President: Wayne Mitchell
1st Vice President: Ken Swab
2nd Vice President: Ed Russell
Treasurer: Simcha Kuritzky
Secretary: Jack Schadegg
Sergeant at Arms: John Herman
Directors: Rob Dorsey, Tom Hall, Andrew Luck, John Pylpec, Willy Massey, Bruce Longyear, Don McKee
Librarian: Wayne Mitchell
Web Master & Reporter: Mark Zimmermann
Historian: Tom Hall
Greeter & Door Prize Patrol: Willy Massey
Refreshment Management: William "Bill" Massey & Jonetta Russell
Bulletin Hardcopy Editor: Jack Schadegg
Simcha Kuritzky reported on Club finances, which remain sound. The Club finished 2002 with a operations deficit of ~$250, corresponding to the supplemental charitable donation to the Silver Spring and Wheaton Boys and Girls Clubs. Simcha noted that the ANA will meet in Charlotte at the end of March, and in Baltimore in the summer. Exhibitors and volunteers are welcome. Simcha also reminded members that the Washington Numismatic Society convenes during the week after the MCCC meeting. He commented on the new design of The Numismatist and the new World of Money publication from the American Numismatic Association. Finally, Simcha offered nomination forms for ANA officers to anyone who wishes to have one.
Librarian (and incoming President) Wayne Mitchell encouraged members to check out books, and noted that two videotapes were now available of Discovery Channel shows on numismatics. A new book, The Porcelain Gambling Tokens of Siam by Laurese Byrd Katen is also ready to be borrowed; it is autographed by the author, who was present at the January MCCC meeting.
Willy Massey announced that long-time MCCC member Mae Clarke had sent the club a Christmas card from Detroit where she is currently staying with family. Willy offered everyone a chance to read the card and the accompanying brief letter. Thank you for writing, Mae!
Ed Russell noted that a few copies of the 2003 Red Book are still available for MCCC members to purchase at a great discount. Contact Ed to reserve yours before they're all gone.
New President Wayne Mitchell announced that the March MCCC speaker will, if all goes well, be Jay Johnson, former US Mint Director. The April speaker is planned to be Lt. Col. Leon Robert, who will discuss Walter Reed medals.
Door prize winners this month were Mark Zimmermann, Rob Dorsey (again! --- he also won last month), and lucky visitor Scott Moir. The Gold Raffle was won by Henry Adler.
The new round of Bison Chip drawings began when Joe Howard's name was drawn, giving him the first "leg" toward the prize. Remember, you must be present when your name is called in order to win a Bison Chip.
The January 2003 MCCC meeting adjourned at ~9:15pm.
Eighty percent of the respondents are aware that the club has a stereo microscope, but only 25 percent have used it. However, another 35 percent indicated that they plan to use it.
Fifty-five percent have photographed coins, currency or both. The respondents split almost equally over their use of film or digital devices, and two persons indicated that they have used scanners to produce their images. Only 3 have had their images published, but another two indicated that they had published their pictures on the Internet.
Eighty percent indicated an interest in learning more about coin photography, with an 11 to 7 majority prefering to learn about digital photography. Eighty-four percent wanted to learn how to photograph coins under magnification and 68 percent wanted to learn about photography through a microscope.
A two-to-one margin favored the club purchasing equipment for coin photography. However, there was no consensus on how much the club should spend. Only 11 members responded; 4 with question marks and one with a 'whatever.' The six suggestions of an amount ranged from $100 to up to $700, with one respondent suggesting that the club spend between $100-$150 for a camera only. Unfortunately, the survey did not ask for suggestions as to what type of equipment should be purchased.
The complete results follow below.
