Chatter

2 Months until ANA in Chicago

This is the last Chatter issue before the ANA’s deadline to submit your Collector Exhibit application — the completed application has to be received at ANA by June 20. The ANA web site, http://www.money.org, has the application and rules for Collector Exhibits, giving a presentation, club meetings, and other events. Please take advantage of this opportunity — they will not be here every year!

Carl Wolf is looking for volunteers to work during the show. He anticipates a free daily parking voucher for each volunteer who works at least four hours on that day. Contact Carl at carlwolfco@msn.com for more details — we do not need to know your schedule now, so email Carl before you forget.

Remember, August 5-9! Email any questions and comments to chatter_editor@yahoo.com and someone from the local committee will respond.

Minutes of the 1145th Meeting

The 1145th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held May 14, 2014 in the Chicago Bar Association Building, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Downtown Chicago. President Elliott Krieter called the meeting to order at 6:45 PM with an attendance of 20 members and 3 guests: Adam Olszewski, Chuck Prock, and Jenny Fukumoto.

A motion was passed to accept the April Minutes as published in the Chatter. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky gave a detailed report on April revenue of $2872.80, expenses of $2242.19, total assets of $25,294.69: held in Life Membership $2,110.00 and member equity $23,184.69. A motion was passed to accept his report.

The applications for membership of David Sunshine, David Lisot, Richard Burdick, Thomas Uram, David Crooks, Joe Paonessa, James Taylor, and Gary Gunderson received a second reading and a motion was passed to accept them into the Club. The application of Adam F. Olszewski received first reading. With regret it was reported that Quentin Burrows and Mike Radojcic will not renew their membership.

Under Old Business:

• Bill Burd, Host Chairman of the August 5-9, 2014 ANA Convention, reported on the progress of the Convention Committee and announced the next committee meeting 6 PM, May 21, Offices of Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., 77 W. Washington, Downtown Chicago.
• Jeff Rosinia thanked Carl Wolf for recruiting Donald Kagin and David McCarthy as speakers on the Saddle Ridge Hoard at the Club’s recent meeting held in conjunction with the Central States Numismatic Society Convention.
• Jeff Rosinia, Chairman of the 95th Anniversary Committee, reported plans to hold a banquet on Wednesday evening of August 6, 2014 at the Rosewood Restaurant in conjunction with the ANA Convention. He showed a proposed medal design showing an image of the Ferris Wheel from the 1892 Columbian Exposition. Plans call for a 2” medal with 95 struck in bronze. A 2.5 oz. silver and 4 oz. gold medal will be available by pre-order only.
• Mark Wieclaw, Chairman of the December Banquet, had no report.

Jenny Fukumoto with Amos Press/Coin World spoke to the Club about their new offices in Downtown Chicago, the revamping of their web site, and tablet applications.

Elliott introduced featured speaker Rich Lipman who delivered a program on Graffiti Twos: An Analysis of What People Have Written or Stamped on Two Dollar Bills. Many comments followed and Elliott presented Rich with an engraved Club speaker’s medal suspended from a neck ribbon. The ANA Educational Certificate will follow.

Club Director Steve Ambos announced the evening’s ten exhibitors. JOHN CONNOLLY: anniversary medal from the recent CSNS Convention. DAVID GUMM: items acquired at the recent EAC convention. EUGENE FREEMAN: a Papal States coin, and one from the Isle of Man. ROBERT LEONARD: 3 coins (circa 943-977 AD) from Fecamp Hoard. SHARON BLOCKER: Four $2 bills from retirement parties for her husband. MARK WIECLAW: three ancient coins. BILL BURD: two gold medals. RICH LIPMAN: paper money from the U.S. and other countries. DALE LUKANICH: 19th century financial paper from around the US. HAROLD ECKARDT: paper money signed at the 2011 ANA convention — he also thanked the Club for supporting the recent CSNS Seminar in Hillside.

