Collection of Sale Catalogs: A Few Favorites Auctions & FPLs – CONSERVATORI Ancient Coins of the Greek, Roman & Byzantine World

Created: 4 Jul 2022; Updated: 15 Apr 2025 (Change Log)

INDEX OF CATALOGS ON THIS PAGE

WWII era provenance:
Salton-Schlessinger 27 ; Schlessinger 15 ; Traverso ; Apostolo Zeno

Hand-named, annotated:
J.Q. Adams et al. ; Ashburnham ; Kunstfreundes ; see also: Mabbott

Association copies (signed & inscribed):
BCD Collection ; Malter Auction I ; Traverso ; Apostolo Zeno

Custom bound:
Ashburnham ; BCD Collection ; Leo Benz ; Hauswaldt ; Lockett ; Traverso ; Apostolo Zeno

Numismatic bookplates:
Ashburnham ; Lockett ; Traverso ; Apostolo Zeno

Address labels:
Antioch Associates ; CCE 59 ; JSD ; Malloy FPLs ; Weaver FPL 2

More favorites: Bement ; Classical Cash ; Kirk Davis ; Dorney ; Empire ; Hunt ; Mabbott ; Malloy MBS XXXIII ; Münzhandlung Basel 6 ; Niggeler (and others) ; “Nobleman” (Laval) ; Otto ; Sawhill

Sections of this Page
Collections ; Single Sales ; Runs of FPLs ; Single FPLs ; note re: bibliographies

Other Relevant Pages on this Site
Provenance Glossary ; Alexandrian Catalogs ; BCD Collection Annotated Biblio
Auction Catalog Bibliographies moved to Catalog Library page

Looking up one’s coin in an old catalog is nice. It’s even nicer when the catalog has an interesting provenance of its own. One benefit of collecting this way is to better appreciate how the histories of literature and coins contribute to one another and intersect with the biographies of collectors, dealers, and institutions.

IMPORTANT COLLECTION AUCTION CATALOGS
(ONLY THOSE W/ INTERESTING BACKSTORIES)
full library of catalogs on a separate page

Christian Blom’s Annotated
“John Quincy Adams” Catalogs

JQA/MHS = STACK’S (New York). The Massachusetts Historical Society Collection…..Featuring the Collection of President John Quincy Adams and Descendants, Part I: Ancient Coins (5-7 Mar 1971), Part II: World Coins (17-19 Sep 1971).

Ex-Christian Blom, annotated sale copies, hand-annotated w/ many prices, bids, buyer names, and some contact info;
Annotations noting lots purchased by Alex G. Malloy (“AM”), John Aiello (“JA”), John A. Sawhill (“JAS”), Malcolm Hay (“MH”), RBW, and others.
Very rare with buyer names & important, as most coins were in group lots, few illustrated. The ONLY named copy I’ve ever heard of.

Part I: 971 Lots, 11 Pl. Foreword (Thomas B. Adams, p.2) & useful introductory essay about the history of collection & family (“The Adams Family as Collectors,” pp. 4-5).
[Clain-Stefanelli 1975; Spring 857; Adams pp. 144, 313: No. 248 (corr.: erroneous categories graded?); Gengerke (2009), p. 593; Online via Archive & NNP]
Part II: 1269 Lots, 19 Pl. Foreword (Thomas B. Adams, p. 2) & substantial illustrated essay with an important history of the collection (by James C. Risk, pp. 3-7).
[Adams pp. 145, 313: No. 253 (“B” Overall); Gengerke (2009), p. 593; Avail. Online (Archive, NNP)]
Notes: As detailed on my Catalog Library & Provenance Glossary pages, the ancients should really be referred to as the “Charles Francis Adams Collection,” since he likely purchased all of them.
Many of these coins were purchased by Sawhill, later detailed in his collection catalog below, or by Malloy & listed in his FPLs (see below).

From my collection: Lots 496 (part, Rubria Quinarius), acq. by Richard B. Witschonke (RBW 1325) & 939 (part, reportedly, Diocletian Billon Radiate)

F.S. Benson’s (1854-1907)
Hand-Named Copy of Ashburnham

ASHBURNHAM = SOTHEBY, WILKINSON & HODGE. Catalogue of the Collection of Greek Coins … the Earl of Ashburnham (London, 6 May 1895).

Ex-Library of Frank Sherman Benson (1854-1907) & Long Island Historical Society, with “dedication bookplate.”
Hand-named & priced copy (annotated & ruled identically to ANS digitized copy).

In 1910, “between 250 and 300 volumes of numismatic books” from Benson’s library were donated to the Long Island Historical Society (now Brooklyn Historical Society), where he had been a director and board member. Those volumes were given the “dedication bookplate” shown, depicting ancient Greek coins within a classical temple.

267 Lots (253 Ancient coins, all Greek), many ill. on 5 Pl.
[Spring 761; Clain-Stefanelli 1938.]
Half brown leather (Morocco), marbled boards, gilt spine (faded).
Multiple digitized & hand-named copies: ANS (Archive); UCLA (Archive); 2nd copy (Archive); Acsearch Lib (direct to PDF).
Most coins apparently from the 1859 Lord Northwick sale, via Samuel Addington. The present Earl was Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl of Ashburnham (1797–1878). FSB acquired at least one lot (27), but from a later sale.

The Full Set of 10, incl.
Autographed, “BCD-Bound” Association Copy of Olympia

BCD Collection Catalogs. 10 Auctions (Lanz, Leu, CNG, LHS, M&M GmbH, NAC, Nomos; 2001-2012). Plus duplicates.
[See my BCD Annotated Bibliography page]

Selected provenances:
BCD Olympia (Leu 90):
Ex Anthony Milavic (1936-) Library, “association copy” signed & inscribed by the collector, “BCD bound” in full leather with replica AR Stater in front cover, and supplementary appendices & correspondence bound in. (No binder’s mark, possibly by Dionysis Valassis [1939-2023, Athens ]?)
One of the crown jewels of my library. I have one coin from this sale (Lot 126: Elis AR Obol). What could be more rewarding to a numismatic bibliophile than seeing one’s coins memorialized in a volume into which such care has been invested?

Remaining 9 of 10 catalogs:
Ex Bibliothek Alois Wenninger (with his monogram in pen on covers or title pages & other annotations):
BCD Korinth (Lanz 101), Euboia (Lanz 105), Boiotia (Triton IX), Peloponnesos I (LHS 96), Akarnania-Aetolia (M&M GmbH 23), Lokris-Phokis (NAC 55), Peloponnesos II (CNG 81.2), Thessaly I (Nomos 4), Thessaly II (Triton XV.1).
Several others:
Ex David Hendin (1945-) Library Duplicates:
BCD Thessaly II (Triton XV), Boiotia (Triton IX), Akarnania-Aetola (M&M GmbH 23), Peloponnesos II (CNG 81.2). (Also his copies of CNG 50 & CNG 51, which included BCD’s collection of Athens bronze, sold anonymously.)
Of Hendin, BCD Thessaly II 452.3 comments: “One does not always come across such consideration and generosity in the ancient coin dealer-collector community…. Perhaps one day all dealings will be done electronically from our homes, but this writer is glad to have built up his collection while person-to-person contact was still possible.” And, BCD Lokris-Phokis 133.5: “This is an opportunity to record the writer’s debt to David. The postage he paid over the years to make sure all his lists reached the BCD library surely exceeds the total amount the writer spent with him for buying coins.”

Further info on my BCD Annotated Biblio page (for catalogs, see esp. Table 1: 10 BCD Sales Online & Table 2)

My collection includes >100 coins formerly in the BCD Collection, including at least one from each of the 10 major sales (multiple from most; see my BCD Collection: Table 2).

My library also includes BCD’s own copies of three of the four British Museum Catalogues covering the regions he collected, each bound in his trademark tan leather. For the fourth, BMC Corinth, I have the Bibliothek Lanz copy (with the bookplate of G.F. Hill), originally owned by Hermann Lanz, then Hubert Lanz, who cataloged BCD Corinth and BCD Euboia. (I have both libraries’ copies of BMC Central Greece, covering Euboia.)

