This is the MCCC ARCHIVE – for the CURRENT Montgomery County Coin Club see https://montgomerycoinclub.org
February 2001 Bulletin - Early Web Edition
MCCC A Collector's Club for the New Millennium
Next Meeting Tuesday, February 13, 2001
The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet at 7 p.m. on the
second Tuesday of the month,
February 13, 2001, at the Silver Spring Senior Citizens Center
(1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA).
The featured event was not yet determined as of press
time for this Bulletin.
The main activity at the January 2001 MCCC meeting was
the swearing in of the Club's new officers and Board of Directors.
See the Featured Article below for details.
Outgoing President Willy Massey called the MCCC
to order at 722 p.m. on the icy evening of
January 9, 2001.
A strong crowd of ~49 MCCC members were present,
including three Young Numismatists (YNs).
Three first-time visitors were greeted with a round
of applause
Bob Eisemann of Bethesda (a collector of errors
and tokens),
Gordon Charrick (who collects mint US coins), and
Marti Martinson (whose interests include mint sets
and half dollars).
Also present for the first time were YN Nicky Luck
and Mary Louise Huff. Welcome to you all!
(Please invite your friends and relatives, especially
potential YNs, to attend the next MCCC meeting with you.)
News & Announcements
- President Willy Massey reminded
members that their 2001 dues --- $6 for
adults, $1 for YNs --- are now due.
- Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky reported that
MCCC files were recently recovered from a near-fatal
computer crash. The 2000 year ended with the MCCC
in the black by over $300. Club donations
for the Boys and Girls Club are almost $450 from
the Charity Auction plus individual gifts. The Silver
Spring and Wheaton Boys and Girls Clubs will be
present at the February meeting to receive their
gifts.
- Librarian Kermit Smyth noted that the
Library Fund continues to grow; suggestions for
acquisitions are welcome. By next month, if all goes
as planned, the 2001 Library List will be ready. (Kermit
also announced that Irv Blank is doing well in
his recovery from medical problems.)
- Historian Tom Hall announced that the Club
Archive still needs bulletins from the early 1970's
and before. (Please check your files!)
Not announced at the meeting, but of Washington-area
numismatic interest a large coin and stamp show will be
held on 27 and 28 January 2001 at the Vienna Community
Center, 120 Cherry Street, Vienna, VA. Admission is free.
Drawings & Prizes
The January door prize drawings were run by
Willy Massey, Ken Huff,
and Mary Louise Huff. A rich set of give-aways
this month included
- 1920 - Cuba 20 centavos
- 1947 - Australia 1 shilling
- 1970 - USSR 1 ruble
Lucky winners were Kermit Smyth,
Jack Cross, and Bob Eisemann.
The September Gold Raffle coin was an Australian 1999
"Nugget" containing 0.1 ounce of gold.
The raffle was won by Sherry Hilderbrand.
The Bison Chip drawing this month named MCCC
Sergeant-at-Arms John Herman --- who almost
missed hearing his name called.
This was his first "leg" of three needed to win a one-ounce
silver Eagle. You must be present to win the Bison Chip.
Congratulations to all the winners --- and to the rest,
better luck next month!
January Exhibits
The MCCC showcase started the New Year (and new Century, and
New Millennium) with a rich display of items
- Bruce Longyear showed a partial brockage
error created by a bicentennial (1776-1976)
quarter which stuck to one of the dies during the
minting process.
- Kermit Smyth displayed money
acquired by his sister during a recent visit to
Cuba. These coins are denominated in centavos,
but are designed to make change for US dollars
at an exchange rate of 1 centavo per US cent.
(Since there are 21 pesos per dollar now in Cuba,
this is quite a good deal for the issuing government!)
The coins which Kermit showed were
all dated 1994 and later.
- Jerry Grzenda exhibited several official
Inaugural Medals for US Presidential inaugurations, from
a 1889 Benjamin Harrison medal to a 1985
Reagan-Bush second inauguration ounce. In the early years these
Inaugural Medals were badges, given only to members
of the Inaugural Committee. One medal, from 1893
for Grover Cleveland, originally had a ribbon attached
to it. After 1901, Jerry explained, they were
"table medals" given as gifts to Committee members.
The President would receive one in gold, as would sometimes
the Vice President. Other pieces would be issued in
silver or bronze. In 1929 for Herbert Hoover's
Inauguration medals were no longer distributed
exclusively to Inaugural Committee members, but
rather were sold directly to the public. The Hoover
medal depicts symbols alluding to his career as
an engineer. Jerry displayed 1901 (McKinley), 1909
(Taft),1945 (Roosevelt), 1981 (Reagan), and other medals.
On another theme, Jerry commented on the announced
transition of El Salvador to the use of US dollars as a
circulating currency, replacing the colón. He
discussed the history of El Salvador, its place as
part of the Central American Republic, and its
later political status. El Salvador used a decimal coinage
system beginning in 1892, on a centavo and peso
standard --- examples of which Jerry exhibited.
Many of these coins depict Christopher Columbus.
In 1925, in honor of the 400th anniversary of the
founding of San Salvador, capital city, coins
were issued, some of which Jerry showed. He also
exhibited various other El Salvador commemoratives
in gold and silver. Some of these were minted
in small numbers of only a few hundred --- quite
scarce! Finally, Jerry noted that the Art Nouveau
exhibition in the National Gallery of Art would
be open until 28 January; he reported that the
exhibit was excellent and recommended it highly.
Featured Attraction
New MCCC Officers
At the January 2001 meeting the main event was
the Inauguration of MCCC Officers. Taking the oath
of office were
- President Jack Schadegg
- 1st Vice-President Ed Russell
- 2nd Vice-President Don McKee
- Treasurer & Secretary Simcha Kuritzky
- Sergeant at Arms John Herman
- Board of Directors Rob Dorsey, Andrew Luck, William C.
Massey, John Pylypec,
Kermit Smyth, Kenneth E. Swab
Welcome aboard!
Blasts From the Past
Club Historian Tom Hall shared some items from the
October 1960 Bulletin of the MCCC
- At the September 1960 meeting Dr. Clain-Stefanelli of
the Smithsonian was the honored guest. He displayed two (2!)
1804 silver dollars from the National Collection as well
as a Roman numeral 1907 High Relief $20 St. Gaudens gold
piece and other rarities --- an exhibit undoubtedly worth
millions of dollars in today's money.
- The Bulletin stated authoritatively that the 1960
Small Date cent would not be listed in the Red Book, and
speculated that it was already overpriced (wrong, in
retrospect).
- The October Auction included the following gold items
- an uncirculated 1915-S Pan-Pacific commemorative $1,
which sold for $27
- a 1928 quarter eagle in AU condition, which brought $15.50
- 1886-S (XF) and 1899 (U) half eagles, which realized
between $15 and $20 each
- uncirculated 1915 and 1932 eagles, which were snapped
up at $26 and $26.50 respectively
- The Bulletin advised, "In order that you do not lose
any coin that you want to bid on, the auctioneer suggests that
you do not wait till the last second, and also suggests that you
raise your bid sheet when bidding, as the white sheet shows up
much better than your hand, against a neutral background.
Remember, you can also call out your bids if you want to."
Auction & Aftermath
Don McKee was the esteemed and energetic auctioneer
for January. The meeting was adjourned at 855 p.m.
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 © 2001 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.