• Contents of this Issue
  • Minutes of the 1263rd Meeting
  • Travels of the Lily
  • Exhibits
  • Minutes of the 2024 WFoM Host Club Planning Meeting
  • Upcoming Meeting
  • Important Dates
  • Chatter Matter
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Chatter

Minutes of the 1263rd Meeting

The 1263rd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was called to order by First Vice President Melissa Gumm at 6:45 PM CDT, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. This was an in-person and online meeting. Attendance at the meeting was 16 members plus one guest applying for membership in person, and 14 online for a total of 31.

Club Meeting Minutes and Treasurer’s Report

The March 2024 meeting minutes were approved as published in the Chatter, both in print and on the CCC website. Treasurer Elliott Krieter presented the March period treasurer’s report detailing revenue of $735.00 (Dues, advertising) and expenses of $250.00 (Chatter Expense) for a period total of $485.00. The report was approved by the membership. Elliott also reviewed the January period Treasurer’s report showing $2,360.00 revenue and $1,820.00 expenses, for a period total of $540.00. The January report was accepted and approved by the club.

New Members and Correspondence

Secretary Scott McGowan did the second reading of Joshua Benevento’s application for membership, which was approved by the club membership. A first reading of a membership application for Franck Z. KoKo was completed. Franck, a resident of Bellwood, Illinois, is new to numismatics and still developing specific areas of collecting. Franck is recommended for membership by Drew Michyeta and Bob Feiler.

Old Business

1. The club recognized and thanked members Shanna Schmidt and Tyler Rossi for hosting the March meeting at their offices, and the great presentation and refreshments provided.
2. Melissa Gumm reminded that space is still available for future meeting featured speakers.
3. Melissa read a report from Dale Lukanich on the 2024 WFoM host club committee stating the convention stipend was approved, ANA is working on the parking passes for Ambassadors, 21 ambassadors have signed up so far, Money Talks deadline is earlier than previous years, and Eugene Freeman is sending extra Scout badges for use during the 2024 convention.
4. Melissa read an update from Dale Lukanich on the Legacy project committee; he is communicating with Lianna from the NNP on dates for future interviews and it is possible to do two interviews in one day.
5. No new updates were reported from the Hall of Fame, Special Projects, or Audit committees.
6. The club discussed unpaid member dues and since there were numerous checks in hand from the PO Box that have yet to be recorded, it was decided to table membership removals until the May 8th meeting.

New Business

1. Melissa reminded club members that the CSNS Convention is in Schaumburg from May 1 to May 4. Club Meeting at noon on May 4th will be in-person only. CCC will have a table in the club area of the bourse.
2. CCC in the news: our press release about the 2023 Hall of Fame inductees was published in E-Sylum and Coin World, and our club meeting write-up for the visit to the S&S library was published in E-Sylum.
3. Deven Kane gave a brief review of his recent visit to the British Museum while participating in his 10th marathon, in Brighton England. Deven showed photos of displayed coins and coin hoards on display, including the 1750 BCE tablet of the “world’s oldest complaint” to a merchant named Ea-Nasir from a customer named Nanni. To read more on this tablet that has become a social media meme, google Complaint tablet to Ea-Nasir. Deven also showed photos of the Royal Pavilion, originally built in 1787 to be a seaside residence for King George IV, and has since served as a civic building and a World War I hospital.
4. Melissa recognized that CCC president John Riley was in attendance at the meeting, and it was great to have him back as he continues his recovery.

Featured Program

Deven Kane on Travels of the Lily, the story of how a coin issued in Southern Italy inspired imitations and became a trade coin in the Eastern Mediterranean. Following the program, First VP Melissa Gumm announced that a CCC speakers medal and ANA educational certificate would be presented to Deven at a later date.

Show and Tell

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

Melissa Gumm adjourned the meeting at 8:50pm CDT.

