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Chicago Coin Club
Volume 48 No. 11 November 2002

Minutes of the 1006th Meeting

Old Business -

New Business -

Respectfully submitted by Steven Zitowsky

Speaker's Wor[l]d
The Invention and Dissemination of the Idea of Coinage

Presented by Donald Tzvi Ariel, head of the Coin Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority, to our October 9, 2002 meeting.

Coins are very regional in nature and when I was trying to decide on what to speak about tonight I picked something that I hope will be more stimulating on a theoretical level. I'll be speaking on the invention and dissemination of the idea of coinage. I'll be bringing examples from the region I'm familiar with that is the southern Levant (countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean) but clearly these issues relate to a lot of numismatic research therefore I'm sure it has raminfications for the kinds of work most of you do. Although if you're working in modern coinage it may be less relevant.

Coins are among the most important historic documents that remain from ancient classical times. The first coins were struck in Lydia in western Anatolia, at the end of the seventh century BCE. But I do not intend to speak of the date and place of the first coins, but rather what were the functions behind their invention, and how, when and why did this important innovation spread. In fact, we do not know as much as we would like about the process by which the idea of striking coins came about, by whom and when. It would also be helpful to know more about how, why and when the use of coinage spread through the ancient world.

Coins are metal discs (1) usually struck (2) bearing a symbol(s) (3) and used as a means of exchange (4). The first coins were made of gold, silver or electrum (a more-or-less naturally appearing alloy of gold and silver), and were introduced and the end of the seventh and the beginning the sixth century BCE in western Anatolia.

  1. Metal discs: other media (shells, beads, ingots) are often referred to as proto-money or primitive money.
  2. Usually struck: Hebrew root means strike/impress. A rarely used alternative is to "cast" coins.
  3. Bearing symbols: The first coins bore symbols on only one side. The other side showed the impression left by the device which held the flan in place. Later that impression was stylized when technologically it was learned how to strike without any device. Ultimately symbols are placed on both sides of the coin.
  4. Used as a means of exchange: of recognized weight and purity.
For an understanding of the processes which brought about the invention of coinage it is important to view coins from many points of view: much more than the two sides (obverse and reverse) that they appear to have. These are:
  • the point of view of the minting authority (king, ruler, emperor, dynast, league)
  • the point of view of the nation/ethnic grouping
  • the point of view of the upper end users (wealthy)
  • the point of view of the lower end user (common people)

    • In the course of this presentation we will touch upon most of these points of view. For the purpose of understanding the invention of coinage we must focus upon the the point of view of the ruler. Two of the principal benefits a nation derives from its own system of coinage are to signal the establishment of sovereignty and to control an economy. Since its invention, circulating coinage, sanctioned and manufactured by a sovereign, has been the ultimate document projecting sovereignty and defining an independent nation. While the idea behind and daily use of coins was to provide for a number of economic functions, they also had communication and propaganda values which, it has been claimed, are often overlooked. The importance of propaganda, for example, cannot be underestimated, especially in a world in which the coins themselves were perhaps the most advanced form of mass communications. Nevertheless, we do not know at what point after the invention of the idea of coinage, their propaganda value was discovered. I'm going to claim here that though we understand in the Roman period that coins had propaganda value, that in the earliest periods people didn't understand what could be done for disseminating knowledge on coins and there were other ideas behind the original use and invention of coins.

    Numismatics developed as a entity separate from archaeology originally because it was one of the first of the antiquarian specializations in the Renaissance, well before archaeology came into its own. For that reason, from its beginnings, numismatics has had a strong art-historical component. Ironically, the realization of coins' obviously economic underpinning actually came well after the field developed. I would roughly date the study of the economics of numismatics to the nineteenth century. It is that focus which interests us here today. The art-historical numismatists focused on the messages on the coins, their so-called propaganda value. While this aspect of coins always existed, in fact it only fully came to the fore in the Roman period.

    Before there were coins people conducted economic transactions using barter systems. The main commodities traded were agricultural products, metals, and manufactured goods. First would be the negotiation between the two parties. When the terms of the transaction was agreed upon, the two parties would have to measure out or weigh the commodities being exchanged. This measuring procedure would be the same, regardless if the commodity weighed were figs or flour or gold.

    These commodities were weighed on free-balance scales, a cumbersome procedure to say the least. A technological innovation in the weighing procedure was accomplished a few centuries earlier than the invention of coinage, with the use of scale weights of recognizable shape, implying a certain weight or at least weight standard, and yet later with the addition of markings indicating the actual weight. They relate very closely to the invention of coins. Just as the valuable metals from which coins would later be struck were of course commodities themselves before the idea of coining was invented, so too the denominations which later became those of coins were originally weight standards for weighing upon the scale.

