• Contents of this Issue
  • New Meeting Location for March
  • Minutes of the 1261st Meeting
  • The American Arts Medallion Series (1980-1984), Success or Failure
  • New on Our Website
  • Exhibits
  • Minutes of the 2024 WFoM Host Club Planning Meeting
  • Minutes of the Chicago Coin Club Board
  • Upcoming Meeting
  • Important Dates
  • Chatter Matter
  • Share This Issue!
• Other Chatter Issues
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Chatter

New Meeting Location for March

Because the featured speaker at the March meeting will talk about her company library, the meeting will be held at her company! In downtown Chicago, on Michigan Avenue near Madison Street. Refreshments and sandwiches will be provided, but you must RSVP our club Secretary if you will attend in person, to ensure we have enough seating and space. Space is limited, so do RSVP before we fill up.

We will support remote attendees, and we will have Show & Tell exhibits. Some of us will be in Colorado Springs, for the ANA National Money Show® and to try out the full remote experience.

This meeting space is only for the March meeting – we will be back at the Chicago Bar Association Building for the April meeting.

Paul Hybert, editor

Minutes of the 1261st Meeting

The 1261st meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was called to order by First Vice President Melissa Gumm at 6:50 PM CST, Wednesday, February 14, 2024. This was an in-person and online meeting. Attendance at the meeting was 16 members in person and 19 online, for a total of 35.

Deven Kane and Bob Feiler provided an update on John Riley, the Club President. John suffered a stoke in January and was hospitalized for a week. Both Bob and Deven have visited John and indicated he is in good spirits, cheerful, and understands conversations. John is in therapy and his doctors are optimistic for a full recovery. Club members wishing to send him cards can address them to: John Riley c/o B. Feiler, PO Box 4514, Wheaton, IL 60189.

Club Meeting Minutes and Treasurer’s Report

The December 2023 and January 2024 meeting minutes were approved as published in the Chatter, both in print and on the CCC website.

The January Treasurer’s report was not available for review, and was tabled for the March meeting.

New Members and Correspondence

Secretary Scott McGowan did the second reading of two applications for membership. Jayesh Shewakramani of Skokie, Illinois who is opening a new bullion dealership this year applied for membership. His collecting interests include American Eagles, Buffalos, and Englehard Bullion Rounds. Farhan Sardharia of Skokie, Illinois, who is also opening the new bullion dealership, applied for membership. His collecting interests include American Eagles, Buffalos, and Englehard Bullion Rounds. Both new members are referred by the secretary. After the second readings, the club members voted to approve both memberships.

Old Business

1. Dale Lukanich reported on the ANA 2024 World’s Fair of Money® host club committee. No meeting will be held in March as most ANA updates will come after the March National Money Show®. Dale reported he is looking for a co-chair for the exhibits area, and a YN flyer is coming out to promote the event to local schools. Dale also indicated there will be tables at the Greater Chicago Coin and Currency Show in Tinley Park, Illinois on February 22-24, and at the Will County Coin Show on February 25, to promote the 2024 World’s Fair of Money®.
2. Melissa Gumm renewed the call for Featured Speakers – this is the perfect opportunity to speak to the club about a numismatic subject you are passionate about.
3. Reminder to sign up if you can be an ambassador at the 2024 World’s Fair of Money®. The “sign-up form” is also on the CCC website.
4. Club members were reminded that dues for 2024 are now due.

New Business

1. CCC Board meeting will be February 21. Forward any issues or comments to a Board member for discussion at the meeting.
2. Bob Leonard spoke about attending The New York International Numismatic Convention in January. Bob says it is the best show to see or purchase Ancient and Foreign coins and rarities. Anyone with interest in Ancient and Foreign coins should save up to go to the show. Bob also brought copies of the CoinsWeekly issue from the show for anyone interested. The CoinsWeekly special issue publication included three article on Fakes, Counterfeits, and Imitations. Bob indicated the auctions were strong and Tyler Rossi added that the auctions were “Nuts” with strong business activity on the bourse floor. The next show is Jan 16-19, 2025 at the InterContinental New York Barclay New York City, NY. Visit http://www.nyinc.info for details.

