Celebrity Numismatists: 5 Famous Coin Collectors That May Surprise You

 

Celebrity Numismatists: 5 Famous Coin Collectors That May Surprise You

Collecting rare coins has always been one of humanity’s favorite pastimes. From average consumers to wealthy billionaires, everybody loves a good coin. Even in 2024, some of the most recognizable names in Hollywood, the NHL, and politics use their wealth to build multi-million dollar coin collections. 

Some famous coin collectors may surprise even the most dedicated numismatist. Jack Black, Nicolas Cage, and Wayne Gretzky are just a few of the modern celebrities who dabble in the ancient hobby of numismatics. This isn’t all that surprising – the celebrity coin enthusiasts we’re covering today have quite a bit of wealth to put into their passion. 

If you’re a committed rare coin collector, you should know that you’re in good company. On this page, we’re walking readers through five of the most surprising celebrity coin collectors on the planet. 

#5: Jack Black 

Jack Black is one of the most instantly recognizable actors in the world. He’s the voice of Kung Fu Panda, the face of Nacho Libre, and a staple of 21st century American comedy. Needless to say, he’s amassed quite the fortune since his debut as a performer in 1982. What has Jack Black spent his movie royalties on? Well, at least part of Jack Black’s wealth has gone toward his extensive rare coin collection. 

That’s right – the star of School of Rock is an avid coin collector. In 2018, Conan O’ Brien spoke to the actor about his coin collection. In the interview, Jack Black revealed that he’s a dedicated numismatist, someone who studies and collects rare currency coins. This was a shocking revelation to Conan, who remarked that he “thought he knew everything” about the world-famous actor. 

So what’s in Jack Black’s famous coin collection? Jack Black’s favorite coin is his 1793 Flowing Hair Penny. Black enjoys the history of the coin, which was controversial upon release because of its depiction of a woman’s hair flowing in the breeze. The actor also enjoys his 1917 Standing Liberty Quarter-Dollar, which was another coin lambasted by some coin enthusiasts for its depiction of feminine immodesty. 

In classic Jack Black fashion, he ended the interview with a joke. Black claimed to own a rare, one-of-a-kind coin minted in 1828 that depicts a nude Abraham Lincoln. Needless to say, this coin doesn’t actually exist. 

Jack Black might not have a one-of-a-kind Lincoln penny in his collection, but the famous actor certainly has a taste for controversial early American coinage

#4: Wayne Gretzky 

Wayne Gretzky is a former Canadian hockey player generally considered to be the best to ever play the game. According to rumors in numismatist circles, the prolific player is also a famous fan of collectable coins. Unfortunately for numismatists who’d like to know which coins Gretzky finds interesting, the details of Wayne Gretzky’s coin collection remain private. 

Although we don’t know which coins made it into the all-time great hockey player’s personal portfolio, Gretzky himself appears on a number of coins minted around the world. Wayne Gretzky has been featured on multiple coins produced by Canada’s Royal Canadian Mint. This should come as no surprise, given that the athlete is perhaps the biggest household name in Canadian history. 

From the world stage in hockey to the rumor-mill in coin collecting clubs, it seems that Wayne Gretzky’s influence really knows no bounds. 

#3: James Earl Jones (Darth Vader)

You might know James Earl Jones by another name: Darth Vader. Jones rose to prominence as the voice of cinema’s most infamous villain, but his filmography spans nearly every genre and several decades. In fact, one of James Earl Jones’ lesser-known roles was as the narrator for a video on coin collecting. 

Yes, you read that right! James Earl Jones, the instantly recognizable voice behind Darth Vader, once starred in a video produced by the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG). The award-winning mini-documentary is called “Money: History in Your Hands.” In the video, Jones introduces new numismatists to the coin collecting hobby and the historical importance of money. 

Like Wayne Gretzky, James Earl Jones has kept the contents of his own coin collection under wraps. Judging by his knowledge displayed in the PNG coin collecting videos, though, we assume Jones probably has quite the collection on his hands! 

