As the current owner of the most famous rare coin from the most famous collection of rare U. S. coins ever assembled, I would like to pay my respects to the man who accomplished what almost everyone thought was impossible. I am referring to my purchase of the finest known 1913 Liberty Head nickel {the Eliasberg/Lee specimen} for about $3 million on July 31, 2003, which was the highlight of the only complete collection of U.S. coins. Another highlight was an exceptional example of the famous 1804 silver dollar. The 1913 Liberty nickels are three times rarer than the 1804 silver dollars, and nearly all agree that these are the top two rare coins in the world.

Although it took decades of hard work and about $4 million, Louis Eliasberg did what no man ever did before and what no man will ever be able to do in the future. He tracked down and acquired one example of each and every rare U. S. coin, including all the denominations, dates and coins from all U.S. Mints.

He began his collection in 1925, accelerated his collecting in 1934, and completed it in 1950, which was 157 years after this nation struck its first coins for circulation in 1793. During that time the U.S. struck coins at the following mints: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, Carson City, NV, New Orleans, Charlotte, NC, and Dahlonega, Georgia. In addition, the U.S. minted coins in denominations ranging from a half-cent up to a $50 gold piece. And Eliasberg not only acquired one example of every U.S. coin made, he kept improving the quality as he found superior specimens. He also branched out into ancient and foreign rare coins with an insatiable thirst for these tangible assets that tell the tale of much of our history since 600 B. C. One can accurately say that a great deal of our history was cast in metal as well as stone.

B. Max Mehl, Our Most Famous Dealer

“I plead guilty to being responsible for making this coin so famous, having used it in all my national advertising for a period of about a quarter of a century, during which time it has appeared in advertising totaling an expenditure of well over a million dollars. Certainly, this great coin will prove a most gratifying source of possession to the fortunate owner and also a profitable investment as well.”

A World Class Investment

Little did Mehl know then just how profitable an investment these great rarities would become. In a period of 55 years, the Eliasberg specimen would appreciate in value by about 1,300 times from his cost of $2350 in 1948 to my purchase price of about $3 million in 2003. This ranks it as among the finest investments ever made. If my math is correct that is an average of about 55% p. a. simple gain over a period of 55 years. This is conservative as unprecedented publicity this year has driven the value of every 1913 Liberty nickel way up. The “well over one million” that Mehl spend advertising the 1913 Liberty nickels as the centerpiece of his national marketing campaigns, converts to $8 million in 2003 when adjusted for dollar depreciation. On top of that, the 1913 Liberty nickels were featured in three AOL stories this year alone, going out to about 30 million families each time. Plus countless newspaper, trade journal and TV stories in 2003 also featured our fabled and beloved 1913 Liberty nickels. If anyone ever doubted that these are the most famous coins ever, they should be silent by now.

The Wisdom of Buying Quality and Rarity

As stated in the title of this article, the Elisaberg coin collection cost about $4 million, and when it was sold at public auction, it fetched more than $44 million. Although the entire collection appreciated by 1,000% the top rarities, including the 1804 silver dollar and the 1913 Liberty nickel, appreciated the most. This is why numismatists universally advise people to buy the best that they can afford. This is ageless wisdom even if you buy fewer coins in order to improve the average quality of your collection or portfolio. After all, there will never be another Eliasberg or a complete collection of all U. S. coins. Yet, many can own the finest know examples of any number of coins and almost anyone can afford to own some high quality specimens of whatever they like the most. Coins are the collectible for everyone, especially at current low price levels.

Louis Eliasberg, the Man & His Dream

Louis Eliasberg, was “crowned” the “King of Coin Collectors” in the April 24, 1953 issue of Life Magazine, which featured on its cover the recently crowned Queen Elizabeth of England. Unlike the Queen of England who was born to wealth and fame, Eliasberg did it the old fashioned American way…he earned it all through hard work and smart investments.

Eliasberg was born in Selma, Alabama in 1896. His family moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1907 where family members still reside. He lost his dad early and became the head of his household while still a teen…a hard beginning. According to the Life Magazine story, “he began his career as a runner for a bank.” In 1919 he and his partners invested $35,000 each in the Capital Service Corporation and gained control. They renamed it the Finance Company of America. (By coincidence, this was the same year that the first ads appeared seeking to buy any of the 1913 Liberty nickels.)

