Coin Monday: If you’re a nut for Bust Halves, has Heritage got something for you

April 12, 2010
Written by John Dale

Coin collecting humor isn’t likely to tear up the comedy club circuit anytime soon. Most of it consists of terrible puns, though there have been a handful of exceptions. (The best coin humor I’ve ever read is “Pearlman’s People,” written by public relations maestro Donn Pearlman, which used to grace the back page of The Numismatist.) [I can indeed vouch that Pearlmann is a virtuoso of PR, as I have had the chance to study at the feet of the master these last two years… - Noah Fleisher]

Even more disturbing than the generally poor quality of coin collecting humor is the number of people who repeat it, not because they know it’s bad, but because they believe it’s good. Self-awareness isn’t the most common trait among coin collectors. Then again, we do have the capacity for rare flashes of insight and self-understanding, as evidenced by the best coin club name of all time: the Bust Half Nut Club.

There has never been greater truth in numismatic advertising. Bust Half nutters are obsessed with Bust half dollars; they know they’re obsessed, and they’re at peace with it.

“To be considered as a candidate for BHNC membership, and individual must own a minimum of 100 different Bust die marriages by Overton attribution,” etc. That means 100 distinctly different matchups of obverse and reverse dies… and the documentation to prove it. Like I said, self-awareness.

A prominent Bust Half nut was the late Donald R. Frederick, whose collection of early U.S. coinage, alias “Bayside Part II,”is an important Featured Collection in the upcoming April 2010 Central States auction. Mr. Frederick’s collection went far beyond the 100-variety minimum; in fact, Heritage is auctioning 443 separate varieties from his collection!

The varieties range from relatively common to scarce and even very rare. Picking out a single half dollar highlight is difficult, but the 1827 Overton-148 (that is, the 48th die marriage identified and listed in the Overton reference) is a safe pick. It is one of just 14 to 15 pieces believed known—and one of just 12 coins accounted for in our census—with a grade of VF35 awarded by PCGS.

While there will be a great deal of interest in Mr. Frederick’s coins, I am particularly interested in how a certain non-coin lot turns out. Lot 3370 contains two copies of the Overton die variety reference, one a First Edition signed by the author to Mr. Frederick, the other a Revised Edition with extensive annotations in Mr. Frederick’s hand. The latter was Mr. Frederick’s “working copy” of Overton, his personal and well-traveled guide to Bust half dollars that can now pass into another’s hands. For the devoted student of Bust halves, this well-worn book of Mr. Frederick’s may prove more valuable than any piece of silver.

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-John Dale Beety

It's still going! - Original Energizer Bunny readies for auction Saturday at Heritage Beverly Hills

April 8, 2010
Posted by Noah

While I don't have a ton of time for writing today, I thought it might be fun to post this little video I took this morning at Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills.

The consignor of the original Energizer Bunny readying for auction here on Saturday has the thing up and running and had enough hands - in the way of friends, not actually on him - to get the running.

Now, it's a cool thing in the first place, an amazing piece of pop culture, to be sure, but it's actually even cooler when you see it working and running live.

The video is not too long, but you get the point, and that is indeed the bunny. His nickname is Clint, and his business associates refer to him as EB, but that's Mr. EB to you...

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-Noah Fleisher

RIP J.D. Salinger: Remembering the writer at Heritage Auctions

Jan. 28, 2010

Written by Joe Fay

In early April 2008 I wrote a letter to the legendary, and legendarily reclusive, J. D. Salinger.

Like almost anyone who has done the same in the last 30 years (and probably long before that), I never got a reply. I wrote him that I thought he was one of the finest writers I had ever encountered. I wanted to relate to him that his fiction had helped shape my worldview, and to a certain degree my personality.

Mainly, I was writing to inform him that my wife and I had just named our newborn twins Franny and Zooey, after the eponymous characters in two Salinger short stories, published together in book form in 1961. So it is especially sad to hear of his passing this morning of natural causes at the age of 91.

My wife and I are Salinger fans, each in our own way, as are a great many children of the middle and late twentieth century. We were both introduced to Holden Caulfield in high school, again as a lot of people our age were, in Salinger's landmark novel The Catcher in the Rye.

We grew up on famous stories about Mark David Chapman's rabid fascination with the book, and how it helped tip him over the edge of sanity after which he murdered John Lennon. And over the years, we've listened to the stories, with varying levels of amusement and consternation, of Salinger's legal battles with his daughter and several other authors who've tried to publish works based in the Salinger universe.

Considering where I work and what I do, thinking of Salinger also reminds me of the wonderful selection of letters and books we've sold here at Heritage Auctions relating to the great writer, including a handful of nice copies of The Catcher in the Rye. This is one of the high points and touchstones of modern fiction. It has been, is, and will continue to be the most aggressively collected of his works, and there's no telling how high in value the VERY short list of signed copies of this it will go. We've also auctioned a number of signed documents and letters, most notably a very interesting three-page 1981 typed letter signed "Jerry."

We even have a small assortment of Salinger books in our upcoming February 11-12 Rare Books Auction in Beverly Hills. Included in the auction are five lots, ranging from a very nice copy of Catcher to a wonderful copy of the rare first issue of Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour An Introduction. None of them are signed, but then again, very few of Salinger's books are at all.

