Chatter

15 Months until ANA in Chicago

I better get my tickets and make hotel reservation for ANA in August in Boston — one last chance to enjoy the convention as a spectator! We recently submitted to ANA our ideas for the convention medal, and we also requested that the ANA specify what, if anything, the local committee will be asked to provide for the official pre-show at the same venue. We also started gathering contact information for the estimated 80-100 local volunteers that will be needed — not at the same time, but a few hours from each, spread over 5 days. See http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/events/2011/ana/cvols/join_the_cvols_contact_list.html.

Minutes of the 1096th Meeting

Session I of the 1096th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held April 14, 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 21 members.

A motion was passed to approve the March Minutes as published in the Chatter. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky reported March income of $245.00, expenses $279.97 and total assets of $14,640.81 which is in Life Membership $2,150.00 and member equity $12,490.81.

Treasurer Zitowsky reported many orders for the Club’s CPMX souvenir sheet showing a $10,000 Federal Reserve Note. President Rosinia presented serial no. 001 to William Burd, the Club Archivist. A round of applause was given Jeff for writing and putting together the souvenir sheet. A motion was passed to accept into membership Melissa Gumm and David Frank following the second readings of their applications.

Robert Leonard reported he is working on a souvenir card dealing with Cowry Shells Money for the Club’s April 24th meeting at the Chicago International Coin Fair. Bob also reported on souvenirs given away at ANA’s National Money Show in Fort Worth, TX.

In the absence of First V.P. Lyle Daly, Carl Wolf introduced the speakers for the evening who spoke on the numismatic literature for their collecting specialty. Speakers included: Marc Stackler — Mexican War of Independence (1810-21) & Mexican Revolution; Don Dool — International Copper Coinage (1481-1850); and Phil Carrigan — Barber Coinage & John Reich early silver Capped Bust half dimes. Second V.P. Elliot Krieter presented each with an ANA Educational Certificate and a Club engraved speaker medal.

Elliot Krieter introduced the ten exhibitors for the evening. STEVE ZITOWSKY — recount of a visit to Barcelona, Spain, catalogue from National Museum of Catalonian Art, Spanish Civil War “encased” postage money, Cermak for Chicago Mayor campaign token; DAVID GUMM — 1855 U.S. Large Cent AU55 N1 R3; RICHARD LIPMAN — U.S. $10 1880 Series “Jackass Note” & 2 different U.S. $1 “Martha Notes” for 1886; MARC STACKLER — 3 coins from the Mexican War of Independence; CARL WOLF — framed Kina shell money from New Guinea; ROBERT LEONARD — packet of material from the Fort Worth Bureau of Engraving and Printing, plus “Community Dollars” from Cabool, MO with Coin World article; MARK WIECLAW — colorized U.S. Peace dollar, an error note, fake Austrian 4 ducat, silver round, ancient Roman coin of Caracalla & Geta; DON DOOL — 1897 San Martin medal, 1823V quarto & vulcanite piece all from Peru, plus two Red Cross medals; MARC RICARD — Connecticut colonial currency book; BOB FEILER — set of 10 toned Columbian Expo half dollars, 2 U.S. notes stamped “I AM NOT A DOLLAR,”, 1 nickel and 3 cent coins in a set, and a fake Wells Fargo ingot.

Robert Leonard, Chairman of Chicago’s 2011 ANA Convention spoke briefly on organizing the various committees and announced there will be an April 20th conference call with Brenda Bishop and the committee chair people.

At 9:12 PM the meeting was recessed and will re-convene at 1 PM, Saturday, April 24th at the Chicago International Coin Fair, Crown Plaza Hotel, 5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL.

. . . . . . .

Session II of the 1096th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held April 24, 2010 in conjunction with the Chicago International Coin Fair, Crowne Plaza O’Hare, Rosemont, IL. President Jeffrey Rosinia called the meeting to order at 1 PM with 41 members and guests in attendance.

A motion was made to hold an abbreviated version of regular meeting. Second VP Elliot Krieter introduced the featured speaker John Burns who delivered the program International Numismatic Literature. Following a question and answer period President Rosinia presented him with an ANA Educational Certificate and an engraved Club speaker’s medal.

