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  • Minutes of the 1289th Meeting
  • AI and the Collector: Practical Tools, Real-World Guardrails, and the Future of Numismatics
  • Exhibits
  • Upcoming Meeting
  • Important Dates
  • Chatter Matter
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Chatter

Minutes of the 1289th Meeting

The 1289th meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was called to order by President Melissa Gumm at 6:45pm CDT Wednesday June 10, 2026. This was an in-person and online meeting with 12 members and one guest applying for membership present at the CBA and 20 members online, for a total of 33.

Club Meeting Minutes

The May club meeting minutes were approved as published in the Chatter, both in print and on the CCC website.

New Memberships

Secretary Scott McGowan completed the second membership application reading for Angelo Pierucci of Park Ridge, Illinois, who collects US coins and Italian coins, and is a member of the ANA and CSNS. The club approved the membership application. Scott completed the first reading of membership for Philip Cantore of Chicago, a collector of US and World coins, and precious metals.

Treasurer’s Reports

Treasurer Lyle Daly presented the May period report indicating revenue of $140.00 (Dues) and expenses of $490.32 (CSNS expense, CSNS Ad, Chatter expense), for a period total of -‍$350.32.

Old Business

1. Committee Reports:
   1. Special Projects Committee – another meeting will be called, for use of funds in treasury. Date TBA.
   2. Hall of Fame Committee – No recommendations yet.
   3. Legacy Project – No Report.
2. Membership has lapsed (2026 dues were due by March 31) for ten CCC members: Aditya Ashtekar, Vincent (Kurt) Bellman, Julie A. Block, Robert F. (Bob) Fritsch, Brian Giese, Howard Hecox, Brian Hobdy, Alvaro Jacome, Jeffrey Janis, and Joel Reznick. (We were reminded that lapsed members are reinstated after payment of past dues.)
3. CCC membership survey was sent in June; 38 surveys have been submitted so far.
4. CCC Shirt order form will be sent out after the meeting.

General Announcements

1. Carl Wolf suffered a stroke in May, compounded with complications from an infection. The infection has cleared and Carl is currently in rehabilitation. Hold off on requests for visiting him, but cards sent in care-of the club PO Box address are welcome.
2. Melissa announced the passing of three individuals involved with the CCC or numismatics.
   1. Patrick McBride, who was the Benjamin Franklin reenactor at many numismatic conventions, passed away on June 3, 2026 at the age of 74. While Patrick was not a member of the Chicago Coin Club, he was friends with many members and attended some past CCC banquet events.
   2. Donald Dool of Crystal Lake, Illinois, CCC member number 1073 who joined the club in October/November 1998, has passed away at the age of 95. He was a member from 1998 through 2010. Don was very engaged in numismatics and lived by our club motto by presenting six club featured programs and 83 show and tell presentations. His concentration was varied with concentrations in Argentina and San Martin. He was a past 2nd Vice President of the CCC and won several awards exhibiting at the ANA and CSNS conventions.
   3. David Henkle, a past CCC member, passed.
   Secretary’s Note: CCC will publish numismatic obituaries for the club members at a future date.

New Business

1. Request for a “sound” volunteer to attend meetings in person, but use a laptop and headset to monitor sound and visual quality.

Featured Program

Deven Kane on AI and the Collector; Practical Tools for the Modern Numismatist. Following the presentation and Q&A, melissa announced that Deven will be presented with a speaker’s medal and ANA education certificate at a future date.

Show and Tell

Vice President Deven Kane announced the evening’s five Show and Tell presenters. A reminder to the club – in the summarizing of points for the show and tell, presenters receive extra points per presentation after giving five presentations during that year.

President Melissa Gumm reviewed upcoming numismatic events, then adjourned the meeting at 8:29PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Scott McGowan, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
AI and the Collector: Practical Tools, Real-World Guardrails, and the Future of Numismatics

presented by Deven Kane
to our June 10, 2026 meeting

What can Artificial Intelligence do for the everyday coin collector right now? In this presentation, Deven showed some of the tasks that this technology can help a collector do today. But remember, this rapidly evolving technology is still in its infancy; although the tools are very powerful they are not experts, so the outputs must be verified by you, the expert.

Although Deven has used a number of the available AI tools for various numismatic tasks, he has mostly used ChatGPT (by OpenAI) and Gemini (by Google). He uses ChatGPT as a “Writer and Researcher” because it is great at writing (cleans up messy notes into polished exhibit labels and podcast script blocks) and coding (can help in writing basic instructions to start building a private local database). This tool is best for working with text, historical narratives, and organizing collector information.

Deven uses Gemini as a “Visual Inspector” because it is great with photos (highly responsive when analyzing specific coin details and visual layouts) and real-time search (directly connected to live internet data to locate modern auction sources). This tool is best for handling images, scanning diagrams, and looking up active online information. Both of these tools are available through flat monthly fees.

