David W. Lange, famed numismatist who served as the Director of Research for Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) has passed aged 64. Mr. Lange succumbed to cancer on January 16, 2023 after a three-year battle with the disease.
Mr. Lange began collecting in 1964, drawn to Lincoln Cents and Buffalo Nickels. He was a lifelong fan of coin boards, which had stuck with him since his early days when he focused on filling boards for cents and nickels. At NGC he wrote much of the company’s coin-related content in the 30 years he worked at NGC. He is also credited for developing NGC’s VarietyPlus program and the NGC Photo Proof service.
David Lange was the author of nearly a dozen books and hundreds of articles on United States coinage and related subjects. His books The Complete Guide to Lincoln Cents (1996) and The Complete Guide to Buffalo Nickels (2001) are still considered standard references for the series. He was an instructor at the American Numismatic Association’s Summer Seminar for many years, focusing on collecting type coins. He was a columnist for the ANA’s monthly magazine, The Numismatist, since 1988. In 2009 he received the Association’s “Lifetime Achievement” award, and in 2017 was recognized as “Numismatist of the Year.” In 2021 Coin World named him one of the sixty most influential people in numismatics since 1960.
CoinWeek has an excellent summary of Mr. Lange’s numismatic achievements and reactions to his passing.
Rest in Peace.
Great Numismatist and a good man. He will be sorely missed.