Chatter

Minutes of the 1118th Meeting

The 1118th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held February 8, 2012 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 17 members and 2 guests, Wendy Bierly and Anne Anaszewicz.

A motion was passed to accept the January Minutes as published in the Chatter. In the absence of Treasurer Steve Zitowsky, the Secretary read a detailed report showing January income of $660.00, expenses of $336.92 and total assets of $18,674.26 held in Life Membership $1,670.00 and member equity $17,004.26. A motion was passed to approve the report.

President Rosinia reported the results of the January 18, 2012 meeting of the Board of Governors:

• The appointment of Richard Lipman as Second V.P. to fill the vacancy with the resignation of Lyle Daly.
• The appointment of a committee to review the Club’s Constitution.
• The reduction in price of the 7 piece medal transportation token set struck for the 1999 Chicago ANA Convention.
• The decision to use the Club’s CPMX souvenir cards as a self promotion to clubs at local conventions and in metro Chicago.
• The decision to move the December annual banquet back to the second Wednesday of the month.
• Discussion on electronically accepting Club dues.
• Announcement of National Coin Week.

It was announced that the Club’s next meeting will be Saturday, March 10, 1 PM n conjunction with the Chicago Paper Money Expo in Rosemont with Neil Shafer, Milwaukee, WI speaking on Scrip from the Financial Panics of 1893, 1907, and 1914. The regular March meeting in Downtown Chicago will be the next Wednesday, March 14 with Clifford Mishler, Iola, WI speaking on Irradiated U.S. Dimes from the 1950s & 1960s.

Marc Stackler spoke on the success of the Club’s Facebook page. Using the projection system he showed the electronic site and discussed the security settings so no one signed up as a “friend” could see other’s name or email.

Mark Wieclaw, Host Chairman of 2013 ANA Convention in Chicago asked members to speak to him if they are interested in serving on the Convention Committee. He also announced a Convention Committee Meeting on March 28th.

In the absence of V.P. Elliott Krieter, the Secretary introduced the evening’s featured speaker Robert D. Leonard, Jr. who delivered a program on Banker’s Marks Throughout History from Antiquity to the 20th Century. Following a question and answer period, Robert was presented with an ANA Educational Certificate and an engraved Club medal.

The nine exhibitors were MARK WIECLAW: a Corinthian stater, an Athenian tetradrachm and a 1924 $20 gold piece; ROBERT FEILER: a 7 gram Italian gold medal of Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin; ROBERT WEINSTEIN: 4 ancient bronze coins from the Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian kingdoms; ROBERT WALLACE: 7 counterfeit ancient coins sold to uneducated tourists; STEVE AMBOS: a heavily chop marked 8 reales of 1796; STEVE HUBER: a report from the New York International Coin Show; GERARD ANASZEWICZ: 2 Russian Yefimoks of 1655; ROBERT D. LEONARD, JR: 10 copper tokens and coins illustrating the decline and abolition of slavery; and RICHARD LIPMAN: U.S. $2 note with repeating serial number, 1923 $10 U.S. “Poker Chip” note, and a roll of tissue imprinted with Euro images.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
Banker’s Marks Throughout History — Five Episodes From Antiquity to the 20th Century

by Robert D. Leonard Jr.
presented to our February 8, 2012 meeting

From ancient times, bankers and merchants have examined the value and authenticity of the money they handle. At times, test marks have been made on coins, and at others, coins have been marked to confirm their worth. Five instances of such marking are as follows:

1. Ancient Silver Coins from India to Rome
Not long after the introduction of coins came the introduction of counterfeit coins, made of silver-plated base metal instead of solid silver; at least as early as 500 BC, the first plated Greek coin appeared. Plated Indian coins occur from the 3rd century BC, and plated Roman coins date from the introduction of Romano-Campanian coinage in 268 BC. From 124 to 37 BC, plated coins exist for virtually every moneyer of the Roman Republic. To avoid being cheated, coins were carefully examined, and sometimes marked, in the form of tiny symbols or monograms, if found acceptable. Nothing is known about who applied these marks (“banker’s” is a supposition of modern numismatists), nor when or where they were applied, but for Rome, at least, their occurrence corresponds closely to the prevalence of plated coins. They are far more common on Greek than Roman coins, however, especially those of Aegina, Lydia (Persian Empire), Phoenicia, and Ptolemaic Egypt. For Roman coins, they are usually found on denarii from the 2nd century BC through the reign of Augustus or a bit later. Indian karshapanas of the 6th through the 2nd centuries BC consist of little but punch marks on a flat silver flan; while these are probably official issues, some appear to have additional banker’s marks on the reverse. As late as circa 400 AD, similar banker’s marks are found on coins of the Western Satraps of India.