Once Deven has determined the series of steps for a workflow, he saves the steps in a custom GPT or a Gem – this makes the workflow easily repeatable, without having to enter the steps and any constraints every time. One of his workflows accepts obverse and reverse photos of a coin and produces a single image containing the obverse and reverse images side by side; against a smooth empty background without any shadows or backgrounds from the original photos, and with uniform surface illumination. Some constraints (called guardrails in the AI field) are needed so that the coin surfaces are never manipulated, the exact same scale is used for both sides, and other ethical practices are followed.

Deven showed two examples: a silver tetradrachm of Aesillas (circa 90-75 BC) and a silver drachm of Thasos (463-411 BC). For each, he showed the two original photos of a coin’s and tag’s side and the produced image without background or tag. These examples are from a workflow of the migration of a raw inventory coin tag into a standardized digital archive template entry layout

There are limits to what is possible with the current tools. Some tool limits are built-in, and the tool will tell you when it cannot perform the assigned task. Gemini refused to process the two images of a bronze coin from Ceylon, circa 29BC to 297AD – the designs on each side included an ancient symbol, a swastika. Google’s algorithms prevent the generation or modification of images containing sensitive symbols, regardless of their historical context (according to its refusal message). As a consolation, Gemini noted the Mitchener ACW #5047 identification on the tag and correctly identified the coin as well as the use of the symbols on both sides – and still would not process the images. But other AI agents are available online, and Deven showed the image produced by one of them, produced without any commentary or reluctance.

Other tool limits appear when the input is larger or more complex than its training base. Although the images of an ancient tetradrachm and hammered coins of Scotland and England were processed correctly when separately presented as pairs, presenting all images at once produced an output with mixed obverses and reverses as well as made-up sides. This is not the time for an AI to get creative – the result is a dreaded hallucination – you do not want to the that person who lets hallucinations into your work.

Another area where collectors can use help is with the legends on coins. The simple case is when the legend is fully struck and present, and uses the Latin alphabet; the Greek alphabet likely is handled well, too. The task becomes harder when not all of the legend is visible, or an archaic or localized version of the alphabet is used. Abbreviated legends can be difficult when first encountered, so a solution translates a terse legend is useful, especially when it cross references to established catalog databases. The translation of non-Latin legends is not perfect; mistakes are made, but it gives the collector a starting point.

Deven showed an example on an Islamic coin – a complicated layout with the central square legend (Shahada), with the names of four Caliphs aranged around it. The script is stylized and rearranged for graphical balance, making it difficult for a casual collector to identify all of it. The AI showed the original Arabic text, an English transliteration, and an English translation – it mixed the central legend and a corner legend. Deven has not tried giving Brahmi script legends on coins to AI yet.

Deven showed his attempts at having an AI build a private inventory database, using both ChatGPT and Gemini. The goal was to avoid paying for monthly software charges for a commercial product, by using an AI to organize the building blocks without the need for prior coding experience. Just ask the AI to create a ledger system tracking the coin’s aspects that are important to you. Deven showed us the AI-generated input form, and compared it to a commercial “coin cabinet” form, but the slides were too full of text and fields for the audience to follow and appreciate all that was present.

Once you put the details of all your coins into your database, you can have an AI use it to generate such items as 2x2 flips, 4x6 inventory cards, or even cards to use in an exhibit case. The style of the generated cards can be easily changed while maintaining the uniformity and consistency that makes for an attractive exhibit.

We are only scratching the surface of what will be possible for numismatists in the future. But remember – AI is your assistant, never the expert. You remain the final numismatic authority in every identification and catalog entry.

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our June 10, 2026 meeting,
reported by Ray Dagenais.

