Numismatic literature includes books, periodicals, auction catalogs, mail bid sales and fixedprice lists. Perhaps overlooked are the coin columns published in local newspapers. Some of thebetter known columnists include Maurice Gould, Robert Obojoski, Mort Reed and Ed Reiter.

This week I came cross the name of a columnist I may have overlooked, Joe T. Pollack. I foundthree columns he had written for The Times of Munster, Indiana. I did not find anything abouthim in the Newman Numismatic Portal. I did not find him in any of the standard biographicalresources. It was easy to see how he could be overlooked.

Eventually I figured out the problem. The newspaper misspelled his name, I had better luckfinding information on Joseph Thomas Pollock.

He died on November 30, 2019. His obituary noted that his wife of 45 years, Katherine LawtonPollock, had preceded him in death. They had no children. Some other information appears in hisobituary:

The obituary did not explain that one regret. It also did not include his age or date of birth. Basedon other sources, I suspect he was born on October 6, 1935, the son of Joseph and Marie Pollock.His father was an oil refinery rigger.

He was active with several clubs in Indiana. In 1971 he was publisher of The Highlander,newsletter for the Highland Indiana Stamp and Coin Club. He wrote an article on BEP souvenircards published in Coin World in 1977.

Pollock took over writing the column after the June 25, 1975, death of another collector, Fay C.Smith. Among Smith's accomplishments was service on the 1975 United States AssayCommission. Syndicated columnist Gary L. Palmer continued to fill the column into January of1976. Some Palmer columns were also published by The Times after 1978.

Pollock's column ran weekly in The Times from February 1, 1976 through March 5, 1978. Hereported on activities of clubs in the area included activities of the Hammond Coin Club and theCalumet Numismatic Club. He reported on the meetings and promoted upcoming local showsaround the region. He also gave information on the Chicago International Coin Fair and theCentral States Numismatic Society convention. After the shows, he gave credit to some of theexhibit winners.

Some columns promoted products like commemorative medals produced by private mints. Thisinformation would have been available in the national coin publications. He reported on thingsthat were topical at the time like the G.S.A. sale of silver dollars and President Carterdiscontinuing the Assay Commission in 1977. In some columns he answered questions fromreaders.

In one column he admits that friends send him clippings from various publications that haveinteresting topics. With these clippings and a subscription to Coin World, he would have had allthe information he needed for his columns. His articles were appropriate for people who were notalready collectors and did not probe the depths of numismatic topics.

His interest in the Civil War was apparent with a 1976 article on the Fourth Battery, LightArtillery of the Indiana Volunteers and the 114 th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company C, twogroups of Civil War reenactors.

Occasionally he suggested reference books. He had good things to say about the 1977 and 1978editions of the World Almanac.

He joined the Numismatic Literary Guild in 1978. Their newsletter stated that The Times had areadership of more than 75,000. He specialized in silver dollars and fractional currency.

Pollock and his column provided a service to the local numismatic community. He neverachieved prominence on a national level. Perhaps, like others, he has been overlooked.

I did not find any record of publication in the last forty years of his life.

How many other examples are there of coin collecting columns that ran in only one local paper?

To read the complete April 24, 1977 article, see:
Elsie Stevens Posed For Coins(https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-elsie-stevens-posed-for-coins/131099418/)