| Volume 61 No. 12 | December 2015 |
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Check the outside of your printed Chatter. A slip of yellow paper stapled outside the cover indicates that, according to our records, you have not paid your dues for 2016. Please mail them to the address on that slip, or bring them to our next meeting. For members who are notified by email when a new Chatter issue is available, the email stated if you have not paid your dues for 2016.
Session I of the 1163rd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held November 11, 2015 in the Chicago Bar Association Building, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Downtown Chicago. Frist VP Richard Lipman called the meeting to order at 6:45 PM with an attendance of 27 members and 2 guests, Chris Pineda and Peter Perez.
A motion was passed to accept the October Minutes as published in the Chatter. Treasurer Steve Zitowsky gave a detailed report of October revenue $53.68, expenses $110.00, net income -$56.32, total assets $26,838.10 held in Life Membership $2,490.00 and member equity $24,348.10. A motion was passed to accept the report.
As it was Veteran’s Day, members who served in the U.S. Armed Forces were asked to stand and the membership gave them a warm round of applause in gratitude for their service. It was announced that President Elliott Krieter and Immediate Past President Jeff Rosinia, who were unable to be at the meeting, also are veterans. Later in the meeting it was announced that Canada recently issued a coin honoring Remembrance Day.
The December 9 Annual Banquet will be held at Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 W. North Avenue, Chicago. Reservations are required at $55 per person. The program will be given by Mark Wieclaw and Jeff Amelse on Porcelain Coins and Medals of Germany. Mark announced that everyone in attendance will receive a porcelain piece compliments of Harlan J. Berk Ltd.
It was announced that Richard Hall submitted his 2015-16 dues, and a motion was passed reinstating him into the Club. An announcement was made that the ANA offered the Club 12 complimentary Gold one-year memberships in the ANA. This includes the electronic edition of The Numismatist. Only 4 remain. See or write the Secretary at carlwolfco@msn.com.
The Club will also hold a meeting at the upcoming PCDA National Coin & Currency Convention, Nov 19-21. The Club meeting will be 1 PM, Saturday Nov 21, and the speaker will be Ray Lockwood on History and Development of Polymer Banknotes.
Members were encouraged to make reservations to attend the November 22 Numismatic Educational Symposium, which the Chicago Coin Club is co-sponsoring with the Central States Numismatic Society and the Professional Currency Dealers Association. Several members, including Mark Wieclaw, Dale Lukanich, and Bob Feiler, spoke in support of the event.
Richard Lipman presented Mark Wieclaw (a collector of Russian beard tokens) with a Minnesota lottery ticket called “bearded bucks” showing an image of a bearded Russian peasant(?).
The program for the evening was the annual auction.
The meeting was recessed at 8:04 PM, and will be called to order at 1 PM, November 21 at the PCDA National Coin and Currency Convention.
Session II of the 1163rd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was held Saturday, November 21, 2015 in conjunction with the National Coin & Currency Convention, Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018. First VP Richard Lipman called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM. Due to the inclement weather, only 13 members and 2 guests, Ray Lockwood and Louise Boling, were in attendance.
A motion was passed to adopt an abbreviated agenda.
The membership application of Ray Lockwood received a first reading.
It was announced there would be a Numismatic Educational Symposium the next day and in the same room. The event includes four speakers and is co-sponsored by the Chicago Coin Club, Central States Numismatic Society, and the Professional Currency Dealers Association.
Rich Lipman introduced featured speaker Ray Lockwood who spoke on The History and Development of Polymer Banknotes. Following a question and answer period, Ray was presented with an ANA Educational Certificate and an engraved Club medal.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:12 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf,
Secretary
These are the realized prices for the lots listed in the November Chatter.
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a presentation by Ray Lockwood,
to our November 21, 2015 meeting
Ray started by asking us, “What is Tyvek?” It is a trademark of DuPont, for a type of flexible plastic sheeting. The most common use is as a house wrap, and Ray passed around a large square of it so we could feel it and examine it.
Three countries tried using money printed on Tyvek in the early 1980s. A joint venture between DuPont and the American Banknote Company produced a series for Haiti. The denominations were 1, 2, 50, 100, 250, and 500 gourdes; we saw a 50 gourdes note. The series was not in use for very long — the ink did not adhere well (due to the hunid climate?), so there was smearing. They soon tried it in Costa Rica on the 20 colones note, but the note was pulled after awhile. Bradbury produced a one pound note for the Isle of Man using Bradvek, a material that was equivalent to Tyvek but under a different name, but no other denominations were produced. And so ended the history of Tyvek in money. Examples of the above notes are highly collectible now.
