We meet monthly in downtown Chicago on the second Wednesday of every month at 7:00 pm. In February or March we meet at 1 pm on a Saturday at the Chicago Paper Money Exhibition (CPMX). In March or April we meet at 1 pm on a Saturday at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF). In June we meet at 1 pm on a Saturday at the MidAmerica Coin Expo.
The program for most meetings includes a featured speaker. Here are the highlights of past meetings:
April 9, 2008 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
David Gumm on
History of U.S. Large Cents, 1793-1857
Cents and half cents were the first coins struck for circulation under the authority of the U.S. government.
Large cents were coined every year from 1793 to 1857 with the exception of 1815
when the availability of copper prevented production.
Large cents made up the back bone of mint production and in the first year
three separate designs were created.
Attend this meeting and learn about the people responsible at the mint,
the problems they experienced hiring quality workers,
how malaria outbreaks closed the operation during August-September several times
and the quest for quality refined copper that would hold up during the coinage production.
At the end of our regular April meeting we will recess and reconvene at our CICF meeting.
April 26, 2008 - CCC Meeting - 1PM at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF),
which is held at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Bruce Smith on
Marco Polo’s Account of 13th Century Asian Money
When he was 17, Marco Polo (1254-1324) traveled to China and returned to Venice 24 years later.
The account of Marco’s travels, published late in life, gave Europeans a firsthand view of Asia
and stimulated trade with this far away land.
Marco’s detailed description of what he saw comprises the most amazing chapters in anthropology,
geography and natural history ever penned by a traveler.
Included in this great travel narrative, Marco recounted the local money in use
and how much was required for goods and services.
He wrote that the currency of the Mongol realm was paper money
made from the inner bark of mulberry trees and was universally accepted
throughout the empire under penalty of death for refusing to accept it.
Bruce Smith lived in China, traveled there numerous times
and studied Chinese history and numismatics for 35 years.
Come to this meeting and see numismatic illustrations
from the 13th century that circulated in the lands traveled by Marco Polo.
Tradition tells that Marco Polo’s last words were “I have not told half of what I saw.“
When this presentation finishes, members will know that Bruce Smith
has not told half of what he knows about Asian numismatics!
March 12, 2008 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Lyle Daly on
The Numismatic Legacy of Augustus Saint-Gaudens & Theodore Roosevelt
U.S. coin designs changed dramatically under President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09).
His collaboration with the premier designer of the time, Augustus Saint-Gaudens,
set into motion design changes across the spectrum of U.S. coinage.
A licensed architect, Daly holds a deep interest in design and studied this era for many years.
He will deliver a PowerPoint presentation that encompasses the story of preceding years,
political atmosphere, the resistance of the U.S. Mint and the lingering aftershocks.
In addition to Augustus Saint-Gaudens,
Daly will cover the coin designs of Bela Lyon Pratt (Quarter & Half Eagle 1908),
Anthony de Francisci ($1 1921),
Adolph Weinman (50¢ 1916),
James Earle Fraser (5¢ 1913),
Hermon MacNeil (25¢ 1916)
and Victor David Brenner (1¢ 1909).
Those who attend this meeting will come away a better understanding
of how much energy and political determination it took
to bring about a new era of coin designs
that some numismatists consider the most beautiful ever issued.
At the end of our regular March meeting we will recess and reconvene at our CPMX meeting.
March 29, 2008 - CCC Meeting - 1PM at the Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX),
which is held at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Steve Feller on
Silent Witness: Civilian Camp Money of World War II
Germany’s Third Reich developed camp scrip in 1933 for its first political prisoners.
The Nazis forced prisoners to exchange their money for scrip created specially for the camp.
The scrip held no financial backing and was worthless except for use at the camp’s canteen.
As Nazi power spread across Europe so too did the number of internment camps,
each with its own scrip.
Some issues were given as a reward for extra work allowing inmates to barter for additional food.
The scrip’s grotesque images and designs testify to the Nazis’
efforts to humiliate and dehumanize their victims.
The 500,000 people imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto developed a secret underground currency,
separate from the Nazi’s camp money.
Designed and printed by the prisoners this secret currency relied heavily on Zionist symbolism
and probably were printed from linoleum plates.
After many years of research and collecting, Steve Feller wrote
Silent Witnesses: Civilian Camp Money of World War II.
The 168-page catalog issued in 2007 includes 775 color illustrations.
