Chatter

Minutes of the 1090th Meeting

The 1090th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held October 14, 2009 in the Chicago Bar Association Building, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Downtown Chicago. President Jeffrey Rosinia called the meeting to order at 6:45 PM with an attendance of 24 members and 5 guests, Curtis Clay, Martin Aguilera, Syed Yousef, Teresa Thompson and Louis Sands.

The September Minutes printed in the Chatter were approved as published. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky reported September receipts $15.00, expenses $882.64 and total income -$867.64, leaving total assets of $14,771.06 which is in Life Memberships $2,390.00 and Members’ Equity $12,381.06. He pointed out $604.25 in the expense column was for tooling and die charge for the new Award and Speaker Medal modeled after the 90th Anniversary Lincoln Medal.

Martin Aguilera and Syed Yousef submitted applications for membership which received first reading.

President Rosinia introduced the featured speaker Robert Kool who delivered a program Coins Recently Excavated at Crusader Castle Vadum Iacob. Following a question-and-answer period President Rosinia presented Mr. Kool with an ANA Educational Certificate and an engraved Club medal. Mr. Kool, Senior Curator in the Coin Department from the Israel Antiquities Authority, was in Chicago participating in a DePaul University symposium dealing with the Crusades. A warm round of applause was given to Club member Dr. Warren Schultz, Professor of History, who organized the DePaul event and secured Mr. Kool as the evening’s speaker. Curtis Clay was also presented with a speaking certificate and medal for his September presentation.

Ten members presented exhibits. ROBERT LEONARD: two Crusader deniers and three books dealing with primitive money. DONALD DOOL: four 19th century bronze coins from Mexico & S. America. MARK WIECLAW: eight piece 1967 Haitian proof set, a Mexican 5-peso cut-out, Lincoln cent souvenir from Illinois Numismatic Association convention & a .999 silver medallion from Lionsixx. DAVID GUMM: U.S. 1809 half-cent & Q. David Bower’s book The Strange Career of Dr. Wilkins. RICHARD LIPMAN: Hershey Chocolates medallion. ZOUJUN DAI: 3 & 5 kopejeks from Tannu Tuva. ROBERT WEINSTEIN: silver drachm of Indo-Greek King Antaialkidas from 135-125 B.C. NICK WEISS: Byzantine coins found in an antique store. WARREN SCHULTZ: book History of Modern Israeli Coins with dated inserts. CARL WOLF: framed amber trade beads.

Under old business Robert Leonard, General Chairman of the 2011 ANA Convention, reported the appointments of Mark Wieclaw as Assistant Chairman and Paul Hybert as Exhibits’ Chairman. It was announced that the November program will be an auction that promises to be large. Arrangements made for a larger room will probably move the meeting to the fourth floor. There will be a large number of books so members were encouraged to bring extra tote bags. Members did not want to reschedule the November 11th meeting when President Rosinia announced that second Wednesday meeting coincides with Veteran’s Day.

The December 9 meeting will be the Annual Banquet at Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 W. North Ave., Chicago. A motion was passed to charge $35.00 per person. A call was made for donations to cover pre-dinner appetizers.

Adjournment was at 8:50 PM with the next meeting to be held at 6:45 PM on Wednesday November 11th with the annual auction as the program.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
Coins Recently Excavated at Crusader Castle Vadum Iacob

presented by Robert Kool
to our October 14, 2009 meeting

Robert Kool, the senior curator with the Coin Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was in Chicago for a conference at DePaul University. One of his interests is archaeological reflections of money circulation in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The presentation started with a recent image, taken from the side with an elevated perspective, of a low, flat-topped hill located in a bend of a blue river. There is green vegetation on a rocky lanscape. No man-made objects can be identified, so determining the scale is hard. Some straight edges and general shapes appear in the terrain. This is not some overgrown industrial site along the south branch of the Chicago River. The river is the Jordan, the Golan Heights are off that way, and Galilee is over there.

The archaeological project started fifteen years ago as the excavation of an unknown crusader castle. It was identified as Vadum Iacob, which is latin for Jacob’s Ford. Details are availale at http://vadumiacob.huji.ac.il. Construction of the castle had started in October, 1178, and Saladin, 60 miles away in Damascus, saw this as a provocation. He led his army and the castle quickly fell, on August 29, 1179. The attack was documented by both sides, and there is archaeological evidence for a bloody battle; in addition to a few large weapons, hundreds of arrowheads were found. Other aspects of the site, such as the presence of building tools, are known only from the archaeological record.

