Eliasberg Reunited

Set Description
ELIASBERG REUNITED COLLECTION: Building a Blue-Ribbon Collection on a Blue Collar Budget.

The only collection of United States coins ever formed which was complete by denomination, date and mint was that of the late Louis Eliasberg, Sr.

Expanding on the already immense collection assembled decades earlier by John M. Clapp, which included many coins obtained directly from the various mints in the year of issue, Eliasberg purchased the Clapp Collection in its entirety and worked with several dealers to fill in the remaining gaps. His quest began in 1925, and it wasn't until a quarter century later that Mr. Eliasberg secured the final coin needed, the unique 1873-CC No Arrows dime.

This collection features none of his great rarities, yet it shows how a working person on a budget can still build an historic bond by reuniting coins originally held in the family of collections assembled by America's Greatest Numismatist.

Set Goals
ELIASBERG PEDIGREED UNITED STATES TYPE SET

USA Minor Coins Type Set consisting of coins pedigreed to the family of collections by the great Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., the only collector to build a complete collection of US Coins by date and mint. Collection will include at least one of each major copper, nickel and silver coin type from 1800 through the time Louis Eliasberg completed his great collection in the 1950s, with every coin attributed to the Eliasberg pedigree.

As an added bonus, this collection also features United States Commemorative Half Dollars and a selection of US Gold coins as examples of design and mint, each pedigreed to the Louis Eliasberg, Sr. collection. The collection also contains a US/Philippines proof coin as an example of type from that series, and an Eliasberg-pedigreed California Gold 'Coat of Arms' to create a nexus to my home state. For some coins, examples of both Proof and Mint State examples are included, as well as a few duplicates which are held for future trades. For some coin types, such as Morgan and Peace Dollars, we are attempting to collect an Eliasberg coin from each branch mint, simply because doing so sounds like a cool subset idea.

For modern issues minted after Mr. Eliasberg completed his collection in the 1950s, and older issues for which I have yet to acquire an Eliasberg, Sr. pedigree, I have chosen to include coins pedigreed to his son, Louis Eliasberg, Jr., to further expand the theme of this "Eliasberg Reunited Collection".

In addition to Eliasberg pedigreed coins, this set also contains regular and Library Edition auction catalogs (signed by Dave Bowers and others involved with the sale), two tickets to an actual Eliasberg auction, magazine and newspaper articles from Life, Look, and hobby publications showing Eliasberg with his coins on display, the Q. David Bowers biography "Eliasberg: King of Coins", original press photographic prints of Mr. Eliasberg with his collection on display (including the photo of Eliasberg in this introduction), and personal receipts, signed letters and miscellany belonging to Louis Eliasberg, Jr. and related to the auctioning of his father's collection in the 1990s.

Note-1: All PCGS Coins in this collection are pedigreed to the Great American Numismatist: Louis Eliasberg, Sr.

Note-2: All NGC Coins in this collection are pedigreed to either Louis Eliasberg Sr. or to his son, Louis Eliasberg, Jr., as noted in the collection listing.

Note-3: Photo credit for the image of Louis Eliasberg, Sr. (above) goes to William L. Klender of the Baltimore Sunday Sun Magazine, April 24, 1962. This original print is part of our collection. The handwritten caption notes that Mr. Eliasberg's cufflinks are made from $10 gold pieces. (NOTE: Photo temporarily not displayed)

Note 4: The Eliasberg Reunited Master Collection presently includes 16 raw coins pedigreed to Louis Eliasberg, Sr. (with original Bowers & Merena invoices) which have never been sent in for grading.

Note-5: The collection also contains two non-PCGS/NGC coins: an 1857S Seated Liberty Half Dollar (WB-101) in Fine-15, housed in an older white ANACS slab, and a beautiful 1829/1827 Bust Half Dollar graded MS-61 in an ANACS older white small holder. Both are pedigreed to Louis Eliasberg, Sr. These are the only Eliasberg pedigreed ANACS small-white-holder coins that I've ever seen. If you know of another, please let me know.