Jacob Hirsch‘s Classic Catalogs
from the ANS Library

The Only Complete Hardcover Set
from Hubert Lanz’s Own Library

LEO BENZ = LANZ NUMISMATIK. Sammlung Leo Benz, Römische Republik, Auktion 88 (Munich, 23 Nov 1998), Romische Kaiserzeit, Teil I, Auktion 94 (Munich, 22 Nov 1999) & Teil II, Auktion 100 (Munich, 20 Nov 2000).

Two sets:
(1) Hardbound set: Lanz 88, 94, 100:
Ex-Lanz Numismatik Library (Hermann, Ernst & Hubert Lanz), Part IV (Hirsch EA 10 [17 Jul 2022], 3093): Hubert Lanz‘s special hardbound copies.
(See below re: a second partial set.)
(2) Softcover set: Lanz 88, 94, 100:
Latter two (RIC) ex-Warren W. Esty (WWE) Library; acq. by CJJ 2021. (He had already sold his copy of 88 [RRC], so I added one from a Portland, OR collector who acq. it from his numismatic mentor, unnamed collector.) WWE has an important educational website annotating his collection of ancient coin auction catalogs: “Contents of Sale Catalogs (by firm)(by collecting theme)”; see also: BCD page, WWE & ASW indexes of LHS 96.

978, 694 & 682 Lots (all f. ill.), 43, 40 & 35 Pl., respectively.
[Annotated in Esty’s Auction Catalog Collection; Brousseau (2010) “Annexe” p. 575 (Lanz 94); cited in Numiswiki Auction Catalogs for Important Coin Collections]
Lanz 94 (Benz II: RIC I), Lot 269 is a cast forgery Clodius Macer Denarius (of the G. Parry specimen), despite extensive pedigree, publication & reappearing again in major collection sales. Lot 1, the Augustus Heifer Aureus on the cover, was previously in the Elberling Collection, one of his few coins known in private collections besides my Antoninus Sestertius.
See also “Provenance Glossary” page.

I have one coin from the Leo Benz Collection. Unfortunately, not the EID MAR “cover coin” (Lot 701, previously Herzfelder, de Sartiges & Niggeler Collections, presently BMFA, and published in many books). Simply having cohabitated with such a treasure makes ownership of any Leo Benz coin exciting. Mine is Lot 407 (also Banti CNR 8/18), the L. Julius Caesar Denarius with a biga of flying Cupids:

This was the only complete custom-hardbound set of Leo Benz catalogs in the Numismatik Lanz Library sales by G. Hirsch.
The same sale (Bibliothek Lanz, Teil IV) also included a partial set (Lot 3435: Lanz 88 & 94 hardbound, but Lanz 100 softcover), acq. by London Ancient Coins (LAC), who listed it for retail sale, but remarkably without stating the provenance! (They later updated their listing, apparently w/ a newly-fashioned hardcover for 100.)
Lanz 94 (Benz II: RIC I; 646 Lots) & Lanz 100 (Benz III: RIC II; 682 Lots) are on ACSearch. But Lanz 88 (Benz, Part I: RRC) is not available online in any form (except clippings from the plates in the ANS-RRDP / Richard Schaefer Binders, as shown above).

Rare Plated Copy
Important Reference for Early German

SLG. HAUSWALDT = RUDOLF KUBE [Auction 11]. Collection Hauswaldt (Bedeutende Sammlung Magdeburger Münzen und Medaillen) (Berlin, 18-23 November 1912).

Ex-American Numismatic Society (ANS) Library Duplicates.
Contemporary maroon cloth, original covers bound in, gilt spine: “COLLECTION HAUSWALDT. 1912.”
Rare plated copy, important for German coins (several fine Roman coins are plated).
Beautiful copy, but probably belongs in a specialized Geman numis. library if I can find the right home.

138 pp., 2434 Lots (29 Anc.: 7 RRC/Imptl, 21 RIC, 1 Byz), 23 Plates (only 8 ancient coins).
[Clain-Stefanelli 9423 (p. 827, for German coins)]
Digitized copy at Uni Heidelberg.
Plated copies hard to find; another at the Poinsignon Library, Part III (Kunker 357, 7 Dec 2021) 4109 (hammer: €1,050 + 20%).

The Collision of Classical Numismatics &
Late 20th Century Financial History

Highest Priced Ancient Coin Auction Ever
Rare with Buyer Names Handwritten

KUNSTFREUND [Charles Gillet] = BANK LEU & MÜNZEN UND MEDAILLEN. Griechische Münzen aus der Sammlung eines Kunstfreundes [Charles Gillet, 1879-1972]. (Zurich, 28 May 1974.)

Ex-Library of Lanz Numismatik (Hermann Lanz [1910-1998] & his sons, Ernst [1945-1989], and Hubert [1943-]).
Hand-named & priced copy! (About 60% of buyers’ names on the estimates sheet. Plus original printed PRL.)

253 lots fully illustrated and thoroughly cataloged with extensive commentary on 372 pp.
[Clain-Stefanelli 1993; Daehn 2026; Spring 418; BCD Library (Auctiones 39) 214; annotated on Esty’s Catalogs page; see especially pp. 608-610, 615 in Alan S. Walker (2008) “Catalogues and Their Collectors,” AJN 20 (150).]

I don’t know how many of these names are public (though those I’ve found elsewhere match my own record), so I’ve redacted the names:

One of four named copies I’ve found at auction (the others all beautifully bound, unlike mine). The best was the the BCD Library’s fully-named & nicely bound copy (hammer: 700 CHF = $900 USD after fees, in 2015). The named copy sold at Gut-Lynt Auction 9 (29 Jan 2023), Lot 892 was a steal at 192 EUR (total). A partially named copy, Kolbe & Fanning Auction Sale 165 (3 Dec 2022), Lot 10 ($510 total): “Annotated by hand … many (perhaps half) of the purchasers…”
See my Catalog Library: Note 1.

The Monumental Lockett Collection
with Several Coins & Bastien Bookplate on Final Part

LOCKETT [Complete Ancient: Greek I-IV & Roman, Byzantine] = GLENDINING & Co. The Celebrated Collection formed by the late Richard Cyril Lockett, Esq. [R.C. Lockett, 1873-1950]. Part II / Greek I (London, 25 Oct 1955); Part VI / Greek II (12 Feb 1958); Part VIII / Roman-Byzantine (26 May 1959); Part IX / Greek III (27 May 1959); Part XII / Greek IV (21 Feb 1961).

Part XII (Greek IV): Ex Library of Pierre Bastien (1912-2010), with his bookplate.
Bound in gray cloth with gilt spine, original card covers bound in, A.H. Baldwin’s ink stamps on cover & first page.
The others post-sale priced copies in original card covers.

Part II (Greek I): 38 Pl., 987 Lots, most ill.
Part VI (Greek II): 23 Pl., 565 Lots (988-1552), most ill.
Part VIII (Roman-Byzantine): 16 Pl., 299 Lots, many ill. (RIC & Byz).
Part IX (Greek III): 15 Pl., 565 Lots (1553-2118), most ill.
Part XII (Greek IV): 35 Pl., 1007 Lots (2119-3125), most ill.
[Spring 233-5 (Greek), 239 (Roman); Clain-Stefanelli 1971* (Greek), 3675 (Roman); Kroh p. 34 (Greek)]

My collection includes more than half a dozen coins from these sales of the Lockett Collection, several each in Part VI (Greek II) and Part XI (Greek IV). Only two were illustrated, both from Part XI.
The Nero below is one of several of mine acquired by Cornelius Vermeule (1925-2008), a major buyer of Lockett’s bronzes, later the Boston MFA curator of antiquities. The Hidrieus Tetradrachm, acquired by Hans von Aulock, had also been illustrated in the Bement sale (above), among many other publications.