    There were of course objects which could be described as primitive money, or pre-money, which run the gamut from pre-weighed but unmarked dumps, to punched and striated pieces. Perhaps not all, but most had to be weighed on a scale. Examples are specially cast ingots of valuable metals. Sometimes you have to take the money and weigh it to see what it's worth in the premonetary period. We believe that their use was less common, even though they exist in the archaeological record. It is logical that the more mundane premonetary transactions did not employ such sophistications. In pre-monetary economies people bartered, they negoitated, they agreed on a price and then they weighed out one commodity against another.

    Before coinage, the weighing of bullion, silver for example, took place by cutting off fragments of partially melted broken jewelry or debris from silversmithing. Another view is that standard silver jewelry items themselves were of standard weights.

    We find archaeological evidence of silver lumps melted together found from Anatolia to Egypt, and there are a good number of examples from the southern Levant. Pot hoards in which silver jewlery has been melted together into one large lump could be interpreted as raw materials for a silversmith, but may also be the materials of large barter transactions. For conducting a smaller purchase, all one had to do was to break off a piece of this hoarded material, and weigh it on a scale against a standard scale weight.

    Since the time of Aristotle it has been assumed, and most people believe so to this day, that the logic of coinage was to facilitate the exchange process. Coins had symbols struck into them, and as long as the symbols were clear the weight and composition of the coins were considered to be known. According to this assumption, with the appearance of coins, overnight scale-weights should have became obsolete. For the first numismatists, who were art-historians, this assumption was satisfactory. Today it is not. Today we have to assume that together with the invention of coinage people were continuing to conduct many of their transactions in the barter technique. Today people still use barter and we have to understand that in tandem with the monetary economy there was/is barter.

    The assumption of the facilitation of the exchange process may be broken down into two differing categories, akin to the difference between macro- and micro-economics. On the macro scale this implies that minting coins was meant to assist in transactions between nation-states. Of course we know of many, many transactions in the earliest periods of coinage in which very large quantities of coins were transferred between nation-states, for tribute and for other reasons. These transactions were described in ancient sources often in denominations of talents, but the actual transaction was made with sacks of raw silver or coins. When these coins arrived at their destination they were often melted down so that the bullion could be used for the minting of local currency. That being the case it does not appear that the inter-national exchange process was the original logical focus for the invention of coinage. Why would one expend energy to strike coins (no matter how inexpensive manpower was in those days), in order to weigh coins in sacks, and send those sacks abroad, where they were likely to be melted down? It doesn't make sense.

    For the theory that coins were first introduced in order to resolve complexities of inter-regional (or international) exchange one would expect to find very large denominations, and not the 15 gram average coin weight known from those times. We must therefore search beyond the macro-economic explanation for the invention of the first coins.

    In order to understand the micro-economic logic for the invention of coins, let us consider the point of view of the ruler of a region or city-state. Did he have an interest in facilitating the process of exchanging goods in his city's marketplace? This may perhaps be the case as relates to upscale purchases, ones that entail the exchange of one or a number of 15 gram silver coins. The merchants dealing on that level of commerce, called wholesalers, would have been important to a regional ruler and he would have wanted to assist them. At the same time, that regional ruler would likely not have cared less about simplifying the process by which one would buy fruits and vegetables in the marketplace.

    We therefore believe that there is more to the invention of coinage than the facilitation of mid-level exchange. We believe that the explanation for the introduction of coins in early sixth century economies of western Anatolia has to do with the king's own profit motive:

    Some enterprising potentate in Anatolia realized that he could mint coins with his symbol on them that was a fraction lighter than the guaranteed weight. The extra silver/electrum/gold that ruler would make from the transaction by underweighing the coin would more than cover the labor costs of minting the coins.

    After minting these slightly lighter coins, the potentate could then obligate his subject to pay taxes to him with these coins, as opposed to taxes in kind (the barter system). In order for the ruler's subjects to accomplish this, they would have to go to the potentate or his representatives, and exchange pure specie at full weight for the slightly lighter coins. And in this way the ruler makes a profit on his first transactions. This is now an idea of how it came about that a ruler would want to mint coins in the very earliest period.