Respectfully Submitted,
Scott A. McGowan, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
Travels of the Lily

a presentation by Deven Kane,
to our April 10, 2024 meeting

Many stories start with a prologue – before we saw any coins we heard of some of the European medieval political strife covering many decades. It was a time when Western Christianity had two (sometimes three) Popes, each with their own supporters and seat of power. In the 1266 Battle of Benevento, Charles I of Anjou (a younger son of a king of France) defeated Manfred, King of Sicily. (At that time, the kingdom of Sicily encompassed the island of Sicily as well as the lower part of the Italian peninsula, including Naples. It has been known by various names over the centuries, including Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.)

His son, Charles II of Naples (ruled 1285-1309), issued a large silver coin with a facing view of him seated on a throne flanked by a facing lion on each side, holding a scepter and an orb topped with a cross; the reverse features a large cross with a lily at each tip and a lily in each corner. The fleur de lis was a symbol of French royalty. Known as a carlino, this coin was the same size as two established coins: the dominant silver coin of its time, the French gros tournois, and the grosso rinforzato struck by the Roman Senate. It was about 24 mm in diameter, containing 4.01 grams of .929 fine silver (3.73 grams of pure silver).

We saw a carlino from 1303, with an obverse legend of KAROL SCD DEI GRA IERL ET SICIL REX (Charles the second, king of Jerusalem and Sicily), and a reverse legend of HONOR REGIS IVDICIVM DILIGIT (the honor of the king loves judgment, from Psalm 99:4). Charles I had expanded his empire into the Balkans and purchased a claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1277, even though Christians had not ruled that city since the Sultan Saladin had driven them out in 1187. By 1303, the last remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Acre, was lost too, but the title was still prestigious. More significantly, the island of Sicily, which Charles I had conquered in 1266, had been lost in a 1282 revolt called the Sicilian Vespers. Charles II himself was captured in the ensuing war, and had renounced his claims to Sicily as a condition of his release in 1288. His ally the pope immediately released him from this promise, however, so the coin legend was appropriate.

The profusion of lilies in the reverse design gave the coin its nickname, gigliato, after the Provençal name for them, gillat. The basic coin design first used by Charles II appears in a number of issues by his descendants, successors, and others. The remainder of the program showed variations, both small and large, in the basic design of coins issued during almost the next 200 years.

At that time, Europe was mostly ruled by royal dynasties. A ruler with many children might marry some off to other dynasties; the death of a ruler with no children might result in a distant cousin reaching the throne, possibly changing the dynamics with other dynasties (a polite way of describing intrigues, assassinations, and wars). Deven showed a family tree starting with Charles II. Five of his children are listed, under Houses for Hungary, Taranto, Naples-Provence, Anjou-Durazzo, and Anjou-Maine.

Robert I succeeded his father as King of Naples (ruled 1309-1343). We saw a carlino/gigliato circa 1309-1317 that followed the usual design, except for the updated legends: the obverse states ROBERT DEI GRA IERL ET SICIL REX while the reverse differs only slightly with HONOR REGIS IUDICIU DILIGIT. Also following the usual design was a coin from Robert as Counts of Provence and Forcalquier (in France), with obverse legend of ROBERT DEI GRA IHL ET SICIL REX and reverse legend of COMES PUINCIE ET FORCALQERII. A carlino/gigliato of Robert sometimes is called a Robertini.

We next saw a posthumous strike from Naples of Robert I. Many Robertini appear to have been issued in Naples and Provence after his death, until an acute silver shortage at the end of the century. Robert I was succeeded by his granddaughter, Joanna I, who was Queen of Naples and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier 1343-1382.

The basic obverse design, the facing view of a ruler seated upon a throne flanked by lion heads, even appeared on Papal Robertini from the last year of Pope Martin V (1417-1431) and then under Pope Eugenius IV. The obverse legend of this piece, ROBERT DEI GRA IERL ET SICIL RE, still mentions Robert I; the reverse legend, HONOR REGIS IUDICIU DILIGIT, is familiar, but added is the flail, the segno of the papal mint-master Domenico Gherardini, which also appears on regular grossi of both popes.