The silver & gold were published in SNG Lockett (5 vols., 1938-1949, corresponding numbers noted by Glendining). Sadly, planned publication for Lockett’s collection of thousands of Greek & RPC bronze coins was never realized. Paralleling the recent fate of the Grantley Collection of Greek bronzes (possibly the greatest ever, much of which Lockett acquired), record of this magnificent collection & its disposition are mostly lost to history. (The tragedy of lost opportunity is compounded by Grantley having, in turn, acquired important unpublished portions of Mavrojani, Rev. E. Rogers, and other important collections.)

A certain proportion of Lockett AE provenances (especially those bought by Cornelius Vermeule, extending back in some cases to Grantley & before) can be recovered with a combination of handwritten tickets, auction descriptions, and Lockett’s purchase notebooks (online from the BNS), but these represent only a fraction of them. Mark Salton was another major buyer (incl. an Alexander Drachm shown below with his FPL 27).

Mabbott Catalogs from Noted Dealer & Collector Libraries

MABBOTT [I & II] = SCHULMAN, HANS M.F. The Thomas Ollive Mabbott Collection. Part One. Coins of the Greek World (New York, 6 June 1969); Part Two. Coins of the Roman World (New York, 27 Oct 1969).

Hardcover set: Ex Library of Maj. Anthony F. Milavic, USMC (Ret.). (Ex CNG.)
Mabbott I: Ex John Aiello Library (reportedly), his name & address hand-written & crossed out on “Text” cover; Phil Peck’s name & phone number written in a different hand on “Illustrations” cover; inside, annotations in two hands (see below). (Ex Bryce Brown.)
Mabbott II: Ex Bibliothek Alois Wenninger, w/ his distinctive monogram & penciled acq. date “1982” on title pg. (Ex Kuenker.)

Hardcover set: bound by Durst (n.d.) in red cloth, original card covers bound in, PRLs laid in. (Contrary to some descriptions, I believe these are not reprints, but original sets bound together. They also bound some in blue leatherette.)
Mabbott I: Two Vols., card cover absent (“Catalogue by Hans Holzer”) & paper as issued (“Illustrations”). 148 pages, 3860 coin lots, 26 of antiquities & 2 misc., 83 plates.
[Clain-Stefanelli 1973; Daehn 2060; Spring 712; Gengerke (2009) p. 546; Adams 64 (pp. 180, 337, “A-” for Ancient, “B+” Overall); Online: Archive & NNP]
Mabbott II: One vol., blue card cover. 33 Pl.
[Clain-Stefanelli 3679; Spring 713; Gengerke (2009) p. 546; Adams 66 (pp. 180, 337, “A” for Ancient, “A-” Overall); Online: Archive & NNP]
Note: H. Schulman stretched out the Mabbott sales to five numbered auction offerings, plus a sixth (10 Oct 1972; see Catalog Library), but these two are the only single-consignor sales & the only two considered especially notable (w/ the possible exception of further specialized offerings of Roman AE Contorniates).
Cataloged by Hans Holzer (1920-2009), who, in addition to being a numismatist & the Expert for H. Schulman Gallery, was also one of the world’s most famous parapsychologists. [H. Holzer’s Wikipedia Entry.]

Two sets of contemporary annotations, in two different hands (J. Aiello & partner?), one in pencil & another in blue ink, the latter incl. several names & contact info, numerous bid notes in the text catalog, both using the same bid code (judging from PRL, possibly “max/3”?).
My “provenance collection” includes various other items relating to both Aiello (coins & catalogs, many of them ex BCD) and Phil Peck (coins, literature, Chase Money Museum ephemera).
Also inscribed in the catalog: phone number for Dorinda J. Oliver, a Chase Bank Vice-President, distinguished philanthropist of archaeology, and General Trustee of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA).
I don’t know the relationship between Peck & Aiello. Did they first meet at the Mabbott auction in New York? Or perhaps Aiello was acting as agent for Peck and/or making new acquisitions for the Chase Money Museum?

NOTES FOR MABBOTT I: GREEK:
• Lot 2045 (illustrated), Apollonia-Mordiaeum (temp. Caracalla-Septimius Severus) = von Aulock Pisidiens II, 29 = ex “Morris”/Phil Peck Collection = now CJJ Collection;
• Lot 1749 (illustrated), Gallienus AE31 of Tabae = C.G. Morris Coll. of Greek AE, Aiello FPL 5 (November 1972), 298: “Numbers 221 and 292 from this list have been stolen” (see Catalog Library/Aiello) = disposition since 1972 unknown.
• At least 52 Mabbott Greek Lots were individually cataloged in Aiello FPL 5, C.G. Morris Coll.

(My copy above ex BCD Library Duplicates. See Catalog Library/Aiello for my annotations & individual Mabbott numbers in that splendid but little-known sale.)

I also own a Provincial bronze from the Ken Bressett Collection (CNG Keystone 6 [11 Mar 2022], 3023) erroneously provenanced to this sale. I didn’t check before bidding, so I share the blame. Bressett provenance alone is noteworthy (I have a couple dozen), but my interest is in networks (i.e., coins w/ at least 2 or 3 known collectors.
Important lesson in how such mistakes arise & persist: Mabbott was an important reference before RPC, so I’m sure Bressett used it for identification, then someone mistook the type reference for a provenance. (Actually, multiple mistakes: different bust type & recorded as “Mabbott 2423” instead of 2923!)

Greek & Republican Portions
Duplicates from the ANS Library

NIGGELER 1 & 2 = BANK LEU & MUNZEN UND MEDALLEN AG. Sammlung Walter Niggeler, Teil 1 [Greek] (Basel, 3 Dec 1965) & Teil 2 [RPC & RRC] (Basel, 21 Oct 1966).

Ex-American Numismatic Society (ANS) Library Duplicates;
Laid in: Original estimates & PRL (Teil 2).

554 & 524 Lots, 32 & 28 Pl., respectively.
Teil I: Photograph & 2-pp. bio. foreword by Herbert A. Cahn; Teil 2 (p. 63): 1-p. commentary re: RPC – RRC Coll., also by H.A.C.; both German w/ gen. disc. of prov. & Niggeler’s relationships w/ important collectors & scholars.
[Part 1: Clain-Stefanelli 1981* (Sale Catalogs, Ancient Greek); Daehn 2025; Spring 412; on Gallica. Part 2: Kroh p. 56 (3 Stars); Spring 413; on Gallica]

A splendidly cataloged collection, thoroughly researched, with unusually extensive provenances for the period. A pleasure to read even today (and even for a non-German speaker):

The first 15.5 Pl. of Teil II illustrate a remarkable collection of ~230 Roman Provincial Coins (mostly AE), including 86 Alexandrian on >6 Pl. The Nero-Agrippina AR Drachm from Caesarea, shown above (next to its photo from Triton XXIV, Merani Collection), appears on pl. 7.
(It is fascinating to compare Niggeler II and Mabbott I [above], roughly contemporary collections & catalogs which treated similar material remarkably differently.) Followed by 12 Pl. of Republican (emphasizing the Imperators, the last 3 Pl. Octavian-Augustus), incl. Lot 954, the Brutus EID MAR denarius illustrated on the cover of Lanz 88 [Benz, above].

One Coin, Five Catalogs, Four Libraries

Nero / Agrippina Jr. Drachm = Merani 139 = CNG 51, 965 (ex Hendin) = Kovacs IX, 192 (two copies: ex RBW Library, ex Kirk Davis) = Niggeler 659 (Ex ANS Library) = Trau 394

Addl. collection & publication history for coin: Provenance Coins, Part III (RPC) or Part V (RIC)
Catalog annotations & provenances: Catalog Library page

Future ANA President’s Copy
with Note from George Muller

NOBLEMAN [COUNT DE LAVAL] = GLENDINING & Co. Catalogue of the Important Collection of Greek Gold and Silver Coins, The property of a Nobleman (London, 18 April 1955).