Featured Program

Mark Wieclaw on The American Arts Medallion Program (1980-1984). Following the program, First VP Melissa Gumm announced a CCC speakers medal and ANA educational certificate would be presented to Mark.

Show and Tell

Deven Kane announced the evening’s 12 Show & Tell exhibitors.

Melissa Gumm adjourned the meeting at 9:17pm CST

Respectfully Submitted,
Scott A. McGowan, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
The American Arts Medallion Series (1980-1984), Success or Failure

a presentation by Mark Wieclaw,
to our February 14, 2024 meeting

On April 5, 1933, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, making gold ownership, with some small exemptions, illegal for US citizens starting on May 1, 1933. That ban lasted until President Ford signed a bill legalizing private ownership starting on December 31, 1974. With that, US citizens could buy gold coins based upon bullion prices. Mark started his talk by reviewing some of the popular choices for gold ownership.

Many of the old legal tender coins from various countries were being bought and sold based upon their bullion value. With the price per troy ounce of gold changing daily, pricing the pieces was difficult because the gold content was different for each type. The old US $20 coin contained 0.9675 troy ounce of gold; the gold content of other gold coins were: 1.2057 troy ounce in a Mexican 50 peso, 0.2354 troy ounce in a British sovereign, 0.9806 troy ounce in an Austrian 100 corona, and 0.1867 troy ounce in a French 20 franc.

The first true bullion coins were the South African Krugerrands (.9167 fine) which were offered in four sizes, containing: 1, ½, ¼ and 1⁄10; troy ounce of gold (with copper as the rest). First minted in 1967, these were the first coins to be offered with exactly one (or some convenient fraction of a) troy ounce of gold. In 1979, Canada joined the bullion ranks with its .999 fine Maple Leaf coin. In 1982 the fineness changed to .9999 fine. Pure gold coins scratch very easily due to their softness – even between adjacent coins in a tube – and the market does not like scratched coins. Also in 1982, the Chinese Panda was introduced; the design changed yearly, giving collectors something to look forward to.

By 1980, Krugerrands accounted for 90% of the global market. Growing international protests against South Africa’s apartheid policy led to mounting pressure, including boycotts, against South Africa economic interests. In the United States, the importation of Krugerrands was banned starting in 1985; a ban that was lifted in 1991. Although ownership of Krugerrands was never illegal in the US, Mark remembers encountering customers who would not buy Krugerrands because they thought ownership was illegal or they feared that ownership would be made illegal.

In the late 1970s, there were some ideas of how gold bullion pieces could be produced by the US government. The Bill that passed Congress, proposed by Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa and signed into law by President Carter on November 10, 1978, would have five one-ounce and five half-ounce medallions produced during the five years from 1980 through 1984. The intent was to produce twice as many half-ounce pieces than one-ounce pieces. As for the honorees, they were on Leach’s list of ten Americans who had contributed to the country’s heritage.

Although some format changes were made over the years, many features stayed the same: the honoree’s bust and name appears on one side, with AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES surrounding a design related to the honoree on the other side. For the first two years, the year is prominent under the “related” design; the year is smaller and near the bust for the three last years. There was no identification of country, metal, or amount of metal in the first two years, a deficiency corrected in the last three years with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA appearing above the honoree’s bust and ONE OUNCE GOLD (or ONE HALF OUNCE GOLD) below the “related” design.

