JERRY L. MORGAN (1948-2024)

Sometimes the death of a numismatic author may go unnoticed in The E-Sylum. Sometimes I can correct that. I believe that The E-Sylum does more than just report news. It becomes an archive for information that may be reviewed in the future.

Jerry L. Morgan was born in Missouri on December 3, 1948, the son of David Franklin Morgan (1927-2011) and Anita Marie Root (1930-2024). His mother outlived him.

He was married to Nancy Price Rush and they had a son, Clayton. Jerry graduated with a degree in business from Southeast Missouri State University and served in the National Guard.

The life story of Jerry Morgan is a bit fuzzy during 1975 to 1996. I suspect that the subject of this story was employed in sales and marketing outside numismatics and that another Jerry Morgan was an active coin show promoter in the Denver area.

John Woodside of Scotsman reported that Jerry began work in numismatics in 1996. In that year he joined the ANA and logically, was honored as a twenty-five-year member in 2021. He was life member LM-5421.

Morgan was employed by Scotsman Coin & Jewelry in St. Louis after 1996. He travelled the country buying collections and attending coin shows. The company was an official distributor for products of the Royal Canadian Mint. They raised $10,000 for the Wolf Sanctuary in Eureka, Missouri, through the sale of the 1998 Gray Wolf proof platinum coin.

In 2000, Jerry was the fundraising chair for Women in Numismatics (WIN). He was given a service award by WIN in 2006. He was honored by the National Silver Dollar Roundtable as their "Man of the Year" in 2001. From 2001 to 2005 he was the president of the Missouri Numismatic Association.

Jerry Morgan was an active dealer member of the American Numismatic Association. In 2001 he served as co-chair on the ANA committee for the "Future of the Hobby." He also served on the Dealer Advisory Committee and on the "ANA Target 2001" Building Renovation Fund Committee. In 2002, he was honored by The ANA with the Glenn Smedley Memorial Award. He also received an ANA Presidential Award from John Wilson, noting his efforts to rescind the Missouri sales tax on coins and bullion. He received the ANA Medal of Merit in 2003.

Morgan appeared with a panel of "numismatic luminaries" at a "Question and Answer Forum" at a Georgia Numismatic Association Show on June 6 to 8, 2003, moderated by Bill Fivaz. The others included Randy Campbell of ANACS, Joel Edler of Numismatic News, David Lange of NGC, Brian Silliman of NCS and John Wilson of the ANA. As the one dealer on the panel. He was in good company.

During 2011 to 2018, Scotsman set up as a hotel buyer and ran large ads in local papers. Jerry L. Morgan was the face of the company with a color photo in each ad.

He died at home on January 6, 2024, and was cremated. There was no memorial service. His name was mentioned in "Memorials" in the March 2024 issue of The Numismatist without an obituary.

His obituary in local papers noted that he was an award-winning author. I was curious to see what he had written.

Morgan's article "Pennies from Heaven" appeared in the April 2001 issue of Winning Ways, the journal of Women in Numismatics. This earned him a literary award from WIN in 2002.The same article appeared in the spring 2001 issue of The Virginia Numismatist and again in the July 1, 2001, issue of the Missouri Journal of Numismatics. Later the article appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of The Centinel.

In the article, Morgan describes his adventures picking up a load of more than 6000 rolls of cents from a customer, getting a flat tire on his van and ultimately delivering the coins to a buyer.

I believe Morgan should be noted more for his multiple ANA service awards than for his one WIN Literary Award.

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web