Ira Stein

I’m sorry to hear this. Prayers and condolences to his family and friends. He certainly knew his copper.

I used to talk to Ira regularly on rec.collecting.coins news group and he was always ready to teach/instruct/discuss. Heck of a fine gentleman too.

Ira stopped by my table often when I was setting up at shows. Sorry to hear this news. My condolences to his family and friends.

Ira was a friend, and a pleasure to talk to, work with and cajole. A regular visitor to tables at Rochester and Baltimore. Sad news.

My condolences go out to Ira’s loved ones and friends. I’ll always remember him as a trustworthy gentleman.

@ElmerFusterpuck said:
Never met him but did win a handful of coins from his Ebay auctions back in the day. He was one the first people out there that nailed coin photography. His photos made the coins come alive and without juicing or manipulation.

RIP Ira.

was he "IRAs4?"

i remember his monster toned Matte Proof Lincoln Set called The RAISINET Collection. Which was the letters of his name IRA STEIN in mixed up order. Thought that was clever.

Bought a 1955/55 DDO 1c PCGS MS-63RB many years ago from his eBay auction.
I am sorry to hear of his passing.

My condolences Rick @EagleEye to all his friends and family. RIP Ira

Same here, Ira was a good guy, bought several coins from him years ago on ebay, he always knew how to pick the good ones, every coin I had purchased from him was always excellent. Back then funds were tight so he let me do a payment plan on a couple like the 16 slq, 56 flyer, etc. I had bought from him several years until finally meeting him at a Baltimore show years back

@EagleEye said:
I couldn't find a post, so excuse this post if is a duplicate.

I wanted to say something about Ira Stein, who passed away on July 30, 2023. He was 83.

I met him on-line first when he was selling some Indian cents. He was a stickler for quality and we became friends though our mutual desire for nice Indian cents. I would see him regularly at the Baltimore show. He was a great guy to talk to about coins. He always sent me a Christmas card!

Sorry to see him go, but he was certainly a fighter when it came to his health issues, of which he had many over the past 20 years or so.

I met Ira at a FUN show in West Palm Beach, FL. some 20 years ago and we sat down and had lunch. He had quite alot of knowledge about US Coins and a really pleasant person. To me he was known for selling really hihg-end stuff!

My Condolences to his family and RIP Ira Stein.

TC71

I liked Ira, both personally and as a dealer. He was one of those that really knew how to buy (and sell!) coins. I met him back in 2005 buying and selling on eBay, and eventually at most shows I attended. He was good with most any coin type but loved small cents, just like me! I bought a lot of tougher date Lincolns from him, and when the time came, he was always ready to buy them back. He used to like recounting the story of how he brokered the sale of the sole MS-65 1926-s Lincoln cent for $150,000. An enormous sum back in 2008!

According to my records, the last time we made any deals was about 5 years ago. He had been out for a while before then with a bout of diverticulitis, saying the biggest challenge for him was that he couldn’t eat anything with small seeds like strawberries. I was happy to be seeing him again. In 2017 I saw him at March Baltimore, CSNS, November Baltimore, and the last time I saw him was at Winter FUN in 2018. I believe our last deal was an effectively even trade whereupon I sold him an 1857 Flying Eagle at a loss, and bought an 1812 cent from him that evened it out.

I remember back in 2008 when I sold my MS Lincoln set. After the cherrypickers had their feast, and the better date early stuff was all sold, he bought my run of 66/67 RD 1934-‘58 cents for 15% back of PCGS Price Guide. I wanna say there was some other stuff in there because I remember it being 108 coins in all, stuffed into a USPS Flat Rate Medium box. I remember it being a bit of a loss (like maybe I was losing $3000) and we had one of those teaching moment talks about taking the good with the bad and moving on when the time is right. Some months later I asked him how that deal worked out. He told me that’s the hardest (and longest!) he ever worked in his life to make just about $3000 on the whole deal. Said he must have walked 30 miles of bourse with that heavy pelican box he used to tote. But he said it with a smile.

Sorry to hear of your passing, my friend. You made this hobby richer for us all.

I remember an IRA Stein from New York who attended Long Beach shows in the 80's & 90's but he looked like he was in his 30's at the time. He looked at raw mint state Lincolns from the teens and twenties. He used to be overweight but lost significant weight (on a diet?)
Was this the same guy?

In reference to my previous post, he did not wear glasses.

Great remembrances about a solid coin dealer and classy guy. Condolences to all who knew him.