Coins We Love: A Look Inside the Famous Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection!
Collectors Profiles: Harry Wesley Bass Jr.
Harry Bass was born in Oklahoma City on January 6, 1927, to Harry W. Bass Sr. and Wilma Schuessler. His father was known as the founder of multiple oil and gas companies and was often referred to as the pioneer in the recycling of natural gas. The family moved to Dallas in 1932, and Harry W. Bass Jr. began to attend Texas Country Day School. After graduating, he attended both the University of Texas and SMU. Between his years at SMU, he joined the US Navy, serving in the South Pacific during World War 2.
Shortly after he returned, he married Mary Mathewson, and the family moved to Calgary, Canada, where he began to work for the family firm Can-Tex. After his time there, he moved his way up in the oil business rapidly, quickly becoming a titan in the industry.
His first encounter with Numismatics occurred in 1955 when an accountant friend asked if he was able to obtain some 1955-D 25c’s since Bass served as bank director at the time. Bass was able to locate one $10 roll, which he gave to him at the face value cost. Nearly 10 years later, the accountant friend returned and notified Bass that a coin firm offered him 10x face value ($100). Bass, being the businessman he was, intrigue quickly followed. The concept of numismatics being used as a long-term investment was one that he fell into very quickly.
The core of his collecting focus was in early US gold, where he collected by die variety as well as die state. His collection was also used as a reference guide for the book “Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795-1834” which John Dannreuther built on Mr Bass’s personal notes. This massive study is now considered to be the leading reference in early Gold varieties and die states. Bass didn't just collect early gold coins; his collection also went deeply into other series, such as paper money and patterns, but especially books. There were several times that he bought whole libraries just for a single addition to his library. He later served as president of the American Numismatic Society for multiple years and helped introduce technology into the society. Mr. Bass passed away on April 4th of 1998, and his collection was split into five major auction sales. However, the core collection was not immediately auctioned and was on loan with the American Numismatic Association’s Money Museum for many years in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Among the coins on display at the ANA were some amazing rarities, such as the unique 1870-S $3 and the 1907 $20 Ultra High Relief. The core collection was auctioned recently as well, allowing some historically important coins from the Bass Collection to enter into the numismatic marketplace.
The Bass Collection, while incredibly large, will long be remembered as being a true study of varieties and rarity. Purchased during a time before third-party grading became prominent, the quality was sometimes inconsistent, but overall, the collection was one of the most remarkable privately held collections in the history of American coin collecting.
It just so happens that we have two coins in auction currently that are pedigreed to the Bass Collection! This is a great opportunity to obtain a piece of this historic and numismatically important set. First, closing on Sunday, July 5th, we are offering a 1897-O $10 PCGS MS63 ex: Bass with a starting bid of $8,250. The second offering from this major collection is a 1874 $5 PCGS MS63PL ex: Harry W. Bass Jr., which is starting at $39,500 and closes on Thursday, July 23rd. It is the finest PL example at PCGS!
We hope you enjoyed this pedigree highlight! Take a look at the features Coins We Love below, and reach out if you need anything at all!
Numismatically Yours,
Wes Brush
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