| Volume 67 No. 10 | October, 2021 |
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The format of our November meeting has not been finalized – instead of the planned in-person auction, it might be online only with a featured speaker. Details will be in the November Chatter.
We have not heard of any CCC members or ANA staff catching Covid-19 during the August convention in Rosemont. We hope things will be closer to normal by August, 2022 when the ANA returns to Rosemont. Look for an initial call for the local hosting committee later this year.
Paul Hybert, editor
The 1232nd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was called to order by President Lyle Daly at 6:45 PM CDT, Wednesday September 08, 2021. Due to the Covid19 Pandemic the meeting was held online only, managed by Deven Kane. Attendance was 26 individuals at the beginning of the meeting, reaching a total of 37.
Club Meeting Minutes and Treasurer’s Report
The August 14, 2021, meeting minutes were approved as published in the Chatter, both in print and on the CCC website.
Treasurer Elliott Krieter presented Treasurer’s reports for both July and August. The July report was withheld from the September meeting due to the abbreviated agenda for the August meeting which was held at the ANA World’s Fair of Money.
The July period had income of $20.00 (Dues) and expenses of $79.04 (Chatter Expense and Medal engraving) giving the July period a total of -$59.04.
The August period had income of $8,910.00 (ANA stipend, dues, show table sales, and projector rental) and expenses of $4,803.94 (ANA Show expense and Chatter print/postage) giving the August period a total of $4,106.06.
Both reports were approved.
New Members
Secretary Scott McGowan did the first reading of the New Member application for Pat Alexander noting that Pat’s interests include Pictures, Books, Coins, and Medals.
Old Business
Annual CCC Banquet – Club President Lyle Daly introduced Bob Feiler who announced updated details for the December annual banquet to be held Wednesday December 8, 2021, at Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant, at 240 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL 60523. The schedule includes 6:00pm cash bar, 7:00pm dinner, and 8:00pm speaker. The location has free parking. Banquet price is set at $64.00 per person for reservations and payments by November 19, 2021 – thereafter the cost is $74.00. Room capacity is up to 100. Appetizers by Chicago Coin Company. Menu includes Classic Caesar Salad with entree choices of Chicken Parmesan; Salmon with Lemon & Herb, Broccoli, and Crispy Vesuvio Potatoes; or Mom’s Meat Lasagna with Marinara. Dessert will be Mini Cheesecake, Vera’s Lemon Cookies, or Chocolate Truffles. An additional banquet donation by Sharon and Kevin Blocker covers additional banquet expenses including meals for YNs. Motion was made to approve Bob’s recommendation, which was seconded and passed.
New Business
A moment of silence was held for CCC Member Nick Weiss, who passed August 25, 2021. Nick joined the CCC in 1996 and was also a 25+ year member of the Hillside Coin Club. See separate printed obituary.
President Lyle Daly reported to the club that the CCC Board held its quarterly Board Meeting the week following the ANA World’s Fair of Money. The minutes are published in the September Chatter. All members are encouraged to read those meeting minutes and kindly refer any comments to any one or all of the board members. Briefly:
A request for volunteers for a new CCC committee to investigate interviews with senior members of our club. The intent is to continue the effort made by Carl Wolf and Bob Weinstein in the early 1990s. Any member interested in working on this great project should email Club secretary at secretary.chicagocoinclub@gmail.com.
CCC board Governor Mark Wieclaw called on the club membership for nominations for the Club Medal of Merit. The Medal of Merit is awarded to a CCC member(s) who exhibits an excellent achievement, honor, value, or quality that is deserving of approval. Based on the CCC by-laws “the Medal of Merit is awarded annually and the Medal of Merit committee is not limited to the number of Medals they may award for the year nor are they bound to award any Medal.” Forward any recommendations to Mark Wieclaw, Bill Burd, or Jeff Rosinia.
Mark Wieclaw presented details on a new CCC Polo shirt. The polo shirt, reviewed and approved by the CCC Board, features the intertwined CCC and the club’s motto in Latin and English. This design allows club members to wear it in public without publicly displaying “Coin Collector.” Available in Burgundy or Navy-Blue colors, and in 100% Cotton ($31.00) or PolyCotton Blend ($25.00) for S-XL sizes. The 2XL/3XL/4XL pricing is slightly higher. All sales are handled through Mark Wieclaw. Email acoinj@gmail.com or call 815.814.3038.
