Q. David Bowers
"A frequent visitor to New York City was James G. (Jim) Macallister, who had his office in Philadelphia. On Wednesday morning each week, Jim would come to New York to see some of his wealthy Wall Street clients, visit a few of the dealers, and stay over at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, returning to Philadelphia on Thursday, sometimes Friday. Macallister and Wayte Raymond would occasionally team up to hold an auction sale at the Morgenthau Galleries on West 47th Street, in the same building which for many years later housed the New Netherlands Coin Company. The collection had to be an important one, or one, at least, belonging to an important client. Otherwise they preferred to farm out their coins to other dealers holding auction sales.
"One day Macallister asked me if I had ever considered preparing an auction sale catalogue. He thought it would be worthwhile. In fact, he and Raymond could assure me enough material for each sale to cover my expenses. Whatever other consignments I might acquire would be my own affair. 'If you like the idea, talk it over with Wayte,' Mac concluded.
"Well, it seemed like an idea worth pursuing.
Since I lunched with Wayte Raymond frequently, the occasion for further discussion for the auction idea was soon forthcoming. In fact, I was in the auction game that same day. Raymond had a consignment ready and handed it over to me.
"Before he did he told me that he and Macallister had been consigning coins to another dealer for a long time. He was out of town, and they had talked about me as a possible outlet for their surplus material. They liked the way I conducted my affairs.
"Probably they would not have broached the subject at that particular time except that they were disturbed by a recent occurrence. A client had visited Macallister's office, annoyed with some purchases he had just made by bidding by mail in an auction sale-you guessed it, a sale conducted by the dealer to whom Mac and Wayte had been consigning coins. The client thought the coins had been overgraded and, not knowing that these coins were part of Macallister's own consignment, wanted Mac to look at them to confirm his feelings.
"He had brought the coins, the catalogue, and his invoice for Mac to examine-and what Macallister saw was what disturbed him sufficiently to provoke him to act. In those days, most dealers did not issue any list of prices realized after an auction sale, and such was the case in this instance.
"Noting that one particular piece-it was an early silver dollar-had been billed to the buyer at $15, Mac went to his files, looked at the report recently received from the dealer, and found that the sale had been reported at $7.50, from which a commission had been deducted. Further examination revealed the differences between the prices invoiced and those reported were numerous. When Macallister discussed the matter with Wayte Raymond, they decided to close that outlet. It was then that Macallister approached me.
"Soon after Raymond handed me the first consignment, Macallister brought his in and my auction career was launched.
"The sale was held on June 8th, 1940, at the Hotel New Yorker on 34th Street and 8th Avenue in New York City. O. Rundle Gilbert was the auctioneer, and the 695 lots fetched a total of a little in excess of $2,500, and half of the total was expended by one man!
"I recall that one morning a stately gentleman walked into my 'shop.' The window display contained a number of coins, and the gentleman expressed interest in them. No, he was not a collector, but he would like to look at them. Naturally, I was happy to show them to him-all the two dozen or so pieces displayed in the window.
"He asked several questions, made notations, took my business card and departed. A week or so later I received a very fine letter from a Mr. Welles who, it turned out, was chairman of the board of a large bank in Alabama. Would I mind if he did not take the sesquicentennial quarter eagle? He had purchased six of them in the Philadelphia Exposition in 1926, so there was no need to buy another. But he would like to have all the rest of the coins that had been on display, and he listed each coin and the correct price for each, and enclosed his check in full.
"When the auction catalogue was sent to him, he wrote asking for instructions as to how to go about participating in the bidding. Would I also be kind enough to point out the interesting items I thought he should own? The stories, too, would be helpful, for the stories are what induced him to buy the coins.
'Well, we had some early United States gold and some commemorative gold as well as a $50 gold piece-and of these he purchased almost $1,300 worth, just a little over half the dollar volume of our first auction sale.
"When I paid off the consignors, the printers, and the postage and the advertising bills, I had a clear profit of $56, that is if I didn't value my own time or if I didn't pay my secretary. I didn't realize it then, but as I looked back I recognized that a pattern was set which has been convincingly corroborated concerning auction sales. We don't know what to expect, but we 'always expect the unexpected.' In other words, something is going to happen-and something always has."
Auction Sale No.1 consisted of 795 items. The event commenced with an 1828 Bavarian taler of Ludwig I and concluded with an 1855 Mexican doubloon, "struck in copper, possibly a pattern, Fine." In between were many other items, primarily United States issues, arranged randomly by denomination. With relatively few exceptions, this arranging style by random denominations was followed in his later catalogues as well. In keeping with the cataloguing style practiced by most others of the period (B. Max Mehl being a notable exception), descriptions were brief and typically stated little more than the denomination, date, mintmark, variety, and grade. Illustrations were not used in Abe Kosoff's catalogues until several years later.
So far as Abe was concerned, the auction was a success, for it served to launch his career in this field. However, from a financial viewpoint it earned him the previously-noted $56 after expenses, a figure which he was to quote many times in later years-by which time he achieved stature second to none in the coin auction field in the United States.
Sol Kaplan, who ran the Ace Stamp Shop in Cincinnati, decided to become involved with coins as well, and in 1940 he attended the annual convention of the Iowa Numismatic Association, held that year in Burlington. Kaplan, who challenged B. Max Mehl for the title of the "P.T. Barnum of numismatics," according to Abe Kosoff, crossed Kosoff's path for the first time-in what was to be a memorable meeting for both. Later, Sol was to play an important part in Abe's life. The early meeting was recalled by Kosoff:
"In 1940, not many dealers traveled to distant coin shows. I found that when I came to a show several hundred miles from my home base in New York City it was a big thing. Youngstown, Ohio, for example, once had a front page newspaper item about my visit when I went there.
"One day in mid-April 1940, I took off in my Studebaker President (it was the big job, white-walls and all, and cost me $800 brand new). Accompanying me was Ben Rich, son of Alfred Rich, the antique dealer, part of whose shop I sub-leased at 122 East 57th Street. Ben took along a few items to show to clients. Going along for the ride was a very dear friend, Al Slesinger, who for many years ran a Kodak agency on 3rd A venue in New York City.
"I'll never forget that ride. It was mild but drizzling when we pulled out of New York City. When we hit Pennsylvania it got cold, and before we knew it a light snow began to fall. Then it got heavier. As darkness fell we could not see in front of us. Cars started to crawl. The mountainous regions of Pennsylvania were tricky. Skidding was to be avoided. Late that Saturday night we arrived in Tyrone.