• Contents of this Issue
  • Minutes of the 1266th Meeting
  • The Medal as a Political Vehicle – The Art of Bernd Gobel
  • Exhibits
  • Minutes of the 2024 WFoM Host Club Planning Meeting
  • Upcoming Meeting
  • Important Dates
  • Chatter Matter
  • Share This Issue!
• Other Chatter Issues
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Chatter

Minutes of the 1266th Meeting

The 1266th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was called to order by President John Riley at 6:45PM CDT, Wednesday July 10, 2024. This was an in-person and online meeting held at the Chicago Bar Association. Attendance at the meeting was 18 in person and 15 online, for a total of 33.

Club Meeting Minutes and Treasurer’s Report

The June meeting minutes were approved as published in the Chatter, both in print and on the CCC website. Treasurer Elliott Krieter presented the June period treasurer’s report detailing revenue of $2,080.00 (Club banquet revenue) and expenses of $604.40 (Chatter Expense, CBA room rent, ANA expense), for a period total of $1,475.60. The report was approved by the membership. Elliott added that the banquet revenue included a $1,000 donation from banquet sponsor “Shanna Schmidt Numismatics Inc, and NAC USA.”

New Members and Correspondence

Secretary Scott McGowan did the second reading of Ken Gotsch’s membership application, followed by club voting for approval of his membership.

Old Business

1. Dale Lukanich, Host Club Chair for the 2024 ANA World’s Fair of Money, reported on the host club details and thanked everyone who has participated in the planning and working to make it happen. Dale reported that parking passes for volunteers have been secured. Dale also informed the club that the Joint CCC-NYNC dinner will start with a 6:30pm cocktail hour, followed by dinner at 7:30pm on August 8, 2024. Club president added that this is an all hands on deck time and anyone who can help, volunteer or is scheduled to volunteer is greatly appreciated.
2. Committee Reports:
   1. Hall of Fame - Deven Kane indicated no updates this month.
   2. Legacy Project - Dale Lukanich reported that several interviews are being edited currently and that the next interview will be with Bob Leonard and Carl Wolf on the History of the CCC, to be videoed at the club’s ANA convention booth.
   3. Auction Committee: Rich Lipman and Deven Kane reported that club members wishing to donate for the November auction should send a list of item descriptions to them to review. The auction is usually 60 lots of items, and currently the club has space available for a few more items. Donated items have proceeds go to the club. If we do not have 60 lots by the month before the auction, the committee will review items that are not donations to the club.
   4. Banquet Committee - John Riley announced that the club annual banquet in December will be held at Capri Ristorante Italiano in Palos Heights, Illinois. John asked Bill Burd to reserve the space.

New Business

1. John Riley mentioned that in 2025 the US Mint will release an Ida B. Wells Quarter Dollar coin. We suspect a coin launch will happen in the Chicago area. Stay tuned for details as they are announced, and for the CCC to have a group attend the launch.

Featured Program

Tyler M. Rossi on The Medal as a Political Vehicle. Following the program,First VP Melissa Gumm presented Tyler with a CCC speaker’s medal and an ANA educational certificate.

Show and Tell

Deven Kane announced the evening’s 11 Show and Tell exhibitors. After the exhibitors finished, Carl Wolf commented that it was one of the best Show and Tell sessions. Keep up the good work, members.

Next meeting will be Saturday, August 10, 2024, at noon in Room 21 at the ANA World’s Fair of Money (in-person, only). The regular August meeting will be Wednesday, August 14, at the Chicago Bar Association and online.

President John Riley adjourned the meeting at 8:40pm CDT.

Respectfully Submitted,
Scott A. McGowan, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
The Medal as a Political Vehicle – The Art of Bernd Gobel

a presentation by Tyler Rossi,
to our July 10, 2024 meeting
(reported by Melissa Gumm)

Bernd Gobel is an interesting and well known German sculptor and artist who has been active for many years. Many view him as a modern Karl Goetz who produced satirical medals during World War I and World War II. Bernd was born in 1942 during the middle of WWII in Halle, Germany where he studied as a wood sculptor from 1961 to 1963 and graduated Halle University in 1969. He spent much of his career teaching in schools throughout Germany until 2008. He has been honored by the American Numismatic Society with the Sanford-Saltus Prize and is an honorary member.

