Thank you Stewart for your endless passion and commitment. We are all better for it.
Thanks everyone for the outpouring of condolences for Stewart. It is so much deserved and a special thanks to Rick Snow for his eloquent obituary above. I spoke to Stewart about 3 weeks before he died and he sounded fine at that time. As it turned out, I also called him the day he passed and did not receive an answer. How shocked I was to learn from Rick Snow of his passing. Stewart and I got to know each other over the years due to our passion for Indianhead Cents and our collections. We tried to help each other and often he or I would let the other person buy the next great coin as a favor instead of bidding against each other. I always had so much to learn from Stewart and regarded him as the ultimate collector of small cents. Whereas I had to sell my original collection in the early 1990's, Stewart was fortunate to be able to keep his collection through all these years and it is sad he never was able to see the impending sales. I am sure Great Collections will do a great job for Stewart and know that his fabulous coins will find a welcoming new home. In the last few years, Stewart and I became closer friends and, since we were about the same age, we often talked about how to pass on the collections or sell them. I feel deprived that we never were able to have a final discussion about this due to his early and unexpected passing. Like others, I feel an emptiness since I have lost a good colleague, fellow collector, and expert in the series we both cherish so much. I will miss him dearly. Alan Epstein
I knew Stewart my whole entire life. He knew my family before I was born. For years seeing Stewart every weekend was very commonplace for me. Whether it by in NYC or him traveling to upstate NY.
I have many great memories with him. What seemed like every Saturday from when I was 5-10 years old I wait for him to come pick me up at 7 am sharp to go to Dunkin’ Donuts. He was always my favorite of my dads friends. ( my father and Stu were business partners). I remember playing darts with Stu for money, and winning, and spending my winnings at the school book fair.
My father built a 66 corvette for Stu. Once Stewart and I were coming back together from Lebanon valley speedway. I was 10. I told him I’d never been over 100 mph in a car. He proceeded to hit the gas. I remember being so excited. He the said “now you’ve been 112”.
I remember him explaining in a car to me how different grades coins could have. I made my mom give me a denomination of every coin because I wanted to be a coin collector like Stu
Fast forward many years and I began taking collecting much more serious
On my 30th birthday stu sent me a 1955/55 Lincoln ms64 rb as a gift and I was completely hooked. I have begun to have Stu find me as many coins as I could afford. I purchased from him for his first certified Lincoln cent he bought in 1988 1909 s ngc 67 rd, however now it’s pcgs ms66+ rb. He told me it will go 67 in a few years haha.
I’d since heard the story of the auction of this coin. He wanted to see it to someone, and inspire them to collect Lincoln’s just like him
We stayed close and talked every week. I’d always pick his brain about Lincoln’s, Indians, patterns ect.
He’s always say “be happy” to me
He had been battling cancer for the last 2 years but you’d never know
That’s the type of guy he was
The last thing stu ever said to me, two days before he died was “I’d never seen a 1926s Lincoln I had to own”
Seems to me he was looking for the perfect ms66 1926s rd Lincoln for over 30 years
He was my mentor and hero and I’m gonna miss him a lot
Comments
Sad... very sad. I don't think our paths crossed but one cannot help but respect the passion he had for numismatics
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Oh so sad. One of the great names in numismatics. I never had the opportunity to meet him. Condolences to his family and all of you who knew him.
So sorry to read this. Though I didn’t know the man personally, he was a solid contributor and passionate member of the numismatic community. My deep sympathies to his family and many friends. RIP
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
Very saddened to hear this.
My YouTube Channel
Condolences to the family and the community.
So sorry to hear this. Best thoughts and condolences to friends and family.
This is truly a very sad event, not only for issues related to copper coins, but for numismatics as a whole. I always appreciated my conversations with him based upon his extensive knowledge of our hobby.
My payers and sympathies to his family and love ones.
Casabrown
Goodbye, Stewart. Many fond memories. You will be missed.
Empty Nest Collection
Only knew him via his reputation here and know he will be missed among the copper fans for his great collection and enthusiasm. Very sad indeed.
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress,
running like a water color in the rain...."
