Coin Collectors

The first coin collector is said to have been Augustus. During the Renaissance, it became a fad among some members of the privileged classes, especially kings and queens.

A coin collector is different from a numismatist, which is someone who studies coins. Many collectors are also numismatists, but some are not. Likewise, not all numismatists collect coins themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coin_collectors

• Caesar Augustus 63 BC – 14 AD According to Suetonius, he gave "coins of every device, including old pieces of the kings and foreign money" as Saturnalia gifts.
• Pope Boniface VIII 1230 – 1303
• Giovanni Mansionario died 1337 Collected Roman imperial coins
• Francesco Petrarch 1304 – 1374 Presented some of his Roman coins to Emperor Charles IV
• Francesco I da Carrara 1325 – 1393 Collected Roman imperial coins
• Jean, duc de Berry 1340 – 1416 Commissioned copies of the medals in his collection
• Alfonso V of Aragon 1396 – 1458 Had a collection of ancient coins which had been discovered in Italy; carried them with him in an ivory cabinet
• Leonello d'Este 1407 – 1450 Collected Greek and Roman coins
• Pope Paul II 1417 – 1471 Collected ancient coins, and had about a hundred gold and a thousand silver coins; "was able at a glance to tell where an ancient coin came from"
• Julius Pomponius Laetus 1428 – 1498
• Matthias Corvinus 1443 – 1490
• Lorenzo de' Medici 1449 – 1492 Purchased coins that had been in Pope Paul II's collection
• Maximilian I 1459 – 1519
• Guillaume Budé 1467 – 1540 Wrote De Asse et Partibus Eius (1514) on Roman coins and measures
• Cuthbert Tunstall 1474 – 1559
• Ferdinand I 1503 – 1564 Collected Roman coins
• Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg 1505 – 1571 Established the Berlin Coin Cabinet
• Catherine Parr 1512 – 1548
• Andrew Perne 1519 – 1589 Bequeathed his collection to the Fitzwilliam Museum
• Alessandro Farnese 1520 – 1589 Owner of the Farnese collection
• Albert V, Duke of Bavaria 1528 – 1579 Collection is in the Bavarian State Coin Collection
• Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria1529 – 1595 The cabinets in which he stored his coins are today kept in the Vienna Coin Cabinet and at Ambras Castle
• Abraham Gorlaeus 1549 – 1608 His collection of 30,000 coins and medals was purchased by Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
• Wenceslas Cobergher 1560 – 1634 Collected Roman coins
• Robert Cotton 1571 – 1631 Collection is in the British Museum
• Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales 1594 – 1612 Purchased Abraham Gorlaeus' collection
• Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha 1601 – 1675
• John Greaves 1602 – 1652 Left his coins, "which he had collected in Italy and the East," to Sir John Marsham
• Christina, Queen of Sweden 1626 – 1689 Had a collection of more than 15,000 coins; marked her coins with a monogram stamp
• Louis XIV of France 1638 – 1715 Said to have instructed his ambassadors to look out for ancient coins.
