Coin dealer. Born 1960. Education: Ohio Wesleyan University, 1980-82; Harvard University Extension Program, 1988-92. Career: NumisTech, 1985-2003; Blanchard and Co., 1992-2000; AU Capital Management: 2005-Present; RARCOA: 2016-Present. Numismatic Affiliations: ANA LM #5804; PNG #796; IAPN; CSNS, FUN, EAC, LSSC.
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Russell “Russ” Augustin started collecting coins in 1982, when he was working in Boston as a private investigator for Pinkerton. On one job, Augustin served as an armed escort for a coin collector. This spurred in him an interest in coins. He then answered an ad from a New England coin firm.
It was during this period, that he started to accumulate a number of recent auction catalogs to study trends in the rare coin market. He left the position in 1985, after realizing the coin market was in need of more accurate price reporting and investment counsel.
Over the next few years, Augustin developed a database, where he tracked prices of rare coins and identified undervalued areas of the rare coin market. He called this the RCPAR (Rare Coin Price Activity Report). Published by his company, NumisTech, Augustin sold thousands of copies of his report over a five-year period, from 1987-1992.
In 1992, he was hired to work as a buyer for Blanchard and Company. He served in this role until 1998, and continued to work for the firm indirectly, through 2000.
Augustin was the President of NumisTech from 1985-2003. In 2003, he sold the business.
Augustin founded Augustin Capital Management in 2005, and changed the name of the firm to AU Capital Management in 2012. In 2016, he joined RARCOA and worked as a senior numismatist, while at the same time maintaining his own personal business. Augustin specializes in classic U.S. gold, ancient Roman and Greek coinage, pioneer and fractional gold, Type coins, and silver dollars.
Since 2019, Augustin has worked as a Red Book price contributor, focusing on the areas of California Fractional and Pioneer gold coins.
Russ Augustin appeared on Episode #134 of the CoinWeek Podcast, CoinWeek Streams discussing the silver dollar and gold double eagle market, as well as a number of CoinWeek Cool Coins! videos.
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Video Highlights
Russell Augustin appeared on Cool Coins! Episode #8, where he shared an 1830 Bechtler $1 Gold, PCGS XF40 CAC, #20820551.
Augustin also appeared on Cool Coins! Episode #14, where he showed off a Roman silver Denarius of Nero (CE 54-68), NGC XF*, 4164148-001.
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