Chatter

14 Months until ANA in Chicago

The minutes of the recent Organizing Committee meeting appear later in this issue. One more meeting will be held prior to ANA in Boston in August, giving us one last chance to plan our presence there. Unfortunately, those visiting Boston will miss our club’s eleven hundredth meeting.

This just in — the ANA Board of Directors unanimously approved Charles J. Ricard as the Chicago 2011 Honorary Chairman! The board also approved the Chicago Coin Club as the Host Club for the 2011 convention.

The main page for our organizing committee is http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/events/2011/ana/. Follow links from there to find the latest information from the show chair as well as from the various committee heads.

Book Signing

Club member Robert D. Leonard, Jr will be signing copies of his book from Whitman Publishing, Curious Currency. Bob is known to club members as the author of the annual club handouts, distributed at CICF, that detail examples of odd and curious money. With this book, Bob presents this area to a larger audience. The book signing will be at the Book Stall at Chestnut Court, located at 811 Elm St., Winnetka, IL on Wednesday, June 23, at 7:00 p.m. There is limited parking in front of the store, with a Village lot about half a block away; all parking is FREE in both places.

Minutes of the 1097th Meeting

The 1097th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held May 12, 2010 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 18 members and one guest, Greg Greene.

A motion was passed to approve the April Minutes as published in the Chatter. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky reported April income of $607.50, expenses $552.38 and total assets of $14,695.93 which is in Life Membership $2,150.00 and member equity $12,545.93. Treasurer Zitowsky reported the sell out of the Club’s CPMX souvenir sheet showing a $10,000 Federal Reserve Note.

It was reported additional “Cowry Shell Money” souvenir sheets from the recent CICF meeting were available for sale at the meeting. A round of applause was given Robert D. Leonard, Jr. for writing and putting together the souvenir sheet. Bob announced an upcoming book signing at The Book Stall at Chestnut Court, 811 Elm Street, Winnetka, on Wednesday, June 23, 7 PM for his new book Curious Currency.

In the absence of First V.P. Lyle Daly, Second V.P. Elliot Krieter introduced the featured speaker, Jeffrey Amelse who delivered Trier, Germany: The Roman City and Roman Mint. Following a question and answer session, Elliot presented Jeff with an ANA Educational Certificate and a Club engraved speaker medal.

Elliot Krieter introduced the ten exhibitors for the evening. DONALD DOOL: Exhibitor medal and award from 2010 CSNS convention, plus 3 Argentinean coins & a medal; DAVID GUMM: 1826 N1-R2 AU50 Large Cent, 1925 Australia half-penny & Standard Catalogue of Encased Postage Stamps by Bowers; DALE LUKANICH: Illinois & Michigan Canal notes & bond coupon; MARK WIECLAW: half Stater from Lydia 560-546 BC, 2001 Gibraltar 5 Crown, 1972 Presidential campaign medal; ROBERT WEINSTEIN: 1845 Chicago Hamilton & White merchant token, and 3 Indo-Greek and 1 Indo-Scythian coins; ROBERT LEONARD: farm collective tokens from Kristenstad, TX, Waco, TX and Alaska; CARL WOLF: framed tok from Siam, 1615-1937; STEVE ZITOWSKY: 1943 & ’44 CCC Bulletins & 5 European Federation coins; STEVE HUBER: 3 South African 5-Shillings and 2 German Talers; and JEFF ROSINIA: 2008 5-piece Somali 3 dimensional geometric coins.

It was announced that Central States Numismatic Society is offering the Club a complimentary booth and invitation to hold a regular meeting at their April 27-30, 2011 show in Rosemont. A motion was passed to accept their offer.

Greg Greene submitted an application for membership which received first reading.

Robert Leonard, Chairman of Chicago’s 2011 ANA Convention, spoke briefly on organizing the various committees and announced there will be a May 19th meeting of committee chair people, 5:30 PM at Harlan J. Berk’s Offices. Members were requested to submit their names as local volunteers.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:58 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
Trier: The Roman City and Mint

presented by Jeff Amelse
to our May 12, 2010 meeting

Sometimes, a business trip can include more than business. That was the case when a project allowed Jeff to spend some weekends in Trier, the oldest city in Germany. His trip report included photographs of the sites, of some coins displayed there, and some of the coins in his personal collection. But first, he set the historical stage.