• Jacob de Wilde 1645 – 1721
• Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 1646 – 1691 His diaries reveal that he "enjoyed making an inventory of his coins and arranging them in order"
• Antoine Galland 1646 – 1715 Purchased ancient coins on his visits to the Middle East
• Anton Günther II, Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen-Arnstadt 1653 – 1716 Sold his collection to raise the money needed to become an Imperial Prince
• Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke 1656 – 1733 Collection auctioned in 1848 with 1500 lots
• Hans Sloane 1660 – 1753 Collection is in the British Museum
• Roger Gale 1672 – 1744 Bequeathed his collection to the Fitzwilliam Museum
• Richard Mead 1653 – 1754 Collection auctioned in 1755
• Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg 1676 – 1732 Purchased collection of Anton Günther II, Count of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen-Arnstadt
• George II of Great Britain 1683 – 1760 Purchased Andrew Gifford's collection
• William Stukeley 1687 – 1765
• Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer 1689 – 1741 Collected Greek, Roman and English coins; collection auctioned in 1742
• Joseph Ames 1689 – 1759
• Martin Folkes 1690 – 1754 Collection auctioned in 1756
• Thomas Martin of Palgrave 1697 – 1771
• William Richardson 1698 – 1775 Collected British, Roman, and English coins
• Andrew Gifford 1700 – 1784 Collection purchased by George II
• Pieter Teyler van der Hulst 1702 – 1778 Collection formed the basis of the Coin and Medal Room of the Teylers Museum
• George North 1707 – 1772 Collected English coins
• Francis I 1708 – 1765 His collecting emphasized modern coins
• Louis Günther II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 1708 – 1790
• Andrew Ducarel 1713 – 1785 Collection auctioned in 1785
• Charlotte Sophie of Aldenburg 1715 – 1800 Collected Greek and Roman coins
• Andrew Eliot 1718 – 1778 Collected New England silver coins
• William Hunter 1718 – 1783 Established the Hunter Coin Cabinet in the University of Glasgow
• Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham 1730 – 1782 Collected Roman imperial coins
• Oluf Gerhard Tychsen 1734 – 1815 Wrote Introductio in rem numariam muhammedanorum in 1794, the first scholarly manual of Islamic numismatics
• Pierre Eugene du Simitiere 1737 – 1784 Collection auctioned in 1785, making it the earliest known coin auction sale in the United States
• Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria 1738 – 1789 Inherited her love of numismatics from her father, Emperor Francis I
• George III of the United Kingdom 1738 – 1820 Contributed to the collection in the Hunter Coin Cabinet
• Johan Frans Podolyn 1739 – 1784 Collection of more than 6000 coins
• William I, Elector of Hesse 1743– 1821
• Thomas Jefferson 1743 – 1826 Acquired contemporary European issues through his travels abroad
• Mayer Amschel Rothschild 1744– 1812
• Sarah Sophia Banks 1744 – 1818 Collection shared between the British Museum and the Royal Mint Museum
• Kutsuki Masatsuna 1750 – 1802 Collection now in the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum
• Jacob Georg Christian Adler 1756 – 1834 Collection is in the University of Rostock
• John Quincy Adams 1767 – 1848 Collection auctioned by the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1971
• Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom 1768 – 1840 Collected English and German coins
• George Robert Ainslie 1776 – 1839 Wrote Illustrations of the Anglo-French Coinage in 1830
• William Martin Leake 1777 – 1860 Collection purchased for £5,000 in 1864 by the Fitzwilliam Museum
• August Otto Rühle von Lilienstern 1780 – 1847 Collection is in the Oriental Coin Cabinet Jena
• John Doherty 1785 – 1850
• Christian VIII of Denmark 1786 – 1848 Collection is in the National Museum of Denmark
• Joaquín Rubio y Muñoz 1788 – 1874 Collection is in the National Museum of Denmark and the National Archaeological Museum of Spain
• Caspar Reuvens 1793 – 1835 Collection is in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
• Claude Auguste Court 1793 – 1880 One of the first Europeans to become interested in the coins of South Asia
• Frédéric Soret 1795 – 1865 Collection is in the Oriental Coin Cabinet Jena and the Bavarian State Coin Collection
• John Gardner Wilkinson 1797 – 1875 Bequeathed his collection to Harrow School
• Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer 1801 – 1888 Collection is in the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft
• Pieter Otto van der Chijs 1802 – 1867 Director of the coin cabinet of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
• Louis Félicien de Saulcy 1807 – 1880 Collected Jewish coins obtained during his travels in Palestine; wrote Recherches sur la numismatique judaïque (1854), illustrated with coins from his collection
• Ernst Heinrich Meier 1813 – 1866 Collection purchased by the University of Tübingen
• Edward Clive Bayley 1821 – 1884 Collected Indian coins
• Hermann Weber 1823 – 1918 Collected Greek coins
• Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia 1827 – 1892 Collected Russian coins
• Byron Reed 1829 – 1891 Bequeathed his collection to the city of Omaha, where it resides in the Durham Museum
• Adriaan Justus Enschedé 1829 – 1896 Bequeathed his collection to the Teylers Museum
• Georg Bühler 1837 – 1898 Collection is in the Bode Museum
• Frank John Joseph 1838 – 1895 Reportedly had one of the finest private collections of coins and medals in North America, worth an estimated $30000 at his death
• José Gerson da Cunha 1844 – 1900 Collection included more than 27,000 pieces
• Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 1844 – 1921 Collection auctioned in 1928
• Gustave Schlumberger 1844 – 1929 Collected Crusader coins
• Samuel Mills Damon 1845 – 1924 Collection auctioned in 2006 for $3.9 million
• Robert Wallace McLachlan 1845 – 1926 The "Dean" of Canadian numismatics and VP of American Numismatic Association. Collection acquired by Chateau de Ramezay in Montreal and later most of it by Bank of Canada Museum
• Samuel Jean de Pozzi 1846 – 1918 Collection auctioned in 1921
• Gerald Ephraim Hart 1849 – 1936 Formed several outstanding collections of Canadian coins, tokens, medals, books and historical documents prior to 1900
• Francis W. Doughty 1850 – 1917 Collection auctioned in 1891 with 1539 lots
• Heinrich von Siebold 1852 – 1908 Collection is in the Oriental Coin Cabinet Jena
• Eduard Glaser 1855 – 1908 Collection is in the Bode Museum
• Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy 1858 – 1916 Collection auctioned in 1913
• George Hubbard Clapp 1858 – 1949 Donated collection of 1543 large cents to the American Numismatic Society
• Milan Rešetar 1860 – 1942 Inherited and expanded his father's coin collection; wrote the two-volume Dubrovačka numizmatika
• Henry A. Greene 1861 – 1950 Collection of Greek coins purchased by the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in 1940
• Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia 1863 – 1919 Portion of collection is in the Smithsonian Institution
• Ernest Robinson Ackerman 1863 – 1931 Collection auctioned in 1931
• Frederick Parkes Weber 1863 – 1962 Inherited an interest in coin collecting from his father, Sir Hermann Weber
• William A. Ashbrook 1867 – 1940 Majority of his collection stolen in 1919
• William H. Woodin 1868 – 1934 Collected pattern coins
• Edward Howland Robinson Green 1868 – 1936 Owned a Brasher Doubloon; at the time of his death, his collection was worth an estimated $5 million
• Edgar Adams 1868 – 1940 Editor of The Numismatist
• Victor Emmanuel III of Italy 1869 – 1947 Collection of over 100,000 coins is in the National Museum of Rome; also wrote a 20-volume Corpus *Nummorum Italicorum, which catalogued each specimen in his collection.
• William Walter Coulthard Wilson 1869 – 1924 VP of American Numismatic Association, donated The Numismatist to A.N.A. and had one of the two finest collections of Canadian coins
• Farran Zerbe 1871 – 1949 President of the American Numismatic Association from 1908 to 1910.
• Enrico Caruso 1873 – 1921 Collection auctioned in 1923
• John Abner Snell 1880 – 1936 Collection of Chinese coins auctioned in 2011
• Eduard Kann 1880 – 1962 Austrian banker who went to work in China in 1901. Author of the first systematic catalog of Chinese coinage 'Illustrated catalog of Chinese coins (gold, silver, nickel and aluminium)' . Collection auctioned in 1970s and in 2000.
• Frank Stenton 1880 – 1967 Collection is at the University of Reading
• Herbert Ives 1882 – 1953 Served as President of the American Numismatic Society
• Arthur W. Hummel, Sr. 1884 – 1975 Passed collection of Chinese coins on to his son Arthur W. Hummel, Jr.
