Jeff Garrett

Jeff Garrett began his coin collecting the all-American way, with Lincoln Cents. In 1969 a family friend gave him a Lincoln cent board. From that time, coins became the focus of his life. While growing up in the Tampa Bay area in Clearwater Florida, Jeff became very active in several local clubs, serving as a junior officer of the Clearwater Coin Club in the 1970's. He mentored at an early age by many of the area dealers, among them Ed French and Jeff Means. Jeff attended his first ANA convention at the 1974 Miami convention with Ed French and has not missed one since. He has been a member of the ANA for nearly 25 years with life membership number 3124. At the age of 17, Garrett was offered a position with Florida Coin Exchange, one of the dominant firms of the day. Two years later, he became a partner. In 1984, he founded Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries, which continues to operate today. Garrett also is co-owner of Sarasota Rare Coin Gallery. During the 1980's Garrett was a partner in Mid-American Rare Coin Auctions which sold many important collections, and earned catalogue of the year in 1986 from the Numismatic Literary Guild. Several years later Jeff organized the Bluegrass Coin Club in Lexington, Kentucky. Because local coin clubs were so important in Jeff's early life, he felt it would be important to foster the same atmosphere of enthusiastic collectors that he enjoyed as a youth. Today, the club is very healthy, with over twenty members in attendance each month.

Today, Garrett describes his expertise as being a "dealer's dealer." With a network of professionals he has established over 25 years, he helps with financing, research, and the sale of acquisitions. Over the course of his career, Garrett has handled nearly every United States rarity. During the American Numismatic Convention in 2003 Garrett was one of the experts called upon to authenticate the long lost 1913 Liberty Nickel. In 2004 Garrett handled one of the greatest gold collections ever assembled, the famed Dukes Creek set of Georgia gold. That collection sold for nearly four million dollars. Another important aspect of his career is his membership in the Professional Numismatic Guild, to which he has belonged since 1982. Garrett has recently been President of the prestigious organization. In 2003 he was given the Abe Kosoff Founders Award by the PNG, that organizations highest honor for work promoting the hobby and organization. In 2003 the 100 Greatest United States Coins book was award the best book award by both the Numismatic Literary Guild as well as the Professional Numismatic Guild. Although he spends most of his time buying and selling coins, Garrett enjoys research and the study of rare coins. He is co-author of the Redbook of Auction Records series of books and United States Coinage- A Study by Type. Garrett is currently working on the Encyclopedia of United States Gold Coins. The project is being done in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institute. Garrett is also valuations editor of the Red Book for Whitman Publishing.

Living in Lexington, Kentucky, he enjoys golf, travel, and spending time with his family: his wife Mary Lynn, their daughter Morgan, and their son Ben.