I've already had two friends ask me what today's news will do to values for Salinger material. Books, even rare first editions, will probably not appreciate considerably more than usual. For signed items, it's difficult to pin down exactly, but the short answer is that they're going up. Salinger is a notoriously hard autograph to get. Letters, manuscripts, and even clipped signatures demand a high premium in the market, and after today, and in my opinion, prices will spike for awhile and settle in at a higher plateau that they're at now. How much higher? Who's to say?

I think part of all of us who call ourselves Salinger fans hoped that one day he would snap out of his self-imposed isolation and re-enter the world, as if he had been under a magic spell since the early 1970s. Then, maybe, JUST maybe, we could have a letter returned or a book signed.

Alas, it is not to be. It was probably a pipe dream anyway. So, all I'm left with are his books (the important part, really). I have them all at home, including a first edition of Franny and Zooey, which my daughters will hopefully fight over some day. My wife and I will continue to cherish Salinger's fiction as we've always done.

Rest in peace, Jerome. We will miss you. Most of all, a lot of us will miss that we missed you, and that we never got to see or meet or interact with you at all, for Chrissake!

-Joe Fay

(If you've read this far, then you know that Joe named his twins Franny and Zooey after Salinger's book, which should tell you why I prefer he have the opening words on Salinger's passing. The reclusive master obviously had a great impact on my Heritage colleague and I have the utmost respect for his sentiments.

It is an odd feeling I have writing this on the day Salinger dies - it has seemed, in fact, that he has been dead for years, but he was only gone. Occasionally something would surface, or a friend of a friend has a story about friends that tried to find Salinger in New Hampshire and risked the wrath of the locals and the cops. Little towns, we learned, fiercely protect their celebrities. Now he is truly dead and the next few years will surely see the in-depth documentation of his last three decades. I hope there are a few books hidden away in the cold New england state.

I, as so many, was very moved as a young man by Catcher In The Rye, and now, as a grown man, a father, and with years of experience behind me, I find the very deep sadness behind the rebelliousness of Holden Caulfield much more poignant than the rebellion itself. More than that - with a four-year-old girl wrapping me around her finger - I find his drawing of Holden's little sister especially poignant. She is the ultiamte instrument of his final unraveling. He's undone by the simplicity of her love and the sincerity of her attachment to him - at least that's how I read it now... And how I'll read it tonight before I go to bed.

The world lost a great and difficult one today. Perhaps Salinger now has the peace he so desperately wanted when he was still in human form. - Noah Fleisher)

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Heritage announces NYC and Beverly Hills expansions; experts sought

June 2, 2009
Posted by Noah

These are some pretty exciting days around Heritage. Get this: while numerous other major players on the auction scene are laying people off and contracting, Heritage is actually expanding. Immediate plans include the opening of offices in New York City and Beverly Hills, where space has been reserved, but that’s about all I can say right now. This puts us square in the action of two of the best markets in the world. The company is also actively recruiting to fill important positions and sent out an e-mail letter to our non-numismatic client base. I figured I’d let the letter itself do the talking and the explaining. It’s not standard blog fare, but it’s also not standard news. This is big stuff for this company, and lays out a clear path for the future.

Ahem:

“While other auction firms have reported shrinking sales and significant lay-offs, Heritage is adding multiple world-class experts to its current staff in more than 25 different categories. These experts will, in some cases, head new departments and in others will enhance existing department expertise. We have positions open at our headquarters in Dallas as well as at our new state-of-the-art galleries in prime locations in both Midtown Manhattan and Beverly Hills, scheduled to open in late 2009, or in early 2010.

“We believe Heritage's business model of transparency and respect for our bidders' time is the wave of the future, as clients are discovering us in record numbers (read our Mission and Values statement here). In fact, we recently enjoyed our most profitable quarter ever (Jan-Mar 2009), as well as the best April in our 33-year history as an auction house. Our 2009 sales volume will likely match or exceed our record 2008 numbers even as the other major auction houses report 60% sales decreases.

“Heritage is now ready to hire the world's best experts to support existing departments and launch new ones, especially in the following categories, though we will consider many other areas as well, including sub-categories:

“American Art, Ancient Coinage, Antiquities, Asian Art, Books, Maps, and Prints, Decorative Arts, European Art, Jewelry and Timepieces, Latin American Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Photography
Vintage Automobiles, Wine.

“These are top, high profile positions; we are seeking ambitious candidates who will bring their excellent reputation, strong business and work ethics, organizational skills and knowledge to represent Heritage in the best light. Preferred candidates will have more than 5 years in a major auction house environment, or experience as a commercial dealer (a combination of both would be ideal). Writing and public speaking talents and skills are a plus. Job duties will include obtaining consignments; supervising the vetting of condition; authentication of properties consigned; reviewing inquiries; proofing of cataloging, essays, and advertising copy; marketing specific objects to important clients, and supervising two or more auctions per year with full bottom-line responsibility in the case of department heads.

“Interested parties, with proper qualifications, are encouraged to email their resume and salary history to Experts@HA.com.”

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-Noah Fleisher