Chris Connell 1946-2007

Chris Connell, friend and respected coin collector, passed away Monday, April 23 2007 in his Miami, OK home at the age of 60.

Chris was a past president of the NJ Numismatic Society, Ocean County Coin Club, Watchung hills Coin Club, and served on the board of the GSNA. He was a member of Numismatics International and an ANA life member.

Chris began collecting coins at the age of 9 and his interest in Byzantine coins began when he encountered a coin with the portrait of Jesus. His numismatic expertise centered on ancient coinage. He taught courses on Byzantine numismatics at the ANA summer seminar for several years and wass a frequent exhibitor of Byznatine coins, often winning awards at local regional and national coin conventions.

Chris wrote in the Numismatist, "I am enlightened every day by the coins I collect and the people I meet in our hobby. I am grateful for the enthusiatic support I receive from all who know me in our hobby and hope that you will join me in accomplishing some positive goals for our ANA" when running for the ANA Board of Governors in 1995. His goals included "education, education, education" .

An Episcopal priest, he retired from the priesthood in 2002 to accept a position with the ANA as museum collections manager. In this capacity, he oversaw the reorganization of more than 300,000 items.

A member of the Numismatic Literary Guild, he had written articles for The Numismatist, The Celator and COINage magazines, as well as scripts for the ANA's former radio program "Money Talks". Chris also served as editor of several coin club publications.

Chris was a former ANA regional coordinator for Region 2 (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and the District of Columbia) and served as master of ceremonies for the 1997 ANA convention banquet in New York. In 2004 he was appointed affiliate liaison by the recently formed Ancient Coin Collectors Guild to provide a direct point of contact between the guild and its affiliates. His numismatic honors nclude receiving: the Charles F. Nettleship award from the NJNS for outstanding contributions to the society in 1996; and the 1995 Glenn Smedley award from the ANA for his willingness to share his numismatic knowledge through articles, presentations and radio broadcasts. In 2000, he was named the ANA's Young Numismatists adult advisor and in 2001 was appointed to chairman of the ANA's YN committee.

"Chris had a fantastic personality. Everyone who knew him really loved him. He was an avid collector and historian of Byzantine coinage and attended all functions of our club and played a guitar while singing his ode to coin collecting, 'Coin Show Junkie'" wrote Jim Majoros.

listen to "coin show junkie"

Harold Flartey 1914-2002

Mr. Flartey authored a column, "Coins and You", which ran for fifteen years in the Morristown (New Jersey) Sunday Record, beginning in 1973. Harold served for many years on the boards and behind the scenes for many local coin clubs in New Jersey. He wrote many coin club newsletters and articles, and frequently gave numismatic presentations. He was past president of the New Jersey Numismatic Society and the Wharton Coin Club.

Mr. Flartey also whimsically founded the Serendipity Coin Club, whose only requirement for lifetime membership was that the collector had to have "found" a coin on the sidewalk or elsewhere. Harold was especially encouraging to many young numismatists, and went out of his way to help them learn about the hobby. He was awarded seven Maurice M. Gould Memorial Awards by the Numismatic Literary Guild for his coin columns. Some of his other awards for service to the numismatic hobby include the New Jersey Numismatic Society's Charles Nettleship Award, the Hackettstown Coin Club's Mary and Leon Grant Memorial Award, and Honorary Life Membership in the Garden State Numismatic Association as well as the Roxbury Coin Club.

Harold was a printer by trade, retiring in 1977 from New Jersey's Daily Record. In addition to writing about coins, he also penned a weekly jazz column, "Music Makers", which spanned three decades.

Mr. Flartey is survived by Sylvia, his wife of 67 years, sons Roger and Raymond, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Harold will be fondly remembered by those in the hobby who knew him for his special brand of humor. He kept collectors laughing for many years with the sharp wit in his words of numismatic wisdom.

Howard Coss 1934-1994

A good man, a true collector, a good friend. We miss him.

Dave Wilson 1941 - 2007

"Hobby educator and friend to many"

Dave Wilson, an Icon in New Jersey numismatics, passed away on Sunday morning, January 14, 2007. Dave, 65 years old, incurred a massive heart attack at home during the morning he was getting ready to travel to Burlington to do one of his weekly shows.

He was tremendously respected by collectors and dealers alike as he was noted for knowledge of all facets of the hobby and most of all the sincere integrity he possessed. He began collecting as a youngster, then branched out as a part-time dealer and then in the seventies, with the permission of his wife Neddra, quit his full time computer employment and ventured into numismatics full time. He also realized he had two young children, Dawn and Eric to care for and educate. Although there were ups and downs in the market, he survived because he had the corporate knowledge and honesty that collectors and other dealers appreciated. There was nothing more he loved doing than being a coin dealer. He made many, many friends, who sought out his knowledge of coins, paper money, tokens and medals.

When he did "show & tells" at club meetings and described the coin or token, his audience could visualize the coin or token in the timeframe of it's existence. He loved to teach numismatics to anyone and always went out of his way to accommodate those interested in furthering their education.

One of his favorite aspects of the hobby was when children attended meetings and/or shows. He always offered coins to them at no cost and was a strong advocate of YN programs. With the coins, he would talk with them about what the coin was.

Dave was a Life member of the ANA, GSNA, New Jersey Numismatic Society, New Jersey Exonumia Society, Ocean County Coin Club, Watchung Hills Coin Club and the Trenton Numismatic Club. The GSNA honored him with the first GSNA Numismatist of the Year Award in 1997.

He served with the military as a New Jersey Air National Guardsman for six years. He is survived by his daughter, Dawn, who resides in New Hampshire with her two children and his son, Eric, who resides in Beachwood, NJ with his wife, Robyn.

Neddra Wilson - 2005

Neddra, wife of Dave Wilson, mother of Dawn and Eric.
A warm and gentle soul. A long-time booster of GSNA and area shows.
She has left us before her time. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Bill Aquilino - 2005

Bill was a wonderful man, a devoted husband and a good friend.
He started collecting stamps at a very young age (8 or 9 years old), moved on to coins, and eventually discovered his true love in
collecting medals and tokens.

Bill was always delighted when he found a special piece for a
customer. Helping his customers build their collections was
as important to him as completing his own collections.
Truly a good and honest man, Bill will be missed but will live on
in our memories.

Alex Molochko 1946 - 2005

An Air Force veteran, avid fisherman and Yankees fan.
Father of Pamela Molochko.
Resident of Toms River, formerly of Maplewood.
Alex did business as Shelter Cove Coins and was a regular
at regional shows from Westchester to Baltimore. We remember
Alex as a truly nice guy and friend.

Prudence Pfeil 1946 - 2005

Wife of Numismatic Supplies dealer and lifetime GSNA Member Paul Pfeil. Assisted Paul at conventions and shows as well as assisting with the GSNA Registration Table during conventions