Chatter

Archive available at http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/
Volume 60 No. 9 September 2014

ANA Over — Prepare for Next August!

The 2014 convention is in the books. This issue covers a number of aspects of the 2014 show; after one final review meeting of the 2014 committee, the 2015 committee will start meeting — watch for announcements!

The members who entered a Collector Exhibit this year — Bruce Bartelt, Bill Burd, James Davis, Harold Eckardt, Bob Fritsch, Paul Hybert, Brett Irick, Scott McGowan, Jeff Rosinia, Danny Spungen, and Thomas Uram — ensured our allotted corner of the bourse was filled. We even had to drop an exhibit at the last moment, due to lack of space. Applications were arriving slowly at ANA, and we were worried about filling the space — but the last 60% of the space filled in the last four days!

Minutes of the 1148th Meeting

Session I of the 1148th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held August 9, 2014 in conjunction with the American Numismatic Association Convention, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL. President Elliott Krieter called the meeting to order at 1 PM with an attendance of 44 members and guests.

First V.P. Rich Lipman introduced the featured speaker, Bob Hurst from Florida, who spoke on Treasures from the 1715 Spanish Fleet. Following a question and answer period, Rich presented Bob with an ANA Educational Certificate and an engraved Club medal suspended from a neck ribbon. Bob departed early to make a 3 PM flight.

The applications for membership of Vincent Kurt Bellman, Francis Hawks, and John Thill received first reading.

Everyone in attendance received a souvenir educational sheet featuring an 1893 Columbian Exposition admission ticket with the American Indian vignette, written by member Melissa Gumm.

The meeting was recessed at 1:35 PM and will be re-convened Wednesday August 13th at the Club’s usual meeting site in Downtown Chicago.

.........

Session II of the 1148th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held August 13, 2014 in the Chicago Bar Association Building, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Downtown Chicago. President Elliott Krieter reconvened the meeting at 6:45 PM with an attendance of 20 members and 1 guest: Howard Kruse.

A motion was passed to accept the July Minutes as published in the Chatter. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky gave a detailed report for the month of July revenue of $1,651.00, expenses of $6,404.49, net income of $-4,753.49, total assets of $30,477.13 held in Life Membership $2,110.00 and member equity $28,367.13. After several questions, a motion was passed to accept his report.

The application for membership of Paul Keyser received a second reading and a motion was passed to accept him into the Club. The application of Deven Kane received first reading.

The ANA Louis S. Werner Host Club Award plaque was placed at the room entrance next to the sign-in book. A motion was unanimously passed endorsing the appointment by the ANA of Jeffrey Rosinia as Host Chairman of the 2015 ANA Convention. Archivist Bill Burd was presented with serial #1 of the copper 95th Anniversary Medal and serial #1 of the souvenir educational card featuring the 1893 Columbian Exposition admission ticket, with the American Indian vignette, which was given to everyone at the Club’s ANA meeting.

Reports from Committee Chairman on the recent ANA Convention included:

It was announced the members Eugene Freeman, Jay Galst (New York), and Dan Freeland (Michigan) received Numismatic Ambassador appointments by Krause Publications. Dave Harper announced with regret that this was the last year for appointments.

It was also announced that Jeff Rosinia received the Chicago Coin Club Medal of Merit at the 95th Anniversary Banquet.

Second V.P. Marc Stackler introduced the evening’s 11 exhibitors. MELISSA GUMM: U.S. Mint National Baseball Hall of Fame clad half dollars; SHARON BLOCKER: Error notes from Bolivia and Brazil; EUGENE FREEMAN: 1640 St. Stephen’s Island duit, and an error 1944 El Salvador 5 centavos; STEVE ZITOWSKY: 1956 British W. African Penny, copies of 1859 Russian ruble and 1893 El Salvadorian peso, and a copy and genuine 1891 tallero from Colonia Eritrea; JAMES DAVIS: 4 error coins found in circulation, and The Elongated Collectors 2014 issue from the ANA Convention; ROBERT LEONARD: coins of the Dark Ages from the Barbarian Kingdoms: Ostrogoths, Vandals, Visigoths, and Merovingians; RICHARD LIPMAN: silver certificates from 1886 and 1923; ADAM OLSZEWSKI: ancient Roman coinage of Commodus (180-192 AD); DEVEN KANE: coin from Kingdom of Ceylon (29 BC - 297 AD) and coin for Cardinal de Bourbon, as Charles X of France; MARK WIECLAW: elongated coin from ANA with “Kudos to the CCC,” T-shirt advertising to buy Kennedy Half Dollars, cast bronze coin from Olbia (3rd-1st century BC), replica gold Brasher doubloon, and tetradrachm from Elymais 82 BC; JEFF ROSINIA: exhibit medals and souvenirs from the ANA Convention.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf, Secretary