During excavation in 2007 of a 1½ meter square area of the courtyard at the southern end of the castle, four human skeletons were found. The bodies were partially burned, and around them were burned beams; below them were the remains of small animals, suggesting they died in an animal pen. Historical records have the bodies of 800 dead defenders being thrown into the castle’s well; it that is true, then the bodies found elsewhere in the site are where they fell and were covered by rubble during the attack. The usual custom was for the victors to strip the dead of weapons and valuables. Robert pointed out some combat wounds on some of those remains, giving our meeting the air of a forensic investigation. Adding to the mystery was what appeared to be a spring high under one of the arms. They were the rims of a stack of coins; further digging produced a snake-like roll of coins similar in shape to coin clumps found in other hoards.

A total of 160 deniers were found — that was a coin of silver billon (an alloy of less than 50% silver). One was an Antioch denier of Bohemond III, 1163-1201, while all the others were of Amaury I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1163-1174; they have the legend AMALRICUS REX DE IERUSALEM. Large billon hoards are rarely found; when found outside of the territory of the Latin Kings, they usually are of a later type. (A hoard recently found in Syria contained 4,000 coins, but only six Amaury deniers; no pictures are known of that hoard that was dispersed quickly.) These coins lead Robert to ask many questions, from about the last minutes of the battle, to the daily use of money. A large sum of money on a corpse demonstrates the speed of the defeat. The exact identity of the purse’s owner will never be known, but knowing how much it was it could help narrow the field. At equivalent to about four gold dinars, 400-500 kg of wheat, 8 sheep, 55 kg of cotton, or 4 simple tunics were some of the items mentioned by Robert.

The denier was the principle type circulating at the castle. From this hoard and other single finds at the castle, Amaury coins were virtually the only coins in circulation. The coins of Baldwin, an earlier ruler, had been recalled and recoined. Making use of this hoard, another from March, and a number of individual pieces, Robert has identified 130 obverse dies so far. Using the accepted number of 15,000 coins per die leads him to an estimated total circulation of 2 million pieces. These are indications of a central administration that was strong and had money, which has not been the generally accepted view of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Robert concluded with a table of various monetary statistics from earlier and contemporary European kingdoms, as well as from modern nations — per capita circulating amounts, and such. He hopes to gain a better understanding of the kingdom through his continuing research of the monetary evidence.

Current Advertisers

Show and Tell

Items shown at our October 14, 2009 meeting.