“As well as sculpture for public places, fountains, and so on, I find increasing pleasure in small forms and so also in medals. People interest me very much, which is why so many of my medals deal with them, and particularly with their weakness, which often have serious consequences.” - Bernd Gobel.

During his presentation, Tyler presented ten examples of the medals Bernd created later in his career, most of which are cast bronze with a few being struck or stamped. These examples cover a vast array of topics and are as follows.

Beginning with a less political medal, “Don’t Wait for Better Times” is a cast bronze piece with gilding of a colorful rainbow in the shape of a snail shell, encouraging one to go out and be the change, be the power.

Created in 1998, “Dolly the Sheep” speaks to cloning with a cross and a mix of bold images both modern and abstract.

“The Past is Never Dead” was created as a comparative to the Holocaust referencing the six million Jewish who were killed.

“Concerning Voltaire” was done in 2006 as a statement on conflict with a depiction of a turban-wearing figure under what could be perceived as the Islamic moon and the other half showing a figure holding a menorah. Between them the hand of God; the inscription on the reverse refers to having the money to kill but not to feed. In “The House of Cards” we see the many different faces of Muammar Gaddafi.

“Edward Snowden,” done in 2013, is a cast bronze that was created to become a prize medal for those who spoke the truth and stood up for human rights. It is this medal that began Tyler’s fascination and brought to his collection a Bernd Gobel medal for which he had to sell other items from his collection. Tyler’s is one of ten medals, of which the location of four is known – a search of auction records comes up empty for any others. The blocking around the portrait is explained as a gun sight with an image of a broken Statue of Liberty holding a noose opposite. The inscription on the reverse paraphrases as “he who speaks the truth must ride a fast horse.” The sister medal to this piece is “I Thought It Was” ironically known as the Erich Mielke Award. Mielke was the Minister for State Security of East Germany, the Stasi, from 1957 to 1989, shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall. It features religious symbolism and was suggested to be a human rights award promoting privacy and personal freedom.

“To Adorno” features the images of Angela Merkel, former Chancellor of Germany, and Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, with arrows symbolizing the past and future. The reverse inscription is along the lines of “only when things that can be changed will be changed will they.”

“The Flagellation of Icarus” appears to be a commentary on September 11th, done in 2016. It features the NYC skyline with angles falling and the reverse a countryside scene with a large dragonfly. Similarities can be seen to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The last piece, “Athena’s Legacy,” depicts a mass burial with ringed tags hanging off the side which feature the names and earnings of global companies which manufacture weapons.

Bernd Gobel’s medals cover a vast and interesting subject matter – they certainly make you stop, look, and think.

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our July 10, 2024 meeting,
reported by Deven Kane.

