Chatter

5 Months until ANA in Chicago

Are you ready to exhibit? If you have questions, ask Carl or other club members at our club table during the upcoming shows. The ANA web site now has the application and rules for exhibiting at the 2014 convention; just follow links on page http://www.worldsfairofmoney.com/collector-exhibits.aspx That page also links to essays on building an exhibit. A good exhibit tells a story, and we all have some stories that we share with fellow collectors; use the Exhibit Area to tell your story for the entire convention! Each exhibitor can enter up to four exhibits — refer to the Rules for that and other details. One of the 20 classes for exhibiting is the Convention Theme, which is Countries and Currency for 2014. I am sure a wide range of items could be presented under that theme, so get busy!

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 1142nd Meeting

The 1142nd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held February 12, 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 24 members and 3 guests: Lu Anne Freeman, William Rumph, and Richard Burdick.

A motion was passed to accept the January Minutes as published in the Chatter. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky reported January revenue of $880.00, expenses of $471.32, a transfer of money into checking from the Life Membership account, and total assets of $23,278,02 held in Life Membership $2,110.00 and member equity $21,168.02.

The application of membership of William Rumph received first reading.

Jeff Rosinia reported the educational souvenir card for the upcoming Chicago Paper Money Expo is the Illinois Michigan Canal Scrip issued in 1839 by the Branch State Bank at Chicago. Roger Urce, New York, will speak on Culion Leper Colony Currencies. It was announced that Carl Wolf was appointed President of the International Primitive Money Society and their official mailing address will be 1055 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., #F-335, Chicago, IL 60660.

First VP Rich Lipman introduced featured speaker Eugene Freeman who delivered a program on Love Tokens: Their History and Collectability. Rich Lipman presented Eugene with an ANA Educational Certificate and an engraved Club speaker’s medal suspended from a neck ribbon. It was announced that an email was sent to the Love Token Society inviting their members to attend. Richard Burdick accepted the invitation and traveled from Michigan at attend. Richard spoke for about 10 minutes and showed a number of unique love tokens from his collection. He promised to stay behind after the meeting adjourned and show even more pieces from his collection.

Second VP Marc Stackler announced the evening’s ten exhibitors. JOHN R. CONNOLLY: 4 challenge coins with one showing an inverted flag of Poland. RICH LIPMAN: 6 large size silver certificates showing evolution of design, unusual serial numbers on $2 bills, and a demonstration on “breaking a strap” of new bills from the BEP. EUGENE FREEMAN: love tokens on U.S. coinage & a W.W.I identity token made on a 2 franc coin. JAMES McMENAMIN: Italian 1958 500 lire, and 1797 two penny, two ounce copper “Cartwheel” from Great Britain. ROBERT WALLACE: photos of tetradrachms demonstrating headwear that is misidentified in many current auction catalogs. WILLIAM BURD: 23 gold love tokens, 9 love tokens on a watch fob, love token on a silver 2 peso from Guatemala, and a medal honoring Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison who was assassinated 2 days before the close of the Columbian Exposition. WILLIAM RUMPH: medals commemorating dog shows in Hungary and Italy. CARL WOLF: book Pigs for the Ancestors, by Roy A. Rappaport, boar tusk used as money in New Guinea, and a special holder ideal for holding primitive money. ROBERT LEONARD: a billon aspron trachy of Isaac Comnenos of Cyrus, 1184-1191 & three references. STEVE ZITOWSKY: 8 love tokens

Adjournment was at 8:48 PM with the next meeting at 1 PM, Saturday, March 8, 2014 at the Chicago Paper Money Expo, Crowne Plaza O’Hare, 5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL. The featured speaker to be Roger Urce, New York, Culion Leper Colony Currencies.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
Love Tokens: Their History and Collectability

by Eugene Freeman,
presented to our February 12, 2014 meeting

When Lu Anne and I got married, she soon figured out that her husband was going to go to every coin show, flea market, and garage sale that he found, and she decided that she should have her own coin related collection. She collected small gold coins for a while, then U.S. early commemorative coins, and then she discovered love tokens.

A love token is a coin or medal that has been engraved to be given to a loved one. Usually an entire side (or both sides) of the coin has been smoothed to give the engraver a larger area to work. The engraving can be crude pin pricks or gracefully curved, and may consist solely of initials or of scenes. Some of them have been cutout, and some even have stones mounted into them.

The Love Token Society is an association for collectors of love tokens. The organization holds an annual meeting in January at the FUN Show in Florida. They also produce a newsletter bi-monthly that has articles about love tokens and provides members a vehicle to buy and sell love tokens. Lu Anne was a member for several years, and we acquired several of her tokens from the newsletter.

