Well-Known Coin Collectors

Buddy Ebsen

[photo: Buddy Ebsen]

During an interview with Paul Green, Buddy Ebsen told Numismatic News that he became interested in collecting after buying a coin for a friend.

“An admitted history buff, Ebsen told Green that he was fascinated by the history of coins in his collection. One of his favorites being a Territorial gold $50 octagonal slug that had a lot of nicks on [it]. ‘It’s a long way from being Mint State, but I associate a story with each one of these nicks’ . . . ‘A story about a family shoving off for the West and this is going to put them in business. And they get attacked by Indians and the coin is stolen’ . . . ‘Every one of these nicks I start making up stories about. So I enjoy this coin, even the heft of the coin.’”

(Photo and excerpt from October 13, 2002 issue of Numismatic News with permission from Krause Publications, Iola, WI 54990)

Penny Marshall

“Film director-actress Penny Marshall, besides having a numismatic first name, is a coin collector. Marshall said her first name came as a sop for her brothers, who were saving their pennies for a pony, but got a baby sister instead.”

(From August 15, 2002 issue of The Sacramento Bee)

James Earl Jones

[photo: James Earl Jones]

“Money. It’s difficult to imagine a world without it... But what exactly is money? Money can be many things. It’s coins and currency, credit cards and checks. But in some cultures it can be stones, feathers, beads, salt and tobacco, even seashells. Money can represent something else, too. You’ve heard the expressions, ‘Money is the root of all evil’; ‘Money makes the world go ’round’; and how about, ‘Money talks.’ Each piece of money has a story to tell: the people, places and events portrayed on it, those who made it, the way it was made, and why it was made. Money: it’s history you can hold in your hands!”

(Golden Globe and Tony Awards-winning actor James Earl Jones, in the educational video program, “Money: History in Your Hands” [American Numismatic Association and Professional Numismatists Guild, 1995])

Jerry Buss

“He's made millions from his sports and real estate empires, but he doesn't ‘invest’ in coins... he ‘collects’ them.”

Read about Jerry Buss, coin collector in this article from Numismatic News.

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