Robert Leonard was introduced as the General Chairman of the 2011 Chicago ANA Convention and he spoke for a few minutes on the activities planned. He also called for volunteers to serve an hour or two during the event. A form was passed out for interested collectors to submit. ANA President Clifford Mishler also spoke enthusiastically of the 2011 ANA event.

Robert Hoge, American Numismatic Society Curator, is recovering from a heart attack and a CICF program was passed around with a request for signatures and good wishes.

It was announced that 2010 is the 24th year the Club issued a unique souvenir educational card for distribution at the CICF. The author of most issues, Robert D. Leonard, Jr. spoke briefly on the current issue Cowry Shell Money. Serial no. 2 was presented to John Burns and no. 3 was presented to the author Robert D. Leonard.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
Standard Numimismatic Literature from Specialized Fields

presented by Marc Stackler, Don Dool & Phil Carrigan
to our April 14, 2010 meeting

The presentation’s format was simple: three speakers, each speaking on the standard numimismatic literature dealing with their collecting specialty. Examples of the major works were shown, and more extensive bibliographies were made available. Marc Stackler started with the 1810 Mexican War of Independence and the 1910 Mexican Revolution.

The numismatic legacy of the War of Independence typically is not covered in a book solely of that topic; it is usually grouped with coins from other areas, such as Colonial coins. The authors wrote many years after the event, relying upon sparse records. There are a number of works on just the coins of the Revolution, with the first articles appearing just after the Revolution ended. Perhaps there is less conjecture in the works on the Revolution than in the works on the War of Independence, but both have their enigmatic issues.

Pradeau’s 1938 Numismatic History of Mexico now is available as a 1978 reprint with annotations and revisions. He was as much an historian as a numismatist, so the work concentrates on history and puts the coinage in context; his research took him through the records, and this work remains important. Ortiz’s 1965 self-published Mints of Nueva Viscaya pamphlet is in Spanish and is seldom encountered. It covers the 1810 to 1813 coins from only one province, but covers them in depth.

Hugh Guthrie’s 1976 Mexican Revolutionary Coinage, 1913-1917 started Marc’s sampling of works on the Revolution. Merrill Bothamley collaborated on this work based upon the collection of Bothamley. The GB numbering system is still used, and the book refers to earlier writers. Written by a pair of hobbyists, Woodworth & Flores, La Ventana covers die varieties and die (state) progressions of the coins of Oaxaca. The last work shown by Marc was Coinage of the Mexican Revolutionist Zapata by Leslie and Stevens; this is another work that covers local die varieties.

Bibliography for War of Independence.

• History of Mexico, from the Pre-Columbian Epoch to 1823. Dr. Alberto F. Pradeau. Originally published in 1938. Now available as a reprint. 147 pages, plates I-XXIII, plus 4 pages of assayer supplement. Annotations & revisions by Clyde Hubbard, 1978. This work focuses on history and puts the coinage in context.
• Coins of Mexico. Frank W. Grove. Quarterman Publications, 1981. 474 pages, large hard cover quarto, out of print. It covers all periods of Mexican coinage with a good amount of detail.
• Colonial Mexico 1536-1821 and the Empire of Iturbide. Neil S. Utberg. Self-published and revised in 1970, 100 pages, out of print. Adapted & expanded from his first publication, The Coins of Mexico.
• Mexican Patriots and their Part in Numismatics. Dr. Alberto F. Pradeau. Reprinted from The Numismatist, 1962; 32 page soft cover. Somewhat of a reprise of a section of his 1938 book cited above, but with further illustrations. Out of print but available on the normal used book websites.
• Catalogue of the Collection of Julius Guttag. Arranged by Edgar H. Adams, 1929. 514 pages of which 138 pages are dedicated to Mexican coinage. The Mexican section spans 1536-1920s. It is mostly photos — lots of die varieties.
• Casas de Moneda de la Nueva Vizcaya. Ciudad De Durango, Villa de San Felipe de Chihuahua, Taller Monetario de Santiago de la Monclova. Manuel Angel Ortiz y S. (Mints of Nueva Viscaya: City of Durango, Town of San Felipe de Chihuahua, Money Workshop of Santiago de la Monclova.) Self-published (500 copies), 86 pages including 14 plates; 1965. In Spanish. History of the three related, royalist mints established in Durango, Chihuahua, and Monclova. The plates show many different bust / die varieties. Rarely available.