Although Joanna I ruled for many years and had four husbands, she died childless, ending that direct branch of the family. We saw a gigliato from Provence of Joanna and Louis, with the obverse showing a seated Louis surrounded by the legend LODOV IOH DEI GRA IHR E SICL REX; the usual reverse design is surrounded by the legend COMES E COMITSA PVICE E FORCHAQE. Only one Neapolitan issue of Louis and Joanna is known; these do not seem to have been issued during her sole reign or with her other three husbands.

Deven showed examples of coins from the families of the other descendants of Charles II – these typically retain some of the usual design elements while introducing some new elements. As an example, the Hungarian groshen used local legends on both sides, keeping the usual obverse design while the reverse design featured the Anjou-Hungarian coat of arms. Some realms maintained the usual design elements longer than others – as with a shown mid-15th century coin from the Kingdom of Naples (Second House of Anjou). However, this coin weighed under 3.5 grams, about 0.5 grams lighter than the earliest carlino.

Quarter carlino and half carlino coins were made at various mints by various rulers, but the smaller coins have little of the usual design elements, and the legends are shorter. These pieces were minimally covered in this presentation.

The coins of the Knights of Rhodes (Knights Hospitallers) adapted the gigliato reverse to the reverse of their coin by placing a shield of the Hospitallers at the end of each arm of the cross. The order’s Grand Master, Hélion of Villeneuve (1319-1346), appears on the obverse of the shown coin with head facing, kneeling left to a patriarchal cross set on three steps. The obverse and reverse legends pertain to the order. Coins were shown for other Grand Masters, including: Dieudonné of Gozon (1346-1353), Peter of Corneillan (1353-1355), Roger of Pins (1355-1365), Raymond Bérenger (1365-1374), Robert de Juilly (1374-1377), John-Ferdinand of Heredia (1377-1396), Philibert of Naillac (1396-1421), and Antonio Fluvian (1421-1437). In the middle of the shown coins, the family arms or symbol started appearing in the field behind the Grand Master.

After the Knights of Saint John introduced the gigliato in the East, some other local states introduced their imitation of the gigliato. The Beylik of Aydin imitated the gigliato of Robert I, but their legends referred to the mint name of Ephesus. Similarly the Genoese on Chios minted gigliati, but their coins showed the Doge of Genoa wearing a Ducal cap and the legend followed the Genoese tradition of naming the long dead emperor Conrad II.

Rounding out the presentation were a few more coin types still carrying features of the gigliato, ending with a coin (1502-1503) of Ferdinand and Isabella, the first king and queen of Spain, from the Naples mint. Spain’s gaining of the Kingdom of Naples was another tale of the rise and fall of European royal dynasties.