The fineness of the gold was never stated on these pieces, and neither was the alloy metal. The pieces always contained 90% gold by weight, but the alloy changed from 10% copper in 1980 to 7% copper and 3% silver in the following years. Over the five years of the program, the mint sold the pieces for a small premium over their gold content, varying from $12 to $19 for the one-ounce and from $5 to $12 for the half-ounce. Although the pricing was reasonable, the ordering process was not user friendly; Mark listed the steps in what he described as a convoluted ordering process. First, a buyer had to phone a non-toll-free number for the current gold price (remember long distance charges back in the 1980s?), then the buyer had to go to a local Post Office to purchase a Postal Money Order (at a $1 charge), then the buyer had to send the money order to the mint using Certified Mail (another charge). Then wait for the mint to receive, fill, and send the order.

Mark showed us some of the packaging types used for these medallions. In addition to the slip-case box and cardboard holder for single pieces, we also saw styrofoam blocks with imprinted titles and descriptions, with the medallions pressed into a circular recess and securely held in place by cellophane tape. But enough with all the other stuff – show us the gold pieces!

The 1980 honorees were singer Marian Anderson (1897-1993) on the half-ounce, and painter Grant Wood (1891-1942) on the one-ounce. With 1,000,000 half-ounce pieces and 500,000 one-ounce pieces minted, this year was the only year with the initially planned two-to-one ratio. One reason was poor sales, with only 281,624 half-ounce pieces and 312,709 one-ounce pieces sold. Another reason was that the number of sold one-ounce pieces slightly exceeded the number of half-ounce pieces sold, a pattern that held through the next four years. There would never be a sellout of any of the ten designs.

The 1981 honorees were author Willa Cather (1873-1947) on the half-ounce, and writer Mark Twain (1835-1910) on the one-ounce. Only 200,000 half-ounce pieces were made in 1981 (less than 50% of them sold), but that number still was larger than the 141,000 one-ounce pieces (more than 82% sold).

The 1982 honorees were architect Frank L. Wright (1867-1959) on the half-ounce, and trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) on the one-ounce. Denticles were added to both sides to make these pieces look more like coins, as was the weight of the gold content. The New York firm of J. Aron and Company was contracted in 1982 to handle sales for the next three years; they agreed to purchase three million ounces. The increased mintages of 360,000 (half-ounce) and 420,000 (one-ounce) resulted in about 97% of them being sold.

The 1983 honorees were sculptor Alexander Calder (1898-1976) on the half-ounce, and poet Robert Frost (1874-1963) on the one-ounce. The larger half-ounce mintage of 410,000 resulted in sales of less than 19% of them, while the larger one-ounce mintage of 500,000 resulted in sales of about 78% of them. For each issue, Mark also told us the number of survivors as estimated by Dennis Tucker in his book. Mark did not know how Dennis Tucker determined these numbers. The 7,935 survivors for the Alexander Calder piece was the lowest number in the book, meaning this is the key to the series. But “common knowledge” long considered the Helen Hayes piece to be the key.

The 1984 honorees were writer John Steinbeck (1902-1968) on the half-ounce, and actress Helen Hayes (1900-1993) on the one-ounce. With about 93% and 96% of the pieces being sold, one could say the program ended on a high note. Buth with a mintage of only 35,000 pieces for each weight, maybe the program whimpered out. 1984 also saw the offering of five-piece sets: of 4,400 available one-ounce sets, 3,088 were sold; of 5,300 half-ounce sets, 2,951 were sold. In early 1985, Jim Leach proposed a ten-year continuation of the program – he even had lists of honorees for the one-ounce and half-ounce pieces – it went nowhere.

Much went wrong with that program. The ordering process, as mentioned earlier. Medallions, issued by a governmental agency or private mint, are not popular; government issued coins, with a denomination and legal tender status, are always in demand. Pure (.9999) or alloyed are both accepted, as long as they contain a full ounce, or a simple fraction of an ounce, of gold. Scratched, dented, and even .999 pure are usually discounted; some cultures will not accept the image of a woman, not even discounted. Mark’s list of what the program did right had one entry: Nothing! Undoubtedly the falling price of an ounce of gold, from $612 in 1980 to $360 in 1994, added more gloom to the experience.