In 1999, the company I worked for opened a sales office in London, so I spent six weeks in London over an 18 month period. On one of these trips, I took a long lunch and visited the British Museum. On display was a collection of “Transportation Tokens” which I saw, and purchased the related book.

Between 1788 and 1868, if a Briton was convicted of a crime, they might be condemned to be transported to the penal colonies in Australia for a stated number of years (usually 7 or 14). At first, only convicts under sentence of death had this option; later, as the numbers being transported did not fill the ships, convicts with lesser crimes also could be transported. One lady was transported for having stolen two scarves! A total of over 160,000 men, women, and children were transported during this period.

Between the dates of their trials, and the dates of their sentencing and transportation, the prisoners had lots of time on their hands. Many of them made or paid for tokens for their loved ones. Most of these were on British cartwheel pennies, which were of soft copper, and about 36mm in diameter, so the maker had a large “canvas” which was easy to engrave. For many, the inscriptions are pin pricks into the coin, but others are more graceful — depending upon the skill of the engraver, and the tools available to them.

The majority of the tokens were prepared for wives or girlfriends, although some were given to aunts or other family members. One chap had seven prepared for his girlfriends, and presented four on one day and three on the next!

These are the most detailed of love tokens, since they often list names, dates, crimes, and sentences of prisoners, and many of them can be traced to records of the British courts. These are also among the most expensive of love tokens. In 1990, one transportation token brought 800 British pounds at auction (over $1,300 at today’s exchange rates)!

Different sources indicate different origins for love tokens. The collector of the transportation tokens had worked for A. H. Baldwin & Sons — a very old coin and medals dealer in London — so I would accept his statement that love tokens began in the mid 1700s, as gifts from sailors to their ladies around the world. He also indicated that the sailors’ gifts were usually on silver coins, and this was one way to separate sailors’ gifts from transportation tokens of the same era. (This may also explain why love tokens in English are found on a variety of world coins, regardless of the language of that country.)

In the United States, love tokens seem to have exploded to fad status around 1850, and continued until laws against defacing coins were passed in 1909. (Could this have coincided with the vast migration of men to the West in the California Gold Rush?) Single tokens are often found, but there are also bracelets, necklaces, watch fobs, broaches, and pins that have been made from love tokens in various numbers. We once acquired a love token bracelet that contained 22 love tokens — all on U. S. dimes from 1872 to 1892. We wondered if this was a grandmother’s collection of her grandchildren, since the last initials were not all the same.

Love tokens can be found on the coins of many countries of the world, but the vast majority I have encountered are on coins of the U.S., Canada, or Great Britain. U.S. coin love tokens are on a large variety of types, but the Liberty Seated dime appears to be the favorite host. Dr. Sol Taylor made a survey of the collections of the Love Token Society members in 1988. Of the 5,735 love tokens owned by the members who responded to the survey, 5,247 were on U.S. or Canadian coins. Of the U.S. coins, 2,952 were on Liberty Seated dimes, 270 were on Liberty Seated half dimes, 177 were on Barber dimes, and 128 were on Indian cents. No other host had more than 77 examples in the survey.

At the time that they were made, love tokens on U.S. dimes were not insignificant gifts. Compare this to the cost of newly settled land at one dollar per acre, or to the combat pay of about 60 cents per day during the Civil War, and you get more of the relative value of a dime. Consider that a gold dollar or silver dollar had ten times the purchasing power of the dime, and you understand why so few love tokens are dollars.

Although love token interest waned in the years after the law was passed in 1909, there was a boost in the production of love tokens on foreign coins — particularly on Australian coins — by/for U. S. troops serving overseas. In the 1980s, along with the boost in interest in hobo nickels, the love tokens have become much more popular, and prices have increased significantly. Coins that sold for $3 to $6 each in the 1970s are now priced more in the $20 to $30 range, and higher. Coins with intricate designs, or with landscapes, have greater demand.

The Love Token Society was formed in 1971. Their website has a wealth of information about love tokens, and displays examples of many different ones. There is one very large collection of World War II love tokens on the website.

Members can report their special love tokens to the LTS, and they are assembling an online U.S. type set, based upon the host coins. The set displayed ranges from a half cent to 20 dollar gold pieces, and includes some territorial gold coins.

How do people collect love tokens? There are no rules; you set your own. Many people start by collecting coins with the initials of their loved ones (which can be quite challenging!), or collecting initials at random. Others specialize in the pictorial/scenes on the coins. I have tried to find love tokens on as many different countries as possible. You could also form your own U.S. type set.

Love tokens are definitely a case of “history in your hands” at a very personal level.

