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Montgomery County Coin Club

February 1997 Bulletin

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Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 18: Speaker Addresses Coins and the Congress

The club will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18, 1997 at the Schweinhaut Senior Citizens Center on Forest Glen Road in Silver Spring, Maryland. The featured speaker will be Rick Maurano, Professional Staff Member of the Banking and Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives. Mr. Maurano will talk about his experiences involving coinage legislation over the past decade. 

January Meeting Roundup

Outgoing President Andrew Luck called the meeting to order, with a good crowd of over 40 members in attendance. Walt Miller summoned the Club officers for 1997 forward and administered the oath of office. New President Kenneth E. Swab seized the gavel, and in his inaugural address summarized his goals for the coming year, including membership growth in both number and diversity. Ken expressed his gratitude to all those who have helped MCCC in the past, and exhorted the audience to work during the coming year to promote numismatics in local libraries, schools, and other fora. (In 1996, the Club set up or contributed to exhibits in the Silver Spring and Noyes Libraries; in early 1997, President Swab installed a display at the Davis Library.) Ken then gave a warm welcome to the guests who were present at January's meeting: Beverly & Iris Ramirez, Todd Sukol, and the Jim & Lisa Saunders family.

MCCC Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky reported that the Club finished 1996 with a healthy positive cash flow and a sound bank balance.
Upcoming ANA Meetings

Simcha also reminded the membership of the convenient location this year for the ANA MidWinter Convention (Cleveland, OH, 20-24 March) and the ANA Summer Convention (New York City, 20 July - 3 August).
MCCC Secretary Jack Schadegg announced that membership cards would be mailed out next month. Librarian Kermit Smyth reported that the Club Library's catalog is now available on disk; the Club's Internet dilettantes will attempt to turn it into HTML and post it on the Web soon. Board member Don McKee suggested that the Board of Directors consider helping the Schweinhaut Center get a better slide projector; the Board of Directors will meet and make a report to the club at the February meetings.

Club member Joe Howard announced that he will be speaking at an area school on 28 January, and asked for donations of "wheat" cents or other items to give to the students (grades 6, 7, and 8). Joe's presentation is a welcome result of last month's MCCC Bulletin posted on the WorldWide Web; a teacher contacted the Club via Internet, and asked for help in getting numismatic information for her classes as they study "life-long hobbies". The MCCC is always eager to help answer similar requests; please feel free to write or call any of the Club officers or members at any time.

On another happy front, Walt Miller announced that the 1996 MCCC Charity Auction and fund-raising drive enabled the Club to present checks for $450 each to the Silver Spring and Wheaton Boys & Girls Clubs. Carol Closterman of the Silver Spring Club graciously accepted the donation, and thanked the MCCC. Our contribution, she reported, will be used to help local kids attend the National Boys and Girls Club Conference. The Silver Spring Club is working on forming a children's coin club, a project which the MCCC obviously applauds. Secretary Jack Schadegg accepted the check on behalf of the Wheaton Boys and Girls Club. These MCCC charitable efforts are in honor of the late Joseph Clark, long-time Club member and officer.


January Main Attraction: Dr. Charles Tumosa

At the invitation of the MCCC (after problems in December with the slide projector), Dr. Charles Tumosa returned to continue his discussion of Russian platinum coins and medals of the 19th Century. Dr. Tumosa is a chemist in the Smithsonian Institution's Conservation and Analytic Laboratory. His talk was fascinating; as he pointed out, Russia produced "the first and only series of platinum coins minted for circulation". The Russian mint in St. Petersburg had to overcome numerous problems of metallurgy (and toxicity) to succeed with platinum coinage, and during the 1828-1845 period only made about 3 million total pieces. Massive smuggling of these coins occurred from Russia to Western Europe (especially England), and much (perhaps over 75%) of the Russian mintage was melted down and used for industry, such as vessels for sulfuric acid. Dr. Tumosa told the audience that the typical 19th Century wage for a skilled worker in Russia was 35 kopecks, so even the smallest platinum coin, a 3 Ruble piece, represented nine days of labor. Dr. Tumosa reminded his listeners of the need to have platinum coins authenticated, since they have been frequently counterfeited, especially the 12 Ruble pieces.


Exhibits


Other Activities


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Please send bug reports and suggestions for improvement to Mark Zimmermann via z (at) his.com. The MCCC Bulletin is copyright (c) 1999 by the Directors of the Montgomery County Coin Club.