This is the MCCC ARCHIVE – for the CURRENT Montgomery County Coin Club see https://montgomerycoinclub.org
August 2000 Bulletin - Revised Web Edition *
MCCC: A Collector's Club for the New Millennium
Next Meeting: Tuesday, August 8, 2000
The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet at 7 p.m. on the
second Tuesday of the month,
August 8, 2000, at the Silver Spring Senior Citizens Center
(1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA). The
featured event for the meeting was not determined as of press
time for this Bulletin.
2001 Red Books --- Special Offer!
The new hardback edition of A Guide Book of United
States Coins, commonly known as "The Red Book",
will be available for purchase by MCCC members at the
extraordinary discount price of only $8. All sale
proceeds will go to benefit MCCC activities. See Ed Russell
at the next meeting to reserve your copy. (With luck,
copies may already be available on the evening of August 8.)
The main attraction at the July MCCC meeting was
a presentation by MCCC member
Jerry Grzenda on "Hard Times Tokens".
See the Featured Article below for
full details, and for a special "Ted Freter Retrospective"
about the MCCC in 1966-67.
President William C. Massey called the MCCC
to order at 7:20 p.m. on the warm evening of July 11, 2000.
About 32 MCCC members were present, including
2 Young Numismatists (YNs) but no first-time
visitors.
(Please invite friends and relatives, especially
young people, to come to the next MCCC meeting!)
News & Announcements
- President Willy Massey reminded everyone that the big ANA
Philadelphia convention is coming up in early August. Willy strongly
recommended it ("awesome" ... "gotta be there!").
He also noted the recent
Discovery Channel (cable TV) show on the US Mint which
was excellent.
- Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky reported that the MCCC
finances remain healthy.
- Librarian Kermit Smyth announced that the
Library has several new books. A revised catalog will
be published next month. ("The Library has already run
out of space --- it has taken over my basement!")
- Tom Hall noted that Denver mint Sacagawea
dollars were beginning to appear locally in circulation.
- Wayne Mitchell offered rolls of US State
Commemorative quarters for sale at face value.
(The quarters are uncirculated bank
rolls of South Carolina and Maryland issues.)
- Ed Russell reported that 2001 "Red Books"
(A Guide Book of United States Coins)
will be available for sale at the August MCCC meeting.
The price will be announced later; it will be a
significant discount from bookstore prices, and
proceeds will go to benefit the MCCC treasury
and Club charitable activities.
- Ken Huff announced that he has already
received the San Francisco Mint 2000 set of
five commemorative state quarters from the US Mint.
Drawings & Prizes
The door prizes this month were:
- a US 50 cent piece (Kennedy half) of 1976;
- a Bulgarian 100 leva of 1934;
- a Franklin Mint Collectors Society personal seal with a
portrait of Ben Franklin (including sticks of sealing wax); and
- a Venezuelan 1 bolivar of 1960.
Lucky winners in July were Frank Guerrero,
Ben Kalman, Jonetta Russell, and
Andrew Luck. (Congratulations!)
The July Gold Raffle prize was an Australian "kangaroo"
AKA "nugget" (0.1 oz of gold, face value $15), dated 1999.
The raffle was won by Ken Huff (who
ran the Door Prize table --- coincidence?).
The Bison Chip drawing named Andrew Luck;
this is his first "leg" of three needed.
(Note: you must be present to win.)
July Showcase
Member MCCC displays this month included:
- Willy Massey showed large and small date 1960
Lincoln cents which his father won in a recent contest.
- Joe Howard displayed commemorative half dollars and
quarters with tree motifs, and discussed the appearance of
trees on coins. (He showed an elongated Connecticut
quarter with the words "Wye Oak" added to the legend!)
- Jeff Crockett exhibited six medals of George
Washington.
- Ed Russell, reported on the existence of Sacagawea
dollars with mispaired obverse and reverse --- a normal Sacagawea
flying eagle reverse with a 25 cent Washington quarter commemorative
obverse. These coins are reputed to exist in significant numbers; so far
three have been found, one of which sold for $41,395 on eBay.
There was much discussion of how such error coins might escape
from the Mint, and the likely involvement of Mint employees.
(Nevertheless, check your "golden" dollars!)
