Custodial care
Contursi showcases historic rarities as part of his passion for teaching others about coins
Coin World
By Beth Deisher COIN WORLD Staff
Monday, January 1, 2007

What’s next?

Steven L. Contursi admits he’s not sure if there’s another historical rarity that fits his quest or if he’s at the apex of a highly specialized pursuit.

He currently owns three of the most significant and rare items in the world of U.S. coin collecting: The unique 1787 Brasher doubloon with the EB counterstamp on the eagle’s breast, widely accorded the status of America’s first gold coin.   The 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar some believe to be the first dollar struck by the U.S. Mint.   The King of Siam Proof set, among the nation’s first known sets, which was especially struck for presentation as a diplomatic gift on behalf of U.S. President Andrew Jackson to the King of Siam (Thailand) in 1836.

"Each of those three items – the Brasher doubloon, the 1794 dollar, the King of Siam set – were kind of unique opportunities.   I was never seeking these items, but when they became available, I made the decision to purchase them," says Contursi , president of Rare Coin Wholesalers based in Dana Point, Calif.

Contursi has been at the helm of Rare Coin Wholesalers since 2001.   During that time he says his firm has handled rare coins with a total value in the hundreds of millions of dollars and that he and RCW have owned or participated in the purchase or sale of most of what researchers and hobbyists agree are coins that rank in the top 100 of America’s greatest rarities.

Never in his wildest imagination could Contursi have dreamed that he would one day see, much less own, such rarities.   The son of a New York City taxi driver and a meter maid, he became interested in collecting coins at about age 7.

He decided dimes and 5-cent coins were more than he could afford to collect, so he set his sights on the more plentiful cents and began hunting through rolls and pocket change for dates and Mint marks.   He especially liked key dates that he had learned about from reading, attending coin shows and from frequent visits to his neighborhood coin shop.

It didn’t take him long to realize that he had a keen eye for detail and a good memory for rarity, and could turn a profit by buying from one shop and traveling across town and selling to another.

Academically talented, Contursi began focusing on math and physics as fields of study.   When he graduated from New York University in 1974 with a degree in physics, he was recognized for his academic achievement.   He decided to pursue graduate study in physics at the University of Minnesota with an eye toward completing his doctorate and teaching on the college level.

To supplement his income while in graduate school he found parttime work at a coin shop near campus, but he began to think about numismatics as a profession when he began to fully understand his limited opportunities in higher education.

"I have a passion for explaining things and wanted to be a professor," Contursi said.   He recalls that in the mid-1970s there were about 100 applicants for every professorship. "There were no job opportunities.   That’s the reason I decided to change to coins," he explained   He opened his own coin shop in a Minneapolis suburb in 1975 and during the next 25 years would work with and for some of the nation’s largest coin dealers, including Northwest Territories Gold and Silver Exchange, Miller-Contursi, Blanchard and Co., and Monex Rare Coins, which lured him to California in 1988.

"I often second guess.   I often wonder if I would have been as far along financially.   But that’s not necessarily the only thing that makes one successful," Contursi said.   He says he has no regrets at having decided to become a professional numismatist, but admits to thinking about what it may have been like had he stayed at the University of Minnesota and completed his doctorate in physics.

"Where would life have taken me at that point? Obviously it would have been a completely different road," Contursi said in a rare reflective moment, standing beside his bourse table at a recent major East Coast coin show.

Contursi travels many paths these days as he crisscrosses the country attending coin shows buying and selling coins.

"I love attending coin shows. I constantly live out my fantasy of trading rare coins."   In many of the venues, such the Florida United Numismatists convention, American Numismatic Association conventions and the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expos he displays the three "national treasurers" he counts within his personal collection.

Sometimes he refers to himself as a "custodian" of the rarities, but he could rightly claim the title of numismatic ambassadorat-large because he is often thrust into the role of hobby spokesman as the media clamors for interviews with the owner of the headliner coins on display.

"I do feel like an ambassador.   I want as many people to see them and appreciate them and get some of the joy.   If they can’t own them, at least I want them to be able to see the coins and in a way to be able to touch them.   That’s why I bring them to the different coins shows," Contursi said.

