Brian Ascroft of IBNS writes:

From the IBNS site:

From a May 9, 2020 IBNS email:

I was told today of the death of my very good friend Colin Narbeth. He was the founder and member number '1' of the International Banknote Society and one hell of a nice guy. His death was not unexpected, as the last time I saw him he was at his90th birthday do, rather frail looking, never-the-less, he still wanted to know 'when were the drinks being served'. My kind of guy!

I had the honour of knowing him for about 50 years. He was honest and kind, something you don't always get in dealers. I knew him when he set up Stanley Gibbons Collectables, backed by the mighty Stanley Gibbons name and cheque book. Herevolutionised banknote collecting and dealing in this country. He brought banknote collecting into the light. He made banknotes reach a price level that attracted collector's attention. He had been a journalist amongst other areas of expertise, sohe knew how to get a journalist interested in a story and he used that ability to promote the hobby.

We did so many deals together over the years that it is hard to remember them all, some of them which come to mind are: the Rothman's banknote promotion, the sale of the unique Philippines under Spanish rule banknotes that were thought to existbut were unknown until we found them. In the end they were sold to the Central Bank of The Philippines Museum. Or perhaps the time he sold me all the old 1930's gambling chips that his boss Mick Michaels had bought from the Casino at Monte Carlo.Colin had sent the chips to Scotland Yard to have them tested to see if the early plastic was poisonous, they were not. But I stored them in cardboard boxes in my warehouse. When we came back, the chemicals in those early plastic was so strong thatit had peeled the paint off the walls.

It was always fun to deal with Colin you never knew what was going to happen. But it was always a fair deal to both of you.

We used to go to IBNS meetings together, when they were held in Horseferry Road. He would come back and stay the night with us, sleeping on the sofa, as all the beds in the flat were taken. I was young and brash and he became my mentor, hetaught me about business and about people. There are many dealers in coins and banknotes today, that at one time or another worked for Colin, at Stanley Gibbons. When Gibbons closed their collectable side and I must say they treated him abysmally.Colin wanted a job, so he joined my company, after all, his son and daughter were already working there. He was so knowledgeable and so willing to share his knowledge with everyone. After a while he left my company and opened his famous store 'ColinNarbeth & Son'. With he was his son Simon and daughter Vanessa. The store is a London landmark for banknote collectors. Simon is still running it.

It has been a quite a few years since Colin was really active in the banknote business, but he always turned up for the IBNS Fair in the Autumn and it was nice to see and have a natter with him. Colin had so many other collections to keep himbusy that banknotes were pushed aside. I am honoured to have known him and to have been able to call him a real friend of mine. I and the whole banknote business are going to miss this gentle giant we owe so much to him.

Richard Lobel, founder Coincraft, London, England

John and Nancy Wilson write:

For more information on the International Bank Note Society, see:
https://www.theibns.org/

To visit the Colin Narbeth and Son web site, see:
https://colin-narbeth.com/