Bibliography

• Michele Field and Timothy Millett, Convict Love Tokens (Wakefield Press, 1998)
• Website of the Love Token Society (www.lovetokensociety.com). Materials used by permission.
• Dr. Sol Taylor, How Many Love Tokens Are There (Making Cents, December 2007)

Current Advertisers

Show and Tell

Items shown at our February 12, 2014 meeting,
reported by Marc Stackler

1. John Connolly presented commemorative medals:
   1. Two 9-11 tenth anniversary medals.
   2. Two “Operation Iraqi Freedom” medal, with the flags of participating countries. The flag of Poland was inverted on one of the two.
2. Rich Lipman showed several bank notes.
   1. Design changes on late 19th century/early 20th century US silver certificates.
   2. Unusual serial numbers on Series 2009 $2 bills.
   3. A demonstration of “breaking the strap” using a stack of 100 $2 bills from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). Sometimes the bills, fresh from the presses, will stick together in a stack (also known as a strap); a bank teller will quickly bend a new stack by about 90 degrees to separate the bills. The bills make a distinct sound when they separate.
3. Eugene Freeman displayed some love tokens, related to the featured presentation of the evening. Items (b) and (c) can be seen on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com\chicagocoinclub. There is a photo album Love Tokens of several love tokens shown during the course of the meeting.
   1. Love token engraved on an 1865 Seated Liberty Half Dollar, with its intact pin (to pin to a blouse, e.g.).
   2. An 1852 California Indian Head Gold Token. The previous owner marked “Fake“ on the California on the holder, but was incorrect. As much as it looks fake, it is not. It is genuine: one of the later issues, made by jewelers as souvenirs. It is a denominated coin, not one of the more recent California Gold tokens that have no gold in them.
   3. A World War I identification disk engraved on a French 2 franc coin.
4. Jim McMenamin showed these 2 items:
   1. 1958 500 Lire (Italy), silver. It has the 20 coats of arms of the Italian regions, and its date is on the edge/rim.
   2. 1797 2 Penny “cartwheel,” 2 oz copper from Great Britain. (A very hefty coin.)
5. Bob Wallace displayed photos of several tetradrachms to demonstrate various hats worn by Macedonians (circa Philip II and Alexander the Great) and how the hats are haphazardly referenced in auction catalogs. The hats ultimate came down to 3 styles, and were adopted by the Greeks from areas that they conquered in present-day Afghanistan and India.
6. Bill Burd had several tokens to show.
   1. 23 different gold love tokens, the host coins being anywhere from California fractional 25 cents to $3 gold. Also two silver dollars and a fifty cent piece.
   2. A bracelet with 9 dime-size love tokens, including coins from the US, Canada and Great Britain.
   3. A love token carved on a silver 2 Peso from Guatemala which he presented to Lu Anne Freeman for her collection of world love tokens.
   4. A medal for the memorial to Carter Harrison. Carter Henry Harrison, Sr. at the age of 68 was assassinated on October 28, 1893, 2 days before the close of the Columbian Exposition. The assassin was Eugene Prendergast. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. His brother appealed the sentence on grounds of insanity. The attorney for the appeal was Clarence Darrow — his first murder trial, and the only one he lost resulting in an execution. To honor Harrison’s memory, a memorial association was formed in 1897 and began raising money for a monument. For a $1.00 contribution the donor received a medal (the one shown tonight) and a certificate attesting to their participation. The medal is listed in Hibler & Kappen’s So-Called Dollars book as HK-765. Chicago Sculptor Fredrick C. Hibbard, a student and later assistant of sculptor Lorado Taft, was commissioned to produce the statue which was completed and installed in 1907. Today it stands at Union Park in Chicago. Bill brought 20 medals with him and at the end of the presentation gave one to each member present.
7. William Rumph was a guest at this evening’s meeting. He showed 2 medals of dog shows.
   1. (Italy) National Dog Show
   2. (Hungary) Kennel Show, from the early 1930s.
8. Carl Wolf delivered a short and entertaining talk about boar tusks as primitive money.
   1. He showed an actual boar tusk, from New Guinea, and a book, Pigs for the Ancestors, by Roy A. Rappaport. Boar tusks continue to be used as money in New Guinea even today, with an estimated value of about $7. Both the tusk and the book are posted on our Facebook page www.facebook.com\chicagocoinclub (see the photo album CCC Meetings and Events.)
   2. Carl also showed a special holder, ideal for primitive money items.
9. Bob Leonard showed a billon aspron trachy of Isaac Comnenus of Cyprus, 1184-1191 (Byzantine). The cup-shaped coin is about the size of a half dollar and is weakly struck, as most are.
   1. Isaac of Cyprus obtained the governorship of Cyprus through deceit, and then revolted against the Byzantine emperor Andronicus I. He was reviled by Greek historian Nicetas Choniates as a cruel and vicious ruler, and was ousted by Richard the Lionhearted in 1191 while the latter was on his way to the Third Crusade. Isaac died in exile in Armenia, but his young daughter, the “Damsel of Cyprus,” joined the court of Richard after her father was deposed. She later married Raymond VI of Toulouse and then Thierry of Flanders. She died without issue after 1207.
10. Steve Zitowsky showed 8 love tokens related to the evening’s featured presentation. They included:
    1. A “hobo” South African Republic shilling.
    2. An enameled 1908 Indian Head cent.
    3. A British half-penny with a 1758 dedication.
    4. A French 2 franc engraved with Le Havre, a masonic symbol, and Dec.25.1918.
    5. A coin with a tooth design inside a masonic keystone.