1. John Riley presented Chicago street tokens from events honoring US Navy Admiral George Dewey’s victory in the Spanish American War of 1898, as well as President William McKinley’s honored service. While Newark, New Jersey’s Whitehead & Hoag produced similar brass products for Syracuse, Jamestown, New York, Washington, DC, and San Francisco, the celebration in beautiful Chicago showed McKinley’s honored paper shield at Washington and Randolph Street. The honor wooden crossing apparently was not saved after the famous October 1898 Peace Jubilee parade.
2. John Kent showed four large silver coins from France, struck during the reign of Louis-Phillippe, King of the French from 1830 to 1848, a time period that is also known as the July Monarchy.
   1. A 5 franc 90% silver crown-sized coin dated 1831 with a D mint mark of the Lyon Mint. It has a profile of Louis-Phillippe, King of the French on the obverse.
   2. An 1840 5 franc coin from the Strasbourg mint, denoted by the BB mint mark.
   3. An 1846 5 franc coin with an A mint mark, which denotes the Paris Mint.
   4. An 1846 coin that has the Hercules motif instead of the king on the obverse. The A mint mark denotes Paris.
   After the 1848 revolution and the abdication of Louis-Phillippe, coin designs went back to the well-known Hercules group and other depictions of liberty. Louis-Phillippe started his reign when King Charles X was overthrown/abdicated during the revolution of 1830. The French revolution of 1848 inspired other revolutions throughout Europe, most of which also prove to be unsuccessful. The period of turmoil resulted in Napoleon III being elected president of the Second Republic on December 10, 1848.
3. Scott McGowan showed stock certificates from four companies.
   1. Associated Gas and Electric Company was a collective of multiple companies in New York that eventually became NYSEG (New York State Electric and Gas) that operates today. Including a promissory note that was secured with AGEC stock.
   2. Rich Hill Mining and Milling Company was an Arizona gold mine that was discovered in the 1860s and has produced gold ever since, through highs and lows in gold finds. The most recent finds in the 1990s are due to newer metal detecting equipment.
   3. Railways Corporation, a company in the rail industry.
   4. North American Producers was in the oil producing industry in the 1930s.
4. Noah Graf showed two Byzantine bronze coins.
   1. A 10th century Follis of the joint reign of the Emperors Constantine VII and his son Romanus II, 945-959 AD. On the obverse, the senior emperor stands taller and on the left while his junior partner stands right and slightly shorter, both crowned. This coin was sold as overstruck, which is common with Byzantine bronzes of this period, but I have not been able to discern any detail of the underlying coin. While only graded Fine, the attractive green patination brings out the nearly complete legends and surviving detail uncommonly well. The obverse legend reads: CONST CE ROMAN b ROM. The reverse contains only the text lines: CONST / CE ROMAN / EN XRIST / b ROMEO. While struck in Greek, at the height of the Greek-speaking Empire’s power and wealth, it is notable that the Roman legacy still survives, in the use of Latin lettering.
   2. A late 12th century scyphate Aspron Trachy of the Emperor Isaac II, 1185-1195 AD. The convex obverse is lightly struck, with an image of the Virgin and Child enthroned. The concave reverse shows a far better strike of the figure of the Emperor, standing and facing outward. The reverse legend was not properly struck, but would have read ICAAKIOC DECΠOTHC, now finally using both the Greek language AND alphabet. Above and to the right of the Emperor’s head is the proverbial “Hand of God” delivering the imperial crown to Isaac, perhaps over-emphasizing the nature of his accession in a popular revolt to overthrow the tyrannical and deeply unpopular Andronicus I, his predecessor. As for his claim to divine favor, Isaac was himself overthrown by his own older brother, blinded, and thrown into prison. He was eventually murdered during the tumultuous lead-up to the Fourth Crusade’s sack of Constantinople in early 1204.
5. Lyle Daly showed two inexpensive coins and expressed the opinion, “Buy the book before the coin … unless you think the coin is cool, interesting, and very cheap.”
   1. From eBay, a Roman Provincial coin from Caesarea in Cappadocia, showing Severus Alexander (222-235AD). Lyle bought this with minimal online searching to be reasonably comfortable that the identification was correct, but was unfamiliar with the reverse. When it arrived, the “sand patina” was soft to the touch so he washed the coin and mechanically removed the soft material. On the obverse, one can clearly see AVKCEOVH with a counterstamp clipping the chin of Severus. The reverse begins with obliterated text moving to a faint POΠKΩCAI and faint εTΔ. The reverse design is NOT an image of birds in a birdbath; it shows Argaeus (a stratovolcano surrounded by monogenetic vents) as an agalma (a cult image or votive offering) on an altar.
   2. Every now and again, Lyle is compelled to rescue a coin. From eBay: a Byzantine Empire coin, a follis of Leo VI the Wise (886-912). Although it appears that the initial cleaning was done with a belt sander, Lyle could not pass up the misaligned double strike on the reverse. His attempt to identify this in David Sear’s book on Byzantine coins found nothing among the coinage of Leo the Wise. Reviewing images on the www.wildwinds.com website, this appeared to be a hybrid between Romanus I and Constantine VII, probably a misaligned overstrike of Constantine VII over a Romanus I follis. But if Lyle had taken the time to read what was in Sear instead of looking at the pictures, he could have saved some time – the note for type 1761 states, These are frequently found overstruck on folles of Romanus I of the type of 1760.
