Groux came to America in the 1840s and established himself as a self-proclaimed language teacher and a professor of numismatics. An advertisement that regularly appeared in the Washington (D.C.) Sentinel reads:

Groux's personal collection of ancient through modern coins and medals was heralded as one of the finest, particularly by its owner, whose overly generous valuations thereof were readily accepted in the general press.

Awarding-winning author and researcher Joel Orosz graciously supplied page scans from his column, Orosz's column, a thorough recounting of Groux's grandiose and mostly ill-fated schemes, appeared in the Autumn 2022 issue of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society's The Asylum...

Orosz wrote that in 1852 Groux convinced congressman John L. Conger of Michigan to petition Congress to purchase the collection. The petition, according to the March 30, 1852, issue of The Republic, Washington, D.C., was presented in the House of Representatives on March 27 and offered 6,537 coins and medals to be purchased for the Library of Congress. Orosz notes the petition was referred to the Joint Committee on the Library, which was then bombarded by Groux with additional brochures and numismatic articles in his attempt to sell his collection.

This effort having failed, in 1855 Groux turned to a rather unique lottery scheme, which he laid out in a Nov. 17, 1855, pamphlet boldly titled a

Despite Gould's enthusiasm, it's believed the lottery never took place.

Writing in the September 1915 issue of The Numismatist, R. W. McLachlan noted McLachlan also observed that Groux overvalued his collection, observing with obvious sarcasm,

To read the complete article, see:
The 'Best Collection' That Was Never Sold(https://www.numismaticnews.net/collecting-101/the-best-collection-that-was-never-sold)