Sales of the 1984 medallions totaled 49,832 ounces. In contrast, there were 497,000 of the 1984 commemorative gold $10 Olympic coins sold, amounting to 240,000-plus ounces. Total sales of the medallions for all FIVE years was 1,680,094.5 ounces. In contrast, in 1986, the first year of the American Eagle program, there were 2,381,492 ounces sold.

Mark is not aware of any premium for these medallions. PCGS and NGC easily find faults with them; they are not found at shows; dealers do not stock them; and many dealers still melt them on sight. During his fifteen years behind the counter of a coin shop, except for one time, all medallions bought during a day were sent out to be melted that evening. Mark showed us the only exception: a complete ten-piece set in a custom holder, for which he swapped 7½ ounces of his gold – it was just too nice to destroy.

References:

• American Gold and Silver, U.S. Mint Collector and Investor Coins and Medals, Bicentennial to Date, Dennis Tucker, Whitman Publishing, Atlanta, GA 2016. [A good book, but hard to find.]

• United States Modern Commemorative Five-Dollar Gold Coins, Kevin Dailey, RoseDog Books, Pittsburgh, PA, 2021.

New on Our Website

by Paul Hybert, CCC webmaster

The latest addition to the CCC website indexes presentations, made at a CCC meeting, which are mentioned in an online Chatter issue. Both Featured and Show & Tell presentations are listed.

The main webpage for this index, at http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/chatter/presenters.html, lists just the names of presenters; each name is a link to a page listing all presentations by that person. The entry for a presentation is terse, consisting of: the Month and Year of the CCC meeting, followed by “Featured” or “S&T” – there is no indication of the covered material here, but each entry is a link to that actual presentation.

As of February 7, 70 names are listed; this covers Chatter issues starting with January, 2019. More presentations, from the prior Chatter issues, will be added as time permits until all online Chatter issues (starting with January, 2000) have been covered. Also, as each new Chatter issue is placed online, its presentations will be added to this index.

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our February 14, 2024 meeting,
reported by Deven Kane.