95th Anniversary Banquet

The Chicago Coin Club 95th Anniversary Banquet was held August 6, 2014 at the Rosewood Restaurant, 9421 W. Higgins Road, Rosemont, IL. Seventy-three people were in attendance, which included twenty or more members of the New York Numismatic Club (NYNC).

Near the end of the reception, U.S. Mint Deputy Director Richard A. Peterson was introduced and spoke about the three issues at the U.S. Mint: circulated coins, bullion, and numismatic issues. Following a question and answer period, Deputy Director Peterson and his aide departed to make another meeting.

President Elliott Krieter welcomed everyone to the Banquet and introduced the Club officers and the 95th Anniversary Committee. Richard Hamilton delivered the invocation.

Jeffrey Rosinia was presented with the Club’s Medal of Merit. His contributions included leadership on the 95th Anniversary Committee, various elected offices, Committee Chairman at four Club hosted ANA Conventions, and the Club’s go-to source for audio-visual needs. Emphasis was given to the impact Jeff made at his first Club meeting when he introduced document viewers and electronic projectors, forever changing the exhibits at Chicago Coin Club meetings.

Following dinner, Clifford Mishler delivered a talk on “The Importance of Coin Clubs to the Numismatic Hobby.” Cliff encouraged everyone to support their local, state, regional, and national organizations to keep the hobby healthy.

NYNC President Constantin Marinescu delivered a congratulatory address on the milestone occasion. NYNC V.P. and Club member Mark Anderson also congratulated the Club, and presented a birthday cake decorated with the Club logo. Mark then proceeded to sing the NY-restaurant-waiter-version of Happy Birthday, much to everyone’s enjoyment!

Carl F. Wolf, Secretary

Numismatic Ambassadors

The Numismatic Ambassadors announced by Krause Publications at the recent ANA convention include some members of our club. In case you did not see the press release, here are excerpts:

Dan and Kathy Freeland, Michigan
Joint awards are common for Dan and Kathy Freeland. In 2009 they received an ANA Presidential Award and in 2013 an ANA Glenn Smedley Award. Both are dedicated hobby volunteers, but each has special areas of interest. Kathy is publicity chair for Women in Numismatics, secretary of the Token and Medal Society, and past-president of Mich-TAMS and Flint’s Flying Eagle Coin Club. Dan is currently secretary-treasurer of the Paper Money Collectors of Michigan, and was a board member of the Michigan State Numismatic Society for 10 years. He is current vice president of the Flint club, and is current bourse chair for Mich-TAMS and is on its board.

Eugene Freeman, Illinois
After his experience as Scouting Committee Chair in 2011 for the ANA World’s Fair of Money, he designed a new program to boost lagging attendance. His new program, “Scouting at the ANA,” has a patch and separate segments for the 2013, 2014, and 2015 events. He obtained Boy Scout approval for the program, secured sponsors, and promoted it to 26 Boy Scout and Girl Scout Councils in Illinois and adjoining states. Attendance soared in 2013 and things look good for 2014. Eugene Freeman is also a speaker at schools as well as at the Chicago Coin Club. He has been a CCC board member for six years.

Jay M. Galst, New York
President of the New York Numismatic Club 1988-1989, Jay Galst has been on the NYNC board since 1991 and served as chairman since 2001. He chaired the organization’s centennial committee 2005-2008. He wrote Opthalmologia Optica Et Visio In Nummis, combining his profession and his hoppy. The book catalogs more than 1,700 numismatic objects. He is a speaker, exhibitor, and certified exhibit judge. He is numismatic curator for the Museum of Vision operated by the American Academy of Opthalmology in San Francisco. He is also a life member of ANA, life fellow of ANS, and is a fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society.

Thanks for a Good Job

Our secretary received this note following the convention.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and the Chicago Coin Club for participating in Treasure Trivia at the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money in Chicago. As I am sure that you are aware, our youth represent the future of numismatics. Your help ensures that our hobby will thrive in the coming years.

I hope that you will consider participating again at the next ANA venue that you plan to attend.

