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Montgomery County Coin Club

February 1998 Bulletin

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Next MCCC Meeting: Tuesday, February 17, 1998
Featured Speaker: Wayne Smith of the Black Patriots Foundation

The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17, 1998, at the Senior Citizens Center on Forest Glen Road in Silver Spring, Maryland. Wayne Smith of the Black Patriots Foundation will speak on the commemorative silver dollars being issued February 13 in support of the Black Patriots Memorial to be built in Constitution Gardens on the National Mall. The coin honors Crispus Attucks, killed at the Boston Massacre, on the obverse, and pictures part of the memorial on the reverse. A picture of the coin is available at the Black Patriots Foundation website.

Bring Black History and Winter Olympic Materials to Exhibit!

February is Black History month and members may wish to showing Booker T. Washington and/or Carver-Washington commemorative half dollars, or other thematically related material. The Winter Olympics also occurs this month, so check your collection for appropriate pieces, and share them with your fellow numismatists!

Dues are Due

Please remember to pay your 1998 dues to Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky at the earliest opportunity, and please bring your friends and encourage them to join the Club. At $6 for a full year, MCCC membership remains an incredible bargain.

January MCCC Meeting Highlights

MCCC President Ken Swab called the club to order shortly after 7 p.m. About 45 members were present, including 9 YNs. Major events included:

Swearing in of Officers: The 1998 elected MCCC officers took the oath and promised to support the Club and numismatics.
Treasurer's Report: MCCC Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky announced that the Club's finances finished 1997 with a net gain of $15, and that membership was about 80 adults plus a dozen or so YNs, showing healthy growth during the year.
Library Announcements: Librarian Kermit Smyth provided an updated copy of the MCCC Library catalog. The updated catalog will appear online soon. You can go to the current catalog by clicking here. The Library has many new books, and MCCC members are encouraged to check them out.
Meeting Day Change: There was considerable discussion of the proposal to change the MCCC club meeting day from the third to the second Tuesday of the month. Some members observed that the current day conflicts with the meetings of the Bowie Coin Club and the Washington Numismatic Society, and that by moving we could help those clubs and enable MCCC members to attend their meetings. On the other hand, others noted that the Montgomery County Stamp Club meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, also in the Forest Glen Senior Citizens Center, and that moving the MCCC meeting to the second Tuesday would conflict with that. The club will vote on the suggested change of day at the February MCCC gathering. Any members unable to attend should contact President Swab with their concerns. Any change in the MCCC meeting day will not occur before April at the earliest.

Future Programs

The club's March program with feature YN Michael Berkman speaking on the "Great Collections of United States Numismatics." In April, Don McKee will give a slide-illustrated talk on "Sixty Years of Collecting Stamps and Coins - Which Hobby is the Most Satisfying and Remunerative?"

Exhibits and Displays

Short presentations by members at the January MCCC meeting included:

Mark Zimmermann showed photographs he had taken earlier this month at the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian's American History Museum. The photos were made with a close-up lens on a 35mm camera using available light and ISO 800 color print film, and included shots of 1804 silver dollars, 1849 and 1933 double eagles, and Russian beard tokens. Mark also commented that the Stradivarius violins, viola, and cello being played nearby, in the museum's Hall of Antique Instruments, were unfortunately in his estimation worth more than the entire National Numismatic Collection in today's markets.
Donald Wilson exhibited a nineteenth century 20 cent Newfoundland (Canada) silver coin which he noted were scarce in higher grades.
Jerry Grzenda displayed a 1985 $1 error note, which had been folded during the printing process, and which he observed was unlikely to have left the Bureau of Engraving and Printing by natural means. Jerry also showed World War II bonds from Japan and China, and several pieces associated with Tibet and/or the Dalai Lama --- Tibetan silver coins, a Franklin Mint "Freedom Crown" issued by the Tibetan government-in-exile, and an antique silver dirk from Tibet via India.

January Attraction: Numismatic Bingo!

The Montgomery County Coin Club's main January event was four rounds of Bingo, called by President Ken Swab. Prizes were silver crowns, and the winners were:

Rachel Schadegg , winner of an Israeli 10 Lirot piece;
Joe Howard, recipient of a 1-ounce silver round modeled on a Morgan dollar;
Simcha Kuritzky, garnering another 1-ounce silver round that showed an Indian cent design; and
Bill Massey, who received an Israeli brotherhood 1984 two shekel silver proof.

Other Prizes, Announcements, and Acknowledgements

Ed Russell's name was chosen for the Bison Chip --- giving him the second of three legs needed to capture that prize. (Only members present at a meeting are eligible for each month's Bison Chip drawing. Come to the next meeting and win!)
John Pylypec captured the special raffle prize --- an 1898 Russian five rouble gold coin, containing approximately 1/8th ounce of gold.
Jacqueline Saunders, Merle Zimmermann and Willy Massey won the door prizes, which consisted of New Zealand $1 commemorative coins, dated 1970, 1980, and 1981, honoring visits of Queen Elizabeth II.

President's Note: Circulating Half Dollars

Ever wonder what happened to half dollars? The past couple of weeks I have tried to get half dollars from my financial institutions. I have been successful about half the time. Circulating them has been a learning experience. About 60 percent of the time, the clerk acts as if he or she has never seen them, turning them over to see just what they are. In one case a clerk treated it as a dollar coin until I corrected him. I doubt if the clerks try to pass them on to other customers, but it has been an interesting exercise. I still have $9 worth of halves, and will continue to spend them. If you get one in change, it may be one I put in circulation. Please pass it on!