In the 1990's, Mr. Noe, 50, was chairman of the Republican Party in Lucas County, which includes Toledo. His wife held the same position until last year. He was a friend of Gov. George V. Voinovich, now a senator, whose administration first approved a $25 million investment in Mr. Noe's rare-coin funds in 1998.

But Mr. Noe was also an early supporter of Mr. Taft when he ran for secretary of state in the 1990's. And after Mr. Taft was elected governor in 1998, the Workers' Compensation Bureau approved a second $25 million investment in rare coins through Mr. Noe in 2001.

A spokesman for the bureau, Jeremy Jackson, said the rare coins had appeared to be a good investment that helped balance the steep decline in stock prices in the late 1990's. Since 1998, he said, the coin funds earned $15 million for the fund. And Mr. Noe also profited handsomely, collecting more than $3 million in fees.

Mr. Jackson said the investment in coins represented only a tiny proportion of the state's $16 billion workers' compensation fund. ''We felt that small allocation would potentially reduce the risk of that portfolio,'' he said.

But in the past two months a series of embarrassing details about Mr. Noe and his coin funds have come to light. First, The Blade disclosed that two coins worth $300,000 had been lost in 2003. Then state officials acknowledged that another 119 coins worth $93,000 were missing. Earlier this week, Mr. Noe's lawyers told state officials that he had also used state funds to invest in artwork and collectibles, such as autographs and cards. And on Thursday Mr. Noe's lawyers said that as much as $13 million in assets are missing.

Mr. Jackson said it was not clear whether Mr. Noe had the legal authority to invest the state's money on collectibles or whether the state was even the rightful owner of those items. State officials also say they do not know which coins have disappeared from the two funds, which are being liquidated.

Mr. Noe had previously told The Blade that coins were lost in the mail or that they were stolen by a Colorado dealer. His lawyer, Mr. Wilkinson, said Friday, ''We don't have information as to where the assets are, so we are not commenting on it.'' He added that Mr. Noe, who stepped down as the fund manager, was on vacation with his family.

Experts in state workers' compensation programs said they knew of no other states that invested in rare coins, largely because they are considered volatile commodities that are difficult to price, difficult to sell and easy to lose or steal.

"'I just can't imagine collectible rare coins being used as an investment,'' said Gregory Krohm , executive director of a trade association for government agencies that administer workers' compensation programs. ''It's hard to make a market for them.''

On Friday, a judge in Franklin County signed an order freezing certain assets belonging to Mr. Noe worth over $15,000. And on Tuesday, prosecutors in Lucas and Franklin Counties are scheduled to meet with United States attorneys and the state inspector general to discuss coordinating their investigations.

But the scandal has also jolted the Republican Party simply because Mr. Noe, thanks to his energy, charm and sheer fund-raising prowess, has helped or befriended just about every prominent Republican in the state. Mr. Taft, who cannot run for re-election because of term limits, received about $20,000 in donations from Mr. Noe and his wife over the past decade.

The three Republicans trying to replace Mr. Taft in next year's election -- Auditor Betty Montgomery, Attorney General Jim Petro and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell -- have all received thousands of dollars from Mr. Noe and his wife, Bernadette, in recent years, according to state campaign records. All three have opened audits or investigations into Mr. Noe's coin funds or campaign contributions.

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Even the state's highest court has been touched by the case. When a series of lawsuits seeking an inventory of Mr. Noe's coin investments was brought before the Ohio Supreme Court recently, five of seven justices recused themselves. All had received campaign contributions from Mr. Noe.