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October 1998 Bulletin
Next MCCC Meeting: Tuesday, October 13, 1998
Featured Speaker: Richard Jozefiak on "An Introduction to the Modern
British Sovereign and Half-sovereign."
The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet
at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, 1998, at the Senior Citizens Center on
Forest Glen Road in Silver Spring, Maryland. The meeting will feature
Richard
Jozefiak , who will present
a slide-illustrated lecture on "An Introduction to the Modern British Sovereign
and Half-sovereign."
Charity Auction Coming Soon
The MCCC Charity Auction will be the featured attraction
of the November meeting. All proceeds from this special event go to benefit
the Silver Spring and Wheaton Boys & Girls Clubs. Please donate
--- you can offer cash or numismatic material for the Auction. In either
case, you get a tax deduction. Thanks you for your help!
NumisRiddle of the Month
MCCC YN Robin
Zimmermann asks: What color is a nickle?
The answer appears later in this Bulletin. To
submit a NumisRiddle for the Bulletin, write to YN Robin Zimmermann.
September Meeting Announcements
MCCC President Swab called the Club to order at 7:17
pm. He wore no (visible) baseball attire (although he had seen Mark McGuire
hit number 52 in Pittsburgh on August 22), even as McGuire was in the process
of setting a new home run record. Approximately 30 members were present,
including 3 YNs. Among the major announcements were:
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Redbooks Sales Continue to Soar: Ed Russell
still has a few Redbooks (the authoritative guide to US coins) left for
sale at an incredible $7 price tag (which generates $2 profit for the MCCC)
. . . but they're going fast!
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Door Prizes: Vice President William
C. Massey ran the raffle and door prize table. He announced that the
prizes for September were a 1969 Swiss 20 Rappen, a 1974 Singapore 50 cent
piece, and US buffalo nickels from 1929, 1930, and 1935. Winners of these
prizes were: Richard Jozefiak, Mona Berch, Ezra Berch, Kermit Smyth,
and Frank Guerrero.
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More Prizes and Awards: The 50-50 Raffle
was won by Richard Jozefiak. The Bison Chip drawing was claimed
by Bernard Dove. (There were numerous names called before Bernard's,
but since none of those members were present, they did not win. You have
to be at the meeting when your name is called in order to get a leg towards
the three required for winning the Bison Chip prize.
Design the MCCC's 40th Anniversary Elongated Coin!
The MCCC will celebrate the Fortieth Anniversary
of its founding next summer. In celebration, there will be
a special competition to create a Commemorative MCCC Elongated Design.
Use the template which appears in the paper version of the Bulletin
this month, draw your design, and submit it by the December meeting (December
8). The winner's initials will appear on the die, and thereby
appear on every one of the special coins!
Calling All Medal Collectors!
Medal Collectors of America: A Proposal
A meeting was held during the 1998 ANA Convention to launch MEDAL COLLECTORS
OF AMERICA, or MCA. The new organization is envisioned as broadly
based group serving collectors of art and historical medals and will fill
what many collectors believe is a long-standing need. MCA will be
a non-profit organizational of members sharing a common interest in collecting
United States and world medals.
MCA'S GOALS INCLUDE:
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Encouraging collecting of all kinds of medals
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Bringing together all interested in medal collecting
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Fostering research and publication in the medal field
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Meetings at ANA Conventions for those who want to "talk medals"
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR MEMBERSHIP?
Any medal collector of good character who subscribes to the goals of
MCA and pays dues of $20 per year is eligible for membership.
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
An organizational meeting was held on Thursday, August 6, 1998 during
the ANA Convention in Portland. Almost thirty people attended the
meeting, and most signed up for MCA on the spot. An ad hoc committee,
consisting of David Alexander, Paul Bosco, Robert Julian, and Michael Hodder,
was appointed to give MCA a boost start. They will propose bylaws
and serve as stewards of the organization until officers can be elected.
For further information, contact Chairman pro tem David T. Alexander,
P.O. Box 780, Mahopac, NY 10541, or e-mail David.
Just in (the) Case
The MCCC display case provides members a splendid
opportunity to show numismatic material of all sorts --- coins, tokens,
currency, and related pieces. Bring something from your collection that
you enjoy, and share it with the Club! October's meeting follows closely
on the heels of Columbus Day, and of course there are numerous other topics
which a good exhibit might be tied to. At the September meeting, for instance,
members applauded several items:
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Ken Huff showed two tokens, made from
original fasteners of the USS Constellation, the oldest ship in
the US Navy.
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Mark Zimmermann displayed, on the theme
of corrosion, a "penny" board filled by his daughter (Gray Dickerson).