Mark Wieclaw reported that Harlan Berk was hospitalized after suffering an accident at his Michigan farm.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:54 PM. The next meeting will be 6:45 PM, Wednesday, June 11, at the same location.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
The Saddle Ridge Hoard

a presentation by Donald H. Kagin and David McCarthy,
to our April 26, 2014 meeting

This story starts with a couple from the gold country of northern California, let’s call them “John” and “Mary,” walking their dog on the far reaches of their property — using the same path as they had for ten years. They had found metal objects, such as tools and bullets, on their property in the past, so they were not shocked when they saw part of a rusty can sticking out of the ground. They used a stick to scrape away the earth, noticed both ends were still on the can, and they soon freed it. It was heavy carrying it to their house, and the only thing that John could think of was lead paint; until part of the lid broke off, and they saw the rim of a gold coin. They returned to the site with a small shovel and, a foot away from where they had found the first can, they found another group of coins within the remains of a half disintegrated can. They found a total of eight cans in the general area, over time and using more advanced equipment and techniques.

After taking about 25 coins from the first can and rubbing off the dirt, they realized they were leaving marks. So they stopped that and placed each coin in its own plastic bag; then they decided to rebury the coins under their woodpile, but now in a plastic cooler. Next they called in an attorney, to help them determine what needs to be done when finding gold coins. Kagin’s soon received a phone call from that attorney who mentioned his clients had found some gold coins. Coin dealers do get those phone calls, and they usually ask a few simple questions; but this lawyer was not giving up many details: How many coins? Can’t say. What are they? U.S. What era? Can’t say. And a non-disclosure agreement was desired by the lawyer.

Details were eventually exchanged, and an agreement to work together was reached. David showed us a picture of an 1883-S double eagle in his hand, the coin mostly covered in mud and rust, but with a beautiful surface showing in one area. Then he showed the same coin after the foreign material had been removed — a delightful coin!. This story would repeat itself many times with David showing Don a coin whenever he found one that exceeded the condition of finest known for the date and mint, even finer than one in the Smithsonian. But conserving the coins, all performed in house at Kagin’s, took months. (We asked what particular steps they used, but that info is confidential.) The final tally showed coins dated from 1847 through 1894: four half eagles ($5), 50 eagles ($10), and 1373 double eagles ($20), with a face value of almost $28,000. About 95% were from the San Francisco Mint, with the rest from Dahlonega, New Orleans, Carson City, and Philadelphia. A brief summary of the double eagles included an 1866-S with Motto as well as a no-Motto (graded MS62), an 1877-S graded MS65, and an 1890-S MS66+ prooflike; it was mentioned that the 1892-S coins appeared greener than the coins from other years, probably due to some slight change in the alloy.)

The next task was to tell the story. John and Mary were afraid that, maybe, people with guns and shovels would arrive at their property if details became known. But how can a story be told when the finders used psuedonyms, no location was available, and the only pictures were of rusty cans and nice coins? That is the wrong approach — they are not rusty cans — they are pots of gold! Think of instant riches and GOLD! It turned out that a story about stacks of gold coins found buried in the gold country could stand on its own. Kagin’s sent a press release to the San Francisco Chronicle, the AP, and others; within an hour, there were camera crews at their office; within another hour, network crews arrived. The story was presented for eight days and nights on various programs.

On the second day after the announcement, the office started receiving calls suggesting who might have buried the coins: Black Bart, Jesse James, Southern Sympathizers, and others. Someone thought of Walter Dimmick, convicted of stealing $30,000 in gold coins from the San Francisco Mint in 1901, and an outdoors magazine ran with that story. It was probably a hectic and crazy time, but Don and David were smiling as they told us about it. We probably will never know the real story, but the simplest scenario can be stated as, “Have a good year, bury another can.” The land ownership records were examined, but nothing jumped out. The spot is fairly remote on John and Mary’s property, near the boundary lines with a few other properties — someone from the area could have easily slipped onto the property without being noticed.