(PS — Please thank Melissa Gumm for me once again. Her help (and Kurt’s) with the Mint lines helped me feel a bit safer and helped keep me sane; here’s hoping we all don’t have to deal with anything even close to that at the next WFM in 2015!)

Sam Gelberd
Numismatic Instructor
American Numismatic Association

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our Aug 13, 2014 meeting,
reported by Marc Stackler

  1. Melissa Gumm showed the US Mint National Baseball Hall of Fame “Young Collectors” clad half dollar. The coin spins in its commemorative holder.
  2. Sharon Blocker brought 2 modern error notes graded at the ANA 2014 Convention:
    1. From Brazil, where there was a cutting error as well as an inverted serial number.
    2. Bolivia 50 Pesos with mismatched serial numbers.
  3. Eugene Freeman displayed 2 coins:
    1. Netherlands, St. Stephens Island, copper duit circa 1640. It was a recently acquired item that he was unable to identify, until a dealer at the recent ANA show attributed it.
    2. El Salvador 1944 5 centavos, minted in Philadelphia. The reverse die was grease-filled, and as a result the reverse center is missing virtually all detail.
  4. Steve Zitowsky presented 5 items:
    1. 1956-KN Penny, British West Africa, NGC MS64RB. It was donated to our Club auction by Richard East, who has been so generous with donations of coins in the past.
    2. 1859 Ruble (copy), Russia.
    3. 1893 Peso (copy), El Salvador.
    4. 1891 Tallero (5 Lire): a copy and a real one.
  5. Jim Davis displayed 5 items, the first four having been found in circulation:
    1. 1986-D Lincoln cent – obverse cud. A “cud” is when a piece of the die chipped off, and as a result there is no strike on that part of the planchet (i.e., unstruck metal blob where there ought to be design).
    2. 1989-P Washington quarter with a clipped planchet.
    3. 1995-P Washington quarter where the planchet was missing the reverse clad layer. The result is that the copper portion of the coin shows the perfectly-struck design. This is as opposed to if the clad fell off the coin after striking, which would have left a poorer strike on the copper portion.
    4. 1999-D Delaware Washington quarter, slightly off center.
    5. TEC 2014 Elongated cent from the ANA Show, rolled on an 1891 Indian cent. The year 1891 is when the ANA was founded.
  6. Bob Leonard gave an interesting presentation on barbarian coinage (Europe) after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Roman emperor Diocletian reformed coinage (ca. 301 AD) and suppressed the last local issues. From then until the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, a uniform coinage was used from the English Channel to Syria. But, the barbarian kingdoms that divided up the remnants of the Empire were unable to provide sufficient national coinage, and local coins reappeared in Europe and Africa. Six local coins of barbarian kingdoms of the Dark Ages (“Late Antiquity” is the politically-correct term for the Dark Ages):
    1. Ostrogoths
      1. Rome, 20 nummia, heavy series, 493-553 AD; 20 nummia, light series (but this coin is heavier than the “heavy series one!), 493-553.
      2. Ravenna, 10 nummia, circa 526-534.
    2. Vandals – Carthage, 4 nummia (1/1000 tremissis), circa 480-533.
    3. Visigoths – Spali (Seville), pentanummia (?), circa 650-680.
    4. Franks (Merovingians) – Provence, mint of Marseille, denier of Nemfidius (patrician of Provence), circa 700-710.
  7. Rich Lipman brought several pieces of currency:
    1. Two notes with the same serial number, $1 and $2 Federal Reserve notes. Rich let us know that the Bureau of Engraving & Printing (BEP) sells these souvenir sets for $20, and that some sellers remove the souvenir packaging and sell the notes as curiosities (for more than $20).
    2. “Martha” note: $1 silver certificate with the portrait of Martha Washington, 19th century.
    3. “Porthole” note: $5 silver certificate with the portrait of Abraham Lincoln within a circle that evokes a porthole.
  8. Adam Olszewski showed coins of the Roman emperor Commodus. Commodus was co-emperor 177 AD – 180 AD, and then emperor until Dec. 31, 192 AD. During his reign the denarius was slightly devalued (lower weight).
    1. Denarius: obv. Commodus, rev. Aequitas (justice) holding scales.
    2. Sestertius: obv. Commodus, rev. Minerva holding a javelin and shield.
  9. Deven Kane showed 2 coins demonstrating the diversity of collecting interests.
    1. Kingdom of Ceylon, 29 BC – 297 AD, bronze 14g. coin. It is an unusual type that Deven has not seen before, with many design features from contemporary Indian coins — particularly those from Central India like Ujjain and Eran. Among its design elements: tree in railing, elephant, a horizontal Indra-dhvaja (triangular headed standard), and a 3-arched hill.
    2. Silver coin ca. 1590 struck for Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon, as Charles X of France. This was during the religious wars between Catholics and Huguenots. Charles’s nephew became Henri IV. He converted to Catholicism and issued the Edict of Nantes, granting toleration to Protestants and ending the religious wars. These coins were issued by the Catholic League which proclaimed Charles as the rightful King of France (even though he was locked up and later recognized Henri as King).
  10. Mark Wieclaw brought 6 items:
    1. 2014 Elongated cent and commemoration of the ANA show, with “kudos” to the Chicago Coin Club.
    2. T-shirt from Minshull Trading, advertising to buy Kennedy gold half-dollars.
    3. Large bronze cast (70 mm) from Olbia (northern Black Sea), 3rd – 1st century BC. Its design featured a gorgon with is tongue sticking out (obverse), and an eagle with a porpoise in its talons (reverse).
    4. Tetradrachm from Elymais (Persian), 82 BC, with the portraits of the king and queen in spectacular, sharp detail.
    5. Gold Brasher Doubloon restrike / commemorative from the ANA 2014 convention.
    6. Copper medal process set, the 95th CCC Anniversary medal.
  11. Jeff Rosinia brought medals:
    1. World Columbian Exhibition commemorative medal for the 2014 ANA convention.
    2. Exhibitor medals in copper, silver, and gold.
    3. An article about how the first 4 people in line for the Kennedy gold in Chicago each earned about $6000 in recompense for selling the first 4 golds to a dealer. The coins were resold a few times: for coin #1 the initial $1240 investment eventually netted $100,000.
    4. Jeff also brought a set of vintage souvenir cards with Chicago scenes, probably 1920s era.