• Jerome Kern 1885 – 1945 Collection auctioned in 1950
• Adolphe Menjou 1890 – 1963 Collection auctioned in 1957
• Josiah K. Lilly Jr. 1893 – 1966 Collection of 6125 gold coins donated to the Smithsonian Institution
• Louis E. Eliasberg 1896 – 1976 Put together the only complete collection of United States coins ever assembled
• Robert L. Hendershott 1898 – 2005
• Joseph Douglas Ferguson 1901 – 1981 First Canadian to be President of American Numismatic Association, Honorary President of C.N.A. and had the finest collection of Canadian tokens, coins and currency, purchased by Bank of Canada Museum in 1963 and medals at the Glenbow Museum
• Richard S. Yeoman 1904 – 1988 Wrote A Guide Book of United States Coins
• Oscar H. Dodson 1905 – 1996 Kept a collection of ancient Greek coins with him while serving on board the USS Hornet in 1942
• Keith Bullen 1906 – 1976
• Buddy Ebsen 1908 – 2003 Owned a $4 Stella; co-founded the Beverly Hills Coin Club
• Philip Grierson 1910 – 2006 Bequeathed his collection of medieval coins to the Fitzwilliam Museum
• Arne E. Holm 1911 – 2009 Collection is in the NTNU Museum of Natural History and Archaeology
• Eric P. Newman 1911 – 2017 Collection sold over five auctions in 2013–2014 for almost $55 million
• John Jay Pittman 1913 – 1996 President of A.N.A. 1971-73 and C.N.A., massive collection of high-quality US and World gold and silver coins sold by David Akers in auctions from 1997 to 1999
• Farouk I of Egypt 1920 – 1965 Collection included a 1933 double eagle, and was sold by auction for a fraction of its real value in 1954 after Farouk's overthrow
• Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. 1920 – 2001 Inherited collection of Chinese coins from his father Arthur W. Hummel, Sr.
• Chris Schenkel 1923 – 2005 Collection auctioned in 1990 with 3404 lots
• Chester Krause 1923 – 2016 Started collecting when his aunts gave him some Whitman coin boards.
• Russell Rulau 1926 – 2012 Coined the term "exonumia"
• Nelson Bunker Hunt 1926 – 2014 Collected Greek and Roman coins; collection auctioned off in 1990 and 1991 as a result of his bankruptcy
• Jerome Remick 1928 – 2005 Edited The Guide Book and Catalogue of the British Commonwealth Coins; established the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association's Jerome H. Remick III Literary Award in 1995
• Harry W. Bass, Jr. 1927 – 1998 Collection resides in the American Numismatic Association Money Museum
• Kenneth Bressett born 1928 Collects Chinese and Japanese coins as well as ancient Greek silver coins
• David Gee 1929 – 2013 Collected Australian coins
• William Herbert Hunt born 1929 Collected Byzantine coins; collection auctioned off in 1990 and 1991 as a result of his bankruptcy
• Johnny Cash 1932 – 2003 Collected Greek and Romans coins
• Jerry Buss 1933 – 2013 Owned a 1913 Liberty Head nickel and an 1804 dollar
• Q. David Bowers born 1938 Began collecting at age 13 and became a coin dealer at age 14
• Walter J. Husak born 1942 Collection of 301 large cents auctioned in 2008 for $10.7 million
• Gregg Bingham born 1951 Owned an extensive collection of commemorative half dollars and a complete collection of Morgan dollars
• Andre Dawson born 1954 Collection auctioned in 1998 for over $6 million
• Jo Nambiar born 1961 As an antique collector and numismatist, Nambiar has one of the largest collections of ancient coins and rare currencies in India. It is an asset that the Reserve Bank of India recognizes and borrows from for its annual “Coins and Currencies” exhibition
• Paul Hollis born 1972 Began collecting at the age of six