Bibliography for Revolution.

• Mexican Revolutionary Coinage, 1913-1917. Hugh S. Guthrie, with the collaboration of Merrill Bothamley, 1976. Published by Superior Stamp & Coin Co. A review of the latter’s collection. 93 pages, skinny hard-cover quarto. While not complete, this is the most-cited reference (“GB” numbers) for Mexican Revolutionary coins.
• La Ventana. The Window to the Revolutionary Coinage of Oaxaca 1915. C “Woody” Woodworth and Joe Flores. Self Published, 1988, 164 page soft cover. This is the most complete reference on Oaxacan coinage of the 1915 revolt, with lots of detail on the many die varieties. This work is often cited (“OAX” or “LV” numbers) in addition to or instead of Guthrie-Bothamley. It lists more die varieties than the Guthrie book, so you may see GB-UNL with the OAX number.
• Chihuahua 5 and 10 Centavos. Verne R. Walrafen, 1974; updated by Joe Flores, 2000. Self Published, approx 45 pages, spiral bound; not readily available. It is a detailed review of the 56 die varieties of 5 & 10 centavos struck under direction of the Ejército Constitucionalista (Pancho Villa’s Army of the North) in Chihuahua 1914-15. The numbering system is cited as “VRW-number” or “WAL-obv:rev die.” It contains more die varieties than Guthrie-Bothamley, so for these coins you often see GB-UNL and then the VRW number.
• Coinage of the Mexican Revolutionist Zapata. Elwin C. Leslie and Erma C. Stevens. Self published, 500 copies, 1968, 81 pages. Very detailed review of die varieties of coins struck in Guerrero, State of Mexico, Mexico City, and Morelos. This work is cited in the Guthrie-Bothamley book. Their numbering system is “LS” or “L-S”. Hand-made drawings; estimates rarity of the coins.
• The Coins of the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1917. Neil S. Utberg. I believe that Utberg collaborated with Carlos Gaytán to expand this section of his earlier Coins of Mexico to self-publish this standalone, 80-page soft cover in 1965. Far from complete, but well worth buying. His references are also cited in the Guthrie-Bothamley book.
• La Revolución Mexicana y sus Monedas. Carlos Gaytán. (The Mexican Revolution and its Coins.) Editorial Diana, 1969 & 1975. In Spanish. Mostly text but fairly peppered with photographs, this work covers over 800 coins / varieties. It also estimates their rarity. Rarely available.
• The Mexican Revolutionary Coinage, 1913–1916. Numismatic Notes and Monographs No. 4. Howland Wood. Published by the ANS in 1921; 6.5-inch soft cover, 44 pages plus 26 plates. Not complete; but it is the first work on these coins, and right after the revolution ended. A little historical gem.
• Historical Notes on Coins of the Mexican Revolution. 1913-1917. J. Sanchez Garza. Translated into English, published 1932, soft cover, 44 pages. Printed by Celorio & Melia, Mexico City. Further notes and corrections to Howland Wood’s monograph, with estimates of rarity. Carlos Gaytán, in his 1969 book, cites this Sanchez Garza work.
• Coins of Mexico. Frank W. Grove. Same as above.

Where to Find Out of Print Books on Mexican Coins & Paper Money for Purchase.
Aside from ABEBOOKS, AMAZON, and EBAY, here are sellers who routinely offer books on Mexican coins at reasonable prices.

• Don Bailey: http://www.donbailey-mexico.com/
• Alan J. Workman: http://www.workmansbooks.com/
• Sanford J. Durst Publishing (reprints)
• Wizard Coin Supply (reprints, and discounted)
• Orville Grady Books (store on ABEBOOKS): http://www.gradybooks.com

. . . . . . .

