He was an accountant for the Scott estate for forty years. He was a member of his local historical society and local coin club.

His grandfather was senior partner in King & Baird, producer of Civil War envelopes. A group of 800 envelopes was passed down to Robert. He collected Civil War tokens from circulation in the 1870's.

He began to specialize in Lincoln items about 1909. He was the author of “Lincoln in Numismatics.” It was originally published in The Numismatist in February 1924 and reprinted by TAMS in 1966. The original article and two supplements listed more than 1050 Lincoln items. The first ANA Heath Literary Award was awarded to King in 1924 for this article. His collection went to the Erie museum.

He died at home in Erie, Pennsylvania.

obit: NUM 72 Apr 1959 page 417-418