An Unlisted Sale of the Ira Reed Collection

685 Pennypacker Auction Centre. ANNOUNCING AN EXTRAORDINARY AUCTION OF COINS AND STAMPS, ALSO ENCASED POSTAGE, TOKENS AND INDIAN RELICS, FROM THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF IRA S. REED, DECEASED. Kenhorst, Reading, Pa., May 16, 1955. 8vo, self-covered. 16 pages; no lots numbers: fine collection of stamps; (48) lots of encased postage; 9 pages listing U.S. federal coins; 3 pages listing Indian artifacts, books and furniture. Fine. (150.00)

A previously unknown catalogue, unlisted in any numismatic bibliography of which we are aware. While most of the material is poorly described, the collection of encased postage is noteworthy, as is the provenance. Ira Reed was a Glenside, Pennsylvania coin dealer who issued a number of auction catalogues and other publications, including the 1941 ANA sale. He died in October of 1954. The fact that this sale apparently has been completely forgotten is really quite remarkable. Indeed, it is a month earlier than the earliest Pennypacker sale included by Gengerke.

The Holland Pennypacker Sale

686 Pennypacker Auction Centre. STAMPS - COINS - BOOKS. PUBLIC AND MAIL BID. THE FAMOUS LEONARD M. HOLLAND LARGE COPPER CENT COLLECTION. MOSTLY IN UNCIRCULATED CONDITION 1793 TO 1857, FEATURING MANY FINEST KNOWN VARIETIES. Kenhorst, Reading, Pa.: Catalogued by Mason-Dixon Coin Exchange (Thomas Warfield), May 8-9, 1959. 8vo, self-covered. 16 pages; (103) lots of large cents; 261 lots of other coins; (11) lots of stamps; 200 lots of books; 10 halftone illustrations of large cents. Fine. (200.00)

The Pennypacker sale was a remarkable event, offering a fine collection of large cents assembled in the late 1940s and 1950s, mostly acquired from Leonard Holland's good friend Thomas Elder. Holland pledged the collection as collateral for a construction project loan in the late 1950s. He encountered unforeseen difficulties and the bank foreclosed the loan, choosing an obscure country auctioneer to liquidate the collection. Distribution of the catalogue was limited and the coins generally sold for low prices. Some of the important collectors of the day did not learn of the sale and several of the attendees funneled their bids through a single agent.

After the sale, it is reported that the coins were again auctioned within the group in a hotel room. Sometimes, the differences were dramatic, with coins subsequently bringing double or triple the original hammer price. Notables attending the sale included Ray Gallo, Louis Helfenstein, Dorothy Paschal, Gene Reale, C. Douglas Smith, Harvey Stack, Willard C. Blaisdell, Michael Kolman, Allen McDowell and Walter Breen.