1. Melissa Gumm showed a full coin board with 22 Irish Pennies; the board was made in Ireland. The Irish Free State was established in December, 1921, but it was some years until they developed their own coinage, distinct from British coins. The committee appointed to advise on new coin design was chaired by poet William Butler Yates, a member of the Free State Senate. Because the intention was for the new Irish coins to circulate side by side with British coins, Irish coins needed to be the same size, weight, and denomination as the British coins. The reverse designs for Irish coinage used animals and birds indigenous to the Irish countryside; a hen and chicks appear on the penny, along with the denomination as PINGIN. For the obverse, tradition was upheld and the same symbol was used on all denominations – the harp, introduced by Henry VIII, a distinctive symbol of Ireland. Coins were struck at the Royal Mint in London because it was not economical to set up a mint in Ireland. The 22 coins in the board represent the Irish Pennies of two periods: Irish Free State issues of 1928 to 1937 (country name as Saorstat Eireann) and The Republic of Ireland issues of 1940 to 1968 (country name as Eire). These large pennies were 95.5% copper, 3% tin, and 1.5% zinc. Locals came to call a penny ride on a streetcar a “hen run.”
2. Noah Graf showed a very attractive imperial denarius that he was not looking to buy specifically, but it caught his eye. The obverse legends on Trajan’s coinage stand out among the imperial series for being written in the Latin dative case, implying that the coins were “for” or “to” the Emperor. In official coinage, this practice was generally reserved for deceased and deified emperors, but among Trajan’s lifetime coinage, the dative case is the rule. This has been interpreted as a lack of humility on Trajan’s part, but such a degree of hubris is unlikely to have gone unremarked by any ancient source, and no contemporary commentary on this iconographic choice survives. In the end, the reason for this divergent grammatical practice on the coinage of Trajan’s reign likely cannot be established with certitude.
3. When Bob Leonard started collecting coins, he would buy a proof set every year from the Mint; he liked to have a complete set of each denomination. With Roman coins this is much harder; for the commoner emperors, if one leaves out the gold coins and the large silver coins used in the eastern provinces, it can be put together on a budget. Two emperors, Trajan and Hadrian, have the longest sets, with Hadrian by far the easiest to finish. Bob showed a complete denomination set of the minor coins of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, 117-138: denarius (as the main unit); quinarius or victoriatus (2 to a denarius); brass or orichalcum sestertius (4 to a denarius); brass or orichalcum dupondius (8 to a denarius); copper or bronze as (16 to a denarius); bronze semis (32 to a denarius); bronze quadrans (64 to a denarius); and the tiny bronze uncia (192 to a denarius). The uncia is so small that there is no room for any inscription, just Hadrian’s bust, and the reverse has only the “SC” found on all Roman imperial bronze coins. While each of the other coins is valued at half that of the preceding denomination, the uncia, at 1⁄12 of an as, is a throwback to the Roman Republic. The early as weighed a Roman pound, of 12 uncia or ounces.
   Two of these coins have interesting reverse types: the sestertius has a personification of Africa holding a scorpion, in honor of Hadrian’s travels, and the as commemorates Hadrian’s defeat of the British, which led to Hadrian’s Wall, still standing in places.
4. Drew Michyeta showed a silver grosso from the Republic of Venice, issued 1382-1400 under Antonio Venier, the 62nd Doge of Venice. Weighing 1.97 grams and 22 mm in diameter, this was a stable currency from 1156 to 1471 because the government was a merchant board of governors (basically, a chamber of commerce) for 315 years. The obverse has the Doge and St Mark holding a banner of the Republic of Venice, while the reverse has Christ enthroned, facing front, dressed in pallium and columbium, blessing with right hand, and holding gospels with the left.
5. Bob Feiler showed two Berghoff Restaurant tokens.
   1. A $10 blue round dollar-sized token from 1903, made of aluminum.
   2. A $10 red token scalloped on four sides, made of aluminum. The year is unknown.
6. Rich Lipman showed a high denomination Hungarian note, a 1946 1 Mlliard B Pengo (EgyMilliard B Pengo) of the Hungary National Bank. This note was never issued. This is the highest denomination currency note, showing the number of pengos as 10 to the 24th power. The Zimbabwe 100 trillion note is striking because it shows the most zeroes in the value, while this note spells out a larger number. In July 1946, inflation ran at 41.9 quadrillion percent; prices would double in 15 hours.
7. Pen collecting is another hobby of Carl Wolf. At the 2022 ANA WFoM, Carl was offered a great deal for someone interested in pens and penmanship. A dealer had a paper bag of thousands of cashed checks drawn on The Farmers and Mechanics National Bank of Washington, DC. These are personal, handwritten checks from late 1800s to early 1900s, before banks provided checks with the customer’s name and address already printed on them. Carl showed to us about 100 of them; attendees at pen shows like viewing examples of clean, cursive handwriting; so do people now taking a class in cursive!
8. Deven Kane showed assorted peace medals, many acquired from the auction of the Pax in Nummis collection.
   1. A uniface cast iron (118x118 mm) plaque from 1738 for “25 years of Peace of Utrecht.” The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed, by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of Spain, and involved much of Europe for over a decade. The main action saw France as the defender of Spain against a multinational coalition. The war was very expensive and bloody, and finally stalemated. Essentially, the treaties allowed Philip V (grandson of King Louis XIV of France) to keep the Spanish throne in return for permanently renouncing his claim to the French throne, along with other necessary guarantees that would ensure that France and Spain should not merge, thus preserving the balance of power in Europe.