The final task was to sell the coins. After a number of meetings, it was decided to sell most of the coins on the collectibles area of Amazon. Maybe this story will develop new collectors. The plans include a booklet for each sold coin, as well as a photo book about the hoard. The coins will be offered at fixed prices starting early on May 28, 2014 (just after midnight, Eastern time). To help raise funds to restore the San Francisco Mint building that was built in 1874, the kickoff event will take place in that building late on May 27, and will feature the auction of a Saddle Ridge Hoard 1874-S double eagle — all proceeds from that coin will go towards the building’s restoration fund.

Although no credible claim for the coins has surfaced since the story broke, new pieces of information have surfaced. While under the bright lights of the camera crews, David noticed a faint trace of the word golden embossed on a rusted lid; it matches the design of a Golden Gate brand can of baking powder from the late 1880s. In response to a question about the possibility of other large hoards waiting to be discovered, Don related that within a week of the announcement, metal detectors were sold out in many places — and not just in California — even in a location as far away as Baltimore.

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
Graffiti Twos: An Analysis of What People Have Written or Stamped on Two Dollar Bills

a presentation by Richard Lipman,
to our May 14, 2014 meeting

For a number of years, Rich has searched packs of the $2 notes for errors and interesting patterns within the serial number. Along the way, he also found and saved many notes that had been marked — marked in all sorts of ways — and that he has grouped the markings into some genral types. He announced that he would show us only about 20% of what he has found — it would be representative of the types, with an emphasis on the larger and the better made examples. Although people write on other notes, it seems that the $2 note is used more than any other denomination.

To encourage the audience to voice its opinions, Rich asked us a number of questions during the presentation. The first was about the title of this presentation, “Is grafitti notes an appropriate term?” The word has negative connotations when it refers to your marking property that does not belong to you, but the word is old, and there is a long tradition of people leaving it. That answer brought up other questions about paper money: Is a note private? Is it a public place? What do the laws say about what you can do with it? We seemed to agree in answering the last of the above questions — the government outlaws only two actions: you cannot destroy it (make it unusable), and you cannot change the denomination; everything else is okay.

The first group of notes showed connections with commerce, starting with a $2 that was the first note received by some business, but no business name was included in that note. The names of businesses stamped on other notes included: Looney Bin Tavern, Robert Wallich Associates, Eat at the Beach, three locations in Florida of Swap Shop, the grand opening of the Kislak National Bank, and DiveFL.com. The US $2 note even gets around the world, as demonstrated by the name of a company in Israel. Other markings tied to the financial industry were: CASHVAULT, Brink’s, Scotia Bank (that’s Canadian!), “Received by HUD” with a date, and MUTILATED.

A few examples of wishes and thoughts were shown, such as “We will miss you. Never spend this.” The message “Thanks INDIANA DOC” on another note left Rich and us unsure as to what the DOC refers — could it be Department of Corrections? As a store of money, we saw a hand written note of “Keep me and never go broke” and THIS IS FOR POPCORN. Examples of wishful thinking included $2 notes with zeroes added to the denomination — we hoped no one was fooled by the 20 in all four corners on one note, and we doubted anyone was fooled by the 20,000 note, by the 2,000,000.00 note, or the 200,000,000 note.

The Where’s George web site for tracking $1 notes also can be used to track other denominations. We saw a range of stamps directing people to the www.wheresgeorge.com web site; one note also had an extra hand written “Spend me — I am not rare” to encourage its circulation, while many had the note’s serial number and year highlighted, because those are the pieces of information given to the web site when reporting the current location of a note.

