The Norweb Collection
Let me mention another major collection which will always
occupy a special place in my affections. For many years Ambassador and Mrs. R.
Henry Norweb had been clients. Their collection, the foundation of which was
formed by Mrs. Norweb's father, Albert Fairchild Holden, at the turn of the
century, was legendary in its proportions. Like the Garrett family and Louis
Eliasberg, the Norwebs sought the finest, and when the finest was offered they
paid the going price to get it. Year by year they added to their holdings, so
that by the 1970s they had just about one specimen of each variety in the areas
in which they specialized, and that specimen was apt to be one of the finest of
its kind.
My first sale to the Norwebs was an 1894-S dime, which I
had purchased at auction in 1957 through the efforts of James F. Ruddy, a
long-time friend and, later, business associate. The price paid was $4,750, a
record price at the time. A year later the Norwebs purchased it from me, paying
$6,000. We kept in close contact over the years, and as their collecting
activities drew to a close, I assisted with a number of appraisals, including
one when they donated their 1913 Liberty Head nickel to the National Numismatic
Collection at the Smithsonian Institution. When Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry
Norweb passed away, they left a rich legacy of memories, and of numismatic
benefactions, the latter in the form of many rarities given to the Smithsonian
Institution and the American Numismatic Society.
I was deeply touched when R. Henry Norweb, Jr. and his
wife, Libby, selected me and my firm to auction the Norweb Collection. Against a
pre-sale estimate of $10 million, our series of three sales yielded twice that
amount, or $20 million. The star of the collection was a magnificent gem
Uncirculated 1861 Philadelphia Mint double eagle with the Paquet reverse, which
Gerald Bauman, representing the MTB Banking Corporation, won for $660,000, the
third highest price any United States gold coin had ever realized at auction and
the highest auction figure ever achieved for a $20 piece.
The three Norweb sales made numismatic history, and the
front pages of Coin World and Numismatic News told the whole collecting world of
new price records. After all was completed, and after the Norweb family had
received the net proceeds of the sale, Henry and Libby Norweb extended an
invitation to all the staff members of my company, and their families, to visit
their beautiful seaside summer home in Maine for a deluxe lobster dinner and
outing. We all appreciated this nice touch.
