The Norweb Collection - An American Legacy

There was also a psychological gambit to this buying style. Bowers remembers feeling that when Mrs. Norweb said no thank you to a coin, he asked himself if he had priced it accurately. Even if she did not know for sure what a reasonable price for a particular coin might be, simply by declining to buy it Mrs. Norweb ensured that the seller would have to re-think his pricing on the piece. She was, after all, one of the most important players in the coin market of the 1950s, and if she declined a sale there might not be many others who would accept it.

Mrs. Norweb had her own way of buying through auction sales, as well. As she had done many years earlier, when she worked over auction catalogues for her father Albert, first she would consult with Ambassador Norweb about lots that they might be interested in. Coins offered would be compared to their inventory listings, to ensure there would be no duplications if they were bought. Potential upgrades would also be noted. Price levels were then discussed, and a maximum expenditure per lot was arrivedat through discussion. Their bids were then listed on paper. The next step was to visually inspect the coins offered, after which adjustments, if needed, could be made to their bid levels. Mrs. Norweb often made the visual inspection herself.

Once these preliminaries were over, the real business of buying coins at auction could begin. The bid list they had drawn up would be divided into sections, and each section would be given to a different agent bidder. Usually, if she was to attend the sale herself, Mrs. Norweb would assign one section to her own care. Occasionally, the same coins would be assigned to different agent bidders, but with different maximum expenditures, one higher than the other. At the time of the auction sale, then, there could be as many as three or four different bidders all acting on behalf of the Norweb Collection, none of whom was aware that anyone other than himself was bidding for the Norwebs. If Mrs. Norweb was at the auction, too, then there might be as many as five active bidders, all vying for coins destined for the same collection! Sometimes, two different agents could be bidding against each other for the same coin, without knowing that their clients were one and the same. And if Mrs. Norweb herself stepped into the bidding war for the coin, the entire picture would seem utterly confusing to everyone.

The strategy was simple, its sole purpose being to hide the Norwebs' interest in particular lots. It was employed not so much for secrecy, as everyone in the coin business was aware of the Norwebs' importance. Rather, it was a protective measure against the possibility of being "run up" on a lot, of being fooled into increasingly higher bids for a coin by non-existent mail or floor bids called by an auctioneer who saw Mrs. Norweb's interest in a lot and who decided to wring the last dollar from her for it. Needless to say, this practice was uncommon, as no auction house could stay in business very long if the practice were discovered. However, its usage was a measure of the anxiety felt by Mrs. Nor-web in the later 1950s, which John J. Ford, Jr. detected in her earlier.

Once these preliminaries were over, the real business of buying coins at auction could begin. The bid list they had drawn up would be divided into sections, and each section would be given to a different agent bidder. Usually, if she was to attend the sale herself, Mrs. Norweb would assign one section to her own care. Occasionally, the same coins would be assigned to different agent bidders, but with different maximum expenditures, one higher than the other. At the time of the auction sale, then, there could be as many as three or four different bidders all acting on behalf of the Norweb Collection, none of whom was aware that anyone other than himself was bidding for the Norwebs. If Mrs. Norweb was at the auction, too, then there might be as many as five active bidders, all vying for coins destined for the same collection! Sometimes, two different agents could be bidding against each other for the same coin, without knowing that their clients were one and the same. And if Mrs. Norweb herself stepped into the bidding war for the coin, the entire picture would seem utterly confusing to everyone.

The strategy was simple, its sole purpose being to hide the Nor-webs' interest in particular lots. It was employed not so much for secrecy, as everyone in the coin business was aware of the Norwebs' importance. Rather, it was a protective measure against the possibility of being "run up" on a lot, of being fooled into increasingly higher bids for a coin by non-existent mail or floor bids called by an auctioneer who saw Mrs. Norweb's interest in a lot and who decided to wring the last dollar from her for it. Needless to say, this practice was uncommon, as no auction house could stay in business very long if the practice were discovered. However, its usage was a measure of the anxiety felt by Mrs. Norweb in the later 1950s, which John J. Ford, Jr. detected in her earlier.

Early in 1957 New Netherlands acquired the Ely-Massamore-Newcomer specimen of the original 1827 quarter dollar. John Ford and Charles Wormser decided to offer it in their June 1957 auction sale. They did not inform Mrs. Norweb that they had the coin, although until then their usual practice had been to give her first crack at newly acquired rarities. When Mrs. Norweb saw the coin in their June catalogue, she was understandably angered at what she saw as a failure of service due her. At the auction sale itself, she bid in person for the coin but was unsuccessful. Her failure to acquire the coin, coupled with her anger at New Netherlands, led to a break in her relations with the company that lasted for the rest of 1957.