The Maurice Storck Collection, to be offered October 14-17, ranks among some of the freshest offerings Heritage has ever brought to auction. His World Coins and Currency were auctioned in August and realized huge premiums for their certified grades. His U.S. coin collection spans the spectrum – with many of the coins being off the market for decades – including a large group of coins that were last offered publicly as part of the famous King Farouk auction in 1954!
Biography
Maurice A. Storck Sr. was born on May 20, 1922. He grew up in Portland, Maine, where his formative years were strongly influenced by the Great Depression. Maurice worked several jobs to help support the family – all of which helped him cultivate a lifelong work ethic and a seemingly endless enthusiasm for the task at hand. He sold newspapers as a boy – a time when he perceptively discovered stamps and coins in the local shop. His future career as a coin dealer and numismatist had its roots in grammar school and later school years when he was known to deal coins and stamps to friends and associates. He attended local schools until he was 14 years old, then enlisted full time in the Maine National Guard.
Throughout his years in the military, Maurice honed his talent for buying, trading, acquiring, and selling. He was known as someone who could find anything and get things done. He was also a dedicated soldier, who did not shy from battle or avoid conflict. He met his future wife, Nancy, in New Zealand during World War II.
Along the way, he became a seasoned world traveler thanks to his military years. After the war, Maurice put the same enthusiasm and willingness to travel into his stamp and coin business, which he started soon after his medical discharge from the army. The Storck name became well-known throughout Maine and New England. His expertise centered around early gold, silver, and type coins, but he had an interest in all things numismatic. He joined the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in 1948 and took particular pride in being the first person to pay $100 for an ANA life membership.
By 1951, Storck was traveling internationally to purchase coins. His trip to Cairo, Egypt in 1954 was a highlight of his numismatic career when he was one of the few American coin dealers and collectors to attend the coin and medal segment of The Palace Collections of Egypt auction, commonly known as The King Farouk Sale. Between February 24 to March 6, 1954, Maurice Storck bid against (and with) such luminaries as Abe Kosoff, Ambassador and Mrs. Henry Norweb, John J. Pittman, James P. Randall, Hans M.F. Schulman, Robert Schermerhorn, and a few others.
The Storck purchases in Egypt included interesting group lots and important gold coins, some of which were sold over the years, and others that remained in his private collection. Numerous coins with confirmed King Farouk pedigrees appear here, offered as part of The Maurice Storck Collection.
In 1960, Storck opened a stamp and coin store in Portland that was soon the largest in the state. He contributed to the 1960 Red Book and later to the 1964 Blue Book. Ken Bressett hired Storck to become a distributor for Whitman Publishing Company’s (now Western Publishing Co.) coin supplies.
In 1970, Maurice sold his coin business and “retired”. He and Nancy traveled all throughout the United States in their motorhome for several years. They settled in Tucson, Arizona, and spent summers in Maine until Nancy passed away in 1990. Maurice became a year-round resident of Arizona, donating his time and money at the Veteran’s Administration, where he logged over 54,000 volunteer hours. He served as president of the Veterans Stamp and Coin Outreach Program, a volunteer organization that distributed philatelic and numismatic material to veterans and shut-ins throughout the country.
Maurice A. Storck passed away peacefully on November 29, 2019, at the Arizona State Veterans Home in Tucson. He was a life member of the Portland Club as well as the ANA. He was a 32nd degree Mason, a member of the 25th Infantry Association, and a life member of the Tucson Coin and Stamp Clubs. He collected Masonic Chapter pennies, reportedly amassing a collection of 15,000 of them. He was a decorated veteran who received several medals, including a Purple Heart. Maurice Storck was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC with full military honors.
In 2017, Alan V. Weinberg nominated Mr. Storck as the oldest living U.S. coin dealer, and Maurice was a featured in the May 21, 2017, electronic issue of The E-Sylum, which featured a lengthy article and interview that reveals much about the man and his life – a lively discussion that is not to be missed.
Storck Collection Highlights
Just a few of the highlights of this auction include:
- 1807 10C JR-1, MS66 PCGS
- 1796 25C B-2, AU58+ PCGS
- 1795 $1 Flowing Hair, Three Leaves, B-5, BB-27, MS62 PCGS
- 1809/8 $5 BD-1, MS64+ PCGS. CAC
- 1795 $10 13 Leaves, BD-2, MS61 PCGS. CAC
- 1799 $10 Small Obverse Stars, BD-7, MS63 PCGS
- 1803 $10 Small Reverse Stars, BD-3, MS63 PCGS
- 1861-O $20 AU58 PCGS
- 1882-CC $20 MS63 PCGS
Bidding for Heritage’s presentation of The Maurice Storck Collection occurs over three days at our headquarters in Dallas, Texas. A Signature floor session on Wednesday afternoon, October 14 begins at 2:00 PM CT, followed by online sessions on Thursday and Saturday, October 15 and 17, also starting at 2:00 P.M. CT. In total, more than 1,700 lots will carry The Maurice Storck Collection pedigree to auction. Bidding on these lots is open now at Coins.HA.com.
