Montgomery County Coin Club

September 2002 Bulletin - Early Web Edition

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MC³ = Numismatics!

Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 10, 2002

August Meeting Report

Announcements

Vice President Don McKee invited members to put their telephone numbers on his list so that he can call with last-minute meeting announcements if necessary.

Vice President Ed Russell sold many of the 2002 Red Books which he had brought to the meeting, and will order more of both hardbacks and paperbacks for the September MCCC meeting. These are on sale for $7 (pb) and $8.50 (hb); a portion of the proceeds flows into the MCCC treasury.

Gerald Grzenda announced a reward for information leading to the recovery of coins which were stolen from him on 5 August, the day after the New York ANA summer convention. Gerry's email address is Gerald.Grzenda (at) usdoj.gov and his office phone number is 202.524.1118; his office fax is 202.514.6613. Among the items stolen from him were: a complete type collection of ~200 East German coins, including many encased proofs; uncirculated 1770 and 1782 Swedish 1 Riksdalers; a large Venetian gold 10 Zecchini (or Ducats, 18th century, small hole at 12 o'clock); Philippines coins including an 1897 uncirculated peso, 1860's era 4 peso gold, and 1981 "Visit of John Paul II" 1,500 peso; Egyptian 5 pounds proof gold of 1979 ("Bank of Land Reform"); a Mexican 8 Reales Iturbide in about uncirculated condition; an Iraqi 200 Fils 1932 uncirculated; a Swedish 1 Skilling of 1832; a Papal States 5 Lire of 1870; and a Belgian 2 Francs commemorative of 1880. Please contact Gerry at once if you learn of the whereabouts of any of these coins.

Exhibits

• Bruce Longyear showed and talked about a lovely high-condition 1806/5 quarter dollar which he recently acquired.
• Simcha Kuritzky described the summer ANA Convention and his experiences there, and displayed some of his coins which garnered him a First Prize in his exhibit of Hebrew Love Tokens. Simcha also showed a Bureau of Engraving and Printing souvenir sheet (a $5 limited edition which sold out on the first day of the Convention), a compressed mini-brick of shredded worn currency from the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and some coins of ancient India including a gold stater from ~400 B.C.E. (the Gupta Empire) depicting a king trampling a lion on one side and the goddess Lakshmi seated on a lion on the reverse. Simcha additionally warned of counterfeit "1804 dollars" which are widely available in Thailand and in New York City (for about $35 each). Don't waste your money!
• Wayne Mitchell showed a New Hampshire commemorative quarter with no visible mint mark, and asked for MCCC members to help determine the cause (perhaps a greasy die error?).
• Willy Massey exhibited a silver half dollar which he has been tapping on the edge with a spoon for the past several weeks. This process, which was classically done by prisoners with too much time on their hands, results in gradually bending the coin into a bowl shape. When the transformation is complete, the center can be drilled out leaving a ring suitable for wearing. Willy estimated that he has invested about 8 hours so far in working on this 1962 Franklin half, and that he is perhaps a third of the way finished with it. Wayne Mitchell observed that, in his youth, he and his 7th grade schoolmates would do this sort of thing to quarters which could be made into rings for their then-smaller fingers.
• Lt. Col. Leon Robert displayed an article he wrote recently on "Medals of Walter Reed" which has been published in the Journal of the Token and Medal Society (TAMS). The article was also reviewed in a recent issue of Coin World. Leon noted that when he told his wife "Now I'm famous!" she simply rolled her eyes. Leon encouraged MCCC members to write articles about topics which interest them. He also described some of his encounters with Walter-Reed-related medals, institutes, and locations.
• Jack Schadegg showed a plaque received by the MCCC from the Wheaton Boys and Girls Club. The MCCC Charity Auction earlier this year raised $250 each for the Wheaton and Silver Spring Clubs, and the money is being used to support youth athletics.

Door Prizes & Gold Raffle

• a 2000-S proof nickel
• a 1910 Barber dime
• a 1905 "V" nickel
• a 1964 silver half dollar

Door prize winners for July were Chuck Hansmann, Bert Marks, Jack Cross, and Ken Huff. The Gold Raffle was won by Steve Lokey. Herb Hall's name was drawn for the Bison Chip; this is his first "leg" toward the three needed to win.

K. Visweswaran on "Punch Marked Coins of India"

Thirty years ago, Mr. Visweswaran said, his daughter saw a Punch Marked Coin (PMC) in his collection and asked him "When were these coins born?" Two weeks ago his young grandson posed exactly the same question! Mr. Visweswaran has been collecting and studying PMCs for about 50 years, and answered that the earliest PMCs were made in the 8th and 9th centuries BC. They replaced cattle as a medium of exchange.

"Punch-Marked Coins", Mr. Visweswaran explained, are small pieces of silver and copper which are punched with symbols. These coins constituted the most extensive monetary system of ancient India. They were so widespread in their use that hoards of PMCs have been discovered in diverse parts of India (and surrounding nations which were Indian at the time). Mr. Visweswaran showed a map of the Indian subcontinent and discussed details of where PMCs have been found. One hoard of 25,000 coins was located and tragically melted for the precious metal content; PMCs are often 70-80% silver.

The earliest of the PMCs were issued by the Janapadas and Mahajanapadas (small and big States), which were gradually absorbed by the Magadha Empire which rose in the 5th century BC and spread over the whole country by 400 BC. The coins issued under the Magadha Dynasty continued in circulation during the Mauryan Dynasty into the second century BC and beyond. By this time the coins each had a uniform set of five symbols punched into them. Silver PMCs ceased to be issued some time in the second century BC, but the coins continued to circulate for 400-500 years thereafter.

Mr. Visweswaran showed charts and explained the significance of some of the symbols used on these coins. There are as many as 700 different symbols including representations of:

• heavenly bodies
• human beings
• animals
• implements (e.g., bows, arrows, cups, vases)
• trees and fruits
• miscellaneous other objects

A PMC often has from one to five symbols on it, to indicate:

• the state
• the king or local government
• the place or area of production
• the religion of the issuer
• the identity of the master of the mint

Extensive studies have been done by many scholars of PMCs. Among the books which Mr. Visweswaran cited were works by Panini, Kautilya, P. L. Gupta, Dilip Rajgor, Subash Rai, and Dr. A. V. Murthy. The weights and symbols of PMCs indicate the existence of an excellent monetary system by the 4th Century BC, and Mr. Visweswaran concluded that Punch Marked Coins are the foundation of India's rich numismatic heritage.

In answer to questions from his audience, Mr. Visweswaran described more recent coins of India, including some from Queen Victoria's era, examples of which he has himself found using a metal detector. PMCs are never gold and rarely copper, he said. Their age and diversity reflect the amazing depth of history that India possesses.

Further Notes

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