- Simcha Kuritzky brought in a book, The
Mystery of the Coins, found at a recent American
Jewish Librarians conference. The story relates to Jewish
numismatic history; it is copyright 1988. Simcha also showed
coin-related artifacts he found recently in San Francisco's
"Chinatown". His exhibit included "hell sycee" --- cardboard
versions of gold ingots which can be burned during
funeral ceremonies (to provide money for the deceased).
He displayed resin-mold statuettes in tiger and lion
designs (figures seated on mounds of Chinese "cash" coins)
plus a painted statuette of a golden leopard
seated on coins. From Japan, Simcha showed "maneki neko"
cat medallions, ceramic coin banks, and hanging statuettes
with cat coin imagery.
- Jerry Grzenda showed coins from San Marino,
a sovereign country completely lying within the borders
of Italy --- the world's oldest republic, a country with
an area of only about 24 square miles. Jerry discussed the
history of San Marino and its coinage, which began in
the 19th Century. Jerry also showed a watch fob made
of "love tokens" including a Capped Bust half, a
Seated Liberty dime, and other interesting and
important US coins of the 1800's.
- Scott Helmick exhibited a nice 1886 Indian Head
cent --- which was found by his girlfriend in change from a
recent purchase. (Keep checking your change!)
Featured Attraction:
Jerry Grzenda on "Hard Times Tokens"
Jerry Grzenda spoke to the MCCC on the large cent tokens
issued during the Andrew Jackson Presidential administration
and shortly thereafter (beginning in the 1830's). These tokens
tended to have political themes, Jerry noted, and often focused
on economic policy
issues. President Jackson fought against large banks, and his
actions caused considerable controversy along with
economic turmoil.
Mr. Grzenda described the political situation of the time,
including Andrew Jackson's opposition to the Bank of the
United States and the associated financial events. Jerry
then showed and discussed tokens with anti-Jackson themes,
such as one from 1837 (during Martin van Buren's term
of office) with a tortoise labeled "Executive
Experiment" on one side and a leaping donkey image on
the other side. (The "jackass" represented President
Jackson.)
Jerry also displayed tokens of the 1834-1840 timeframe.
One of these was a specimen of the famous anti-slavery
token with the inscription "Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?".
Other pieces included images alluding to the US Constitution
and President Jackson's alleged lack of understanding of it.
During the Panic of 1837, Jerry explained, hoarding of hard
money led to coin shortages --- so many merchants in the
Atlantic seaboard states produced tokens advertising their
wares and which were also useful in making change for small
purchases. Among the goods shown for sale were books, groceries,
machinery, and
other items. Jerry showed a half cent token and a small-cent-sized
token by Fuerchtwanger in a copper-nickel alloy ---
an important coin issued twenty years ahead of the
Flying Eagle cent of 1856-1858 (the first official small cent).
The economic problems of the times led to Martin van Buren's
defeat in the Presidential elections of 1840, and thus the end
of the era of most Hard Times tokens. Comments and
questions from the MCCC audience led to further discussion of
proof struck tokens and the possible production of such coins
in England. Jerry remarked that counterstamps sometimes
were applied to Hard Times tokens; he displayed one, a Liberty
Head obverse design with the reverse inscription "Millions for
Defense - Not One Cent for Tribute". It was counterstamped
with the initials "MVG" on the obverse, with the "V" looking
like a heart. Jerry suggested that a merchant likely counterstamped
it for advertising purposes.
Other questions led to discussions of the variations in weight
among Hard Times tokens and their patterns of
circulation. One piece Jerry showed, he noted, was holed
at the 12 o'clock position and was probably used as jewelry.
Hard Times tokens contrast, Jerry said, with British Condor
tokens which had to meet strict government requirements.
Mr. Grzenda's presentation ended to a round of applause
from the MCCC membership present. (Thank you, Jerry!)
The MCCC 35 Years Ago: In Memorium, Ted Freter
(thanks to Lisa Freter for archival material!)
In December 1965 Ted Freter was elected President
of the MCCC; he served two terms, 1966-1967.
Ted passed away not long ago and his daughter Lisa, now
living in Colorado, has
kindly sent the Club sets of Bulletins from the mid-1960's
which she preserved from Ted's estate.
A look at those Bulletins reveals much that has changed, and
much that remains the same. Some names of current
MCCC members appear frequently: Irv Eisen, Mike Dolnick,
and Mae Clarke, among others.
