Faces of Holmes: Buddy Ebsen

“… an incomparable actor.”

– A Study in Scarlet (STUD)

When I hear the name of Buddy Ebsen, I recall his nine seasons as Jed Clampett on the CBS television series The Beverly Hillbilliies. Others recall his role as Georgie Russel, Davy Crockett”s sidekick on the Disney mini-series of Davy Crockett. Ebsen would portray detective Barnaby Jones for 8 seasons in the television series of the same name. Quinn Martin Productions had some publicity photos taken of Ebsen dressed in Sherlockian inveness cape and deerstalker hat. Some wire service stories would mention that Ebsen had been awarded an honorary membership into the Baker Street Irregulars. This honorary membership was never awarded.

In the summer of 1978, an anonymous buyer purchased one of the five known 1913 Liberty Head nickels in a private transaction for $200,000. Several months later, the same anonymous buyer would purchase an 1804 dollar, also for $200,000. Superior Stamp and Coin Company of Beverly Hills handled both sales and would only say that the purchaser was “a major figure in the entertainment industry.”

In a March 3, 1979 editorial for Numismatic News, editor Arnold Jeffcoat was bemoaning these anonymous transactions and implied that Ebsen was the purchaser. Jeffcoat was wrong and in May, 1979 would receive a letter from Ebsen denying his ownership. a few months later, Sports Illustrated would reveal that the two coins were owned by Dr. Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 1987, Buddy Ebsen was one of the founders of the Beverly Hills Coin Club. The club produced two tokens, mimicking the designs of a 1793 cent and a 1975 Eagle coin, that were good for $20 in purchase at their club meetings.

Ebsen’s coin collection was sold by Superior in a series of two sales in 1987. One of the highlights of the sale was this 1879 pattern Stella, a gold four dollar coin