Mark reported that his wife (Paulette Dickerson) had observed green encrustations
around the rims of many of the cents from 1982 and thereafter. This rapid
corrosion is clearly related to the zinc core composition of newer Lincoln
cents, which only have a thin coating of copper. Mr. Zimmermann also displayed
four "Mylar" flips which had turned sticky and cloudy on their outer surfaces,
apparently due to an attack by outgassing from "slabs" which had been stored
with the flips. He reported that coins which had been inside the flips
were undamaged, but counseled Club members to check any flips that they
had in proximity to slabs.
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YN Robin Zimmermann exhibited a pair
of "wooden nickels" officially issued the previous day, September 7, 1998,
at the Kensington Labor Day Parade. The tokens were distributed by Boy
Scout Troop 439, and depict in green a Scouting symbol on one side and
the Troop name and number on the other.
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Mike Dolnick showed a large needlepoint
depiction of a "1916 Indian Head Cent" given to him by his sister in honor
of his birth year. He described how his sister came up with the design
of this "fantasy piece," which of course was never minted (since the Indian
Head design was replaced in 1909 by the Lincoln cent).
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Simcha Kuritzky reported that, earlier
that same day, he had sat next to the famous numismatic artist J. S. G.
Boggs in a Federal Appellate Courtroom, where Boggs's lawyer was appealing
the US Secret Service's seizure of material from his Pittsburgh studio.
Mr. Kuritzky got Mr. Boggs's signature with the date, time, and location,
on a book about Boggs. He also displayed two ANA plaques which he won for
his exhibits at the Convention.
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Ken Swab showed an uncut sheet of hand-signed
and numbered reproduction currency issued by the Claude Moore Colonial
Farm in McLean, Virginia, and the front page of the September 7 Coin
World which featured his article about the notes.
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Dave McGuiness exhibited a book he
found recently in a small Massachusetts town used-book store. The tome
features Alexander the Great. It came with what appeared to be an ancient
coin taped to the front cover, and bore an inscription indicating it was
a birthday gift to a 24 year-old from an older lady --- but was the coin
genuine, or a fake? Mr. McGuiness did not answer.
YN Takes Prize for Exhibit
For exhibiting YN Robin Zimmermann garnered
a 1946 commemorative Booker T. Washington half dollar, donated by a Club
member who prefers to remain anonymous. The MCCC has other gifts for YNs
who offer items for the display case in months to come. Don't forget to
invite YNs (or potential YNs) to come to the meeting with you!
September's Featured Speaker:
Kermit Smyth
"To Clean, or Not To Clean?"
Kermit Smyth
spoke entertainingly and in good technical detail on the theme of coin
cleaning. He began by analyzing three aspects of the subject:
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Coins may be treated to help preserve them
from damage, clearly a worthy goal --- but, Mr. Smyth noted, one not always
achieved if coins are stored in the wrong type of holders. Beware cheap
plastic flips, which may produce PVC damage, and avoid warmth and high
humidity.
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Coins may be treated to improve their appearance,
a somewhat arguable but common practice, and the subject of the bulk of
the talk.
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Coins may be treated to retone or re-color them,
a highly controversial activity also known as "coin doctoring". Sometimes
such treatment may be acceptable to reduce the damage done by a bad cleaning
job, but it is obviously wrong if done to deceive.
Mr. Smyth observed that the old proverb, "More coins
have been ruined by cleaning than improved," is probably true. Particularly
risky are kitchen cleaning recipes including vinegar soaks, copper pot
cleaners, baking soda pastes, and the like. "The subject of cleaning is
rife with horror stories; fragile coins literally have disappeared into
bubbles in a solution," he said. Mr. Smyth's personal experiences with
harsh copper and silver coin treatments were horrifying to hear. He also
noted the dangers of lint from sulfur-rich tissues ("Kleenex"), which he
reported using once to carefully push cents into a Library of Coins album
--- after some years, areas the tissues had contacted became covered with
green spots of verdigris. Ugh!
Although some have said, "A coin should never
be cleaned, period," Mr. Smyth surveyed the MCCC audience and found general
agreement that cleaning could be justified under some conditions. He quoted
the Early American Copper (EAC) Society in its statement, "Removing verdigris,
oil, and dirt from old coppers enhances their appearance, brings out detail,
and prevents corrosion." In addition, Mr. Smyth mentioned the subjective
justification to clean, to "make coins look better" --- though he noted
that tastes change, and that fashions in 1890 or even 1965 are far from
today's.
