One of the finest collections formed in the 20th Century
The Amon G. Carter, Jr. Collection of coins and currency had its beginnings in the early 1920s when Amon Carter, Sr. became interested in numismatics. Living in Fort Worth, Texas, Amon, Sr. had the opportunity to visit with and learn from one of the greatest dealers in the early part of the 20th century, B. Max Mehl who operated out of that city. B. Max, as his friends commonly called him, developed a merchandising program that brought coins to his office and collectors wanted to own what he was able to acquire.
Amon Carter, Sr. took advantage of being able to acquire coins from some of the earlier legendary collections of the late 19th century and of course the 20th century, and was able to build his own legendary collection. In his fantastic collection, he had coins from the Dexter, Neil, Colonial Green, Atwater, Olson, Roe, Granberg, Newcomer, Haseltine, and many other collections assembled years.
Amon Carter, Sr. was a very generous man, a great businessman, an owner of oil wells, and he developed his wealth by taking part in numerous civic activities. He owned the Fort Worth Star Telegram, one of the great newspapers of the Ft. Worth-Dallas area. He had a special interest in aviation, and helped bring the aircraft industry to the combined cities. As the cities grew he became a director of American Airlines. He was active in the Chamber of Commerce, in the development of art museums and the expansion of the airport known as the Dallas-Fort Worth airport — it had his name attached to it for many decades.
Wealth had to be shared, he always said, and he used his abilities and resources to help develop the school system, the oil and transport industry, and, as he was also a collector or art, started several museums. His interest in the arts included a love or western culture, and the paintings and statues he acquired and gave to the museums included works of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell among other many other famous Western artists
The collection of coins and currency Amon Sr. began had many classic coins and rivaled the art he acquired — therefore it was world class. His son, Amon G. Carter, Jr., who was born in 1919, collected with his father from an early age and was taught to look for the best that could be found. Amon, Jr. continued the collection after his father died in 1953.
The contents of the collection was legendary, and it is an example of how a father stimulated his son’s appreciation for collecting and how the son carried out the legacy until his death in 1982.
(In Part 2 I will continue