Our 1149th Meeting

Date:September 10, 2014
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 $33 is reduced to $9 if you eat at the Plymouth Restaurant, 327 S. Plymouth Court (next to our meeting site at the CBA) — show the restaurant your parking ticket, and ask 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 Berghoff Restaurant, located on Adams, just west of State. Members start arriving at 5pm.
Featured speaker:Dr. Lawrence J. Lee — Archaeologically Recovered Coins from Fort Atkinson (1819-1827)

Fort Atkinson was the first U.S. government military post west of the Missouri River in what is now Nebraska. For a brief period it was the largest military post in America and an important “beacon of civilization” helping to open the Great American Desert. With a more rapid expansion westward than anticipated, the U.S. government was forced to reorganize their resources and Fort Atkinson was abandoned in 1827. Many years later, and after ten seasons of excavation, over a hundred coins and coin bits were recovered from the site. Dr. Lee’s numismatic study of these coins provides an insight into life on the Western Frontier. Be sure to attend this meeting and see numismatic artifacts that tell the story of how 1,000+ Easterners created an interconnected economy of fur trade and barter using coins from other countries, U.S. coins shipped direct from the Philadelphia Mint, and even a number of chopped U.S. coins apparently made under government sanction.

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.

September 10 CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - Dr. Lawrence J. Lee on Archaeologically Recovered Coins from Fort Atkinson (1819-1827)
September 11-13 ILNA convention at the Holiday Inn-Tinley Park Convention Center, 18451 Convention Center Road, Tinley Park, IL 60477. Details, including a schedule of groups and speakers, will be available at http://www.ilnaclub.info
October 8 CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - to be announced
October 26 Elgin Coin Club Show, on Sunday. Open to the public from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm. New location Moose Lodge #799, 925 South McLean Blvd., Elgin, IL 60123. Don Cerny is the Show Chairman, 847-888-1449.
November 12 CCC Meeting - Club Auction - no featured speaker
November 21-23 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
November 22 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 - to be announced

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

Elliott Krieter- President
Richard Lipman- First Vice President
Marc Stackler- Second Vice President
William Burd- Archivist
Directors:Steve Ambos
Robert Feiler
Dale Lukanich
Mark Wieclaw
Other positions held are:
Jeffrey Rosinia- Immediate Past President
Carl Wolf- Secretary
Steve Zitowsky- Treasurer
Paul Hybert- Chatter Editor
Robert Feiler- ANA Club Representative

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