Houston Jan 2025

The Stan New Collection

I was born in Hood River, Oregon in August, 1948. My parents moved to Kansas two years later. They would farm the property homesteaded by my grandfather. It was a small farm, so all of the brothers had to pitch in. There were five of us in total. We were wheat farmers with milk cows, beef cattle, chickens and pigs. A little bit of everything. Of course there was the requisite dog. Our home town had a population just under 200. My graduating class had 13 students. We were able to play in all sports; football, basketball and track. That was one benefit of being in a small school. A typical day would be waking up in the morning, milking the cows (yes by hand), driving to school, staying after school for football practice, returning home to milk the cows again, doing homework and then heading to bed. During the summer instead of going to school we would be driving a tractor, farming the ground. I attended the University of Kansas and majored in Electrical Engineering. Jobs were tight when I graduated in 1970. I worked at a convenience store and a tire store before getting a big break working for Keebler company as an electrical engineer. I worked for a couple of other engineering companies before starting my own business. Although I am now retired, our company builds and programs control systems to supply automation solutions to manufacturers of beer and pop cans. I was quite fortunate to be able to travel to many countries to install equipment and support our customers, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Malaysia and more. I have been married to my wonderful wife Dorothy for over 50 years. We have two boys and four wonderful grandchildren. Life has been very kind to me. I don’t know what provoked me to start collecting coins, but I really liked half cents. They were of lower mintage and harder to find. I enjoyed the challenge. I started in 1984, not really understanding there were unscrupulous dealers selling altered coins. It was a learning experience that I am sure everyone has gone through. Joining EAC was one of my best moves. The learning has never stopped. I have enjoyed the coins I collected over the years, but it is now time to pass the baton. Hopefully I have been a good steward. We never really own them, but just preserve them to be enjoyed by those next in line. They have passed through many hands over the years.