    The first factor in the dynast's mind therefore regards his revenue, in the form of taxes. A second consideration for the ruler in the minting of local currency relates to his expenditures. One of the largest expenditures for a ruler was his military activity, from the labor for construction of fortifications, timber for war-galleys, to the support of of a standing army, meaning mercenaries. War in the ancient world was almost continuous. The minting of 15 gram silver denominations was a appropriate size for disbursing monthly payments to mercenaries, who were generally not poorly paid. Payment in slightly lighter coin as opposed to weighed silver weighed on a scale would also constitute a savings for the ruler.

    Let us add a legend to the story of the first appearance of coins. You may be familiar of the story of the "Midas touch" - the king who has his wish fulfilled that whatever he touched would turn into gold. This legend is set in the sixth century in western Anatolia. While it is only a legend, it is interesting that there is a commonality of elements with the first introduction of coins in the world, especially a certain king named Croesus (560-546 BCE) to whom the development of the first coins is attributed. A potentate in western Anatolia was preoccupied with gold, and came up with a way of making money from it.

    Who minted coins?

    We already said that coins were minted by local authorities. Like most generalizations this one too has its exceptions. Still for the most part, coins were minted for the leading political frameworks. In the sixth century this was the city-state, and alliances, leagues between city-states. Later dynasties, monarchies, etc. were minting authorities as well.

    The idea of minting coins took some time to become common. We believe it did become common precisely because the trading classes found in it a convenient way of conducting their business. So I'm claiming the original incentive might have been the rulers to make some profit from the use of coins, but the people who got the ball rolling in a real way were the upper classes and merchants. The king would not have cared too much that coins were convenient, he wanted to get his "piece of the action", but the merchants saw the convenience and encouraged the king to continue making coins. The idea of minting coins first spread from western Anatolia to the Greek peninsula and islands. Within one century silver became the standard for valuable specie coins for the ancient world - besides the earliest issues, in those periods minting in gold and especially in electrum was very rare. The weight of the coins were based on the age-old weighing standards used with scale-weighing: the drachm, stater, daric, denar, and sheqel.

    So the invention of coinage resulted from a marriage of economic interests, primarily that of the minting authority, and secondarily, but not less significantly the coins' usefulness for the upscale trading community.

    As I have indicated, scholars have not always held these views of the development and propagation of coinage. A great deal of the study of subject has been colored by texts in the Bible. There, Abraham purchased the Machpela cave in Hebron as a burial place for his wife, from an Ephron the Hittite, for the sum of 400 silver sheqels. In many other places in the Bible we hear of taxes, payments and other transactions. The first Bible scholars thought these transactions implied the use of coins. Later, after it became clear that coins were not invented in the time of Abraham scholars restricted themselves to identifying ancient coins in words in those books of the Bible that date to after 600 BCE. I am referring to the books of Ezra and Nehemia. We now know that all of the books of the Bible were redacted or edited after the destruction of the first Temple in 586 BCE, and consequently after the inventions of coinage. In Ezra & Nehemia we find the words 'drkwn and drkmwn. These words certainly relate to the word drachm. Bible scholars believed that because there were coins called drachmas by that time, that here we have mention of them. In fact, while it is true that there were coins in existence by this time, they most likely had not made their way to Judea. And if they had, it is not sure that in such a backward place as Judea was at that time, people would have recognized the functionality of the object as a coin. So there are no references to coins in the Bible. The opposite is true: the many reference to weighing silver in the Bible shows us how very common it was in antiquity to breakout the scales, and do one's transaction by weighing. The Bible interdicts against scales that have been tampered with, as well as criminally inaccurate scale weights. This was important in the Bible because all purchases were conducted by weighing: weighing one commodity against another, or weighing a commodity against silver.

    The idea of minting coins did not spread as quickly to the east. While the idea came into being around the Neo-Babylonian period (in the terminology of the southern Levant), the idea did not spread there until much later. The Persians could have adopted the innovation of coinage, but essentially did not, until late in their rule. The one coin series with Persian types is today thought to be the local currency of a more enlightened Lydian satrap, and was minted in Sardis. If alternatively it was a royal coinage of King Darius, it was only meant for commerce with the newly monied west.

    Why did the idea of coining not spread easily to the east? While the Persian empire was very powerful, and well-organized, it was still organized on a very traditional framework, which was interested neither in innovation, nor in developments like improving commerce. The Persians maintained a benign administration over the southern Levant. For them the whole area belonged in a satrapy called "eber nahara" - beyond the river (not the Jordan but the Euphrates River). In fact, this "eber nahara" was subdivided into districts. Some of the known ones were: Cilicia (northwest Syria), Phoenicia, Samaria, Judea, Philistia, South Arabia, and Egypt.