By 50 BC, Julius Caesar had conquered the Treveri tribe during the Gallic Wars. The city of Augusta Treverorum was established on September 23, 17 BC. Most of the ruins still prominent today date from the third century AD. Diocletian established the Tetrarchy in 293, dividing the Roman Empire into East and West. In the West, it was when Maximian was emperor with Constantius I Chlorus as caesar that Constantius I Chlorus established Trier as his capital.

The generally accepted years of operation for the Trier mint are 294-395, 408-413, and circa 430. A number of mint marks were used at Trier, including SMTR, TR, TRE, TROB TRPS; they first appeared on the coins of Diocletian who ruled from 284-305. But some believe that the coins of Postumus (260-268), although lacking those mint marks, are from Trier, even though Postumus resided in Cologne. Maybe a monograph is coming soon?

A photo of Trier at dusk, looking over the city from the beautiful grounds of his hotel, the Berghotel Kockelsberg, started a quick tour of the old sites in modern Trier as of December, 2009. The most recognizable symbol of Trier is the gate, Porta Nigra, from the old north wall, the only one of the city’s four gates still standing. Its facade appears on an elongated 5 pence coin that Jeff has as a souvenir. The Amphitheatre is another Roman ruin; the low wall survives, as does the subterraneum area accessible by steps. Spectators sat on the berms surrounding the low wall.

The “Roman bridge” across the Mosel is in good shape; the metal railings and light posts are recent, the brick arches were hard to date from the photographs, but the stone block piers might have material from the span first built around 200. It was customary to throw coins from the bridge when leaving town — many recovered coins are in the town museum, along with some dies, too!

The remains of the Barbera Baths cover a large area, perhaps equal to two football fields. They were built on the orders of Constantine I, the son of Constantius I Chlorus, but before they opened, Constantine I defeated Maxentius at Malvern Bridge in 312, and established his new capital at Byzantium (renamed to Constantinople). The main hall of his old palace in Trier now is part of the Constantine Basilica. The old palace fascinated Jeff as an engineer — how did they heat it? A page from a small book detailing the palace provided the answer: heated floors, with smoke stacks inside the walls providing even more heat.

The Trier hoard of gold coins was discovered in September, 1993 while preparing a site for a parking lot. A copper kettle held 2,650 aureii, representing 29 emperors and empresses; 96% were from Rome, and 4% from Lyon. The two earliest were of Nero, from 63 or 64; most (71.5%) were of Nero, Vespasian, and Titus; last were of Septimus Severus (193-196). They are believed to have been buried during the civil war between Septimus Severus and Clodius Albinus in 196-197.

As for coins minted in Trier, Jeff showed photos of pieces in his collection. He started with one from Diocletian (284-305) with the GENIO POPULI ROMANI reverse legend that means “Genius of the Roman People.” A coin of Galerius as Caesar (293-305) and one of Maximinus II Daiia (270-313) used the same reverse style. The Christian inspired Chi-Rho reverse is a popular theme among collectors, and Jeff showed a coin of Magnentius (350-353) with it. Constantine I (306-337) had converted to Christianity on his death bed, so his coins bear the usual gods and allegorical figures on the reverse. Among the reverses shown were: SOL INVICTUS COMITI, the head of Sol, the head of Mars, a Camp Gate, BETA TRANQUILLITAS (Blessed Peace), Two Victories, Victory Advancing over Captive, and Trophy with Two Captives.

A coin of Crispus (317-326), a son of Constantine I, also used the Beta Tranquillitas reverse. Jeff showed us the specialized book Beta Tranquillitas, Trier 321-323 by Dieter Alten and Carl-Friedrich Zschucke, a study of just one reverse type from one mint. The last shown coin was struck in 325-326 and features St. Helena, the mother of Constantine I. Jeff concluded by showing an oversized souvenir medal of Constantine  I that he acquired in Trier, but it was not even close to the oversized reproductions of Roman coins that are mounted atop pedestals located throughout the grounds of the Barbera Baths.

