OTD: Long-time collector, auctioneer ‘Chuck’ Moore dies

On today’s date in 2015, Charles “Chuck” Moore, the president of Moore Numismatic Auctions, died in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Moore was a Fellow and 38-year life member of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA). For 27 years, he sat on its board of directors with two consecutive terms as president from 2003-07 and one term as vice-president.

“It is a sad day when a Canadian icon passes,” said Steven Bromberg, president and CEO of Canadian Coin and Currency and long-time friend of Moore. “Chuck Moore has been a dominant figure in numismatics since before I started collecting in the early 1970s, and he has been a mentor and role model to me over the past 30 years.”

Moore was also a 34-year life member, a 30-year board member and former vice-president and president of the Canadian Paper Money Society. What’s more, he was a founding charter member of the Canadian Association of Numismatic Dealers (CAND), serving terms as both vice-president and president.

“Chuck combined exceptional professional knowledge with an affable personality and made many friends along the way,” said Bromberg. “I have been honoured to have Chuck as a friend as well as a colleague and business partner in our Canadian Legacy Sales. Chuck will leave an everlasting legacy on both the numismatic community and on the many people who have come to know him.”

In 2014, realizations in the four-session Canadian Legacy Sale II exceeded $4 million, setting a record for Canadian numismatic auctions.

DECORATED NUMISMATIST, RESPECTED AUCTIONEER

In 2010, Moore was awarded the J. D. Ferguson Award – Canadian numismatics’ highest honour – for his numerous contributions to the hobby.

At the time of his death, he was the chair of the Canadian Association for Numismatic Education (CAFNE), which provides grants for numismatic education.

Moore's presence

Moore was a dominant figure in numismatics for decades, during which time he served as a mentor, role model and friend of many people within the community.

Moore Numismatic Auctions opened for business in Toronto in July 1969. Moore’s first public auction was held in April 1977 at the Ontario Numismatic Association (ONA) Convention.

Since 1977, Moore held about 130 auctions with two major auctions in Canada nearly every year. Altogether, more than $100 million worth of coins, tokens and banknotes crossed the auction block, reaching more than 25,000 collectors around the world. His highlight auctions include three sales for the Bank of Canada, for which he sold one of the most valuable collections ever offered in Canada. Over the decades, he set numerous world price records, including in 2010, when a 1910 Bank of Vancouver $5 note with a serial number reading “000001” realized $150,000. Altogether, the esteemed auction house conducted sales for the RCNA, ONA, CAND, Toronto International Coin Fair, Torex and many other numismatic clubs and associations.

“I worked with Chuck Moore for many years, dating back to the 1980s, when we were on the RCNA executive together,” said Paul Johnson, executive secretary of both the RCNA and CAFNE. “He had a very high reputation, and it’ll be a big loss for the hobby to know that he’s gone.”

Moore was one of the hobby’s foremost auctioneers, Johnson added.

“Some of the collections he brought together for auction were unparalleled over the last number of years. He’s been doing auctions since the 1970s.”

Former RCNA President Bret Evans said Moore was “genuinely a great person to spend time with and had a lot of interests outside of numismatics,” adding the late numismatist was working on his Ph.D. in genetics before his death.

“Some of my fondest memories were of talking about things other than numismatics. He was very widely read and we’d talk about everything from philosophy and human nature right through to economics and politics.”

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