6. Richard Hathaway showed a French 1704-B ¼ ecu featuring King Louis XIV, minted in Rouen which is a city in Normandy. This coin was worth 20 sols and is 91.7% silver. This coin is interesting as it is overstruck on a Paris mint coin from 1701-1703. During the latter part of the reign of Louis XIV, from 1690-1715, French coinage went through a series of ‘reformations,’ where the value of the Ecu was increased and new coinage was mostly struck on top of old coins. However, some new blanks were used, particularly in the latter years of each ‘reformations,’ period as the mint’s supply of existing coins ran low. Reformations occurred in 1690, 1693, 1701, and 1704. Additionally, in 1709, the value of the Ecu was again increased, but only new silver blanks were used. Because many coins were struck over existing coins, coins struck on new blanks usually command a significant premium. This example shows moderate traces of the old design from 1701-1703, including remnants of the old coin’s date, mintmark, lettering, and obverse and reverse designs. Additionally, this issue supposedly has a ‘corded’ edge design, but this example seems to have a mostly smooth edge. Richrd is unsure if this coin ever had any edge design: maybe the edge design was weakly struck and wore away, or the edge design has been destroyed through subsequent overstrikes and wear on a very thin coin.
7. Deven Kane showed two coins and a medal.
   1. An Anonymous bronze Litra or quartuncia from the Campanian mint, 280-270 BC, about 21mm in diameter. The obverse has a helmeted head of Minerva facing left, while the reverse has the head of a horse facing right, with ROMANO behind. It has an enchanting green patina with earthy hues and a scratch on the reverse. The dating of this coin has been suggested by Roberto Lippi, based on a new, soon-to-be-published study.
   2. A bronze coin of the most impressive emperor, Honorius (393-423), on a bronze coin from the Cyzicus mint during 392-395. Even after being an utter imbecile, he died peacefully in his bed and in possession of his throne … though not of Britain and much of Gaul and Spain. His pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust appears on the obverse of this coin, while the reverse has the legend GLORIA ROMANORVM and shows the emperor standing facing, holding a standard and globe.
   3. A large bronze medal Jerusalem by T. Dufresne from the Paris Mint. The obverse has a city view while the reverse shows King’s Valley. The medal is 80mm in diameter and weighs 309.27 grams. Thérèse Dufresne (1937-2010) did a number of intricate, panoramic medals like this of different locales. She has another one featuring the sphinx and pyramids of Egypt, and others for Angkor, Khajuraho, Venice, Boston, New York, and more.
8. Tyler Rossi showed a BOSNIA PROPAGANDA LEAFLET, the size of a standard US 1$ note. This was dropped over Bosnia during the humanitarian campaign. It has no date.
9. Mark Wieclaw started by giving background on the imperial brothers Caracalla and Geta. Their father, Septimius Severus, took the throne in 193 AD; Caracalla, born in 188 AD, was made Caesar in 196 AD. In 198 AD, Caracalla was elevated to Augustus, at age 10, and Geta, born in 189 AD, was elevated to Caesar; Geta was elevated to the rank of Augustus in 209 AD with the intention for them to rule the Empire, jointly. Severus died in February of 211 AD and the tension began. Less than a year later, February of 212, Geta was murdered in his mother’s arms. A “Damnatio Memoriae” was issued by Caracalla to erase the memory of Geta. The effects of the decree included: 20,000 followers put to death, paintings destroyed or altered, statues crushed, and coins destroyed or altered.
   1. A bronze coin from Stratonicaea in Caria, 35mm in diameter and weighing 23.79 grams, originally hadg facing busts of the brothers, but now has only the bust of Caracalla on the left, facing an empty field on the right side of the obverse.
   2. A bronze coin with Caracalla on the right gazing upon an empty field on the left.
   3. A bronze coin with Septimius on the left gazing upon an empty field on the right.
   4. While showing pictures of high grade gold and silver coins that had not been altered, Mark wondered if gold coins and dynastic denarii had been destroyed.
10. In keeping with tonight’s topic, medals that make political statements, Kurt Hyde showed photos of a Karl Goetz Medal, Scarcity of Living Space, Kienast-280. The obverse portrays a man from the government housing office showing living accommodations to a family with three children and another on the way. The caption reads, “Was, auch hier noch ein Wohnraum.” In English, “What! Also, here is a room to live in.” The reverse portrays the crowded living conditions: the mother and father are in the lowest bunk in the triple bunk bed; two daughters share the middle bunk and the top bunk is ostensibly for the boy in the middle of the picture who is portraying the lack of adequate plumbing facilities. There are two babies, one in a wicker basket under the table and the other in a makeshift arrangement in the bottom drawer of a dresser.
11. Joe Boling showed a series 1953 $2 bill with a printing error – wet ink offset with Jefferson showing on the reverse. It was a fraudulent error because it was not a mirror image. Another error is that there is a serial number and seal. You cannot have two different tyes of printing on the same error. The faker did not remove the red portions of the image before printing the black (incorrectly). He then showed an offset on a $1 1957 error silver certificate, and then he showed a series where the offset gradually fades away.