1. To complement the featured speaker’s presentation, Robert Leonard started with two coins before going onto old books that have at least a few chapters on primitive money.
   • Two deniers from the Holy Land: one from Jerusalem of Amaury (1163-74), and one from Antioch of Bohemond III (1163-1201).
   • The Attic reprint of the 1892 Origin of Currency by Ridgeway.
   • The 1897 edition of Money and the Mechanism of Exchange by Jevon, originally published in 1875.
   • The 1906 edition of Folkways by Sumner, this being more of a sociology and anthropology text.
2. Don Dool showed items from south of the border:
   • Las Fichas Tranviarias Argentinas by Miguel A. Marucci is a booklet on Argentine tramway tokens.
   • Some Mexican local issues, starting with an 1861 1 centavo from MUNICPIO DE CAMPECHE.
   • An 1856 eighth real from Cotija. The reverse includes the name JOSE NUNES that Don feels was probably a local merchant.
   • An 1859 eighth real from MUNICIPALIDAD DEL PROGRESO.
   • An 1814 quartilla from Sayula. It is supposed to be uniface, with A(yuntamiento). C(iudad). D(e). SAYULA 1814 on the perimeter; the reverse is blank except for what appears to be a double brockage of the beaded edge. Don’s Spanish-English dictionary has two definitions for ayuntamiento: municipal government and sexual union.
3. Mark Wieclaw showed a range of items:
   • A 1967 proof set from Haiti, mounted in a large cardboard holder. The five gold pieces contain a total of 7.28 ounces of gold; the other three pieces are just silver.
   • Two Mexican Guadeloupe 5 peso pieces, one original and the other was heavily worked. At first glance, the arcing holes made Mark think it can been carved, but a weight check shows it to be only slightly under weight; maybe the metal was just moved around.
   • An encapsulated Lincoln Cent from the ILNA show in September. Two companies were handing out examples of their slabs, using two of the four 2009 types of cents, from the Philadelphia and Denver mints; a collector will need eight slabs to complete an ILNA set.
   • A one ounce .999 fine silver medal from Lionsixx, in a cardboard holder. Benjamin Disraeli is featured on this piece; other people are honored on the other three pieces in this 1970 set. The holder lists a different purchase price for each piece, or a complete set could be purchased. This was a thank you for responding to a Booth’s House of Lords Gin Survey.
4. David Gumm showed two U.S. items:
   • An 1809 Half Cent of the C3 variety in a PCGS holder graded XF 45. Maybe generous, as it has some little scratches and such, and it appears someone traced around some of the date digits with a sharp pin.
   • The booklet The Strange Career of Dr. Wilkins by Q. David Bowers. That resident of Pittsfield, New Hampshire counterstamped foreign and U.S. coins, maybe marking more pieces than anyone else.
5. Richard Lipman showed a range of items:
   • The September The Numismatist had an article on twenty cent pieces; it reminded him that we had discussed the use of bit as a denomination a month or two ago. A Knickerbocker baseball club manual is an example of an item denominated in bits; it lists a 6¼¢ fine for profanity and 12½¢ fine for disputing an umpire call.
   • A souvenir from a family visit to Hershey, Pennsylvania — an “apprentice” medal awarded to a young visitor after completing a tour. After telling us about Milton Hershey and his company, he passed out some other souvenirs for us to enjoy.
   • A Lincoln cent with three oval cutouts producing a smiley face.
6. Zoujun Dai showed two 1934 aluminum bronze pieces from Tannu Tuva: a 3 kopejeks and a 5 kopejeks. At that time it was a separate country between Mongolia and the Soviet Union, but in 1944 it became a Soviet Republic.
7. Bob Weinstein showed silver drachms of the Indo-Greek king Antialkidas with different forms of Greek letters. The standard shapes of Sigma and Omega, Σ and Ω, appear on Indo-Scythian coins, and later coins use some other cursive and square forms. Or so it was assumed, because the Romans used those forms later, and it took time for that convention to reach India. Recent hoard evidence from India shows that Antialkidas issued a coin with the square letter type about 120 BC, 100 years before they were used in the west. From the September CNG auction, Bob acquired a drachm of Antialkidas that uses the cursive letter types and has unique mint marks.
8. While in Arkansas a month ago, Nick Weiss saw some rough looking items in an antique store. He showed us two anonymous Byzantine folis from 1023-1028; in addition to help in identifying the pieces, he has also received some hints on how to clean them and inhibit the slow corrosion that produces green powdery areas, especially near the cracks and crevices.
9. Warren Schultz showed a 1967 book, The History of Modern Israel’s Money. After he took the book home, he found a laminated Hebrew date conversion chart and a Gold Facts flyer from the Swiss-American Corporation.
10. Carl Wolf showed his latest framed display of primitive money — Amber Trade Beads. Amber is fossilized sap from extinct trees that lived 40-60 million years ago. The main source is northern Europe, and the color commonly varies from a pale yellow to a reddish brown. Beads have been found in archaeological sites 15,000 years old, and are still used in some places today. When rubbed, amber builds a static charge suffient to lift lint or small piece of paper; this magical property led ancients to ascribe other mystical properties to amber.

Annual Member Auction

Here are the lots known to us by October 27, 2009. 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.

Consignment from estate of Chet Poderski (former CCC Member):

1. Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen, The Encyclopedia of Silver and Gold Commemorative Coins 1892 to 1954, 1981, F.C.I. Press.
2. —, Medals of the United States Mint, 1977, TAMS.
3. —, Coins and Coinage, pages 326-341 disbound from Harper’s Monthly Magazine, Feb 1860.
4. Two books: Scott Travers, Top 88 Coins over $100, 1998, Bonus Books. Kenneth E. Bressett, Collectible American Coins, 1991, Publications International.
5. Two books: —, 1980 brochure from the PAK, Jefferson Full Step Club. Paul Marvin and Arnold Margolis, The Design Cud, 1979, Heigh-Ho Printing.
6. Three books: J.W. Baum, Baum’s Checklist & Album of Office of Price Administration Tokens. Russell Rulau, U.S. Merchant Tokens 1845-1860, 1st edition. Russell Rulau, Hard Times Tokens, 1980, Krause Publications.
7. —, The Chip Rack, A Price Guide to the Casino Chips and Checks of Nevada, 2001, 8th edition, KMW Publishing.
8. Chester L. Krause, Guidebook of Franklin Mint Issues, 1979, Krause Publications.
9. Three books: —, PCGS Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection, 1997, House of Collectibles. David C. Harper, 2000 North American Coins & Prices, 1999, Krause Publications, (with sticker: ANA World’s Fair of Money, August 14, 1999, Chicago). R.S. Yeoman, 1964 Red Book, 1963, Whitman Publishing.
10. Two books: Ken Bressett and A. Kosoff, The Official ANA Grading Standards for Uited States Coins. R.S. Yeoman, 1964 Red Book, 1963, Whitman Publishing, (Whitman Numismatic Journal subscription offer on first and last pages).
11. 1955 ANA Convenion Catalogue, Omaha, Catalogued and Sold by Bebee’s, (cover has handstamp: from J.H. Ripstra, 2126 Gladys Ave, Chicago, Ill.).
12. Saul Needleman, editor, Perspectives in Numismatics, 1986, Ares Publishers, hardbound.
13. Chicago Coin Club Bulletin, Oct 1936, Volume 1, No. 3. Two sheets, 9” by 6”, torn, one sheet has gummy stan.
14. Chicago Coin Club Chatter, Vol. 13, No. 10 from Oct 12, 1960, for the 501st meeting.
15. Chicago Coin Club Fall Festival Sale, Oct 13-15, 1961. Sale conducted by Ben’s Coin Co.
16. Three books: Les and Sue Fox, Silver Dollar Fortune Telling, 1979, 3rd edition (also marked: Part Three - First edition 1979). Lorraine S. Durst & Sanford J. Durst, World Silver Coin Value Guide, 1980, Sanford J. Durst. Lorraine S. Durst & Sanford J. Durst, World Gold Coin Value Guide, 1980, Sanford J. Durst.
17. Lonesome John, Detecting Counterfeit Gold Coins Book 2, 1978, 5th printing, Heigh-Ho Printing.
18. Two books: K.E. Bressett, A Guide Book of English Coins, 1966, 5th edition, Whitman Publishing. Robert P. Harris, A Guide Book of Modern Latin American Coins, 1966, Whitman Publishing.
19. Two books: James E. Charlton & Robert C. Willey, Standard Guide to Canadian Decimal Coins, 1965, Whitman Publishing, (stamped: Complimentary Copy). —, The Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Paper Money, 1980, The Charlton Press.
20. Gunter Schon, translated by Geoge Muller, World Coin Catalogue Twentieth Century, 1972, Simon & Schuster.
21. —, Standard Catalog of German Coins 1601 to Present, Including Colonial Issues, 1998, 2nd edition, Krause Publications.
22. —, Deluxe Library Edition of Standard Catalog of World Coins, two hard bound volumes in one slipcase, 1986, Krause Publications.
23. —, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1990, 17th edition, Krause Publications.