Next was Don Dool, with an overview of International Copper Coinage 1481-1850. As attendees at our meetings know, Don is interested in early dated copper coins as well as siege coins. The obvious starting reference is the Krause catalogs of world coins, (each volume covering one century) for the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. There are a dozen different reprints of O.P. Eklund’s articles in the Numismatist. Each reprint covers the copper coins of one nation or region; the reprints date from the 1930s to the 1960s.

The more specialized works can be harder to find and use, but they have withstood the test of time. Neuman’s six volumes on copper coins are in German and are from around the 1860s. Look for the 1960s reprint that includes a volume 7 — it has an index that contains the legends from both sides of the coins; an extremely useful tool. There also are works focusing on a single area: Schön on Germany and German states (in German); Duby, a captain of French artillery, on siege coins (in French); and Medina on Latin America (in Spanish). Although the works are somewhat available, they are by no means common; Don’s copy of Medina is number 431 of 450.

Bibliography.

• Craig, William D. Coins of the World, 1750-1850. Racine, WI. Whitman. 1966.
• Duby, Tobiesen. Recueil Général Des Pieces Obsidionales et de Nécessité, Paris: Veuve, 1786.
• Eklund, O.P. Copper Coins of Austria-Hungary, The 46,1. Federalsburg, MD. American, 1933. Rpt. Colorado Springs. 1962.
• —. Copper Coins of Central and South America, The Numismatist. Rpt. Colorado Springs. 1962.
• —. Copper Coins of Denmark and her possessions, The Numismatist. Rpt. Colorado Springs. 1962.
• —. Copper Coins of France, The Numismatist 1931. Rpt.
• —. Copper Coins of the German Empire, Colorado Springs. American, 1962. Rpt. of Copper Coins Of the German Empire and Republic, 1871-1924, The Numismatist.
• —. Copper Coins of German States, The Numismatist. Colorado Springs. 1962.
• —. Copper Coins of Italy, excluding the Papal States, The Numismatist. Rpt. Salina, KS. Olympia Press. 1963
• —. Copper Coins of Luxemburg, The Numismatist. Colorado Springs. 1962.
• —. Copper Coins of Mexico, The Numismatist. Rpt. Colorado Springs. 1962.
• —. Copper Coins of Norway, The Numismatist. Rpt.
• —. Copper Coins of the Papal States, The Numismatist. Rpt. Salina, KS. Olympia Press.
• —. Copper Coins of Portugal, The Numismatist. 1945 Rpt. Salina, KS. Olympia Press.
• —. Copper Coins of Spain, The Numismatist. 1928 Rpt. 1962
• —. Copper Coins of Sweden, The Numismatist. Rpt. Salina, KS. Olympia Press. 1962
• —. Copper Coins of Russia and Poland, The Numismatist. Rpt. Colorado Springs. 1962.
• Krause, Chester L., and Mishler, Clifford. Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, Ed. Colin R. Bruce II. Iola, WI. Krause. 1996.
• —. Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, Ed. Colin R. Bruce II. Iola, WI. Krause. 1993.
• —. Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, Ed. Colin R. Bruce II. Iola, WI. Krause. 1996.
• Medina, José Toribio. Las Monedas Obsidionales Hispano-Americanas, Ed. Paul Karon and Jorge Ortiz Murias. 2nd ed. San Juan, PR. n.p., 1984.
• Neumann, Josef. Beschreibung der bekanntesten Kupfermüzen, 6 vols. Prague. 1858-1872. Rpt. 7 vols. New York. 1965-67.
• Schön, Gerhard. Deutscher Münzkatalog 18. Jahrhundert, München, Germany. Battenberg, 1984.
• Yeoman, R.S. A Catalog of Modern World Coins, 6th ed. Racine, WI. Whitman. 1964.

. . . . . . .

In addition to covering the books on Barber coinage and the Capped Bust half dimes, Phil Carrigan tied the books to his progress as a collector He started collecting the silver Barber coins while a teenager; later,at an ANA in Pittsburgh (1988?) he met David Feigenbaum who, under the pen name of David Lawrence, wrote books on the dimes, quarters, and half dollars of the Barber type. Phil showed us a 1992 special edition, bound in leather, of The Barber Trilogy — all three books in one volume, one of only seven so bound. These three titles, along with others, were published by DLRC Press but they now are out of print.

