| Archive available at http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/ | |
|---|---|
| Volume 58 No. 9 | September 2012 |
The club auction is scheduled for the regular November club meeting; the auction will start at about 7PM, after the business session concludes. In the past few years, club related material (and Chicago area numismatic items) have had the best results.
Please consider using the club auction to dispose of the numismatic items you no longer need. Details will appear in the October Chatter, but it should follow the pattern from recent years.
The 1124th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held August 8, 2012 in the Chicago Bar Association Building, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Downtown Chicago. First Vice President Elliott Krieter called the meeting to order at 6:45 PM with an attendance of 14 members and 1 guest: Harold Eckardt. The low attendance was due to the Annual American Numismatic Association Convention in Philadelphia.
VP Krieter announced that President Jeffrey Rosinia slipped and suffered a freak accident. He ruptured the quadriceps tendon connecting thigh muscles to the knee. This requires surgery, scheduled for next week, followed by extensive rehab. Jeff may not be able to attend a meeting until October. A “Get Well” card was passed for everyone to sign.
A motion was passed to accept the July Minutes as published in the Chatter. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky gave a detailed report showing July revenue of $375.00, expenses of $226.95 and total assets of $20,348.37 held in Life Membership $1,670.00 and member equity $18,678.37. A motion was passed to approve the report.
The membership applications of Carl Ford and Andrew Reiber received a second reading and a motion was passed to accept them into membership. First reading was held for the application of Harold Eckardt. Following the announcement of receiving 2012 dues, a motion was passed to reinstate Russell Wajda’s membership which was dropped in June.
A motion was passed authorizing the Secretary to cast the Club’s ballot for the upcoming Illinois Numismatic Association (ILNA) election of officers by voting for only those candidates who are Club members: Steve Harrison, President; Andrew Reiber, Vice President; William Burd, Treasurer; and Brian Heil, Governor. It was announced that the Club will sponsor 7 “ABCs of Collecting” talks for beginner collectors at the ILNA Show, September 13-15, 2012 in Tinley Park. The appointed committee of William Burd (ILNA Treasurer), Marc Stackler, and Carl Wolf are nearly finished with program’s outline. Club member ILNA President Steve Harrison was introduced and spoke of the upcoming convention, other educational programs, ILNA’s donation of numismatic books to Illinois public libraries, and creating a National Numismatic Leadership web site.
Future programs were announced including Darrell Luedtke, Milwaukee, Wonderful World of Wooden Money, Gerard Anasziewicz (to be determined), and Bob Wallace at the December 12 Annual Banquet. Bob will speak on his experience as a 12 year coin collector moving to Rome during the 1960s.
V.P. Krieter introduced featured speaker Quentin Burrows who spoke on the New Laws Affecting Coin Dealers & Collectors. Following a question and answer period, Elliott presented Quentin with an ANA Educational Certificate and an engraved Club medal.
Second V.P. Rich Lipman announced the evening’s four exhibitors: JEFF AMELSE – souvenirs from George Washington’s winter headquarters 1799-80 in Morristown, NJ consisting of replica colonial coin and currency; SHARON BLOCKER – modern currency from a recent trip through parts of Europe; RICHARD LIPMAN – Cuban coinage used by tourists, $500 U.S. notes, and 3 notes with different condition grades but of equal collecting value; and ROBERT FEILER – 1923 German 50 million mark coin, 1933 German propaganda booklet, set of 20 Nazi glass pendants called winter hilfs werk (winter help work), and origins of the swastika to the ancient city of Gaza in Palestine.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:16 PM with the next meeting scheduled at 6:45 PM, September 12, 2012 at the same location.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf,
Secretary
by Quentin Burrows,
presented to our August 8, 2012 meeting
The trend of precious metals setting record prices has resulted in new legislation being introduced across the country at both the state and local level. These laws are frequently called “secondhand dealer laws.”
