Happy Birthday, Chet Krause

Today is Chet Krause’s 88th birthday. He will be cutting a cake for well wishers this morning at his office in downtown Iola.

He founded Numismatic News in 1952 and from it sprang the firm of Krause Publications and a whole host of other hobby periodicals.

Since 2012 is the 60th anniversary of both the paper and the company, I have been rereading some books that Chet wrote or contributed to to refresh my knowledge of the history of the company.

In my personal thoughts I have marveled that my contributions to the firm have been ongoing on a full-time basis since 1978 and my very first article appeared in Coins Magazine in 1971.

Time does fly when you are having fun.

Chet is still very much engaged in the happenings of the numismatic hobby, though he retired from Krause Publications a long time ago. In his last book, I’m Chet, he counts the number of times he retired and comes up with four.

I do not know what it is like to found and run a company, but I do know what it was like to work for him and to learn at his elbow.

I also know that collectors are tenacious and rarely just give up. How can you? Even those who try to step away seem drawn back in.

I once wrote that numismatics is a life sentence – and oh what a life it is.

Thanks, Chet, for showing us the path forward.