   2. A 1748 medal for “100 years of Peace of Westphalia” which also is a 48 schilling taler of of Hamburg. The coin/medal is issued in the name of the Emperor Francis I, husband of Maria Theresa. The Peace of Westphalia is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire, closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people.
   3. An 1814 silver “Peace of Paris” medal of Berlin by Daniel Friedrich Loos, 42.3 mm in diameter. One side shows a personification of peace flying over a globe showing Paris. Paris is a popular place to sign treaties. Going back to the Treaty of Paris in 1229 that ended the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars, wikipedia lists about 47 Treaties of Paris. The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814, ended the Napoleonic Wars (until he escaped Elba and started another war). The treaty set the borders for France under the House of Bourbon and restored territories to other nations. It is sometimes called the First Peace of Paris, as another one followed in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon I at Waterloo and his second abdication. The 1815 treaty in the aftermath of Waterloo had more punitive terms than the treaty of the previous year.
   4. A silver-plated bronze 1916 medal, “Longing for Peace” by Paul Dubois. Motifs include a couple with child, a man with a lyre, and a woman with child in her arms in a peaceful landscape with three deer.
   5. A 51x68mm silver plaquet by Andre Paul Arthur Massoulle (1851-1901), who was primarily a sculptor. Many of his statues show figures with swords. The obverse has a Seated goddess with sword, holding a large shield over a reading youth. The reverse has a half-wreath, rooster, and an orb labeled FRANCE. The only other wording on this piece is the word PAX in the field.
9. Tyler Rossi showed a cashed and canceled 1992 1000 Dinara cashier check. This also comes in a 2000 Dinara denomination. This was issued by the Banja Luka Bank which is located in Banja Luka, the capital of the Serb republic in Bosnia, just before inflation soared in 1993. This bank was sanctioned by the US in 1992; it was one of the first banks, after the war, to be cleared for purchase by a foriegn entity to stabilize currency, when it was bought by the Bank of Austria. This served as a check for the army of the Serbian Republic but is printed with no obvious militry indications. The two holes are punch cancellations; on the back, the two lines marked for name and military identification are filled in.
10. Mark Wieclaw showed the connection between a merciless ruler and the Holiday of lovers, Valentine’s Day.
    1. An antoninianus of Claudius II, with a reverse of Annona, the personification of grain, holding grain ears and cornucopia. He ruled from 268 to 270, and in 269 outlawed marriage for young people – to more easily find men for the army. Valentine was a priest who performed weddings in secret, until he was arrested and executed.
    2. An error version of this type, thrice struck for two errors. This piece started as an obverse brockage, struck dramatically off center. The second strike resulted in a more typical reverse, but it was obliterated with the flip over third strike. The third and final strike took place after the coin somehow flipped over and was struck once again. This resulted in the image of Annona partially covering the bust of Claudius II.
    3. A final observation on the Chicago Coin Club and Valentine’s Day! Meeting #1 of the Chicago Coin Club took place on February 14, 1919 – meeting #1261 is being held on February 14, 2024. One hundred and five years of uninterrupted dedication. CHEERS!
11. Dale Lukanich showed examples of mistakes.
    1. Prior to 1990 (circulation) and 1985 (proof), mint marks were punched into working dies by hand. To obtain a strong result, multiple strikes of the punch sometimes were needed – if the punch had moved between strikes, re-punching could cause separation or doubling of the mint mark. These are known as Re-punched Mint Marks (RPMs). Dale showed us two examples:
       • A red 1954-D/D/D Lincoln Cent (three overlapping mint marks). The PCGS Population Report for Red specimens shows 4 in MS-63, 68 in MS-64, and 68 in MS-65.
       • A red-brown 1960-D/D Small/Large Date Lincoln Cent (two overlapping mint marks). The PCGS Population Report for Red-Brown specimens shows 16 in MS-63, 26 in MS-64, and 1 in MS-65.
    2. After the intaglio printing steps for US $1 notes, the final printing step is letterpress printing. During this process are printed the two green serial numbers, the black universal Federal Reserve seal, the green Department of the Treasury seal, and the corresponding Federal Reserve identification numbers. Dale showed us a recent find in circulation: a $1 note of the 2013 series in ragged condition, worn and creased. Some of the fourth digit and all of the fifth digit are missing from the right serial number, and the green Treasury seal is missing a small, pie-shaped piece. This note was printed in Fort Worth.
12. Joe Boling showed changes that occurred in circulating currency in French central Africa during World War II.
    1. A 5 Franc note of Banque de L’Afrique Occidentale for French West Africa. Has a handstamp of RF Fezzan.
    2. A 5 Franc note of Afrique Francaise Libre. The Free French invaded French West Africa and Equatorial Africa in the west, where the title was changed to Afrique Francaise Libre. They also added the French tricolor in a corner, but it appears as blue, white, blue (without the red stripe). This was a short snorter with signatures of American servicemen and entertainers; it has a note: Dec 25 1942 FFEA. FFEA stands for Free French Equatorial Africa.
    3. Two 25 Franc notes with a similar change, except here the added tricolor was red white red instead of red white blue. The Free French note was a short snorter.
    4. A 1 franc note of French West Africa and a second note that may have been a counterfeit. Plates and paper were different. This was part of a trio of low-denomination notes needed to replace hoarded coinage.
    5. A Free French Africa campaign medal with an Afrique Francaise Libre bar and a Fezzan bar on the ribbon (Fezzan is SW Libya). The base medal was used for many engagements in different parts of the world: French Indochina, Morroco, and other places.