Three main goals of new laws:
The problem — These new secondhand dealer laws frequently lump coin dealers with pawn stores and other secondhand stores. As the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA) notes, a coin shop and a pawn broker have very different business models. However, the new laws frequently do not consider the differences and classify all “secondhand dealers” as the same.
What do these laws require? Although the regulations can often vary in terminology, the ordinances frequently require at least some of the following:
Massive paperwork — (1) consecutively numbered record keeping with an accurate description of all goods, articles, or things purchased; (2) record keeping of the name, address, and description of the individual selling the items (often including hair color, sex, approximate height, weight, date of birth, and driver’s license number and/or social security number); (3) signatures by the buyer and seller on a record below the description of each transaction; (4) photographing of all items purchased that clearly depict the item purchased with an identifier linking the photo and the transaction record; (5) uploading photographs of the items purchased within 24 hours to a website or preparing a report to be delivered to the police by mail on the next day following the purchase; (6) keeping the records for at least two years; and/or (7) requiring photographs and fingerprints of the customer selling the item. [Imagine requiring a dealer to individually photograph 1,000 silver dimes.]
Business interruptions — (1) requiring that the dealer not sell or melt the purchased item for a period of time ranging between 7 and 30 days, often called a “holding period.” [This will result in the dealer having to pay less for items purchased because of possible swings in the commodities market]; (2) Permitting warrantless searches by police officers to confiscate any article believed to be stolen; and (3) prohibiting dealers from paying their customers in cash.
Non-Compliance — The penalties for violating local ordinances are often misdemeanor charges such as a civil fine ranging from $500 up to $10,000, and/or imprisonment for up to 30 days. In Massachusetts, a coin store had its license revoked for failing to follow ordinance requirements. In California, two secondhand dealers were arrested for failing to follow a new ordinance. [The dealers claimed that they were not even aware of the new ordinance.]
Example: Madison, Wisconsin
What can be done?
Fight the legislation before it is passed.
Example: Joliet and Morris (40 people showed up to a planning commission meeting in Morris).
Attempt to roll back the legislation after it is passed.
Example: Aurora (convinced council members to change law only a few months after it was passed).
Keep an Eye on Changing Laws! What would happen to the 2013-14 ANA Show if Rosemont or Cook County passed one of these laws? If you hear about one of these laws being considered by Chicago, Rosemont, Cook County, or another municipality, the best strategy may be to get the word out and get organized. Show up to pre-council meetings and the council meetings. Let your voice be heard on this important issue.
Mike Gasvoda reports, in Philadelphia for ANA:
Lynn and I are back from a great trip
to the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Philadelphia.
The show seemed to be successful for the dealers I spoke with
and I believe the ANA will be happy with the results.
Here is a summary of our trip.
We drove to Philly and made an overnight stop on the way in Lancaster, PA. There we had dinner with Victor England and his wife Cathy as well as Basil D of the Greek coin sales “BCD Collection” sold over the past few years by several auction houses. Basil’s collection was astounding and there are some 10,000 or more coins waiting to be sold. On Monday morning we toured the CNG offices and I made my first coin purchases of the trip. We arrived in Philly Monday afternoon and went to the convention center to make sure the ANS exhibit in the museum showcase was ready to go. We then toured “old Philadelphia” and got to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Philly Mint, and other sites. This was very informative.
Tuesday I walked the show floor visiting dealers, making a few purchases, and touring the exhibits; both competitive and at the Museum Showcase. While I did this Lynn took the bus tour of the city and subsequently became my personal tour guide on all things Philadelphia! Tuesday night we went to the opening dinner at the Constitution Center and sat with the CCC guys/gals. It was a nice night and the center was a neat place.
Wednesday was “make-up” day for me and we spent the day touring museums. Philly has great museums and they are definitely worth a visit. With my “honey-do’s” out of the way Thursday was to be “my day” and I dragged Lynn to the show with me all day.
