Cohn Auctioneers is an established auction company now in its third generation…
The seeds of the auction company originated almost 120 years ago. Sam Cohn, a Russian immigrant, settled in Columbus, Georgia. He made his living by buying and selling horses and mules. After years of success in the horse and mule business, Sam opened a livestock auction barn. The auction company grew into livestock barns in three southern cities. In the later years, Sam’s oldest son, Sol, ran the organization, while Harold, Sam’s youngest son, became an auctioneer. With the passage of time Harold Cohn left the family business to set out on his own.
Harold Cohn and Associates, Auctioneers started in 1949. Harold branched out with commercial and industrial auctions. He became one of the finest auctioneers in the country starting with livestock and car auctions every week. In the mid 1950’s Harold and his wife, Fern, became the second oldest on-going auction firm in the south, and oldest in Columbus, Georgia. Real estate had been sold at auction…but personal property auctions were fairly new to the auction field.
Machinery, Textile Plants, Construction Equipment, many many businesses of all kinds and types, as well as Real Estate, were sold at auction by Harold and Fern. Barwick Carpet Mills, in Dalton, GA* Farrah Slacks in El Paso, TX* Lockeed Aircraft in Chattanooga, TN* Gulf States Paper Company in Tuscaloosa, AL* Beaunit Textile Mills in Winston Salem and Raleigh, NC* Bemberg Fiber Mills in Elizabethton, TN* January Industries in Ariceibo, PR* February Industries in Mayaquez, PR* March Industries in Bayamon, PR* Girard Furniture Manufacturing in San Juan, PR* Fitzgerald Gasket in Torrington, CT* Lily Tulip Paper Corp. in Bangor, MN* Jack Frost Sugar in Philadelphia, PA* Synthane/ Sythoil Plants for the Department of Energy in Pittsburgh, PA* Cardinal Industries in Reynoldsburg, OH and Glen Burnie, MD.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s, under the direction of Fern Cohn, the company became nationally known in the auction industry. It was a major force in liquidating large metalworking, woodworking, textile plants, real and personal property of all kinds and descriptions, in allied fields.
Fern Cohn was formally educated in advertising and marketing at the University of Alabama. Her knowledge in the industry was further developed through experience in the auction field. She helped to build an auction company that ranked among the top five auction firms in the nation by the beginning of 1970. The Cohn Auction Company was the largest bankruptcy auction group in America, dealing with over 30 bankruptcy courts in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
The Cohn Auction Company conducted the largest real estate and personal property bankruptcy auction that had ever been held in Atlanta, GA. An entire city block of commercial real estate and machinery was auctioned over a five-day period. Fern Cohn personally managed all aspects of this auction. The Cohn’s auctioned, not only for bankruptcy courts, but also for municipalities, SBA, Fortune 500 Companies, national CPA Firms and national banks such as Citicorp, Manufactures Hanover, Chemical Bank, Bankers Trust, and Barkleys. For over 40 years, Fern has marketed auction sales of both real and personal property to domestic and foreign buyers. She has engaged in every facet of an auction, including securing auctions, contract negotiations, marketing research, budgeting, advertising (domestic and foreign), and auction-day coordination between buyer and seller.
Fern Cohn has given numerous lectures on the marketing of auctions to state auctioneers conventions throughout the South. She has been quoted in U.S. News and World Report, articles about her and the company have appeared in the leading newspapers.
With the unfortunate death of Harold Cohn, in 1992, the auction company name has been changed to Fern Cohn Auction Company.
Resume of Pam Cohn Leon
Having grown up in the family auction business, Pam is very familiar and comfortable with all aspects of the sale—from negotiating, to advertising, to tagging, to sale day and balancing the proceeds, she communicates effectively with buyers and sellers alike. Receiving her BS in Communications from the University of Texas, Austin, she has recently returned to Columbus and her roots. She is a graduate of the National Auctioneer Training Center, Inc., Thomasville, GA and has received her Real Estate license in Georgia and Alabama.