Religious and political messages appear in real life, so it was no surprise when Rich showed us some. He started with a range of citations of the bible, and then moved onto angel stamps. He tried to arrange the political sentiments, but we were hazy upon some of the meanings. The “Ask for golden dollars” has multiples interpretations, but not so the “but not to moonies” written next to the note’s printed …GOOD FOR ALL DEBTS… statement. A cartoon caption bubble with “I grow hemp” near Jefferson’s vignette on the front is obvious, but the addition on another note, to the Continental Congress scene for the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the back of the note, of caption bubbles near two delegates of POOP and NO, YOU POOP seems non-specific humor. Other stamps making obvious points were OCCUPY WALL STREET, VOTE LIBERTARIAN, a marijuana leaf, and RON PAUL 2008. Although the Fairtax.org stamp relates to a particular proposal, some of us in the audience initially thought it supported a flat-tax plan while the actual plan is closer to a soak-the-rich plan. Oops. An example of a subtle message was reworking the note’s printed 6 (the note was from the Atlanta Fed Branch Bank, hence the 6) to the math-inspired statement 26+6=FREEDOM — hint: there are 32 counties on the Irish island, but maybe there is another interpretation.

Inspirational messages are usually hand written; there are many notes with the simple THANK YOU, while there are many possibly unique expressions such as THE SKY IS LIMIT, BE TRUE BE TRUE BE TRUE SAY NO MORE, and MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING. A stamped message probably has other instances out in circulation, so look closely and maybe you will find a note stamped with UFFDA. An example of an occasion marked by a stamp was McCALL FAMILY 2009, while there are hand written birthday wishes probably for most numbers — but Rich showed us examples for only one, six, and sweet 16. Baptisms are another personal occasion that are mentioned. Most any holiday you can think of are mentioned — not just Christmae and New Years, but also Halloween and Valentines Day. We also saw examples for irregularly occurring personal events, such as FROM TOOTH FAIRY, GREAT PIANO RECITAL, and GREAT REPORT CARD. Somber commemorative pieces are out there, such as one with JOHN L MILLER above Jefferson’s vignette and the date 1966 and 2001 flanking it; another piece bore TO THE MEMORY OF KLS.

Stamped insignias from many organizations decorate circulating notes; we saw insignias of Michigan State, University of Chicago, Masons, and Boy Scouts. Cartoon characters are out there, including Sylvester, Tweety, and Bugs Bunny. The drawn embellishments to Jefferson’s vignette probably originated from some free time and carry no further meanings — think of what people add to faces on advertising signs — they used many colors and focused on many parts of the face: mustach, beard, eye brows, eye glasses, and more. Not everything can be classified, so Rich concluded with a miscellaneous group. These last pieces showed how a $2 note could be a convenient place to write things down; mostly phone numbers, sometime with a crude message, but a note with an interesting serial number had the message “save for Richie” — we can only imagine how long Richie kept this before spending it!

In his searches, Rich has not seen $2 notes from before 1976; before 1976 the $2 notes had red seals, and now are usually deemed “interesting” enough to be pulled from circulation. The notes that were kept as intended remain out of sight, so Rich has a chance to see only the examples that are no longer significant to the creator or recipient, or when the significance is lost through the death of the holder. There is no predicting what might turn up tomorrow, or how many treasured mementos are being held.

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our May 14, 2014 meeting,
reported by Steven Ambos

