Spectacular Territorial Gold Coins from Jack Klausen’s Estate to Anchor Heritage’s Long Beach Auction

Dallas, TX -- A world-class group of Territorial Gold Coinage assembled by the late Jack L. Klausen will be sold by Heritage Numismatic Auctions at its Sept. 25-28 auction in Long Beach, California. Mr. Klausen, America’s leading dealer of Territorial issues for more than three decades, set aside some of the most superlative pieces for himself over the years. At the time of his death in late January, he was making final plans with Heritage to auction these coins. According to his grandson, Ken Klausen, “With all due respect to the many fine dealers that Jack had encountered over the years, he felt confident that Heritage would do justice to such a fabulous collection. In fact, his final moments were spent setting up one last coin deal with Heritage. My grandfather and coins were always tied together, and he would have liked being remembered as a numismatist to the very end.”

Mr. Klausen was born in Hayes, Kansas on January 15, 1920. He told his grandson that his interest in numismatics started with the Coin Collecting merit badge from the Boy Scouts. His early business activities included produce routes, a traveling carnival, his own restaurant, and a Kaiser-DeSoto car dealership. An avid collector throughout this period, Mr. Klausen started attending coin club meetings in Kansas City in the early 1950s. He was inspired by other collectors, and began friendships with dealers that would last his lifetime. To help support his own collecting, he began to buy and sell rolls en route to becoming a full-time dealer. He joked that he retired to his beloved avocation of collecting coins, although his grandson notes “it is difficult to call four decades of passionate hard work ‘retirement.’” His strategy was to quietly buy and accumulate, which gave him plenty of inventory to work with later. He began to use the Teletype system when that started, and ultimately opened Mid-Continent Coins in Kansas City in the early 1960s.

According to “Dutch” Rohning, Mr. Klausen’s brother-in-law and former partner in Mid-Continent, “When the time came to sell all these wonderful coins that Jack had set aside for decades, there was no choice in his mind but to auction through Heritage. In fact, the day that Jack died, he was scheduling an appointment for Bob Merrill to pick up his best coins for auction. He had talked to other auction houses, but Heritage had the right answers to maximize the proceeds for these important pieces - just as they had with his prior Heritage consignments. In talking to dealers from one coast to the other, the Heritage name was always on the top of the list. We were especially impressed with Heritage’s exclusive Permanent Auction Archives, so his coins will be available online for the family to enjoy and for future generations of numismatists to study. The decision was even easier since we have known Steve [Ivy] forever. Heritage was just the “right” firm to handle such an important consignment.”

Jack left Kansas City in 1967, and opened Jack Klausen Rare Coins in La Jolla, California. Although he gained his worldwide reputation as a specialist in Territorial (especially Western & Mormon coinages), he also developed a reputation as an expert in Russian gold coins. After purchasing Rev. Coole’s famous collection of Chinese coins, he displayed some fifty cases of highlights at many coin shows before dispersing the collection in the mid-1960s (donating various pieces to the A.N.A. Museum in Colorado Springs). He also purchased Sol Kaplan’s collection of Territorial $50 slugs. According to Ken Klausen, “He settled into the golden state with a date and citrus ranch in Indio and a beachfront home in La Jolla. From these beautiful surroundings, he continued to work with coins. Many a dealer will share that they rarely got a break on a deal, but they were always treated to warm hospitality and a delicious meal from his lovely wife, Winifred.”

“Jack was a tough bargainer,” added Dutch Rohning. “He had a great memory for details such as the cost of a coin he had purchased years before and the identity of the seller. He was an avid student of Territorial gold and Russian gold, and, as such, he became a sought-after authority and advisor for coins in those fields. His comprehension of figures was incredible. He was an aggressive buyer and seller with a quick answer for any situation.”

Ken Klausen concluded, “My grandfather’s passion would be where he left his mark on life. His venture West was not with the original pioneers, but his connection to their past would be the collection of a lifetime. Although never published, his knowledge on the subject of territorial gold would astound some of the established experts. His fondness for U.S. and territorial gold would be how Jack would be recognized for the remainder of his life.” Mr. Klausen was a contributor to the Redbook and various Krause Publications. George Hull dedicated his book, "The Norris, Gregg & Norris Coin and the Gold Rush of '49" to him, and he was acknowledged in the book, "Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States" by Donald H. Kagin.

“The Territorial Gold Coins from Jack Klausen’s Estate,” concluded Bob Korver, Heritage’s Auction Director, “will be anchoring Heritage’s Long Beach Signature Sale, being held in Long Beach on Sept. 25-28. Full-color images of all coins will be available on-line at HeritageCoin.com in early September. We intend to take this opportunity to expose the 55,000+ registered bidders on our website to the joys of collecting these important pieces of Americana.”

The Heritage name is recognized worldwide for bringing unparalleled value to every consignor and bidder. Year 2001 sales exceeded $150 million and assets were approximately $30 million. HeritageCoin.com is the Internet's most popular and highly trafficked rare coin site, with over 53,000 registered members. HeritageCoin.com is the only coin site chosen twice by Forbes.com’s Best of the Web (1999 and 2001) as one of the 250 best websites on the Internet, and also won the most recent Numismatic Literary Guild award for Best Numismatic Internet Site.