Diagnosed with ALS in 2002, David switched from writing about coins to write a book of stories about people with ALS. Although his books are out of print, they are available on the web at http://www.stellacoinnews.com/index.php/reference-books/

After mostly completed his Barber coin collection, Phil tried collecting the Capped Bust half dollars before settling on the Capped Bust half dimes. Newlin wrote the first book on the half dimes in 1883; it describes about half of the varieties now known. Valentine’s ANS monograph from 1931 covered more, with the recent Logan and McCloskey work completing the literature. Not only the home of the LM numbers, it has charts that organize the diagnostic positions, used to identify the obverse and reverse dies, into a very usable arrangement. Only a few of the 123 distinct marriages (consisting of 92 die marriages and 31 die re-marriages) from 1829 to 1837 have managed to elude Phil’s collection.

Bibliography.

• Lawrence, David. The Complete Guide to Barber Dimes, 1991 DLRC Press, Hb, dj 122pp.
• Lawrence, David. The Complete Guide to Barber Quarters, 1989 David Lawrence Rare Coins, Cac and Hb, 101pp.
• Lawrence, David. The Complete Guide to Barber Quarters, 2nd ed., 1994 DLRC Press, Hb, dj 126pp.
• Lawrence, David. The Complete Guide to Barber Halves, 1991 DLRC Press, Hb, dj 112pp.
• Lawrence, David. The Barber Trilogy: The Complete Guide to Barber Dimes, Quarters and Halves, 1992 special edition bound in leather, marbled end papers (7 so bound).
• Feigenbaum, David & John. The Barber Trilogy: The Complete Guide to Certified Barber Coinage, 1999 DLRC Press, Virginia Beach, Cac 146pp.
• The above are out of print, but the contents are available at http://www.stellacoinnews.com/index.php/reference-books/
• Logan, R.J. and J.W. McCloskey. Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837, 1998, John Reich Collectors Society, MI, Hb 293pp.
• Newlin, H.P. A Classification of the Early Half Dimes of the United States, Philadelphia, 1883 (reprinted by Hewitt 1933).
• Valentine, D.W.. The United States half dimes, Numissmatic Notes and Monographs No 48, 1931, American Numismatic Society, NY, CaC 79pp.

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
International Numismatic Literature

presented by John Burns
to our April 24, 2010 meeting

Our room was too large for John to hold each book over his head, but with a projector and some sharp photographs of the books, this program started rolling. The more popular works, a few specialized, and some of John’s favorites were covered; that most of the shown books were written in English is more of a reflection of our audience than the state of the world-wide book market.

The large sized Le Preziose Patine dei Sesterzi di Roma Imperiale is, obviously, not written in English. But there is no misunderstanding the beautiful pictures of high grade sestertii toned to amazing colors over the many centuries. Just look through it. This book loves those simple coins; at least those that photograph well.

The 2010 Coins of England and the United Kingdom is the 45th edition of this standard catalogue of British coins. Now published by Spink, but originally a product of Seaby, it is more of a price catalog although it includes historical material. As coin books go, this is intended for the mass market. The English Copper, Tin and Bronze Coins in the British Museum 1558-1958 aims for a specialized market; this was shown as an example of a work produced by museum staff about the museum’s collection. Inside this used book are ex libris markings from the libraries of Cyril H. Hawley and Harry W. Bass, Jr. The third edition of English Hammered Coinage by Jeffrey J. North still is in two volumes grouped by years; the first editions appeared in the 1960s.

