WILLIAM COWBURN 1955-2013

It is with deep sadness we report the passing of Bill Cowburn, age 58 years, who, after a lengthy and courageous battle against cancer and surrounded by family and friends, expired on February 24th in his York, PA home. Among other things, Bill was a long time proud LSCC and ANA member, and Trade Dollar Specialist. Many of us will remember Bill for his extremely friendly, hearty laugh and great sense of humor. He is survived by his wife of 12 years, Laura, and many family members and friends.

According to his obituary published in York Daily Record & York Dispatch, upon graduation from William Penn High School in 1972, Bill worked for a short time at York Borg-Warner Co. and then served York City as a Police Cadet. He then worked as an armored car driver with Loomis Armored Car while pursuing an accounting degree from York College. Upon graduating in 1992, Bill entered employment with the Pennsylvania State Comptroller's Office and was most recently employed with the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System.

Bill enjoyed playing and watching tennis, enjoyed growing fresh vegetables in the garden, and loved their dog, Rusty, who died last summer. Bill enjoyed the music of Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra and traveling and learning about the history of our states and our country. His latest trip was whale watching in Hawaii with his wife to celebrate a wedding anniversary.

His books of choice were biographies of our Presidents and noteworthy historical events. He was highly respected for his knowledge in numismatics and has given countless seminars on the hobby, published various articles and has received numerous awards for his achievements in this field. Bill's life can be best summarized by the above quote.

According to Bill’s numismatic autobiography Bill was a collector for over 30 years and has a great deal of knowledge of the Bust and Liberty Seated series, especially Bust and Liberty Seated half dollars and Trade dollars. He has had numismatic articles published in The Numismatist, The Gobrecht Journal, The Centinel, and The Journal of the Barber Coin Collectors' Society. He won the Wagner Award as well as several awards for his articles including a Heath Literary Award from the ANA for his article "How Rare is Rare."

He exhibited and judged exhibits for several years. His exhibit "A Transitional 1876 Proof Trade Dollar" won 1st place in the U.S. Coin category and was 1st runner-up in the Best-of- Show judging at the 2006 ANA Convention. He was a speaker at the ANA Convention, FUN, CSNS, and PAN as well as at local clubs. He was Vice President of the York Coin Club, and supervised educational programs for that club and the Red Rose Coin Club. He served as president of the Red Rose Coin Club and was the Membership Chairperson for several years.

Bill was a member of ANA, LSCC, JRCS, BHNC, EAC, ANS, the Civil War Tokens Society, and several regional and local coin clubs. Bill also was a table assistant to Rich Uhrich.

We will all miss you, Bill. Rest in Peace.

For more information on the Liberty Seated Collectors Club, see: www.lsccweb.org

Wayne Homren, Editor

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web