On Friday, May 3, the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and more than 100 collectors from the Early American Coppers (EAC) met to celebrate and honor the life of Del Bland.
Bland passed away on October 16, 2018.
A lifelong collector, Del began his numismatic journey in 1950, when at the age of 17, he began filling slots of Whitman albums from coins that he got at the bank. Soon, he turned his focus to an area that would become his life’s passion, United States large cents.
In 1969, Del became a full-time coin dealer, specializing in early copper coins. As a professional numismatist, Del handled and studied a number of important large cents and over the years, he turned this specialists’ knowledge into one of the most widely respected provenance and condition census databases ever assembled. He was dogged in his research and to the large cent community, Del’s work carried the weight of authority.
With his passing, Del Bland’s vast archive of research data was transferred to the permanent collection of the American Numismatic Society, where it is now accessible to all interested collectors and researchers.
This CoinWeek video, recorded at the event, features comments of EAC President Bill Eckberg, ANS Librarian David Hill, numismatist Denis Loring, and Del’s sons, Larry and Gary.
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