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Montgomery County Coin Club

March 1998 Bulletin

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Next MCCC Meeting: Tuesday, March 17, 1998
Featured Speaker: Michael Berkman on Great Collections of United States Numismatics

The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, 1998, at the Senior Citizens Center on Forest Glen Road in Silver Spring, Maryland. Young Numismatist Michael Berkman will speak about "Great Collections of United States Numismatics." Michael has won prizes at national coin conventions, and his talk will be fun and educational.

Invitation to Exhibit: The Green of Spring and St. Patrick's Day

MCCC members are always encouraged to bring and display interesting items from their collections, particularly items related to current events. In March, as we approach the vernal equinox, consider showing "Spring" theme coins or other pieces that strike your fancy (flowers, perhaps?)! Our meeting is on Saint Patrick's Day, so either wear green, bring coins with verdigris, or bring some green to bid in the Club auction.

Overdue Dues Reminder

Don't forget to pay Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky your $6 for 1998 membership in MCCC --- or $1 for Young Numismatists--- what a deal! Club dues, supplemented by auction commissions, 50-50 raffle proceeds, and kind donations are what pay for producing and mailing the newsletter.

Looking Ahead: Coming Speakers

In April, long time MCCC member and auctioneer Don McKee will give a talk, illustrated by slides, on his "Sixty Years of Collecting Stamps and Coins --- Which Hobby is the Most Satisfying and Remunerative?" While numismatists know the answer, we will invite the Silver Spring Philatelic Society to give another perspective. (More puzzling is how Don managed to start collecting prenatally.)

In May, Wayne Smith of the Black Patriots Foundation, who was unable to come in February due to weather-induced flight delays, will come and talk about the Black Patriots coins.

Prizes for Oldest Coins Found in Circulation by YNs!

The Club will award prizes at the March meeting to the two Young Numismatists who bring in the oldest coins they find in circulation this month. One prize will be for the oldest coin, and the other will be for the coin oldest than the YN who finds it. YNs are on their honor in finding the coins in circulation, not from their collections. (These awards are made possible by the generosity of MCCC members, so please consider donating items to encourage new collectors and broaden the base of future numismatists.)

Meeting Day Changes Beginning in April!

By a vote of 21-3, the members present at the February meeting voted to change the meeting day from the third Tuesday to the second Tuesday of the month. The motion to change the date was made by Simcha Kuritzky, so that MCCC meetings will not conflict with the meetings of the Bowie Coin Club and the Washington Numismatic Society. Opponents of the change pointed out that the new date creates a conflict with the Silver Spring Philatelic Society. After much discussion, the motion was adopted. Accordingly, the April meeting will be on Tuesday, April 14.

February Meeting Notes

Of the 38 members present, including 6 YNs, the Door Prizes were won by: Zac VanLuling (a YN), Ed Russell, and Dave Magee. John Chiusano won the 50-50 raffle drawing. A. C. Hansmann won his first Bison Chip leg. (Five names were drawn of absent members; to win the Bison Chip, one must be present at a meeting.)
The inability of the speaker to attend left it to Ken Swab to fill in for him. Ken showed a short videotape about the Black Patriots Foundation and talked about the dispute between the Foundation and the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee over the reverse design of the coin. The Committee favored a design showing an African-American Revolutionary War soldier with a leveled rifle; the Foundation favored a family grouping of three generations, including a soldier, from the to-be-built memorial. Treasury Secretary Rubin selected the design favored by the Foundation.
Ed Russell took excellent notes for the MCCC Bulletin while the editor was unfortunately out of town during the February meeting. (Many thanks, Ed!)

Olympic Pins and Black History Coins and Medals Exhibited

Presentations by members at the February MCCC meeting focused on Olympic and African and African-American themes.

Tom Hall showed a 1946 Philadelphia mint Booker T. Washington commemorative half dollar, in connection with Black History Month and the release of the 1998 Black Patriots commemorative coins.
Herb Hall (no relation) exhibited about 25 different Olympic pins, in honor of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. Herb's impressive display included pins from the 1980 Lake Placid games, the 1994 Lillehammer games, a set of 14 Xerox Olympic pins, two silver commemoratives from the 1964 Olympics, and a Mexican 1968 Olympic commemorative coin.
Simcha Kuritzky, in honor of Black History Month, showed about 40 coins and medals from numerous countries. Among the most noteworthy were a 1838 Hard Times token depicting an African American woman (pictured on the first page of the February MCCC Bulletin, an unauthorized Martin Luther King, Jr. coin from Panama, and an Olympic medal coin depicting Jesse Owens from the 1936 Olympics.
Ed Russell showed a Jackie Robinson "Hall of Fame" silver medal, a 1947 Booker T. Washington commemorative half dollar, and three George Washington Carver - Booker T. Washington halves, one from each mint: a 1952 Philadelphia, a 1953 San Francisco, and a 1954 Denver coin.