JR Newsletter: 30 October 2011 (60)

One contribution this week.  Dave Kahn wrote:

As many of you already know, our collecting community recently lost a good friend and a great collector.  Dale Heisler, of La Porte, IN past away October 2nd, at the much too-young age of 68.

Dale and his wonderful and very dedicated wife Edith were regulars at most of the big coin shows – ANA, FUN and Central States – and at almost any show held in the Upper Midwest.  The two of them were never far apart, and I don’t recall ever seeing one without the other.   In time, Bust half dollars became their collecting focus and Dale became member #113 of the Bust Half Nut Club.  The Heisler collection of Capped Bust halves includes 445 different varieties – a herculean feat these days – but Dale discovered along the way that he was fascinated by the wide array of die states that were available.  As the collection grew and new varieties were slower in coming, Dale focused almost exclusively on rare, unusual or interesting die states.  

As with many true collectors, there is a range of grade and quality represented within the collection.  Slabbed, or raw, VF or AU, cleaned or gem – none of that was Dale’s primary motivation.  If a rare variety or a die state he’d never seen before became available, Dale was likely to find a way to own it.  That’s the way complete, or nearly complete, collections are built.  And build they did!  The Heisler Collection includes nearly 800 coins, and truly offers something for everyone.  There are a few Capped Bust quarters and even a couple of Capped Bust half dimes, but the vast majority are halves – 83 Pre-Turbans and well over 650 Turbans, including a few Reeded Edge coins and even a small selection of Contemporary Counterfeits.  Indeed, “something for everyone” is not an overstatement here.

Brian Greer and I have been asked to handle the sale of the Heisler Collection.  We are working hard to prepare the coins for sale, and will offer the lion’s share at the upcoming Whitman Baltimore show, November 17 thru 20, at the Baltimore Convention Center.  We will be sharing table space with our friends at Higleyville Coin Company at table number 1600.  Note that our late arrangements did not allow us to be listed in the program.  The Baltimore show is usually a wonderful coin show even without the added incentive of being able to select from the Heisler coins.  We invite you to join us for this great opportunity. 

Dave
JRCS-445