Ex Library of George D Hatie (1910-1997, ANA President 1979-1981), with various ephemera: stamped & handwritten invoice on Spink stationary (in two hands, the blue ink probably George Muller‘s), dated 4 April 1955 & addressed to Hatie, w/ commission form & presentation form letter;
ex Jeffrey M. Peck (PA, USA); acq. by CSJ for Jackson-Jacobs library.

733 Lots, 29 Pl. Cataloged by George Muller w/ his 1.5 pp. introductory essay. [Illustrated, un-priced/pre-sale copy.]
[Spring 230 ; Clain-Stefanelli 1983 ; Manville 1955.5 ; Online via Archive]
Two coins from sale now in my collection (neither plated):
• Lot 550B: Antoninus Pius Caesarea Didrachm, ex E. A. Sydenham, purchased by George Muller.
• Lot 408.1: Athens “New Style” Tetradrachm, purchased by Mark Salton.

GM‘s foreword notes that “though quite a few pieces come from well-known Continental auction sales of the period between the two World Wars, no pedigree is given, as the owner did not keep a record of their provenance.”
Where recognized, prior collections were noted: de la Fuye, Bement, Vogel, Leningrad (Hermitage), Newell (published), Jakountchikov/y (?).
Other sales & collections have been recovered later: Ars Classica I (Pozzi), Helbing 53 & Ars Classica XII (Wertheim), Schulman 194 & Kreling, Glendining 29 Apr 1954 (Forrer Coll.), and others from Ratto, Hess, and J. Schulman. Most (perhaps all) Roman Cappadocian are ex Sydenham (1933 book & 1936 Hess sale).
Coins from this sale later appeared in the collections of BCD, Salton, Kollek, Knoepke, “Exceptional Collection” (Leu 76), Proschowsky & in many numis. studies.
Addl. bio & coll. background on “Provenance Glossary” page.

Hermann Lanz’s Copy
with a Provenance Coin BCD Missed

SLG. OTTO = ADOLPH HESS 207. Sammlung Kommerzienrat H. Otto, Stuttgart [Heinrich Otto Jr., Stuttgart, 1856-1931] (Frankfurt, 1 Dec 1932).

Ex-Lanz Numismatik Library with red ink Bibliotheksstempel of Hermann Lanz (1910-1998) & his Inv. No. “1567” on cover.

1339 lots [1318 coins], 31 Pl.
[Clain-Stefanelli 1755; Spring 331; for bio, see also Poinsignon Library, III (Künker 357, 7-9 Dec 2021) 3944; online at Heidelberg]

Lot 493 (ill. on pl. 12) = Sawhill / JMU Collection (Stack’s, 15 March 1979), lot 157 (part of) [provenance not noted; see below] = BCD Pelo II 2327 [same] = now Jackson-Jacobs Collection. (For many of Otto’s other provenances & dispositions, see my Catalog Library Page; specific lot nos., etc., available on request from my offline notes.)

From BCD Library Duplicates
with One of of His Coins

SAWHILL – JMU = STACK’S. Dr. John A. Sawhill Collection, sold by order of James Madison University Foundation, Inc. Ancient and Foreign Coins (New York, 15 Mar 1979).

Ex BCD Library Duplicates (Jacquier 50 [16 Sep 2022], Lot 1108).

1,499 Lots (1,265 Ancient), 11 Pl., (~7.5 Pl. Ancient).
(See also Slg. Otto, above; Otto 493 [pictured] = Sawhill 157 [more below] = my coll., ex BCD)
[Clain-Stefanelli 1770; Spring 862; Gengerke, p. 199; PDF on Archive]

The coin collection of John A. Sawhill (1892-1976) — among his other collections — was bequeathed to the university and sold soon after. Unfortunately, as BCD noted, having only a few plates for 1,265 ancients meant that “any coin considered less than superb or very rare is not photographed and as a result the seven plates illustrate exceptional specimens.”

Lot 157: Among those not illustrated was the Messenia Triobol/Hemidrachm shown above as it appeared in the 1931 Sammlung Otto sale at Hess, and later BCD Peloponnesos II 2327, now in my collection. (The second coin from that lot was also later sold by CNG, “From the BCD Collection.”)

• Sawhill acquired more than a quarter of the entire 1971 Stack’s sale of the John Q. Adams/Massachusetts Historical Society Collection (265 of 971 Lots, 650 coins total, especially Roman Republican)!
• None are illustrated here (the JQA/MHS catalog was also sparsely ill.), but the present cataloger made the admirable decision to create a separate MHS section w/ its own introduction (pp. 109-129, Lots 1001-1265) and took advantage of the diligence of both Sawhill and JMU Foundation curators, keeping original group lots together & providing the numbers [e.g., Lot 1265, six Constantine AE, “(MHS 947)”]: “Each lot has been kept intact with its original Massachusetts Historical Society Sale envelope,” which one hopes later owners have managed to keep with the coins, since the envelopes are invaluable for tracing those MHS coins not illustrated.
• Many of those coins also appeared in later sales by Alex G. Malloy. (See paragraph below for the JQA/MHS-direct to-Malloy coins.) At least 13 (8 ill.) of the JQA/MHS-to-Sawhill/JMU coins appeared in Malloy FPL XLV (Oct 1979), noting the prior collection/sale provenances (see my annotated “Catalog Library” page). (Smaller numbers in other sales [four more across 3 FPLs. My collection is very incomplete; I presume there others.)
• For coins Malloy bought directly from the JQA/MHS sale, not via Sawhill, see his FPLs XXIII (Jul 1971), 34 Lots (19 ill.); XXIV (Sep-Oct 1971), 35 Lots (20 ill., no dupl. w/ prev.); and his Medieval (incl. Byz.) FPLs IV (1971), 13 Lots (6 ill.); VI (1972), 4 Lots (2 ill.); and others. (My run of Malloy FPLs includes at least 103 ex-JQA/MHS coins, 57 of them illustrated, hardly any of them illustrated anywhere else.)
• It is especially important that Malloy illustrated the majority of them since Stack’s did not (in either sale). It also demonstrates the value of Sawhill and then James Madison University preserving the John Quincy Adams lot numbers, and of Stack’s publishing them again in the 1979 sale even with photos. Many of those coins now be verified by photo from the Malloy sales, and perhaps from other dealers who bought heavily from the sales.

Most Extensive Provenance
in My Catalog Collection

TRAVERSO – MARTINI = Michele Baranowsky (Milan) Auction IV. Collezioni Numismatiche Valerio Traverso di Genova, Mr. Joseph Martini of New York e di altri Amatore (25 Feb 1931)

Ex Kirk Davis Library Duplicate (purchased Aug 2024);
Ex Tom Cederlind Library (Kolbe & Fanning 145 [2017], Lot 19);
Ex Joel Malter Library (Malter Auction 88, Lot 641), one of three (!) copies, this one listed in Roman Coin reference volumes (p. 47, Lot 641) rather than under auction catalogs w/ the others (p. 107, Lots 1565 & 1566), noting “ex libris label: Harry Bass Jr.”;
Ex Harry W. Bass, Jr. w/ his bookplate (Part I, Kolbe & Fanning [1998], Lot 342);
Ex Jacques Schulman Library (under direction of Maurits “Max” Schulman) w/ ink stamp (“Important Reference Library…” Part I, H. Schulman 1966, Lot 63);
Koster Boekbinderij (Amsterdam, c. 1931/2), custom bound in maroon cloth w/ marbled boards & gilt spine, w/ their bookplate.

As noted below (CCE 59), Joel Malter considered his library to be his life’s work. He died the night after the auction.

The binding is by one of Jacques Schulman & sons’ preferred bookbinders, doing business together for multiple generations: Koster Boekbinderij in Amsterdam. Schulman’s “FG Koster” bindings date back to the turn of the century. This volume, stamped by F.G.’s” heirs, “Pa. P. G. Koster,” must have been among their last before their April 1932 bankruptcy.
The auction house was run at that time by Maurits Schulman (1876-1943, son of Jacques, father of Hans MF). A decade later, he was taken from Amsterdam and murdered by the Nazis at Sobibór along with his wife. (See, e.g., Hill, 2017, ANS Magazine 16.2 [PDF]: p. 46ff.)
(See also F. Schlessinger 15 & Salton 27 below. In both the Schlessinger-Salton & Schulman families, the sons left Amsterdam, surviving the Holocaust & continuing in the coin business in their fathers’ names in NYC.)