24. —, 1978 Coin World Almanac, 1977, 3rd edition, Amos Press.
25. —, MRI Bankers Guide to Foreign Currency, Summer 1994, 14th edition, Monetary Research Institute.
26. Albert Pick, Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, hardbound in two volumes, first volume signed by Bruce, Moe, Jenson, Pettit, and Borgman. Volume 1, 1984 4th edition, Volume 2, 1982 4th edition, Krause Publications.
27. John Hickman and Dean Oakes, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes, 1982, 1st edition, Krause Publications.
28. Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices, 1981, Paper Money Institute.
29. Two books: Gene Hessler, The Comprehensive Catalog of U.S. Paper Money, 1992, 5th edition, BNR Press, (inscribed by author to Harry X Boosel). —, Whitman Guide Book of United States Currency, 1999, 3rd edition, Golden Books Publishing.
30. Two catalogs from Curreny Auctions of America: Fall Sale, Sep 22-23, 2000, Cleveland, Ohio. Signature Sale, Sep 21-22, 2001, Cincinnati.
31. Two books: Robert Friedberg, Paper Money of the United States, 1986, 11th edition, The Coin and Currency Institute. Chester L. Krause and Richard Lueke, Standard Catalog of United States PaperMoney, 1981, 1st edition, Krause Publications.
32. Two books: Robert Friedberg, Paper Money of the United States, 1995, 14th edition, The Coin and Currency Institute. — 2000 Black Book Price Guide to United States paper Currency, 32nd edition, House of Collectibles.
33. Three books: Coin World, Price Guide for the Collector of U.S. Paper Money Errors 1973, Amos Press. Tom Knebl, Fractional Currency Cataog #7. —, Hewitt-Donlon Catalog of United States Small Size Paper Money, 1979, 14th edition, House of Collectibles.
34. Six items regarding gold: 13 mimeographed sheets from Office of Domestic Gold and Silver Operations of the Treasury Department, from the 1960s, identifying some coins that can (or not) be kept by collectors. —, Standard Catalog of World Gold Coins, 1985, Krause Publications. Assorted brochures on gold. 11 by 17 inch poster of modern gold bullion coins of Canada, Austria, South Africa, and Mexico.
35. Small display of altered checks and related information.
36. Box of 2 by 2 coin slides and plexiglass with impressed coin images.
37. Five plaques awarded to Chet: four from CCC (three Cabeen, one program speaker), and Merit Award from Oak Park Coin Club.
38. 3-piece plexiglass holder for Liberty Head (Barber) Quarters.
39. Six 3-piece plexiglass holders for commemorative half dollars.
40. Two 3-piece plexiglass holders: 4-space for Maundy Money, and 6-space U.S. for 25th Anniversary.
41. Cardboard holder with 12 of 17 Great Olympic Moments medals in aluminum, with reeded edge. Also an aluminum $2 token from Numismatic News for 30th anniversary 1952-1982.
42. Assorted wooden nickels, some up to $1.
43. Coin board: #354, Indian Head Penny Collector, ©1935, J.K. Post, Neenah, Wis.
44. Coin board: #355: Lincoln Penny Collector, ©1934, J.K. Post, Neenah, Wis.
45. Coin board: #391: Lincoln Penny Collector, ©1934, J.K. Post, Neenah, Wis.
46. Coin board: #396: Liberty Head Nickel, ©1938.
47. Coin board: #397: Buffalo Nickel, ©1938.
48. Coin board: #357: Buffalo Head Nickel, ©1938, faded blue paper, rubber stamp on back: BEN’S STAMP & COIN, 72 W. WASHINGTON — CHICAGO, ILL

