The Final Price
Tom Caldwell is the founder of Northeast Numismatics. He launched it more than five decades ago. There was no way that he was going to give up on this coin! Bob Merrill declared him as the winner, and the room erupted in applause. The winning bid had been an incredible $170,000. Tom Caldwell needed to add a buyer’s premium of 20 percent. In the end, the 1943 Lincoln Penny was sold for $204,000.
His Wish
“I’m glad to bring it back to Massachusetts,” Tom Caldwell explained. “We’ll keep it for a while. We’ll eventually sell it.” Peter Karpenski, the friend of Don, was thrilled for a different reason. “The proceeds are going to a local library in Pittsfield, Massachusetts,” he shared happily. “That was Don’s wish.”