It was years ago that we first learned of the Murphy Collection when one of our buyers stumbled across some of the inventory being sold by another dealer. It was a wholesale transaction whereby we were suppose to be the upfront “man” while the dealer was just our point guy whose job it was to locate deals just like this one. However, it didn’t turn out that way and eventually came to a head where the Murphy deal came exclusively to Chattanooga Coin.
Some buyers have asked about this collection and the details that surrounded the fact that a country doctor who lived in a remote area of North Carolina could accumulate enough of the stuff he actually owned. Here’s the story as told to this writer.
The Murphy deal came from a tiny town in North Carolina (we won’t say where or the exact details to protect the family and others that may be involved in selling this accumulation) that most would consider remote or out in the boondocks. Down south, here, we will just say it was a small town. The gentleman we describe as Dr. Murphy really was a doctor – a country doctor who also was a hoarder of coins. He wasn’t really a numismatist but knew enough to save and hoard up old silver, silver dollars, paper money (currently that is out of circulation) and of course gold coins that might show up. Very few modern sets and bulk came out of the doctor’s collection just because he didn’t believe being “modern” would ever be valuable in his lifetime. This doctor had lived a long life, a veteran of WWII and was a “hard money” saver. In fact he was a downright hoarder according to the stories we got and that was proven with all the miscellaneous “junk” we did buy: partial sets, cleaned Indian Head cents, Buffalo Nickels (he put “coin date” on to restore the dates). This kindly gentleman was truly a person who kept everything he ever bought or found that most anyone else would discard or resell quickly. A hoarder for sure!
When we did buy the estate we found a mother lode of everything. A lot of Jefferson nickels, like 50-D gems, wartime silver nickels, bag after bag of wheat cents, $2 bills that had red seals, a bunch of gold – mostly $5 and $1 pieces that were circulated. Just a mind boggling amount of coins. For the inventory, it just seemed that the old guy bought out a coin shop and took it all! That’s how much it was!
From the locals who knew him and his family they say he traded out medical services for payments due, went to a lot of estate sales and traveled to the big city (Charlotte) sometimes for auctions and flea markets. This man was not rich but did have a sizeable amount of inventory. As we bring forward the different parts of the sale – you’ll notice that much of it will be grouped in bulk with an occasional “rare coin” thrown in. He loved Charlotte and Dahlonega gold but his favorites were U. S. circulated silver dollars. You’ll have a field day with this deal and when you get your part of the collection just keep in mind this “hoard” will disappear fast. A lot for a little is the only way we can describe the sale. Good luck on this wonderful old estate.
Lewis Revels
CEO
Inventory to come soon. |
