Aaron Feldman Biography

Aaron Feldman by Mike Marotta, MSNS 7935.
(This article originally appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of the MSNS
MichMatist.)

BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COIN reads the advertisement in the March 1966
issue of The Numismatist. Aaron R. Feldman offered 25 titles, some of
which were classics then as now: Sheldon, Beistle, and Bolender. Don
Taxay’s book on counterfeits (1964) was a new addition to our
knowledge base. The Friedberg family was still in its first
generation with Paper Money of the United States. In 1991, the
Numismatic Bibliomania Society raised $3,000 for an endowment for the
ANA convention exhibit awards. The Aaron R. Feldman award has been
given to MSNS members Larry Sekulich (three times) and Steven Roach,
as well as to Kalamazoo native Joel Orosz. Today, Feldman easily
bears the title “literature dealer.” He said, “I’ve always thought
that if a man doesn’t own one coin, but has the knowledge that in the
books, then he’s a real numismatist.” However, Feldman himself owned
many coins.
After returning from World War I with a mustard gas injury, he worked
in his uncle’s millinery business. As an astute businessman, his
serious collecting began during the 1930s. Like most, he began with
standard U.S. issues but soon discovered the untapped markets in Civil
War Tokens, Hard Times Tokens, and Presidential Inaugural Medals. He
bought whole collections and became known to the dealers. Feldman
then moved into paper money, assembling an admirable inventory of U.S.
Large Size notes under the tutelage of George Herbert Blake
(1858-1955) who was called “the dean of American paper money.” The
depth of Feldman’s interest can be gauged by the fact that he wrote an
article for Coin World (Dec. 22, 1961), “Irish Revolutionists Issue
Freedom Bonds.” The sidebar called him an “avid paper student.”
Whatever his other interests, this is the only article attributed
directly to Feldman.
His influence was personal. He lugged his books to ANA conventions.
He entertained customers at “the world’s smallest coin shop” amid the
diamond merchants at 1220 Avenue of the Americas (which natives always
have called “Sixth Avenue”). Q. David Bowers has fond memories of the
little store. “He had a small cubicle in the NY Diamond Exchange just
off 5th Avenue, where he went during weekdays. It probably measured no
more than 8 feet square, with diamond dealers and jewelers all around
him. I knew him well and visited many times.” Aaron Feldman was a
member of the ANA, the ANS, the Empire State Numismatic Association
and many other coin clubs over the years. Successful in business,
Feldman could afford to indulge his passions. He was known to sell
books at cost to beginning collectors.
Feldman endured Parkinson’s disease in his declining years. He
closed his shop and did business by mail. When it came time to sell
off his literature collection to meet his medical expenses, he was
caught by bad timing. His own favorite literature dealer was Frank
Katen (1903-2001) who has been called “the pathfinder of American
Numismatic Bibliomania” and the “Moses” of numismatic literature.
However, Katen could not handle Feldman’s collection. So, Feldman
consigned it to Swann Galleries, another specialist in books.
However, Feldman was not impressed with Swann’s appreciation of
numismatics as a specialty. They had, in fact, considered coin books
to be “throwaways.” Nonetheless, George S. Lowry, president of
Swann’s was happy with the results: the sale grossed $13,000 (November
29, 1973), which, relative to the price of gold or gasoline today
would be like a quarter of a million dollars. However, for Feldman,
it was a disaster. Boxes of 19th century catalogues, back issues of
ANS and ANA publications, cartons from Wayte Raymond, James Kelly,
Stacks, and Mehl all went for fractions of the pre-sale estimates.
The two-volume Saxonia Numismatica by Wilhelm Ernst Tentzel, written
in German and Latin and published in 1708, sold for $275.
Writing this in February 2008, I found the same books for sale from a
German dealer for €350 (about $510-$520). Compared to gold and
gasoline, these books remain greatly undervalued. Literature is a
tough sell. Coins are shiny; gold and silver are hard money. When
you hold a 20¢ piece you can imagine what it bought back then. But if
coins are “history you can hold in your hand” then without the
history, all you have is a melted rock. Coin collectors come to the
bourse floor armed with Greysheets and Red Books and printouts. They
want the best prices – and rightfully so. It is an immutable law of
economics that price is a matter of supply and demand. With old
coins, the supplies are more or less fixed. All that changes is the
demand. Demand begins with literature. One collector writes an
article for a magazine. Another collector creates an exhibit.
Someone else gives a talk at an ANA convention. Eventually a book
comes out. At every step, from original research, to the sharing of
information, to the reading of good books, each aficionado enjoys
profits not available to later buyers and sellers. The people with
the price sheets are the last in line. They pay for the profits not
realized in the sales of rare books. It is perhaps unfair that
collectible books are not prized more highly. The advantage is that
almost any book at almost any price is a bargain. You cannot buy them
much cheaper. The profits come from knowing what is between the
covers. The best collections are built on knowledge, not price
sheets.

Sources
Bowers, Dave, email to author, Wednesday, December 26, 2007 11:13 pm
Feldman, Aaron, “Irish Revolutionists Issue Freedom Bonds,” Coin
World, December 22, 1961, page 56.
“Frank Katen, 1903-2001” The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 5, January 28,
2001, Article 2. http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v04n05a02.html
Smith, Pete, “Names in Numisatics: Feldman Promoted Numismatic
Literature,” The Numismatist, December 1998, page 1373.
“Aaron Feldman dead at 81; famous for book advocacy,” Coin World,
April 7, 1976, pg. 3.
Hamburger Antiquariat Keip GmbH, Grindelhof 48, 20146 Hamburg,
Germany
http://www.antiqbook.de/boox/ham/266999.shtml

Great post--thank you!