Some silver and gold coin prices in the monthly
auction look quite low by modern standards: a 1921 Peace dollar
in EF condition listed for $14? ... a 1910 quarter
eagle EF for $23.50? ... an 1878-CC Morgan dollar in F for $3? ...
an 1892 eagle in AU for $30? ... an UNC 1889-S $20 gold piece
for $55? (The mind boggles!)
But in contrast, prices of copper and nickel coins,
of foreign material, and of books appear rather high compared
with today.
The topics of Bulletin articles and monthly presentations include
some familiar themes:
- January 1966: "How to Dispose of Your Collection" and
"Protection Against Robberies"
- February 1966: Ted Freter on "Early English Silver Coins"
- March 1966: "The Price is Right" panel games for prizes
- April 1966: Frank J. Katen on "Some Odd and Curious
Money of the World"
- May 1966: Col. Phares O. Sigler, AUS (Ret.) on "Porcelain
Tokens of Siam"
- June 1966: Col. Vernon L. Bigsby on "Fiat Money of the
French Revolution:
- July 1966: a "COINUNDRUM" Quiz (numismatic puzzlers
and riddles)
- August 1966: Philip Grierson on "Some Aspects of
Byzantine Coinage"
- September 1966: Dr. Charles W. Rechenbach on "An
Introduction to the Coinage of Rome"
- October 1966: Ben Douglas and Walt Mason on
"AU or BU --- It Makes a Difference!"
- November 1966: Jim Houser on "From My
Scrapbook; or Numismatiana"
- December 1966: Donated Auction & "Fun Nite"
- January 1967: a panel discussion on "US vs. Foreign
Coin Collecting" and other topics
- February 1967: a panel discussion on "Improving and
Restoring the Appearance of Numismatic Material" with
guest panelist Capt. Vernon I. Bigsby
- March 1967: a panel discussion of "Numismatic
Parlance --- Terms and Definitions"
- April 1967: Brent Hughes on "General Spinner and His
Currency"
- May 1967: Dr. Leland Howard on "Problems Confronting
Gold Coin Collectors"
- June 1967: Capt. Vernon I. Bigsby on "Colonial Currency"
- July 1967: R. C. Soxman on "Pattern Coins"
- August 1967: a panel on "What's New in Numismatics"
- September 1967: Michael M. Dolnick on "Coins of the
Mad King of Bavaria"
- October 1967: Walt Mason on "Love Money"
- November 1967: "The Price is Right" audience-participation
panel competition, with silver dollar prizes for the winners
- December 1967: Donated Auction & "Fun Nite"
The limit on the maximum number of members in the MCCC was
lifted from 150 to 175 in June 1966. The raffle prize in
January 1966 was a $5 gold piece. The Bulletin at that time
included a public service announcement, "We can be of great
help to the Mint and to our hobby by not doing any hoarding of
the 1965 coins, especially the half-dollars." And then there
was the admonition, "REMEMBER, although we want material,
the club auctions should not be used as a garbage disposal
to dispose of material that is damaged,
badly worn or any such material that you yourself would not
want to purchase at a club auction." The MCCC donated auction
raised funds to benefit the Silver Spring Boys Club (later
to become the Boys and Girls Club). The MCCC Annual
Picnic was held in September in both 1966 and 1967. New "Blue
Books" for 1968 (25th Edition) sold for $0.75 each, one
to a member.
Finally, a still-valid thought from Ted Freter's editorial in
the July 1966 issue:
"... it seems appropriate to note that a coin club can have a
broader motivation than to serve merely as a market-place
or investment counselor for its members. There are many
facets of the hobby which, through the educational and
inspirational activities of a coin club, can be brought
to the attention of its newer collectors. It appears to
us that, on the record and in the attitude of its membership,
the MCCC has done a consistently outstanding amount of
service in this respect."
Auction & Aftermath
After the feature and a break for refreshments,
Don McKee ran the monthly club auction.
(Bidding was fast and furious!)
The meeting was adjourned at 9:16pm.
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 © 2000 by the Directors of the
Montgomery
County Coin Club --- who thank the American Numismatic Association
(and especially Ms. Susie Nulty)
for help in sharing the MCCC Bulletin with numismatists everywhere.