CLAUDE E. DAVIS (1926-2025)

Recently, with the passing of Dr. Claude Davis, it has given me the time to reflect on how our friendship developed over the past 50 years. We had many years of great friendship discovering and acquiring coins that would help him build one of the greatest type sets of United States federal issue, Silver and Copper coinage ever assembled. There were many times where we would have wonderful visits discussing our families, important numismatic news of the day, and what the U.S. Coin markets were doing.

I first met Dr. Davis at the 1973 F.U.N. show auction in Miami, Florida. I was working with another friend to help him acquire an 1876 Gem Uncirculated 20 cent piece. My instructions were "not to come home without the coin." I bought that very coin and paid $875, which was three (3) times Red Book pricing, an unheard price at that time. At the end of the auction Dr. Davis approached me, provided me his business card, and stated, "Young man, when you want to sell this piece, I am the buyer. Give me a call." This was the beginning of our incredible coin journey since we lived 65 miles apart from each other, he in Angola, IN and I, in Battle Creek, MI.

A year later, in 1974, I sold my first coin to Doc. It was an 1879 Gem Uncirculated Seated Dime. I was able to acquire this Magnificent Gem from a seasoned collector that wanted $315 for it. That price was $40 over Red Book. The eye appeal and quality of it was superb. Presenting it to Doc, I was surprised when he wanted to negotiate the price which took many hours of discussion between us. He finally paid $325 in the end, and my profit was $10 from this coin! Doc had his own way when it came time to deal. He was stubborn and difficult in buying and selling coins. He knew what he wanted to pay, however, sometimes it wasn't reality for the coins he wanted. This transaction however, was one of the first times he bought a coin over bid simply because he really liked the coin. He was happy. This, I believe set a new mindset in motion for him. Namely, that to acquire the better Gem coins, more money was needed than what he originally had in mind when he set out to build his dream type set.

Over the next twenty years, I was able to show him a few superb gems. The first one was an 1811 Capped Bust Left $5 Dollar Gold piece. The second piece was an 1803/2 $5 Dollar Gold piece. He could not comprehend the high prices due to time and changes in pricing of the marketplace, so he refused to purchase the coins.

Beginning in 1979 through 1980, coin market prices escalated rapidly to an all-time high. Many collectors were priced out of the market. Doc lost interest in collecting coins, and turned to expanding his interest and the acquisition of pocket watches, old cars, shotguns, and buying & selling local real estate. Doc purchased a quantity of property through those years, one of which was a tract of land known as "Foxfire"; Doc developed this into a subdivision that became known as the Foxfire subdivision. Hence, where the collection got its name.

Between 1989 to 1990, coin market prices exploded again. I got the sense that he may want to sell, so I asked Doc about selling his coin collection. However, at this time he told me that he did not want to sell quite yet. In 1992, he contacted me due once again to the coin market having severe price corrections. Doc stated that if he had listened to me, the collection would have been finished properly and he thought now was an optimal time to reenter the coin market. Re-entering the market to focus on a type set of the finest known coins of early Federal Silver and Copper coins gave Doc something to focus on.

We set out to create a list of which coins were still needed for his collection, and also the ones that needed to be upgraded. The majority of his existing coins needed to be upgraded to accomplish the task of all Finest Known specimens. These were extremely rare pieces to find of Gem quality and he provided me with about $100K worth of coins to sell and pay for the new acquisitions we had targeted.

It was 1993, and I located the first coin of merit, a Gem Uncirculated 1795 Half Dollar. What a spectacular coin. The following year we acquired the Garrett Gem Uncirculated 1793 Chain Cent and a 1793 Wreath Cent! Along the way there were a few more coin upgrades.

Doc and I were aware of Lelan Rogers' magnificent collection of early American type coins. Both of us knew him during the 1970's from competitive exhibiting at greater Midwest coin shows. We made contact with the Rodgers family for the purchase of the 1797 Gem Uncirculated Half Dollar. First, I made them a cash offer of $300K, Then a second offer of $325K, and then a third offer at $375K. It didn't work out… and soon after the family decided to sell the collection at auction through Stacks in New York. Doc and I traveled to New York to view the Rogers Coins at Stacks, where we were honored to have Harvey Stack personally present the coin collection to us.

Returning home to the Midwest, Doc and I started to make plans to acquire the 1797 Half Dollar. This type coin is known as the Classic Rarity to an Early Silver type set of U.S. Coins.

Through selling a complete set of seated dimes, an outstanding set of Bust halves, and other coins, mostly unc silver, we were able to raise about $400k. Following this, we returned to New York in 1995 for Lelan's Auction, where we sat in the front row. With about fifteen minutes before the auction started, Doc asked me about his 1895 Proof Set with Gold. He told me that he'd like the sum of $125K for it. Luckily for him, it worked out that I personally knew someone in attendance at the auction who would likely purchase that Gold Set. With the deal done, I was able to get a check for $100K and provide it to Doc, a mere five minutes before the auction started! Doc was satisfied that now he could bid up to $500K for the 1797 Half Dollar. When the 1797 Half Dollar came up for sale, the bidding started at $250K, quickly flew past $400K, and Doc got it for the final bid of $517K. I couldn't believe that we bought this beautiful piece. I never saw Doc so elated! He was like a kid in a candy store. The next day we returned to Stacks to pay our auction tab and then a trip home with the cherished coin.

At this point, we had acquired most of the high-grade type coins required to complete the Foxfire Type Set of Silver and Copper Collection.

