Chatter

Volume 66 No. 12 December 2020

Editor’s Notes

We have a number of meeting minutes in this issue, so do read them all. Due to the short time for producing this issue, the article on the November featured program will be in the January issue.

An email will be sent to all members a day or two before our regular December meeting, containing an invitation (as a link) to participate in our December online meeting. If you received an invitation to a prior online meeting, you should receive an invitation to our December online meeting. If you did not receive an invitation to a prior online meeting, email the club secretary, at secretary.chicagocoinclub@gmail.com and request an invitation.

If you could not connect to a prior online meeting, please email the Club Secretary with as many details as you can remember. A club member will help you resolve the issue.

Paul Hybert, editor

Minutes of the 1222nd Meeting

The 1222nd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was called to order by President Richard Lipman at 6:45 PM CDT, Wednesday, November 11, 2020. Due to the pandemic shutdown, the meeting was online with 34 members and guests.

The October minutes were approved without objection. The treasurer’s report showed $400.00 revenue, $168.64 in expenses, and was approved without objection.

Old Business:

Old Business:

First VP Lyle Daly introduced the featured speaker, Michael Kodysz, who delivered a PowerPoint presentation Halley’s Comet: A Visual Record on Coins of Elagabalus. Following a question and answer period, Lyle announced the December 9 program Chicago Coin Club’s Impact on Early ANA Conventions.

Second VP John Riley announced the evening’s five exhibitors.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:46 PM CST.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl F. Wolf, Secretary

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our November 11, 2020 meeting,
reported by John Riley.

