This Thursday I was a guest at the worldwide headquarters of Kolbe & Fanning in Gahanna, OH. Their recently expanded office space is a numismatist's dream, with dedicated space for photography, shipping, research offices for both David and Maria Fanning, and copious amounts of shelving for stock and consignments.

The lobby is graced by an engraving of Guillaume Budé (1467-1540), French scholar and author of the first numismatic book, De Asse et Partibus Eius (1514). The walls are well adorned throughout with similar numismatic varia, ranging from an award plaque from the NBS to John Ford, to color plates of a Saint-Gaudens piece from the Eliasberg collection. A print of a "potty dollar" is appropriately hung upon the door of the restroom.

Boxes and boxes come in and go out, and these are located about the different rooms in various stages of processing. Of course I could notgo home empty-handed, and the sale of one item was completed. I also showed David a copy of the book A Superpower is Born: The Rise of theDollar, which I had just received from the American Numismatic Society. The opportunity to see so much literature in one place is unusual and Irecommend a tour for anyone passing through the area.

To visit the Kolbe & Fanning web site, see:
http://www.numislit.com/