Lot 593 is among my favorite coins. A Corinth Stater, it was one of my first purchases in 1991 Tucson, when I was 12 years old. (Back then I saved up all year to buy 1 or 2 coins.) No collection history was given, but years later it became my first “lost & found provenance” when I discovered it was in the Pozzi Collection (Ars Classica I [1921], 1688 & Boutin [1979[, 3756).

3,351 Lots, 76 Pl. (1-6 fold-out double pl. of Aes Grave).
[Spring 5 (listed among “Most important” for Greek, Aes Grave, Roman Republican, and Roman Imperial); Clain-Stefanelli 1780; Grierson p. 288 (1966: 185); Crawford p. 130; McCabe RRAuctions; Online via Gallica]

Note: As Spring explains, the catalog is dated Year 9 of the Fascist Era: “1931 (A. IX)” (for Anno IX) on the title page. Writing of similarly dated Santamaria sales (2009: p. 253, no. 643): “Under this scheme year 1 commenced on 1st November 1922, the date of the March on Rome and the inauguration of Mussolini as prime minister. Similar year numbers appear on some other Italian catalogues of the period.”

Additional details: Catalog Library page ; Provenance Glossary: Traverso / Malter (see CCE 59 below re: his library) / Cederlind ; Provenance Coins (Part I): Corinth Stater

Inscribed by the Cataloger,
the Great Robert Göbl

APOSTOLO ZENO [I-III, Complete] = Sonder-Münzauktion. Sammlung Apostolo Zeno, 1668-1750: I. Römische Kaisermünzen (13 Jun 1955); II. Römer (Schluss), Byzantiner, Germanen, Kontorniaten, Rom-Republik (mit Aes grave), antikes Gold, Kelten, Orient (8 Jun 1956); III. Griechische Münzen (26 Mar 1957).

Inscription from Robert Göbl (possibly secretarial): “Herrn. Professor Meyer, ergebenst grüßend, d.V.” (“des Verfassers,” from the author);
Ex Libris Ernst Meyer (1898-1975), the noted German classical historian, with his bookplate;
Ex L.D. & I.P. Library (Kolbe & Fanning 172 [25 Jan 2025], Lot 61).
All three catalogues bound as one with all plates together at the end, later red cloth, gilt spine & cover (original card covers absent).

4430 Total Lots (numbered continuously across parts), 63 Pl., w/ original PRLs laid in. (Individually annotated on Catalog Library page.) Cataloged by Robert Göbl, with intro essays.
[Spring 127-129; Clain-Stefanelli 4090, 3710, 2005]
See addl. bio & coll. background on “Provenance Glossary” page & on Provenance Coins Part V (Roman):
My collection: Lot 952 (illustrated on Pl. 16), Antoninus Pius Sestertius (also ex Curtis Clay [1945-] Collection).

The Zeno Collection was owned by St Florian Monastery near Linz for 200 years. During WWII their grounds were occupied by the Nazi army, collection & library confiscated for Hitler’s planned Führermuseum. Returned after the war, St Florian reportedly sold the coins to pay for a new climate control system.

Göbl used many coins from the Zeno sales to illustrate his (1957/1960) Einführung in die Münzkunde der Römischen Kaiserzeit, including the gilt Constantine cover art. My copy (1957) is ex ANS Library w/ bookplate (1965), inscribed “des Verfassers” (Vienna, June 1959). Possibly in different hand from the Dorotheum vol. (without confirmed writing samples, either or both could be by Göbl’s secretary).

MORE SINGLE SALE CATALOGS
(W/ INTERESTING PROVENANCE)

CLASSICAL CASH (Matt Kreuzer, Boston) MBS 1 (13 May 1995)

Acq. from Forum Ancient Coins (Joe Sermarini), Nov. 2022 (#BC23624, part)

1,165 Lots Ancient (pp. 2-102), majority ill., plus >200 modern (103-117); large-format, soft cover, low-quality B&W scanned images.
[Gengerke –; Fitzwilliam Coll., Catalogs, A-D]

From my collection: The coin shown is a unique Antoninus Pius 34mm bronze from Thrace, Hadrianopolis (misidentified in Classical Cash as Amphipolis). In 2002, it appeared again at CNG 61, from which Varbanov adapted the image for No. 3145 in his second volume on Greek Imperial Coins from Thrace. (See also: this coin in my Provenance Coins, Part III.)

For additional detail (incl. MBS 2) see Catalog Library page.

COLOSSEUM COIN EXCHANGE (Hazlet, NJ) MBS 59 (22 Nov 1991).

Ex BCD Library Duplicates (Jacquier Auction 50, 16 Sep 2022, Lot 1041, part);
Ex Library of Joel L. Malter (1931-2006), postmarked and addressed to Malter Galleries, Encino, CA.
Probably ex Malter Numismatic Library sale (Malter 88 [4-5 June 2006]). There were over 50 boxes on mixed sale catalogs in the sale, at least 7 of which included miscellaneous material that could’ve conceivably included CCE catalogs.
Joel Malter’s numismatic library was one of his great lifelong achievements, and its sale (held at his private residence!) generated tremendous excitement and record prices. He died the following day. See e-Sylum (Numismatic Bibliomania Society) article: https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n25a03.html. The Traverso-Martini catalog above is from his lib.

Lot number 2 (Aegina AR Drachm, 4th cent. BCE) was my first-ever auction bid. Unfortunately I lost my copy of the catalog somewhere along the way and wasn’t able to replace it for over 30 years. Happily, when I finally found a copy, it was one with a great “object biography” of its own. Worth the wait.

A Little-Known Provincial Treasure

MALLOY XXXIII = ALEX G. MALLOY [Mail Bid Sale 33]. The Local Coinages of the Roman Empire (19 June 1992)

Ex-BCD Library Duplicates (Jacquier 50 [16 Sep 2022], Lot 1069)

715 (698 + ~17bis) Lots (all RPC), f. ill. on 22 Pl.; large-format, B&W photos (except cover coins).
[Cited in W.W. Esty (AugustusCoins) RPC refs (“Minor Catalogs”); CRE – Biblio; BCD Library Duplicates 2022, 1069 (“Note from BCD”; this copy).]

Lots 278 (Caracalla, Antiochia in Troas) & 376 (Elagablus, Nicaea; RPC VI 3100, ex. 4) = acq. by H.C. Lindgren = my collection. Lindgren presumably intended to publish the Caracalla in his fourth vol. Unclear why he bought the Elagabalus, as he’d already published a nicer one in his 1985 first vol. (Lindgren & Kovacs 144 [same obv. die] = RPC 3100, ex. 2).

Also, at least 3 lots (not in JJ coll.) published in BCD Peloponnesos 359, 1209, and 1654.

Malter‘s First Auction,
Inscribed to John Seltman

MALTER AUCTION I = JOEL L. MALTER AND COMPANY, INC. Auction 1 (Society for International Numismatics Convention: Los Angeles, 9-11 Nov 1973)

Ex-American Numismatic Society Library;
Ex-Arthur John Seltman (1920-2001) Library.
Signed by Joel Malter & inscribed to A.J. Seltman, dated Monday, 12 November 1973, the day after the auction.

480 Ancient coin lots (725 total lots, 681 coins + 44 books), f. ill., 70 pp, 40 b&w pl.
Hardcover, gold cloth, gilt. PRL laid in. Signed/inscribed FFEP.
[BCD Lib. 2022, Jacq. 50, 1070 (not this copy); Gengerke p. 393]

Catalog notes: Lots 255-314: Alexandrian; 315-326: Aes Grave/cast RRC [f. ill., 3 Pl.]; strong run of Seleukid Tetradrachms; ~25 coins provenanced to the Tom Virzi Collection; a few other scattered sale provenances noted below lot descriptions. Noteworthy run of 60 Alexandrian, rivaling the selection in his better-known Auction II: Egypt (see Catalog Library).

