The personal library formed by numismatic bookseller George F. Kolbe will be sold at auction on Saturday, October 26, 2019. The sale will be conducted by Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers and will feature a printed catalogue and live online bidding. The catalogue will be available by the beginning of October, but clients are advised to save the date as the auction house expects intense interest in the sale.
The Kolbe Library was catalogued by George F. Kolbe himself in his 2012 book, “The Reference Library of a Numismatic Bookseller” (now out of print). The auction will feature not only those works discussed in that volume, but additional items acquired in the years since. Also featured will be various related collectables not included in the Reference Library volume, such as ANA Convention photographs, a fine coin cabinet, and a very well-preserved Fractional Currency shield. The sale catalogue is being written by David Fanning, using George’s book as its basis.
The sale will be of considerable importance for numismatic bibliographies from around the world, and will also include exceptional special editions of both standard and specialized numismatic references, annotated sale catalogues, numismatic biographies, rare and unusual private catalogues, numismatic ephemera, and other archival materials amassed over a career spanning more than half a century.
Kolbe & Fanning are also announcing at this time that the entire run of George Frederick Kolbe / David F. Fanning / Kolbe & Fanning catalogues will soon be available for online use at the Newman Numismatic Portal. This considerable scanning project is underway at this time and should be completed in the near future.
For further information on the upcoming auction sale and the firm, visit the website of Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers.
To learn more about George F. Kolbe and his (hi)story of selling numismatic books – he was the first really specialized numismatic bookseller in the US! – make sure to read this article on his 50th anniversary in the business.
In his “Reminiscences”, George Kolbe is sharing his memories and experiences as a Numismatic Bookseller with the readers of CoinsWeekly. Here you can find Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
Georg Kolbe of course has an entry in the CoinsWeekly Numismatic Who’s Who.