Chatter

Minutes of the 1077th Meeting

The 1077th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held September 10, 2008 in the Chicago Bar Association Building, 231 S. Plymouth Court, Downtown Chicago. First Vice President Jeffrey Rosinia called the meeting to order at 7 PM with 19 members present.

The August Minutes as printed in the Chatter were approved as published. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky announced the opening of a certificate of deposit with $2,800.00 to hold life membership funds. The balance sheet report was approved showing August income $300.00, expenses $97.40 and total assets $13,586.20. The Treasurer answered several questions concerning the “no interest checking,” and intermittent billing from the CBA for room rent.

Eugene Freeman delivered a featured presentation Metal and Porcelain Notgeld, 1917-1930, which led to an active session of questions and additional comments. Jeff Rosinia presented Gene with an ANA Educational Certificate and an engraved Club medal. Future meeting programs through February 2009 were announced.

Jeff Rosinia drew attention to the new Club-owned LCD projector made possible by the anonymous donations of 3 members. Elliot Krieter received a round of applause for his investigative work and reports on which model would work best at the Club’s monthly meeting and also in a large conference room at a coin show.

Second Vice President Lyle Daly introduced the evening’s 9 exhibitors. DONALD DOOL: miscellaneous notgeld & MPC from WWII and a complete set of Mercury dimes; ELLIOT KRIETER: an 1880CC and 1884CC Morgan dollars from the Chester Poderski estate; STEVE ZITOWSKI: official gilt medal from 1915 Panama-Pacific Expo, an enameled lapel pin made from an 1883 Hawaiian quarter, a Russian wire money gold kopek (1676-82), and a mysterious elongate(?) from San Diego; MARK WIECLAW: 3 notgeld made from aluminum foil, 2 notgeld made from shoe leather, a coin showing a 1977 Kennedy half dollar obverse with a British large penny reverse, and a 1973 Kennedy half dollar made to hold a fold-out knife; ANDY PLIOPLYS: Soviet Union banknotes showing correct monetary expressions from each of the their 17 Republics; MARC STACKLER: report on the recent Mexican Numismatic Society Convention, 6 SUD 2-reales from 1812 and a 20 peso polymer banknote; RICHARD LIPMAN: from a recent trip to Denmark a set of coins honoring H.C. Andersen and 5 of his well-known stories, 20 Kroner coin and a medal from Legoland; ROBERT LEONARD: books A Guidebook of U.S. Tokens and Medals, and The Coinage of the Crusaders and the World of Islam with magnificent enlarged color photographs; ROBERT WEINSTEIN: German notgeld in zinc, iron, aluminum and porcelain (1918-1923).

Under business a report was given on the recent Illinois Numismatic Association Convention in Tinley Park where member Donald Dool was awarded Best-In-Show for his exhibit on Kipper und Wipper Era Coinage.

A letter was put up on the screen from Brenda Bishop, ANA Meeting Services Manager, inviting the Chicago Coin Club to serve as host club to the ANA 2011 Convention. A motion was made and unanimous passed to accept this offer. A brief discussion was led concerning the Club’s responsibility to submit to the ANA our choice of a General Chairman.

Mark Wieclaw, Chairman, announced the first planning meeting of the 90th Anniversary Committee. It will take place September 17 at Connie’s Pizza, 2373 S. Archer. Those who plan to have dinner were asked to show up at 6 PM and the meeting will begin at 7 PM.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our September 10, 2008 meeting.