  1. Mark Wieclaw showed an Irish “Gunmoney” crown of 1690 in high grade. These base metal pieces were an issue of England’s James II during the Williamite War in Ireland between 1689 and 1691, and were intended to be redeeemed for five shillings in silver following a victory (that never came). The term “gun money” came from the idea that the coins were minted from melted down guns, however many other brass objects, such as church bells, were also used. In 1986, Mark paid a dealer $20 for this piece because he liked the look of it – some quick research in the pre-internet age provided some simple facts, so he decided to acquire the other denominations of gun money – but at the following CICF show, Mark was offered $200 for this coin! This Crown was the impetus for his complete set of seventeenth century Irish Gunmoney, which he has exhibited at a number of conventions. Among the valuable prizes the collection has won, Mark ranks the one-week Summer Seminar he attended at ANA headquarters as the most beneficial, for the treasured friendships obtained in the course of pursuing numismatics.
  2. In observance of the day’s Veterans Day observances, John Riley showed a few paper money souvenirs saved by WWII troops attending United Services Organization (USO) shows. So-called “short snorter” notes initially were saved by military aviators as informal crew travelogs of countries visited in the course of their service. The idea quickly morphed into keepsakes of a military unit – whoever could not produce their note at later gatherings had to pay for a round of drinks!
    1. U.S. Philippines “Victory“ overprint note (1944, one peso) signed by radio personality Joe E. Brown. Brown toured a great deal in the Pacific and is one of the more prolific signers seen today. Brown’s entertainment style was a zany, outlandish physical comedy and the servicemen must have been very fond of him.
    2. A 100-lira Allied Military Certificate (occupation money printed in 1944 in the U.S. for use in-theater), signed by Jinx Falkenburg. Falkenburg was an American tennis star-turned glamour actress who travelled with the USO to support the troops – perhaps a “supermodel” by today’s standards.
    3. A series 1935 $1 blue seal Silver Certificate signed by 1940s radio star Garry Moore. During the war years, Moore co-hosted a popular show and was the foil and “straight man” to the great Jimmy Duarante. Moore is remembered in the early television days for the Garry Moore variety show where he launched the career of, among others, Carol Burnett. Many of us remember him as the genial host of “To Tell The Truth,” a television game show long in syndication.
    4. Bob Hope’s signature on a U.S.-printed Cuba 1-peso silver certificate, series of 1938. Comedian Hope, born in England in 1903, was the “dean” of all U.S.O. troopers, and performed in far-flung areas where the military served through his late 80s. Hope was honored late in life with a congessional gold medal and proclomation making him an honorary veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. Hope was also commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp after his death. Thanks for the Memories!
  3. Deven Kane showed two Italian coins complementing the evening’s presentation.
    1. An anonymous cast bronze/lead alloy Formatum, from Rome or an uncertain Italian mint, circa 500-300 BC. This example of transitional Roman “Proto Money,” between AES Rude and AES Signatum and the first cast Roman coins (the AES Grave). One side has a scallop shell design while the other side is plain; the piece is 39mm in diameter and weighs 112 grams. Deven pointed out how the scallop shell design closely resembles the luxury GuyLian Belgian Chocolates!
    2. A 30 Soldi dated Anno IX (1801) in the French Revolutionary calendar, struck at Milan. This coin was issued by the second Cisalpine Republic (1800-1802), which was restored after Napoleon drove the Austrians out of Italy. The reverse acknowledges the peace imposed by Napoleon.
  4. Lyle Daly showed a range of items.
    1. A great article written by Chris Bulfinch and published in the November 9, 2020 issue of COIN WORLD magazine, detailing the Merrill’s Marauders Congressional gold medal as well as the history behind the unit’s actions in the China-Burma-India theater during WWII. Lyle hopes to attend the upcoming presentation ceremony in Washington, DC with his wife K.L., a key “driver“ in making the Medal a reality.
    2. Lyle’s Covid Cabin Fever project was a hobby-related woodworking project: a well-made camera stand for photographing his numismatic material.
    3. Complementing the evening’s speaker, a Denarius of Elagabalus issued in Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ image and dating between 220 and 222 AD. Lyle speculates the piece may have been among the silver denari from the “Pristina Horde:“ nearly perfect examples of some 10,000 Roman denari were unearthed in 1979 near Pristina, Yugoslavia (now Kosovo) and were issued during the reign of Severus Alexander. The coins were intended as payment for military troops in the northern Balkan Peninsula’s province of Illyricum.
    4. An attractive example of a Folis of Justinian I – Justinian has sometimes been known as the “last Roman” due to his efforts to restore the western empire. His legacy includes the uniform rewriting of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis, which is still the basis of civil law in many modern states, notably France. Justinian’s reign also marked a blossoming of Byzantine culture.
  5. Rich Lipman followed an Irish theme:
    1. A Five Dollars Promissory Bond, in the name of the Irish Republic and dated March 17, 1866. The bill was printed in the United States by the Continental Banknote Company and signed by John Mahoney, an American founder of the Fenian Society promoting the cause of Irish independence from England. The note features a portrait of Irish revolutionary Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-98) and is marked “redeemable six months after acknowledgement of the Independence of the Irish Nation.” Rich noted the similarity, in timeframe, wording, and intent, to U.S. Confederate States currency.
    2. Another promissory note, a similar Continental Banknote Company product and dated 1867, but for 10 dollars and titled “National Bond of the Republic of Ireland.“ Rich pointed out that this note is interest-bearing, while the slightly earlier five dollar note was not. Signed by Irish nationalist and writer Michael Scanlon, often referred to as the “Fenian poet.”
    3. A Bank of Ireland one-pound note of 4-5-1937 for the Munster & Leinster Bank, Ltd. Often referred to as the “Ploughman’s Note“ for the beautifully engraved agricultural scene on the front of the bill, with the reverse showing the Customs House in Dublin. Rich moted that this banknote was long considered a rarity, but a large hoard was brought to auction in recent years – choice examples are relatively available now.

Reminder: This is the last exhibit listing written by John Riley. Melissa Gumm will take over this responsibility starting with our January, 2021 meeting. (There will be no exhibits at our December meeting.) You can email to Melissa a description of what you will show at a meeting, to give her a start on this write-up. Send it to mjg513@yahoo.com.

Minutes of the Chicago 2021 ANA Convention Committee

November 17, 2020

The first meeting of the Chicago 2021 ANA Convention Committee was held online on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. Elliott Krieter, Host Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7 PM (CST). Attending: Jeff Amelse, Bob Feiler, Mike Gasvoda, Paul Hybert, Deven Kane, John Kent, Denise Kitchen, Elliott Krieter, Rich Lipman, Scott McGowan, Jim Ray, Marc Charles Ricard, John Riley, Mark Wieclaw, Carl Wolf, Melissa Gumm, and Steve Zitowsky.

Per the ANA website, the ANA Convention Dates are August 10-14, 2021 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Illinois.

Since the Chicago Coin Club hosted several recent conventions, Elliott spoke of the committees that need assignment.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.

