Loring-Levin Collection Headed to Heritage’s FUN U.S. Coins Auction

A major collection built by longtime numismatists Denis W. Loring and Donna Levin is heading to Heritage Auctions, with highlights ranging from early American copper and Colonial coins to Buffalo nickel errors, and Territorial gold. The Loring-Levin Collection will be offered without reserve as part of Heritage’s January 12-16, 2027 FUN U.S. Coins Signature Auction, with additional pieces scheduled to appear in Heritage Showcase Auctions early next year.

The collection is especially notable because of Loring’s long connection to early coppers. A retired insurance actuary, he joined EAC as a charter member in 1967 and holds member number 11. Over the following decades, he served the organization in a series of leadership roles, including secretary, vice president and president, accumulating 46 years as a national officer.

Loring’s interest in early copper coins stretches back even further. In 1974, he became just the fifth collector to complete a full set of Sheldon-numbered large cents dated from 1793 through 1814. Although that collection was dispersed years ago, Heritage says a number of important large cents remain in the collection now coming to auction. Loring is also known for his research into proof large cents and their pedigrees.

Among the leading large-cent pieces is a 1793 Sheldon-13 Liberty Cap cent graded AU53 by NGC. The collection also includes an 1819/8 N-1 cent graded PR64 Brown by NGC with provenance to the Pittman Collection, along with a 1792 Judd-2 pattern cent graded Fine 15 by NGC and a 1792 Judd-5 Birch cent graded Fair 2.

Levin, a retired attorney, developed a collecting specialty of her own after becoming involved in numismatics. She joined EAC in 1998 and later served as the organization’s secretary from 2017 through 2023. Heritage highlights her specialized collection of Buffalo nickel errors as one of the major components of the consignment.

Those errors include a 1919 Buffalo nickel struck on a cent planchet and graded MS64 Brown by PCGS, a 1920 Buffalo nickel struck on a dime planchet graded AU55 by PCGS and an undated Buffalo nickel brockage graded VF35 by PCGS. The unusual pieces give the collection a distinctly different collecting angle alongside its early copper and rare U.S. coin holdings.

Several major early American and Territorial issues are also included. Heritage lists a 1652 New England shilling graded AU50 by PCGS, a 1652 New England sixpence graded VF Details by PCGS and an 1855 Wass, Molitor & Co. $50 gold piece graded VF20 by PCGS among the highlights. A 1792 Judd-10 copper disme graded XF40 by NGC is another important early U.S. issue represented in the collection.

Gold collectors will find an 1848 CAL quarter eagle graded Good 6 by PCGS and an 1854-S quarter eagle graded Fine 12 by PCGS. The collection also contains a 1794 silver dollar graded VF25, adding one of the earliest and most historically significant U.S. silver-dollar issues to an already broad group of coins.

With its combination of early copper rarities, unusual mint errors, Colonial coinage, Territorial gold and major early U.S. issues, the Loring-Levin Collection will give collectors several different areas to watch when it reaches the auction block in January. All of the pieces in the primary FUN offering will be sold without reserve, meaning every lot will change hands regardless of the final bid.