    On a more mundane level, the Persian world was based on an even lower level of agrarian economy. Payment of taxes was "in kind" (paid with produce from the fields). The local satrap would not succeed were he to insist that his backward people pay their taxes in coin.

    The first research on the subject of the dissemination of the idea of coinage in the Levant considered stray-finds of coins in order to establish the acceptance of coins as money. Coins are found in the Levant, where I come from, but the quantities are low enough that we can suspect they were not in fact viewed as coins when they arrived in the region. These early coin finds should be viewed as curios or heirlooms (objects collected/preserved for sentimental value at a much later date than when they were originally used). Some of those coins have crude incision marks, indicating the coins were examined for their purity. This suggests a culture in which coins were not yet accepted as such.

    The few coins appearing in the region from this time are from the Greek peninsula and islands: Kos, Aegae, Lycia, Thasos and especially the Athenian tetradrachm, which became by far the most important coin later in the Persian period. All of these coins date to the fifth century BCE.

    The dates of the earliest coin hoards in a region can also provide a date for the acceptance of a coined money economy. For the Levant at least, the earliest coin hoards date from the 5th century B.C.E. and they come together with the hacksilber, silversmithing debris. Those earliest coin hoards can provide a date for the acceptance of a coin money economy in the Levant. Alongside the coins there appear broken pieces of silver ("hacksilber"), indicating the people didn't have a clear sense of what a coin was for and how it could be used. These hoards are evidence of the time when, while coins were accepted for what they were, their value as silver was equally obvious. The person who hoarded those coins could use the coin as a coin, or as a piece of silver, depending on his needs. This phenomenon continued to a much lesser extent for many centuries.

    Moreover, the range of variation of weights of the earliest coins was great, up to 25%. Therefore, it seems that in the first period of the local coinages, in spite of the symbols struck on the coins many coins were themselves still placed on scales, in the course of transactions, in order to verify the weight. People still did not quite get what the usefulness of coins were if they had to weight them anyway.

    However, it would appear that the above ways only determine the date by which coins were accepted in the macro-economy of a region. The first coinages noted above were silver coinages, and the earliest hoards noted above were silver hoards. Silver coins were more relevant for use in large transactions within a region and between regions. What about the microeconomics of small cities, or even the village marketplace? One would presume that the further one goes from trading centers, the traditional methods of barter would remain as the predominant means of exchange, and the acceptance of coined money would be slower.

    It appears that the above ways only determined the date that coins were accepted in the macro-economy of a region. We can also establish the date for the acceptance of coins by the local minting of coins. While we have in the Levant imported coins from the west, the moment we find a local mint making coins we must assume that by then they understood what coins were for. While in 600 BCE we have coins in the west, in the east the first coins minted were made somewhere around 450 BCE. That's a 150 year difference. This process continued through to the end of the Persian period to the time of Alexander the Great.

    For the micro-economy of the ancient classical world, another phenomenon can establish the date by which coins were accepted. This phenomenon is the introduction of coins of bronze. The components of bronze, copper with tin (added to provide hardness), are - relative to gold and silver - quite inexpensive. Bronze is a composite material. Therefore it would be difficult for it to serve as a denominational standard. How could anyone be sure of the value of the material, if the two components could be found in very different proportions? Bronze coins had some denominational relationship with regard to silver coins, but as should be expected, it was likely that the relationship had to do with the market forces in the marketplace, and with the amount of wear and tear the coin underwent.

    It may be that bronze came to be minted in order to replace the inconvenient, very minute silver coins of the southern Levant. Or it may be - from the point of view of the minting authority - that bronze coins were minted in order to provide change for fractional tax payments, or to simplify fractional expenditures. But there is no doubt that they almost immediately provided a function in the marketplace, and facilitated small purchases. With the development of bronze coins we have finally and unequivocally reached the stage in which coinage was used to universally facilitate the exchange process. This is called a fiduciary coinage: the bronze coins only have value by virtue of their linkage to truly valuable bullion, silver or gold.

    The development of bronze coinage occurs at the end of the fifth century BCE in the west, and in the fourth century BCE in the east. This is two centuries after the invention of the idea of coinage. In the regions noted above (Cilicia, Phoenicia, Philistia, Samaria, Judea and Egypt), only two cities, both in Phoenicia (Sidon and Tyre), minted bronze coins before the appearance of Alexander the Great. This would suggest that popular, universal acceptance of coinage for daily transactions began first in the most developed of municipal centers.

