Montgomery County Coin Club

January 1999 Bulletin

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Next Meeting: Tuesday, January 12, 1999

Featured Speaker To Be Announced

NumisRiddle of the Month

The answer appears later in this bulletin. To suggest a NumisRiddle for future publication, write to MCCC YN (Young Numismatist) Robin Zimmermann, P.O. Box 598, Kensington, MD 20895-0598.

Redbook + Coin Supply Super-Sale

December Meeting Announcements

December announcements included:

• Visitor Charlie Worth was welcomed with a round of applause. He collects US silver dollars. He learned of the MCCC via the Internet.
• Ken Swab had viewed the proposed designs for the new US $1 coins. The final contenders are visible at the Mint's web site.
• The MCCC balance sheet remains strong as 1998 comes to a close. Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky encourages members to pay their 1999 dues promptly.
• Librarian Kermit Smyth reported that the widow of long-time MCCC member Ted Bennett graciously donated several splendid books to the Club Library, including Q. David Bowers’ Encyclopedia of US Commemorative Coins. The club library is looking to buy more books — your suggestions are welcome.
• The door prizes were a 1939 silver 25 centavo from the Dominican Republic; a 1925 Austrian silver 1 schilling: a 1972 Eisenhower dollar; and a Russian 10 rouble bill. Winners of these door prizes were Kermit Smyth, Richard Jozefiak, Rachel Schadegg, and Dorothy Blank. The Bison Chip winner was Merle Zimmermann, giving him the first of the three legs needed to win. The 50-50 raffle winner was Simcha Kuritzky.

Elongated MCCC Elongated Competition!

1999 MCCC Officers Elected

• President William C. Massey
• Vice President Richard Jozefiak
• Second Vice President Kenneth E. Swab
• Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky
• Secretary Jack Schadegg
• Sergeant at Arms John Herman
• Directors Tom Hall, Andrew Luck, Don McKee, John Pylypec, Ed Russell, Kermit Smyth, and Mark Zimmermann.

December Displays

(In "Case" of Emergency, Break Glass)

• Herb Hall showed a beautiful set of 5, 2, 1, & ½ pound 1887 gold British Sovereigns from the reign of Queen Victoria.
• Merle Zimmermann displayed and discussed an article from the current issue of SCIENCE NEWS on the risks of eating copper-coated zinc cents. Apparently these coins, which have been minted since mid-1982, are far more dangerous to infants who swallow them than were the earlier 95%-copper 5%-nickel cents which preceded them. The zinc metal in the current cents reacts with stomach acids and can cause severe ulcers and other damage.
• Ed Russell exhibited a lovely framed Christmas print distributed in small numbers in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson; the picture was personally hand-signed by the President.
• John Chiusano showed a 1942-45 era red "one point" token issued by the OPA (Office of Price Administration). These tokens were used as part of the wartime meat rationing system in US from butcher shops.
• Jerry Grzenda exhibited coins of the short-lived Central American Republic (CAR). In 1821 the CAR declared its independence from Spain — but it did not last long. After revolts in the 1830s, the CAR fragmented into the modern Central American nations. Mr. Grzenda showed counterstamped CAR coins, a Guatemalan 1847 piece, and several 1859-1912 era coins. He discussed the non-decimal Real/Escudo system. Attempts at decimalization reforms in Central America failed in 1869 & 1880, and the Real lasted until 1912.
• Richard Jozefiak shared recent newspaper articles about the new commemorative quarter dollar designs and the management of the US Mint. Mr. Jozefiak also exhibited a 1901 United Kingdom Maundy set, the last issued under Queen Victoria. (Maundy coins are traditionally distributed by the British monarch to the poor during the Easter season.)

Featured Talk: Counterfeit Deterrence and Detection

Counterfeiting is "surprisingly easy to do" these days via PCS & copiers, Mr. Washington reported. The use of offset printing to make counterfeits has decreased. Scanners and color copiers were responsible for only 0.5% of counterfeits in 1995, but their share rose to 19% in 1997, and zoomed to 43% in 1998. Most offset-made counterfeits now come from overseas.

A decade ago, the Treasury Department recognized the looming threat posed by do-it-yourself home counterfeiting. It began then a research program to foil such applications of inkjet and laser printing technology. The result, the 1996 Series of US notes, contain a variety of special features:

1. A portrait, enlarged & moved off-center. The image has a three-dimensional look.
2. A watermark placed into the paper.
3. Color-shifting ink on the new bills' obverse lower right-hand corner number.
4. A security thread, hard to remove from more modern bills, in different locations on different denominations. The thread is printed with the value of the bill and glows under ultraviolet light — red for $100, yellow for $50, and green for $20.
5. Fine curved lines printed behind the portrait and in the background on the back of the bills. These lines are difficult for scanners and printers to reproduce without creating "jaggies" due to aliasing.
6. Microprinting within the lower left numeral.
7. Special paper made of 75% cotton, 25% linen with has blue and red fibers embedded in it. Counterfeits often have imitation "fibers" printed or drawn on.

The maximum penalty for knowingly passing counterfeit bills is 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A person who discovers a counterfeit should call the local Secret Service field office (the Washington office for Montgomery and Prince George's
counties). The finder typically has to absorb any loss, though some homeowner insurance policies cover it.

When you phone the Secret Service to report a fraudulent note, be prepared to provide the serial number, so it can be checked against a database which the Service keeps. You will likely be asked to mail in the bill. (Although it is technically against the law to possess counterfeits, Mr. Washington said that enforcement of this provision varies.)

Modern changemaking machines are quite good at detecting and rejecting counterfeit bills, and bank ATMs similarly check bills before they are dispensed, so you are unlikely to get a counterfeit that way. Foreign-made counterfeits can be much more deceptive. Some foreign counterfeits are prepared on high-quality offset presses by skilled engravers. These bills are fortunately not common within the US.

"Raised notes" are another threat. On a raised note, numbers from the corners of a higher denomination bill are reproduced and put on the corners of lower bills. The raised note is mixed with other notes of the higher denomination bills, hoping that a harried clerk will only examine the numbers and not the portrait.

Mr. Washington concluded his talk with the prime rule of counterfeit detection: Compare! Compared with a genuine note, most fraudulent bills are obviously bad.

In response to questions, Mr. Washington noted that "Counterfeit Detection Pens" aren't officially recommended; they give too many false positives and negatives to be useful. Such pens rely on a chemical reaction that detects starch in paper (there is none in real bills), and there are many innocent events which fool them.

Mr. Washington advised the following for someone receiving a suspected counterfeit:

• Do not put yourself in danger!
• Do not return the note to the passer.
• Delay the passer if possible.
• Call the local police.
• Observe the passer and be prepared to describe him or her.

NumisRiddle Answer

Answer: A quarter eagle! (Or a quarter dollar, if you prefer.)

For Sale

• To benefit the MCCC Library Fund: Issues of "Penny-Wise," the bimonthly publication of Early American Coppers. Available are issues from #100 (1984) to the present. Price $2/issue, or $10/year. Contact Kermit Smyth.
• Special-edition silver King Nebuchadnezzar elongated quarters for $5 each. (Only 100 of these beauties were made!) Contact Simcha Kuritzky.

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