1792 Birch Cent, 1854-S Gold Headline the Loring-Levin Collection at Heritage FUN 2027
A collecting partnership that reaches deep into the history of American numismatics will take center stage at the 2027 FUN Convention.
Denis W. Loring and Donna Levin have consigned the Loring-Levin Collection to Heritage Auctions’ January 12–16, 2027 FUN U.S. Coins Signature® Auction. Heritage will offer the collection without reserve. In addition, the auction house plans to offer more selections from the collection in Showcase Auctions early in 2027.
This is no ordinary cabinet of rare coins.
The collection spans early American copper, Colonial silver, 1792 pattern coinage, classic U.S. gold, Territorial gold, and spectacular Buffalo nickel mint errors. However, its greatest significance may come from the collectors who assembled it.
Loring joined Early American Coppers (EAC) during the organization’s founding year in 1967. He holds membership number 11. Over the following decades, he became one of the most important figures in the study of early American large cents.
Levin later developed an equally distinctive collecting specialty. Her acclaimed Buffalo nickel error collection brings an entirely different dimension to the offering.
Denis Loring and More Than Half a Century of Early Copper
A retired insurance actuary, Loring became an EAC charter member in 1967.
Then came an extraordinary run of service to the organization.
He served as EAC secretary from 1972 to 1977 and again from 1981 to 2005. He moved to vice president from 2005 to 2009, became president from 2009 to 2011, and returned as secretary from 2011 through 2017.
Altogether, Loring spent a remarkable 46 years as a national EAC officer.
His influence reached far beyond organizational leadership.
In 1974, Loring became only the fifth collector to complete a collection of every Sheldon-numbered large cent variety from 1793 through 1814. Heritage’s own historical cataloging confirms that milestone.
Loring later dispersed that collection. However, early copper remained central to his numismatic life. He also became widely known for his research into Proof large cents and their pedigrees.
That work helped establish Loring as far more than a collector. He became one of the specialists other specialists consulted.
Mark Borckardt, Heritage senior numismatist and a noted early copper researcher, first encountered Loring through EAC.
Borckardt said that when he joined EAC in 1973, Loring had already become one of the organization’s most respected members. Their relationship eventually grew from friendship into mentorship.
A Friendship That Goes Back to 1969
Heritage Co-Chair Jim Halperin has known Loring even longer.
The two met in 1969, when Halperin was 16 and Loring was 21.
Halperin recalls recognizing Loring’s intellect almost immediately. During the 1970s, Loring even considered turning numismatics into his profession. According to Halperin, Loring once told him that Halperin was the only person in the coin business he would consider working for.
Loring ultimately remained an actuary.
Coins, however, never left the picture.
More than half a century later, that long relationship has come full circle as Heritage prepares to auction the collection Loring built with Levin.
Heritage President Greg Rohan also pointed to those decades-long relationships when announcing the consignment. Rohan said many Heritage employees have considered Loring and Levin friends for decades.
He also highlighted the collection’s unusual breadth, from major large cents and Colonial issues to Territorial gold and Levin’s specialized Buffalo nickel errors.
Donna Levin Builds a Different Kind of Collection
Levin, a retired attorney, joined Early American Coppers in 1998.
Her involvement in numismatics grew after she married Loring. However, she did not simply duplicate his collecting interests.
Instead, Levin developed a specialty in Buffalo nickel mint errors.
She eventually assembled an acclaimed collection filled with coins that show just how dramatically the minting process can go wrong.
Levin also became deeply involved with EAC. She served as the organization’s secretary from 2017 through 2023. EAC’s own Penny-Wise listed Levin as national secretary in January 2023.
That makes the Loring-Levin Collection unusual in another way. It combines two very different collecting disciplines under one name: highly specialized early copper research and spectacular U.S. mint errors.
From a 1792 Birch Cent to an 1854-S Quarter Eagle
The collection’s headline coins cross nearly every major frontier in early U.S. numismatics.
The 1792 Judd-5 Birch Cent graded Fair 2, formerly certified by NGC, ranks among the most historically important pieces in the offering. Only two examples of this Judd variety are known. Heritage’s previous roster specifically traces the Fair 2 specimen through Fritz Weber, Denis Loring, and later Denis Loring and Donna Levin.
Another 1792 rarity, the Judd-10 Copper Disme graded XF40 by NGC, connects the collection directly with America’s experimental coinage from the year Congress created the United States Mint. Heritage previously documented this same grade and variety in its auction archives.
Then there is the 1854-S Quarter Eagle graded Fine 12 by PCGS.
Only 246 examples left the newly opened San Francisco Mint in 1854. Heritage’s updated census recognizes 14 distinct specimens and specifically pedigrees the Fine 12 PCGS example to Denis Loring and Donna Levin.
That connection turns one of America’s great Gold Rush rarities into something more: a documented piece of the Loring-Levin collecting story.
Highlights of the Loring-Levin Collection
Among the coins Heritage has announced for the collection are:
- 1793 Sheldon-13 Liberty Cap Cent — AU53 NGC
- 1819/8 N-1 Cent — PR64 Brown NGC, ex: Pittman
- (1652) NE Shilling — AU50 PCGS
- (1652) NE Sixpence — VF Details PCGS
- 1919 Buffalo Nickel struck on a Cent Planchet — MS64 Brown PCGS
- 1920 Buffalo Nickel struck on a Dime Planchet — AU55 PCGS
- Undated Buffalo Nickel Brockage — VF35 PCGS
- 1855 Wass Molitor $50 Gold — VF20 PCGS
- 1792 Judd-2 Pattern Cent — Fine 15 NGC
- 1792 Judd-5 Birch Cent — Fair 2, formerly NGC
- 1792 Judd-10 Copper Disme — XF40 NGC
- 1848 CAL. Quarter Eagle — Good 6 PCGS
- 1854-S Quarter Eagle — Fine 12 PCGS
- 1794 Silver Dollar — VF25, formerly PCGS
Several of those coins already have extensive auction histories. Heritage records, for example, confirm the 1855 Wass, Molitor $50 in VF20 PCGS, while PCGS records confirm AU50 examples of the historic New England shilling type represented in the collection.
More Than a Collection Coming to Market
Major named collections often tell us as much about their owners as they do about the coins.
The Loring-Levin Collection may prove an especially strong example.
Loring spent decades studying die marriages, pedigrees, Proofs, and the subtleties of early copper. Levin pursued coins created through mechanical accidents and unexpected Mint errors. Together, they assembled a collection that stretches from the experimental coinage of 1792 to some of the most dramatic Buffalo nickel errors of the 20th century.
For collectors, the January FUN auction will offer rare coins.
For numismatic historians, however, it will offer something more.
It will put pieces collected by two longtime members of the Early American Coppers community back into circulation after decades of scholarship, research, collecting, and friendship.
And with the collection selling without reserve, every lot offered in the main FUN sale will find a new owner when the bidding ends.
