This is the MCCC ARCHIVE – for the CURRENT Montgomery County Coin Club see https://montgomerycoinclub.org
June 2002 Bulletin - Early Web Edition
MC3 = Numismatics!
Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 11, 2002
The Montgomery County Coin Club will meet on the second
Tuesday of the month, 11 June 2002, at the Silver Spring Senior Citizens Center
(1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA).
Doors open at 7:00pm, and the meeting begins with the Pledge of Allegiance
at approximately 7:20pm. The featured event this month has not been
selected as of press time for this edition of the Bulletin.
On 14 May 2002 the MCCC was called to order at 7:22pm.
This month 38 people were in attendance, including 3 Young Numismatists (YNs).
No first-time visitors declared themselves.
Door Prizes & Gold Raffle
Willy Massey described the Door Prizes this month:
- a 1940 silver Mercury dime
- a 2000-D "Lucky Penny" encased in a ring from the 2001 ANA Convention
- a 1960 small/large date one cent set (four coins in labeled holder)
- a 2001 "Blue Book" price guide to US Coins
The gold raffle prize was a a 1976 Guyana "$100" non-circulating coin issued
by the Franklin Mint and containing 5.74 grams of 0.500 fine gold, for a net
gold content of approximately 0.09 troy ounces.
This month the door prize winners were Danny Henderson,
Ed Russell, Herb Hall, and Tom Hall.
The Gold Raffle was won by Ken Swab.
The Bison Chip went to John Chiusano. This is
his first "leg" of the three needed to win the Bison Chip prize. (You
must be present when your name is called to win a Bison Chip.)
Announcements
Treasurer Simcha Kuritzky discussed:
- Maryland State Numismatic Association convention, 13-15 June 2002 ---
MSNA raffle tickets are for sale at $1 each, or six for $5; exhibit applications
are now available
- American Numismatic Association convention, 31 July - 4 August 2002 (with
30 July as PNG Day) --- in New York City
- Washington Numismatic Society --- meeting in mid-May
- Maryland Numismatic Society --- public banquet on 20 May, with featured
speaker the son of Mr. Eliasburg of Baltimore, the man who formed arguably
the most complete collection of US coins of all time
Lame-duck Librarian Kermit Smyth reminded everyone that a new MCCC
Librarian will be needed soon, since he leaves the area on 20 July. The
MCCC book collection is now boxed in Kermit's garage and awaits
its new home. Kermit also mentioned that the Library is missing the video
"The Money Story" (Willy Massey replied that he may have it). Erv Eisen
donated many items to the Library and in the cases where they are duplicative
the Library will sell one copy to raise money for new purchases.
Jack Schadegg asked all MCCC members to check their names and
addresses on the master mailing list which he brought to the meeting ---
please correct any errors.
Rob Dorsey announced that he has a variety of old "Red Books" for sale
at low prices to any collectors who want them.
Showcase Attractions
Several MCCC members displayed material from their collections:
- Ken Huff showed a nice watch made from a Maryland State Commemorative
Quarter (Denver mint) which he received as a birthday gift. (Ken Swab
joked, "It tells you when it's a quarter past!")
- Willy Massey told of his recent trip to Indiana, where he and his
family met Brian Ryker, the author of a major book on encased coins --- who
coincidentally lives in the neighborhood of Willy's relatives there.
- Herb Hall displayed commemorative stamps and proof and uncirculated
coins honoring the 200th anniversary of the US Military Academy
- Bruce Longyear exhibited a shield nickel of 1883 which he had
purchased on the day of the meeting. This coin has an unusual crack running
from 3 o'clock to 7 o'clock on the obverse, and in fact is an example of
a split planchet error; the piece split in two after striking. It is in
extremely fine condition and Bruce reported that he got it for an excellent
price from a local dealer.