In addition to Ghetto and Concentration Camp money,
this book also covers scrip issued for Internment Camps and Displaced Persons Camps
from Axis and Allied countries.
Those who attend this program will come away with a sense of awe
that some form of monetary exchange was a part of life, even in the darkest of times.
February 13, 2008 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Steve Zitowski on
A Millennium of Coins from the Papal States
In a survey of coins from the Papal States over the last thousand years,
Steve will show how the coins describe the Western world of that age
in the areas of economy, industrialization. and art.
January 9, 2008 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mark Wieclaw on
Roman Minting Errors
Error coins hold a special attraction to collectors.
Currently minted U.S. coins make up the majority of errors seen at coin shows.
Mark Wieclaw, however, has a collection of ancient Roman error coins.
On two occasions in 2007 he exhibited several showing brockages,
double-strikes, off-center strikes, etc. much to the enjoyment of members in attendance.
Be sure to attend this meeting to see more of these error coins
and hear Mark explain how they came to be made.
December 13, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet Meeting (reservations are required) - Featured Speakers:
Leonard Augsberger and Joel Orosz on
Images of the First Mint: The Numismatic Legacy of Frank H. Stewart
In 1792, the newly formed American government commissioned its first
building — the United States Mint on Seventh Street in Philadelphia.
Over one hundred years later, Philadelphian Frank H. Stewart purchased the now
worn out property, attempted to preserve it as a historical site, and in the
end bowed to the interests of commerce and razed the building in order to
erect a functional factory for his rapidly expanding electrical business.
But Stewart was not a mercenary businessman hell bent on destroying history
in order to progress the future.
In the wake of the first mint excavation Stewart left behind a thoughtful
trail of images and artifacts, which until now have never been thoroughly investigated.
In this presentation we revisit the iconography and relics that Stewart not only preserved
but promoted with much vigor, greatly desiring that the history of the first
mint be shared with future generations, reflecting the vision of the
Founding Fathers in creating this, the first building of the United States.
The annual December Banquet will be held at
Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 W. North Ave., Chicago.
A cash bar opens at 6 PM, and dinner is served at 7 PM.
The cost is $25.00 per person.
November 14, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
NEW LOCATION !!!!
At the Chicago Bar Association, 321 S. Plymouth Court.
Plymouth Court is a small side street,
extending south from Jackson, between State and Dearborn streets.
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
See the current newsletter for a list of items consigned by October 30;
many items traced to J. Henri Ripstra are included.
October 10, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Stuart Kleven on
Pre-Coinage Currency and Ancient Scale Weights
The presentation addresses the development of weight standards that lead to the use of coinage.
Weight standards take on many forms and many different materials.
Numerous photos of different weights will be shown.
The relationship of weights to commerce and trade will be reviewed.
September 12, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Dennis Ciechna on
National Banknotes & Memorabilia from the Lawndale National Bank
Dennis Ciechna recently rejoined the Chicago Coin Club.
As a youth Dennis was introduced to coin collecting by his grandfather,
a close friend of I.T. Kopicki, a primary Club official for forty years.
Kopicki was an officer of the Lawndale Bank,
signed some of their National Bank Notes and is credited with giving the Club lifetime free checking.
Kopicki also mentored young Ciechna, allowing him to come into the bank and examine rolls of coinage.
Join Ciechna as he shares old photos of the Bank’s interior, the employees and its National Bank Notes.
August 15, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Marc Stackler on
Coinage from the Mexican War of Independence, 1810-1821
Father Miguel Hidalgo initiated an insurrection against Spain on September 16, 1810.
Independence was finally achieved in 1821
by General Agustin de Iturbide who became Mexico’s first emperor.
When the war began the Mexico City Mint was the only mint in what is modern-day Mexico,
but as insurgents began to cut the roads royalists were forced
to open provincial branch mints to meet the needs of commerce.
Insurgent forces issued their own coins which begin to show images reflecting a genuine Mexican culture.
Marc Stackler has collected a wide range of Mexican coins for over 10 years and is a student of Mexican history.
Join Marc as he tells the story of Mexican independence through their coinage
and explains the significance of Mexico’s passage from a colony into an independent nation.
July 11, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
John Riley on
Pre-World War II Token Issues from Shanghai
Following the Spanish-American War, American financial interests expanded into Asia.
Shanghai became the center of an international community of businessmen, profiteers and mercenaries
who tapped oil wells, pursued cheap labor, ran gambling houses, etc.