General Announcements
The Illinois Numismatic Association coin and currency show will be held on September 9-11 at the DuPage County Fairgrounds.
First V.P. John Riley introduced the Featured Program: Donald H. Kagin, Ph.D on The Birth of Our Nation’s First Official Currency.
Second V.P. Melissa Gumm announced there were six exhibitors.
The next meeting will be Wednesday, October 13, 2021, available only online using Webex. Lyle Daly adjourned the meeting at 8:38 CDT.
Respectfully Submitted,
Scott A. McGowan,
Secretary
presented by Donald H. Kagin, Ph.D.,
to our September 8, 2021 meeting.
With such a catchy title, maybe our coin club page placed high on some Google searches – but I saw no new faces during our meeting. Oh well, their loss. They missed a program where the first slide was a photo of the January 6, 2021 Storming of the Capitol, and the second slide was a woodcutting of the August 24, 1814 Storming of the Capitol. The latter was when the British Army not only stormed it but burned it down, along with other government buildings – that was during The War of 1812. This presentation concentrated on the U.S. government’s financing of that war, while also providing background on that war and a summary of its political and military ebb and flow.
After the United States Congress passed an act establishing a Treasury Department, Alexander Hamilton was appointed as America’s first Secretary of the Treasury by President George Washington. Hamilton served in that post from 1789 to 1795. Congress established the first Bank of the United States in 1791, and gave it a 20-year charter; this bank became the primary short-term lender to the federal government. After the charter was not renewed, federal financing involved borrowing through loans from other countries, four large domestic banks in the northeast (such as the Bank of New York), rich entrepeneurs, and revenue from customs duties, tariffs, and the sale of land.
Some colonies had started printing their own currencies in 1690, issuing more in the 1700s to meet needs as they arose. The issued amount increased tremendously starting with hostilities in 1775, and their value fell during the Revolutionary War due to excessive printing of notes without any intrinsic backing. Although people remembered this bad experience with government paper money, the federal government did not need to issue its own paper money because the financing methods in 1812 were sufficient to the task.
The root cause of The War of 1812 was the almost 20-year British fight against the French and Napoleon on various fronts. For a decade, the British had been boarding U.S. merchant ships and impressing almost 10,000 men to fight against the French. The British were more effectively blockading U.S. harbors to prevent trading with the French. The British had recently resumed supporting the Indians who were resisting U.S. expansion westward, while the U.S. tried to dislodge England from Canada.
When the U.S. declared war in June 1812, the financing situation was bad. Specie (gold and silver coins) were hoarded; there was no national (central) bank since the charter for the Bank of the United States had not been renewed; and local bank notes were increasingly discounted the farther away they were from the issuing bank. Long term debt (War Bonds) were not being purchased by the usual buyers, New England entrepreneurs and big banks, because they were against the war; other buyers bought only at discounted prices. The doubling of tariffs did not raise enough funds. Faced with the immediate need for funds, the pros and cons of issuing Treasury Notes were debated.
The arguments against Treasury Note included: they were not as valuable as specie; they would be refused or discounted, thereby subverting public and private credit; they would depreciate as did Continental Currency; they would indicate a desperate nation faced with bankruptcy; and there would have to be a tax to redeem them. The arguments for Treasury Note included: there was a shortage of an adequate medium of exchange, with specie hoarded by banks to pay duties, and local paper discounted and without backing; Treasury Notes would not depreciate because of their use for paying taxes, and banks could use them as interest bearing reserves; and other sources were inadequate – there was no other alternative. So, over time, five series of Treasury Notes were issued.
The first issue of Treasury Notes came on June 30, 1812, with a total of $5 million was authorized of $100 and $1000 notes. They were redeemable in one year (it said so on the notes), and they paid 5.4% interest (1½¢ per day per $100). They were transferable by endorsement, and receivable for taxes, duties, and sales of public land – but they were not given full legal tender status, so people could refuse to accept them. The notes were printed on two subject sheets on blue and red silk-fibered, watermarked paper by Murray, Draper, Fairman, & Co., and all but a few of the $100 notes were redeemed by 1814. Only remainders are known today, and there are few of them. The design was not imaginative, but it served its purpose.
