An email message from Chuck Heck on Saturday, January 7, had the notice that long-time EACdealer Doug Bird had died on Thursday, January 5, 2023.

Doug Bird was born on June 25, 1944, in Boston, Massachusetts. He received a BBA fromLoyola University in Los Angeles in 1966. The Army called him to service during 1967-68including a thirteen-month tour in Vietnam. He was married with a son, Doug Jr.

Doug began collecting coins in 1953 and joined EAC in 1973. He was LM-2763 with the ANA.He was employed in the real world as director of human resources 1969 to 1982. During thattime, he was a part-time coin dealer. He made coin dealing a full-time business in 1982specializing in early copper and type coins.

In the 1980's, McLauglin and Robinson were conducting coin auctions out east. Doug Bird andGary M. Ruttenburg had an affiliated operation out west.

In 2001, Doug and Steve Carr began teaching a popular class on early copper coins at the ANASummer Seminar in Colorado Springs. They also conducted seminars on grading and counterfeitdetection at the EAC conventions. Many of the current generation of collectors got a solidfoundation in the hobby through these courses. The two were presented with degrees at Summer Seminar in 2015.

Bird consigned 179 pieces to the Goldbergs for auction on February 16, 2020. These were betterquality coins that he set aside and never offered with inventory.

At the time of the sale, ANA president Steve Ellsworth presented Doug with an ANAPresidential Award. Doug helped establish and sponsored the ANA Early American Copper CoinProject.

I recall an incident with Doug that I found amusing at the time. I had stopped being a player inthe large cent game about twenty years earlier. I returned to the show circuit in 2005 as theemployee of a local coin dealer. Another employee was a married woman well known in thecopper field.

One evening after the show, we went to dinner in a large dining room filled with other coindealers. Doug spotted us from across the room and stood up and eyeballed us as we went to ourtable. I don't know if he was thinking or

When I was active in EAC forty years ago, many of my friends in the hobby were about my age.It comes as no surprise that they are all older now. Or perhaps I should say, those who havesurvived are all older now. Doug Bird was one day younger than me. The death of friends in thehobby hits us hard as we recognize their mortality and our own.

Mark Borckardt writes:

Chuck Heck writes: