Chatter

Minutes of the 1083rd Meeting

Session I of the 1083rd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held in conjunction with the Chicago Paper Money Expo, Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL. Due to the high number of attendees still registering, President Jeffrey Rosinia called the meeting to order several minutes after 1 PM with 31 members and 28 guests in attendance.

Following a motion to hold an abbreviated agenda, Second V.P. Elliott Krieter introduced featured speakers Thomas Casper and Fred Schwan who spoke on U.S. Government Bonds. At the end of his presentation, Schwan announced the creation of a $5 Chicago Coin Club Scholarship Bond with redemption value at the Military-Payment-Certificate-Fest. Following a question-and-answer period, Krieter presented both speakers with an engraved Club medal and ANA Educational Certificate.

Six applications for membership received first reading: Katherine Lawrence (Cedar Hill, TX), Joe Falater (Allen, MI), Robert Van Ryzin (Iola, WI), Chris Patton (Buchanan, MI), Brian Giese (Sturtevant, WI) and Dat Nguyen (Chicago).

Announcements included the Club hosting the 2011 ANA Chicago Convention, the Club’s upcoming 90th Anniversary Banquet during the April Chicago International Coin Fair, and a high-relief medal issue in bronze, silver and gold of Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ Standing Lincoln statue. A six piece bronze process set will also be issued and attendees were invited to stop by the Club’s table to see the process set issued for the Club’s 80th Anniversary.

President Rosinia received compliments for his work over the past seven years creating a souvenir sheet on different Chicago banks for distribution at the Club’s CPMX meeting. Rosinia spoke briefly on the 2009 issue showing a 1918 Series $5 Federal Reserve Bank Note from Chicago’s Federal Reserve Bank. Prior to distribution to everyone in attendance, Rosinia received issue no. 2, for his authorship, and the speakers received nos. 3 and 4.

After 2 PM, President Rosinia called the meeting in recess and announced re-adjournment at 7 PM, Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at the Club’s regular meeting location, Chicago Bar Association Building, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Downtown Chicago.

. . . . . . .

Session II of the 1083rd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held March 11, 2009 in the Chicago Bar Association Building, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Downtown Chicago. President Jeffrey Rosinia called the meeting to order at 7 PM with 19 members and 1 guest, Dat Nguyen, in attendance.

The February Minutes printed in the Chatter were approved as published. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky reported February receipts $1,329.56, expenses $2,147.98 and total income -$818.42, leaving total assets of $12,637.29 which is in Life Memberships $2,390.00 and Members’ Equity $10,247.29.

The featured speaker for evening, Robert D. Leonard Jr. delivered a program on Currency of Syria in the Seventh Century A.D.. Following several questions, 2nd V.P. Elliott Krieter presented Leonard with an engraved speaker’s medal and an ANA Educational Certificate.

Second V.P. Elliott Krieter introduced the evening’s ten exhibitors. MARK WIECLAW: a modern replica of a gold Byzantine coin in a bezel, a silver Macedonian obol of Philip III (323-317 B.C.) and 4 elongated coins from Will County Coin Club’s 50th Anniversary; EUGENE FREEMAN: a book on Columbian coinage, a book on Colonial & Early American coins, a Guatemalan peso, an 1901/1801 Honduran 25-centavos, an 1895/4/3 Honduran peso and a Mexican 1824 hacienda token; DAVID G. GUMM: a 1928 series small size $100 gold certificate; ROBERT WEINSTEIN: 5 elongated Canadian cents; STEVE AMBOS: 10 trillion dollar note from Zimbabwe; SHARON BLOCKER: colorful notes from South Africa, Spain, Singapore and French Indochina; ROBERT FEILER: 4 Buffalo Nickels engraved into Hobo Nickels; WILLIAM BURD: an original and reprint of Numismata Typographica by William Blades; JEFF ROSINIA: coins of Ireland and a metal dashboard plaque from Triumph auto; ANDY PLIOPLYS: two 18th century mortgages printed on sheepskin.

Under Old Business, it was announced that six membership applications received first reading at the recent Chicago Paper Money Expo; Archivist William Burd was given serial no. 1 CCC/CPMX souvenir card on $5 Federal Reserve Bank Note of Chicago and the specimen $5 Chicago Coin Club Scholarship Bond created by Fred Schwan with redemption value at the Military-Payment-Certificate-Fest: many CPMX collectors were favorably impressed with the epoxy proof of the 90th Anniversary Lincoln medal and orders were received; and Mark Wieclaw announced the next meeting of the 90th Anniversary Committee as March 18, 2009 at Connie’s 2372 S. Archer Ave., Chicago.

Under New Business, a motion was passed to endorse the nominations for ANA Governor of Club members Joseph Boling, Wendell Wolka and David Greenstein. Speaker suggestions for the upcoming CICF meeting were discussed and Robert Leonard spoke of the CCC/CICF Primitive Money Souvenir Card which will deal with trade beads.

Dr. Audrius Plioplys announced a favorable response to his art show and invited members to attend. The show lasts through May 15 at the Kemper Gallery (in the library), Illinois Institute of Technology, 35 W. 33rd St. Chicago, 60616.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:02 PM with the next meeting scheduled for 7 PM on April 8 at the same location.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
U.S. Government Bonds

presented by Tom Casper and Fred Schwan
to our March 7, 2009 meeting

Tom Casper started by quickly mentioning the standard references: Gene Hessler’s An Illustrated History of US Loans from 1988, Schwan and Boling’s World War II Remembered from 1995, and Lawrence Schuffman’s Liberty Loan Bonds in 1917-1923 article in the SPMC’s journal Paper Money. That led to an overview of WW I Liberty Bonds.

Although part of financial history, Liberty Bonds did not circulate. These instruments were printed in intaglio from finely engraved plates. When redeemed at maturity, they were turned into Treasury and destroyed; the ones now available to collectors were found in estates, and were purchased by someone willing to pay more than Treasury would pay.

The bonds were bought at a discount to their face value, with the holder receiving the face value at maturity. The first series paid an effective interest rate if 3½%, with later series having rates of 4% and 4¼% &mdash notes from an earlier series could be converted into a higher series. To encourage their purchase by school children and others who did not have the $4.12 needed to buy a $5 bond, thrift stamps were sold. The 25 cent stamps were bought one at a time; sixteen of them would be place into a booklet, and a filled-in booklet along with 12 cents would get a $5 bond.

Two million people sold bonds and stamps, selling $21 billion in bonds. Rallies were held, and Tom showed some photos and posters; he even has a card from the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago used to inform guests that a bond salesman was at a desk in the lobby. Most known examples of the actual bonds are from the fourth bond drive.

Next up was Fred Schwan to cover the US Defense, War, and Savings Bonds from 1935 to the present. But first, Fred made the comment that it is mostly “orphan” bonds are available to collectors. These were registered bonds — they could be cashed only by the person listed on the bond. After a bond was either lost or stolen, the registered owner could be issued a replacement bond — such a bond usually has a marking indicating its status, but the original bond, of course, has no such indication.

For the first years, a new series was issued each year starting with series A in 1935. Each bond was a little wider than a dollar bill, and taller than three of the dollar bills. They were issued in multiple values, starting from as low as $25. Series A is very rare: the Bureau of Engraving and Printing does not have a proof, and Fred has never seen one. Fred has seen only one of the Series B from 1936. Only one example, now in a Wisconsin collection, is known from series C in 1937. This area is not extensively collected, so there could very well be examples out there, just wating to be found (or thrown out with the trash).

Only one example is known of the series D, which uses the same design as the later defense and then war bonds. The Series E in 1940 was the first to be identified as Defense Savings Bonds. These are the size of the currently issued bonds, are more available, and they include plate number, position number, vignettes, and stamp of issuing office — all the things that attract paper money collectors. The additional $10 denomination was for sale only to soldiers; it was the only denomination that could be bought from one months pay for a private. They were considered rare in 1995, but now are available on eBay for under $100. The only other denomination to be added was the $200; issued after President Roosevelt’s death, it has a vignette of Roosevelt. The example Fred shown is interesting on a number of points: the original had been issued in 1946; it was reissued in 1958, after it passed its 10-year maturity date (but still accumulated value); it was reissued on war bond stock that was still available.

Series E was issued only to individuals, but series F and G were issued in larger denominations and were intended for organizations. Series G paid interest while Series F accumulated value. They were issued in large and small sizes with various titles (Defense or Savings). If any mistake were made when entering the owner’s name or address on a bond, the bond was stamped as spoiled and a new bond was filled in. The spoiled bonds were set aside and eventually destroyed, somewhere. Many of the bonds available to collectors are from a recently found accumulation of cancelled and spoiled bonds. Fred showed an Armed Forces Leave Bond that was issued in lieu of money due for leave time at demobilization following WW II.

Series H and HH were briefly mentioned. Series EE is current, and can come with a Patriot Bond overprint when purchased at a bank. The spray-on overprint is applied along with the owner’s name and address, but the overprint does not appear on bonds bought from monthly paychecks. The Series I included a Gulf Coast Recovery Bond overprint for a time — it was not publicized and is no longer issued. Other things might have come and gone; it is part of what makes bond collecting so challenging.

Fred and Tom concluded the program by displaying a range of related items from WW II: magazines with a bond on the cover, posters printed by the Government Printing Office promoting bond sales, and a “Back the Attack” banner from the third war loan drive.

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
The Currency of Syria in the Seventh Century A.D.

presented by Robert D. Leonard Jr.
to our March 11, 2009 meeting

The tumultuous and bloody seventh century saw the murders of three Byzantine emperors, two Persian kings, and three Arab caliphs. That century started with the continuing conflict in the eastern Mediterranean between the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire on the west and the Persian (Sasanian) Empire on the east. It would end very differently.

The Syria of the seventh century roughly encompassed the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine Authority, Jordan, and the Hatay region of Turkey. The Persians invaded Syria in 602 and reached Egypt by 619, but their later attacks on the Byzntine capital of Constaninople were repulsed. The Byzantine counterattack on Persia (from the north, through the Caucasus) disrupted Persia and, by 630, the Persians had withdrawn from Egypt and Syria.

The first coins Bob showed us were of Emperor Maurice Tiberius, and were minted in Syria. (Collectors say they are from the city of Antioch, even though that old city had been renamed Theoupolis in 528 after an earthquake.) The emperor wearing counselor robes appears on the obverse, with the denomination appearing large on the reverse: an “X” is on the 10 nummi piece and an “M” is on the 40 nummi piece; both have a small cross above the denomination. Thse and other typical Byzantine denominations circulated at the start of the 7th century. Next shown was a 40 nummi from the Constantinople mint, followed by some odd coins such lead pieces — maybe an emperor’s head is visible on one of these rough looking pieces from the Lebanon area. Possibly a local issue, the reverse shows an “I” indicating 10 nummi. Examples of cut coins were next, including a half follis (20 nummi) of Maurice Tiberius and another of Phocus (who had led the revolt against Maurice).

An imitative coinage started after Persians crosed the Euphrates in 610. the reference for these is Henri Pottier’s Le monnayage de la Syrie sous l’occupation perse, 610-630 (Coinage in Syria under Persian Rule). All pieces were produced at one mint, and this book’s major accomplishment is its die linkages. Bob showed Pottier’s chart of these; it is large with many links. The occasional reuse of obverse dies with reverses of different dates confirmed that this was a single series from a single irregular mint. A linkage study requires access to many coins; Bob’s appreciation for these studies was apparent. He matched one of his coins to images in the book. The notation can be confusing at first — the descriptions are in French, and there are details and subtleties in the notation such as the inclusion of Byzantine regnal years even though the Byzantines did not control the area at the time.

The large-scale Arab attack on Syria began in 633 under the first caliph, which is the Arab word for successor (to Muhammad). To repulse them, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius moved his headquarters from Constantinople to Antioch. A series of military countermarks were used for three years. Bob showed two 20 nummi pieces from the Constantinople mint, struck on small planchets. The one struck over a cut-down Byzantine coin has the “K” well centered on the reverse; Heraclius holding a spear is well centered on the obverse, but his head is off the small planchet. The other coin has two monograms of Heraclius as countermarks. The amazing 2006 study by Schultze, Schultze, and Leimenstoll, of 173 countermarked 20 nummi pieces, identified 18 varieties of one mark and 5 varieties of a second mark; of their 173 pieces, 28 had two countermarks.

Next shown were some 40 nummi from after 641, when their size was reduced to only ¼ of their original size. Such Byzantine coins continued to be imported into Arab-ruled Syria until around 658. Coins were still needed in Syria, so local imitations were produced; over time, ever stranger looking pieces passed. Bob showed examples of coins struck on different shapes: a third of an original coin, a quarter of an original coin, and even on a squarish piece. The pieces bore design elements reminiscent of the familiar Byzantine coins. Production of these pieces ceased around 675-680 as the first Arabic coinage appeared in the south, and the northern mints made full-sized coins on new and generally round planchets; some mints also produced coins smaller in size. The northern pieces generally have no obverse inscriptions, but Bob showed reverse inscriptions in Greek and Arabic. On the Umayyad Imperial Image coinage, the figure of the Byzantine Emperor was replaced by one of the Caliph. The final change was to the use of only the Muslim declaration of faith and verses from the Qur’an on the coins.

Current Advertisers

Show and Tell

Items shown at our March 11, 2009 meeting.

1. Mark Wieclaw showed a range of recent acquisitions:
   • An imitation Byzantine gold coin, mounted in a bezel. This light weight thing looks nothing like a Byzantine coin, even at arm’s length.
   • A silver Macedonian obol of Philip III, 323-317 BC. The well known Hercules head in a lion’s skin design apears on the obverse of this very small piece — a modern Lincoln cent looks huge next to this.
   • Some elongated coins from the Will County Coin Club for its recent 50th anniversary. Ray Dillard created the die from a design sketch provided by the club, and provided a number of rolled 2009 Lincoln cents. Mark showed one of those, then some pieces produced locally: a 1959 Franklin Half, a gold Mexican (restrike) 1959 20 peso, and a four-coin set consisting of US cent, nickel, dime, and quarter.
2. Eugene Freeman showed recently acquired items:
   • The third edition of Monedas de Colombia 1619-2008. Counterstamps and overdates are covered in this work.
   • The new Whitman’s Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins by Bowers.
   • A Guatemala 1923 provisional 1 peso. The design seemed vaguely familiar, so Eugene compared both sides against an early US Lincoln Cent.
   • A 1901 Honduras 25 cent piece with the 9 of the date punched over an 8. The fineness digits also are repunched.
   • An 1895 Honduras peso that Krasue lists as 5/4/3, and we can see a part of the 4 here and a bit of the 3 there. There is also something going on with the 9.
   • From Mexico, an 1824 Aguascaliente hacienda token.
3. David Gumm showed a very nice $100 gold certificate, series 1928, that he recently acquired from an accumulation in his hometown.
4. Bob Weinstein showed more of the elongated coins he recently acquired on eBay. These are on Canadian Large Cents, with the high pressure of the rolling resulting in nice, deep designs that obliterate much of the original design. They were:
   • A September 1909 Toronto Canadian International Expo.
   • A September 1909 Montreal Home Sweet Home that is very similar to the above Toronto piece.
   • King George V coronation on June 22, 1911.
   • A New Brunswick Week, July 8-14, 1912, lucky cent.
   • A design of the Niagra Falls bridge that is usually found on US coins. The design includes the dates 1907 and 1908.
5. Steve Ambos showed a recent 10 trillion dollars note from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. This piece is from after they revalued by dropping the last 12 zeroes.
6. Sharon Blocker showed items acquired during the January FUN show.
   • A 20 dollar Singapore note featuring an airport scene on one side and a bird on the other.
   • A 200 rand South Africa note featuring a leopard.
   • A 5 piastres from French Indochina featuring some local structures.
   • A 1928 500 pesetas from Spain. With our projector system, we spent some time viewing the detailed engraved scene on the back, but it was not familiar to us.
7. Bob Feiler showed four modern “hobo” nickels, but at least they are on real buffalo nickels.
8. Bill Burd showed an original and reprint of Numismata Typographica by William Blades who collected medals pertaining to printing. Published in 1883, the 144 pages contain 259 medal descriptions and 24 plates. The original is from an estimated printing of 25, and the 300 reprints in 1991 by Bird and Bull were from this original.
9. Jeff Rosinia started with a fun exhibit — the dash plaque from a 1970s Triumph Spitfire, a picture of the car (red), and advertising material. The real exhibit was a holder with the last complete decimal coinage set from Ireland.
10. Ever the collector of financial instruments, Andy Pliopolys had asked around about acquiring examples of derivatives and Credit-Default Swaps (CDSs). The general consensus is that there is no standardized print documentation, only electronic records. He has spotted some blank forms on the web, so his search continues. Andy then showed two large mortgage documents from England. A November 3, 1778 assignment of mortgage was followed by a December 5, 1754 example. Each, measuring about 2 by 3 feet, has wax seals and the remnants of a tax stamp.

Chicago Coin Club 90th Anniversary Committee
Minutes of March 18, 2009

The seventh meeting of the Chicago Coin Club’s 90th Anniversary Committee was held March 18, 2009 at Connie’s Pizza, 2372 S. Archer Ave., Chicago. Chairman Mark Wieclaw called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM with ten members present: Kevin and Sharon Blocker, William Burd, Elliot Krieter, Gene Freeman, Robert Feiler, Steve Zitowsky, Jeff Rosinia, Marc Stackler and Carl Wolf.

Sharon Blocker passed for review a near final layout of the banquet program. Steve Zitowsky reported 27 paid reservations to date. Chairman Wieclaw held a recent telephone conversation with the speaker David Hendin who intends to bring 3 total guests. The official title to Hendin’s talk is Economics, History & Money in Judea & Early Christianity.

Zitowsky reported overall medal order count of 46 bronze, 12 process sets and 9 silver. When asked about interest outside the Club, he reported 10 bronze, 1 process set and 1 silver came from non-members. By consensus it was decided to order an additional four bronze medals for: CCC Archives (No. 001), David Hendin, Banquet Speaker, ANA Museum and ANS Museum. Mark Wieclaw announced he is ordering and paying for eleven lead strikes for presentation to committee members for their work. Carl Wolf announced imprinted boxes for the medals were finished and in transit.

After a final review of bronze medals costs (100 @ $17.00 each & 250 @ $12.90 each), Eugene Freeman presented an argument for ordering 250 medals. He spelled out the unit cost savings, plus his belief that the popularity of Lincoln collecting will increase through 2009. Chairman Wieclaw called on every member to give their opinion on this matter. After more discussion it was decided to proceed as follows:

“Carl Wolf was instructed to place an initial order immediately for 100 bronze, 12 bronze process sets, 25 silver and 2 10 kt. gold medals for delivery before the April 25th meeting. Monitor additional orders arriving through April 10th and place a supplemental order to bring the total number of bronze medals up to 100 (minimum) or number preordered + 25%, whichever is largest. The order should also accommodate additional orders for the bronze process sets, silver (25 minimum) and gold medals.”

The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl F. Wolf, Secretary

Chicago Coin Club
90th Anniversary Order Form

chatter_editor@yahoo.com

The Chicago Coin Club celebrates it 90th Anniversary with medals and a banquet to be held during the 2009 Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF).

Our 1084th Meeting

Important Dates

Birthday and Year Joined

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

http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

Club Officers

Contacting Your Editor / Chatter Delivery Option

chatter_editor@yahoo.com

The print version of the Chatter is simply a printout of the Chatter web page, with a little cutting and pasting to fill out each print page. The web page is available before the Chatter is mailed.
If you would like to receive an email link to the latest issue instead of a mailed print copy send an email to chatter_editor@yahoo.com. You can resume receiving a mailed print copy at any time, just by sending another email.