Thursday was a long day beginning with a “Money Talks” presentation by David Alexander on coins & medals of Henry V of France. This was followed by a walk of the show floor so Lynn could say hi to several friends there (dealers and their wives whom we both know). Then back to Money Talks for Doug Mudd’s presentation on Republican coinage themes to again be followed by a visit to the show floor and an overpriced and not-too-good lunch. At 1:00 PM I had the pleasure to introduce Bob Hoge’s talk on the first coinage of the Philadelphia mint which complemented the ANS exhibit I helped put together for the show. Bob’s talk was quite well attended and sadly, this was the only talk we saw where I could say this. Once again we ventured back to the show floor for a few pictures to finally return to the Money Talks presentation by William Metcalf on his new Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. Finally, we ventured back to the floor one last time to take pictures at the exhibit with Bob Hoge and Doug Mudd.
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| At the First Coinage of the US Mint exhibit: Mike Gasvoda, Bob Hoge, and Doug Mudd (left to right). |
Our long day ended with a visit to Heritage’s cocktail reception at the top of the Philadelphia Hotel where we had a nice long visit with Ute Wartenburg Kagan (ANS Executive Director) and Walter Husak (of large cent fame). Our day ended in exhaustion but successfully completed, having made our goodbyes to all who we had spent time with during the week. I ran into Paul Hybert several times during the show but we always seemed to be heading in opposite directions.
Friday we headed back home via Gettysburg and a tour of the battlefield. It was a hectic but fun and successful week. We made some new friends, reacquainted with old ones, and managed to pick up a few coins along the way. It will, however, be good to get home and back in our own bed.
Wish you all could have been here!
Paul Hybert reports, in Philadelphia for ANA:
My hotel was across the street from the convention center’s loading dock,
so getting to the show was simple.
I was there early Monday morning to help with the final setup
of the Exhibit area,
and stayed to help while the collectors placed exhibits that afternoon
and finished on Tuesday morning,
just as the public was admitted to the bourse at 10am.
That’s right, an hour later than the bourse opened last year in Rosemont —
and I heard that, for 2013 in Rosemont,
the bourse will open at 10am everyday, and close at 6pm.
But with Exhibits located in a separate hall in 2013,
it should be possible to open the Exhibit area by 9am on Wednesday through Saturday.
Tuesday evening started with a dinner meeting, and ended seated next to Phil Carrigan during the auction of David Davis’ early dime collection. Wednesday through Saturday started the same way: an hour around the exhibit area, followed by an hour at a meeting of some early-US-focused club. Then bouncing between the bourse and Money Talks (the new name for the Numismatic Theatre) programs. Fred Holabird and Tom Sebring are engaging speakers, so I did not miss their programs; but my favorite program, by Dannreuther, Teichman, and Sholley, presented new research on the production of Gobrecht dollars — telling the originals from the restrikes. I bought only one new book this year, Dick Graham’s A Registry of Die Varieties of Reeded Edge Half Dollars 1836-1839.
In addition to Phil, I met a number of other CCC members who usually attend our monthly meetings: Mark, Mike, Robert, Eugene, and Robert. Add in a number of other CCC members — including Len, Alex, Joe, Dennis, Steve, Nancy, John, David, Walter, Cliff, and Wendell — and we can see why the regular August CCC meeting back home had a low turnout.
I attended my first ANA board meeting, and created a little awkward moment during the Open Forum; at least it was good practice for next year. Travelling alone gave me the freedom to spend some evenings just randomly walking around the areas east, south, and west of the convention center. I never found my hotel from the 2000 ANA convention, and I never found some of the tired areas that I remembered from then — Philly looked good!. Although I never tried a cheesesteak sandwich, I satisfied my appetite at a wide range of little places, stopping only once at a chain restaurant, Subway in the train station, at 8am on Sunday morning when nothing else was open. The highlight of the Amtrak trip was the New River Gorge, both times in daylight; the return train arrived on time in Chicago, but severe thunderstorms hampered the trip to Philly. The train trip to next year’s convention will be less scenic but much shorter!