"Having these coins is a privilege – an incredible privilege," Contursi adds.

"I remember as a child growing up in the Bronx, delivering papers for $5 to $7 a week, and looking through penny rolls to fill up my Whitman penny albums.   And now, it’s 40 years later and I own some of the greatest numismatic coins ever.   I’m very respectful of that."

His respect for the rarities led him to have special oak display cases made by a master craftsman in Colorado.   Each is individually designed to reflect the historical period of the coin’s origin, but also to showcase the coins under special lighting and in such a manner as to let the viewer be up-close and personal in his viewing.   The displays are also replete with large-size color photographs and historical documents that tell the story of the coins or set on display.

Contursi’s love of history and his quest to know more has led to a greater understanding of his 1794 Flowing Hair dollar, which he readily admits is his favorite of the many rarities he has seen and owned.   "It started my taste for rarities of the ‘first’ caliber."

He obtained the silver dollar when he purchased approximately 90 percent of the Knoxville Collection from Jay Parrino in March of 2003.   The Knoxville Collection was rated by many as the most famous collection of silver U.S. coins ever assembled.   Before residing in the Knoxville Collection, Contursi’s 1794 Flowing Hair dollar had been in the Amon Carter Collection, with its pedigree tracing back to the turn of the century in Col. E.H.R. Green’s famous collection.

When Contursi took possession of the coin, he observed that it has a silver plug in it and the design details are razor sharp.   He first showed the coin to grading specialist David Hall and then consulted other known specialists familiar with early silver dollars.   During the Pittsburgh ANA convention in August of 2004, he invited a dozen of the nation’s top numismatists to a special meeting to view the coin out of the holder it had been encapsulated in for grading.   After comparing other known examples and sharing research data, all agreed that Contursi’s coin is most likely the first silver dollar struck by the U.S. Mint.

"To see that coin out of the holder – it was more spectacular than I could ever have envisioned it," Contursi recalls.   "I have taken lots of coins out of holders, but I have never seen such a drastic difference in any coin ever from being in and outside of the holder.   It was like night and day.   That was the first time I had seen it outside of the holder."

Contursi says owning it has much more significance than just owning a coin.   "I like the history.   I like the significance that it has.   Here’s our young country developing a crown-size coin to compete with all the other countries in the world.   It’s kind of like the United States of America saying to the rest of the world, ‘we may be a new country, but we plan on making some impact in the international trade.’   It’s a significant coin because it represents America’s economy – certainly the initial stages of the American economy.   In a way, I look at it like the Declaration of Independence is to our freedom. The first 1794 silver dollar struck is the beginnings of our economy."

Contursi says the consensus of opinion that his 1794 Flowing Hair dollar is likely the first to be struck whetted his appetite to continue.

"When the Brasher doubloon became available at Heritage’s FUN show sale – that being considered the first gold coin to be made in America – I decided to purchase it. Then when the King of Siam set became available – technically it’s the first of the first four Proof sets made in America – I decided to go for it."

Contursi won his Brasher doubloon at auction Jan. 12, 2005, for $2.99 million (including the 15 percent buyer’s fee). He personally bid on the coin, but announced after the sale that gold specialist Donald Kagin has a one-third ownership interest in it.

Just 11 months later, he signed a check for $8.5 million in payment to a West Coast business executive for the King of Siam set. It would be hailed as the largest transaction for a single coin set in U.S. history.

The set contains one of the eight Class I 1804 Draped Bust silver dollars and an 1804 Capped Bust, Heraldic Eagle, Plain 4 gold $10 eagle (both struck in 1834) and one of each denomination struck in 1834: an 1834 Classic Head gold $5 half eagle, an 1834 Classic Head gold $2.50 quarter eagle, an 1834 Capped Bust half dollar, an 1834 Capped Bust quarter dollar, an 1834 Capped Bust dime, an 1834 Capped Bust half dime, an 1834 Coronet cent and an 1834 Classic Head half cent.

The set also contains an 1833 gold medal with President Jackson on the obverse.

When the set surfaced in London more than 50 years ago, the half dime and the Jackson medal were missing. An owner of the set about a decade ago added the two pieces so the set could be complete again and be representative of the set presented to the king in 1836. (It is not known whether either added piece to the set is the original.)

