Occasionally I go back to old biographies to see if I might find additional information. This weekmy subject is the mysterious Don Taxay.

Donald Paul Taxay was born in Chicago on May 24, 1933. His parents were Russian immigrantsJulius and Ruth Weller Taxay. He graduated from the American Conservatory of Music.

Taxay became interested in advanced spiritual consciousness early in life. By 1956 he wascorresponding with Indira Devi, disciple of Sri Dilip Kumar Roy (1897-1980), the founder of theHari Krishna Mandir Ashram at Poona, India. He travelled to India as early as 1960 and took onthe name Prashanta.

He entered the coin business in 1958 as manager of the leased coin department within the JordanMarsh Department Store in Boston. He did not last long at any of his numismatic jobs.

Taxay worked as manager of the Royal Athena Coin Galleries in New York. Later he workedwith John J. Ford, Jr. and Walter Breen at New Netherlands Coin Company. He and Breenformed the Institute of Numismatic Authenticators in 1963. He served as curator for the ChaseManhattan Bank Money Museum for two years from April 1964 to May 1966. He left to conductan authentication and appraisal service in New York City.

In 1969 he joined William Thomas Anton, Jr. to write catalogs for Harmer Rooke. At the time hewas using the name D. Paul Taxay. Then he joined Harry Foreman with Foreman, Taxay andAssociates in 1974. In 1975 he was appointed senior vice president of First Coinventors, Inc. anddirector of their Colonial American Coin Club. He was not a good fit and soon terminated.

He formed a corporation, Rare Coin Collectors Co-op, Inc, on July 8, 1976. The business addresswas 700 Summer Street, Stamford, Connecticut 06901. The corporation had a dissolution date ofDecember 30, 1977.

Taxay wrote a series of five books that were important references in their time and remainrelevant today. The first was Counterfeit, Mis-struck, and Unofficial U.S. Coins, A Guide for theDetection of Cast and Struck Counterfeits, Electrotypes and Altered Coins (1963). The secondwas my favorite, The U. S. Mint and Coinage (1966). This was followed by An IllustratedHistory of U. S. Commemorative Coinage (1967). Then came Money of The American Indiansand Other Primitive Currencies of the Americas (1970). Finally came The ComprehensiveCatalogue and Encyclopedia of United States Coins published in 1971. A second edition waspublished in 1976. Five books published over the span of eight years while conducting his coinbusiness is a remarkable accomplishment.

Karl Moulton was highly critical of Taxay and the U. S. Mint book. In the January 1, 2006, issueof The E-Sylum. Moulton wrote,

Moulton's passing is still fresh in our minds. I believe with the passage of time, his work may besubject to the same criticism.Don Taxay (age 44) married Constance Ferris (age 35) at Stamford, Connecticut, onChristmas Day in 1977. They were divorced on April 12, 1982. Constance A. Ferris (5/2/1942-10/6/2009) died in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her life dates fit.

This brings us to the disappearance of Taxay around the time of his 1977 marriage. Variousnumismatists have commented on his disappearance. One story is that he was a Hare Krishna andtravelled to Poona, India, to meet with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931-1990). He returned to theUnited States and sold off his library before returning to India.

Perhaps he went to Poona as a follower of Sri Dilip Kumar Roy rather than Bhagwan ShreeRajneesh. Most American numismatists would not know the difference.

Another story is that he married a wealthy woman and moved to Florida. His 1977 marriagesupports this story and contradicts the concept that he sold of his belongings to disappear inIndia.

Julia Casey found an article in The Tampa Tribune of November 23, 1979, that quotes DonaldTaxay on his move to Lakeland, Florida, Later he said,

The Familysearch website indicates that Donald P. Taxay was a resident of Stamford,Connecticut, from September 1, 2005 until August 6, 2008. These records are frequentlyinaccurate but may be a clue that he was in Stamford at some time after 1977.

So, there appear to be two conflicting stories. Perhaps he sold all his worldly possessions tomeditate in India, or perhaps he retired to Florida to enjoy the weather and buy a pony.

Sometimes the lack of evidence is evidence. With no record of activity in the past forty years, it is likely that he was out of the country. It is also likely that he died while out of the country.