John J. Ford was born on March 5, 1924 in Hollywood, California. He and his wife Joan have three daughters. He served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II and remained involved with the military afterwards, including the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and Army Counter Intelligence from 1950 to 1959. Ford’s collecting interests began at the age of 11 with Lincoln cents. He worked part time or full time for Stack’s from 1939 to 1942, and he also conducted a few auction sales under his own name in the 1940s.

His association with New Netherlands Coin Company from 1951 to 1971 was a significant aspect of his career. During this time he developed a style of auction cataloging that had far-reaching implications for future firms. Ford was a pioneer of the modern style of informative auction catalog descriptions containing actual numismatic research. His collection, which is currently being sold by Stack’s in a series of sales, consists of all aspects of American numismatics except for regular issue coinage.