1. Don Dool started with WW II souvenirs brought back by his uncle:
   • A Westphalia 500 mark piece, with a rim ding.
   • Some examples of paper Notgeld — most worn, folded, and breaking.
   • Some pieces of military scrip from France, and one Soviet piece.
   • A complete mercury dime set in a modern holder, produced by his nephew by merging some accumulations passed down through his family. Complete? Don had wondered, “What is in the space for the 1916-D?” He showed us the piece — a well worn 1916-D! No one remembers the source for that piece, and Don did not remember seeing that piece some years ago, before he gave the accumulations to his nephew.
2. Elliott Krieter showed two pieces acquired at a recent auction of some material from the Chet Poderski estate.
   • A nice looking 1884-CC silver dollar in a GSA holder.
   • An 1884-CC silver dollar, also nice looking and in a GSA holder. Elliott showed part of a price list with listings for overdates and orientation of arrow feathers for 1880-CC dollars, but we could not see any trace of an identifying mark for any of the better varieties.
3. Steve Zitowsky showed a medal, and then three pieces recently acquired from a small antique show junk box:
   • An official 1915 Panama Pacific medal, gilt. The expo was held in San Francisco, to celebrate the openning of the Panama Canal.
   • A coppery, oval-shaped souvenir from the 1935 San Diego International Exposition. Slightly smaller than an elongated modern US cent, it is slghtly spooned and the design is partly enameled. One side has a high relief design, but the other side is smooth, with the coloring patterns possibly remnants of the original coin’s design (or, maybe just uneven toning).
   • An 1883 Hawaiian 25 cent piece with not much wear — too bad about the pinback hardware soldered onto the obverse, but the reverse is beautifully enamelled.
   • An undated Russian gold kopek from about 1676-82. This very small piece is in very nice condition. Unlike the dealer, Steve knew what it was when when he saw it.
4. Mark Wieclaw showed some Notgeld and some odd things:
   • A 100 mark note made out of aluminum foil, with black printing. It is from the town of Lautawerk, the site of an aluminum processor.
   • Two rectangular leather pieces for 50 gold marks, with embossed designs — one in the shape of a shoe heel, the other in the shape of a shoe sole.
   • Two British pennies (the large ones) dated 1963. Oh, wait — one of them has the obverse of a 1977-D Kennedy half dollar on the back.
   • A 1973-D Kennedy half dollar with a knife and plate bolted over the reverse.
5. Andy Plioplys showed bank notes from the Soviet Union, and pointed out the correct expression of the denomination appears in each of the official languages (and alphbets) of the Soviet Union. Andy showed us the 1 through 25 ruble notes of the 1947 series, the 1 through 100 ruble notes of the 1961 series, and the similar designs of the 1 through 100 ruble notes of the 1991 series. That was around the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union — Lithuania had declared its independence on March 11, 1990. The smaller denominations in the 1991 series no longer use the languages, while they still appear on the 50 and 100 ruble notes. The transition from the non-Russian languages is complete by the 1992 series.
6. Marc Stackler spent the first week of September in Mexico City, attending the convention of the Mexican Numismatic Society. The convention started with a cultural program (including a trip to Oaxaca) and ended with numismatic events. Marc showed us the convention program, the catalogs from the two auctions, and then some acquisitions:
   • A 20 peso polymer note featuring Benito Juarez, the most famous person from Oaxaca.
   • Six of the 2 reales pieces of 1812 that feature a bow and arrow along with the letters SUD. Each of the first five of these pieces from Oaxaca during the Mexican war of independence has a row of different marks below the bow; these pieces most often have no mark below the bow, as shown by the sixth piece.
7. While on a recent trip to Denmark, Richard Lipman acquired these:
   • A 2008 20 kroner coin showing Queen Margrethe II on one side, and a view of a modern reconstruction of a Viking long boat that recently sailed to Ireland.
   • A token from Legoland in the city of Billund, issued for the 40 anniversary of Legos; one side has a stylized pirate made of legos.
   • Five 2005 10 kroner coins issued for the bicentennial of the birth of noted author Hans Christian Andersen. Each piece shows a design pertaining to one of his best-known stories.
8. Bob Leonard showed some recently acquired books:
   • The Redook guide to US tokens and medals. It does not cover the material completely — no book could — it provides a sampling of items, and includes rough pricing.
   • Coinage of the Crusaders and the World of Islam, published in Malta. It has marvelous illustrations of coins, paintings, and maps.
9. Robert Weinstein was the last exhibitor to show metallic and porcelain Notgeld to complement the evening’s featured program.
   • An octagonal zinc 1 pfennig piece.
   • An octagonal iron 50 pfennig piece, dated 1919.
   • A half million mark round piece from Hamburg, from August, 1923.
   • A red porcelain 5 mark piece, dated 1921
   • A 1923 100 marks piece featuring a portrait of Barbarosa.
   • A porcelain 1923 medal used in a lottery — the number is engraved.
   • A set of 45 different 20 pfennig aluminum pieces from Nuremburg — except for one missing piece.

Minutes of Chicago Coin Club
90th Anniversary Committee Meeting

The first meeting of the Chicago Coin Club’s 90th Anniversary Committee was held September 17, 2088 at Connie’s Pizza, 2373 W. Archer Ave., Chicago. Chairman Mark Wieclaw called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM with four other members present: Kevin and Sharon Blocker, William Burd and Carl Wolf. Five additional members volunteered for the committee, but could not make the meeting. They were: Elliot Krieter, Lyle Daly, Steve Zitowsky, Jeff Rosinia and Robert Feiler.

A decision was made to follow the format of past anniversary celebrations by holding a banquet in conjunction with a multi-day coin show. Dates discussed included the Chicago Paper Money Expo, March 5-8, 2009 and the Chicago International Coin Fair, April 23-26, 2009. Since March weather can be inclement the CICF in April was favored. Kevin Foley, the Show Manager, will be contacted.

Past anniversary celebrations were reviewed and a number of well-known speakers were discussed. Mark, Bill and Carl volunteered to contact prominent out-of-town numismatists for availability.

It was pointed out that 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and a discussion followed on the possibility of using his image on an anniversary medal. The high price of silver and gold was also discussed and the committee recognized a potential problem with poor sales should a steep decline in precious metal pricing take place after receiving the medals.

Mark announced the plan to hold committee meetings the third Wednesday of every month with the next meeting tentatively scheduled for October 15, 2008. The possibility of holding it in Chinatown was discussed.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:39 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl F. Wolf, Secretary

Call for Club Auction Lots
November 12, 2008

The club auction is scheduled for 7PM, at the start of the regular November club meeting. We already have an impressive consignment of club material from the Charles Menard estate. In the past few years, club related material (and Chicago area numismatic items) have had the best results. Some printed material also has shown good 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.

The November Chatter will contain a list of all auction lots that are known to us by Tuesday, October 28. You can either e-mail your list to Paul Hybert by Tuesday, October 28 if you plan to bring your lots with you to the November meeting; or you can ship your items to Bill Burd by Tuesday, October 28.

If you have questions, Bill can be reached at 773-586-7666.

Our 1078th Meeting

Important Dates

Birthday and Year Joined

Chatter Matter

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CHICAGO COIN CLUB
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CHICAGO, IL 60690

http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

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