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to my doodle web-page
"Here's to you, my friends"
I live (by choice) in Ormond Beach, Florida (right by the ocean) and have two children (Laura, 18 and Alexandra, 16) and my terrific spouse of over ten years Desirée Van Seeters who works with me in all of my endeavors whether they are of interest to her or not (what a sweetheart).
Desirée and I were married on Feb. 2nd, 1997 in Las Vegas, so her name has changed to Desirée Kroh.
Laura just graduated from High School with Magna Cum Laude honors on May 25th, 2003, and I am as proud as I can be!
I am of German, Dutch, Irish and Cherokee
extraction and was born in Arcata, California a lot longer ago
than appearances would lead you to believe. I have lived in a
great many places since (attending seventeen different primary schools in
the process), including Stockport England (for 5+ years), Nevada,
Arizona, Southeast Asia, Texas, Missouri, West Hollywood California (for quite a
while) and for the past eighteen years central Florida has
been my home.
ANCIENT COINS
I am not as dumb as I may look, have long had an interest in ancient history and have been a serious coin collector all my life.
Until 1/1/2000 I was president of Empire Coins, Inc. We were very well-known dealers of ancient Greek & Roman coins and books about them, and had been in business since 1977. Up until 1996 we attended (with tables) nearly all major coin conventions and major auctions of ancient coins worldwide, but due to other (more lucrative) commitments we decided to close down the coin operation for the time being (temporarily, we hope). Empire Coins, Inc. during its run published over 100 fully-illustrated fixed price catalogues as well as usually two non-illustrated lists of lesser expensive material for beginners or those on a limited budget per year since 1980. We also held fourteen (14) auctions of better and rarer ancient coins, the public ones being in Dallas in 1985 & 1986, New York City in 1987, 1988, 1989 & 1990 and London in 1989 (in conjunction with the legendary auction-firm of Glendining's).
In 1994 my book "Ancient Coin Reference Reviews" was published. It covers many aspects (including current prices) of nearly all of the references used for ancient coins. It was with much surprise that I learned that it is now utilized as the STANDARD REFERENCE in all auctions and sales catalogues worldwide, with "Kroh, page 36, four stars" type citations being used for most of the books listed for sale or as references in this field. In case you are interested, ACRR is still currently available from us, AMAZON.COM or your favorite dealer for $25 postpaid.
FIREARMS
I wholly own Empire Arms
(federally-licensed dealers of historical and collectable military rifles and
handguns mfg. 1880-1960). We do business mostly at over the internet (to federally-licensed individuals and
companies only), and at select national shows. We are
specialists (considered experts by most) in Mauser rifles
(especially the excellent Swedish, German, and more unusual
variants), British, Australian and Indian Enfields, and Russian
and Eastern-bloc small arms which are (for the moment, at least)
both very inexpensive and readily available. We do not normally
handle modern commercial firearms (made since 1960 or so). No firearm we have sold has
ever been linked to a crime
(a fact that we are rather proud of).
MUSIC
I have always (ever since I saw Elvis in concert in 1957) had a passion for all kinds of music (there are well over 3,000 CD's on my wall). Music took me lots of places and I was for over fifteen years a touring lead guitarist in several name bands and still get up onstage and "tear the roof off the sucka" every now and then. The great Jimi Hendrix even came to see me play once... long long ago, of course. I do still rehearse and practice my considerable "chops" quite a lot and have been in the course of building a midi-studio at home in my large music-room for the past ten years but haven't been able to finish it due to all my other projects (and the fact that technology in this field is making even the most "modern" systems obsolete so fast). It looks as if I am going with "Pro Tools" at the moment. I still regularly write some very neat songs (as does my eldest daughter, Laura) and have vague illusions of perhaps getting them properly recorded someday....
Living in Hollywierd, California for so long I met lots and lots of "big stars" in all fields (stage, screen, TV, music, etc.) and became pretty good friends with many of them (we still receive many dozens of Christmas-cards from Hollywood residents each year). I always treated them like "regular folks" instead of being a star-struck idiot, and I think that is why many of them didn't mind hangin' with me. Yeah, I miss it (a little) but living in a zoo can get to ya too! It is enough that I visit the old haunts every year or three.
My favourite band of all time is Iron Maiden ... they are good friends of mine as well and some of the most intelligent people I have ever met... especially their keyboard player Michael Kenney (take a bow, Michael) but I have an appreciation for ALL music... as long as the players know how to play and the singers know how to sing, that is....
My favourite vocalist for many years (hell...
decades!) has been GLENN HUGHES (one day at a time, brother...),
and I find his most recent albums truly incredible. JOHN WEST (of the
bands ROYAL HUNT and ARTENSION and a solo artist in his own right) is also an
awesome vocalist and songwriter, and also an extremely nice
unpretentious person as well, so he is on my "A-list"
at the moment (and he should be on yours, as well). Sorry,
John, didn't mean to embarrass you there, buddy...
OTHER INTERESTS
I am a licensed pilot and had my very own airplane for many years while living in L.A., but I had to get rid of it a few years after moving to Florida (the weather here is too unpredictable and it was just too easy to steal). I still fly occasionally just to keep my skills (and ratings) up.
RACING
I have been a NASCAR fan since the mid-1960's, as
has my wife Desiree (she is best described as a NASCAR maniac, I
think). We seldom miss a race (either in-person or on TV), and
though I'm hardly what anyone would call a "redneck",
the genuine caring fellowship of race-car fans and firearms
enthusiasts is indeed something that cannot be imagined unless
you've "been there and done that."
I have been very heavily into martial arts since I was 8
(although I certainly don't look it now). I also greatly enjoy
the shooting sports (just in case the martial arts don't work).
{8^)} In any case I am not one to "mess with"... if you
get my drift...
OTHER FUN STUFF
Desiree and I (and my children) are also daily swimmers (when
weather and/or location allows) and really enjoy taking cruises and road-trips
at least one a year. Alexandra is crazy about horses and enters riding
competitions on a regular basis. Her room is filled with ribbons and
trophies!
TRAVEL
I have traveled all over the world for both business and
pleasure (I can roundly curse in over twenty languages), and only
have Australia and Israel yet left to conquer. I have been to
London over 200 times, Switzerland over 100 times, Germany about
60 times, Italy exactly 50 times, China three times and USSR five
SIX times, and have set my foot inside
forty-nine other countries
(some dozens of times). But when I think about it, I believe I
would much rather be in my modest home than anywhere else in the
world..............
My snail-mail address is:
DENNIS JAY KROH
95 Seminole Ave, Ormond Beach, FL 32176-8124
Telephone (386) 677-7314 Fax (386) 677-7324
You can reach me by e-mail at: kroh@empirearms.com
This file last updated on May 25th, 2003