Minutes of the 2014 Chicago ANA Convention Committee

February 19, 2014

The fourth meeting of the 2014 Chicago ANA Convention Committee was called to order at 6:00 PM by Host Chairman William Burd on Wednesday, February 19, 2014 in the offices of Harlan J. Berk Ltd., 77 W. Washington, Downtown Chicago. The following members were present: Steve Zitowsky, Eugene Freeman, Mark Wieclaw, Elliott Krieter, Rich Lipman, Paul Hybert, Jeff Rosinia, Marc Stackler, and Carl Wolf.

1. William Burd thanked everyone for attending and everyone gave a round of applause to Harlan Berk for hosting the dinner.
2. Committee Reports
   1. Pages — Rich Lipman/Elliott Kreiter
      1. No report to deliver
   2. Scouts — Eugene Freeman
      1. Reached Rod Gillis at the ANA who agreed to have sign-in at 8 AM and the Merit Badge Clinic start at 9 AM and be over by 11:00 AM in time for Scouts to enjoy the Bourse Floor.
      2. Not planning to order more activity patches.
   3. Ambassadors — Carl Wolf
      1. Reported that past volunteers were so eager to enlist for the 2014 event, they are filling out 2013 enrollment sheets.
      2. Will have enrollment sheets for volunteers within a week.
      3. Will email the sheet in different formats to past volunteers, and have them available for the Feb 28 – Mar 1 coin show in Tinley Park.
      4. Will invite past floor captains to attend future committee meetings.
   4. Money Talks — Mark Wieclaw
      1. Some members are having trouble finding, on the ANA web site, the application to make proposals for Money Talks.
   5. Collector Exhibits — Paul Hybert
      1. The Convention Theme is “Countries and Currency.” This is exhibit category #19.
      2. In an effort to recruit Young Numismatist exhibitors
         1. Bill Burd spoke of how the Illinois Numismatic Association is reviewing their YN list and discussing how to interest them in exhibiting.
         2. Eugene Freeman offered to include a pitch for YN exhibitors when mailing to Scouts.
         3. Rich Lipman suggested the future ANA conventions consider a separate exhibit category for a Scout Troop to build one exhibit.
3. Speaker Medals — Carl Wolf
   1. Ready to place the order for copper Standing Lincoln Medals with black neck ribbon.
   2. Waiting to receive quantities from:
      1. Susan McMillan on number of Money Talks time slots, then add for more since some programs have multiple speakers to receive a medal.
      2. William Burd on number of committee members.
4. Other Topics
   1. Carl Wolf — suggested the Club buy 2 or more banquet tables, then resell tickets to membership and guests. Everyone agreed and Bill Burd agreed to speak to Rhonda on this and discuss how to handle discount tickets for exhibitors and Committee Chairman.
   2. Carl Wolf — asked for guidance on how to handle requests from other clubs to use the Club’s digital projector. After a discussion the following was decided:
      1. Charge $20.00
      2. Ask for and hold a photo ID/driver’s license.
      3. A member will be charged with making reservations to eliminate a conflict of schedules.
   3. Rich Lipman — asked for signage with Federal Express hours. The page booth is near the Federal Express station and dealers are constantly asking the Page Co-Chairman for information.
5. Hotel Lodging — Bill Burd
   1. Lead a discussion on which nights most Chairman would need. Most thought it would be Monday thru Friday.
   2. Took a quick poll on the committee in attendance as some live near the center.
6. Budget — Bill Burd
   1. The ANA has set aside a $6,000 budget for the local committee.
   2. The ANA will make hotel reservations for committee at the ANA Staff discount rate, then deduct that amount from the budget.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:08 PM with the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 19, 2014, in the offices of Harlan J. Berk, Ltd., 77 W. Washington, Suite 1320, Downtown Chicago.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary
Chicago Coin Club

Our 1143rd 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

Contacting Your Editor / Chatter Delivery Option

chatter_editor@yahoo.com

The print version of the Chatter is simply a printout of the Chatter web page, with a little cutting and pasting to fill out each print page. The web page is available before the Chatter is mailed.
If you would like to receive an email link to the latest issue instead of a mailed print copy send an email to chatter_editor@yahoo.com. You can resume receiving a mailed print copy at any time, just by sending another email.