early on
Alan would have salespeople dress in suits and carry his tome in an attaché case. They would sell his book, his cards, and more importantly his philosophy. Lots of pomp and little substance. The inflationary prices and fanciful projections were not of this earth. As it turns out though - he was kind of right.
What began with a grading/encapsulation process in the coin industry morphed into same for cards. It was suggested he would encapsulate cards and coins that were altered into his own tombs and sell them as uncleaned or unaltered. His reputation was let's just say not stellar and one can get a glimpse by searching a bit of the interweb. I spoke with him a few times - primarily after he moved to Florida related to cigarette packs and packaging. He actually had a table at a national maybe 8(?) years ago after an absence of about that much time. I have his book entrenched on my collectible bookshelf nestled in-between my Cashmanian coffee table book and Petrone's Tobacco Advertising The Great Seduction. Quite a character - many of the early hucksters were.
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