This is the MCCC ARCHIVE – for the CURRENT Montgomery County Coin Club see https://montgomerycoinclub.org
February 2002 Bulletin - Early Web Edition
MC3 = Numismatics!
Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 12, 2002
The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet on the second
Tuesday of the month,
12 February 2002, at the Silver Spring Senior Citizens Center
(1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA).
Doors open at 7:00pm, and the meeting begins with the Pledge of Allegiance
at approximately 7:20pm. The featured event this month had not been announced
as of press time for this edition of the Bulletin.
On 8 January 2002 the MCCC was called to order at 7:20pm.
This month 38 people were present; no new visitors announced
themselves. (Be sure to invite friends and co-workers to come with
you to the next MCCC meeting. Young Numismatists are particularly
welcome --- they're the future of our hobby.)
Inauguration Ceremony
The MCCC Officers and Board of Directors came to the front of the room,
raised their right hands, and were sworn in to their posts. The Oath of
Office was administered by Lt. Col. Leon Robert. See the
January Bulletin
for the list of MCCC officials, or consult
http://www.his.com/~z/MCCC/club_mccc.html.
Announcements
Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky reported that the Club finished 2001
in the black by $400; the MCCC also donated significant sums to the ANA (in memory
of Steve Taylor) and to the local Boys and Girls Clubs last year. Simcha
reminded everyone to pay 2002 dues ($6 for adults, $1 for Young
Numismatists). On the topic of upcoming coin events, Simcha noted:
- the ANA Midwinter Convention will be in Jacksonville in March
- the ANA-sponsored Atlantic Rarities Shows will be in Baltimore on
18 March and 4 November
- the Frederick Coin Show will occur on 1-2 February
- the 41st annual Wilmington Coin Show will be held 18-20 January
Book Sale
Vice President Ed Russell has a very few hardback 2002 "Red Books" still
available at the bargain price of $8.50 --- contact him at the next meeting to
get one, before they're all gone.
Door Prizes & Gold Raffle
Willy Massey announced the Door Prizes this month:
- a Souvenir Card: an intaglio printed bank note reproduction commemorating
the Middle Atlantic Numismatic Association's 40 Anniversary (16-18 October 1992)
- a silver French 1 Franc piece of 1918
- a silver French 1 Franc piece of 1866 (showing Napoleon III on the obverse)
The gold raffle prize was an Austrian Ducat dated 1915 (a restrike) containing
1/9th ounce of Au.
This month the door prize winners were Leon Robert, Rob
Dorsey, and Ben Kalman. The Gold Raffle
was won by Henry Adler.
The Bison Chip went to George McManus. This is
his first "leg" of the three needed to win the Bison Chip prize. (You
must be present when your name is called to win a Bison Chip.)
Congratulations to all the lucky winners.
Display Case Highlights
MCCC member exhibits this month were rich and diverse:
- Ken Swab showed something that "... combines two of the three things
that make life worth living". Ken's exhibit omitted minor-league baseball but
included money and chocolate, in the form of miniature chocolate "Euro Notes"
in all seven denominations, 5 to 500 Euros.
- Wayne Wilcox displayed a five cent die trial piece of 1869,
struck in steel --- possibly the only one in the universe. The coin was
encapsulated and graded PR-61; it was labeled type J-689. Wayne commented
on the magnetic properties of steel and other materials, the Curie temperature
phenomenon, and related issues.
- Jerry Grzenda presented an uncut sheet of South Carolina fractional
currency dated 1 February 1863, eight notes in denominations of 10 to 75 cents,
individually hand-signed. Jerry also showed other Civil War era fractional notes
from Georgia and South Carolina, as well as a set of specimen notes from
the Bahamas, series of 1968, printed for collectors in denominations from
50 cents to $100, plus two actual as-issued Bahaman notes.
- Simcha Kuritzky displayed, in honor of the Euro, several earlier
attempts to issue international coinage --- Esperanto League coins (1, 10, and
25 "Stelloi", with Esperanto inventor Zamenhof's portrait on the 25) --- silver
and brass 1946 United Nations proposed coinage, withdrawn due to objections
by the USA --- 1952 Hamburg Mint 2.5 and 5 "Europino" coins --- a 1/10th "Europa"
pattern piece dated 1928 --- and an 1870's era pattern coin using both gold
and silver in equal values following Dana Bickford's design.
- Ben Kalman showed a beautiful set of large US notes, including
examples of the 1896 "Educational" series in $1, $2, and $5 denominations.
These bills have intricate designs, obverse and reverse, but as Ben observed
they were withdrawn after "... people in favor of motherhood and against sin ..."
perhaps objected to the costume (or lack thereof) worn by some of the figures
depicted. Ben also displayed large notes from the series of 1899, 1902,
1907, and 1917, among which was an extraordinarily specimen of the famous
"Black Eagle" design. Ben reminisced a bit about the introduction of small
notes in 1928 (when he was going to Elementary School) and in response to
a question from the audience commented on the circulation of gold coins at
that time.
- Richard Jozefiak, a former MCCC officer who now lives in Alabama,
was welcomed back for a visit this month. Richard
discussed and displayed numismatic material related to Alaska, a state
which business now at times takes him to. Richard showed the 1960 book
Alaska's Coinage Through the Ages by Gould and Bressett.
He also showed Alaskan elongated coins and medals from the Alaska Mint,
where one can observe dies being made and pieces being struck. Richard talked
about the history of Alaska, the persistence of Russian culture in some
regions, the use of barter and other non-monetary mediums of exchange,
and the surprisingly high cost of 1935 series Alaskan tokens. He also
showed a copy of The ACCent, the excellent monthly newsletter of the
Anchorage Coin Club.
Charity Auction
The main attraction for the January 2002 MCCC meeting was the annual
donated-material auction, all proceeds of which go to the Silver Spring and
Wheaton Boys & Girls Clubs. This year the auction was exceptionally
large, with 75 lots including US and international coins, paper money,
tokens, numismatic publications, and a fully-renovated Flexible Flyer sled.
(It realized $30 after a fierce competition.)
The total amount raised by the charity auction came to $363.50 --- a higher
than usual percentage return, probably due to spirited bidding on many
of the larger lots. In the traditional competition to guess the total,
estimates ranged widely from $251 all the way up to $718.95.
Winners this year were John Huffman and Ben Kalman, who came in
tied for first and second places: they independently had estimated $363,
an amazingly accurate forecast. The prizes --- a silver dollar for the
closest guess, and a 1995 Series $2 note for second closest --- will be
divided and awarded next month, if the MCCC can find a Solomonic way to do so.
The auctioneering team of Don McKee and Ken Swab hammered
down sales briskly and efficiently. Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky kept track
of winning bids and cash flows, and President Jack Schadegg managed
the auction table. Many thanks to all of you, as well as to those who
generously donated materials and bid vigorously!
End Notes
The January 2002 MCCC meeting adjourned at 9:35pm --- unusually late
because of the large number of auction lots to be sold this month.
Kudos, as always, to William M. "Bill" Massey and Jonetta Russell for their
fine work in managing the refreshments.
Comments and Feedback
As an experiment, MCCC reporter/webmaster Mark Zimmermann has
rehosted the MCCC online archives at
http://www.his.com/~z/MCCC/ where
they are available for testing and evaluation.
Please send bug reports and suggestions for improvement to
"z (at) his.com" (http://www.his.com/~z/).
The MCCC Bulletin is copyright © 2002 by the Directors of the
Montgomery
County Coin Club --- who thank the American Numismatic Association (and especially Ms. Susie Nulty)
for their help in sharing the MCCC Bulletin with numismatists everywhere.