    The dissemination of these bronze coins from Sidon and Tyre can be traced. They appear along the coastline. Obviously more are known from northern sites than from southern sites. Less are known from inland. It is only with the appearance of Alexander the Great that we can be sure that the acceptance of coinage for other than large transactions was complete in the Levant. His bronzes and bronzes of the early Ptolemaic and Seleucid kings are much more prevalent than the pre-Alexandrine bronzes. In the third but especially in the second century BCE many cities also minted bronze coins for their local needs.

    However, we must bear in mind that traditional methods of barter and payment in kind prevailed for many centuries and never disappeared completely. The literary evidence, even in the Zenon papyri, is equivocal. Today there is a difference between the words "coins" and "money". In antiquity, the same was the case. But the word for "money" was the same as the word for "silver". Many times we cannot know whether payments were made in coin or by weighing on a scale.

    To Summarize: The reason for the invention of coinage may be more complex than originally thought, being dependent on the rationales of both the minting authorities and other classes in the ancient world. Later, the acceptance of the idea of coinage spread, for a number of reasons. These latter reasons were in all likelihood quite different than those reasons for their invention. So while the first coins were minted around 600 BCE, their acceptance was slow and irregular. In the regions of Phoenicia and Philistia, and their economic backwaters (Galilee, Samaria and Judea), there was a creeping acceptance of the use of coins until the end of the fourth century BCE, even whilst the traditional barter systems did not disappear.

    We can use the appearance of local mints to establish the acceptance of the idea of coinage. And we can use the bronze issues to prove the acceptance in the retail market of the use of coinage in its earliest periods.

    Show and Tell

    Each image has a scale in the lower-left corner, with the tics spaced 1 mm apart. Because the brightness and contrast were manipulated on a computer, the coloring of a coin's image differs from the coin's actual coloring.

    1. Steve Huber showed items relating to the Vaughn Seed Company: The medals were bought as a group from McHutchinson (Steve's employer) years ago.
    2. Drew Machyteta showed an 1808 half pagoda coin, struck in Roostock, Madras, by the British colonial government, over an 8 reales piece. No undertype is visible, as the planchets were annealed in an oven after being punched out of the full 8 reales piece. Drew pointed out that four languages are used in the legends, and that the coinage was intended to circulate widely in southern and central India.
    3. Sharon Blocker showed a range of recent acquisitions:
    4. Carl Wolf showed ivory gambling chips used on Mississippi River steamboats. Based upon French and English card games, poker started in New Orleans and became widely popular in the 1800s. The contemporary prime years of whaling provided a steady source of material for chip making, but Frech Ivory (celluloid) replaced it by 1910 due to its lower cost. the chips usually are found without denominations, but typically the whites were 41, the red rings were $5, and the blue rings $10.
    5. Mark Wieclaw showed some ancient and 20th century coins:
    6. Bob Feiler showed obsolete U.S. paper money featuring interesting and artistic engravings; many naked women, but also some eagles, steamboats, trains, and other scenes.
    7. Don Dool showed three copper coins from German states;

    Chicago Coin Club Annual Banquet

    All of the arrangements have been finalized for the Chicago Coin Club Annual Banquet on Wednesday, December 11th. A $200 deposit check was hand delivered to the restaurant on September 25.

    The annual Banquet will be held at the Alpine Banquet Haus located at 11141 West Roosevelt Road (at Wolf Road), Westchester, IL 60154. Phone 708-409-8640.

    We will have the Alpine Banquet Haus from 6:00 PM until 10:30 or later at our discretion. The cost is $20.00 per person and members are encouraged to bring family, friends and neighbors. Checks should be made out to the Chicago Coin Club, and may be given to Lyle Daly or mailed to the club's mail box, P.O. Box 2301, Chicago, IL 60690.

    The location is very easy to get to and there is ample FREE parking only a few feet from their front door. There will be an open cash bar with a knowledgeable bartender.

    The dinner meal will be served family style and consists of:

    The owner and chef is European trained and has worked for Hotel Nikko, Ritz Carlton, the Whitehall, Mayfair Regent International and Chez Paul. The banquets many of us have attended there in the past have always been very professionally done and the cuisine is excellent.

    submitted by Bob Feiler

    A Pleasant Surprise

    During my June 2002 trip to the Czech Republic, hobbies of Genealogy and Numismatics suddenly joined hands, lo and behold, when visiting Jirí (George) Ryant in Prague, I learned he was a noted numismatist honored for his research by the American Numismatic Society. Jirí has well over 80 trays of coins, ancient and modern, as well as bank notes. One USA bank note that I saw was a crisp UNC 1835 New York bank note.

