Harry W. Bass Gallery

An active collector and quintessential philanthropist, Harry W. Bass Jr. was a life member of the American Numismatic Association for more than 30 years. He was awarded the Medal of Merit in 1989 and was inducted into the Association's Numismatic Hall of Fame in 1998. Bass' interest in numismatics began in the mid-1960s. He joined the ANA in 1966 and spent a year studying the subject before he actively began collecting. Soon after entering the field, he defined his goal -- to collect United States -- issue gold coins from 1795 to 1933 by date and mintmark, with special attention to die varieties of early U.S. gold.

He made many important numismatic discoveries while creating one of the most complete U.S. gold coin collections ever assembled, including many one-of-a-kind specimens. Of paramount importance in the collection is a set of virtually all known die varieties of early (1795 to 1834) United States gold coin denominations, in the finest condition.

Also included in the Bass holdings are:

• The only complete collection of $3 gold pieces, including the unique 1870-S
  
• A complete collection of U.S. gold coin types of all periods and designs from 1795 to 1933
  
• A spectacular grouping of rare U.S. pattern coins