In addition, two dozen copies of the new Year 2000 edition hardcover Guide Book of United States Coins by R. E. Yeoman will be available for sale. Fresh off the press, the Y2k "Red Book" will retail for $12.95 in stores, but the special MCCC member price is anticipated to be only $7.50 --- so these will go fast!
President Willy Massey announced that the MCCC had received a nice thank-you note from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silver Spring and Wheaton for the charity auction donations which the Club had made. President Massey also reminded everyone that for the remainder of the year, MCCC Memberships are only $3 for Adults, $1 for YNs. Official MCCC cent/nickel/dime/quarter elongated coin sets are still available, commemorating the 40th MCCC anniversary. The cost is only $3 each, and all proceeds go to benefit the Club. Finally, President Massey reminded everyone that the 34th Annual Convention and Coin Show of the Metropolitan Washington Numismatic Association was to be held in Annandale, VA, on 16-18 July 1999.
The Door Prizes this month included a silver Netherlands 1 Gulden of 1956, a silver Swiss 1 Franc from 1945, a South African 6 pence dated 1938, and two Eisenhower dollars from 1971 and 1972. Lucky winners were Tom Hall, Herb Hall, Willy Massey, Ed Russell, and Jack Cross.
The Bison Chip name chosen this month was Ken Huff, who now has the second leg of three required to win. (You must be at a meeting for your name to be drawn!) Scott Helmick won the 50-50 raffle, for the second month in a row.
Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky announced that our finances are headed for break-even on the year. He also commented that the MCCC Library has taken in $40 (donations and designated auction items) and spent $100 so far on new acquisitions. In addition, Simcha noted that he now has computer scanning facilities and will be experimenting with capturing MCCC auction lot descriptions, coin-related logos, etc.
Secretary Jack Schadegg reported that MCCC 1999 membership cards are here and will be signed and distributed to those present; they will be mailed with the next Bulletin to everyone else.
Librarian Kermit Smyth announced the availability of a new book by Davenport on Large Silver Coins of the World, acquired in nice condition from the Wheaton Library used-book sale. The MCCC Library fund has several auction items for sale, proceeds to be devoted to further book purchases. The Library has 348 books available for lending to MCCC members.
The American Numismatic Association (ANA) will hold a major Convention in Chicago during the week of 8 August. MCCC Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky will be attending and offered to help match people who may wish to share hotel space. Simcha himself plans two exhibits: medals of Israel's wars ('57-'73), plus a new Israeli coin exhibit. Jerry Grzenda will also attend, and plans to exhibit coins of Guatemala, from colonial times to the present day.
Given the conflict in schedule between the ANA Convention and the MCCC August meeting, the question was posed: should the MCCC cancel its meeting? After good discussion, a vote was held; the verdict was YES, the MCCC will gather as planned in August. (The tally was ~10 yea and ~5 nay, with many abstentions.)
Mr. Grzenda began by noting that Germany was late uniting and building an empire, compared to France, England, Spain, and Portugal. Nevertheless, Germany had territories in the Pacific and Africa before World War I (WWI). These colonies, however, were expensive to administer and did not yield a profit. Of the German territories, Mr. Grzenda observed that Kaushau, German East Africa, and German New Guinea were the only three that issued their own coinage.
The German East African Company was established by Karl Peters, a German African explorer, who had something of an unsavory reputation. He got colonial treaties by getting tribal chieftains drunk, and administered a colony until 1891, when the German government took over and sent its own Governor in. The German East African Company continued to have special trading rights, however, for years thereafter.
At the outbreak of WWI, Mr. Grzenda noted, the Governor declared German East Africa neutral territory, but the British, French, Belgians, et al. nonetheless charged in to seize the colony. But the army there fought on, commanded by Lt. Col. Leto Roebek, "the uncrowned master of guerilla warfare" --- who with 12,000 men, fought off a much larger opposing force until the end of the War, when he was about to launch a counter-offensive.