Shanghai was a city of extremes with untold extravagance and abject poverty
with a rapidly darkening specter of war about to wipe away their free-wheeling system.
A student of Asian numismatics for many years,
John Riley will share the history and tokens with U.S. connections issued during this era.
June 13, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mike Gasvoda on
The Propaganda Coinage of Augustus, 27 BC - 14 AD
Mike Gasvoda is a respected collector of ancient Roman coinage
and has put together a new presentation dealing with Roman Emperor Augustus
and his propaganda coinage.
Those who attend the meeting will hear how Augustus dominated
Roman politics through coins that promoted his name, his titles,
his divine right to rule, his military victories,
buildings and temples he held sacred, etc.
This propaganda was so effective it influenced coinage designs for centuries.
Members will come away with an insight into this watershed period of Imperial Roman coinage.
At the end of our regular monthly downtown meeting we will recess and reconvene at our MidAmerica Coin Expo meeting.
June 23, 2007 - CCC Meeting - 11AM
In the Mr. Lincoln Room of the DoubleTree Hotel
which is across the street from the MidAmerica Coin Expo,
which is held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Paul A. Cunningham on
U.S. Military Tokens: Civil War – Current
Military tokens have existed for as long as armies gathered and fought.
With each war the primary use of tokens evolved.
During the Civil War, military tokens purchased food,
but by the time of the Viet Nam War, soldiers used tokens for gambling.
Paul Cunningham is the leading authority on military tokens
and authored three books on exonumia including the two-volume Military Tokens of the U.S.,
published in 1998.
May 9, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert Wallace on
Archaic Silver Coinages of the Thracian Tribes, ca. 550-480 B.C.
For nearly a century down to the mid-fifth century BC — and then abruptly stopping —
several Thracian tribes (the Bisalti, the Edoni, the Orrescii, and the Derrones,
in modern day Macedonia and Bulgaria)
issued a large number of spectacular and extremely large silver coins:
octodrachms and dodekadrachms, among the largest silver coins issued in the ancient world.
A significant number of these coins have been found in hoards of Egypt and the Near East.
The question for the evening is, why did these tribes strike these massive coins,
but very few smaller ones, and why did the coins travel so far?
April 11, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Eugene Freeman on
U.S. Standing Liberty Quarters, 1916-1930
Gene Freeman has collected and studied the Standing Liberty Quarter series for 30+ years.
Designed by Hermon MacNeil, the coin’s first year of issue raised a moral problem due to Liberty’s exposed breast.
The date also wore off quickly and was adjusted in 1925.
Join Gene as he tells the story of this coin oftentimes overlooked by collectors.
Gene will show examples of the major types, mintmark varieties, and the striking characteristics of the series.
At the end of our regular monthly downtown meeting we will recess and reconvene at our CICF meeting.
April 28, 2007 - CCC Meeting - 1PM at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF),
which is held at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Chuck Jacobs on
Japanese One Yen Silver Pieces & Trade Dollars, 1870-1914
Chuck Jacobs will present a visual exploration of the history of Japanese crowns —
one yen silver pieces and trade dollars — tracking their origin
from monetized Mexican 8 reales pieces used along side primitive coinage
during the late-feudal Ansei era (ca 1859), through domestically-minted,
modern silver crowns in the Meiji and Taisho eras (from 1870-1904).
The talk will showcase each coin — as well as its iconography —
in the context of Japanese culture and history.
The lecture will also delve into the various patterns, variations, and counterstamps.
Along the way, learn how to date these coins, the significance of their imagery,
and how to tell the “obverse” from the “reverse.”
March 10, 2007 - CCC Meeting - 1PM at the Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX),
which is held at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speakers:
Clifford Mishler & Chester Krause on
Wisconsin Paper Money
Chester Krause collected Wisconsin paper money for over 50 years
and assembled an impressive collection in excess of 1,500 pieces.
His collection will make up a 170-case exhibit at this summer’s
American Numismatic Association convention in Milwaukee.
Never before has such a large currency collection from a single state gone on exhibit anywhere.
Everyone attending this meeting will hear Chet Krause show
and discuss some of Wisconsin’s rarest issues
and relate stories on building a single state collection second to none.
At the end of our meeting at CPMX we will recess and reconvene at our regular March meeting.
