Why
was it so important that the Josiah K. Lilly Collection become part of the
National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian? What made this collection so
important and what made the building of the Lilly Collection possible? The
quality and quantity of the coins were so exceptional because Mr. Lilly could
acquire full or nearly full sets formed by collectors before him. These
included $1 to $4 gold from the Anderson Dupont Collection; $5 and $10 gold
from the Clifford Weihman Collection; $20 double eagles from the Robert
Schermerhorn Collection; Pioneer and Territorial gold coins from the
F.C.C. Boyd and the Brand collections. All these became available during
the 1950s and early 1960s. This was a somewhat unique period when there was a
great change of ownership from some old time collections to a new group of
buyers.
In
addition, World gold coins and Ancient gold coins also became available
during this period partly as a result of World War II. Additionally an advance
in prices on the market caused many collectors at this time to choose to sell
by private sale or at public auction. Stack’s had a number of sales during the
period, and many coins that had been difficult to find earlier became
available. We were fortunate to be able to acquire many items during this time
as we took advantage of the situation.
Josiah
K. Lilly was collecting at the right time and place!
Once
Congress approved the Bill to acquire the Lilly Collection coins for the
Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the collection was carefully packed, under the
personal supervision of Dr. and Mrs. Clain-Stefanelli, and shipped by
armored truck to Washington. I was honored to be invited to the Smithsonian for
the arrival of this great collection, one that I had been involved with for
some 16 years. I opened many cases, helped place the coins in special drawers
within the vaults of the National Numismatic Collection, and worked with the
Clain-Stefanellis and other staff to store the coins until they were ready for
display.
Work
began on creating an appropriate space to exhibit this massive collection of
gold coins to the public. The Smithsonian provided an enlarged gallery for the
display of many of its numismatic treasures. It measured more than 3,000 square
feet and would have wall cases, and flat display cases. For the wall cases
there would be a mounting device for each coin with the description below. The areas for each series were carefully
calculated.
Lighting
had to be installed to illuminate the collections. I was there many days
helping the staff arrange the display, and prepare literature to be distributed
to those who came to view this rare collection of gold coins. I was present
during the grand opening, and it received rave notices from visitors and great
publicity from the world press. It was an historic event!
The
addition of the J.K. Lilly Collection raised the status of the National
Numismatic Collection among collections in museums worldwide. In the next part
of this story I will add to the story of the National Numismatic Collection.
