PCGS Co-Founder, Bruce Amspacher, Mourned

(Newport Beach, California) - Jon Bruce Amspacher, a co-founder of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and respected dealer and influential newsletter writer, passed away January 18, 2006 of complications from diabetes. He was 63.

"His passing is a loss for his friends and the numismatic community," said PCGS Founder, David Hall, President of Collectors Universe, Inc.

Amspacher was born on February 25, 1942 in Oklahoma, grew up in Norman, and received a degree in English from Oklahoma University. He was an avid Oklahoma sports fan, and loved bowling, the television program "Jeopardy," and all his many dogs and cats, recalled Hall.

After becoming a rare coin dealer in 1969, Amspacher worked in the early and mid 1970s for Fred Sweeney Rare Coins in Kansas City, one of the top dealerships at the time. He later worked for A-Mark in Los Angeles, Steve Ivy Rare Coins (now Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers) in Dallas, and Jim Halperin's New England Rare Coins in Boston; all top firms in the marketplace.

In the 1980s he started his own dealership, Bruce Amspacher Rare Coins and published a very popular rare coin newsletter, the Bruce Amspacher Investment Report.

"Bruce was known for his great eye for quality, his encyclopedic memory of coins and coin prices, and his great writing ability. He was one of the original founders of Professional Coin Grading Service in 1986, and in fact, is credited with coming up with the name for the company," said Hall.

"He specialized in top-quality silver dollars and type coins, but was considered an all-around numismatist with world-class coin knowledge. He also dealt in other collectibles including Hummel figures and rare collector's knives."

Amspacher had many friends in the coin business. Following his death, several of his many friends at PCGS offered their thoughts about his life and his long-lasting imprint on the hobby and numismatic marketplace.

Van Simmons, Director, Collectors Universe, Inc. (parent company of PCGS):

"I first met Bruce over 25 years ago. It took me 10 years to figure out what made him tick, if you knew him at all you can probably relate to that statement. Eventually I realized that Bruce was a very eccentric, funny, kind man. He was a consummate collector of just about everything that included medals, tokens, coins, Hummels and rare knives, just to name a few. If he had an interest in something it didn't take long before he became an authority on the subject. For the last 20 years we had offices in the same building and would talk several times a week. Since he was diabetic, he was supposed to restrict his sugar intake, so he would come to my office to sneak a diet Coke and some chocolate and talk about coins and knives. He was one of my partners as a founder of PCGS and was the type of partner who you could always count on if you needed help. Although the last few years of his life were not that pleasant for him because of illness, he always was thankful for the friends he had. He was one of the most pleasant people I would see. He always had a nickname, a smile, and a bit of quick wit for people whom he considered close. He will be deeply missed in my office and my life."

Steve Mayer, Chief Operating Officer, Collectors Universe, Inc.:

"I met Bruce 40 years ago in a bowling class at Oklahoma University, and he remained one of my closest and most steadfast friends ever since. We went to baseball games together, bowled jackpot, ate enchiladas, talked sports, books and anything else that came to mind. He got me my job at the Moore Burger during my college days and at PCGS twenty years later. Bruce was one of the most generous people I have ever known and his brilliant intellect and sly sense of humor were treasures that enriched all those who knew him. I will dearly miss my 'Jeopardy' buddy."

Gordon Wrubel, Co-Founder of PCGS:

"Bruce loved animals. He always had two to six or seven small dogs and cats around the house even to his last days on earth. He had a near photographic memory. He could recite long passages from literary works and quotes from Plato to John Lennon and everyone in between."

"He had a wonderful imagination. Bruce could compose limericks about anything or anyone and recite them without ever writing them down. He loved to hang out with the boys and talk sports, especially watching Monday Night Football at his home when he lived in Kansas City. He was the pitcher for our Kansas City 'Sliders' softball team composed entirely of coin dealers. Bruce always said that our team wasn't the greatest but we led the league in net worth. Bruce wasn't the most gifted athlete but NO ONE tried harder or put more effort into the game. One night he swung at a pitch so hard, and missed, that he broke a blood vessel in his eye. But he did set the ALL TIME Slider record with nine consecutive hits -- perfect line drives over the third baseman's head. If you were his friend, he would do ANYTHING for you -- the shirt off his back, or his last dollar."

David Hall, President of Collectors Universe, Inc. and Co-Founder of PCGS:

"It is interesting to note that those who knew him the best, though all in the coin business, did not talk much about Bruce's prowess as a coin dealer and numismatist, but rather focused on Bruce's kindness and wit. That says a lot about Bruce."

"He was a true friend in every way and he was an incredible wit. He went to great lengths to compose detailed stories (jokes), usually about coin dealers, and all with one purpose in mind: to make the people he cared about laugh. But Bruce was a coin dealer first and foremost, and he was definitely a world-class coin expert. In his 30 plus year career, he handled many fabulous coins and many great collections. He wrote many influential articles in the Coin Dealer Newsletter, and his newsletter, the Bruce Amspacher Investment Report (the BAIR for short) was widely read in the numismatic community. He also contributed to the coin community as a founder of PCGS. His passing is a loss for his friends and the numismatic community."