Did you know Stack’s Bowers Galleries in conjunction with Sotheby’s is selling The Griggs Collection in our Rarities Auction? Dick Griggs started his coin collection by walking into Stack’s landmark store on 57th Street in December of 1978.
The Griggs Collection
In 1964, Dick Griggs established with partners an insurance and employee benefit business in his hometown, Westfield, New Jersey. Within a decade the company would have clients throughout the United States. One consequence of this was that Dick developed an investment portfolio that required diversification. Gold was one of the investment suggestions he received. Though gold bullion seemed boring to him, he became drawn to numismatic gold coins. A little research confirmed that Stack’s 57th Street New York City headquarters was the number one place to go for numismatic gold. In December 1978, Dick wandered into Stack’s showroom. As luck would have it, Larry Stack was on duty at the counter that day. He was patient with Dick, the green coin-collecting prospect. An hour later, a $1,000 investment was made in three gold coins; this was the first in what became annual visits to add to the collection, a tradition that would eventually stretch out over 30 years.
Over that time two things happened. A friendship and trust developed that went far beyond a calculated investment. And Dick developed a fascination with the history of the coins in the collection. Who might have handled them when they had been in circulation? Could John Adams have used the 1795 Small Eagle $5 to buy supplies for his farm in Massachusetts? Which Congressman might have put the 1879 Stella under his mattress to avoid having it melted by the government to redeem greenbacks? Though the fascination with the coins and their history remain, the decision has been made to place the coins into the hands of the next generation of caretakers. Dick and his wife, Lois, have a deep interest in furthering Christian causes and are liquidating the collection to pursue those goals. It is only fitting that they are doing this under the watchful eye of Larry Stack, with whom the collection began.
