In September of 1998, I chanced to purchase two Seated Liberty quarters (1863 - MS66 & 1882 - MS67) from Heritage's sale of the Andre Dawson collection. Recently, the pedigree of these two coins, which I still own, combined with this being the height of baseball season, piqued my interest to look back at the man and his collection.

In 1998, Andre Dawson had recently retired from Major League Baseball, predominately playing for the Montreal Expos and the Chicago Cubs. During his 22-year career, Dawson generated eye-popping statistics - 438 home runs, 1,591 RBIs, 314 stolen bases, and 8 All-Star appearances. But Dawson also underwent a staggering 12 knee surgeries during his career, and before non-invasive orthoscopic surgical methods were available: testimony to his toughness, perseverance, and love of the game. In 2010, Cooperstown recognized his athletic prowess, inducting Dawson into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But Andre Dawson was also an all-star coin collector! My two quarters from his collection were but a small sampling of his beautiful, high-quality type set that included 24 Liberty Seated pieces. Many of Dawson's carefully selected coins are still among the finest known specimens. His condition census pieces included: 1869 Half-Dime - MS68 NGC; 1859 Half-Dime - PF67 NGC; 1874 Dime (w/Arrows) - MS68 NGC; 1854 Quarter (w/Arrows) - MS67 NGC; 1854 Half-Dollar (w/Arrows) PF66 NGC; and an 1863 Dollar - MS67 NGC.

Today, Andre Dawson and wife Vanessa own and operate the Paradise Memorial Funeral Home in Miami, Florida, incorporating a staff of 16. Not only a great outfielder and successful businessman, Dawson distinguished himself as a collecting connoisseur, and in the process gave his coins a very memorable provenance.

For more information on the Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC), see:
http://www.lsccweb.org/

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
JAMES EARL JONES (1931-2024)(https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n37a09.html)