Stewart was certainly best known for his fantastic cents. However, over the years, he showed me some wonderful business strike Barber dimes. And at one time, I believe he owned what is perhaps THE finest known Draped Bust Quarter, which he acquired out of the Eliasberg sale.
https://www.pcgs.com/auctionprices/item/1807-25c/5316/2355621295111240193
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
That’s remarkable!
My YouTube Channel
My earlier post was not an adequate tribute to Stewart Blay. I want to share some of my memorable experiences with him.
I first met Stewart after an introduction by Andy Skrabalak at a show about 7-8 years ago. Before that I only knew of his great collections of small cents, which I collect. He was very interested in the coins that I had in my PCGS Blue Box that I was offering for sale. Amazingly, he liked most a PR 64 BN toned IHC proof that I had purchased RAW and had it graded. The coin did have a nice appearance, but I never expected Stewart to think it nice.
You see, I collect blue copper, mostly all nicely toned BN and RB proofs. Red copper has never my forte. I have never bought a RD RAW IHC proof that did not grade any better than Questionable Color. Stewart's collection of copper small cents was/is as close to natural mint condition as I have ever seen. Many RD copper coins are not that attractive, but his were ALL spectacular.
In the upcoming auction of his collection, I hope to get at least one of his RD specimens that I can implant into my collection of BN and RB proof cents, just as a fond memory of our interactions. The provenance of small cents with Stewart Blay is way more significant than CAC endorsements over and above PCGS. I would not trust either PCGS or CAC certification on RD copper over Stewart Blay's provenance. And if I am successful, I will have them re-slabbed with argon gas to maintain their original color.
I hope others can share some of their experiences with Stewart on this thread.
OINK
So unexpected and as others have said, almost shocking. Visited with him this last FUN show and the pic below was in '20 when he and Wright displayed their remarkable Indian collections. You will be missed Stewart, caps lock and all.
My favorite Blay coin..........
My condolences to his family and friends.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
Very sad to hear. I had an uber cool experience with Stewart and his Indian set comparing his set to another for upgrades. There was a coin he asked for an opinion on, I told him this was a no brainer I like this one coin much better regardless of grade and he response was you just cost me 40 grand. A very memorable day with him and his coins.
Thoughts to all his family and friends.
May his memory be a blessing.
RIP.
We have known Stewart for 25 years. There was no one like him! In October 2021, we had the pleasure of spending a few days with him looking at his entire small cents collection in person and hearing his comments about each one! We can say that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a definite highlight for us. He had the best eye of any collector of this generation. Thank you Stewart for that honor! RIP.
Angel Dee's Coins and Collectibles®
P.O. Box 5234
Woodbridge, VA 22194
Phone/Fax: 703-580-6969, daily 10am-10pm EST
E-mail: buycoins@angeldees.com
Website: www.angeldees.com
I have a Stewart Blay story ...
Back in the summer of 2016, when PCGS was displaying my toned Lincoln set at their table at Long Beach coin show.
Stewart Blay walked by the display and noticed all my toned Lincolns -- at the same time he was planning a walk-through regrade on his 1931-S MS65BN toned Lincoln (because he thought it had a shot for a MS66 upgrade). Somehow he got my email address (I think from PCGS) and emailed me a short time later that he thought his 31-S would be a nice addition to my set. He didn't have a photo of his 1931-S, but I bought it anyway, sight unseen since he was such a big name in the field. He sold it to me for $350 which was only a tiny bit over guide. A couple of weeks later I got it TV photod and it was a beauty.
Just goes to show what a nice guy he was always looking to help out a fellow collector.
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
Sad news.
Prayers to his family.
I'm very sad to hear this. My daughter and I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Long Beach show many years ago while admiring his Indian Head Collection. He was generous enough to open the case and give us an opportunity to see them up close. He was a true gentleman.
Stewart was one of a kind. A good friend and mentor when I was collecting IHC's. We had a some fun times together, sometimes competed for the same coins and really enjoyed sharing collections years a go with the 1st Indian cent Show Downs.
My favorite memory is visiting him in his artist studio in NY. Boiler78 and I were at his entry, waiting for him to come to the door when I felt like what was a gun at my back. He had snuck up in us, then told us we needed to be more careful!
I've missed his posts aver the last few years - they were always thought provoking. He was often WAY ahead of the rest of us in knowing what was happening in the coin community. He hung onto great coins so tightly that I teased him that, the only way I was going to get certain coins from him, would be by outliving him.
