JOHN ABEEL NEXSEN (1821-1909)

Len Augsburger sent me a note on April 4, 2026, suggesting that I add a listing for John Nexsen to American Numismatic Biographies.

Cal Wilson was preparing to publish a list of about 250 biographies in 1988 that included Nexsen. I had not included him in ANB.

Then on Saturday, April 25, 2026, Len and Joel Orosz made an NNP Symposium presentation on The Fantastic 1894 Dollar at the Central States show. They discussed the contributions made by Nexsen to our understanding of 1804 dollars. I offer this biography of Nexsen.

John A. Nexsen was born in New York City on July 31, 1824. He was the son of William Nexsen (1775-1866) and Polsey Carman (1776-1852). John married Caroline Amelia Nexsen (1821-1911) in 1848. The had two sons and two daughters. John and Caroline shared a common great-grandfather.

In 1854, he was elected vice-resident of the Brooklyn Young Men's Christian Association, He was also a member of the Horticulture Society of Brooklyn.

John Nexsen joined the New York Numismatic Society in 1864 and the American Numismatic Society in 1867. The New York Numismatic Society failed to thrive and was dissolved effective July 31, 1866. Nexsen was one of eleven members to sign the resolution to transfer their assets to the ANS. Nexsen served as corresponding secretary at the ANS for one year 1869-70.

Nexsen was heavily involved with the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor in Brooklyn. He served as secretary during the period of 1868 until his death.

He was employed with the Leather Manufacturers Bank in New York and became cashier of the newly formed Fulton Bank in 1869. The Fulton Bank merged with Mechanics Bank in 1899 and Nexsen retired.

Edward Cogan conducted an auction sale of "Catalogue of Coins and Medals, the Property of Jno. A. Nexsen, Esq." on October 5-6, 1871. The sale had 868 lots.

Lot 409 was a 1792 Martha Washington Half Disme that realized $11, one of few coins selling for more than $10. The piece was described as from the Gilmore collection. This may have been from the Strobridge sale of December 15, 1863, lot 719. The piece is, unfortunately, untraced.

As a bank cashier, Nexsen could have formed a collection from interesting piece that passed through the bank. However, the 1792 half disme was a significant auction purchase.

Nexsen also consigned coins to a sale held by S.H. & H. Chapman on December 16, 1904. The long title was "Catalogue of the Fine Collection of Ancient Roman, French, Anglo-Saxon, English and Other Coins, the Property pf J. A. Nexsen, Esq., Brooklyn, N. Y. together with Several Other Collections." The catalog was somewhat unusual in listing market value for coins as a guide to bidders stating, "we find from long experience that American collectors do not know their market value…"

John died of acute indigestion at home in Brooklyn on August 17, 1909. He is buried with many family members at Green-Wood cemetery in Greenwood Heights, New York.

John A. Nexsen contributed several articles to the American Journal of Numismatics on the topic of the 1804 dollar. He acquired pressings of some of the pieces and examined others in person.

AJN April 1887, page 87. Nexsen listed ten known 1804 dollars noting, "The first three pieces named in the following list are without doubt original Dollars coined in 1804." The third piece was from the collection of Charles Spiers and was identified later as an electrotype. Items IX and X were owned by the U. S. Mint. Nexsen did not note differenced in the reverse dies. He did mention that one of the mint specimens had a plain edge and the other a lettered edge.

AJN April 1888. Page 89. In a brief article, Nexsen added the Linderman Dollar and noted it as a restrike.

AJN April 1891, page 98. In this issue, Nexsen stated, "The term Original is applied to pieces which were struck from the original dies in the year of their date. Of the dollars enumerated in the following list, the first two are universally conceded to be Originals, being the only ones reclaimed from circulation, and without doubt were coined in 1804. The others should be designated as Re-strikes as they were struck from the original dies subsequent to the year 1804."

Nexsen listed twelve pieces. Added to his original list were no, XI, the Linderman Dollar, and no. XII was the Berg Dollar. Nexsen noted that 1804 Dollars were restruck between 1836 and 1840.

AJN July 1893, page 23. In this issue, Nexsen reported that the Spiers piece was composed of tin and copper and plated with silver. He still believed that it was struck from original dies.

AJN April 1894, page 92. Nexsen announced the addition of a thirteenth piece, acquired by Mr. Rosenthal. He also mentioned examination of two new discoveries that had altered dates.

AJN July 1897, page 10. Nexsen notes that no 1804 dollar was reported before 1842.

In their 1962 book on The Fantastic 1804 Dollar, Newman and Bressett state on page 94, "No researcher deserves more praise for courage than John A, Nexsen, for in a final article published in April, 1905, he admits, "No one now believes that they were coined in 1804. I must therefore repudiate all that I said in these articles about originals and restrikes.""

AJN April 1905, page 102. Nexsen mentioned that all 1804 dollars had a beaded edge, a device not used before 1836. He suggested that the Spiers piece was a trial pieces and the first struck from the die. He now noted that two different reverse dies were used and that later restrikes had a plain edge. He never mentioned that one of the Mint dollars was struck over an 1857 Swiss shooting thaler.

Nexsen was apparently unaware of the diplomatic gift story although that had been published as early as 1867. The stories published for Nexsen show the evolution of public knowledge about the coins during that period.

To read the Cogan catalog of the Nexsen collection, see:
CATALOGUE OF COINS AND MEDALS, THE PROPERTY OF JNO. A. NEXSEN, ESQ. (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=19&AuctionId=510488)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web