| Volume 61 No. 1 | January 2015 |
|---|
The 1152nd meeting and Annual Banquet of the Chicago Coin Club was held December 10, 2014 at the Rosewood Restaurant, 9421 W. Higgins Road, Rosemont, IL with 28 members and 8 guests present. The meeting was called to order at 7:10 PM. A motion was passed to adopt an abbreviated agenda.
Richard Hamilton delivered the invocation. The membership applications of Loren R. Miller, III, Larry Dora, and Jeffrey Dohm received second reading and a motion was passed to accept them into the Club.
Jeffrey Rosinia, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, announced the slate of officers nominated for 2015-2016. President: Elliott Krieter; First Vice President: Richard Lipman; Second Vice President: Marc Stackler; Director: Steve Ambos, Eugene Freeman, Dale Lukanich, and Mark Wieclaw; appointed positions include Immediate Past President: Jeffrey Rosinia; Secretary: Carl Wolf; Treasurer: Steve Zitowsky; and Editor: Paul Hybert. A motion was unanimously passed to elect the nominated slate. Past President Robert Leonard swore in the new officers. All were present except: Richard Lipman, Steve Zitowsky, and Paul Hybert.
President Krieter read an email from fellow CCC member and President of the New York Numismatic Club, Mark Anderson. Mark expressed warm regards to CCC members and extended an invitation to attend the NYNC traditional social meeting and dinner held in conjunction with the upcoming 43rd New York International Numismatic Convention, January 8-11, 2015.
Second V.P. Marc Stackler gave a brief history of the Cabeen Exhibit Award and presented engraved medals with neck ribbons to the 2014 recipients: First Place Gold: William Burd; Second Place Silver: Mark Wieclaw; Bronze Honorable Mention: Eugene Freeman, Richard Lipman (not present), Dale Lukanich, James McMenamin, and Steve Zitowsky (not present). Marc then called upon Mark Wieclaw, Jeffrey Amelse, Dale Lukanich, and Eugene Freeman who repeated some of the highest scoring 2014 exhibits.
Mark Wieclaw was given a round of applause for his work as Banquet Chairman. Also recognized were members who made donations for hors d’oeuvres. They included: Mark Wieclaw, William Burd, Elliott Krieter, Sharon & Kevin Blocker, Jeffrey Rosinia, Steve Zitowsky, Robert Feiler, and Carl Wolf.
Kathy Rosinia’s birthday was recognized and Mary Claire Jakes won the raffle of a 2014 Silver Eagle.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 PM which was followed by a serenade of Christmas music by Jeff Rosinia.
Respectfully Submitted,
Carl Wolf,
Secretary
a presentation by Doug Davis,
to our November 22, 2014 meeting
In 1987, Doug started the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC) as an aid in solving crimes involving numismatic material. His motivation was a 1986 coin show where about a quarter of a million dollars worth of coins and currency had been stolen, a case that required two years to solve. The center, now on the web at www.NumismaticCrimes.org, offers resources to dealers, collectors, and law enforcement.
Around the country, local law enforcement officers are not aware of how large the numismatic industry is, or how the numismatic criminal element works. On the other hand, collectors and dealers can develop tunnel vision, so focused on the numismatic material that we ignore security issues. Through its emailed newsletter and other resources, the NCIC shows law enforcement what to expect from the criminals after the crime, while encouraging collectors and dealers to become more aware of the wider world.
The criminals, even if organized, are not master criminals — there can be links between the victim and suspects waiting for investigators to uncover, and there are only a few types of places for the criminals to sell the stolen material. Information, knowing what to look for, is the key to solving a crime. A criminal act is seldom spontaneous — some amount of profiling and observation usually precedes it. The target is considered an inconvenient obstacle by a thief.
