Harry Waterson writes: The Polhemus counterstamps reminded me that I had recently run into another druggist of interest. In the July 1929 issue of The Numismatist (p441) there is this filler in the middle of the page:
Mr. Neil's Letterheads
Will W. Neil, a member of the A.N.A., who conducts a pharmacy at Baldwin, Kan., uses a letterhead for his correspondence, which reads as follows:
WILL W. NEIL,
Numismatist by Instinct - Pharmacist from Necessity
Baldwin, Kansas.
I hope Mr. Neil was hugely successful in both pursuits.
Mr. Neil was indeed quite successful - his collection headlined a B. Max Mehl auction decades later. Included were many of the top U.S. rarities, such as:
- 1913 Liberty Head Nickel
- 1894-S Dime
- 1876-CC Twenty Cent Piece
- 1838-O Half Dollar
- 1804 Dollar
- 1870-S Dollar
- 1885 Trade Dollar
QUICK QUIZ: Name three other numismatist-pharmacists! -Editor
From the PCGS web site: Will Neils collection of U.S. coins was sold in 1947 by B. Max Mehl, the flamboyant dealer from Texas. The catalog of the sale, replete with seven of our Ten Most Famous U.S. Rarities, was rated "A+" by numismatic expert, John Adams, who has examined all of the early U.S. coin catalogs for content and quality. Neils 1913 Nickel is an exceptional PR-64 from the Farouk collection, he owned an 1804 Silver Dollar (Class III), and both types of the 1880 Stellas. Neil's numismatic legacy lives on through B. Max Mehl's catalog and the memory of his fabulous collection.
To read the complete article, see: Ten Most Famous United States Ultra Rarities: Will W. Neil (http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset.aspx?s=9505)
