Montgomery County Coin Club

July 1998 Bulletin

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The Club encourages members to invite young friends and neighbors to attend our meetings, and is happy to arrange for volunteer speakers at schools, Scout meetings, or other youth gatherings. We also are proud to sponsor exhibits at local libraries. If you're interested in helping, or if you need a speaker for your group, contact Ken Swab or any of the other MCCC officers.

• Guests: Welcomed at the June meeting was Bruce Weiner, of Springfield, Virginia, a collector of U.S. and Canadian coins.
• Treasury and Library Reports: Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky observed that the Club's finances are in good shape. Librarian Kermit Smyth said that President Swab had returned his overdue books, and commented that he himself had brought back the club microscope after using it to examine and attribute some Indian Cent varieties. As always, members should note that the MCCC library catalog is available on paper, or electronically on the Web; you are invited to borrow reference materials and to enrich your numismatic expertise. Kermit also asked members to make suggestions to him for books for the library to acquire.
• Local Coin Shows: MCCC members were reminded that the Metropolitan Washington Numismatic Society will have its next show at New Carrolton's Ramada Inn on July 10-12, 1998. Proceeds from this event go to some fine charitable causes.
• Door Prizes: Vice President William C. Massey announced the free give-aways this month: a 1947 silver quarter-balboa from Panama, and (donated by Treasurer Kuritzky) two 1968 Israeli mint sets and one Victory Commemorative IL 10 coin set in original mint packaging. The winners were Jerry Grzenda, YN Ezra Berch, Dorothy Blank, and Jack Schadegg. The 50-50 Raffle was captured by Scott Helmick, who plans to report it on his income taxes (he works at the IRS!). YN Ezra Berch got his first leg toward the Bison Chip prize. (To win a leg, one must be present at a meeting; the first to get three legs wins. If this doesn't make sense, please feel free to give your 1937-D Indian Head (a.k.a. "Buffalo") nickels to the Club without examining them too closely!)

President Swab pointed out, on the other hand, that the Connecticut quarter will carry an image of the Charter Oak, and that Maryland's symbol should be distinctive. MCCC arborists countered that the Connecticut specimen was scarcely a sapling in comparison to Maryland's mighty 500-year-old tree --- and, in fact, no longer even exists.

But although logic is on the side of Maryland's tree, 210 years ago Connecticut ratified the Constitution before Maryland did, and thus Connecticut's quarter comes first in 1999 --- so the tree as state icon is apparently already taken. Discussion moved to other candidate emblems for our coin. Suggestions included the oriole (the state bird, as well as the Baltimore baseball team's mascot), the raven (in honor of Edgar Allen Poe, notable Maryland writer), Fort McHenry (where Francis Scott Key penned the national anthem during the War of 1812), the crab (a state delicacy), and the Chesapeake Bay. YN Robin Zimmermann suggested that multiple symbols might be used on the coin.

A motion resolving that MCCC shold make a recommendation to the Governor for a design for Maryland's quarter easily passed. A motion to amend Mr. Howard's letter to nominate Fort McHenry failed on a vote of 10 for and 15 against. A motion to delay discussion until specific design sketches could be brought to a future MCCC meeting then failed to pass. Finally, the original motion to approve Mr. Howard's draft letter proposing the Wye Oak was approved by a 13 to 6 majority, with many abstentions.

It was noted that the Club could send multiple missives to the Governor recommending alternative designs, although President Swab observed that sending a different suggestion every month might reduce the impact of each note. Nevertheless, It is likely that this subject is likely to resurface in MCCC meetings to come.

• Herb Hall showed a Canadian coin set honoring the 90th anniversary of the opening of the Royal Mint in Ottawa in 1908.
• Jerry Grzenda shared some of his material related to the Spanish-American War, which was triggered a century ago by the sinking of the US Maine on February 15, 1898. Several of the pieces shown were medals issued in honor of Admiral Dewey; they had at one time belonged to Mr. John P. Judge, an American seaman who served in that war. Mr. Grzenda also displayed a West Indies campaign medal and another Spanish campaign medal from that era, plus a Spanish-American War Veterans Club medal.
• Simcha Kuritzky exhibited several coins and medals of Israel related to his talk.

Mr. Kuritzky's lecture began with a review of the ancient history of Israel and how the loss of the Jewish homeland to the Romans 2,000 years ago led to the development of the Jewish cultural image as stateless scholars, concerned more with spiritual than with military issues.

The British helped the Jews take their homeland back from the Turks, but in the War for Independence (1948-49) there was great uncertainty that the state of Israel could survive at all. The first coins struck by Israel were minted in Jerusalem in June 1948, but were not actually issued until April 1949. Mr. Kuritzky suggested, based on his analysis, that the primary reason for issuing those coins was "to have hard evidence of the existence of Israel," just as was the case for "the most Jewish of coins issued in ancient times, during revolts against the Romans."

After discussing the political situation surrounding the divided city of Jerusalem after the 1949 armistice, Mr. Kuritzky turned to the 1956-57 Sinai campaign, the Egyptian blockade of Israeli shipping and seizure of the Suez Canal, and the brilliant military campaign that followed. Israeli forces took the Sinai peninsula in only four days, but pressure from the Soviet Union forced a withdrawal. The United Nations sent forces to keep the peace beginning in March 1957. Very few medals were issued for this campaign; some were privately minted a decade later.

In 1966-67, serious concerns arose for Israel's survival, as Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq formed military alliances and renewed blockades of Israeli shipping. The Jewish state was not strong enough economically to sustain a long war, and U.S. support was lukewarm at best. On the other side, however, the Soviets did not help the Arab nations as much as they had expected. After a period of increasing tension, on June 5, 1967, Israel struck, destroying the Egyptian air force. Syria bombed Haifa, and there was great confusion on all sides as to what precisely was going on. An armor invasion of the Sinai also began on June 5, and succeeded in reaching the Suez Canal by June 8, at which point Egypt acceded to a cease-fire.

In Jerusalem itself, Mr. Kuritzky noted, 183 Israeli soldiers died in the battle for the Old City. Late on the second day of the War, after a debate over the strategy to pursue, the decision was made to go ahead; the Jordanian forces pulled back when word arrived of Israel's victories in the Sinai, and the city was taken with little resistance by June 7.

Numismatic commemoratives of the Six-Day War include a medal given to Israeli paratroopers (showing the Lion's Gate) and private victory medals. Mr. Kuritzky exhibited these, as well as many other medals such as one honoring those who worked on the election held in Jerusalem in October 1969 (the first city-wide election), and silver and gold coins minted in the 10 and 100 Lirot denominations.

"In retrospect, the paradigm completely changed," Mr. Kuritzky observed --- and the new image of Israeli military superiority due to its victory of "Biblical proportions" in the Six-Day War led to the subsequent disaster of the Yom Kippur War, when many people expected Israel to have performed much better than they were capable of doing." The places completely changed" in the U.S.'s perceptions of Israel.

Mr. Kuritzky concluded his talk by answering questions from the audience. He noted that the earliest modern-era Israeli coins struck in Jerusalem were done on presses from a ceramic factory --- so their low quality and tiny mintages were understandable. He also explained that boundary changes elsewhere than in Jerusalem were not usually commemorated.

• Jonetta Russell, as usual, provided splendid refreshments for the Club.
• Mae Clarke baked a delicious bundt cake, which drew praise from all those who sampled it.
• Jack Schadegg served ably as auctioneer.
• Willy Massey ran the door prize and 50-50 raffle drawings.
• Simcha Kuritzky handled the auction accounting and the Bison Chip drawing.

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