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

February 7, 2024 – 7:00pm CST.

Attending: Dale Lukanich (Chair) Steve Zitowsky, Dale Carlson, Scott McGowan, Greg Gajda, John Kent, and Rich Lipman.

Dale Lukanich informed the committee there would be no March meeting since most updates from the ANA would come after the National Money Show has concluded in mid-March.

Dale advised the committee chairs to decide who might require hotel rooms during the show, and to submit the list of nights to him. Hotel reservations should be made keeping the deadline in mind.

Subcommittee Reports

Exhibits: No updates yet for exhibits details other than the deadline to submit applications is June 14, 2024. Exhibit setup schedule per ANA website is Monday noon-6pm, Tuesday 7am-1pm.

Pages: Page application is on the ANA website section for the WFoM, and deadline is July 22, 2024. Page age limit is 22 years of age.

Young Numismatists: Jim Ray sent in his update via email that he is in contact with the ANA on the new YN program. Dale L. received a box of information on the YN program and other show information.

Ambassadors: Scott McGowan reported that a “online sign-up form” was emailed to all CCC members; we are at 16 sign-ups so far.

Money Talks: No details at this time, expect more information after March.

Steve Zitowsky supplied the updated “Things to do in Chicago” list from the 2022 ANA WFoM about Chicago and Rosemont area non-numismatic events, attractions, and places to provide spouses of numismatists while at the 2024 show. Steve also reported he will be attending the National Money Show® in March.

Dale Lukanich reported he will be at the Greater Chicago Coin & Currency Show in Tinley Park, and the Will County Coin Show in Joliet, to promote the ANA 2024 WFoM.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:16pm

Next meeting will be Wednesday April 3, 2024 at 7:00pm CDT; watch for invite email from the CCC Secretary.

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

Minutes of the Chicago Coin Club Board

February 21, 2024

The meeting was called to order by club Vice President Melissa Gumm at 6:05PM. This was an online only meeting. Board members present for the meeting were Melissa Gumm, Deven Kane, Scott McGowan, Elliott Krieter, Paul Hybert, Carl Wolf, Bill Burd, Mark Wieclaw, Steve Zitowsky, Rich Lipman, and Ray Dagenais. Excused was John Riley, absent was Jeff Rosinia. One guest was present, Dale Lukanich the 2024 ANA World’s Fair of Money® (WFoM) host club chairperson.

