96copperPDF

THE

HAIG

KOSHKARIAN

RED

BOOK

SET

1793-1857

CENTS

I grew up in the Midwest in Waukegan, Illinois. Like many others, my coin collecting began in elementary school in

the 1950s and consisted of filling holes in Whitman Lincoln Cent folders. I loved the rich tones of brown sometimes

with tinges of red on those Lincoln Cents. I sometimes think now that my early experience with Lincoln Cents con-

tributed to my more recent focus on collecting Large Cents. Most of those Lincoln Cents came from change with the

purchase of key dates made during trips to coin shops in Chicago.

Over the years I followed the usual pattern of adding Buffalo Nickels and Mercury Dimes to my collecting interests.

But my interest in coin collecting was put on hold during my college and medical school years. It was rekindled in

1965 during my medical internship year in Youngstown, Ohio, and I began making trips to David Bowers’ Para-

mount in Englewood to purchase coins. I also began to place mail bids on coins being auctioned by Stacks. Over

the following years I continued to collect coins by denomination sets and also began to assemble a type set.

Having moved to San Diego in 1968, the Long Beach Coin Shows and the Goldberg’s’ Superior Galleries were a

frequent source of coins. Although I was collecting several different series, I most enjoyed my copper coins. I was a

member of EAC and very much enjoyed the company of Large Cent collectors and dealers. It seemed to me that

Large Cent dealers, more than most coin dealers, remained collectors at heart and also often in fact. Doug Bird and

Tony Terranova in particular influenced my interest in Large Cents.

And so, after selling my type and denomination collection at auction in 2004, without skipping a beat I turned to col-

lecting Large Cents in a serious way. To make the goal of completeness more approachable, similar to the filling of

holes in those early Whitman Lincoln Cent folders, I decided to focus on the major Red Book varieties. And, as with

many collectors, the overall eye appeal of my Large Cents was most important to me, often overriding the numerical

grade and sometimes even strike. I even came to appreciate the satiny look of some coins with fine, uniform granu-

larity on the surface.

Needless to say I am going to miss my Large Cents. They probably spent more time than they should have at home

where I could look at them, rather than in their other safer home in a bank safe deposit box. But I will now forever

have this fine catalogue with wonderful photographs and descriptions of my Large Cents to enjoy. It will be a won-

derful scrapbook of my collection that I can visit at home any time.