By the year 2002, The Foxfire Collection consisted of 174 coins with an average grade of 66.2. At that level it became difficult to upgrade any of the important coins. It was then, Doc decided it was time to sell the collection.

The next step was to get it saleable and I proposed the idea of cataloging and writing the Foxfire collection to Doc that described each coin. He agreed, but did not want to spend the money to have professional photographs taken of the coins. Upon completion of the catalog, only one coin photograph was shown and it resided on the front cover where I had placed a photograph of the 1797 Half Dollar (the photo was a copy courtesy of the Stacks Auction Catalog). Doc had decided he'd take photographs of the coins for the catalog, and in the end, we decided that the coin photos would be omitted because they didn't show the coins well!

Throughout this, Doc decided his asking price would be $6.5 million dollars for the collection. I personally thought that this was an extremely high price tag for all of the coins. The following year, Doc and I presented the collection to several dealers, for which, we didn't receive any offers that came close to Doc's figure. I kept trying to sell the collection, and still, all incoming offers did not come close to what Doc wanted.

It was while I was attending a large coin auction in Chicago, that I met a gentleman, Mr. Brent Pogue. Upon reviewing the Foxfire Collection catalog that I had with me, Brent became very interested in the collection. He immediately asked if the 1797 coin was for sale. My reply was that the collection was to be sold en bloc, with no sale of individual coins. We struck up a conversation that went on for hours about Doc's collection. The next day we met again for about three hours eventually planning a visit to see the collection personally at Doc's home in Indiana. Things looked promising.

A couple of months later, with Brent Pogue's arrival at Doc's home, the collection was viewed with intense conversations of history and quality of the coins. There was a full eight hours of conversations between the three of us. The following day, I drove Brent back to Detroit for his flight. I didn't hear from him until about a month later when he wanted to come back to view the collection again. This time we spent another full day discussing the collection, with him taking notes; another productive meeting.

I didn't hear from Brent for about six more months. At that time, he returned and viewed the collection for the third time, but this time Brent brought a significant offer for Doc. After several hours of negotiations the price and terms were agreed upon. At a later date, the collection was transferred to its new owner, The Pogue Family Trust, which included armed guards and a private jet direct to Dallas, TX. Incidentally, this led to a long-term relationship with me helping the Pogue's acquire coins to build their Pogue Family Trust Collection of coins.

My friend Doc Davis was a great man. He built many things, among them, a magnificent coin collection with which he let me play a major role in consulting, acquiring, and selling the coins. It changed my life and for that I'm forever grateful to Doc. Doc's sense of timing and his ability to take part in market conditions was spot on. A very shrewd negotiator whom I respected and admired. I think the feeling was mutual. It was 2019 when he wrote a letter to me sharing how he got involved in coins, and retelling our first meeting. I've included it here, both in his handwriting and a translated-print version.

I was introduced to coins as a very young child. While exploring the contents of a drawer in the roll top desk in my grandfather's General Store, I encountered both a quarter size coin and a razor blade. The coin was a Two Reale Spanish coin dated 1782. The blade resulted in a lacerated finger resulting in a lifetime scar. To curb my suffering I was allowed to keep the coin. To this day I still have both the coin and the scar.

I grew up in New Albany, IN., spent my military time in the army serving across Europe with the 83rd Infantry Division during WWII. After discharge I returned to finish premed and medical school at the University of Louisville. After a few years in a rural Indiana General practice, I returned to U of L for surgical residency. That completed, I moved to practice as a surgeon in Angola, Indiana where I still reside.

During the early 1960's, I became interested in coins once again. Armed with a 'Red Book of Coins', magnifier and note pad, I attended coin shows and coin shops; I was pleased at the bargains. I managed with my first dozen "gems" I acquired at less that red book value. I soon became acquainted with Leon Hendrickson (Silvertowne Winchester, IN.) and Norman Rau (Wimpy Fort Wayne, IN). Those two friends pointed out all of my "gems" had been "whizzed" and were not numismatic bargains.

Startled and annoyed with myself, I began what became years of study. These years that followed, I built several sets and finally began to build a United States Type Set. My plan was as near as possible to acquire only "Finest Known" of each type.

During this quest my wife and I acquired a property which was known locally as "Foxfire". Using some of the acreage we developed a residential subdivision which became the Foxfire subdivision. At that point our Type Set became the "Foxfire Type Set".

Through the years I was fortunate to have many dealers and fellow collectors across this country. Although I no longer collect coins, I still treasure these associations. One associate has begun in a strange way and has lasted many years and persists to this day. During the 1970's my wife and I attended a coin show at the DuPont Plaza in Miami, FL. During the auction session I really tried to acquire a twenty cent piece. I was finally out bid for that piece by a young man in the back of the room. At the close of the sale I made a point of introducing myself and inquiring if the coin might be available for sale. It was not but this was the beginning of a pleasant relationship with Richard Burdick who was from Battle Creek, MI. He was located only about sixty miles from my home. A long personal and professional relationship developed and continues to this day. I have been truly blessed to have been involved with the numismatic hobby and the many friends and memories that have resulted.

Claude E. Davis, MD. F.A.C.S.
Angola, IN 46703
ANA LM-1023

See also:
The Marvelous Pogue Family Coin Collection, Part 1: Finest 1796 – '97 Draped Bust Half Dollar (https://coinweek.com/marvelous-pogue-family-coin-collection-part-1-finest-1796-97-draped-bust-half-dollar/)
A Coin Purchase by Lelan Rogers (https://coinsite.com/a-coin-purchase/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
CLAUDE E. DAVIS (1926-2025) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v29/esylum_v29n04a03.html)

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