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In Memoriam: Gold Bullion Expert, Journalist, Financial Analyst and Coin Collector Jim Kingsland

Jim Kingsland passed on Thursday, March 7, 2013. He was 49 years old. His funeral was held in New City, New York, on Monday, March 11. In addition to being a coin collector, Jim was an influential journalist and financial analyst in the New York Metropolitan area. He was also the author of a book on “Coin and Precious Metal Values”, which was published in 2010 by Random House.

Most collectors are not aware that Kingsland was a force in the mainstream media for coverage of news events that related to rare coins or bullion.

I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet Kingsland and talk to him about matters relating to rare coins, writing and broadcast journalism. I did not, though, know him well. Scott Travers had a long professional relationship and personal friendship with Jim. Travers is the author of a perennial best seller, The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual, and other books.

Travers was extremely familiar with Kingsland’s radio show on an AM channel in the New York area.

Maurice Rosen, PCGS founder David Hall, CoinAge editor Ed Reiter, Barry Stuppler, David Ganz, Greysheet publisher Shane Downing, and ANA President Tom Hallenbeck all participated in Jim Kingsland’s popular, live radio show that reached eleven million listeners in the Middle Atlantic States,” Travers declares.

Maurice Rosen recollects that “[his] fondest memories of Jim were when we were co-speakers at coin convention educational events. I was always impressed with his keen knowledge of the precious metals markets and the economic, monetary and political factors influencing their prices. Jim was a rising star in numismatics; it’s tremendously sad his ascent was cut short.”

John Albanese, the founder of CAC and the primary founder of CoinPlex, remembers Kingsland.

“Even before Jim worked for CoinPlex, I listened to his radio show. He was an expert in gold bullion markets and knowledgeable about financial markets in general.”

Travers emphasizes that “Kingsland was an important voice in the coin community.” Indeed, Scott points out that “Jim was an essential conduit between the coin industry and global media outlets. With just a phone call, he could get [coin related] news on major TV new shows.” Travers reveals. He had important positions with Bloomberg, CNBC and Fox.

“Kingsland’s first important position was at Bloomberg,” Travers notes. Mike Bloomberg had hired him away from 1010 WINS [radio station]. Kingsland assisted in the launching of the extremely successful Bloomberg terminal for financial services. Later, Kingsland was [instrumental] in having coins and other collectibles listed on the Bloomberg terminal. In the early 1990s, Mike Bloomberg introduced him to me,” Scott fondly recollects.

After Kingsland bravely battled serious illnesses, John Albanese offered him a job.

“He worked for CoinPlex during our formative stages and helped us get off the ground. Jim will be missed,” John says.

Travers remembers Kingsland’s collecting activities.

“He collected silver dollars because they are large and easy to grade. He had problems with his eyesight.

“Towards the end of his career, Jim became a field producer and the webmaster for Fox Business Network,” Scott adds. Kingsland continued to be a force “behind the scenes”, who often had coin collectors in mind.

©2013 Greg Reynolds

Greg Reynolds
Greg Reynolds
Greg Reynolds has carefully examined a majority of the greatest U.S. coins and most of the finest classic U.S. type coins. He personally attended sales of the Eliasberg, Pittman, Newman, and Gardner Collections, among other landmark events. Greg has also covered major auctions of world coins, including the sale of the Millennia Collection. In addition to more than four hundred analytical columns for CoinWeek and at least 50 articles for CoinLink, Reynolds has contributed hundreds of articles to Numismatic News newspaper and related publications. Greg is also a multi-year winner of the ‘Best All-Around Portfolio’ award from the NLG, as well as awards for individual articles, a series of articles on the Eric Newman Collection, and for best column published on a web site.

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1 COMMENT

  1. I know that gold hasn’t been one of the most stable investments lately, but it still has apperciated about 500% since 2001.

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