Submitted by,
Carl Wolf, Secretary
Chicago Coin Club

Minutes of the Chicago Coin Club Board

November 18, 2020

The Chicago Coin Club Board met November 18, 2020 via web hosted video conference. President Rich Lipman called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM with every Board member present.

At the December meeting:

A discussion followed regarding the growing inventory of engraved featured speaker medals and ANA Educational Awards. It was decided to ship/mail all the 2020 material to the speakers and award recipients. The 2021 material will hopefully be presented at some time during the year. Lyle Daly and Elliott Krieter volunteered to help Carl Wolf with the shipping.

Speaking on behalf of John Kent, Deven Kane led a discussion on club education programs at the Greater Chicago Coin & Currency Show in the February and June 2021 events. The board thought it a good idea, but decided not to officially sanction the project until the Covid-19 Pandemic was over.

Mark Wieclaw announced that club life membership acceptance had changed:

Lyle Daly led discussion:

Carl Wolf announced the inventory of hexagonal Featured Speaker medals is low, plus the gold and silver plated medals for Cabeen Awards are out-of-stock. Current pricing arrived an hour before the meeting. Carl was not able to put together an updated proposal, but promised to email the board in the upcoming week.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for February 17, 2021.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:23 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Carl F. Wolf, Secretary

Our 1223rd Meeting

Date: December 9, 2020
Time: 6:45 PM CST (UTC-06:00)
Location: Online Only!
Visit our Online Meeting webpage, at www.chicagocoinclub.org/meetings/online_meeting.html, for all the details on participating in an online club meeting. Participation in an online meeting requires some advance work by both our meeting coordinator and attendees, especially first-time participants. Please plan ahead; read the latest instructions on the day before the meeting!
Featured Program: Carl Wolf — Chicago Coin Club’s Impact on Early ANA Conventions
Since the American Numismatic Association (ANA) was founded in 1891, Chicago Coin Club members played pivotal leadership roles. Over the 42-years since Carl Wolf joined the club, he held close relationships with many senior members. These people were “there” many years ago and they shared personal knowledge and experiences of the events of the day. Most were happy to have someone listen to their stories. They related many unique experiences and observations. It was all verbal – it never appeared in club minutes or newsletters. Recently Carl saw how a group of stories fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. But senior members had inadvertantly left out a key piece of information that they just assumed everyone knew. Join this online meeting and come away with new insight into club history, and you may even see how parts of this story played a major role in the lives of their grandparents and great-grandparents.

Important Dates

Unless stated otherwise, our regular monthly CCC Meeting is online during the Covid-19 isolation era on the second Wednesday of the month; the starting time is 6:45PM CT.

December 9 CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - Carl Wolf on Chicago Coin Club’s Impact on Early ANA Conventions
January 13 CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - James McMenamin on Latin Monetary Union of the 19th Century
February 10 CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - to be announced
March 10 CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - to be announced
March 11-13 ANA’s National Money Show at the Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona. Details at http://www.money.org/NationalMoneyShow
April 14 CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker - to be announced

Chatter Matter

http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

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Club Officers

Elected positions:
Richard Lipman- President
Lyle Daly- First V.P.
John Riley- Second V.P.
William Burd- Archivist
Directors:Melissa Gumm
Deven Kane
Mark Wieclaw
Steve Zitowsky
Appointed positions:
Elliott Krieter- Immediate Past President
Carl Wolf- Secretary
Elliott Krieter- Treasurer
Paul Hybert- Chatter Editor, webmaster
Jeffrey Rosinia- ANA Club Representative

Correspondence

All correspondence pertaining to Club matters should be addressed to the Secretary and mailed to:
CHICAGO COIN CLUB
P.O. Box 2301
CHICAGO, IL 60690
Payments to the Club, including membership dues, can be addressed to the Treasurer and mailed to the above address.

Payments

Renewing Members Annual dues are $20 a year ($10 for Junior, under 18). Annual Membership expires December 31 of the year through which paid. Cash, check, or money order are acceptable (USD only please). We do not accept PayPal. Email your questions to Treasurer.ChicagoCoinClub@GMail.com Members can pay the Club electronically with Zelle™ using their Android or Apple smart phone. JP Morgan Chase customers can send payments to the Club via Quick Pay. To see if your Bank or Credit Union is part of the Zelle™ Payments Network, go to https://www.zellepay.com Please read all rules and requirements carefully.

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