Don Taxay | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Don Taxay in 1975 | |
| Born | Donald Paul Taxay May 24, 1933 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Disappeared | c. 1982 (aged 49) India |
| Occupations | Numismatist,historian |
| Signature | |
 | |
Donald Paul Taxay[1] (born May 24, 1933)[2] was an Americannumismatist andhistorian, known for the reference works he composed and for his disappearance at the height of his career.
Taxay's first published work wasCounterfeit, Mis-Struck and Unofficial U.S. Coins, in 1963, followed byThe U.S. Mint and Coinage in 1966 (whichGilroy Roberts called "the most complete and authoritative treatise on the subject ever written"),[3]An Illustrated History of U.S. Commemorative Coinage in 1967,Money of the American Indians in 1970, andScott's Comprehensive Catalogue and Encyclopedia of United States Coins in 1971. He also served as thecurator of theChase Manhattan Bank Money Museum[3] from April 1964 to May 1966.[2]
His first numismatic job was as manager of the leased coin department at theJordan Marsh department store in Boston, joining the firm in 1958. He followed this with stints as the manager of Royal Athena Coin Galleries in New York City, and New Netherlands Coin Company, where he worked with renowned numismatists and researchersJohn J. Ford andWalter Breen. In 1963, Breen and Taxay formed the Institute of Numismatic Authenticators.[4]
In 1969, he and William Thomas Anton, Jr. co-authored catalogs for Harmer Rooke. In 1974, he joined award-winning numismatist Harry Forman in establishing the coin dealership of Forman, Taxay and Associates.[5] In 1975, Taxay was appointed senior vice president of First Coinventors, Inc. where he also served as director of their Colonial American Coin Club. On July 8, 1976, he formed Rare Coin Collectors Co-op, Inc., which operated until December 30, 1977.[4] In approximately 1977, Taxay withdrew from society.
On December 25, 1977, Taxay married Constance "Connie" Ferris. The marriage ended in divorce on April 12, 1982. Taxay was a resident ofLakeland, Florida, by 1979.[4]
In 2005–2006, the members of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society's mailing list undertook a joint research project to discover what had happened to Taxay.[6] They established that Taxay had been introduced toIndianspirituality byWalter Breen and that, as a result, Taxay became aRajneeshee and emigrated to India.[7] Historian Karl Moulton—whose 2007 bookHenry Voigt and Others Involved in America's Early Coinage includes a chapter analyzing Taxay'shistoriography—speculates that Taxay attempted to liquidate all his property so that he could donate his wealth to theBhagwan Shree Rajneesh and describes him as "brainwashed and untraceable," concluding that Taxay's ultimate fate may never be known.[7]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