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Show and Tell

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

1. Melissa Gumm A token for one free game from Par-King Skill Golf, since 1955 “America’s Best Miniature Golf.” As a child, Melissa always wanted to play Par-King but was told it was for adults – it has a 48-inch height minimum to be admitted. Par-King originated in the late 1950s in Morton Grove as 4G Fairways, George’s Gorgeous Golfing Garden and was branded in the 1960s as the “Mini golf Taj Mahal,” the most elaborate miniature golf in the nation. The current course, now Lincolnshire, opened in 1977. The token being shown says across the top America’s Most unusual golf course, and at the bottom lucky you, Par-King Skill Golf; Good until July 1,1992 is in the center. On the reverse One free game non-transferable is at the top, Lucky Roulette, Adult Nite, Prairie View & Morton Grove in the middle, with Not Good on holidays, no Cash Value at the bottom, surrounded by a roulette wheel design.
2. Deven Kane showed various items.
   1. A piece of exonumia from Brighton UK, awarded after limping through 26.2 miles – his tenth completed marathon!
   2. A silver Roman Republican denarius from 57 BC, minted at Rome, acquired at Coincraft which is across the street from the British Museum. By the moneyers M. Plaetorius and M. F. Cestianus; the obverse features a turreted and draped bust of Cybele while the central device on the reverse is a curule chair. This coin is countermarked.
   3. A silver tetradrachm from Magnesia on the Maeander, 33mm in diameter and weighing 16.64 grams, from the mid-40s of the 2nd century BC. The obverse features a bust of Artemis with a shouldered quiver while the reverse features her twin brother Apollo leaning on a tripod, all in a laurel wreath. Artemis was the city goddess of Magnesia on the Maeander; a large temple was built there in her honor.
3. Lyle Daly showed roll finds and Coriosolite coins.
   1. Even though Lyle works at a bank, he has not searched rolls for several years. On February 17th, 2024, he bought two rolls each of cent, nickel, dime, quarter, and half. Among his finds are: mint state 1968-S Lincoln Cent, circulated 1964 silver dime, circulated 1981D dime (planchet error?), and mint state 2021D Kennedy half. Four rolls of cents on April 1, 2024 yielded a mint state 1959 cent; one roll showed the reverse of an Indian Head at one end.
   2. War Coins of the Sun Warriors by Chris Rudd is subtitled Silver staters of the Coriosolites of Armorica, 56 BC. It includes a reprint of Armorican Art by Major Norman Rybot, with an extensive introduction and edits by Elizabeth Cottam and Chris Rudd. Amorican Art was originally published as an article in the bulletin of the Societe Jersiase in 1937. Rybot’s detailed drawings, reconstructing every die used to strike the approx 10,000 coins of the La Marquanderie hoard from Jersey, forms the basis for the Celtic Improvisations: An Art Historical Analysis of Coriosolite Coins book by John Hooker. Rybot’s classification sorted method is now considered to be false.
   3. Two well worn Coriosolite coins, each hand marked on one side with a number (6 and 35). During the presentation Lyle stated these were from the La Marquanderie hoard, but after the meeting informed the editor that their provenance is from the Trésor de Trébry discovery in 1973.
4. Noah Graf showed a silver stavraton (6.60grams, 24mm) of John VIII Palaeologus (ruled 1425-1448). The obverse has a facing nimbate bust of Christ holding a book of the gospels, and eight raised dots in the surrounding margin; with IC and XC in field, to either side of the bust. The reverse has a facing bust of the Emperor, nimbate and crowned, surrounded by two rings of the legend in Greek. With the final extinction of Byzantine gold coinage in the 14th century, the major denomination became the large silver stavraton, which was introduced by the emperor John V Palaiologos around 1367. Since it was designed to replace gold or electrum coinage, the new silver denomination was comparatively weighty for the time. In fact, it was the heaviest silver coin in Europe during this period. Always crude in style, they became even more so during the succeeding reigns of John V’s son Manuel II and his grandson John VIII. Nonetheless, this present stavraton of John VIII is relatively well-struck and relatively well-centered, with only a small part of the outer legend off the flan. Despite its condition, the legend remains excessively difficult to read, even with a transcription, on account of the crude style. John VIII was the second to last Byzantine or Eastern Roman Emperor, succeeded only by his brother Constantine XI who died at the Siege of Constantinople in 1453. Until the publication in 1991 of a hoard of 90 coins unearthed in Istanbul and possibly buried during the 1453 siege itself, no stavrata of Constantine XI were known to exist, so all collectors had to end the series with John VIII. Even now, their excessive rarity (only 35 coins of the 1991 hoard were Constantine XI stavrata) and the strong demand for a coin of the last emperor prices those coins out of the range of a collector of average means. Accordingly, the stavraton of John VIII is functionally the last major Byzantine (or Roman) coin available to most collectors.
5. To complement the featured program, Bob Leonard showed many carlini and gigliati.
   1. Two originals by Robert of Anjou: first type of Naples, with full name; and a piece from Provence.
   2. Two pieces from Anatolian Beyliks: an imitation gigliato of Robert of Anjou on a large flan (circa 1350-1400), and a gigliato from Ephesus (circa 1341-1348) with the legend starting on one side and ending on the other side.
   3. A later issue gigliato (1347-1390) of Chios under Genoa.
   4. And many gigliati of the Grand Masters at Rhodes, including multiple varieties from some: long beard and short beard types of Hélion de Villenueve; with and without arms of pine cone of Roger de Pins; and normal reverse inscription [Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem at Rhodes] and with prayer to Holy Cross reverse inscription, of Philipert de Naillac.
   5. Gigliati der Johanniter auf Rhodos von 1355-1421, the publication of a huge hoard of Rhodian gigliati, including many with variant reverse inscription, sold at auction in Munich in 1973.
6. Scott McGowan showed a range of items.
   1. A check of the First National Bank of Cooperstown, New York, from the 1870s. On the left is a view of the Leatherstocking statue erected in the 1860s. Cooperstown is named for James Fenimore Cooper, an American author who wrote The Leatherstocking Tales.
   2. Checks from the Wilber National Bank of Oneata, New York.
   3. Two elongated coins, made while waiting for the recent solar eclipse, from the Alder Planetarium.
   4. A framed print, of Norman Rockwell’s “The Collector,” commissioned and distributed by the Franklin Mint Collectors Society. On the back is attached the letter sent with each print.
7. John Kent showed a tin medal engraved by Pierre-Francois Bertonnier and struck in 1970. It weighs 170 grams and is 80mm in diameter. The obverse has a portrait of Jean Baptiste Colbert, Controller General of Finances in France (1661-1683) under King Louis XIV. The legend on the reverse, Labor Omnia Vincit Improbus, has an error – the original translation of Vergil’s Greek into Latin used “vicit” instead of the “vincit” used here. The intent was “Steady work overcomes all” which is an apt legend for the hard worker Colbert. Although portrayed as a villain in Dumas’ novels, Colbert did good things.
8. Mark Wieclaw showed a Gibraltar 2001 5 crowns piece struck on a planchet with three metals: platinum in the center, surrounded by gold, which is surrounded by silver. In a plastic capsule within a case, this proof product of the Pobjoy Mint was difficult for Mark to photograph it; so he also searched online for a professional closeup to show us. Bought over the counter based upon bullion value some years ago, the shop offered less than the total bullion value due to the anticipated expenses in separating the three metals. It weighs 155.5 grams and is 50mm in diameter; containing 2.36 ounces of pure gold, 0.87 ounces of pure platinum, and 1.78 ounces of pure silver. Only 199 pieces were made of this, the world’s first tri-metal coin.