Old Business

WFoM: Dale Lukanich provided an update of the 2024 WFoM planning committee. The ANA has provided materials to Dale to use in Promoting the 2024 WFoM at the Greater Chicago Coin and Currency Show, February 22-24, and at the Will County Coin Show, February 25. The host club committee will not meet in March. Further details for the WFoM are expected after the ANA National Money Show® in March. Dale submitted a hotel request form for board approval for Host club committee chairs to request hotel accommodations during the August 2024 convention.

Legacy Project: Dale Lukanich advised the board that Lyle Daly would be stepping back from the project; he would continue with the interviews but needed guidance on future names. Scott McGowan indicated he would forward the list of names of longtime CCC members he had created for Lyle.

Treasurer’s Report: The December and year-end treasurer’s report was reviewed. Bill Burd noted that we need to do the year-end audit. Audit committee of Steve Zitowsky, Mark Wieclaw, Elliott Krieter, and Bill Burd will meet to complete the audit.

Future Projects: Mark Wieclaw indicated there was no update and he would gear up the initiative soon.

CCC-NYNC Symposium: Scott McGowan reported that he had reached out to NYNC VP Mary Lannin about firming up a date. Mary suggested an October date and indicated she was meeting with other NYNC members that evening and would reach out after with further details. Scott will reach out to confirm the CCC presenter that was recommended by Board discussion in November.

Club Materials: Steve Zitowsky presented the updated list of club materials and medals inventory. The list was provided to Paul Hybert to update on the CCC website.

Chatter Advertising: Scott Indicated he had sent an updated invoice to CNG to be the fourth advertiser in the Chatter and on the website, and will follow up with a call to confirm.

New Business

Featured Speakers: Melissa Gumm presented details on potential featured speakers, and presented the proposal for a speaker stipend. Discussed recruiting presenters for larger audience meetings at the CSNS and ANA WFoM meetings. The proposal for a one-time $250 stipend to obtain a specific speaker was discussed and approved by the board. Melissa also informed the board the March CCC meeting program will be presented by Shanna Schmidt will be The S&S Library: The Formation of a Numismatic Library. Shanna said she would be happy to host the club meeting at her offices to see the library in person. The board approved holding the March meeting at Shanna Schmidt Numismatics Inc., 8 South Michigan, Chicago.

CCC Website update: Paul Hybert presented details on the new Index to Speakers on the CCC website; five years covered so far, with more to be covered as time permits.

CSNS Convention: Scott McGowan reported that the club is registered for a club table on the bourse floor club area, and a meeting room has been reserved for the CCC meeting Saturday May 4, 2024 at 12:00pm in the Utopia A room. Two display cases for the club booth have been reserved, power connection is pending, and four table holder badges requested for John Riley, Carl Wolf, Steve Zitowsky, and Scott McGowan.

Latin School of Chicago: Scott McGowan updated the board on the request to the CCC by Matthew June, a teacher at the Latin School of Chicago, for any club members to assist with a one-week numismatics class. Steve Zitowsky recommended we donate one each of the Primitive Money, CPMX and Columbian Exposition sheets to the school to use for instruction. The board approved the donation.

CCC Auction: Deven Kane and Rich Lipman will manage the 2024 CCC auction in November. Bill Burd indicated there already are 25 club items for this year’s auction. Bill will provide the secure location for item storage. The auction is limited to about 60 items, giving room for another 35 items from club members. Items acceptance will be donations to the club first, then consigned items if space allows.

CCC Banquet: The 2024 banquet will be Wednesday December 11, 2024 with the location to be determined. A banquet committee will need to be created for the banquet planning. Rich Lipman recommended the 2024 committee have one member from past banquet committees. An announcement will be made at future club meetings for committee members.

Melissa Gumm indicated the May board meeting should be in person at Connie’s Pizza. Future 2024 Board meetings will be on: May 15, August 21, and November 20, 2024. Vice President Melissa Gumm adjourned the board meeting at 7:18pm CST.

Respectfully Submitted,
Scott A. McGowan, Secretary

Our 1262nd 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

http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

Contacting Your Editor / Chatter Delivery Option

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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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