The second issue of Treasury Notes came on February 25, 1813, when the war was not going well; the intention was to redeem the first issue, so a total of $5 million was issued, with the same provisions and interest rate as for the first issue. Only $100 and $1000 notes were issued, with no issued or remainder pieces known today. The conditions were very poor, and the fear was that once Great Britain defeated France, it would direct its full efforts against the United States.
The third issue of Treasury Notes came on March 4, 1814; totaling $10 million, $5 million of it was to redeem the second issue. The terms and conditions were the same as for the prior issues, but a $20 note was issued in addition to the usual $100 and $1000 notes. The intention was that the smaller $20 denomination notes would circulate. Only a few remainders of the $100 notes are known today. Loans (in the form of bonds) were also sold during the war, but it was hard work, with some being sold at a deep discount (less than face value). In New England, where anti-war feelings ran strong, subscribers were assured of anonymity.
The fourth issue of Treasury Notes, on December 26, 1814, saw about $8.3 million actually issued, of the authorized $10 million. The provisions were the same as for previous issues, with $20, $50, and $100 notes authorized, but no $50 notes were printed. No issued notes are known today, but cancelled proofs as remainders (unsigned and signed) are known from this series. (This fourth issue came two days after the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the war. But it would take many weeks for the news to cross the Atlantic, and then Congress would have to ratify it.)
The fifth issue of Treasury Notes, of February 24, 1815, included “large” ($100) notes still paying 5.4% interest, and “small” ($3, $5, $10, $20, and $50) notes paying no interest. The small notes were intended to circulate; because they were payable to bearer and were transferable by delivery, they did not have to be endorsed in each transaction. It is these small Treasury Notes that some consider to be our first national circulating currency. Some of the small notes were used to pay government bills, while others were sold at apremium ranging from 1¼% to 4%. A total of ten $100 notes are known only as proofs or unsigned remainders, while 102 small notes are known today. Only two examples of the known small notes are fulling signed and issued, without any cancellation marking; the second example surfaced in 2015, although it had been known from an illustration in the 1978 reprint of John Knox’s 1848 United States Notes.
The end of the war decreased the government’s need for funds, and the chartering of the second Bank of the United States simplified the selling of government bonds. An 1817 Congressional act repealed all Treasury Notes acts and prohibited further issuance of the notes.
Collectors today have a number of Treasury Note types available. Proofs might be printed on lighter or heavier stock, and they might have punch-hole cancellations. Remainders are examples that were never issued – to be issued, a note had to be numbered, signed by two governemnt officers, and then countersigned by the Registrar of the Treasury Department. Remainders are found unsigned (most of what is available), with one signature, with two signatures, and with three signatures – and also with or without various cancellation markings. Only two examples (a $3 and a $19) are fully signed and uncancelled, showing that most pieces did their job and were redeemed afterwards – they were never repudiated and they were real money, so the only survivors were lost or misplaced. The notes do not look like much, so someone finding one might not realize its importance. Additional examples show up slowly at auctions after discovery.
With fewer than 200 examples of all types known, this area will never be collected by a large group. But this specialty does have its own 48-page reference, Treasury Notes of the War of 1812, by Don Kagin.
Nick Weiss, age 74, passed away August 25, 2021. He became a member of the Chicago Coin Club in 1996. Before developing major health issues, he was an occasional exhibitor at monthly meetings. He was a member and prior officer of the Hillside Coin Club for over 25 years. Nick was a big man with an oversized sense of humor that delighted all who met him. He bore a resemblance to actor John Goodman, and always had fun with strangers who confused him for the Hollywood star. He could be counted on to discuss a numismatic item and come up with a unique perspective. Frequently his exhibit subjects initially sounded mundane, but his research and presentation always delighted and surprised his fellow collectors. He was determined to come up with interesting stories and factoids, which were always unusual and educational. He could always be counted on to help out at meetings and was quick to volunteer at major area coin shows, pitching in and working where needed. He enjoyed the camaraderie of his many friends in the hobby.
He was very proud of his U.S. Type set and always seemed to come up with new and interesting coin facts. Nick could search through an entire bag of Lincoln Wheat Cents and find unique things to talk about, always entertaining his fellow members.
Nick was a proud Viet Nam Era Navy veteran and was buried with military honors. His great sense of humor will be remembered by his many friends.