    Jirí's library has a copy of Yeoman's Red Book. In the picture, Jirí is showing me (CCC Member #369) and my wife Rosalind (CCC Member #900) his copy of the Red Book.

    The next day at the 2nd Ryant Family reunion, Jirí gave me an UNC 1931 10 Crown and an UNC 1934 20 Crown, which were minted for regular circulation. He also gave me commemmmorative coins, an UNC 1928 10 Crown celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Independence and and UNC 1937 20 Crown honoring Masaryk.

    Rest assured, the next time I can attend a CCC Meeting, these coins will be my "show & tell" so all will have an opportunity to view these beautiful coins.

    June 18, 2002 Charles L. Ryant, Jr.

    Annual Member Auction

    Here are the lots known to us by October 30, 2002. The gaps in the lot numbering are intentional; they simplify our book keeping. The auction will be held near the start of the meeting, after a short time for lot examination; consignments are accepted until the auction starts.

    Material Donated to Club:

    1. "My First Billion" full color poster framed and ready for hanging. Shows giant stacks of 100-dollar bills. Poster is 11" x 35", overall 16" x 40".
    2. CCC "Science of Numismatics" full color poster framed and ready for hanging. Poster produced by Harlan J. Berk to commemorate the March 27, 1996 symposium jointly sponsored by CCC and the American Numismatic Society. Poster is 16.6" x 11", overall 21" x 15".

    Duplicates from the Club's archives:

    1. 1952 - Chicago Coin Club (CCC) - 400th Meeting counterstamped 1944 Mexican peso (silver)
    2. 1959 - (CCC) - Fall Festival token (brass)
    3. 1969 - (CCC) - 50th Anniversary Medal in original box (bronze)
    4. 1969 - (CCC) - 50th Anniversary Medal (bronze)
    5. 1969 - (CCC) - 600th Meeting Medal (brass)
    6. 1969 - (CCC) - 600th Meeting Medal (brass)
    7. 1969 - (CCC) - 600th Meeting Medal (brass)
    8. 1981 - (CCC) - 750th Meeting counterstamped 1919 Walking Liberty Half Dollar
    9. 1981 - (CCC) - 750th Meeting counterstamped 1919 Walking Liberty Half Dollar
    10. 1981 - (CCC) - 750th Meeting counterstamped 1919 Walking Liberty Half Dollar
    11. 1981 - (CCC) - 750th Meeting counterstamped 1981 Kenneday Half Dollar
    12. 1981 - (CCC) - Strike on 1-1/8" square aluminum showing die from 750th Meeting counterstamp was cancelled
    13. 1985 - (CCC) - 800th Meeting Medal (Bronze)
    14. 1985 - (CCC) - 800th Meeting Medal (Silver Plate)
    15. 1985 - (CCC) - 800th Meeting Medal - Sterling Silver
    16. 1941 - Chicago Numismatic Roundtable (CNR) - Jenny Lind medal w/name of charter members on reverse side (bronze)
    17. 1949 - (CNR) - 15th Anniversary wooden money (15¢) 2" x 3 1/2", serial no. 066, and signed by the six members.
    18. 1949 - (CNR) - 15th Anniversary wooden money (15¢) 2" x 3 1/2", serial no. 066, and signed by the six members.
    19. 1949 - (CNR) - 15th Anniversary wooden money (25¢) 4" x 4"
    20. 1954 - (CNR) - 20th Anniversary encased stamp (3¢)
    21. 1954 - (CNR) - 20th Anniversary encased stamp (3¢)
    22. 1954 - (CNR) - 20th Anniversary encased stamp (8¢)
    23. 1954 - (CNR) - 20th Anniversary encased stamp (8¢)
    24. 1954 - (CNR) - 20th Anniversary encased stamp (8¢)
    25. Undated encased postage stamps: C. Sam Carlson (collector of) Jenny Lind & Swedish Coins
    26. Undated encased postage stamps: R.H. Roshom (1¢) Coins/ANA 3193/Medals
    27. Undated encased postage stamps: 3 varieties from R.H. Roshom: stamp and copy is same - (1¢) Coins/ANA 3193/Medals; backs are different - aluminum, copper and brass
    28. Undated encased postage stamps: R.H. Roshom (2 1/2¢) collector of odd & curious media of exchange
    29. Undated encased postage stamps: R.H. Roshom (1 1/4¢) collector of odd & curious media of exchange
    30. 1936 - Chicago Philatelic Society Golden Jubilee Medallic Banquet Ticket (2 1/4" x 1-3/8") bronze
    31. 1980 - Central States Numismatic Association name badge and medal from Lincoln Nebraska convention. Donated by Harry X Boosel
    32. 1968 - Chicago Policeman's Benevolent Association, 100th Anniversary Commemorative medal, 2" silver plated bronze. Main design dedicated to the police monument at Haymarket Square, accompanied by brochure and Coin World article. Notation donated by Harry Schwimmer, Club member and owner of Barney's Market Club Restaurant, who was member of the association committee.
    33. 1963 - Wooden Nickel from Chicago Coin Bourse, Central Plaza Hotel
    34. 1977 - Inauguration medal of Chicago Mayor Michael A. Bilandic, 1 1/2" bronze, in hard plastic container
    35. 1973 - Paul Casals medal, 2" high-relief, bronze
    36. 1981 - Souvenir token of Chicago Transit Authority - under laminate and mounted to a printed card
    37. 1987 - Rolled out Lincoln wheat cent "My Lucky Penny" and engraved "Dick Olsen 1987" comes with a printed card with slots to hold the elongated coin
    38. ND - 3 miscellaneous tokens: Michigan State Numismatic Society elongated cent from 1988 spring convention; Antique Car token (aluminum); Ralph Greenleaf - Master of the Pool Cue (plastic).