1. John Connolly showed a CSNS Anniversary Medal he received for exhibiting at the Central States show.
2. David Gumm showed items acquired during the recent Early American Coppers (EAC) convention held in Colorado Springs:
   1. A newly published book on EAC grading, with great photography.
   2. A nice 1796 Large Cent (S-81), clearly showing all of the diagnostics for this variety.
   3. An 1819/8 Large Cent, the N1 variety.
   4. Two EAC tokens minted in pewter at the ANA on their screw press — this was during one of the convention’s excursions.
3. Eugene Freeman showed two pieces:
   1. Papal States (Tivoli) 5 Baiocchi 1797.
   2. An Isle of Man 1941 Penny from the Onchan POW camp.
4. After pointing out loactions on a map, Robert Leonard showed 3 coins from the Fecamp Hoard of 8,578 coins found in France in 1963.
   1. From Normandy, a Richard I (The Fearless) denier issued 943 – circa 977.
   2. A Richard I and King Lothaire joint denier issued 965 – circa 977.
   3. A Carolingian Charles the Bald (843-77) denier issued 950 – circa 977 from the Tours mint. 8,575 coins to go!
5. To complement the meeting’s featured speaker, Sharon Blocker showed four $2 signed by the attendees at her husband Kevin’s four retirement parties.
6. Mark Wieclaw showed ancient coins:
   1. An Alexandria mint large bronze AE43 of Ptolemy II (285-246 BC) with an unusual green patina — the patina usually is brown.
   2. A denarius of Elagabulus (Rome 218-222 AD) with a galley on reverse. Great detail on rowers, as opposed to the dot representations found on some examples.
   3. Tetradrachm from Messana (on Sicily, now known as Messina) (450-425 BC) with a nice Hare and Dolphin.
7. Bill Burd showed two gold medals:
   1. Illinois National Guard “Long and Honorable” service medal in 14k gold. Awarded to 1st Sgt John Dickson in 1940 for 15 years service.
   2. Harleston Parker Medal. 10kt gold by Medallic Art Co. of NY; awarded in 1950 by Boston Society of Architects to Cram & Ferguson for designing the John Hancock Insurance building in Boston.
8. Rich Lipman showed paper money:
   1. Assorted US small note errors — mismatched serial numbers.
   2. New Zealand 1 Pound note.
   3. A note, from Clinton Bank of NY, with the same vignette of DeWitt Clinton as on a very expensive $1000 US note of 1880.
   4. A Canada replacement note with mismatched serial numbers.
9. Dale Lukanich showed paper money:
   1. A Morris Canal (NJ) $2,000 remainder note. Dated April 2, 1860 and signed by A Whitney, these markings were applied well after this note went bad.
   2. A Farmers Bank (Hulmeville, PA) note stating its location as only 18 miles from Philadelphia — this style of note was issued 1814-7.
   3. An Illinois Board of Public Works $1,000 note from the 1840s. The Illinois note was soon trading for $0.14 on the dollar, setting an example for the future of Illinois’ finances.
10. Harold Eckardt showed notes signed during the 2011 ANA convention.
    1. A 2003-A $2 signed by David Bowers.
    2. A 2003-A $2 signed by Mike and Matt, the hosts of coinshowradio.com.
    3. A 2009 $1 signed by Rosie Rios.

Trip Reports

We have not received any trip reports so far this year, not even for the local shows, until this note:

Carl Wolf writes:
The following Chicago Coin Club members received exhibiting awards at the recent convention of the Central States Numismatice Society, which was held in Schaumburg in late April.

Jeff Rosinia — Fifty Years of Kennedy Half Dollars, Third Place U.S. Coins

Tom Uram (Applied Member) — The Historically Significant Two Cent Piece: 1862-1872, First Place U.S. Coins

Bruce Bartelt — From Croesus to Caesar: Coinage from the First Millennium B.C., Third Place Foreign Coins Prior to 1500 AD

Dan Freeland — Selected Michigan Nationals from Port Huron, Third Place U.S. Paper Money

Dan Freeland — Selected Canadian War Savings Certificates and Victory War Bonds, Second Place All Foreign Paper Money

John Wilson — Ming Dynasty Note, Third Place All Foreign Paper Money

Former member Don Dool also received three awards.

Minutes of the 2014 Chicago ANA Convention Committee

May 21, 2014

The seventh meeting of the 2014 Chicago ANA Convention Committee was called to order at 6:00 PM by Host Chairman William Burd on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 in the offices of Harlan J. Berk Ltd., 77 W. Washington, Downtown Chicago. The following members were present: Paul Hybert, Steve Zitowsky, Richard Lipman, Jeff Rosinia, Robert Feiler, Mark Wieclaw, Marc Stackler, Sharon Blocker, Mike Gasvoda, and Carl Wolf.