1. Do you know that MCCC has a binocular (stereo) microscope that members can use? Yes - 16 No - 4 If yes, have you used the MCCC microscope? Yes - 5 No - 11 If not, do you think that you will use it now that you know there is one available? Yes - 7 No - 4 2. Have you ever photographed coins, medals or currency? (If no, skip to question 3) Yes - 11 No - 9 What kind of camera have you used? (Circle all that apply) Film - 7 Digital - 6 (Scanner - 2) What have you photographed? Coins or Medals - 10 Currency - 4 Have you photographed coins under magnification? Yes - 3 No - 11 Have you used specialized equipment for your photos? Yes - 3 No - 9 (Scanner - 3) Have any of your photographs been published? Yes - 3 No - 10 (Web - 2) If yes, in what medium? Magazine or Journal - 1 Newspaper - 2 3. Are you interested in learning to photograph coins, medals or currency? Yes - 16 No - 4 If yes, what medium are you interested in? Film - 7 Digital - 11 4. Are you interested in photographing coins under magnification? Yes - 16 No - 3 5. Are you interested in photographing coins thru a microscope? Yes - 13 No - 6 6. Should MCCC obtain cameras or other equipment for coin photography for the use of its members? Yes - 12 No - 6 (Maybe - 1) If so, what is the most the club should spend? ? - 4; Whatever - 1; $100; $100-150 for a camera; $300; $400; $500; $500-$700.
Obviously, Ken isn't crazy. He displayed a lovely set of Kennedy half dollars: a consecutive run of grades from barely About Uncirculated all the way to excellent Mint State --- eleven slabs graded AU-50, AU-53, AU-55, AU-58, MS-60, MS-61, MS-62, MS-63, MS-64, MS-65, and MS-66 --- every one of the official grades that exist in that condition range.
But Ken's Kennedys aren't a random mix of dates or mints, he pointed out. That would be too easy. They're not just a specific year either. Ken has set himself the task of gathering the only double-die variety of the Kennedy half listed in the Red Book: the 1974-D Doubled Die Obverse (DDO).
Ken described the events that led him to assemble his set of DDOs. It began, as so many things do nowadays, on eBay. He bought his first 1974-D doubled die obverse there on 22 October 2000. Then he saw and bid on another one, in better condition --- but failed to win it. And it happened again. Finally, on 28 March 2001, he found, bid, and got an MS-66 DDO at an excellent price.
But Ken didn't stop there. He acquired a roll of twenty circulated DDO halves and began to wonder how they would grade. In Baltimore at a coin show he submitted them to ANACS and got back slabs rated AU-50, -55, -58, and MS-62. But he didn't have an AU-53. In fact, nobody did, according to published Population Reports.
So six months later, Ken related, he brought 16 encapsulated AU-55 DDOs in person to ANACS grader Mike Faraone, and made a bizarre and probably unique request in the annals of numismatics: he asked to have his coins examined to see if any of them were candidates for downgrading. Two were --- and thus a gap in Ken's sequence was filled.
That left MS-60 and MS-61 DDOs to discover. According to Population Reports there were only four and two, respectively, of these in existence. How to find them? Fortunately a friend, Henry Adler, spotted one on eBay; Ken acquired it quickly. And finally, on 14 August 2002, Ken Glickman reported that he found the final missing coin, a slabbed MS-61 DDO.
With the condition series now complete between AU-50 and MS-66, what remains to be done? No MS-67 DDOs exist, or at least none have yet been found. So the only way to go, Ken concluded, was downwards. Mike Faraone has recently graded two more halves at EF-45 and EF-40 ... and then, smiling, Ken revealed a few more that he was carrying around in his pocket, jingling against his other change. He's hoping to turn one into a 35, another into a 30, still another into a 25 ....
"When will you be finished?" someone asked. In theory, Ken observed, the project cannot go all the way to a grade of "1" --- because by definition a coin in that grade has been so worn that it's impossible to differentiate among different mints. Therefore a Sheldon Scale value "2" is the lower limit. Maybe someday!
Lore Rosenthal served as the sign language interpreter for Ken during his presentation to the MCCC.
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