    Material consigned by members.

    1. Three phamplets published by B. Max Mehl: The Star Coin Book, 48th Edition (1945?), 111-pages and The Star Rare Coin Encyclopedia, 54th Edition (1951), 208 pages, and The Commemorative Coins of the U.S. 1937, 60 pages.
    2. World's Greatest Collection of U.S. Silver Coins auction catalogs by Numismatic Gallery, Part 1, Part III and Part IV-V in three volumes. Auctions took place January - May 1945. Part I includes a carbon copy of letter listing the hammer price on selected lots. Attached is typed note addressed to Cliff Hewitt, Hewitt Brothers Printing and Publisher of Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, "Dear Cliff: Thought you would like to have this information for the next Scrap Book. Regards, AK." Both the letter and the note are hand signed "Abe," for Abe Kosoff.
    3. Small pocket edition printed in 1934 of Arrangement of U.S. Copper Cents, 1816-1857, by Frank D. Andrews, 1883, 38 pages.
    4. Two issues of Numismatic Gallery Monthly, from November 1948 (8 pages) and April 1949 (16 pages), listing current pricing for U.S. and International coins.
    5. Proof Coins Struck by the U.S. Mint, 1817-1921, by Walter H. Breen as published in two Coin Collector's Journals, 1953, 48 pages and The Coin Collector Journal, May 1937, 48 pages, both Published by Wayte Raymond.
    6. Three issues of Standard Premium List of Rare U.S. and Early American Coins, 1933, '36, and '37; plus two issues of Standard Price List of U.S. Coins, 1937 and '40. Both journals published by Wayte Raymond and distributed by Scott Stamp and Coin.
    7. Seven volumes of Standard Catalog of Canadian Coins, Tokens and Paper Money, by J.E. Charlton, 1960, '61, '63, '64, '66, '68 and '69. Published by Whitman Publishing, Racine, WI.
    8. Historic Gold Coins of the World, by Burton Hobson, 1971, 192 pages. Hardcover book (11" x 9") with jacket, showing color photographs in nearly every page.
    9. Catalogo De Los Reales De A Ocho Espanoles, by Jose De Yriarte Oliva and Leopoldo Lopez-Chaves Sanchez, published in 1965 in Madrid Spain. Hardcover book (11" x 9") with jacket showing 1600 pieces of eight issued in Spain and America. Written in Spanish and English.
    10. Roman Silver Coins, Vol. I Republic-Augustus, by H.A. Seaby, 1967, second edition, 166 pages, hardcover with jacket 5.5" x 8.75".
    11. Ancient Greek and Roman Coins, by G.F. Hill, 1964, 302 pages, this is a reprint by Argonaut of the original book published in 1899.
    12. Five auction catalogs from Numismatica Ars Classica AG, Zurich, Switzerland: Three 2002 cat alogs Volume 1 is auction of Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins with 32 color plates; volume 2 is auction of some ancient and medieval, but has many Spanish coins, 8 color plates; volume 3 is auction of Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins with 54 black and white plates. Two catalogs from 2000: first is 18th & 19th century Spanish coins and the second catalog has wide selection of intern ational coinage with many from the medieval period, many color plates on both.
    13. Six "Buy or Bid Sales" by Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.
    14. Stack's auction catalogs: two from December 2001 and nine catalogs from 2002, including the volume dedicated to the sale of the 1933 Double Eagle.
    15. Ideal Indexed Coupon Book (2-3/4" x 5-1/4") from World War I era, date on front shows ________ 191___, originally had $10.00 in coupons, only .50 remaining in three and one cent coupons. Made by the Chicago Coupon Company.
    1. Balmuth, M S ed, Hacksilber to Coinage: New Insights into the Monetary History of the Near East and Greece (Numismatic Studies No. 24), American Numismatic Society 2001 (Hb, new, in shrink-wrap). MB $35.
    2. Troxell, H A, Studies in the Macedonian Coinage of Alexander the Great (Numismatic Studies No. 21), American Numismatic Society 1997 (Hb, new, in shrink-wrap). MB $60.
    3. Green's Bargain List No 45; R Green Chicago 1950s (CaC 50pp) MB $2.00
    4. --another-- No 50; Nov 1955 (CaC 42pp) MB$2.00
    5. Classical Numismatic Review, v XX, 2 (Sum 1995) MB $1.00
    6. TAMS Journal, v 41, no 3 (Jun 2001) MB$1.00
    7. --another-- no. 5 (Oct 2001) MB$1.00
    8. John Bergman Numismatic Literature MBS Four (4/23/88), The Paramount Library (w PRL) MB$10.
    9. --another-- MBS Five (9/19/92), The William and Elizabeth Wisslead Library (w PRL) MB$10.
    10. --another-- MBS SIX (10/30/93), Joe Der Library (w PRL) MB $10.
    11. B Max Mehl P H Griffith Sale (Mar 20, 1912), mostly hand Priced, covers missing (great photo of a young Mehl) MB $20.
    12. United States Numismatic Literature vol 1, J W Adams (19th Century Auction Catalogs), Hb 2001 with supplemental Additions & Corrections (new copies in shrinkwrap) MB $40.