March 14, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
David Baeckelandt on
Chicago Financial Firsts
Despite its brand as the “Second City,” Chicago is, in fact,
the birthplace of a vast array of financial innovations including modern accounting,
modern investment banking practices, modern underwriting due diligence,
and modern stock evaluation techniques.
Chicago has spawned innovations in insurance, investment management theory and IPO's;
personal finance and pensions; capital markets, charting, and commodities;
and much more.
At one point, in the early 1930s, Chicago’s dominance in practical and innovative finance
was such that press reports cited serious discussions to relocate the NYSE to Chicago.
Illustrating his arguments with certificates and financial documents from his collection,
David Baeckelandt will chronicle the evolution of Chicago’s Financial Firsts.
February 14, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Paul Robertz on
Distinguishing Fine Differences of Lower Grade Coins
Paul Robertz is a serious student of grading for many years
and will cover the fine points of the lower grades.
Although collectors are told to buy coins in as high a grade as they can afford,
they still hold more lower-grade coins in their collections than Mint State grades.
This is particularly true with collections of early American coinage.
Robertz will use Barber coinage and Liberty Head nickels
to illustrate the different degrees of wear and characteristics that assign a grade to a coin.
January 10, 2007 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Rich Hall on
U.S. Type I Liberty Head $20 Gold Coins
Type I $20 gold coins are also known as “No Motto” double-eagles.
Minting for general circulation began in 1850 as a direct result of the California Gold Rush
and ended in 1866 at the end of the Civil War when the motto “In God We Trust” was added to the reverse.
Rich will tell the diverse role this coin played in history and include stories from the California Gold Rush,
shipments lost at sea, the “Panic of 1857,” and the Civil War.
He will cover some of the minting varieties and other items of interest to collectors.
December 13, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet Meeting (reservations are required) - Featured Speaker:
Clifford Mishler on
2007 Milwaukee ANA Convention
Cliff Mishler is a Club life member and deeply involved in the hobby for over fifty years.
He is the General Chairman of the 2007 Milwaukee ANA Convention.
Expect Cliff to take everyone on a nostalgic visit to the past
when the ANA first visited Milwaukee in 1950
and take a glimpse at what the future holds for the upcoming convention.
The annual December Banquet will be held at
Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 W. North Ave., Chicago.
A cash bar opens at 6 PM, and dinner is served at 7 PM.
The cost is $25.00 per person.
November 8, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
October 11, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Andrew J. Donnelly on
Tetrarchic Mint Control, 284-324
This will be an updated version of his paper at the 41st International Congress
on Medieval Studies, May 4, 2006, benefitting from comments expressed during
the question and answer session and further discussion with his advisor.
At first glance, the coins of the Tetrarchy are hard to distinguish by emperor —
they all seem to portray the same individual — but Donnelly’s studies of
Roman Imperial Coins, (RIC, the standard catalog of the series)
showed subtle differences in favored deities, depending on which ruler controlled the mint.
This program should add greatly to our knowledge and appreciation of these common pieces,
found in every collection of Roman coins.
September 13, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mark Wieclaw on
How to Distinguish Different Precious Metals
The ability to identify preious metals has always been important,
especially now with the increase in prices.
Join us as Mark shows the commonly performed tests as well as what to look for.
August 9, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Winston Zack on
2006 ANA Summer Seminar
Club member Winston Zack was awarded a scholarship to attend one week of the ANA’s
Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs in early July.
It is not just five days on one topic;
learn about the other special programs and educational opportunities
available for two weeks in early July at ANA headquarters.
July 12, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Steve Feller on
A Numismatic Look at German Occupied Guernsey and Jersey
The British Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey were the only bits
of the British Isles to be occupied by Germany during WWII.
The islands were occupied from 30 June 1940 until the day after VE day, May 8, 1945.
This talk will focus on the various German and British currerncy issues in circulation during the occupation.
Four distinct issues of money will be discussed.
Original data from contemporary sources will be used.
The presentation will be based, in part, on a research visit to the islands during February 2006.
June 14, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Philip J. Carrigan on
Charles Barber and His Coins
Son of and successor to William Barber, Charles became the sixth chief engraver of the US Mint in 1880.
He is well known for producing Barber dimes, quarter dollars and half dollars
and less so for designing the Barber five cents.
Born in London and trained there under British engravers,
he continued in the style of his father perpetuating the British flavour of mid nineteenth century US coins.
Charles Barber is also responsible for making manufacturing corrections to the Saint Gaudens $10 and $20 gold coins.