German East Africa is now Tanzania, situated near the island of Madagascar, on the East Coast of Africa halfway between the Cape of Good Hope and the Gulf of Aden. It is, by the way, the setting for famous movie The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn.
The bulk of German East Africa went to the British, except for the part that Belgium took which eventually became Rwanda and Burundi. German New Guinea began in 1884, with the German New Guinea Company which administered the territory until 1889 when the German government took it over. It was overrun by Australian troops in WWI, and the UN turned it over to Australia after that war.
The Chinese port city of Kaushao was also German --- two German missionaries were killed there a bit before the Boxer Rebellion, and so the port was seized along with Tsingdao, and a 99-year lease was forced upon the Chinese. The Japanese took the territory back in WWI, as allies of England.
Mr. Grzenda displayed several German East African coins: a 1 peso piece of 1890, bilingual, with German legend on one side and Swahili (Arabic alphabet) on the other. Later, decimal coinage in units of Hellers and Rupees was used. The obverse design of these silver coins shows a profile bust of Kaiser Wilhelm II, wearing an elaborate helmet, topped by a Prussian eagle; the Kaiser is wearing a cavalry officer's uniform, On the reverse of the silver coins is a shield with a palm tree and lion; later, in 1904 the changed reverse design had a wreath with the date and denomination. Coins were struck at two mints, "A" = Berlin and "J" = Hamburg.
After WWI began, Mr. Grzenda explained, German East Africa was blockaded by the British, so German soldiers were on their own. Led by Lt. Col. Roebek, the colonists established a mint and produced brass and copper coins plus one type of gold piece. Dies were engraved by German craftsmen locally, and machinery was adapted to make presses. On display from this region were a 5 Heller brass, 20 Heller brass and 20 Heller copper piece, plus a 750 fine gold piece. The coins are quite crude by modern minting standards.
Mr. Grzenda moved on to discuss German New Guinea, which only issued coins dated 1894; all were struck in Berlin and had the "A" mint mark. These coins, unlike the German East African pieces, were denominated in pfennigs and Marks. Mr. Grzenda displayed coins ranging from 1 pfennig to 2 Mark denominations. The smaller ones have rather plain designs; the larger denominations are more ornate and carry a male Bird-of-Paradise with wings outstretched, a popular design, with a wreath on the reverse.
German colonial coins of Kaushao included only two types: 5 cents and 10 cents, both in copper-nickel alloys. They are bilingual --- a German eagle superposed on an anchor, 1909 inscription on the obverse, and a Chinese reverse.
Paper money of German East Africa that Mr. Grzenda displayed included a 100 Rupee note (1905), finely-engraved and nice-looking, with an obverse of a bust of Kaiser Wilhelm II in cavalryman's uniform --- the only notes showing him that way, in fact. The WWI emergency paper money included 5 Mark notes, crudely printed.
The rarest item that Mr. Grzenda displayed was from German Southwest Africa, a colony that never issued any coins. He showed a silver award medal for an exhibition held in Windhoek, German SW Africa, 29 May - 1 June 1914. The obverse shows native wildlife (ostrich, gazelle, and a meerkat) and an imperial German crown in the background; the legend says "Honor Prize" in German. That country is now Namibia.
In response to questions from the audience, Mr. Grzenda observed that coins from German colonies are in general somewhat scarce, especially the fractional Rupee denominations and the 2 Rupee (only struck 1893-1894 in small mintages, heavily circulated). Larger 15 Rupee coins were minted in quantities of 18,000-20,000, and undamaged ones are not often found. German New Guinea coins are expensive but tend to be found in nice condition, as they were collected and preserved early, so they are often seen in Extremely Fine or better. The source of gold for mintage during WWI was from German East African mines; the brass for smaller coins came from shell casings. Every British soldier killed resulted in a gold piece reward.
An audience member noted that Tsingtao has an excellent brewery, from which "a good German beer" is still exported. (^_^) Mr. Grzenda's presentation ended with a good round of applause from the audience. Bravo!
Reference: Mr. Grzenda recommended an article in The Numismatist, ca. 1985, for further details on the historical context of German colonial coinage.