This week I was reviewing the listing for Jay Roe in American Numismatic Biographies anddiscovered a couple of errors. They will be corrected in the next update.

I got Jay's autograph in 1985. I would see him at coin shows around the area. His exhibit at ourcoin show one year made a strong impression. It was called withexamples of coins struck in 24 different metals including a few very rare metals like niobium andtantalum.

Jay and his wife contributed articles for World Coin News on published in 1992.

There is a Wikipedia entry for that makes reference to this article. If you donot wish to read this in English, there are other options, A Google search give these options:Kovane kovine; Metallirahat; Razenie Kovov; Metalli da conio; Logam duit syiling;Munzmetalle; Kim loai duc tien; and ????????????.Jay spent summers at his grandfather's lake home on Stoney Lake in Ontario. His grandfatherwas a Princeton University professor and advisor to the Chinese and Japanese governments.Jay's house was filled with mementos from his grandfather's frequent trips.

His father's business also required foreign travel and he would return home with small changeaccumulated during the trips. He gave the coins to Jay. His initial interest grew to an obsession.

He developed an interest in California fractional gold. He decided that he would have betteraccess and buying opportunities as a dealer. He did business as Jay Roe California Gold from1978 to 1996. The collection he assembled, with 580 pieces, is the finest such collection everformed.He was a licensed pilot and collected Zeppelin coins, stamps and medals. He also formed anextensive collection of bolo ties.

Jay Roe pushed hard for a second edition of California Pioneer Fractional Gold by WalterBreen and Ronald J. Gillio, and persuaded Dave Bowers to publish it, sweetening the deal byagreeing to consign his collection to Bowers and Merena for auction once the book was out.Unfortunately, he died before writing began, but his collection was used for nearly all theillustrations. Robert D. Leonard Jr., with the assistance of Jay's widow Marieli and researcherJack Totheroh, prepared the second edition published in 2003.

The Jay Roe Collection of California fractional gold was sold at auction by Bowers and Merenaon September 14, 2003. The catalog identified the owner as John Westel Rowe.

Lot 137 of the sale was the highlight of the Roe Collection, an 1853-GG round gold dollar, BG-604. It is called the variety and the finer of two known. [PCGS MS-62] Roebought it from the Goliad Corporation on August 26, 1991, for $100.000. At the Roe sale itrealized $80,500.

A search for on the Newman Numismatic Portal shows 1753 citations.

John Westel Rowe was born in Scarsdale, New York, on September 3, 1924. His father wasWard John Edward Rowe, Jr. (1895-1982). His mother was Laura Robinson Willoughby (1897-1949).John served in the Navy during WWII. After the war he enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT) with a major in organic chemistry and a minor in geology. While at MIT, hewas president of the Outing Club and enjoyed climbing, canoeing, sailing and skiing. Indoors, heparticipated in the bridge club and enjoyed square dancing. In 1947 he met his future wife whowas president of the Swarthmore Outing Club.

He received a masters' degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder. While in Colorado heclimbed to the top of 24 peaks with elevations over 14,000 feet. He received a Ph.D. from theSwiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 1956.

John married Mary Dorothy Theresa Lowenstein (1926-2020), also known as Marieli, atRiverside Church in New York City on June 26, 1949, and had three sons.He worked as a chemist for the U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory atMadison, Wisconsin for 30 years.

He died in Madison, Wisconsin, and is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery.

A search for on the Newman Numismatic Portal yields two citations.

Bob Leonard added these comments:

I had been aware that Jay Roe was a dealer and collector. This week I learned that Jack Rowewas much more than that.