By the mid 1980s, Australia had a problem with counterfeits of its notes — especially of the $10. Australian organizations worked together, and produced the first true polymer notes in 1988. As the main motivation was to prevent counterfeiting, these notes are loaded with anti-counterfeiting devices. The most common measure is a transparent area, known as a window, in the note — if you cannot see through the window, do not accept the note! Unlike Tyvek which is fibrous, Australia developed their own polymer film which, unlike Tyvek, is non-fibrous; their film, available under the trade name Guardian, is available to other countries that produce their own banknotes. Also, notes for a number of countries are produced in Australia.
Ray provided us with two handouts: one provides a brief overview and history of the world’s polymer experience, while the other is a list of countries that have issued at least one polymer note and gives the year of first issuance — it also notes which countries now issue only polymer notes, and which have issued hybrid notes (combining paper and polymer parts).
Canada has recently converted all of their notes to polymer. They are in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars. They cannot be torn, they are difficult to fold, but they can shrink and melt. The new notes have a different feel than paper notes — some people like the feel, while others do not. Some people who handle much money every day find that the notes can stick together.
Ray showed us many notes from around the world while pointing out some interesting aspects, telling us which designs he likes, and which he thinks are great! Not all countries that tried a polymer note converted to only polymer — in addition to Australia and Canada, the countries that now issue only polymer notes are Brunei, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Vietnam, and Zambia. Some have gone back to all paper, and some issue only commemorative notes in polymer.
Polymer notes can still use such traditional security measures as intaglio printing, watermarks, and microprinting. They also can use such recent developments as optically variable inks that shift color when viewed at different angles. The window of a polymer note usually contains an optically variable device — maybe a hologram, maybe something else.
Not sure if these were security devices or just doing things differently, but some notes with two serial numbers have one arranged horizontally and one vertically; some notes rendered the digits of the serial number in larger-sized fonts. Some notes from Nicaragua have the designs oriented vertically, as did a 20 shekel note from Israel, issued to see if the public would accept polymer notes.
The audience remained engaged throughout the presentation, contributing observations on the notes, denominations, and designs. Did you know that Vietnam’s 100,000 dong note is heavily counterfeited (in its neighbor to the north, being lithographed instead of engraved)? Or that notes from Scottish banks are not always eagerly accepted in English pubs?
Ray concluded with some references about collecting polymer notes. The second edition of Polymer Bank Notes of the World by Stane Straus was printed in 2014, and it has nice color photography. The web site www.polymernotes.org is a free online reference with much information.
| CSNS Convention | Chicago Coin Company |
| PCDA Convention | Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. |
| Date: | December 9, 2015 |
| Time: | 6PM to 6:45PM Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres
6:45PM to 7PM Plated Salad Course 7PM to 9PM+ Dinner and Meeting |
| Location: | Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 312-654-2560. Ample free parking is available in their parking lot. If public transportation is taken, it’s just east of the North Avenue subway stop on the CTA Red Line. |
| Menu: |
• We will start with a Caesar Salad tossed with Crispy Croutons served with Caesar Dressing,
and continue with:
Oven Roasted Rosemary Chicken,
Cheese Stuffed Mushroom Ravioli smothered with Marcello’s Signature Marinara Sauce,
Crispy Broasted Potato Wedges,
and Grilled Asparagus Spears brushed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Fresh Herbs.
Dessert will be assorted Mini Pastries including Chocolate Mousse,
Strawberry Cheesecake, and Carrot and Lemon Chiffon.
• The cost is $55.00 per person and reservations are required. Make your check payable to Chicago Coin Club, P.O. Box 2301, Chicago, IL 60690. If time is short, e-mail your reservation to carlwolfco@msn.com, or call 773-878-8979 during workdays and make arrangements to pay at the door. • Please make reservations as early as you can so we can plan for an appropriate room size. |
| Program: | Mark Wieclaw and Jeff Amelse on Porcelain Coins and Medals of Germany
Everyone in attendance will receive a porcelain piece compliments of Harlan J. Berk Ltd. |
| Agenda: | Award Presentations |
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.
| December | 9 | CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet at Marcello’s Restaurant - Featured Speakers - Mark Wieclaw and Jeff Amelse on Porcelain Coins and Medals of Germany |
| January | 13 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker to be announced |
| February | 10 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker to be announced |
http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/
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
| Elected positions (two-year terms): | |
| Elliott Krieter | - President |
| Richard Lipman | - First Vice President |
| Marc Stackler | - Second Vice President |
| William Burd | - Archivist |
| Directors: | Steve Ambos
Dale Lukanich Mark Wieclaw |
| Appointed positions: | |
| Jeffrey Rosinia | - Immediate Past President |
| Carl Wolf | - Secretary |
| Steve Zitowsky | - Treasurer |
| Paul Hybert | - Chatter Editor, webmaster |
| Robert Feiler | - ANA Club Representative |
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