"Mike Marotta" wrote in message
...
Aaron Feldman by Mike Marotta, MSNS 7935.
(This article originally appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of the MSNS
MichMatist.)

BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COIN reads the advertisement in the March 1966
issue of The Numismatist. Aaron R. Feldman offered 25 titles, some of
which were classics then as now: Sheldon, Beistle, and Bolender. Don
Taxay’s book on counterfeits (1964) was a new addition to our
knowledge base. The Friedberg family was still in its first
generation with Paper Money of the United States. In 1991, the
Numismatic Bibliomania Society raised $3,000 for an endowment for the
ANA convention exhibit awards. The Aaron R. Feldman award has been
given to MSNS members Larry Sekulich (three times) and Steven Roach,
as well as to Kalamazoo native Joel Orosz. Today, Feldman easily
bears the title “literature dealer.” He said, “I’ve always thought
that if a man doesn’t own one coin, but has the knowledge that in the
books, then he’s a real numismatist.” However, Feldman himself owned
many coins.
After returning from World War I with a mustard gas injury, he worked
in his uncle’s millinery business. As an astute businessman, his
serious collecting began during the 1930s. Like most, he began with
standard U.S. issues but soon discovered the untapped markets in Civil
War Tokens, Hard Times Tokens, and Presidential Inaugural Medals. He
bought whole collections and became known to the dealers. Feldman
then moved into paper money, assembling an admirable inventory of U.S.
Large Size notes under the tutelage of George Herbert Blake
(1858-1955) who was called “the dean of American paper money.” The
depth of Feldman’s interest can be gauged by the fact that he wrote an
article for Coin World (Dec. 22, 1961), “Irish Revolutionists Issue
Freedom Bonds.” The sidebar called him an “avid paper student.”
Whatever his other interests, this is the only article attributed
directly to Feldman.
His influence was personal. He lugged his books to ANA conventions.
He entertained customers at “the world’s smallest coin shop” amid the
diamond merchants at 1220 Avenue of the Americas (which natives always
have called “Sixth Avenue”). Q. David Bowers has fond memories of the
little store. “He had a small cubicle in the NY Diamond Exchange just
off 5th Avenue, where he went during weekdays. It probably measured no
more than 8 feet square, with diamond dealers and jewelers all around
him. I knew him well and visited many times.” Aaron Feldman was a
member of the ANA, the ANS, the Empire State Numismatic Association
and many other coin clubs over the years. Successful in business,
Feldman could afford to indulge his passions. He was known to sell
books at cost to beginning collectors.
Feldman endured Parkinson’s disease in his declining years. He
closed his shop and did business by mail. When it came time to sell
off his literature collection to meet his medical expenses, he was
caught by bad timing. His own favorite literature dealer was Frank
Katen (1903-2001) who has been called “the pathfinder of American
Numismatic Bibliomania” and the “Moses” of numismatic literature.
However, Katen could not handle Feldman’s collection. So, Feldman
consigned it to Swann Galleries, another specialist in books.
However, Feldman was not impressed with Swann’s appreciation of
numismatics as a specialty. They had, in fact, considered coin books
to be “throwaways.” Nonetheless, George S. Lowry, president of
Swann’s was happy with the results: the sale grossed $13,000 (November
29, 1973), which, relative to the price of gold or gasoline today
would be like a quarter of a million dollars. However, for Feldman,
it was a disaster. Boxes of 19th century catalogues, back issues of
ANS and ANA publications, cartons from Wayte Raymond, James Kelly,
Stacks, and Mehl all went for fractions of the pre-sale estimates.
The two-volume Saxonia Numismatica by Wilhelm Ernst Tentzel, written
in German and Latin and published in 1708, sold for $275.
Writing this in February 2008, I found the same books for sale from a
German dealer for €350 (about $510-$520). Compared to gold and
gasoline, these books remain greatly undervalued. Literature is a
tough sell. Coins are shiny; gold and silver are hard money. When
you hold a 20¢ piece you can imagine what it bought back then. But if
coins are “history you can hold in your hand” then without the
history, all you have is a melted rock. Coin collectors come to the
bourse floor armed with Greysheets and Red Books and printouts. They
want the best prices – and rightfully so. It is an immutable law of
economics that price is a matter of supply and demand. With old
coins, the supplies are more or less fixed. All that changes is the
demand. Demand begins with literature. One collector writes an
article for a magazine. Another collector creates an exhibit.
Someone else gives a talk at an ANA convention. Eventually a book
comes out. At every step, from original research, to the sharing of
information, to the reading of good books, each aficionado enjoys
profits not available to later buyers and sellers. The people with
the price sheets are the last in line. They pay for the profits not
realized in the sales of rare books. It is perhaps unfair that
collectible books are not prized more highly. The advantage is that
almost any book at almost any price is a bargain. You cannot buy them
much cheaper. The profits come from knowing what is between the
covers. The best collections are built on knowledge, not price
sheets.

Sources
Bowers, Dave, email to author, Wednesday, December 26, 2007 11:13 pm
Feldman, Aaron, “Irish Revolutionists Issue Freedom Bonds,” Coin
World, December 22, 1961, page 56.
“Frank Katen, 1903-2001” The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 5, January 28,
2001, Article 2. http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v04n05a02.html
Smith, Pete, “Names in Numisatics: Feldman Promoted Numismatic
Literature,” The Numismatist, December 1998, page 1373.
“Aaron Feldman dead at 81; famous for book advocacy,” Coin World,
April 7, 1976, pg. 3.
Hamburger Antiquariat Keip GmbH, Grindelhof 48, 20146 Hamburg,
Germany
http://www.antiqbook.de/boox/ham/266999.shtml