- Simcha Kuritzky showed and discussed a variety of Israeli coins and
medals related to the Lion's Gate of Old Jerusalem. He noted that the previous
Friday was the 35th anniversary of the Israeli liberation of the Old City (in
the Six Days War). He showed a medal which depicts all eight classical gates
to Jerusalem, and a 5 Lira note featuring the Lion Gate. Simcha explained that
in that series of currency each denomination showed a different gate. He also
exhibited a presentation medal issued to paratroopers who took part in the
campaign; this is a rare piece, since less than 5000 were struck and until
recently few ever came onto the market. Simcha additionally displayed commemorative
20th and 30th anniversary coins and medals showing the Lion's Gate, and a
1998 Israeli "Table Medal" with stone framework and a silver plated pewter
Lion's Gate representation, #106 of 666 issued. (Don McKee proposed that
Simcha give a presentation on Middle East history at a future meeting.
Simcha observed that such a lecture might be a challenge, given the huge time span
to be covered. He noted that the pace would have to be "a century a minute!")
Thank you to all exhibitors.
Everyone, please bring some of your favorite items
to the next meeting to share with other MC3 members.
MC3 Internet Domain Discussion
MCCC President Jack Schadegg placed a question before the members present
at the May meeting: Should the MCCC have its own Internet domain?
Mark Zimmermann explained that a domain is an address for web pages and email,
and discussed some of the issues associated with getting a domain for the MCCC.
Currently, the MCCC's Bulletin is hosted by the ANA (American
Numismatic Association)
on its server at http://www.money.org,
with the latest edition of the Bulletin at the URL (Universal
Resource Locator)
http://www.money.org/club_mccc_current.html . Back
issues are archived in Mark Zimmermann's directory
http://www.his.com/~z/MCCC/ along with
other material such as the MCCC Library Catalog.
This method seems to work well, and has evolved over the past five years.
So some MCCC members, including Willy Massey, argued that there is no
need for any change. On the other side, Ken Swab noted that a URL is something
like a "Vanity License Plate" and might also increase exposure of the MCCC
and attract new members. Two or three MCCC members commented that they had first
learned of the club through the Internet.
But in order to register a domain name, some expenses would be incurred. The
main address registry for ".com", ".net", ".org", etc. charges $35 per year,
with a minimum initial duration of two years. (There may be a sale going on
now, so that a third year would be free.) Ken Swab suggested that other registries
might be lower priced, such as one he knows of in France which charges 12
Euros per year.
Other than registration, costs would be minimal. Susie Nulty of the ANA
points out that the ANA offers free web hosting for member clubs
(such as the MCCC, ANA Club #C371) along with other technical help. The
ANA announcement of this service is at
http://www.money.org/press/20011030-clubweb.html .
Unfortunately, the shortest and most "natural" domain names for the MCCC are
already taken. As a non-profit tax-exempt organization the MCCC should probably
have a ".org" address --- but mccc.org is in use (by the Monmouth Christian
Chinese Church), as are several plausible alternatives. Simcha Kuritzky
reported that "MontgomeryCoin.org" appears to be unused, but is a bit lengthy.
He also commented that "MCCoinClub.org" is unused, "but sounds Scottish."
(Is that bad? (^_^) )
After some discussion about the benefits versus the costs associated with
having an MCCC Internet domain there was clearly no consensus --- so the
issue was tabled for further thought and debate at a future meeting.
End Notes
The May 2002 MCCC meeting adjourned at 9:14pm. Auctioneers this month were
Don McKee and Ken Swab. As MCCC members left the building they were greeted by
a conjunction of the brilliant planet Venus and a young crescent Moon,
its dark side lit up with dusky earthshine. Several other planets (including
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) were also lined up in the west, twinkling bright
in a sky swept clear by a day of high winds.
Comments and Feedback
MCCC reporter/webmaster Mark Zimmermann has rehosted the MCCC online archives at
http://www.his.com/~z/MCCC/ where
they are available for reference.
Please send bug reports and suggestions for improvement to
"z (at) his.com" (http://www.his.com/~z/).
The MCCC Bulletin is copyright © 2002 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.
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