Reminders:

• You can email to Deven a description of what you will show at a meeting, to give him a start on this write-up.
• Send it to cccshowandtell@gmail.com
• After a meeting, all members who viewed the meeting should email him their scoring sheet – a listing of each exhibit number followed by a score (from a low of 1 to a high of 10) is all that is needed.

Minutes of the 2024 WFoM Host Club Committee Meeting

July 3, 2024 – 7:00pm CDT.

Attending: Dale Lukanich (Chair), Bob Feiler (Assistant-Chair), Dale Carlson, Scott McGowan, Greg Gajda, Mark Wieclaw, Ray Dagenais, John Riley, John Kent, Noah Graf, and Rich Lipman.

Dale Lukanich called the meeting to order at 7:01pm

Dale started by thanking the committee members for their dedication and sticking with the meetings through the last planning meeting. The ANA World’s Fair of Money convention is now published on the ANA website at: www.money.org/worldsfairofmoney/.

Subcommittee Reports

Exhibits: Exhibit area will need volunteers at all times.

Pages: John Kent reported the deadline is July 22, 2024. Pages age limit is 22 years of age. John Riley inquired about pads and pencils for pages, which were reported as being supplied by the ANA.

Young Numismatists: Dale has received the “Scouting” badges for “Chicago 2024” from Gene Freeman, and gave them to Jim Ray. 50 patches were received. Jim Ray has been publishing the ANA flyer for the ANA YN event. Extra copies of the flyer will be at CCC meetings.

Ambassadors: Scott McGowan reported 49 ambassadors have signed up to date. Shirt size requirements were submitted to the ANA in June. As of the meeting, the ANA was still working on parking passes.

Money Talks: List for Speaker’s Medals was provided to Carl Wolf, for medal engraving and education certificates.

The Form to pre-register for the convention, the Friday night banquet, and other events available to the committee members was sent to committee members. Be sure to fill it out if you plan to attend the Friday ANA banquet.

The convention will have the World Mints Promenade, but no procession of country flags will be done.

Joint CCC-NYNC dinner on August 8, 2024 has a cost of $75 per person with a limit of 90; 6:30pm Cocktails, and 7:30pm Dinner. The dinner Sponsors are Chicago Coin Company, Classical Numismatic Group LLC, Harlan J. Berk LTD, Shanna Schmidt Numismatics Inc., and NAC USA LLC. Approx 22 dinner reservations have been made.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30pm.

Next meeting will be the actual convention; no formal meeting of the committee, just your assigned responsibilities.

Respectfully Submitted,
Scott A. McGowan, Secretary, Chicago Coin Club

Our 1267th Meeting

Important Dates

Unless stated otherwise, our regular monthly CCC Meeting is in downtown Chicago, and also online, on the second Wednesday of the month; the starting time is 6:45PM CT.

Chatter Matter

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Club Officers

Correspondence

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
Or email the Secretary at Secretary.ChicagoCoinClub@GMail.com
Payments to the Club, including membership dues, can be addressed to the Treasurer at the above street address.

Payments

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.

• The Club has registered the Treasurer.ChicagoCoinClub@GMail.com address with Zelle™ to receive payments.
• When you send a payment via Zelle™, we will receive a notification.
• Be sure to fill out the “What’s this for?” field – e.g., “Dues 2024”; or “Dues 2024 & 2025” to pay for two years
• Once the transaction completes, the Club will receive your payment typically within minutes, and you will know that the payment was received.
• Be sure to have your Location enabled on your phone for the transaction.

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