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

April 3, 2024 – 7:00pm CDT.

Attending: Dale Lukanich (Chair), Bob Feiler, Dale Carlson, Scott McGowan, Greg Gajda, Rich Lipman, Carl Wolf, Jim Ray, Noah Graf, Mark Wieclaw, and Ray Dagenais.

Dale Lukanich called the meeting to order at 7:01pm. He provided an update to the committee on his communications with the ANA, indicating the stipend for the 2024 Host Club committee was approved at $8,000.00 and that they were working towards getting the requested volunteer parking passes. World’s Fair of Money® details are on its website, at www.money.org/worldsfairofmoney/. Current details include show hours, meetings information, convention floor layout, lodging details, application forms, and more.

Dale reminded the committee chairs to submit requests for hotel rooms during the show using the form he supplied. Hotel reservations should be made keeping the deadline in mind. CCC reimburses approved hotel stays for room amount only, no taxes, meals, or incidentals.

Subcommittee Reports

Exhibits: Deadline to submit applications is June 14, 2024. Exhibit set up 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. Pages age limit is 22 years of age.

Young Numismatists: Jim Ray reported the ANA’s YN flyer is ready to start sending to youth organizations and now includes a QR code.

Ambassadors: Scott McGowan reported 21 ambassadors have signed up to date, about ⅓ of the needed amount; will reach out again with reminders.

Money Talks: Money Talks will be two days. The application deadline is April 12, 2024 which is two weeks earlier than the 2022 deadline. The application form is on the ANA website.

Dale Lukanich indicated he would send the list of all committee members to the committee for reference.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:35pm.

Next meeting will be Wednesday May 1, 2024 at 7:00pm CDT. Watch for invite email from the CCC Secretary.

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

Our 1264th 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.

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