The Byron Reed Collection features

rare books Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is ''bibliophilia'', and someo ...

, manuscripts, autographs and coins that are located at the

Durham Museum The Durham Museum (formerly known as the Durham Western Heritage Museum) is located at 801 South 10th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The museum is dedicated to preserving and displaying the history of the United States' western region. The m ...

in Omaha,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

, United States. According to experts, "

Byron Reed Byron Reed (March 12, 1829 – June 6, 1891) was an American pioneer real estate businessman and local politician in Omaha, Nebraska. He founded the first real estate office in the Nebraska Territory and became the foremost agent after Nebraska ...

was one of the greatest collectors of the 19th century," with a reputation as a

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

that is "largely unrecognized." Reed began collecting in the 1870s, continuing until he died, in 1891.

About

In the late 19th century, Omaha real estate agent Byron Reed gradually put together a stunning collection of coins, documents, books, maps, and other items of great historical importance. Upon his death in 1891, Reed gave his collection to the city of Omaha and it is now housed at The Durham Museum. Significant portions of Reed's collection are on exhibit; of special interest is the "Treasures Cabinet," containing Reed's specimen of the 1804 Dollar. A corresponding member of the

American Numismatic and Archaeological Society The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is a New York City-based organization dedicated to the study of coins, money, medals, tokens, and related objects. Founded in 1858, it is the only American museum devoted exclusively to their preservation ...

of New York, Byron Reed was a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

real estate businessman who was regarded as an "industrious" collector. His coin collection is still thought to be one of the most complete in the United States, and includes numerous Jewish and Roman coins, as well as an almost perfect compilation of coinage of the U.S. from colonial times through to the 1890s. In 1999 the Reed 1804 Dollar was labeled the "King of American Coins.""CG is chosen to grade Parmelee/Reed Specimen of the 1804 Silver Dollar -Original (Class I)"
, CoinResource.com. Retrieved 2/1/08.

Highlights

Reed's personal library includes numerous documents relevant to the founding of Omaha, as well as religious texts from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. His collection is considered to include one of the largest numismatic libraries in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. According to many experts, the library is probably the last one formed in the 19th century to remain intact.Gibbs, W.T. (2001
"Byron Reed Collection worth $7.9m - Patterns most valuable portion; 1804 dollar is top coin"
, ''Coin WORLD.'' July 15, 2001. Retrieved 2/1/08.

Display

After his death, the collection was willed to the

City of Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

and the

Omaha Public Library Omaha Public Library is the public library system of the city of Omaha, Nebraska. A library association was founded in 1857, but the library board was not appointed until 1877. In 1895, the library became one of the first six in the nation to cr ...

. Today the Byron Reed Collection is in the care of, and on display at, the Durham Western Heritage Museum (now the Durham Museum) in Omaha. According to Larry Wilson, a historian and numismatic researcher for the Independent Coin Grading Service:

Value

A recent assessment of the Byron Reed Collection valued the collection at $7,894,013. The collection includes 1,163 coins from the United States that are valued at $6,447,000. 693 coins from around the world are worth $95,000. There are 1,400 pieces of

exonumia Exonumia are numismatic items (such as tokens, medals, or scrip) other than coins and paper money. This includes "Good For" tokens, badges, counterstamped coins, elongated coins, encased coins, souvenir medallions, tags, wooden nickels and ...

valued at $322,000. The 673 pieces of

paper money A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

is worth $54,000, and the 2,850 books and documents in the collection total $975,000. In 1996, the

Omaha City Council The City Council of Omaha, Nebraska, is elected every four years on a nonpartisan basis. The next election will occur in 2025. Omaha has a strong mayor form of government. Members are elected by district. Currently seven city council districts a ...

decided to sell portions of the Byron Reed Collection at auction. The sale, held at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémis, t ...

in New York City, was held October 8 and October 9, 1996. All of the 562 lots offered were sold, for a total of $6.1 million.McKittrick, M
"Wealth of history"
, LiveAuctionTalk.com. Retrieved 2/1/08.

References

External links

The Byron Reed Collection
at the Durham Western Heritage Museum {{coord, 41.2515, -95.9283, type:landmark, display=title History of Omaha, Nebraska Culture of Omaha, Nebraska Numismatics Exonumia Collections of museums in the United States