Montgomery County Coin Club

June 2002 Bulletin - Early Web Edition

Meeting - Feature - Feedback - Home - Index

MC³ = Numismatics!

Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 11, 2002

May Meeting Report

Door Prizes & Gold Raffle

• a 1940 silver Mercury dime
• a 2000-D "Lucky Penny" encased in a ring from the 2001 ANA Convention
• a 1960 small/large date one cent set (four coins in labeled holder)
• a 2001 "Blue Book" price guide to US Coins

This month the door prize winners were Danny Henderson, Ed Russell, Herb Hall, and Tom Hall. The Gold Raffle was won by Ken Swab. The Bison Chip went to John Chiusano. 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.)

Announcements

• Maryland State Numismatic Association convention, 13-15 June 2002 --- MSNA raffle tickets are for sale at $1 each, or six for $5; exhibit applications are now available
• American Numismatic Association convention, 31 July - 4 August 2002 (with 30 July as PNG Day) --- in New York City
• Washington Numismatic Society --- meeting in mid-May
• Maryland Numismatic Society --- public banquet on 20 May, with featured speaker the son of Mr. Eliasburg of Baltimore, the man who formed arguably the most complete collection of US coins of all time

Lame-duck Librarian Kermit Smyth reminded everyone that a new MCCC Librarian will be needed soon, since he leaves the area on 20 July. The MCCC book collection is now boxed in Kermit's garage and awaits its new home. Kermit also mentioned that the Library is missing the video "The Money Story" (Willy Massey replied that he may have it). Erv Eisen donated many items to the Library and in the cases where they are duplicative the Library will sell one copy to raise money for new purchases.

Jack Schadegg asked all MCCC members to check their names and addresses on the master mailing list which he brought to the meeting --- please correct any errors.

Rob Dorsey announced that he has a variety of old "Red Books" for sale at low prices to any collectors who want them.

Showcase Attractions

• Ken Huff showed a nice watch made from a Maryland State Commemorative Quarter (Denver mint) which he received as a birthday gift. (Ken Swab joked, "It tells you when it's a quarter past!")
• Willy Massey told of his recent trip to Indiana, where he and his family met Brian Ryker, the author of a major book on encased coins --- who coincidentally lives in the neighborhood of Willy's relatives there.
• Herb Hall displayed commemorative stamps and proof and uncirculated coins honoring the 200th anniversary of the US Military Academy
• Bruce Longyear exhibited a shield nickel of 1883 which he had purchased on the day of the meeting. This coin has an unusual crack running from 3 o'clock to 7 o'clock on the obverse, and in fact is an example of a split planchet error; the piece split in two after striking. It is in extremely fine condition and Bruce reported that he got it for an excellent price from a local dealer.
• Simcha Kuritzky showed and discussed a variety of Israeli coins and medals related to the Lion's Gate of Old Jerusalem. He noted that the previous Friday was the 35th anniversary of the Israeli liberation of the Old City (in the Six Days War). He showed a medal which depicts all eight classical gates to Jerusalem, and a 5 Lira note featuring the Lion Gate. Simcha explained that in that series of currency each denomination showed a different gate. He also exhibited a presentation medal issued to paratroopers who took part in the campaign; this is a rare piece, since less than 5000 were struck and until recently few ever came onto the market. Simcha additionally displayed commemorative 20th and 30th anniversary coins and medals showing the Lion's Gate, and a 1998 Israeli "Table Medal" with stone framework and a silver plated pewter Lion's Gate representation, #106 of 666 issued. (Don McKee proposed that Simcha give a presentation on Middle East history at a future meeting. Simcha observed that such a lecture might be a challenge, given the huge time span to be covered. He noted that the pace would have to be "a century a minute!")

MC³ Internet Domain Discussion

Mark Zimmermann explained that a domain is an address for web pages and email, and discussed some of the issues associated with getting a domain for the MCCC. Currently, the MCCC's Bulletin is hosted by the ANA (American Numismatic Association) on its server at http://www.money.org, with the latest edition of the Bulletin at the URL (Universal Resource Locator) http://www.money.org/club_mccc_current.html . Back issues are archived in Mark Zimmermann's directory http://www.his.com/~z/MCCC/ along with other material such as the MCCC Library Catalog.

This method seems to work well, and has evolved over the past five years. So some MCCC members, including Willy Massey, argued that there is no need for any change. On the other side, Ken Swab noted that a URL is something like a "Vanity License Plate" and might also increase exposure of the MCCC and attract new members. Two or three MCCC members commented that they had first learned of the club through the Internet.

But in order to register a domain name, some expenses would be incurred. The main address registry for ".com", ".net", ".org", etc. charges $35 per year, with a minimum initial duration of two years. (There may be a sale going on now, so that a third year would be free.) Ken Swab suggested that other registries might be lower priced, such as one he knows of in France which charges 12 Euros per year.

Other than registration, costs would be minimal. Susie Nulty of the ANA points out that the ANA offers free web hosting for member clubs (such as the MCCC, ANA Club #C371) along with other technical help. The ANA announcement of this service is at http://www.money.org/press/20011030-clubweb.html .

Unfortunately, the shortest and most "natural" domain names for the MCCC are already taken. As a non-profit tax-exempt organization the MCCC should probably have a ".org" address --- but mccc.org is in use (by the Monmouth Christian Chinese Church), as are several plausible alternatives. Simcha Kuritzky reported that "MontgomeryCoin.org" appears to be unused, but is a bit lengthy. He also commented that "MCCoinClub.org" is unused, "but sounds Scottish." (Is that bad? (^_^) )

After some discussion about the benefits versus the costs associated with having an MCCC Internet domain there was clearly no consensus --- so the issue was tabled for further thought and debate at a future meeting.

End Notes

Comments and Feedback

(This page has been accessed 2407 times. It was last modified Monday, 28-Mar-2022 18:43:10 EDT.)