He will be missed by many, including me.
RIP, Stewart.
Of note, Stewart's Lincoln cent collection...."This set is ranked #1 of all time."
Thank you for your fine piece on Stewart's life and legacy.
A legendary collector is his own time.
WS
From Rick Snow's YouTube Channel.
Wow, that's a major loss
RIP, Stewart.
My condolences to his family and all who knew him.
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
@EagleEye - Thanks Rick for arranging to include that wonderful tribute about Stewart in the current issue of the Longacre Ledger!
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
My condolences.
Very sad news -- I will miss his occasional (and sometimes entertaining) banter on this forum, as well as his incredible "show and tell" of his coins at coin shows. I am sure his pedigree on numerous top pop copper coins will live on for decades to come.
Never met him, never had a chat with him but he collected up some absolutely stunning Cents and he has a soulful smile.
I feel for the ones who loved him.
Death is quite sad.
You all who were touched by him now have an angel in Heaven.
Rest In Peace !
RIP Stewart. Thanks for posting that pic of us @bolivarshagnasty . Is there a better historian than Rick Snow? Fantastic write up.
So here are few personal memories I can share. I met Stewart in person at the first Indian Cent Showdown at Long Beach twenty plus years ago, and he was larger than life. The bourse announcer kept blasting "message for Mr. Blay at ..." over the intercom, and he loved it of course, lol. I didn't really know what was possible in set building until that. Then we were all stunned when another collector (Ira) just walked up and pulled out a monster set of Indian's we called the "Blackberry Collection." We bought that set privately about 15 years later and split them. A substantial number of my Indian cents are from that deal, and I have him to thank for that.
In the fall of 2019, Stewart wanted to do another Indian Cent Showdown, and I was all for it. He wanted to do something "fabulous" this time so we added Flyers, along with 1856 and 1858 patterns. Stewart also convinced @boiler78 to bring and show his 12 Piece pattern set with ours, which was very special to Stewart. He had been on a mission to put the Eliasberg 12 piece pattern set back together, and this would have them all in the case together. We showed at FUN in January 2020, then all of our coins went to Long Beach the following month for display on the west coast. Later he brokered the "Boiler78" set for me as long as he could hold them for a little while together and we could post them in a combined set on the Registry as "Eliasberg Deja-vu." The set wasn't the highest graded set, but he loved the originality and consistency of what he considered an intact set from the mint. He liked things like that.
He had a story for every coin. He had a photographic memory of every coin he ever saw, and it was amazing. I would meet him at shows and we would go through the viewing rooms and look at every small cent together. I got an education every time. He was very generous with me through the years passing along his knowledge. We once took a trip to the bank and spent 3-4 hours in the SDB room going through boxes and boxes of his coins. I couldn't believe the sheer number of duplicates he had of everything. Six or so years ago, we rented a car near his place and drove a large set of coins to CAC. He "made" me buy a few odd patterns through the years because of the opportunity, even though I didn't really want them at the time. They weren't very expensive coins. But building collections was a passion for him, even if it wasn't his. We sat through many auctions together, and there were many fun times.
Aside from coins there were other great times. We watched the famous Jenner sisters attract a twitter flash mob across the street from his flat and then they all sped off to some unknown location. He was always amazed at what people did, and would say "I'm a dinosaur, Doug." Good lord when a famous music artist bought the apartment on the top floor of his building and spent a year renovating, Stewart was a little more than annoyed! He liked the soup around the corner, sushi bar across the street, and great dinners with nice bottle of wine. He enjoyed meeting my daughters, and introducing me to a few of his lady-friends through the years. One year my wife sent his girlfriend a scarf for her head while she was going through cancer treatments. He called and said "what is this for, it's not her birthday." I said it was "just a little happy," and he got so tickled at our southern hospitality and expression he repeated it to me often.
So, here's a tribute to you Stewart as "a little happy."
Oh my.
i really liked Stew’s compassion for the small USA and Canadian red cents. he was also a very astute sculptor and liked his work.
RIP Stew.
Doug, thank you, so much for that post! It says a great deal about Stewart and you, as well.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
So sorry to hear this news. I always looked forward to catching up with Stewart at major shows every year but hadn't seen him since the FUN show exhibit in 2020. He was shrewd negotiator and had a fantastic "eye" for grading ..... not just for copper. I will miss his wry sense of humor.