Kurt Hyde reports, (not in Philadelphia for ANA):
I addressed my granddaughter’s 5th grade class
at Lockwood Elementary School in Brier, Washington.
The title of my talk was Coin Etiquette.
I gave each child a wheat ear Lincoln cent
and discussed such topics as the proper way to hold a coin by its edges,
making sure their hands were clean before holding a coin,
and advising them not to clean coins unless doing so under supervision of an expert.
My advice to them, if they find a coin they think might be valuable, was to try to put it in an approved coin holder if they have one, tell their parents about it, and they and their parents should seek advice from fellow coin collectors who are members of an ANA associated coin club locally. I showed them examples of storage items like coin flips, premium coin holders, coin tubes, and Kointain coin holders. I said it would be OK to put a coin in a regular envelope for a few days while determining whether or not the coin is valuable, but not to do so for any length of time.
The 5th graders enjoyed the presentation and asked numerous questions. I also identified a few coins the children brought for identification.
| CSNS Convention | Chicago Coin Company |
| CPMX & CICF | Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. |
Items shown at our August 8, 2012 meeting.
by Carl Wolf, Secretary
Jeff Amelse just returned from New Jersey where he once worked for Bell Labs. He visited historic Morristown, NJ and the home that served as General Washington’s winter headquarters in 1799-80. He showed a brochure with a photo of the home, and bought some replica numismatic souvenirs that included a 1787 copper coin. Jeff also showed two genuine NJ coppers from his collection, showing the horse and plow observe and shield reverse. No coins were on exhibit during his visit. However, they have coins in their private collection which will go on exhibit August 26th. Jeff purchased a packet replica Colonial and Continental Currency in values of 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 35, 50, 55 and 65 dollars. He also showed a replica. He also had a replica of the first silver Continental Currency coin.
Sharon Blocker spent a summer vacation traveling through parts of Europe and showed a variety of currency she purchased at money exchanges everywhere she and Kevin visited. They left June 30 and stayed in London for three days and added British pounds to her collection. Then it was on to Denmark for one day, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. During their visit to Saint Petersburg, Russia she noted how gladly they took in US dollars, but made change only with rubles. Then it was on to Sweden for two days, Germany, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Richard Lipman showed two U.S. $500 notes showing the portrait of President William McKinley, who served 1897-1901. The first was issued in 1928 with a “redeem for gold” imprint. The second showed the same design, but was the 1934A issue and the “redeem for gold” was dropped. Rich went on to tell the story of McKinley’s life and his election as President of the U.S. in 1896. Rich explained the “bimetallism” movement which was a huge issue at the time. Currency was only backed by gold which put a brake on inflation. Interests holding debt, however, wanted silver to also back the currency which would increase inflation and allow them to pay off debts sooner. During his administration, McKinley hedged his bets on the bimetallism issue and would sometimes support it, but other times not. McKinley was assassinated in 1901 and his portrait began to appear in 1928 on the $500 notes. However, he did appear on the 1902 $10 national bank notes and several other minor issues. Rich pointed out the “counting marks” on the $500 notes in his exhibit. He explained that counting marks are common on high value notes. Banks held these notes as assets and frequently counted them to ascertain the assets were, in fact, on hand. This ongoing counting process left bills with some ruffling, dirt smudges from fingerprints, and slight paper distortions.
McKinley was President during the Spanish-American War where the U.S. invaded Cuba. Rich’s also showed “tourist” coinage from Cuba which his daughter brought back from a recent visit. In Cuba two kinds of coinage exist, one for Cuban citizens and another for use by tourists only.
