This is the MCCC ARCHIVE – for the CURRENT Montgomery County Coin Club see https://montgomerycoinclub.org
February 1997 Bulletin
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
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Jerry Grzenda, in connection with Dr. Tumosa's talk, displayed a Russian
1835 platinum 3 Ruble coin; in honor of the Presidential Inauguration,
he showed medallions of Theodore Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, John F. Kennedy,
and Ronald Reagan; and he exhibited a diverse set of Peruvian coins ranging
from the early 1700's to the 1980's.
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Simcha Kuritzky showed several platinum items, including a medal of David
Ben Gurion by famed sculptor Vincze, a 25th Anniversary of Israel medal,
a Chinese Year of the Horse and a Singapore Year of the Tiger piece, a
Canadian lynx, a Swiss lion (honoring the city of Lucerne), and a platinum
industry calling card from a recent ANA convention.
Other Activities
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Door prizes were won by Mark Zimmermann, Dorothy Blank, and Tom Hall (again!).
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The Bison Chip drawing was won by Andrew Luck (after one name of a member
not present was drawn).
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The Club Auction was ably conducted by Jack Schadegg.
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Splendid refreshments were provided by Ed Russell and family.
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 (c) 1999 by the Directors of the Montgomery
County Coin Club.