    CCC Nominations

    The nominations committee agreed on the following nominees for the 2003 - 2004 officers and Board. The election will be held during the December meeting.

    President Mark Wieclaw
    1st VP Robert Feiler
    2nd VP Jeff Rosinia
    Archivist Phil Carrigan
    Directors Steve Zitowsky
    Mike Metras
    Lyle Daly
    Carl Wolf

    Bill Burd, Committee Chair

    Our 1007th Meeting

    Date:November 13, 2002
    Time:7:00 PM
    Location:Downtown Chicago
    Please remember the security measures at our meeting building: give a club officer the names of all your guests prior to the meeting day; and everyone must show their photo-ID at the security desk.
    Member Auction: Although the deadline for listing lots in the Chatter is past, you can still bring your lots with you to the November meeting. In the past few years, club related material (and Chicago area numismatic items) have realized the best results. Please consider using the club auction to dispose of the numismatic items you no longer need.

    You can place a reserve on each lot, and there is no commission charged to either the buyer or seller. Auction lot viewing will be held before the meeting starts, and again briefly before the auction starts.

    Please find elsewhere in this issue of the Chatter a listing of all auction lots that were known to us by DWednesday, October 30.

    Important Dates

    November 13 CCC Meeting - Club Auction - no featured speaker
    December 11 CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet - Featured Speaker to be announced

    Birthday and Year Joined

    December 6 Allen H. Meyer 1990
    December 6 M. Michael Williams 2000
    December 7 Brian C. Stubbs 1980
    December 10 Mike Gasvoda 1995
    December 16 Michael Schmidt 2000
    December 19 Bill Grundy 1980
    December 26 Kevin J. Blocker 2000
    December 29 Nick Weiss 1996
    December 31 Phillip J. Carrigan 1989

    Chatter Matter

    All correspondence pertaining to Club matters should be addressed to the Secretary and mailed to:

    CHICAGO COIN CLUB
    P.O. Box 2301
    CHICAGO, IL 60690

    Visit Our Web Site

    http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

    Contacting Your Editor

    Paul Hybert
    prhybert@worldnet.att.net

    Club Officers

    Carl Wolf- President
    Robert Feiler- First Vice President
    Donald Dool- Second Vice President
    Directors:Lyle Daly
    William Burd
    Jeff Rosinia
    Mark Wieclaw
    Other positions held are:
    Lyle Daly- Secretary Treasurer
    Paul Hybert- Chatter Editor
    Phil Carrigan- Archivist