#3: Nicholas Cage

Nicholas Cage is another world-class actor who enjoys collecting coins. Cage starred in National Treasure, Face/Off, and many other blockbusters. The actor frequents rare coin auctions, sometimes bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars to build his collection. Some sources estimate that Nicholas Cage’s coin collection is valued at more than $10,000,000, making him one of America’s most prolific numismatic coin collectors. 

Although Nicholas Cage has never confirmed it personally, some coin collectors speculate that he is currently in possession of a 1933 Double Eagle Gold Coin. The 1933 Double Eagle was illegal to possess until 2009 and is widely considered the most valuable United States coin. In June 2021, one 1933 Double Eagle sold for $18.9 million at auction. 

What we do know is that Cage has an interest in early American coins. His collection includes a rare 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, as well as a 1792 Silver Cent. This blockbuster actor starred in National Treasure, and it seems that his coin collection is a national treasure as well! 

#2: Jay Leno

Famous talk show host Jay Leno is a man of many interests. Most people already know about his prolific car collection, which is valued at over $50 million. You might not know, though, that Leno also dabbles in coin collecting. The television personality started collecting coins in the 1970s, and he has an impressive collection of ancient Greek and Roman coins. 

Leno also enjoys collecting strange or especially rare coins, such as the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. The 1913 Liberty Head nickel was not supposed to be minted, but a mint employee struck and snuck five of the coins out of the United States Mint. To this day, only five 1913 Liberty Head nickels exist. Obviously, the surviving specimens are worth quite a lot of money – one 1913 Liberty Head nickel sold for $4.2 million at a 2022 auction!

We don’t know the specific contents of Leno’s coin cabinet or the precise value of the collection. But if Jay Leno loves coins even half as much as he enjoys luxury cars, he likely has one of the world’s best rare coin portfolios. 

#1: Caesar Augustus 

Caesar Augustus was the first Roman Emperor. He’s well-known for his quote on the founding of Rome: “I found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble.” But according to some numismatists, the founding of Rome wasn’t Caesar Augustus’ only first. 

Some historians claim that Caesar Augustus was the world’s first coin collector. The Emperor certainly had the money to sustain such a collection. Augustus had a habit of giving away old and foreign coins to friends and fellow politicians and frequently spoke about the importance of money. His work as Rome’s first Emperor helped establish Roman coinage as a fixture of both national identity and economic dominance in the region. 

Of course, we’ll never really know which coins Caesar Augustus liked to collect. Because of Rome’s role as a global hegemon, he likely had access to all sorts of unique coins from around the world. Numismatics was not a field of study while Caesar Augustus was turning Rome from brick to marble, but his fascination with currency left a lasting cultural mark on the expansive empire. 

Final Thoughts: The World’s Most Famous Coin Collectors

We’ve referred to the famous coin collectors on this list as numismatists, so it makes sense to spend a little bit of time unpacking that term. What is a numismatist? The term numismatist refers to someone who studies currency, including coins, paper currency, and other mediums of exchange. Technically, not all coin collectors are numismatists. In practice, though, nearly every person who collects rare coins practices a bit of numismatics. 

After all, how could you not? Coins help tell the story of cultures, nations, and economies. Each rare coin we come across paints a vivid picture of what life was like for another culture – and which things they considered important enough to immortalize on currency. As famous coin collector and superstar actor James Earl Jones once said: 

Money is history in your hands. 

From the first Emperor of Rome to Jack Black and Wayne Gretzky, coin collecting is a hobby spanning thousands of years and crossing nearly every socioeconomic border. It may be interesting to think about the famous coin collectors of the world, but the hobby of numismatics belongs to all of humanity. 

You might also be interested in:

• Numismatics Explained: What Gives Coins Value?
• What is a Numismatist?
• The Untold Story of How Isaac Newton Saved British Coinage