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our May 12, 2010 meeting.

1. Don Dool showed a range of recently acquired items:
   • An issue of CeFiNi magazine produced by a coin club located in Ituzaingo, a western suburb of Buenos Aires — his attendance at a recent meeting was mentioned in it.
   • Some exhibiting medals from the recent Central States convention in Milwaukee. In addition to the silver medal presented to each exhibitor, Don received two second place awards (in the categories of Medals and Foreign Coins before 1700) that include a quarter ounce gold bullion piece.
   • The La Sociedad “la Medalla” issued about 44 medals from 1913 to 1920; Don now has 40 of them, and he showed us his most recently acquired piece. The society reissued medals that were either unique or nearly so.
   • A run of undated 15th century coins from Italian cities started with a sesino from Guastalla, showing a standing Saint Catherine.
   • The shield of Carregio appears on one side of a mezzo soldo from that city.
   • A cavallo from Aquila has a bust of Ferdinand on the obverse and a horse on the reverse. This is very similar to the coins of Carallo where this was struck; the small eagle near the horse means this was struck for Aquila.
2. David Gumm showed a range of items:
   • The Standard Catalogue of Encased Postage Stamps by Hodder & Bowers. It was a gift from his daughter.
   • A 1925 Australian Half Penny, a denomination issued from 1911 to 1954. Recall that they used a pounds, shillings, pence system virtually identical to that used in Great Britain.
   • The latest addition to his US Large Cent collection (N1 varieties, only) — an 1826 graded AU-50 details, net XF-45. That led to a brief overview of the grading style used by collectors of the Large Cents.
3. Dale Lukanich showed examples of obsolete currency:
   • An uissued example of a $1 note from the 1840 series of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. (This is actually cut from a sheet of the next item.)
   • A $100 Canal Indebted note from 1844, printed on the back of sheets of $1 notes. Notes at that time were commonly printed on only one side, and paper was expensive, so they reused!
   • A coupon from a bond issued in England from the same canal company. The company failed after the canal was completed — in a case of bad timing, the canal was completed just before railroads became popular. This coupon for £13 10sh was never paid.
4. Mark Wieclaw showed a range of items:
   • From 1972, an official presidential campaign medal. Featuring Nixon, and issued by the Committee to Re-elect the President, it contains 0.9 ounces of silver.
   • A tri-metallic 2001 5 crown piece from Gibraltar, containing: a 0.87 ounce platinum center, surrounded by a 2.36 ounce gold ring, surrounded by a 1.78 ounce silver outer ring. Issued by the Pobjoy mint.
   • A half stater of Lydia from 560-546 BC. A lion and bull are butting heads on one side of this 5.2-gram piece from the Sardis mint.
5. Bob Weinstein started with three Æ coins from the Kushanas, a northern-Indian dynasty that ruled from long ago.
   • A drachm of king Wima Kadphises, showing a standing figure (the king) making a sacrifice. This denomination is common for the type, and its legends are in the local language.
   • A didrachm from the same king, with the same standing figure making a sacrifice on one side but with a mounted figure on the other side. This rare denomination has Greek legends on one side and local language legends on the other side.