Next was John’s favorites book on English coinage, English Coinage 600-1900 by C.H.V. Sutherland. Although he has not read every book in his stock (and yes, is asked that often enough), he has read this book four times. Another briefly-mentioned specialized book was The Numismatic Guide to British and Irish Printed Books 1600-2004; yes, a bibliography as a stand-alone work. A two-volume Dalton & Hamer work on 18th century tokens (updated 1990, Davisson) appears twice as thick as usual due to its being produced using some old signatures. Works on medals and awards included Chesshyre’s The Most Noble Order of the Garter: 650 Years, Browns’s British Historical Medals, and the 7th edition of British Battles and Medals now by Hayward, Birch, and Bishop; after noting (approvingly) that these authors are different from the one author for the first edition due to the extensive changes, John tossed out a comment about a specialized work, on a US coinage series, that does not follow the same principle — you should have been there. John considers Hoberman’s The Art of Coins and Their Photography very highly; the author took his own photographs and was fanatical about the printing conditions for the book. The result is wonderful.

The most important work on the crown sized pieces is Davenport’s series published from 1949 to the 1980s. He showed us some, but he is missing a few. Michael Mitchener started writing books in the 1970s and he is the closest thing Britain has to a Dave Bowers. Pilgrim and secular badges — jetons, medallets, and tokens from across Europe — many areas, eras, and aspects of Asian coins — these are just some of the topics he has covered. And do not forget about 7 volumes on Indo-Scythian coinage.

John concluded with the 8th edition of Friedberg on Gold coins, now maintained by family of the original 1958 edition’s author. Most everyone wants the latest edition and ignores the first edition; there is more and better information in the latest edition as well as current pricing in catalogs. By John’s estimate, there are only about five books out there where the first edition is actively pursued.

Note: After the meeting, after John returned to the bourse, a discussion broke out, including, among other points, which early editions are pursued because some specialized information appears only there, dropped as other areas were added to the book.

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our April 14, 2010 meeting.

