This week I came across an unfamiliar name that got my attention. Of Frank John Joseph,Wikipedia stated He was not mentioned by Attinelli (ABibliography of American Numismatic Auction Catalogues 1828-1875); not mentioned byBowers (American Numismatics Before the Civil War); not in the Centennial History of theA.N.A. In fact, I did not find him in any book in my library.

Perhaps the first problem is that he was Canadian. He was born in Toronto on June 5, 1838, theson of John Joseph and Elizabeth-Anne Macaulay. He was unmarried.

He was a barrister at law and served as a law clerk in the Ontario legislature. He was the authorof legal handbooks including A Digest of the Reported Cases Determined in the Superior Courtsof Ontario.

He was described as having the finest collection of British war medals in North America. He alsohad significant holdings of British, Canadian, United States and ancient coins.

He died in a railroad accident near Toronto on February 8, 1895, and is buried at CathedralChurch of Saint James in Toronto.

His obituary in the American Journal of Numismatics, July 1895, is the only reference on Josephfound on the Newman Numismatic Portal.

I yield to our Canadian readers to explain why he belongs on the Wikipedia