Classical Sale from Bibliothek Hermann Lanz

MÜNZHANDLUNG BASEL 6 = Monnaies alexandrines, collection spéciale de feu M. le Docteur H. St. à S.; monnaies romaines et byzantines d’or et d’argent, collection S. [Steger & Waldeck] (18 Mar 1936)

Ex-Lanz Numismatik Library with red ink stamp (Bibliotheksstempel) of Hermann Lanz (1910-1998) & Inv. No. “890” on cover.
(Addl. pencil markings on cover to check & previous owner’s monogram on title pg., possibly Ernst Holzer’s?)

2,168 lots & 29 Pl. (1,371 Alexandrian, part ill. on >9 Pl.)
[Clain-Stefanelli 4542 AND 4545 (!); Kroh p. 55 (3 stars); Spring 442; avail. online at Heidelberg & elsewhere]
Annotated further on my 20th Cent. Alexandrian Catalogs & Catalog Library pages

One detail I particularly enjoy about my copy of this catalog is that the plates are thoroughly annotated. I do not know by whom (but in careful French script); perhaps someday I will find out:

My one coin from the sale, Lot 725 (Antoninus Pius Drachm), is sadly not among those illustrated. It was acquired by August Voirol (1884-1967), from whose collection it passed to Frank Sternberg (1912-1994), whose collection & inventory overlapped, and then to the “AK Collection,” eventually sold at Triton IX (Lot 448, part). As usual for “A.K. Collection” coins, it was illustrated in Wendelin Kellner‘s (2009) Die Münzstätte Alexandria in Ägypten: Teil 7, Abb. 26. (Incidentally, Kellner [1931-2023] was a cataloger at Sternberg’s firm in Zurich…..)
As he comments on p. 23, the coin was likely worn as a medallion (“als Amulett“). Interestingly, I would add, the placement of the piercings on Alexandrian Drachms indicates that they were worn with the reverse as the “face” of the amulet (i.e., even when the obv/rev orientation is not 12h, the holes are still typically at 9h & 3h on the reverse, and if either design is pierced, it’s almost always the portrait/obverse).

Carrying the Family Legacy to New York after the War

SALTON-SCHLESSINGER 27 = Mark M. Salton-Schlessinger (NY) Fixed Price List No. 27 (Fall 1958).

Ex BCD Library Duplicates (Jacquier 49 [2021], 940 [part] & 48 [2020], 1069 [unsold])

16 pp., incl. covers & 1 pl. 427 Lots, ~280 ancient singles (Greek, RIC, a few ea. Imperatorial, RPC, Byz), incl. a section of 50 Greek AE ex-Lockett Collection, incl. >4 ex-Grantley, + mult. AR ex-SNG Lockett. Many other notable provenances, quite exceptional for an FPL or Auction catalog of the time. (Unfortunately not as well ill. as one would like, and without weights.)
[Fitzwilliam Coll., Catalogs, S]
Also in my library: Salton MBS 19 (ex ANS Library) & FPL 30 (ex BCD Library).

Note: The covers show us several interesting things about Mark Salton as a numismatist and as a person: Although he changed his name from Max Schlessinger to Mark Salton upon immigration to the US after the war, he reportedly regretted having done so (see Kampmann 2020: p. 56). Here, he uses Salton-Schlessinger.

The context is important (see also Kampmann 2020: p. 64): By using Salton-Schlessinger, he not only associates himself personally with his family (German Jews killed at Auschwitz, see Schlessinger 15 below), but with their business and numismatic tradition. Now in New York, he describes the firm on the cover of his FPLs as “Formerly Berlin-Amsterdam” (the latter being the final location of Felix Schlessinger’s firm in exile) and as “Numismatists since 1898.”
(See also the Traverso-Martini catalog above, re: similarities with Schulmans.)

Three coins from FPL 27 in my collection:

• No. 63 (Athens “New Style” AR Tetradrachm) = Ex Count de Laval Collection (my copy above; online via archive: Glendining’s [“Nobleman,” 18 April 1955], Lot 408.1) = Thompson 540d.3 (this coin cited on p. 204) = Jackson-Jacobs Coll., ex Salton Collection, Part I (Stack’s NYINC [14 Jan 2022], Lot 4268) [see also: Provenance Coins, Part I: W. Greek];
• No. 133 (Elagabalus AE of Seleucis, Laodicea) = RPC VI 8177 (no. 23 & “digital plate coin”) = Jackson-Jacobs Coll., ex Salton Collection (Künker 378 [21 Oct 2022], Lot 6739). Although no weight or photo is given for this coin in the list, it is highly probable they are one and the same coin (but an identical reference to Hunterian, “MacD.III.207.40,” graded “Abt. E.F.” — hard to imagine another one, especially since Provincials were a small part of the collection/stock) [see also: Provenance Coins, Part III: RPC].
• No. 56 (group listing) Alexander III Drachm, SNG Lockett 1501, Alexander the Great Drachm (“E.F.”), “Ex Lockett Collection, illustrated in Syll. Num. Graecorum. [$10.00].” The Saltons retained at least 10 other SNG Lockett Alexander Drachms that appeared in Part I of the collection sold by Stack’s, Jan 2023 (though the cataloger only noted 3 of 11 as such)! Notice that Nos. 54, 57, and 58 are also ex Lockett. There were also many bronze coins listed. Salton was clearly one of the largest buyers at the Lockett sales. (See above for my copies of the Lockett sales.)

Notes: As happens with dealer-collectors (e.g., Lindgren, Hirsch), boundaries between Salton’s “stock” and “collection” were highly permeable — if they existed at all. There were surely more, but I’ve noticed >5 coins just from this FPL alone (presumably unsold) remaining in the Salton Collection, incl. the three noted by Stacks (NYINC, 2022): No. 67 = Lot 4318 (Mithradates VI Tet., later Triton XXVI, 184); No. 7 = Lot 4366 (AV Daric); No. 38 = Lot 4095 (Rhegion Drachm).

Final Issue Before the Nazis Invaded

SCHLESSINGER 15 = FELIX SCHLESSINGER [Auction 15]. Collection Baron Albert de la Chapelle, Helsingfors: Russian Coins. Greek and Roman Gold Coins (Amsterdam, 31 Jan – 1 Feb 1939).

Ex-American Numismatic Society (ANS) Library Duplicates;

25 pp., 642 lots, 3 plates (all ancient, Greek & Roman AV).
[Spring 661; see also: Kampmann (2020, Origins), p. 71.]
Rare recent sale of a comparable copy: Poinsignon Library, Part III (Kunker 357, 7 Dec 2021) 4632.

[See also Salton-Schlessinger 27 above.]

The important final sale of Felix Schlessinger while in exile in Amsterdam. In 1940, the Nazis invaded The Netherlands and Felix and his wife Hedwig were deported to concentration camps. Both were finally killed at Auschwitz in 1944. Over the course of decades, their son, Mark Salton-Schlessinger, having narrowly survived, recovered many coins looted from the family business. (See Mark Salton-Schlessinger’s FPL 27 above.) The betrayal is perhaps even greater for Felix’s distinguished military service in the first World War.
One of the pieces of literature I revere most, being especially interested in the consequences of WWII and the Holocaust for the ancient coin market and its key figures.
A lovely little catalog with delicate tissue-guarded plates, it is among the more poignant numismatic documents of the era.
(See also the Traverso-Martini catalog above, re: similarities with Schulmans.)

From the Epic Christensen Catalog Library
(with an Owl Tet)

DOUGLAS WEAVER RARE COINS (Cleburne, TX) FPL Vol. 1 Num. 2 (November 1975).

Ex BCD Library Duplicates;
Ex Henry Christensen (1915-1979) Library, addressed & postmarked 24 Oct 1975;
Ex William “Bill” Christensen (d. 2009) Library;
The Christensens were known for their library which reportedly incl. 250 boxes of sale catalogs in 1979 (Christensen MBS 70 [to PDF]) — “a nice library of books, but what [Bill] had in great quantity were auction catalogs. Tons–literally,” which were eventually sold to “well-known literature dealer” (Fred Schwan, E-Sylum 12 [31]: 22 [2009]). On Christensen, see Pete Smith (2022), American Numismatic Biographies, page 74, Martin Gengerke (2009), American Numismatic Auctions, pp. 103-105, and my Provenance Glossary.

Cataloged by Tom Stanton (then the new VP of World Coins & Currency).
Discovered one of my Athens Tetradrachms was Lot 698, also ex-HJB FPL #2, 80, Fall of 1974, ill. on p. 40. It came with no provenance from Morton & Eden 104 (London, 14 Nov 2019), 69.

SELECTED RUNS OF AUCTIONS, PRICE LISTS & BUY-BID SALES

Lindgren‘s Firm

ANTIOCH ASSOCIATES (Henry Clay Lindgren). 47 of 50 Mail Bid Sales (1994-2004) & ~60 FPLs & “Discount Lists” (1995-2004). (Plus partial duplicate set.)

Ex RBW Library, w/ occasional yellow post-it notes, his name & address on some FPL mailing labels;
Acq. from Bryce Brown.

MBS Nos. 3-6, 8-50; missing only 1, 2, and 7.
The FPLs are unillustrated but useful as they include some coins published in the Lindgren volumes, w/ ref. nos. & cited as “this coin.” (FPLs were simultaneously published in The Celator.)

My set of Lindgren‘s books (illustrating many of the coins) includes signed copies of vols. 1 & 3, one with K. Krizan’s bookplate, another from the library of A. Milavic (plus some duplicates).

The June 1993 announcement of Antioch Associates’ formation (The Celator 7 [6]: p. 24) described the firm’s purpose as to sell coins from the Lindgren Collection and duplicates. (Parcels from his collection were also sold directly by CNG and Kovacs.) These included not only the Greek & Roman Provincial Bronzes for which the collection is famous (having been published in three books), but ancient coins ranging from Greek silver to Byzantine in all metals.
However, since some sales noted that “the coins listed in this sale are all from my personal collection” (e.g., FPL 96, pub. in The Celator 18 [5, May 2004]: p.15), we may surmise that Antioch Associates may have begun selling “non-collection” coins at some point. Or maybe he only meant to distinguish “collection coins” and “collection duplicates”?
In MBS 31 (13 Oct 2000) Lindgren announced the cancellation of plans for a Lindgren Vol. IV & the sale of those coins. List 64 (The Celator 15 [10, October 2001]: p. 29) explained: “I have decided to tum over to Antioch Associates the group of some four thousand Greek and Roman Colonial bronze coins thot I have been acquiring for Lindgren IV. Antioch Associates will be including these coins in their advertisements from now on… Henry Clay Lindgren.”

My collection includes more than a dozen Lindgren coins, at least ten published in his books & at least two or three intended for the fourth volume. Of those, I’ve found three illustrated in Antioch Associates catalogs, including two in MBS 15, 100 (Otacilia, Nicomedia, Lindgren I 177 = RPC Temp 20007.5) & 150 (Gordian III, Tarsus, Lindgren I 1635 = RPC 3060.29).

Those two are among the few “plate coins” for which I have both a signed copy of the book and well-provenanced copy of their sale catalog. (See also: Elagabalus, Nikopolis, Antioch Associaties MBS 42, 72).
(See also Malloy XXXIII above & Provenance Glossary.)

Modern Classic Buy-Bid Series

The Best Ongoing Booklet-Size FPL Series

KIRK DAVIS – Over 50 total catalogs, majority of FPLs between Spring 1995 [10] & Fall 2024 [Catalog 84].

36 of them Ex Warren W. Esty, acq. by CJJ 2021.
A few older lists gifted by Kirk Davis w/ purchase of other auction catalogs.
Remainder mailed to CJJ or CSJ from Kirk Davis’ customer/mailing list.

In 2002 Kirk Davis wrote in his FPL 40: “In this era of websites and full color auction catalogues, the modest fixed-price list of the small dealers [… is] in danger of going the way of the dinosaur.”
He was right about other catalogs but, 20 years later, new issues of his catalog are still being mailed out regularly. Over those years, quality has only improved — material, cataloging, and production.
It is one of the last great exemplars of its genre, the booklet-size FPL. I’m always proud to have a coin that once appeared in a Kirk Davis FPL.

Davis catalogs of recent years have given more provenance info than almost any other FPLs I know, including introducing several noteworthy collections for the first time, such as James Gilman & WCM Collections (both introduced in FPL 78, above; both later appeared in CNG Auctions: 120 & e-Auction 516 [JG]; e-Auctions 450, 460, 487, 496, 518 [WCM]).

In addition to occasional distinguished old collection and “plate coins,” there is a notable preponderance of ex-BCD coins (esp. FPLs 46, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 60, 61, 78), mostly duplicates but also many from the major BCD sale catalogs, and some making initial appearances (e.g.: “Ex: BCD collection: both lots offered here from Tegea were acquired by the collector too late for inclusion in the main BCD Peloponnesos sale (LHS 96). As a result, they were handed to me by BCD for inclusion in this Catalogue of Ancient Coins #51.”).

Sometimes one gets second chances in ancient coins:
In Fall 2021, I was very tempted by the pedigreed Thessaly Obol below (photo by CNG) in Kirk Davis 78 (Lot 25, shown above), but it didn’t fit my budget; when it appeared again at CNG 120 (11 May 2022), Lot 191, I didn’t hesitate. (Being an incurable “papyrophile,” the old tags, BCD’s photos, etc., were very welcome.)
For the elephant denarius below, I just missed the closing time at Triskeles 28 (21 Jun 2019), Lot 260 [VAuctions 338]. I was thrilled to see it again in Davis 74 (Fall 2019), Lot 65, with an eminently reasonable markup. I emailed within minutes of USPS delivering the catalog.

KEN DORNEY (Redding, CA). 9 of final 12 lists. [Gallery of quick group photos I took when they arrived.]

Gift of Ken Dorney, 2021.

List 35 (n.d., reprinted?) [do I recognize Lots 107 & 113 from a late JSD list?]; List 38 (BBS, 27 June [1997]); List 39 (BBS, 22 August 1997); List 40 (BBS, 3 November [1997]); List 41 (BBS, 12 February 1998); List 42 (3 April 1998); List 44 (10 August 1998); List 45 (BBS, 12 October 1998); List 46 (BBS, 19 February 1999) – the final published list!
Missing: 36, 37, 43.
Glossy magazine-sized catalogs, ~150-250 lots, most-to-all illustrated (B&W plates), mixed Greek, RRC, RIC, RPC, Byzantine (incl. AE), & antiquities. Sometimes a few groups. Final list includes some inline ill. plus plates. Some carryover list-to-list. Ken’s appreciation of large bronze is often apparent!

Rare & fascinating for the contemporary commentary (start, sometimes the end) during an important transitional period in the history of the numismatic market, during the rise of eBay and other online venues, some now long gone (e.g., numismatists.com). KWD was an early adopter (even while still printing mail catalogs) at a time when many held out against internet sales.
(Still doing a seemingly brisk business & taking advantage of new media 25 years later! His Youtube page is active with many nice clips of current inventory — if he added titles to make them searchable it could become a useful tool for looking up how coin types look in hand, since these days many people have only seen most types in photos.)

Important Series for Alexandrian

EMPIRE AUCTIONS (Dennis Kroh). 11 of the 12 Auction Catalogs w/ ancient coins (13-18 are literature, not included: >80 FPLs).

