This is the MCCC ARCHIVE – for the CURRENT Montgomery County Coin Club see https://montgomerycoinclub.org
December 1999 Bulletin - Web Edition
Celebrating 40 Years of Coin Collecting: 1959-1999
Next Meeting: Tuesday, December 7, 1999
Featured Event: TBA
The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday,
December 7, 1999, at the Silver Spring Senior Citizens Center
(1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring,
Maryland, USA). The featured event will be announced later.
Y2k Last-Chance!: A few new Y2k (Year 2000) hardback copies
of the Guide Book of United States Coins by
R. E. Yeoman remain for sale. The Y2k "Red Book" MCCC
member's price is $7.50 --- a great saving from the usual
retail $12.95 pricetag. See Ed Russell for Red Books
and for other numismatic supplies at big discounts;
all proceeds go to benefit the MCCC and its activities.
The MCCC meeting in November 1999 featured the
annual Charity Auction which raised over
$300 to benefit the local Boys and Girls Clubs.
See the Featured Article below for
details.
At about 7:15 p.m. on the evening of November 9, 1999,
President Willy Massey called the Montgomery County Coin Club
to order.
About 35 coin enthusiasts were present (but alas, no
recognizably Young Numismatists --- though those
present did include representatives of diverse sexes,
races, creeds, national origins, and numismatic interests!).
Honored visitors present this month were Danny Henderson
and Luis Cuevas, collectors mainly of US coins. Also
visiting was Jack Patterson, father of MCCC member
Janna Shupe.
General Announcements
-
- Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky reported that the
MCCC's finances remain exceptionally strong, and called
for suggestions to benefit numismatics on which we may
wish to spend future surplus earnings.
Mr. Kuritzky reminded those present
that a group buy is taking shape on high-quality electronic scales,
accurate to 0.01 gram, excellent for numismatic applications.
Please contact Mr. Kuritzky for additional details; the order
will probably go in during January or February 2000.
- Librarian Kermit Smyth noted two new additions
to the MCCC collection: a paper on Sassanian coins
from the American Numismatic Society, and a copy of the new
Warman's Coins and Currency book.
Dr. Smyth also asked those present whether anybody cares
about VAM varieties or other specialized topics. The MCCC
library has funds available for making new acquisitions, and
the Librarian invites suggestions.
- President Willy Massey read a report from
U. S. Fitness magazine, warning that new cents
(since 1982, when they began to be zinc with copper plating)
can cause ulcers when swallowed. He jokingly recommend checking
the date on pennies before eating them! (^_^)
President Massey also reminded MCCC members that elongated
40th Anniversary MCCC sets (cent, nickel, dime, quarter) are
still available for $4 each, with proceeds to benefit the Club.
- A brief General Discussion ensued, concerning how
the MCCC can offer advice for someone who wants to sell a
collection. This service is particularly appropriate for estates,
where a numismatically naïve person has to dispose of
a deceased collector's hoard. For the past few years, the
MCCC has had members who will consult for a few hours
and will provide non-professional guidance. Perhaps the
MCCC needs to revise and reissue the publication describing
this practice? Someone noted that it may be wise to tell
one's Better Half that this service is available.
Door Prize Results
Awarded in November were six prizes:
- Canadian fifty-cent pieces from 1969 and 1970;
- Canadian quarters of 1962 and 1965;
- a Dutch one guilder dated 1955; and
- a Swiss one franc of 1957.
Lucky door prize winners this month were Mona Berch,
Donald Wilson, Jerry Grzenda, Don McKee, Jack Patterson,
and Andrew Luck.
The 50-50 raffle pot was captured by Tom Hall.
The Bison Chip drawing winner was Janna Shupe;
this is her first "leg". When your name is drawn three
times for the Bison Chip, you
get a proof silver eagle. You must be present to win!
November Exhibit Highlights
The MCCC Display this month was host to a number of good exhibits:
- Jerry Grzenda showed two Honduras "Order of Morizon"
awards (sash with silver badge, and separate star) from the
short-lived Central American Republic of the 1800's; he also
showed gold and silver coins issued by the C.A.R. Mr. Grzenda
then displayed a commemorative Franklin Mint medal and
Nepalese stamps (first day of issue cancellation) associated
with the climbing of Mt. Everest. (The National Geographic
Society has a related exhibit visible currently at its Headquarters
in Washington, DC.) Also Mr. Grzenda showed a gold coin issued
by the government of Nepal, 1983, commemorating the first successful
climb of Mt. Everest. In honor of the tenth anniversary of the fall
of the Berlin Wall, Mr. Grzenda exhibited some coins from East
Germany, including several commemoratives. Finally, he
displayed a three-medal set, two of silver and one of bronze,
released by the Philadelphia mint in 1970 for the Stone
Mountain Confederate Memorial.
- Herb Hall exhibited an impressive new Souvenir
Card with duck stamps, a first day of issue cancellation.
- Kermit Smyth displayed a paper advertisement
which he found recently in an old collection, from a coin shop
located in N.W. Washington DC: the famous Ben Douglas's shop,
a store of legend some decades ago.
Feature Attraction: Charity Auction
The MCCC annual Charity Auction this month was a great
success --- bidding on many of the donated lots was heated,
and the total amount raised was $313.75. The member who
came closest in guessing what the total would come to was
Ken Huff; the second closest guess was made by
Dorothy Blank. A big thank you! to
all who participated, and to our active auctioneer
Don McKee.
MCCC Web Comments and Feedback
Please send bug reports and suggestions for improvement to
Mark Zimmermann via
z (at) his.com. The MCCC Bulletin is copyright
© 1999 by the Directors of the
Montgomery
County Coin Club --- who thank the American Numismatic Association (and
especially Ms. Susie Nulty!) for help in sharing this bulletin with numismatists everywhere.