Rest in Peace Stewart....
Never knew him but really admired what he had put together for his cent collection. That MS-69 RD 1919 cent is a crown jewel for the Lincoln cent series. RIP.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
Sad to hear...a loss to the hobby for sure! My condolences to his family.
K
Great tribute @DMWJR. Thank you for your thoughts and stories.
- Bob -
MPL's - Lincolns of Color
Central Valley Roosevelts
Very sad to hear. My condolences to his family and friends.
Didn’t know him but had tremendous respect for him- gone too soon!
Ugh! Very sad news
He will be missed.
Just saw this. I met him years ago at one of the ANA shows. Always a joy to talk to. We lost one of the giants.
Sad news.
I never saw his collection in person. Was told that's how Red Lincolns were supposed to look like.
My condolences to his family.
Competing against collectors like Stewart can be infuriating. But every field of collectables needs an obsessive "money-no-object" person to really bring the beauty of the field into focus.
Thank you Stewart for your endless passion and commitment. We are all better for it.
Thanks everyone for the outpouring of condolences for Stewart. It is so much deserved and a special thanks to Rick Snow for his eloquent obituary above. I spoke to Stewart about 3 weeks before he died and he sounded fine at that time. As it turned out, I also called him the day he passed and did not receive an answer. How shocked I was to learn from Rick Snow of his passing. Stewart and I got to know each other over the years due to our passion for Indianhead Cents and our collections. We tried to help each other and often he or I would let the other person buy the next great coin as a favor instead of bidding against each other. I always had so much to learn from Stewart and regarded him as the ultimate collector of small cents. Whereas I had to sell my original collection in the early 1990's, Stewart was fortunate to be able to keep his collection through all these years and it is sad he never was able to see the impending sales. I am sure Great Collections will do a great job for Stewart and know that his fabulous coins will find a welcoming new home. In the last few years, Stewart and I became closer friends and, since we were about the same age, we often talked about how to pass on the collections or sell them. I feel deprived that we never were able to have a final discussion about this due to his early and unexpected passing. Like others, I feel an emptiness since I have lost a good colleague, fellow collector, and expert in the series we both cherish so much. I will miss him dearly. Alan Epstein
I knew Stewart my whole entire life. He knew my family before I was born. For years seeing Stewart every weekend was very commonplace for me. Whether it by in NYC or him traveling to upstate NY.
I have many great memories with him. What seemed like every Saturday from when I was 5-10 years old I wait for him to come pick me up at 7 am sharp to go to Dunkin’ Donuts. He was always my favorite of my dads friends. ( my father and Stu were business partners). I remember playing darts with Stu for money, and winning, and spending my winnings at the school book fair.
My father built a 66 corvette for Stu. Once Stewart and I were coming back together from Lebanon valley speedway. I was 10. I told him I’d never been over 100 mph in a car. He proceeded to hit the gas. I remember being so excited. He the said “now you’ve been 112”.
I remember him explaining in a car to me how different grades coins could have. I made my mom give me a denomination of every coin because I wanted to be a coin collector like Stu
Fast forward many years and I began taking collecting much more serious
On my 30th birthday stu sent me a 1955/55 Lincoln ms64 rb as a gift and I was completely hooked. I have begun to have Stu find me as many coins as I could afford. I purchased from him for his first certified Lincoln cent he bought in 1988 1909 s ngc 67 rd, however now it’s pcgs ms66+ rb. He told me it will go 67 in a few years haha.
I’d since heard the story of the auction of this coin. He wanted to see it to someone, and inspire them to collect Lincoln’s just like him
We stayed close and talked every week. I’d always pick his brain about Lincoln’s, Indians, patterns ect.
He’s always say “be happy” to me
He had been battling cancer for the last 2 years but you’d never know
That’s the type of guy he was
The last thing stu ever said to me, two days before he died was “I’d never seen a 1926s Lincoln I had to own”
Seems to me he was looking for the perfect ms66 1926s rd Lincoln for over 30 years
He was my mentor and hero and I’m gonna miss him a lot
Gonna collect Lincoln’s forever
Just like him
Stewart Blay was the David Akers of Lincoln Wheat Cents - a purist.