HERBERT JACK KWART

Herbert Jack Kwart is a book author, coin columnist and investment counselor born in 1922. If he is still living, he can be added to our list of hundred-year-old numismatists.

Herbert was born on January 31, 1922, in Pittsburgh, the son of Louis (1891-1961) and Millie (1892-1974) Kwart.

He began collecting coins as an Eagle Scout. As an adult, he was a scout leader and district scout commissioner. He received scouting's Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor for an adult scout leader.

During World War II, he served as a staff sergeant in the U. S. Air Force Based in England. He flew 35 combat missions with the 8 th Air Force, 534th bomber squadron.

Kwart graduated from the University of Miami in 1950. Shortly after graduation he was married to Roslyn S. Kivel (1925-2005) on June 25, 1950, in Florida City, Florida.

In May of 1951, he was manager at Ayers Finance Co. in Mami When he was alone in the office over the lunch hour, he was tied up and robbed at gunpoint.

He was an engineer with Xerox after 1968. In 1977 he took a "social service leave" to promote scouting for handicapped youth.

Herbert Kwart joined the ANA in 1973 as member R-76273. Roslyn S. Kwart joined in 1974 as A-77609. Herbert was noted for recruiting new members but otherwise did little for the ANA.

Described as a coin expert and investment counselor, he spoke about coins at public meetings. He taught non-credit classes about coin collecting at Nova University in Fort Lauderdale in 1979, and Florida International University in Miami in 1980. He was sometimes called "professor" although that was probably not a legitimate academic title.

In the 1970's. he was owner of the World Wide Currency Exchange on Treasure Drive in Miami.

In 1978, he was secretary-treasurer for the World Paper Currency Collectors. The club was originally called the Maryland Foreign Paper Money Club in 1961 but changed the name in 1969.

The Miami Herald had an article and photograph in their issue of January 20, 1980. He had some interesting comments about coins and investments.

"I'm like a stockbroker. I do the same thing, except I do it in rare coins. All I've got to do is pick up the phone and call New York or California. In 24 hours, I've got what you want."

He recommended clients put from 15 to 20 percent of their investments into collectibles like stamps, antiques, jewelry or any other items of value.

"The next 10 years [will be] perfect, not just for coins, but in the whole field of collectibles."

Kwart contributed a "Coins" column on Tuesdays in The Miami News beginning with the issue of May 13, 1980. His emphasis was on coins as an investment. His last column was published on September 22, 1981, adding up to 66 articles over that period.

Kwart picked an unfortunate time to offer investment advice. He could report on strong gains in value seen over the previous years. Then the silver market collapsed in March of 1980 and the market went into a period of decline while his column was running.

In 1984 his book was published on United States Paper Money Grading Standard. Joe Boling wrote a review in 1984. Here is a brief excerpt.

If the book had been well received, it might have made him famous. Instead, he appears to have faded from the hobby after publication.

Herbert died on August 14, 2021, and is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno. California. Before I found his date of death, I found a listing for him on "True People Search." This listed him as age 102 and living in San Jose, California. It even had a phone number for him. My excitement at finding another 100-year-old numismatist was premature. He died about five months before his one-hundredth birthday.

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