Additionally, he designed the Hawaiian 1883 coinage, several commemorative silver and gold coins and over fifty medals.
This presentation will emphasize the Barber circulating coins and current numismatic interest.
At the end of our regular monthly downtown meeting we will recess and reconvene at our Mid-America meeting.
June 24, 2006 - CCC Meeting - 11AM
In the Mr. Lincoln Room of the DoubleTree Hotel
which is across the street from the MidAmerica Coin Expo,
which is held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 5555 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Jeff Garrett on
The Smithsonian’s U.S. Gold Coins
Jeff Garrett is the co-author of the recently published book
Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins - 1795-1933: Circulating, Proof, Commemorative and Pattern Issues.
Published by Whitman Publishing
(http://www.whitmanbooks.com),
the book is receiving rave reviews from the collecting community.
Every photograph is expertly photographed and some coins haven’t been publicly seen in more than two decades.
Be sure to mark your calendar to attend this unique program.
Jeff’s talk will concentrate on the gold issues in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.
Jeff Garrett owns Mid-America Rare Coins in Lexington,
KY and is president of the Professional Numismatics Guild, Inc..
He is considered the top coin grader in the country,
based on his winning the Professional Coin Grading Service World Series of Coin Grading
in July 2005 during the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in San Francisco.
Garrett used those skills to provide grades for the entire Smithsonian gold coin collection.
Extra copies of the 650-page book that sells for $69.95 will be made available.
May 10, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Eugene Freeman on
Money for Texas
This will be an overview of the numismatic issues related to Texas,
including the Spanish, Republic of Texas, and Confederacy periods.
The numismatic issues include coins, such as the 1817 and 1818 half reales (jolas) of San Antonio.
They also include the paper money and bonds of the Republic of Texas,
and the scrip of the Confederate State of Texas.
April 1, 2005 - CCC Meeting - 1PM at the Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX),
which is held at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Mike Gasvoda on
Roman Imperatorial Coinage, Julius Caesar to the Naming of Augustus — 49-27 BC
This presentation covers the early part of Mike’s collecting specialty,
the coinage of the twelve Caesars.
Some members might know Mike for his articles in the Celator magazine.
At the end of our CPMX meeting we will recess and reconvene at our regular monthly downtown meeting.
April 12, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Steve Zarlenga on
The Lost Science of Money
In his recently published book,
The Lost Science of Money,
Steve tells the story of how money was discovered, lost and rediscovered through history.
It is a pattern that keeps repeating itself even today.
March 8, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
John Riley on
U.S. Military Decorations
John’s interest comes from his older brother, David,
who, in addition to writing
Uncommon Valor
on the medallic issues of the U.S. Navy & Marine Corps,
was the longtime webmaster for the Orders & Medal
Society of America.
As a Navy officer 1985-89, John found it an asset to be able to
identify the more obscure awards and insignia that
service members were entitled to wear.
Most coin collectors are familiar with A.A. Weinman’s
“Mercury” dime and Walking Liberty half;
we have known James Earle Fraser’s buffalo nickel
since we were kids.
Those two and the U.S. mint were central figures in the design
of several classic U.S. military medals.
Examples of medals done by most of them and good reference material
will be presented,
along with some background perspective from George Washington’s
clumsy cloth “Purple Heart” in 1782 to the service medal
issued for the War on Terrorism.
At the end of our regular March meeting we will recess and reconvene at our meeting at CPMX.
March 11, 2005 - CCC Meeting - 1PM at the Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX), which is held at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL. No admission charge for our meeting.
February 8, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert D. Leonard Jr. on
Coin Collector Gone Bad: The Numismatic Frauds of Mark Hofmann, the Morman Murderer
He was a Boy Scout who started collecting coins in the 1960s by searching through rolls.
A former Mormon missionary, he was a married man with four children.
He had an I.Q. of 149.
He contributed an article to the TAMS Journal.
Yet he started altering coins to make rarities as a teenager,
then went on to making fake mint errors (one of which realized $48,300 in a Goldberg auction in 2003,
having previously been handled by Heritage), fantasy tokens, and counterfeit Mormon notes.
When he overreached himself in his business of selling forged documents,
he murdered two people with bombs and is now serving life without parole.
Bob Leonard will present details of the numismatic frauds of Mark Hofmann,
gleaned from eight books written by those who knew him,
his own article in the TAMS Journal, and the comments of John Ford and others.