References

• Errington, Elizabeth. “A Survey of Late Hoards of Indian Punch-marked Coins.” Numismatic Chronicle Vol. 163 (2003), pp. 69-121, Pl. 18-23.
• Hebert, Raymond J. Aditi — The Monies of India. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1985, p. 1.
• Lawrence, L. A., and Edward A. Sydenham. “On Roman Plated Coins.” Numismatic Chronicle, Fifth Series, Vol. 20 (1940), pp. 190-202.
• Vagi, David L. Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, Vol. 2. Sidney, Ohio: Amos Press, 1999, pp.160, 167-168.
• Vanaja, R. Indian Coinage. New Delhi: National Museum, 1983.
• van’t Haaff, P. Anne. “Bankers’ (sic) Marks on Western Ksatrapa Drachms.” Numismatic Digest Vol. 23-24 (1999-2000), pp. 57-73.

2. Byzantine Small Module Folles and Half Folles of Anastasius I
In 498 A.D. the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I reformed the copper currency, introducing much heavier coins marked with their denominations, including a 40 nummia or follis and a 20 nummia or half follis. About 20% of the folles are found privately marked on the reverse, by the denomination, to indicate that they should be accepted and paid at half their face value, after the weight of the copper coins was doubled in 512. Eleven varieties of punches are illustrated in Metcalf.

References

• Bendall, S. “The First Reformed Follis of Anastasius I.” The Numismatic Circular Vol. 108, No. 6 (December 2000), p. 107.
• Metcalf, D. M. The Origins of the Anastasian Currency Reform. Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert, 1969, pp. 91-93.

3. Ducats of Western Anatolia of the Mid-15th Century
Imitation Venetian gold ducats minted in Western Anatolia circa 1365-1450 occasionally occur with a variety of small test marks — dents or the impressions of rods or diamonds — all unpublished. This indicates that they probably all passed through the same market at about the same time.

References

• Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Coin ID 4276 (dent, center of obverse and lower reverse); Coin ID 6495 (dent or circle, center of obverse). <http://libweb5.princeton.edu/numismatics/db.aspx>, 4276 and 6495. February 1, 2012.
• Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio. The June 2011 Baltimore Auction, p. 11, lot 6092 (square in right obverse field).

4. Indian Shroff Marks
Indian shroffs were money changers and bankers, especially those who tested and evaluated coins. Their marks are found on silver and occasionally gold coins, from circa 1300 A.D. into the early 19th century. The practice is thought to have originated in Bengal. Three types of shroff marks are found: (1) identification marks, chops or small counterstamps, on the face of earlier coins and on the edge of thick Mughal coins; (2) drill holes (gasp!), on the face of the coins, and sometimes more than one; and (3) cancellation marks, large, deep chisel cuts. In later times, shroffs did not mark the coins of the state where they did business, for that would strip them of legal tender status, but only those of other native states.

By 1839 the practice of shroff marking had died out, as we learn from a letter written at Bombay (original spelling and capitalization retained): “In the Offences relating to Coin I should have been inclined to make the defacing of the Coin a penal Offence. The Practice is very common in this Country for petty Shroffs, who establish themselves in every Corner of a Bazaar or populous and much frequented Street, to prove, or what they term it, shroff Coins brought to them by the Public for that Purpose, and formerly they used always to stamp Coins so proved; this defaces the Coin, although it cannot be said to diminish the Weight or alter the Composition, Offences provided for in Clauses 246 and 247.”

References

• Giberne, George. Recommendation submitted at Bombay, 19th March 1839, in Returns and Papers Presented to the House of Lords…Relative to the Affairs of the East India Company, Vol. IV. (London): East India House, 1852, p. 313.
• Deyell, John. “Shroff Marks on Bengal Sultans Tankas.” Scott Semans World Coins (068): <http://coincoin.com/I068.htm>, 2002. February 1, 2012.
• Rose, F. M. Chopmarks. Dallas: Numismatics International, 1987, pp. 53-54.

5. Chinese and Other Chop Marks
Chop marks are mentioned in the records of the East India Company as early as 1776, and their use probably became general between 1780 and 1785, at least in the Canton (Kwangchow, Guangzhou) area. They were applied primarily by merchants, initially on Spanish-American silver dollars (8 reales) and later Mexican dollars and trade dollars of the United States and other countries. Smaller silver coins were occasionally marked too. In August 1935 the Shanghai banks announced that they would accept chop-marked coins only at a 10% discount, effectively ending the practice. Chops on Bust dollars and some later coins are tiny, while those on later dollars are large. Some appear to be in Malay, applied in the Straits Settlements.

A clear explanation of chop marking is found in an 1856 Chinese Commercial Guide: “In order to recognize coin once paid out, every comprador has a steel stamp, with which he strikes his name upon the face of the piece, and he will not receive a dollar back again upon which he cannot find his own stamp, or chop as it is called.”

References

• Rose, F. M. Chopmarks. Dallas: Numismatics International, 1987.
• Williams, Samuel Wells. Chinese Commercial Guide. Canton: The Chinese Repository, 1856, p. 225.

Thanks to Elizabeth Hahn, Librarian — American Numismatic Society, for researching references to banker’s marks and for providing copies of pertinent articles.

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our February 8, 2012 meeting.

