Special Jack Halpern Mineral Collection Auction

ATTENTION:  We are happy to announce our new book featuring the Jack Halpern collection entitled "Addicted to Beauty", which will be available in March from the Mineralogical Record.  The following is an excerpt from Rob Lavinsky from foreword of the book.  "I am honored to have been entrusted with the deaccessioning of Jack Halpern’s famed collection. This book is not only designed to commemorate Jack's minerals, but also the man himself and how he inspired so many of us who are in the hobby today. Regarding the sale of his collection, Jack’s one comment and wish to me and to his family and friends was that we would carry forward his 'Legacy of Beauty' out into the broad world." We are proud to present the next in our series of special auctions from the collection of Jack Halpern.  Each month we are going to offer a selection of fine quality specimens from Jack's 3,200+ piece collection.  The VAST majority of these pieces from Jack's collection will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves an equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality specimens for their collections.      

Jack Halpern was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco.   Before Jack was a mineral collector, he graduated from New York University Summa Cum Laude with a degree in accounting, but shortly after enlisted in the Navy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor during WWII, eventually reaching the rank of Lt. Commander.  Years later, Jack toured the California Academy of Sciences in 1962 and became captivated by the specimens on display, thus starting a multi-decade long obsession with mineral collecting.  Jack already had a background in collecting, as he was quite passionate about flowers, serving in the presidency of both the San Francisco Rose Society and the San Francisco Orchid Society, well before the “collecting bug” grew to include minerals.  Over the years, Jack assembled his 3,200+ specimen collection with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece.  Jack admired pieces of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.

Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting.  He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world.   We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections.  We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.

We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/  for more information