An inside view of the coin hobby in the 1930’s 

Excerpts from the Introduction: Mr. Nichols was known to a wide circle of numismatic friends and particularly prominent in the collecting of rare United States coins and paper money. He is known to have many unusual and rare notes and a remarkably fine collection of early United States cents and silver. When nationwide interest in commemorative coins, particularly half dollars, arose in 1934-1935, Walter P. Nichols was in the forefront of activity. From this period through the next several years commemoratives accounted for most of his business. HIs correspondence with various official distributing commissions for these half dollars forms a fascinating archive and is interesting to read today. Paper money formed a special interest for Mr. Nichols, and his correspondence with Albert Al. Grinnell,a Detroit music dealer who owned over 40 stores and who was the pre-eminent paper money specialist of his day, can only be briefly excerpted in the following pages, but sheds light on activity in this area during the decade of the 1930s. Correspondence with various specialist, Federal Reserve banks, and others indicates that Mr. Nichols was actively preparing a reference book on large-size United States notes.