1. Because Steve Zitowsky missed our March meeting due to a trip to Barcelona, Spain, he started with items related to his trip:
   • A US $1 Millard Fillmore dollar coin. Steve took a roll of them to Spain.
   • Steve found an open-air stamp and coin market in a plaza one Sunday morning, and he showed us a picture. A dealer from Andorra accepted the $25 roll of Fillmore dollars for 43 Euros of material.
   • He must have visited 6 coin shops; the staff was friendly and told him of other coin shops. A common item was postage stamps from the Spanish Civil War era that were mounted on round pieces of heavy cardboard — “encased” postage money.
   • There was a coin exhibit at the National Museum of Art of Catalon, covering material from early Greek coins to modern plastic; 130,000 coins are in their collections, but only a sample of that was displayed. Steve bought an English language catalogue of the exhibit.
   • From an antique show at Arlington Park this past weekend, an aluminum token with the names of various fraternal lodges on one side. The other side has A.J. CERMAK FOR MAYOR, so this is a campaign token from someone who ran a campaign against Chicago mobsters; Cermak died during his first term, shot in public while next to Franklin Roosevelt.
2. At the recent South Shore (Milwaukee) bourse, David Gumm acuired another piece for his collection of “N1” Large Cents. This 1855 piece grades AU55 and has a rarity rating of R3. He used printed line drawings from a reference to show us the diagnostic marks for this variety, and then he tried to use the projector to show us those marks on the coin; they did not show up well on our system, but they were visible when looking at the coin.
3. Rich Lipman continued his theme from recent meetings, US late-19th century paper money. First he mentioned the financial matters of the day: more silver coming onto the market, but European countries leaving the silver standard, culminating in a run on gold that led into the panic of 1893. The BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing) had come into its own — replacing the last of the private printers, and using newer presses and production methods that were less labor intensive and tedious. Then onto some notes:
   • A legal tender $10 note of the 1880 series, with a vignette of Daniel Webster, one known as “presentation of the new world to the old,” and smaller ones. The name “Jackass Note“ comes from viewing the small vignette of an eagle upside down. The reverse has rules for its use and a warning against counterfeiting.
   • Two different $1 notes of the 1886 series, featuring Martha Washington. Officially Silver Certificates of Demand, each could be exchanged for a silver dollar — it says so on the note. No restrictions as to its use appear, but the reverse changed some within the series.
4. Marc Stackler showed items from the Mexican War of Independence:
   • A cast 1811 8 reales from Chihuahua, with a counterstamp of LCM. Pradeau thinks the initals likely mean La Comandancia Militar, which is the most widely accepted interpretation.
   A private issue 1812 8 reales that circulated; the name of the mine owner, VARGAS, is on one side, while the other side features the Bourbon shield and the letters CAXA.
   • An 1813 half real from the insurgent America Morelos. The piece was quite cheap (it is holed), even though it is seldom offered. The reverse features a bow and arrow.
5. Carl Wolf showed his latest framed example of unusual money, Kina Shell Money from New Guinea. Used into the 1960s, at one time it was valued at 6 shillings. It is made from part of the world’s largest oyster shell.
6. Robert Leonard, back the recent National Money Show in Fort Worth, showed us some souvenirs:
   • Bob took the tour of the BEP’s Fort Worth facility, where more than half of the nation’s currency is printed. He had a packet of pamplets, as well as a small bag of shredded printer waste that included pieces with a purple color. Bob is from a manufacturing background, and he came away impressed. He saw many people inspecting at all stations, which is an improvement over their earlier system of just spot checks of the product.
   • Having read an article in Coin World about silver coins in Cabool, Missouri before leaving for Fort Worth, he made sure that the return route to Chicago went near there. He found R&S Rare Coins there selling the “Community Dollars”. Bob showed us one set: a $2 in copper, and $5, $10, $20, and $50 in silver, all made by Sunshine minting. He had a list of the establishments in nearby towns that accepted them, but he did not try to spend any. The $50 piece has one troy ounce of .999 fine silver, but we noticed that there was no dollar sign in front of the 50; other denominations include the dollar sign.
7. Mark Wieclaw mostly showed recent items from the shop:
   • A $1 note “butterfly” error where the lower left corner had been folded up prior to printing. This piece had circulated a little.
   • A one ounce silver round from the late 1960s featuring a hobo surrounded by the “I made mine as a coin collector” legend.
   • A 1922 peace dollar that was beautifully enameled.
   • An Austrian 4 ducats from jewelry, but made from the wrong dies and from 14 karat instead of 22 karat gold.
   • A large bronze coin from Karia, featuring busts of the brothers Caracalla and Geta. The reverse has a standing Victory, and the obverse was not defaced as commonly found.
8. Don Dool showed items acquired in South America last month:
   • A Peruvian San Martin medal from 1897; although the obverse has a common design, the reverse is one of a number of different known.
   • A Peruvian provisional 1823V quarto with a liberty cap and mountains on the obverse.
   • A Red Cross medal for a Pan American Conference in Rio de Janeiro.
   • A 1941 Red Cross medal with Spanish on one side and Chinese on the other. Our member Zoujun Dai translated the three large Chinese characters in the center as meaning “medal of humanitarian”; the Chinese on the top of the medal means “Chinese Peruvian fight against the Japanese and save our country (China)” while the Chinese on the bottom means “raise the funds for the wounded soldiers and emigres in China“. This piece shows the support of the Anti-Japanese war (1931-1945, part of WWII in east Asia) by the Chinese Peruvian community.
   • A Peruvian Good For made from vulcanite. It is good for 2 sols at a rubber company store.
9. Marc Ricard showed us what $7.50 can buy at a used book store. A book no more than half an inch thick, no markings on covers, with only a small label mentioning Connecticurt currency on the binding. The book dates from 1865, and is a publication of the Historical Society in New Haven, Connecticut. The last forty or so pages contain Henry Bronson’s 1863 paper on Connecticut Currency and Continental Copper.
10. Bob Feiler showed some recent acquisitions:
    • A Wayte Raymond holder for ten commemorative half dollars, holding not the labelled coins but rather ten Columbian Expo half dollars. Some might grade Almost Uncirculated, and all toning around the perimeter but silver centers.
    • Two one dollar bills with the stamped message I AM NOT A DOLLAR, one in green and the other in magenta.
    • Four coins in a Hollander holder: 1882 5¢, and toned cents from 1882, 1887, and 1888.
    • An 1852 2 ounce Wells Fargo & Company ingot; a screaming fake as they never made their own “art” ingots, but it is of .925 silver.

Our 1097th Meeting

Important Dates

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/

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