   • A tetradrachm from the same king, with the same standing figure making a sacrifice on one side but with a mounted figure on the other side. This denomination has Greek legends on one side and local language legends on the other side.
   • A square bronze coin of Indo-Scythian king Arsakes Theos. (That this king took the name of the founder of the Parthian dynasty sometimes leads people to conclude these coins are Parthian.) This example is the finest of the seven pieces known, and Bob told us how he lucked out in obtaining it.
   • An 1845 Hamilton & White token from Chicago. The piece shows the address 139 Lake St., and there is a horse-drawn wagon,too. It shows minimal wear, but it appears that molten steel had splattered onto it, leaving divots where some of the pieces were removed.
6. Robert Leonard showed tokens of the 1930s from three collective farming communities:
   • A pitted aluminum 10¢ token from Kristenstad, Texas, a utopian settlement founded in 1928 by a Danish immigrant. Five denominations are known, but all are very rare; the members were paid in these tokens for work performed outside of planting season, and were good for merchandise at their store. Used up to 1938.
   • A 1935 1¢ ARRC (Alaskan Rural Rehabilitation Corp) token; it is octagonal, with both sides the same. Bob also showed a 10¢ piece. The government program issued 1, 5, 10, 25, 50¢ and $1 tokens in aluminum, and $5 and $10 in brass; used to pay workers in the Matanuska Valley from March, 1936 to January 1937. Listed in the Red Book since 1960, they are popular but not rare.
   • The 10¢ and 25¢ tokens of 1938 from the Mt. Carmel Center of Waco, Texas; Bob lacks the 5¢ and 50¢ tokens. The Center was established in 1935, after the Davidian sect broke from the Seventh-Day Adventists; that sect was the forerunner of the Waco Branch Davidian sect led by David Koresh.
7. Carl Wolf showed his latest effort in the area of framed primitive money — a silver ingot, called a Tok, from Siam. Although made from 1615-1758, they circulated as money from 1615-1937. This is one of the styles of lower-grade circulating silver; no refining of the silver was used.
8. Steve Zitowsky started with items from the recent Central States show in Milwaukee:
   • The 1943 and 1944 issues of the Chicago Coin Club annual bulletin. Among the contents were an ad for the second edition of the Red Book, and the listing of all members included each member’s home address.
   • A 2008 5 cents (euro-based) of Malta.
   • A 1952 silver piece from the European Federation, bearing the denomination of 2½ Europinos.
   • A 1965 silver piece denominated as 5 Europanos.
   • A 1979 gilt bronze Ecu featuring nine circular national symbols forming a circle on the reverse.
   • A 1974 1 troy ounce silver, .999 fine, identified as a Universal Trade Unit.
9. Steve Huber noted that, sometimes, coins in mint, proof like, and proof condition can be hard to tell apart, except when arrayed side by side.
   • He showed three 1953 5 shilling coins from South Africa, slabbed by NGC, with grades of MS65, PL66, and PF66.
   • A 1764 Frankfurt Taler graded MS64.
   • A 1615 Lowenberg Taler graded AU55. It is from part of Silesia, so it is of interest to collectors of Bohemian and Polish talers in addition to German talers. From the reverse legend, it appears to be the first commemmorative shooting taler. It is also a nice, large, early-dated coin.
10. Jeff Rosinia showed a set of three dimensional $1 pieces acquired at CICF. Marked as Somalian and dated 2008, these base metal pieces are shaped as pyramid, cylinder, cone, square, and sphere.