He had “been as successful at making money as collecting it. At age 57 he was the millionaire president of a Baltimore commercial banking house.” Upon his retirement the net worth of his company had soared to about $50 million. His business success allowed him to accomplish his unique numismatic success.

According to Life, “for years he attended auctions throughout the country and on one occasion spent $100,000 on a collection. In 1950 two rare coins that would allow him to complete his own U.S. collection were at last put up for sale. [His 1913 Liberty nickel was acquired in 1948 from Abe Kossof in a deal that included Eric Newman.] One was secretly bought for him by Morton Stack a Manhattan coin dealer. Eliasberg himself bought the other and finally became the undisputed king of 25.000 numismatists in the U.S.”

Eliasberg and His Collection Outdraw the Queen

Since the above mentioned issue of Life Magazine featured the newly crowned Queen of England, you would naturally assume that she stole the show. However, the American people thought otherwise. About 7,500 readers wrote to Eliasberg via Life and he personally answered every letter that they forwarded to him. Life reported that only one article in their history prompted more letters, and that was when they ran the story that FDR was trying to stack the Supreme Court. Thus the King of Coins outdrew the Queen of England. How fitting.

Eliasberg on Collecting U.S. Gold Coins
“When, Why and How I Assembled the Most Complete
Collection of United States Coins”

“ I was intrigued by the clause in President Roosevelt’s gold proclamation of March 4, 1933 which excluded from its provisions collectors of rare and unusual gold coins held for numismatic purposes. Feeling a strong desire to own gold I started collecting coins. I realized the only way I could legally acquire gold was by becoming a numismatist. So, in 1934, to the extent of my means, I started buying gold coins as close as I could to the bullion value. I maintained a small book in which I recorded the cost of gold coins I had purchased: the various dates, denominations and mintmarks.”

Although there will never be another Louis Elisaberg, or another complete collection of U.S. coins, millions of Americans can afford some high quality rare U.S. coins as a hedge against a depreciating dollar, and as a form of savings and diversification. {We have to save more so why not enjoy it?} Since coins are the most undervalued of all top collectibles, this is the time to start buying or to add to existing holdings. Our personal financial futures will to some extent be dependent on such a prudent move. Keep in mind that Eliasberg was, if not anything else, a prudent banker who knew a golden opportunity when he saw it.

He Had a Dream

Adding gold coins to his collecting interests seemed to inspire Eliasberg and his dream quickly turned into a mission. The Life article stated that he spent $100,000 on a single collection, but it failed to identify it as the Clapp Collection, which was in it self, extensive. You might say that this collection was to become the cornerstone upon which he built his unique collection.

He put his personal secretary to work to identify all the known coins that were still missing from his growing collection and to try to track them down at auctions or via want lists to top dealers.

In his own words: “We pursued every catalog and submitted what I considered to be fair prices. One of two things happened: either we were successful in our bids, or unsuccessful. If we were unsuccessful, we noted the price at which the coin sold, and the next time a similar coin came on the market we raised our bid to a price we felt would enable us to acquire it.” (Excellent advice for today’s buyers, especially eBay bidders.)

His heirs chose Bowers & Marena to sell off his collection. Their CEO is the same Dave Bowers that announced my acquisition of the Eliasberg Liberty nickel on July 31, 2003. I have a Bowers’ sales catalog from 1975, that features another 1913 Liberty nickel that his firm owned jointly with another rare coin firm. However, in those days they were only asking $300,000 for it. Extremely few people have ever actually owned even part of any of these most famous of American rarities. I don’t believe that B. Max Mehl actually owned one although he did sell one example in his Olson sale. He may have also owned part of one and I will continue to research this.

Due to the size, value and unique nature of the Eliasberg collection, B & M, along with his heirs, decided to sell it via three auctions starting in 1982. The first sale brought $12.4 million. In 1996 the second part was auctioned off for more than $11.6 million. It was in this auction that the Eliasberg/Lee 1913 Liberty nickel sold for $1,450.000, making it the first coin to break the $1 million mark. [Another specimen was the first coin to break the $100,000 mark and that was in 1973.] This #1 world-class rarity has appreciated by about 1300 times in value in 55 years which is almost unbelievable. The final auction in 1997 brought in almost $23 million. Frankly, his family should have kept the entire collection or only sold off a few pieces now and then as it would surely be worth in excess of $100 million today.