1. Noah Graf showed a follis of regnal year VIII from Antioch/Theopolis of the Byzantine Empire to introduce a niche debate about attributing coins of Emperors Tiberius Constantine and Maurice. Because the legends of these two emperors on their Antioch folles are often seriously blundered, Sear states that they are only distinguishable by whether the crown on the emperor’s head is surmounted with a small cross or with a trefoil ornament – Sear’s position is that the trefoil ornament signifies the coinage of Maurice, which is later in time, because examples exist of Regnal Year 1 coins (which can only be attributed to Maurice) do have the small cross on the crown, and these Year 1 coins must be transition pieces to Maurice. However, Dumbarton Oaks and the British Museum Collection all assign this coinage to Tiberius Constantine, with the necessary assumption that both crown variants existed under Tiberius Constantine’s reign and only the small cross variant was phased out at the beginning of Maurice’s. When the legends are clearly of Maurice, there is no question of attribution; when the legends are seriously blundered (which is common), the attribution is open; but when the legend clearly reads “Tiberius Constantine,” as with this example, the attribution to Maurice requires further evidence in its favor.
2. Robert Leonard opened by saying that we are said to have a shortage of pennies now, because the denomination was discontinued last year. Pennies were not in short supply in the 11th Century, but in Northern Europe there was a shortage of halfpennies: the denomination was rarely struck, so pennies were cut in half to make change. Bob showed four cut halfpennies of the 11th century:
   1. England, Aethelred II, the Unready, Long Cross type issued circa 997-1003, so possibly very late 10th Century. These common coins are easy to divide because the long cross on the reverse serves as a guide in cutting. “The Unready” was a pun on his name; he was not successful as king.
   2. England, Edward the Confessor, Expanding Cross type issued 1050-1053. The cross is a fairly good guide here too. His epithet “Confessor” reflects his reputation as a saint.
   3. England, William the Conqueror, Bonnet type issued 1068-1070(?).
   4. Denmark, Svend II Estridsen, 1047-1075, Roskilde Mint, with no inscription or portrait. This rare coin is not cut with shears like the others, but broken in half, apparently by bending. In the same auction were several English cut halfpence, but they all probably circulated in Denmark.
   Bob remarked that, while scarce, these cut halfpence are not particularly rare, and they sell for a small fraction of what the entire coin brings.
3. Richard Hathaway showed two French coins.
   1. A silver 1827-D (Lyon Mint) 5 Franc coin of Charles X.
   2. A silver 1830-B (Rouen Mint) 5 Franc coin of Charles X. The type from 1827-1830 has the engraver’s name far from the bust, the mintmark letters as tall as the date numerals, and usually incuse edge lettering.
   These are common coins, yet it can be difficult to find examples with good eye appeal, as many have been cleaned, melted, or damaged over the years. Charles X was a very conservative ruler, favoring a return to royal power of the pre-revolution times. After 1830 elections won by the liberal opposition, Charles X passed a number of ordinances to consolidate his power; this culminated in the July Revolution and his abdication.
4. Deven Kane showed ancient four coins.
   1. A bronze drachm of Faustina Junior from the Alexandria, Egypt mint, circa 167-168 CE (Regnal Year 8); 32.60mm in diameter and weighing 20.00 grams. The obverse features a bust of Faustina Junior while the reverse features Eirene (goddess of peace) seated on a throne, wearing a stephane and holding a patera; a cornucopia rests by the throne, and the field features the regnal year date expression L-H. This coin is only the second known specimen of this specific type, making it currently unique in private hands.
   2. A bronze Roman Imperial As of Crispina (wife of Commodus), circa 180-183 CE (or later) from the Rome mint; 27.00mm in diameter and weighing 14.24 grams. The obverse features a draped bust of Empress Crispina with her elegantly waved hair gathered into a large chignon at the back of her head. The reverse features a veiled and standing Juno Lucina (the goddess of childbirth and safeguarding of women); the reverse type invoking Juno Lucina was common for Roman empresses, emphasizing fertility and the continuity of the imperial dynasty.
   3. A bronze coin of King Hataz of Axum (modern-day Ethiopia/Eritrea), from about 600-620 CE. Its diameter is 17.00mm and it weighs 1.10 grams. The obverse features a crowned bust of King Hataz, wearing the elaborate ceremonial robes and stepped crown characteristic of Late Axumite monarchs, while the reverse features a central Christian cross set within a geometric lozenge (diamond) pattern, reflecting the deeply rooted Christian identity of the empire.
   4. A light variant of the above coin, this bronze piece has a diameter of 15.00 mm and weighs 0.65 grams. Variations such as this in late Axumite bronze issues offer valuable insight into changing mint standards, local weight tolerances, or potentially separate fractional denominations toward the end of the empire’s coinage history.
5. Mark Wieclaw showed two Roman error coins, double struck at 180°.
   1. An antoninianus of Claudius Gothicus II, 268-270AD, with an obverse error: his bust appears twice, one facing left and the other facing right. One bust is upside down at exactly 180° to the other. The eagle on the reverse is obliterated by the double striking.
   2. A follis of the emperor Diocletian, circa 302-305AD, with the obverse appearing normal. The reverse was struck by two different reverse dies of the same design, Moneta holding scales in her right hand and a cornucopia in her left. A close exam reveals the different shapes of the lettering in what is available of the reverse legend. In addition, the scales of justice have a slightly different size and shape between the two dies. The strikes being at 180° difference reinforces the Kraay theory of multiple reverse dies in use at the same time.
   Responding to comments made during a recent meeting, Mark used vacation slides to show us that the Caribbean island of St. Kitts is more than a tourist trap to be avoided.

Reminders:

• You can email to Ray a description of what you will show at a meeting, to give him a start on this write-up.
• Send it to cccshowandtell@gmail.com
• After a meeting, all members who viewed the meeting should email him their scoring sheet – a listing of each exhibit number followed by a score (from a low of 1 to a high of 10) is all that is needed.

Our 1290th Meeting

Important Dates

Unless stated otherwise, our regular monthly CCC Meeting is in downtown Chicago, and also online, on the second Wednesday of the month; the starting time is 6:45PM CT.

Chatter Matter

http://www.ChicagoCoinClub.org/

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Club Officers

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
Or email the Secretary at Secretary.ChicagoCoinClub@GMail.com
Payments to the Club, including membership dues, can be addressed to the Treasurer at the above street address.

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