By adjusting our behavior, we can make ourselves appear as a larger and more formidable obstacle to a thief who is looking for a weak and complacent target. We need a tactical mindset — be aware of what happens around us — prepare for the worst and know how to react. Consider the act of travelling to and from meetings and shows. When you drive into a parking area, look around before you leave the car. Remember to look around again after you leave the car. And do not take your eyes off of your bags and cases. Finally, extend your awareness to all aspects of your day, while still enjoying the hobby.
To be successful in your job, it helps to be confident and appear to belong — this is true even for criminals. Doug told us of a recent show in Sarasota where four individuals cased the bourse using phones; after some dealers had locked their cases and left for the day, someone pulled a roller-bag to a table, waved at a dealer who looked over from a nearby table, picked up a locked case, put it on his bag, and pulled it away. He soon returned, took another case, and walked away. The real dealer was out $75,000 worth of material.
Closer to home was an example from the day before, on the bourse floor of the show we were attending — it was a smaller theft, that was only accidentally discovered. As a customer was turning to leave a dealer’s table, a second dealer, from across the aisle, saw a few items slip from a book the customer was carrying. Trying to be helpful, the second dealer quickly went to the aisle and pointed out the lost items. While helping the customer pick up the items, more items fell out of the customer’s coat. Realizing something was wrong, the customer was detained; a search turned up even more items. Have you formed a mental image of the customer? The customer was a 72 year old man who had been a good customer of a number of dealers; he apparently had sold much stolen material on eBay. The recovered items this day totaled $6,000, but Doug told us his name, phtograph, and particulars would be in the next emailed NCIC newsletter (reaching 4,000 dealers).
Tragically, some cases involve murder. Maybe it was planned, or maybe burglary turned to murder when the thief was surprised and wanted to get away. Many collectors take pride in their collection, and either talk about it or show it. Doug mentioned one murder and theft case where the collector liked to talk about his half million dollar gold coin collection — five part-time workers, from one of the collector’s other businesses, were apprehended for the crime. Another collector claimed that no one knew about his collection, but the perpetrator was a friend of the brother of the collector’s wife.
Although coin shop employees have not been the insiders on any reported numismatic thefts, some employees have stolen customer lists. For examples of insider jobs, look to the delivery industry: instances are known from the Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx.
If you are the victim of a theft, call the police and disseminate details of the stolen items among local and regional dealers and clubs. Also notify NCIC so that the details can be distributed nationally and internationally; they also can provide a local expert who can work with the local investigators.
| CSNS Convention | Chicago Coin Company |
| PCDA Convention | Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. |
| Date: | January 14, 2015 |
| 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 for dinner at 5pm. |
| Featured speaker: | Eugene Freeman — The Coins of New France |
| Join Eugene Freeman for a fascinating talk on French coins used in early North America. These are coins used in the French settlements of eastern Canada, Louisiana, Ohio River Valley, and the Mississippi River Valley which included Illinois. These coins were royally authorized, referenced in official documents, or found in hoards from that period. None mention French Canada, French Louisiana, or even French North America. At best, some of them say “French Colonies.” |
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.
| January | 14 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - Eugene Freeman on The Coins of New France |
| February | 11 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - Marc Stackler on Counterfeiting During the Mexican Revolution |
| March | 6-8 | 21st Annual Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX) at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL. Admission is $5 for Friday and Saturday; free on Sunday. For details, refer to their website, http://www.cpmxshow.com. |
| March | 7 | CCC Meeting - 1pm at the Chicago Paper Money Expo,
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 |
| March | 11 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - to be announced |
| April | 8 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - to be announced |
| April | 10-12 | 40th annual Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF) at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL. Admission is $5 for Friday and Saturday; free on Sunday. For details, refer to their website, http://www.cicfshow.com. |
| April | 11 | CCC Meeting - 1pm at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF),
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 |
| April | 23-25 | 76th Anniversary Convention of the Central States Numismatic Society at the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center, 1551 North Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg, IL. Free public admission. For details, refer to their website, http://www.centralstates.info/conv.html. |
| April | 25 | CCC Meeting - 1pm at the CSNS Convention,
which is held at the Schaumburg Convention Center.
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
Eugene Freeman 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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