LOUIS ELIASBERG, SR. AND JR.

Last week we asked the question, What person named Eliasberg is in the Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs? Some readers may have thought the answer was Louis Eliasberg, Sr. This is incorrect. Here is the bio for him from American Numismatic Biographies.

Eliasberg, Louis Edward Sr. Collector (b. 2/12/1896 d. 2/20/1976)

Born in Selma, Alabama, the son of Adolph Eliasberg and Hortense Rosalinde Schwartz. He attended Baltimore City College 1912-14. Graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Married Hortense Miller Kahn June 1, 1927. She died in December 1949. Married R. Lucille Jones. He had two sons, Louis Eliasberg, Jr. and Richard. President of the Finance Company of America. He died at home in Baltimore and is buried at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery.

Eliasberg attempted to collect an example of every coin listed in Green's Mint Record and Type Table. He purchased via Stacks the John Clapp collection in 1942 for more than $100,000. This was described as the largest single cash transaction in numismatic history. The last coin he needed was the 1873-CC no arrows Liberty Seated dime, acquired in 1950. He acquired a 1933 $20 Double Eagle but voluntarily surrendered it to the government.

In 1947 duplicates from the Eliasberg collection were sold by Stacks as the H. R. Lee collection. His mother’s initials were H.R. and his initials were L.E.E. His story and collection were featured in an April 27, 1963, issue of Life magazine. Another article was in LOOK magazine on December 29, 1964. He served on the Assay Commission for 1962. The Eliasberg collection was exhibited at the Philadelphia Mint in 1976. It was exhibited extensively around the country in cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and New York.

Eliasberg consigned coins to a Stack's auction in 1947 and a New Netherlands auction in 1957. On October 27-29, 1982, Bowers & Ruddy Galleries auctioned The United States Gold Coin Collection. Although it was not identified as the Eliasberg collection, the history of the collection was well known.

Louis Eliasberg, Sr. is not in the American Numismatic Association Hall of Fame. As the only person to form a complete collection of United States coins. Perhaps he should be.

The correct answer this week is his son, Louis Eliasberg, Jr.

Louis Eliasberg, Jr. (1929-2009) developed timing systems for speed skating and timed national and North American events for 18 years. During that period he also filmed the events. He was inducted into the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs on May 19, 1990.

For next week, Pete asks:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
HOWARD GIBBS AND JOHNNY UNITAS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n32a20.html)

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