Edward HR Green

Edward Howland Robinson Green (born August 22, 1868 in London - † June 8, 1936 ) was an American philatelist and coin collector .

He was the son of the famous businesswoman Hetty Green , with a capacity of well over 100 million US dollars , the richest woman of her time. But even though his mother was so rich, he suffered greatly from her. Because if possible, the huge fortune remained untouched. She was so stingy that heating and hot water were dispensed with, which earned her the title of world's greatest curmudgeon . When Edward broke his leg one day as a child, she did not have him treated in the hospital to save costs, but tried to take care of the wound at home. An infection developed and the left lower leg had to be amputated . Nevertheless, his life went on in a regular manner. First he studied at Fordham College . Afterwards, at the request of his mother, he was trained at various railway companies in which she was involved. He later made a career with the Texas Midland Railroad Company . Eventually Green rose to be director of Chase National Bank .

Colonel Green's estate in Round Hill , Massachusetts .

When his mother died in 1916, Edward and sister Sylvia each inherited approximately $ 50 million. While his sister continued to live withdrawn and humble, Edward enjoyed the new wealth and led a life in abundance. Ned, as his mother called him, liked to introduce himself with the self-bestowed military title Colonel . He loved women and cars, but also owned a yacht, an airfield and his own radio station. He gave his wife a property with more than 100 employees. He also had numerous young lovers, whom he also gave expensive gifts. He was also fascinated by rare stamps and coins .

The 1.90 meter tall and 150 kg bon vivant drove once a week, mostly on Saturdays, to New York City to the center of the numismatic and philatelic specialist trade. However, he did not go to auctions or specialist dealers to build up a collection , instead the dealers came to him. He waited in his limousine and the dealers stood in line at his car door. Most of the time, this unusual practice also paid off for the traders, as Edward Green bought receipts worth $ 20,000 to $ 70,000 a week . In just a few years he amassed one of the most important collections of American coins and stamps that has ever existed.

For example, he was the proud owner of all five known Liberty Head V-Nickels from 1913, each of which is now traded for more than 2.3 million euros. He also owned the only complete sheet (100 stamps) of the legendary Inverted Jenny , a US airmail stamp in which the inner part of the motif is upside down due to a misprint . He went down in philately history by separating out individual stamps and block pieces, which he then sold. A block of four of this brand changed hands in New York in 2005 for 2.7 million US dollars. After his death, the collection was sold in a total of 28 auctions by various auction houses. Due to the economic weakness caused by the war , the 50,000 or so tickets only fetched around three million dollars. The current value of the collection is difficult to imagine due to the top prices achieved later.

literature

• The extreme life of Edward HR Green. From poor boy to rich collector. In: mint. Sept./Oct. 2006, ISSN  1430-8533 , pp. 22/23
• Charles Slack: Hetty: The genius and madness of America's first female tycoon . HarperCollins, New York City 2004, ISBN 978-0-06-054257-3 .