My phone and in-box lit up last evening with word that numismatic literature dealer John Burns had passed away at the F.U.N. show in Florida. Dennis Tucker of Whitman Publishing posted an announcement and tribute on the Collector's Universe forum. I soon heard from Tom DeLorey, Wayne Herndon, Andy Singer, Pete Smith Michael Sullivan, Myron Xenos, David Sklow and others.

John was a regular fixture at several major coin shows, setting up with thousands of numismatic books for sale. He was a fellow student at the University of Pittsburgh, and he was among the first to respond to my flyers announcing the formation of a student coin club. There wasn't one on campus and I'd decided to start one.

It was John who helped introduce me to numismatic literature. Later he introduced me to numismatic bibliophile Armand Champa, who became another lifelong friend. And through Armand's famous "Invasion of Louisville" library tour, I in turn met John J. Ford, Jules Reiver, Ken Lowe, Myron Xenos and a host of other bibliophiles, many of whom also became lifelong friends. Those friends and our mutual interest led me to found The E-Sylum, and here we are today. Thanks, John - may you rest in peace.

Our mutual friend Pat McBride of the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN) helped John load his van before the FUN show, and later hopped a plane to Florida. He again helped John set up his display at the show. Although John had travelled with Paul Cunningham (as they often did), they ended up in separate hotels on this trip.

From what I've been able to gather from various reports, John attended a dinner Friday night with companions including Charlie Horning, Steve Crain, Richard Meaney, Glenn Peterson and Brad Karoleff. Pat McBride called John on the phone about 11pm, and he seemed fine; he was in his hotel room and looking forward to the rest of the show, which is typically a big one for book sales. Pat may be the last person to speak with him. John didn't appear at the show Saturday and was found in his hotel room about 3pm Saturday.

Here's the text of Dennis Tucker's announcement:

Commentary included:

To read the complete discussion thread, see:Rest in Peace, John Burns(forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=907577)

Brad Karoleff writes:

Michael Sullivan writes:

Dave Lange writes:

Joel Orosz writes:

Paul Cunningham writes:

Ray Williams writes:

Cindy Wibker of the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) writes:

John Kralvevich is organizing a memorial ad for John in an upcoming issue of Coin World. The cost per person will vary with the number of signers. If you'd like to participate, contact John atjkamericana@gmail.com.