Consigned by Bill Brandimore:

50. Encased Stamp - Chicago Numismatic Round Table 20th Anniversary - 1952 - Lincoln 3 Cent
51. Encased Stamp - Chicago Numismatic Round Table 20th Anniversary - 1954 - Liberty 3 Cent
52. Encased Stamp - Chicago Numismatic Round Table 20th Anniversary - 1955 - Liberty 8 Cent
53. 2 Encased Stamps - for ANA Member Ernest Jonas #1740 - 1 Cent & 4 Cent

Consigned by Robert Leonard:

54. Dwight D. Eisenhower Bronze 3D Presidential Medal - 1953-1961

Donated to the club by Harlan Berk:

55. 1992 P - PCGS PR69 DCAM COLUMBUS SILVER $1
56. 2002P Slabbed - ANACS Ohio State Quarter - Central States show, April 2002
57. 2006 NGC MS69 Silver Dollar Eagle
58. Bi-Metallic Brass & Bronze American Historic society Memorial Tribute - President Reagan

Consigned by Carl Wolf:

59. Car Wash Tokens of North American 1997 by Harold V. Ford - Brand New - Sealed
60. A Handbook of Islamic Coins by Michael Broome
61. Paper Money of the United States by Arthur and Ira Friedberg - Brand New - Sealed
62. Canadian Coins, Currency & Tokens 1961 & 3 Charlton Catalogue of Canadian Coins
63. 4 Coin Bks - High Profits/Collectors Handbk/ Top 88 Coins/Travers Rare Coin Investmt
64. 3 Coin Bks- US 3 & 5 Cent Pieces/US Dimes/Quarters 1/2 Dollars/High Profits
65. 2 Coin Bks - Comm Coins of the US & Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars
66. 2 Coin Bks - Coins Q&A and Coin World Almanac 1984
67. 4 Coin Books - US Copper Coins/New Inventory Bk/Coin Collecting/US Comms & James Curto Medal from TAMS
68. 2 Coin Books - The Experts’ Guide Collecting & Investing & 2000 Coins & Prices
69. 2 Coin Books - New Photograde and Making the Grade
70. 2 Coin Bks - Story of Krause Publications/ Just Plain Chet and Chester Krause Medal
71. NCI Grading Guide (sealed) and Milwaukee 2007 large Bronze Medal for the ANA Show
72. 4 Bks - Coin Dealer Directory/Coin World Almanac 1st Ed/US Coin Digest/NCI Grading Guide - New

Volunteer Opportunities for 2011 ANA
World’s Fair of Money^®

Robert D. Leonard Jr.

It is heartening to see the enthusiasm expressed by members of the Chicago Coin Club to host the premier event in American numismatics — the ANA World’s Fair of Money — in Rosemont in 2011. Everyone is eager to show the hobby what a great club we have, and to make the 2011 ANA convention the best ever!

There are many opportunities to make your mark, as chairman or co-chairman, if you have the time, or as a committee member and helper at the convention itself. Available chairmanships are listed below. Note that every appointed chairman must be a member of the ANA.

Honorary General Chairman — open (to be discussed by the committee chairs)
General Chairman — Bob Leonard
Assistant General Chairman — Mark Wieclaw
ANA Ambassadors (“Registration”) Chairman — open
Numismatic Theatre Chairman — open
    Numismatic Theatre Assistant Chairman — open
Pages Chairman — open
Collector Gallery (Exhibits) Chairman — Paul Hybert
    Collector Gallery (Exhibits) Assistant Chairman — open
Scout Workshops Chairman — open
    Scout Workshops Assistant Chairman — open
Activities Chairman — open
Patron Chairman — open
Medal Chairman — open
Outreach/Local Transportation Chairman — open
Branding (“Gear”) Chairman — open
Noncompetitive Exhibits Chairman — open
Chicago Volunteers Manager (“Volunteers Chairman”) — open

While I have shown the committees as having a Chairman and an Assistant Chairman, the recent Milwaukee convention used two Co-Chairman positions for those requiring more than one person, and in their opinion it worked out well. I don’t believe that this experiment has been repeated for later conventions, but am willing to leave this decision to the members of each committee.

In years past, the Registration committee had a lot of work to do in ensuring that each attendee had the proper materials ordered and received the correct badge and ribbons. This function has now been taken over by national volunteers and ANA paid staff, which is certainly an improvement because there is no learning curve for the local people. New in 2009 is the charging of admission to non-ANA members. There were a few rough edges at the Los Angeles convention, where this concept was launched, but I’m sure that the ANA will have everything running smoothly by 2011.

The result of this change is that the old “Registration” committee now has the responsibility of identifying and greeting all public attendees and directing them to the appropriate booth: ANA members who preregistered, ANA members who did not preregister, non-ANA members who must pay admission or join the ANA, and non-ANA members entitled to free admission (Scout and school groups only). They are now ambassadors for the American Numismatic Association, directing visitors to the show entrance from the parking lot and Stevens Center entrances, pointing out the correct booth to obtain a badge, and responding to questions about admissions, show hours, location of exhibits, etc. One or two ANA Ambassadors will be stationed inside the bourse area itself, to assist anyone who seems confused. This will be a big committee, maybe 20 people or more, to ensure that at least three people are available at the entrance at all times. Members of this committee will be the face of the ANA to the general public, and their patient and friendly attitude will insure that every attendee comes away with good feelings about the ANA and the Chicago Coin Club.

The Numismatic Theatre Chairman is responsible for soliciting proposals for Numismatic Theatre presentations well in advance of the convention. (This should be fun, because our club is not lacking for people who can present good, original programs well, but of course speakers are not limited to our area, and good speakers from across the nation should be contacted also.) But the chairman is relieved of drawing up the actual program schedule and Numismatic Theatre Guide, which is done by ANA headquarters. An Assistant Chairman and at least one backup member are needed, so that every presenter can be properly introduced and honored with an ANA Educational Certificate (and gift from the Chicago Coin Club, if the members approve).

