I'm surprised this isn't a thread already (And if it is and I didn't find it, you can ban me for a week) Post your coins whose ownership can be traced to a) A famous Numismatist ie: Eliasburg,Pogue b) A famous Person in general ie: George Washington (dismes anyone?) or Brad Pitt. Love to see them!
This gold solidus of the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno (holed in antiquity) was once the centerpiece of my "Holey Gold Hat", which topped off my wearable "Holey Coin" ensemble. It was pedigreed to the famous Louis E. Eliasberg Collection. I've had some other pedigreed coins, some with provenances that were reasonably well known, but it's debatable how "famous". A friend of mine has a Roman Republican denarius from the John Quincy Adams collection. Considering I am a descendant of our sixth president, I really, really want to find a coin with that pedigree for myself.
KINGS OF BOSPORUS, Sauromates II Bosporan Era 495 (CE 198/9) EL stater, 19 mm, 7.72 gm, 12h Obv: BACIΛЄωC CAVPOMATOV; diademed and draped bust of Sauromates right Rev: laureate head of Septimius Severus right; pellet to right; ЄЧV (date) below Ref: Frolova p. 177 and pl. XXXIII, 9-10 (same dies as illustrations); Anokhin 576a; MacDonald 506/2 ex Dr. Lawrence A. Adams collection ex Buddy Ebsen Collection (Superior, 7 June 1987, lot 4114) Dr. Lawrence Adams (1935-2015) was an avid and knowledgable numismatist, collecting gold coins from the entire range of ages, with subspecialties in various areas including coins of the Bosporus. This coin was also formerly owned by a certain beloved hillbilly, Jed Clampett. I guess that's what a millionaire oilman does with his money . Buddy Ebsen (1908-2003), best known as Jed Clampett in the Beverly Hillbillies and later as the title character in Barnaby Jones, was well known as a coin collector. His collection was sold by Superior Coin and Stamp in 1987. I don't have the catalogs but recently spoke to someone who attended that auction; he didn't remember many ancient coins. Apparently Mr. Ebsen was more into US and world coins. A little Buddy Ebsen trivia: He was originally cast as the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz but had a severe allergic reaction to the aluminum-laden makeup, necessitating his withdrawal from the film. Well, that's all for now. Time for some vittles. Y'all come back now, y'hear?
EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian. Regnal year 10, CE 90/91. Æ diobol (25mm, 10.86 g, 12h). AVT KAICAP ΔΟ ΜΙΤ CEB ΓΕΡΜ, laureate head right / Agathodaemon serpent, wearing the skhent crown (emblematic of upper and lower Egypt), on horseback galloping left; L I (date) below. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) –; K&G 24.109; RPC II 2585; SNG Copenhagen 214; Emmett 277.10 (R5). Ex Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection Ex West Coast/Lloyd Beauchaine Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 41, 19 March 1997), lot 1110 Ex Classical Numismatic Review Vol. XVI, No. 1 (January 1991), lot 31 Ex Numismatic Fine Arts Fall Mail Bid Sale (18 October 1990), lot 2365 Appearances: Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 39 (this coin) Obverse illustrated in Emmett as the header for the Domitian section, p. 24 (this coin) Fully illustrated in Emmett, p. 26 (this coin, discussing the unusual reverse). Giovanni Maria Staffieri (b. 1944). After completing his studies at the University of Zürich in 1969, he returned to his hometown to start his own business. After a successful career of 40 years, Giovanni retired in 2009, and was able to concentrate on his various avocations, including numismatics. A life member of the Swiss Numismatic Society since 1966 (a gift from his father), Giovanni started attending meetings of the Society in Zürich on a regular basis in the 1970s, where he would meet Dr. Piero Beretta from Milan. It was Dr. Beretta who introduced him to the Roman coins from the mint of Alexandria in Egypt, and indeed, Giovanni purchased many of his best coins, almost all ex Dattari, from Dr. Beretta. Dr. Beretta, a classical art teacher, had the good fortune to purchase these coins directly from the Dattari collection when it was being dispersed. Giovanni has never been content with just being a collector, and indeed, his scholarly publications and articles are numerous and reflect his intense interest in the Alexandrian series. Several of his articles are cited in the following catalogue, and of course, every coin in this sale is listed (with full descriptions and commentary) by Giovanni in his book Alexandria In Nummis. -Kerry Wetterstrom, Triton XXI catalog
Julia Domna, AD 193-217 Roman orichalcum dupondius; 10.61 gm, 24.2 mm Rome, issue 6, AD 195 Obv: IVLIA DOMNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: FECVNDITAS, Fecunditas enthroned right, nursing one child, second child stands before her. Refs: RIC 844; BMCRE 494; Cohen 43; Hill 126; RCV 6639 Notes: Ex Ars Classica VIII, 1924, Bement Collection, lot 1184. Die-match to BMCRE-494, pl. 21.4. Here's the listing from the 1924 auction:
https://www.money.org/collector/drdarryl/blog/provenance-to-pedigree In January 2017, I required a more definitive numismatic explanation in the difference between pedigree and provenance, so I gathered my thoughts and wrote this ANA blog.
Too bad it's empty of coins, now. Sold a lot of the Holey Gold during the Recession, and what was left went away in my "Great Purge of 2013". Still have the hat in the closet, though. Might hang more holey coins on it one of these days.
Interesting read, thanks. So, in short, provenance shows transactional history (Bob sold to George who sold to Mike). Pedigree shows George owned it. I guess I've always used the terms interchangeably, but I can see the important distinction now.
As for famous Pedigrees, I have a few. This Bust Half came from the Witham collection, a well-known specialist who built an amazing Bust Half collection. It came with his original flip, and handwritten notes on the piece:
One of the first Kennedy half dollars with an unbroken chain of ownership documentation. President Johnson-to-Congressman Stephens-to-me. Next owner will have to pay a premium to be the fourth person in this unbroken chain of ownership. Letter of Provenance redacted for privacy.
Xiang Fu Tong Bao 祥符通寶 Javanese imitation in lead or pewter. Ex Gibbs, ex Moquette Jean Pierre Moquette was the preeminent collector of Dutch East Indoes coins in the late 1800's to early 1900's. His collection formed the basis of the Indonesian National Museum's coin cabinet. His publications on Dutch East Indian coins is the basis of the other two standards on this series by Bucknill and Scholten. It is not more widely known as it was serialized in an East Indian scholarly journal from 1907-12 in Dutch and never reprinted. I have a photocopy that I made in 1997 at a nickel a page. He also reorganized the postal system in the Netherlands East Indies. Howard Gibbs was a British collector of East Asian coins, who amassed a huge collection. It was broken up and sold off in chunks back in the 60's and 70's. This coin is a Javanese copy of a Northern Sung Dynasty Chinese coin in lead or pewter.