Coins fall into three major categories, Mr. Smyth
observed: soft metals such as gold and silver, harder ones materials such
as copper, and even harder metals such as nickel. The surface of gold and
silver coins should never be directly rubbed in any way, because even the
gentlest stroking or brushing will cause hairline damage. To treat such
coins, Mr. Smyth prescribed ultrasonic baths, a gentle wash with a suitable
solvent, or carefully controlled "dipping." He performed a live demonstration
of ultrasound cleaning, which uses high amplitude sound waves to cause
cavitation, the formation and collapse of tiny bubbles on the coin's surface,
which removes dirt. Solvent cleaning, he described, can be done with water
to remove salts, alcohols to remove some organic deposits, and hexane or
xylenes to take away oils and grease. After use of a solvent, silver and
gold coins should be washed and patted (not rubbed!) dry.
"Dipping" silver coins in a chemical bath such
as "Jeweluster" is both common and risky business. These dips contain both
an acid, which removes oxidation (tarnish), and a salt such as thiourea
which forms a soluble complex with the oxidized silver on the coin. The
result is that silver atoms are removed from the surface, which definitely
can dullness and impaired luster due to the loss of the fine lines on the
coin. Mr. Smyth recommended experimentation on a common, inexpensive silver
coin such as a 1964 Washington quarter dollar --- "Dip it 10 times and
see the difference!", he said. One can often judge the thickness of surface
toning by its color, Mr. Smyth said. Yellow, especially pale yellow, is
a thin sulfide layer and can likely be dipped successfully with full luster
restored; blue or black are much deeper layers, which are probably the
result of significant surface etching, so it is unlikely that even the
most careful treatment will get the original luster back.
Copper and nickel coins, in contrast to gold and
silver ones, can tolerate rather more vigorous cleaning, at least for circulated
specimens. Mr. Smyth recommended the use of a fresh (soft, green) thorn
to remove crud in the devices of a coin, working slowly and methodically
under a magnifying glass. "I've done it for hours," he said. After cleaning
and brushing away loose dirt, a solvent treatment on a copper or nickel
coin will remove grease and leave the surfaces clean but dry-looking ---
at which point a thin coating of "Coin Care" or "Blue Ribbon" will work
wonders and is accepted even by the EAC. Both of these products have been
discontinued, and now cost huge sums ($100 or more) for even a tiny bottle.
They contain trichloroethylene cleaners and silicones to give a glossy
appearance to the coin's surface. One club member suggested that
a combination of drycleaning fluid and the lubricant WD-40 might be combined
for a comparable product.
Encrusted copper coins such as ancients often
have verdigris, a green grungy coating. Mr. Smyth suggested a soaking in
olive oil for a month or more (perhaps even a year --- "No rush on this!",
he said), followed by ultrasonic cleaning. Perhaps if the coin is severely
damaged, one may experiment with electrolysis (galvanic cleaning), using
an electrical circuit between a stainless steel electrode and the coin
in an electrolyte solution such as sodium sequicarbonate. He has had some
success with this treatment of ancient coins, but the resulting surface
is often in his experience corroded and has an affected patina --- though
probably it was already damaged, and the cleaning only revealed the true
state of the coin.
Mr. Smyth then discussed PVC, or polyvinyl chloride.
This is a transparent plastic material commonly used for holders; it is
cheap, flexible, and doesn't scratch the coins, but it is notorious for
causing long-term damage. PVC breaks down from heat or ultraviolet light
and can release hydrochloric acid (HCl). It also can contain plasticizers
and stabilizers which damage coin surfaces. PVC damage comes as a blue-green
slime, copper phthalate, on copper coins and on silver items which contain
a copper alloy component. Proof silver coins can get a frosted appearance.
The damaging effects of PVC have been known since at least 1925, according
to Mr. Smyth. The best treatment is to use "Dissolve" or mineral spirits
to remove the slime. It is important to do this because, if not removed,
the coin will corrode further.
Mr. Smyth concluded with the following advice:
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"If you don't know what you're doing, don't do anything!"
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Experiment first with cleaning methods on low value
coins.
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If you can dislodge dirt or verdigris with a fingernail
nudge, then it likely can be removed successfully.
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For coins minted before 1900, particularly early
coppers, no two are the same --- there is no substitute for experience,
but there is also no guarantee of success.
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With experience and patience, the appearance of coins
can be improved by careful cleaning most, but not all, of the time.
Mr. Smyth answered numerous questions from the audience,
and when he ended his talk was thanked with a hearty round of applause.
The MCCC membership concurred that it was an excellent, and extraordinarily
helpful, presentation.
Acknowledgments
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Don McKee was the MCCC auctioneer.
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Jack Schadegg handled the auction material.
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Willy Massey ran the door prize and 50-50
raffle drawings.
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Simcha Kuritzky managed the auction accounting
and the Bison Chip drawing.
NumisRiddle Answer: "What color
is a nickle?" --- Green! A "nickle" is a species of bird with green feathers.
The 5-cent US coin is properly spelled "nickel".
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.