1. William Burd welcomed everyone to the meeting. Although Harlan Berk could not attend, he received a warm round of applause for providing the meeting site, parking vouchers, and hosting the dinner.
2. Committee Reports
   1. Pages — Rich Lipman
      1. The application is up and running on the ANA web site.
      2. Rhonda reported applications are arriving.
   2. Scouts — William Burd (Eugene Freeman absent)
      1. No changes to report over last month.
   3. Ambassadors — Carl Wolf
      1. 53 volunteers signed up.
   4. Money Talks — Mark Wieclaw
      1. A number of applications were distributed among dealers at the recent Central States Numismatic Society Convention.
      2. Mike Gasvoda spoke of his plan to submit a proposal.
      3. Susan McMillan, ANA Education Project Manager, is gathering applications, but will not put together the final list until Summer Seminar ends.
   5. Collector Exhibits — Paul Hybert
      1. Exhibit applications are arriving at ANA.
      2. Deadline is June 20.
      3. Inquiry was made about the availability of double locking cases.
      4. General inquiries were made regarding security.
3. Speaker Medals — Carl Wolf
   1. On order and will arrive in early June.
4. Bill Burd
   1. Hotel Lodging
      1. Hyatt Regency Hotel.
      2. 43 room nights are booked.
      3. Volunteer Chairman Carl Wolf inquired about the availability of room sharing for several Floor Captains.
   2. Budget
      1. ANA check to the Club was received.
      2. All figures remain unchanged.
   3. Silent Auction
      1. Organized by Harlan and still planned.
      2. Mark Wieclaw volunteered to help.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 PM with the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, 2014, in the offices of Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., 77 W. Washington, Suite 1320, Downtown Chicago.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary
Chicago Coin Club

Seeking Volunteers

by Paul Hybert

As many of you have heard, the ANA has been developing a new web site. The first step, to replace the “membership database” should be complete by the time you read this; you are using the new stuff when you log into the current money.org ANA web site. A new ANA web site is being developed at a separate URL, and the preliminary in-house testing should be complete by early June — then a few more people will try to break things for another week, and soon after the beta site should be ready for some public testers.

I am looking for some volunteers to help bang away at beta.money.org as public testers. Please contact me at chatter_editor@yahoo.com if you are willing and able — a password will be required to access the beta version for awhile.

In early 2013, a small local group went at the ANA’s Show App for Android and Apple; the ANA pulled that App soon after we submitted a report. Most organizations have moved to make their website serve both platforms instead of doing a web site and a separate App, and that is the direction the ANA is taking. The new web site should work on all current devices.

I am looking for volunteers with a range of browsers, access speeds, and devices. The goal is to identify broken and missing parts, usability issues, and even spelling errors — in other words, whatever is broken (and will be quickly fixed). Sorry, but this is not the venue for “I do not like the color scheme.”

The web site for the Chicago Coin Club is sufficient for us, but it is very simple: no logins, everyone can see everything, and only the webmaster can add, remove, or change anything. The ANA website has logins, your login level controls what you can see and do, and there will be places for you to add content (and possibly specify what level is needed to view each piece of content). There will be blogs and forums — I have not used such things on other sites, so I am not aware of what might be possible with them — the ANA site should provide details on what you can do functionally and what tools (if any) you will need — I am looking for volunteers to try things within the stated scope — suggestions as to a larger scope are welcome, but realize that redesign is for a later date — and let us know of anything that does not work as stated.

Our club representative to ANA should be able to update our club’s info on the web site — can this be tested soon, with existing password, or will information have to be refreshed with ANA? There will be a page for identifying coin images submitted by visitors — do our experienced members have a coin that stumps them, or, even better, are they willing to identify images submitted by others? Only by trying all of the offered features can we determine what we can achieve now, and identify the limitations that keep us from what we would like to achieve.

Please email me if interested.

Our 1146th Meeting

Important Dates

Unless stated otherwise, our regular monthly CCC Meeting is in downtown Chicago on the second Wednesday of the month; the starting time is 6:45PM.

Chatter Matter

All correspondence pertaining to Club matters should be addressed to the Secretary and mailed to:

CHICAGO COIN CLUB
P.O. Box 2301
CHICAGO, IL 60690

http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

Club Officers

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