Second Meeting of the ANA 2011 Convention Host Committee

May 19, 2010

Meeting called to order at 5:45 by General Chairman Bob Leonard. Meeting was held in the offices of Harlan J. Berk, 77 W. Washington, Chicago. Also in attendance were Mark Wieclaw, Paul Hybert, Bob Weinstein, Carl Wolf, David Simpson, Bill Burd, and Harlan J. Berk. Mr. Leonard observed that he had sent an e-mail reminder of this meeting, but through an error on his part committee members did not receive it.

In answer to a question, Mr. Berk said that the No. 1 1892 Columbian half-dollar exhibit from the Field Museum will be shown in Rosemont, not at the museum.

Mr. Leonard distributed a five-page report on his findings relative to the 2010 Fort Worth National Money Show, which he attended.

While there he went to one activity, a barbeque and a tour of the Fort Worth BEP facility. This was so successful — the ANA felt that it energized the dealers and collectors in attendance for the convention opening the next day — that they are considering having a similar event prior to every ANA convention. Committee members suggested a tour to the Field Museum in 2011, which could easily accommodate 1,000 people for tours and food service. Mr. Berk will talk to his contacts at the museum.

There was discussion of show timing. There will be a pre-show, with the regular show bourse ending on Saturday, August 21. This may be problematic if the banquet is held Saturday night, as people may have left already. The club will observe how the banquet is handled in Boston.

There was a consensus that the 2011 show sponsorship levels should be raised. Mr. Leonard will recommend to ANA that the levels range from $100 (minimum, Bronze) to $5,000 (new category, Diamond).

Mr. Berk noted that the food at the Rosemont venue is not great. Harlan J. Berk proposed that the Committee make arrangements with local fine restaurants, in consultation with him, to provide menus to dealers and permit delivery of meals directly to tables in the bourse, i.e., without relying upon pages. This would need to be set up in advance and special badges issued to the delivery people. It was also suggested that the ANA Convention Department negotiate with the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center to provide better, healthier food service than is usual there.

Mr. Leonard asked the committee to consider adding the Illinois Numismatic Association as an additional Host or Honorary Host organization, and possibly some local coin clubs as Honorary Host clubs also. The committee agreed to take this under consideration, depending upon the level of interest from these organizations. Mr. Wolf distributed volunteer forms to take to local coin clubs. He is confident we can get 75-100 volunteers from his present contacts.

Mr. Simpson delivered the report of the Medal Committee. The latest from ANA is that it is working on a late summer schedule, presumably to get the proposal out to a designer. This should enable the medal to be ready well before the convention, so the medal can be used in advertising. Mr. Simpson says he will keep track of medal progress to avoid unpleasant surprises.

The committee discussed providing a medal to speakers at the Numismatic Theatre — at Chicago Coin Club expense — of which we would need around 30. No conclusion was made about the medal, whether to engrave, or whether to present the medals to others as well. Carl Wolf volunteered to investigate options and costs. The final decision will be referred to the Numismatic Theatre Committee (not in attendance because of the meeting notice error).

Regarding publicity, Brenda Bishop of ANA has Chicago pins available for promotion at the Boston convention, which Mr. Leonard will accept and bring to Boston. The 2010 Boston convention committee put out an informative newsletter to distribute at shows. The first issue is at http://www.worldsfairofmoney.com/assets/files/Newsletter1.pdf and two more issues are planned before the convention. Mr. Simpson graciously agreed to look at it with an eye toward doing one for Chicago.

Mr. Leonard talked to a representative of the Smithsonian Institution about bringing a peerless Russian numismatic exhibit to Chicago. They are willing to do this, but requested a large donation. Mr. Berk will call Jim Elman to enquire whether such donations might be forthcoming from Russian specialists. The Smithsonian and ANA are also doing a numismatic showcase at the 2011 show, as at other ANA shows. Mr. Berk will approach the Smithsonian about exhibits, and will also talk to Larry Shepherd at ANA.

Mr. Burd from the Branding Committee showed sticker mockups to promote the 2011 show. Members preferred one that highlighted “2011” rather than “ANA.” Cost for 1,000 of these stickers is $100 or a bit more. Also suggested were larger stickers to be placed on numismatic publications, and calendar cards. Mr. Leonard will see if ANA wants to do the latter, and promote other events besides the 2011 show. Advertising on volunteer shirts was discussed. There was a consensus that advertising on the shirts wasn’t a big issue.

Mr. Burd presented the Chicago Coin Club with a $500 check as a donation for the Chicago Coin Club’s unreimbursed expenses in connection with hosting the 2011 World’s Fair of Money^®. Members thanked Mr. Burd for his thoughtfulness and generosity. The plan is for the CCC to account for committee funds in separate books.

Mr. Burd also offered the use of his numismatic library for committee meetings, by prior arrangement.

Mr. Hybert presented the Exhibit Committee report. He talked about exhibits ideas, and the committee discussed how to attract more exhibitors.

The committee warmly thanked Mr. Berk for hosting the meeting and for providing delicious food and beverages.

The next meeting is scheduled for 5:30 PM Wednesday, July 21, at Mr. Berk’s office.

Meeting adjourned at 7:42 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
David Simpson

Our 1098th Meeting

Important Dates

Chatter Matter

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