The Pages Chairman is responsible for inviting Young Numismatists age 11-17 (in 2011) to serve as pages for the convention (mailing done by the ANA). At the convention, the chairman supervises the pages, ensuring that all ANA rules are followed.

The ANA has renamed the Exhibits area the Collector Gallery. Paul Hybert, who was our Exhibit Chairman in 1999 and who is an ANA exhibits buff to boot, has agreed to assume this responsibility again for 2011. He needs an Assistant Chairman (or Co-Chairman) and two other members for his committee. It is not too early to start planning your exhibit for 2011!

The Scout Workshops are an important part of every ANA convention, and the Scout Workshops Chairman works closely with ANA headquarters to organize them, both for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The ANA provides appropriate flyers for distribution to local Scout councils. This is a big job, and the Chairman will need an Assistant Chairman.

The Patron Chairman is responsible for seeking donations to the ANA in support of the convention.

The Medal Chairman will solicit ideas from members of the Chicago Coin Club for the design of the Official Convention Medal, by the deadline of February 1, 2010 (sic), and forward them to ANA headquarters. Since the ANA produces and pays for the medal, their decision as to design is final.

One problem that held down attendance at the 2009 Los Angeles convention was that “the convention was held in a remote area and parking there was very expensive.” Sound familiar? This could describe the Stevens Center. Consequently, I propose to appoint an Outreach/Local Transportation Chairman, whose committee will be charged with visiting local (and not-so-local) clubs, boosting the convention and explaining the situation, and urging them to organize car pools or even charter vans (not at ANA expense, however) to minimize parking costs. The admission charge for non-ANA members would be mentioned too, and prospective attendees advised to join early to avoid the lines at the admission booths. Public transportation is available for the Stevens Center, and this committee would also be charged with getting the word out on that.

In recent years, host club members have identified themselves by wearing distinctive clothing, usually specially-colored dress-type shirts. I don’t know what the Boston committee is doing, but tricorn hats have been mentioned. If they go with shirts, though, we are beginning to run out of bright colors. The Branding (“Gear”) committee would be charged with coming up with a way for us to be recognized at a glance, be it black shirts and pearl gray fedoras, stovepipe hats, beauty-contest type sashes, or whatever. (ANA approval is required, mainly for logo usage but also to coordinate with the overall convention theme.)

While the duties of the Collector Gallery Chairman are spelled out by the ANA for the competitive exhibits, I am thinking of appointing someone to focus on noncompetitive exhibits (other than those of the ANA itself, Smithsonian Institution, American Numismatic Society, and certain dealer exhibits, which will be handled exclusively by ANA headquarters). I hope to bring several blockbuster exhibits to Chicago, in several categories. The Milwaukee ANA convention featured the incomparable Chester L. Krause collection of Wisconsin paper money, never to be seen again since it has been dispersed at auction. I’d like to bring similar exhibits here, ones that will never be placed in competition because of excessive rarity and/or privacy/security concerns.

This will require a knowledgeable and patient negotiator able to ferret out these potential exhibits, estimate size and other special requirements, and obtain advance approval from ANA headquarters. This person might also need to arrange for exhibit construction (Chet told me that the cases for his exhibit cost him over $30,000) and insurance (neither the ANA nor the Stevens Center provide any insurance for exhibits, though the ANA could probably facilitate contacts with sources of exhibit insurance). The Noncompetitive Exhibits Chairman would also work to ensure that these exhibits are suitably publicized.

Finally, with so many workers, we will need a Chicago Volunteers Manager (“Volunteers Chairman”) to recruit good, dependable workers and manage schedules so that everyone knows each day where he or she is to be at any given time. This position would be responsible for our local volunteers only, not the National Volunteers who do their own coordination. It calls for an outgoing, persuasive (yet discriminating) person to assist the General Chairman in obtaining volunteers, and also someone who can run appropriate scheduling software on a laptop at the show, providing everyone with their daily assignments.

This list is somewhat fluid, and some positions may be found to be duplicative and capable of being combined with others. Please look it over and let me know your preferences as soon as possible — the choice assignments will go quickly!

(Bob can be reached through chatter_editor@yahoo.com.)

Preview of Our December Banquet (1092nd Meeting)

Our 1091st 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.