Melissa Gumm and Bob Feiler
| CSNS Convention | Chicago Coin Company |
| Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. | Kedzie Koins Inc. |
Items shown at our September 8, 2021 meeting,
reported by Melissa Gumm.
Reminders:
| Date: | December 8, 2021 |
| Time: | 6:00PM Cocktails (cash bar),
with complementary hors d’oeuvres.
7:00PM to 10PM Dinner and Meeting |
| Location: | Maggiano’s “Little Italy,” 240 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL 60523 (on the east side of the Oak Brook Shopping Center). |
| Details: |
The cost is $64 if paid by Friday November 19, and will be $74
if paid after that date or at the banquet.
Early commitments and payments are greatly appreciated.
Our group will be meeting in the spacious Francesca room which
can accommodate 65 to 85+ people; we will have plenty of room
to accommodate members, spouses, guests, and friends of members.
We might seat 6 people, rather than 8, per table in deference
to Covid-19 concerns.
There will be a private cash bar in the room for those wanting
an alcoholic beverage.
Make your reservation by mailing your check (payable to Chicago
Coin Club) to P.O. Box 2301, Chicago, IL 60690; or by paying
electronically (see the Chatter Matter page for details).
• Our dinner will start off with a Classic Tomato Bruschetta, followed by a Classic Caesar Salad. • There will be three Entrees: Chicken Parmesan; Salmon with Lemon & Herb, Broccoli, and Crispy Vesuvio Potatoes; and Mom’s Meat Lasagna with Marinara. • Dessert will be served individually to each guest: Mini Cheesecake, Vera’s Lemon Cookies, or Chocolate Truffles. |
| Parking: | Plenty, and free. |
| Program: | The speaker is Cliff Mishler, on Unbridled Perspectives on the American Numismatic Association and its Community Connections. CCC member and ANA Governor Cliff Mishler will provide an Insider’s view of today’s ANA. Current Club members serving as officers and governors in the ANA are invited to join Cliff at the podium for a forward-looking discussion around maintaining a parent organization that is vital and mutually beneficial. |
| Agenda: | Award Presentations. |
| Date: | October 13, 2021 |
| Time: | 6:45 PM CDT (UTC-05:00) |
| Location: | Online Only!
Visit our Online Meeting webpage, at www.chicagocoinclub.org/meetings/online_meeting.html, for all the details on participating in an online club meeting. Participation in an online meeting requires some advance work by both our meeting coordinator and attendees, especially first-time participants. Please plan ahead; read the latest instructions on the day before the meeting! |
| Featured Program: | Richard Lipman —
John Miles Baker and the Magnificent 99 Company
In 1965 John Miles Baker started a company in California, placing coins in small sealed envelopes with a story and stamp on each one: a limited edition “First Day of Issue” coin. Join us at the online October meeting to learn more about the 99 Company and the backstory of their novel efforts to combine in a single product the most popular hobbies of the day – collecting coins and stamps! |
Unless stated otherwise, our regular monthly CCC Meeting is online during the Covid-19 isolation era on the second Wednesday of the month; the starting time is 6:45PM CT.
| October | 13 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - Richard Lipman on John Miles Baker and the Magnificent 99 Company |
| November | 10 | CCC Meeting - Club Auction - no speaker |
| December | 8 | CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet - Featured Speaker - to be announced
At Maggiano’s “Little Italy,” 240 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook. The cost is $64 if paid by Friday November 19, and will be $74 if paid after that date or at the banquet. Early commitments and payments are greatly appreciated. |
| January | 12 | CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - to be announced |
http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/
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The webpage is available before the Chatter is mailed.
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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
Payments to the Club, including membership dues,
can be addressed to the Treasurer and mailed to
the above address.
Renewing Members Annual dues are $20 a year ($10 for Junior, under 18). Annual Membership expires December 31 of the year through which paid. Cash, check, or money order are acceptable (USD only please). We do not accept PayPal. Email your questions to Treasurer.ChicagoCoinClub@GMail.com Members can pay the Club electronically with Zelle™ using their Android or Apple smart phone. JP Morgan Chase customers can send payments to the Club via Quick Pay. To see if your Bank or Credit Union is part of the Zelle™ Payments Network, go to https://www.zellepay.com Please read all rules and requirements carefully.
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