Collector spotlight: Tom Koessl

Tom Koessl grew up in a small Wisconsin town and began his collecting ventures the way many children of his day did. He had a paper route. “Collection was done once a month, which resulted in my receiving a lot of coinage from my customers,” he said. “Being from a rather poor but very loving family, I did not have the necessary funds to purchase any of the rarer dates, so everything in the various albums was acquired at face value.”

Koessl moved on from collecting coins by the time he entered college. After serving four years in the military, he later became a dealer and collector of firearms. “One client specialized in collecting Morgan dollars from single pieces to many original rolls. His comments, plus the Norweb sales of the mid-1980s, rekindled my passion in coins.” Koessl was drawn by the beauty of a 1908 Indian Eagle that he saw in New York City on a preview of the Norweb auction. “However, at that time, the deep-cameo Liberty gold also caught my eye and led me to purchase several of the $20 Liberties from the Norweb sale.”

Building close numismatic relationships with several notable gold specialists of the day, Koessl was eventually invited for a private viewing of the entire Matte Proof gold holdings at the Smithsonian. “It reinforced in me the nuances of each year and the desire to build a truly original set.”

He initially concentrated on the satin proofs of 1909 and 1910, but he was particularly enamored by what he called the “subtle beauty” of the eagles and double eagles. “After acquiring the four [gold] denominations of each of those years, I made the commitment of trying to put together a complete 32-piece set, one coin at a time, with originality and quality being of utmost importance.” He added, “I didn’t realize how long it would take, nor was it initially my intent to build the finest set.”

Yet, build the finest set he did.

He cobbled together his impressive Matte Proof gold collection one coin at a time, attending coin shows and auctions of every size and manner around the country for years to accomplish the feat. “The most challenging aspect of building the set was trying to locate original specimens as time went by,” Koessl said, noting the challenges of finding coins that had not been doctored to alter the resilience of their appearance. “The final coin, a 1912 Indian Half Eagle graded PCGS PR-67, was acquired in January 2018 from the owner of the High Desert type PCGS Registry Set, who was very gracious in trading it to me to complete the set.”

When the time came to sell his sets, Koessl became a PCGS Set Registry member himself at the encouragement of those who knew the quality and eye appeal of his Matte Proof collection. His sets easily achieved “Finest” status for each of their respective PCGS Set Registry categories. Many of the hobby’s luminaries took notice. “Being very private, I never wanted the notoriety.”

Ian Russell of GreatCollections encouraged Koessl to display his unique Matte Proof gold set at an American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money. “It brought a tremendous response from all the dealers I had worked with, as well as dealers and collectors who attended the show.” It was the crescendo of a four-decade journey that took a new path when Russell rehomed the Koessl Collection of Matte Proof gold with a collector who kept the coins together. The new owner is now working with Russell to compile a high-quality book that profiles the set and the 32 incredible rarities it contains, with extensive commentary on each piece from Koessl. “It was important for me to sell the collection intact to a new steward who will cherish the set as much as I have over the years.”

Press release courtesy of the Professional Coin Grading Service

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