1. Mark Wieclaw showed a range of items:
   • An early stater of Corinth (550-540 BC); Peagasus appears on one side of this silver coin, while the other side shows only a punchmark.
   • An early tetradrachm of Athens (about 520 BC); the head of Athena is sort of archaic, but the owl on the other side is fine. Four leaves, instead of the usual three, appear next to the owl.
   • Two US $20 gold pieces from the 1920s; notable not for what they are, but their story. Mark had recently bought them from the person who had acquired them in the 1970s from a bank; as part of a bank's promotion, the customer could choose the interest on a CD: either in cash or as a gold coin!
   • A picture of a silver Greek coin (imitation of a Roman denarius) that the Romanian government wants back. Mark had bought it a few years ago to complement a gold coin, that he already owned, having the same design element.
2. Robert Feiler showed a piece he recently acquired: a private Italian piece, 7 grams of 90% gold, honoring Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.
3. Robert Weinstein showed recently acquired bronze coins:
   • A small uniface coin from the city of Taxila, in the Punjab. The city was located on an old caravan route out of central India, and the coin is dated to about 200 BC, before the Greeks invaded.
   • A square coin of Indo-Greek king Diomedes, from about 80 BC. The obverse shows twins, while the reverse shows a bull.
   • A tetradrachm of the Kharahostes dynasty of Indo-Scythians, from about 20 BC. The reverse shows a goddess holding a cornucopia, and flanked by symbols.
   • A drachm with the same design — this is the first smaller version of the previous item that Robert has heard of.
4. Bob Wallace has acquired many ancient coins over the years — to complement the evening’s presentation on countermarked genuine coins, Bob showed us the few fakes in his collection. Most are modern products, and he included amusing and cautionary tales for some:
   • A cast copy of an Alexander tetradrachm from a Macedonian mint.
   • A cast Phoenician bronze coin with jugate heads.
   • Acquired in the late 1990s, a drachm from a Black Sea port. A gorgon head obverse and an anchor reverse. Part of a large group of copies of specimens in a Sofia museum.
   • A Philip II tetradrachm — a great job on this.
   • An obol of Alexander the Great, with a lettering style that is just not quite right.
   • A Nero denarius made by Slavin.
   • A too-light Nero as with shiny white metal showing through on the high points.
5. To complement the featured presentation on marked coins, Steve Ambos showed a heavily chopmarked 1796 8 reales from the Mexico mint.
6. Steve Huber shared news from the New York International held in early January:
   • He handled an ancient Greek Sicilian Tetradrachm just two hours before it was confiscated by the Homeland Security, and its owner detained.
   • The 38,000 coin “Huntington Collection” of the Hispanic Society of America will be auctioned by Sotheby’s. The collection was formed from 1892-1905 by Arthur Huntington, and covers all periods of Spanish history, from ancient Spain until modern. Containing some very rare pieces and is to be sold as one lot — estimates range from $20 to 40 Million.
   • Two handouts were distributed from a presentation by the ANA on the counterfeit coin industry in China: specifications of US coins, excerpted from the 2011 Coin World almanac; and Dr. DuBay’s Classification systems and current observations. He indicates there are about 100 shops now making counterfeits.
7. Jerry Anascewicz showed two Russian yefimoks of 1655, issued by Alexei Mikhailovich, the second in the Romanov line. At that time, the 1 kopeck was the only Russian coin — the ruble of 100 kopecks exited only as a unit of account. To make coins to pay the troops fighting the Poles, the government marked Dutch talers. Both shown examples have a 1655 stamp as well as a horseman stamp — the date of one coin cannot be determined, but the date on the other is 1636.
8. Robert Leonard showed coins and tokens illustrating the decline and abolition of slavery:
   • A 1788-dated halfpenny from Barbados that shows a Negro slave and the words “I SERVE”
   • A 1791 penny from Sierra Leone, which was established as a refuge for emancipated slaves.
   • A “AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER” half penny token from the 1790s.
   • A “WE ARE BRETHREN” token from Sierra Leone; it notes the 1807 abolition of the slave trade.
   • An 1833 one cent token from Liberia.
   • An 1834 “FREEDOM WITHOUT SLAVERY” farthing token from Barbados; and a half penny of a similar design.
   • An ”AM I NOT A WOMAN AND A SISTER” American token dated 1838 but issued in 1837.
   • A New Orleans merchant token of the 1849-1858 period advertising “PLANTATION GOODS.”
   • An 1863 “LIBERTY AND NO SLAVERY” token.
9. After showing a recent large newspaper ad from a gold buyer including such terms as a “110% guarantee,” Rich Lipman showed a range of currency:
   • A $2 repeater note — the serial number is 02350235.
   • The last large size $10 legal tender note, from the 1923 series. This note is nicknamed the “poker chip” note, and he noted that nicknamed types seem to do better in the market.
   • The euro has been in the news lately, with much speculation and predictions. A roll of euro toilet paper is one extreme example.

Our 1119th Meeting

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