A Gift From The Past

The Comprehensive U.S. Silver Dollar
Encyclopedia by John Highfield

Every once in a while, you get the chance to give a really good gift, a gift that is more than just a cool item or something fun to play with, or even a part of a collection. Sometimes you get the chance to give a piece of the past back to someone. This last year, I got to have that experience with a very unexpected someone.

My professional numismatic career began over 10 years ago while working for one of the large and well-known auction houses. I quickly realized that to thrive in this industry, you do have to be a sponge for information. Gathering up articles and books as well as having constant discussions about minting processes, collections, and business practices led to some very interesting and enlightening conversations, and each added value to my ever-growing, mental numismatic library.

Slowly but surely, my physical numismatic library also grew as I acquired more books, auction catalogs, magazine articles, reference guides, and anything else I could get my hands on that I thought prudent. After some time, I had amassed a decent bookshelf of literature and had even picked up multiple editions of some books to try and stay on top of the updated information. This habit of constantly updating editions led me to accidentally acquire a one-of-a-kind, custom numismatic reference book. Ironically, at the time of acquiring the book, I had no idea what I had picked up.

I love silver dollars. To me, they are about as beautiful as numismatics can get. I had already owned multiple copies of The Comprehensive U.S. Silver Dollar Encyclopedia by John Highfield, which typically has a black binding, so when I stumbled across a purple bound edition, I picked it up thinking it was another edition I did not have. I was correct about not having a copy like this one, because this copy was unique.

One of the numismatists to sign David Hall’s book,
Tom Phillips

For almost 10 years that book sat on my book shelf between two other copies of the reference. One day in late 2016, I was asked about a Zerbe die, so I went to my shelves and grabbed the purple bound reference. How I never realized the extra printing on the front is beyond me. But there it was in all its glorious gold-lettered printing, "David Hall." The black copies I have do not say "David Hall" on them, so I started rifling through the pages only to discover 30 unique hand written signatures and notes throughout the book from numismatists in the industry. I was in utter shock of the realization that I had accidentally acquired David Hall’s personal silver dollar book.

Upon realization of the signatures, I knew I had to return the book to David. Luckily for me, that wouldn’t be too difficult now that we happen to work in the same building. I made an appointment to sit down with David on December 22, 2016, our last work day before Christmas weekend. Mr. Hall was very appreciative to get his book back and explained to me how, due to the changing hands of companies back in the 80s and early 90s, the book had been lost between inventory and other literature. It had been around 20 years since David and his Silver Dollar Encyclopedia were side by side, and I am elated to have had the chance to return such a great piece of nostalgia to one of the most influential minds in all of numismatics.

My 2016 was a great year that ended tremendously, with the opportunity to return a piece of the past to someone who influenced my past so much. The book exchange was made more impactful because, until the book’s recent discover, David and I had very little one-on-one interaction. This gift goes down in my book as one of the best ones I’ve ever been able to give, and I will always remember the experience, from its initial discovery to returning it to its rightful owner. Just goes to show you that you just never know what is going to come across your lap, so keep your eyes sharp and your mind open.

Happy hunting.