During the recent ANA WFOM on Saturday, August 10, I met Mark Borckardt at the Heritage table andhe led me across the room to the table of Jones and Horan. They are a company specializing inhorological auctions. If you are wondering what horological means, it's about time. They had acquired asmall group of choice coins that would appear in their October 10 auction. They were promoting the coinsat the show and made a presentation at the EAC meeting.

I was most interested in a 1794 Large Cent, S-48, the Starred Reverse cent. This is in a PCGS holder asVF-20.

The coins were from the family of William Foster Lardner and had been preserved in wax paperenvelopes for the past 90 years.

For those E-Sylum readers who complain that we don't include enough poetry, here is a poem aboutLardner.

Foster Lardner was born in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on November 24, 1873, the son of WilliamSheperd Lardner (1846-1905) and Mary Foster Jones (1841-1919). His father had a drug store inOconomowoc, Wisconsin. His father wanted Foster to become a doctor but his interests were in adifferent direction. His brother Lynford (1880-1941) did become a doctor.

Foster showed an interest in the theater at a young age. He wrote his first play at age ten which waspresented in a room in his home. As a youngster Foster put on productions in a barn with the admissioncharge being one pin. The circus came to town when he was thirteen and he followed by recruiting everykid in town to appear in his circus.

Lardner appeared in college theatrical productions and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in1894. Between acting roles, he worked at his father's drug store. He was offered employment by FelixMorris and toured with the Morris company for two years. For two more years he toured with Ada Rehanand then the Daniel Frohman Stock Company.

The Oconomowoc Enterprise had glowing comments in 1902.

Lardner moved to Providence in 1900 for work with the first Albee stock company. In 1906 CharlesLovenberg offered him a position as house manager in the Albee Theater. When a new theater waserected, he became the manager. In his role as manager, he read plays and selected those to be performed,interviewed and selected the cast and signed the players. In 1926 he became manager for seven theatersfor Keith-Albee Enterprises. Lardner resigned in 1930 after a merger with RKO.

He married Sibilla Iarene Besler Gidney (1874-1956) in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 28, 1911,and had a daughter.

He joined the American Numismatic Association in June 1913 as member 1701. He frequently attendedconventions and served on the board of governors in 1919 and 1920. At the 1928 convention, heentertained with magic tricks.

During the First World War, he did magic tricks for soldiers in hospitals. For Halloween in 1933, Lardnerentertained 60 children at the Providence Hospital with magic tricks. The children proclaimed that it wasthe best Halloween ever.

Lardner collapsed on stage at the Elks' Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island, while entertaining about400 members of the Providence Engineering Society. He died of a heart attack on May 17, 1934, and isburied at Princes Hill Burial Ground in Barrington, Rhode Island.

"Catalogue of the Splendid Collection of United States Cents: the Property of Mr. Foster Lardner:Containing Nearly One-hundred and Fifty Pieces, all in Choice Condition,"
The sale had the Lardner large cents with 146 lots. Fifty copies of the catalog were produced with fourplates. The plates might allow for pedigree tracking.

"Catalog of the Collection of U. S. Fine Cents and Rare Gold. The Property of Mr. Foster Lardner."
The sale had a nice run of 1794 large cents, lots 5 to 54. Lot 12 was listed as Hays 8, the equivalent of S-48. The description does not match the current coin.

The catalog for the Jones and Horan sale of October 10. 2024, has 400 lots. Lots 45 to 400 includejewelry and timepieces. The eighteen coins from the Lardner estate are lots 27 to 44. The starred reversecent is lot 43.

The highlight of the sale is lot 44, an 1834 proof half cent, PCGS PR66 proof cameo. It is the highestgraded example of that variety.

Lot 26US Draped Bust $5 Gold, 1802/1, PCGS XF45

Lot 29US Liberty Cap cent, 1795, PCGS AU Detail

Lot 34US Liberty Seated quarter, 1873, PCGS PR65 w/CAC

Lot 43US Liberty cent, 1794 Starred Reverse, PCGS VF20

Lot 44US half cent, 1843 Proof, PCGS PR66 Red Cameo

To visit the Jones and Horan website, see:
https://jones-horan.com/