Rich showed three pieces of U.S. currency and pointed how difficult and subjective grading can be. Each of the notes had a different grade, but all held the same market value. The first was a very uncommon $20 gold certificate with a beautiful portrait with very few fold marks and a great reverse. However, various parts of the note’s edges were missing which reduced its condition to “good.” The second note was a $10 Federal Reserve Note with roughed up wear in the center, but held a significantly higher grade than the $20 gold certificate. The third note was a 1966 $5 silver certificate with a crisp feel and perfect look. Rich reminded members that all three notes held the same market value, but asked them which one they would rather have in their collection.
Robert Feiler titled his exhibits “connections.” They represented four groups in his collection, purchased at different times and now tied together. The first was a 1923 German 50 million mark coin the size of silver dollar, created during rampant inflation and symbolized the descent into madness. He also had a 1923 Nazi propaganda booklet titled “Winter Relief Charity.” There were a series of these little booklets containing Hitler’s speeches which were given out to those who made donations to the cause. Then Bob showed an impressive set of 20 Nazi glass tokens/pendants known as Winterhilfswerk (Winter Help Work), each showing different images of great Germans. Bob told of his curiosity with the swastika image, which he knew was much older than the reign of Hitler. Bob explained how it was used in various cultures, but its oldest use was as a mintmark for the city of Gaza in Palestine.
| Date: | September 12, 2012 |
| Time: | 6:45 PM |
| Location: | Downtown Chicago
At the Chicago Bar Association, 321 S. Plymouth Court, 3rd floor meeting room. Please remember the security measures at our meeting building: everyone must show their photo-ID and register at the guard’s desk. Nearby parking: South Loop Self Park, 318 South Federal Street; that is two short blocks west of our meeting site. Note: Their typical rate of $29 is reduced to $6 if you eat at the Plymouth Restaurant, 327 S. Plymouth Court (next to our meeting site at the CBA), show them your parking ticket, and ask the restaurant for a parking voucher. The restaurant offers standard sandwiches, burgers, and salads for members who want to meet for dinner. Another before-meeting favorite of some members is the Ceres Restaurant, located inside the Board of Trade Building, at LaSalle and Jackson. |
| Featured speaker: | Darrell Luedtke - Wonderful World of Wooden Money |
|
Darrell Luedtke has collected wooden money for nearly 40 years and built an award winning exhibit to educate collectors about this unique collecting specialty. Members who attend will see wooden money examples, such as Chinese tally sticks, Mexican hacienda tokens, German notgeld, and U.S. depression scrip. Be sure to be at this meeting and hear Darrell tie together the creation of wooden money against the background of historical events and individual stories. Darrell currently serves as President of the International Organization of Wooden Money and in 2010 authored Guidebook of Wooden Money. |
| September | 12 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - Darrell Luedtke on Wonderful World of Wooden Money |
| September | 13-15 | ILNA convention at the Holiday Inn-Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Road, Tinley Park, IL 60477. Details at http://www.ilnaclub.info |
| September | 19 | ANA 2013 Host Committee Meeting — contact HC2013ANA@chicagocoinclub.org for details. |
| October | 10 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - Gerard Anaszewicz on Russian Wire Money, circ. 1380-1533 AD |
| Nov | 9-11 | PCDA National Coin and Currency Convention at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL. Admission is $5 for Friday through Sunday. Details at http://www.pcdaonline.com |
| Nov | 10 | CCC Meeting - 1pm at the PCDA National Coin and Currency Convention,
which is held at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker - Fred N. Holabird on The Casa Grande Improvement Co. and the Arizona Land Fraud |
| November | 14 | CCC Meeting - Club Auction - no featured speaker |
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/
| Jeffrey Rosinia | - President |
| Elliott Krieter | - First Vice President |
| Richard Lipman | - Second Vice President |
| William Burd | - Archivist |
| Directors: | Robert Feiler
Eugene Freeman Marc Stackler Carl Wolf |
| Other positions held are: | |
| Carl Wolf | - Secretary |
| Steve Zitowsky | - Treasurer |
| Paul Hybert | - Chatter Editor |
| Robert Feiler | - ANA Club Representative |
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