When the 1794 Flowing Hair dollar and the 1787 Brasher doubloon are not on display at coin shows, they are on loan and reside on display in the ANA’s Edward C. Rochette Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Sometimes at major shows, Contursi takes a break from the buying and selling on the bourse floor and walks over in a quiet and unassuming manner to observe visitors admiring the coins. Chances are, if you encounter him in the exhibit area, he will have a broad smile on his face.

"I like to see people enjoy things. It’s kind of a reality check – to make sure it’s what it is. It is special. … And people are seeing what I’m seeing. It really is a thrill to see a coin like that."

Contursi is adamant that he plans to keep the 1794 dollar in his collection for a long time.

"That coin has never been for sale and I have no anticipation of selling it. The King of Siam Set and the Brasher doubloon are for sale. I’ve made it known they are for sale. But I’ve never made known that the 1794 dollar is for sale," he says.

Contursi , 53, leads a busy life in the numismatic community. But he also leads a busy life at home in Southern California, where sports and coaching youth sports teams command a good portion of his time. He and his wife, Seanne, are the parents of five children – two sons and three daughters. Their oldest son, Michael, recently completed his service in the Air Force and returned home to join his father in the coin business.

Contursi believes the future holds lots of excitement for coin collecting and suggests the rare coin market is likely to be very healthy for a number of years to come.

"I think from 1999 forward the base of people purchasing coins has expanded exponentially for lots of reasons. The Statehood quarter program brought lots of new people into the coin market or has re-introduced them. Once a person kind of gets a taste of numismatics, they tend to go online. The Web certainly has made a tremendous impact in our business. The marketplace now is no longer a handful of speculators and a couple of retailers. It’s a huge base of collectors, " he observed.

"There are people out there buying coins. I consign a lot of coins to auctions and they are being bought by a wide variety of people. With a broader market, when corrections do come in our marketplace, they will not be as severe as they were in 1979 and in 1990."

With regard to those new to the coin market, he readily shares advice based on his own experience.

"It really doesn’t matter how expensive the coins are. If you have a passion, if you like the search, if you like the hunt, it’s a thrill at any level."

He notes: "I have the same enjoyment today looking for great rarities as I did when I was a 10 year-old or 12-year-old kid, looking through penny rolls trying to fill in my Whitman coin album. If that’s something that gets you excited, then just follow it."

For the more advanced collector he cautions: "If you are buying coins that are a little bit more expensive, you need to buy coins that you truly like and that you like the looks of. It doesn’t really matter what the holder says. I prefer that people purchase Professional Coin Grading Service or Numismatic Guaranty Corp. graded coins because I think they are the most qualified coin grading services. That gives them a good guideline of what the grades are, but they still have to genuinely like the coins before they buy them. If they like them then chances are when they go to sell them, other people will like them too and they will be easy to sell."

So, does Steve Contursi have another rarity in mind to add to his collection?

The answer: "Yes, if there’s another first out there ... that would fit in." But right now, he has no clue as to what that might be.

1794 FLOWING HAIR dollar is believed to be the first silver dollar struck at the United States Mint in Philadelphia.

CONTURSI , left, records the numbers as John Dannreuther measures other 1794 Flowing Hair dollars for research that led to consensus regarding Contoursi’s coin being the first struck.

UNIQUE 1787 Brasher doubloon with "EB" counterstamp on Breast is believed to be America’s first gold coin. Contursi purchased it from Heritage’s 2005 FUN auction for $2.99 million. Donald H. Kagin has a one-third ownership interest in the rarity.

KEN BRESSETT examines the edge of the 1794 silver dollar. He was one of 12 experts who participated in research of the coin.

KING OF SIAM Proof set was created as an 1836 diplomatic gift from President Andrew Jackson. Contursi purchased it for $8.5 million by private treaty from a West Coast business executive in 2005.

Photo courtesy Donn Pearlman. AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE Contursi tells WCBS-TV Channel 2 New York reporter Morry Alter, left, in June 2005 about the unique 1787 Brasher doubloon’s first appearance in New York City in more than a century.

OAK DISPLAY case was designed to showcase the 1794 Flowing Hair dollar.