Walter H. Breen

Walter H. Breen (September 5, 1928 – April 27, 1993) was an American author. He is best known among coin collectors for writing Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. "Breen numbers", from his encyclopedia, are widely used to attribute varieties of coins. He is also well known for activity in the science fiction fan community; for his conviction for child molestation, and for his writings in defense of pederasty.

Early life

Breen was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Walter Henry Breen and Mary Helena (Nellie) Brown Mehl. He spent the first several years of his life living in Texas with his parents. He strove to distinguish himself academically from a young age and continued excelling academically throughout his post-secondary education. He served briefly in the United States Army Air Corps and was honorably discharged.

He received his Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in 1952. He later claimed he finished four years of coursework in approximately 10 months. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and earned his Master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966. He regularly wore his Phi Beta Kappa key as a zipper pull on the fly of his pants. He joined Mensa in 1958 or 1959, possibly the first American to do so.

Writings

As Breen completed his undergraduate college coursework, he immersed himself in the study of coinage. In 1951, the journal Numismatist published his earliest writings on the subject. Two years later he completed his first book on American coins, Proof Coins Struck by the United States Mint, 1817–1901.

Walter Breen also spent considerable time compiling information on the history of homosexuality and of pederasty. His research, unprecedented in its extensive treatment of the history of homosexuality, but not adhering to the standards of scholarly research, formed the basis for his 1964 book Greek Love, which he published under the pseudonym J.Z. Eglinton. Breen collaborated with Warren Johansson in researching the book.

His other interests included dirty limericks and fortune cookies. He self-published monographs on both subjects.

Personal life

In addition to his employment with First Coinvestors, Inc., where he was an officer for many years, Breen was an active member of the science fiction community. He wrote for fanzines, and took over editorship of the fanzine Fanac from Terry Carr and Ron Ellik. He married science fiction writer Marion Zimmer Bradley on June 3, 1964. They had two children and separated in 1979. After their separation, Breen moved to Oakland, California. They officially divorced on May 9, 1990.

Crimes

Breen was arrested on child molestation charges in 1990, and accepted a plea bargain, which resulted in three years' probation.

In 1991 he was charged with eight felony counts of child molestation involving a 13-year-old boy. Though diagnosed with liver cancer in 1992, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He died in prison in Chino, California on April 27, 1993.

Publications

• Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins New York: Doubleday, 1988.
• Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents 1793–1857
• California Pioneer Fractional Gold: Historic gold rush small change 1852–1856 and suppressed jewelers' issues 1859–1882; co-authored by Ronald Gillio. This is the standard reference for this series of coinage
• Penny Whimsy; assisted William Sheldon to produce this 1958 update to Sheldon's Early American Cents.
• Greek Love; assisted by Warren Johansson and published by Oliver Layton Press in 1964, under the pseudonym J.Z. Eglinton.
• Lusty Limericks & Bawdy Ballads; monograph published in 1956
• The Darkover concordance: a reader's guide; published by Pennyfarthing Press in 1979.

Further reading

• Mader, Donald, "Walter Breen aka J.Z. Eglinton 1928–1993" in Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context. Bullough, Vern L. ed. New York, London, Oxford: Harrington Park Press, 2002.
• Notes about the "Breendoggle" at the 1964 World Con