Ex TAB Library (Todd Ballen);
Ex Kirk Davis Duplicates: Auction 7 & several duplicates

A remarkable series for Alexandrian coins, including the Gordon Dickie (1924-2006) Collection & many coins from the Col. James Curtis (1913-1994) collection. Also packed with superb Greek and Roman Imperial coins. A little known series, but many great coins passed through Kroh’s hands in the 1980s. He’s also well known for his classic bibliography of ancient coin books.
(I haven’t yet properly annotated the new group from the TAB Library for my catalog library page.)

Several of my Alexandrian Tetradrachm from the Thomas Beniak Collection appeared in Empire Auction 8 or Auction 7. (The Julia Mamaea appeared in both! See also: Maximinus, Gordian III, Numerian)

Ex BCD and AGM

Malloy FPLs from ANS & Private Collector Libraries

ALEX G. MALLOY (Salem, NY). >60 Fixed Price Lists of Ancient & Medieval Coins, Antiquities & Literature, 1969-1997.

Acquired primarily in two groups of 30+ catalogs:
1. Ex ANS Library Duplicates, ex Michael Shubin (1950-2008) Library, many stamped & posted w/ his address label;
2. Ex Frederick L. Freeman (1945-2021, Albuquerque, NM) Library, previously Jack W. Reed (1923-2007, Albuquerque, NM) Library.

(Haven’t posted my bio yet, but Jack Reed was a military meteorologist, nicknamed “Weather Wizard,” who famously investigated the feasibility of nuking hurricanes as part of Project Plowshare! [National Interest 8 Oct 2016.] Also 1975-6 President of Alburquerque NM Coin Club & enthusiastic collector of Spanish Colonial & British Coins. [His archived coin page & personal website.])

Malloy created a veritable collectibles empire. Even without considering his publications on baseball cards, art, books, and other collectibles, he produced numerous different series of numismatic sale catalogs. Included here is my partial set of his blue (Ancient) & yellow (Medieval, incl. Byzantine) booklet-size lists, and four Hold History in Your Hand lists (1992-1997), a special list on The Antioch Hoard, eight Ancient (and Medieval) Art & Antiquities lists, and some others.

As noted in my Catalog Library annotations (only partially complete, many more to add), these catalogs are valuable for many coins provenanced to important recent sales, often with photos of coins that were unillustrated and minimally described in their original catalogs, including John Quincy Adams (at least 57 or 103), Mabbott, and many others.

I’ve found lost provenances for two of my coins in these catalogs. H.C. Lindgren was a frequent buyer. He probably intended the Lucius Verus above, from Antiochia (Caria), for his fourth volume on Greek & Roman Provincial bronzes, which was never published. Ex Malloy FPL LIV, 1988, Nr. 220, Pl. VI & P. 21. Interestingly, both misidentified it as Commodus!
The Antioch AE was No. 527 in FPL XXIX, No. 527 (1972). Over 40 years later, I got it in a group lot with no provenance (but Malloy’s distinctive sq. blue coin envelope).

MUCH MORE TO POST:
SELECTED SINGLE FPLs & SHORT RUNS

VARIOUS Additional single catalogs or small groups (ex BCD Library, RBW Library, Brunk, Malloy, and others).

From auction listing in BCD Library Duplicates sale:
“Note from BCD: This writer considers himself fortunate to have met some of the people that issued these lists. Sadly, they are not with us anymore and it is about time the numismatic community does something significant in their memory so that they will always be remembered.”

ANS Duplicates: Malter I (inscribed to Seltman); Malloy FPLs (addressed to Shubin, plus another portion ex F. Freeman et al.) plus coins.
Others addressed to Alex G. Malloy: Pegasi 35 FPLs, 1984-1994; substantial run of C. & L. DeLand (Ft. Worth, TX) FPLs, 1969-1976 (23 of 30 known); scattered others.
More ex Esty: Near-complete run of ANTIQVA FPLs, possibly the highest-quality series ever, completed w/ a few ex-BCD & purchased from Kolbe & Fanning.
Some more of the ex-BCDs: Argos, Barton, Cederlind (96, 98, 99), Classical Arts, De Land, Fountainhead of Fine Coins, Gans-NFA, Hamidi, Herring, House of Constantine, Kritt, Link, Myers, Salton-Schlessinger, Warden, World-Wide Coins of California. + Many more.
Many more ex-RBW, just a few here: Several substantial runs of catalogs: Christian Blom (X38), Frank S. Robinson (X60+). Small runs of notable series like Frank Kovacs, as well as lesser-known sellers: Ansellem, Art of Money (Bettinger), B&D, Decus (Clarke), Linzalone, Luigi, Meridian, Truscott, Vigeur, Welsh, Werner. + more. Many w/ his usual yellow post-it notes & occasional correspondence.
Some rare & some from multiple libraries: Many BCD Duplicates addressed to Malloy, Malter, F.S. Robinson, North East Coin Co., Fountainhead, and other dealers or collectors. Luigi Pighi (Casteldario [Mantova], Italy) X13 of first 28 (1953-1961), among a group of old Italian sales acq. by RBW from BCD (c. 1980s, I believe). Originally addressed to Prof. Enrico Rivoire (Brescia) or Circolo Numismatico Modenese (Modena). Could BCD have acquired these ones along w/ the “rare catalogues” he bought from “lawyer and serious numismatic literature collector, Pier Luigi Grossi” (1927-2008) — member of il Circolo, I would expect — when “visiting him in his impressive library in Modena”?
Some other series of catalogs + coins yet to post…

NOTE re: initials & Jackson-Jacobs Library: CJJ refers to me (Curtis Jackson-Jacobs), CSJ is my father; sometimes I indicate which of us bought which book. They usually end up in the same place, but our buying habits differ (e.g., he cares less about previous owners, but I usually try to figure out what I can about his).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I’ve MOVED the Bibliography to my page for the “Full List” of Sale Catalogs, now that’s up and running. It includes at least few entries for each of the following (with my brief comments, summaries, or reviews):

BIBLIOGRAPHY, including: Collection sites; Print volumes (some online w/ links); Print volumes I do NOT own (and haven’t reviewed); Other literature available online (linked).

If you use old catalogs for research or simply enjoy them, you’ll find it well worth your while to explore the bibliographic literature. Short of a lifetime of relationships with numismatic professionals, I can think of no better way to learn the history of the ancient coin market, its key figures, and its relationship to other institutions, than by exploring the bibliography of sale catalogs (Spring 2009 is extraordinary, especially for Europe and UK; for the U.S., Fanning 2020 is splendid, packed with even more historical narrative).

Personally, I find no end of use for, and enjoyment in, my small library of numismatic bibliography. If you don’t want to or can’t invest in the books now, don’t despair, there’s plenty of useful and fascinating material online (hint: David Fanning made his excellent 2020 book available from Internet Archive; I ordered a signed copy from him for my collection, but I usually use the digital copy to read).

Change Log:

Updates: 15 Apr 2025 (JQA, Malter I, Malloy FPLs); 4 Apr 2025 (several new additions, some deletions of minor entries); 28 Mar 2025 (Traverso, took me a while to post, but I love this catalog!); 25 Mar 2025 (Zeno); 24 Mar 2025 (updated BCD & Hunt, few others); 8-9 Jan 2024 (updates re: BCD catalogs, Benz, Mabbott, Niggeler); 9 Aug 2023 (Mabbott 2045); 14 May 2023 (Salton FPL 27); 23 Feb 2023 (Lockett II); 26 Jan 2023 (Lockett XII ex Bastien); 13 Jan 2023 (Ashburnham ex Benson, CCE 59 ex BCD Lib.); 18 Nov 2022 (updates from BCD Lib. sale 2022, Bement Greek ex-ANS Duplicates, Malloy & Classical Cash ex-FORVM); 7 Nov 2022 (updates re: the name Kunstfreundes sale now at Kolbe-Fanning 165, 10); 10-13 Aug 2022 (new catalogs received); 27 Jul 2022 (moved the Bibliography to Catalog Library); 17 Jul 2022 (new catalogs just won at Lanz Lib. Sale IV, in transit); 4 Jul 2022 (page created).