A list of known fakes will be distributed to those in attendance.
January 11, 2006 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Dr. Andy Plioplys on
Silver Currency Ingots of Northern Europe
At the April, 2004 meeting, Dr. Andy Plioplys gave an outstanding exhibit on the silver bars,
called kapas, used as money in Lithuania from 1100-1300 AD.
Since then, he has uncovered more information on this little known numismatic subject.
With the help of the curators at the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture,
the American Numismatic Society, the Smithsonian Institution, and private collectors,
Andy received new information on other silver ingots that circulated 800-1450 AD
throughout the Baltic region and along the Volga River area into Russia.
He has also acquired what might be the only true Russian ingot in a private collection.
Since his last featured talk before the club in August (Temporary Currencies of Lithuania),
Andy gave a numismatic talk at the Balzekas Museum that resulted
in an invitation to give a numismatic presentation at the 150th anniversary
celebration of the Lithuanian National Museum in Vilnus, Lithuania.
The event will be in April, 2006 and will include four days of talks dealing with Lithuanian numismatics.
Part of Andy’s PowerPoint presentation will include information on Dr. Alexander Rackus,
a Charter Member of the CCC and Past-President (1928).
Dr. Rackus’ collection of Lithuanian numismatics makes up a large portion
of the numismatic exhibits in the Balzekas Museum and the Ciurlionis National Art Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania.
December 14, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet Meeting (reservations are required) - Featured Speaker:
Leonard Augsberger on
The Baltimore Gold Hoard of 1934
In the fall of 1934, two poverty stricken teenagers discovered
a hoard of thousands of U.S. gold coins buried in the cellar of an east Baltimore tenement.
The coins, struck between 1834 and 1856, no doubt represented a Civil War era collection.
Suffering the effects of the Great Depression, the city immediately broke forth
in a wave of speculation and intrigue amid the lure of the buried treasure,
including many who came forward to stake their claim and take away the treasure from the impoverished boys.
Leonard Augusburger has conducted extensive research into this story and has an upcoming book on the subject.
Join the Club at their annual banquet (reservations required) and hear of the families involved,
the inevitable legal battle, the rumors surrounding the discovery and the sale of the gold pieces.
The annual December Banquet will be held at
Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 W. North Ave., Chicago.
A cash bar opens at 6 PM, and dinner is served at 7 PM.
The cost is $25.00 per person.
November 9, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
October 12, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
David MacDonald on
Overstruck Ancient Greek Coinage
David MacDonald has collected and studied overstruck ancient Greek coinage for at least 15 years.
These unique coins were struck from 360 B.C. – 1 A.D. and can be found
in the coinage of Massalia (France) on the west to the Indo-Greek empires of the east.
It’s believed the coins were overstruck to increase their marketplace value
and because it was cheaper than going through the entire process of melting the old coins.
Little written material is available on this subject
except for a few articles that appeared in obscure academic journals.
MacDonald has published some 6-7 articles and has authored
for publication a 220-page manuscript listing 156 overstruck coins.
September 14, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Jerry Nelson on
What’s New at the Federal Reserve Bank
Nelson retired from the securities brokerage business 13
years ago and began working at the Fed as a tour guide.
First working two-days a week, then three days and finally drafted to work five days per week.
Nelson is now in his ninth year as a full-time employee.
The Fed used his talents in publications, database management and now in Public Relations.
Nelson has addressed community banking conventions in the five-state region,
represented the Fed at numerous municipal, state and federal functions
and hosted central bankers from other nations, including China and Saudi Arabia.
August 10, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Sharon Blocker on
Polymer Banknotes
Polymer note issue is rapidly growing with more countries joining the list of issuers.
There are over 30 countries that issue the notes with the largest being Australia.
The earlier notes are tougher to obtain,
but a full set of polymer banknotes is within most collector’s budget.
They are colorful, sturdy and fun to collect.
Some countries are now completely using the polymer notes
and the paper issues are becoming an item of the past.
Banknotes printed on Tyvek&tm; were first used in the early 1980s with unsatisfactory results.
Then in 1988 Note Printing Australia developed the world’s first polymer plastic banknote.
Many countries (30 at last count) soon converted their paper currency to this new material.
The polymer is made of a non-porous plastic with a specially developed protective coating.
The notes stay cleaner and resist moisture and result
in an average lifespan of 4-5 times longer than paper banknotes.
The polymer material allows for a see-through window
that foils counterfeiters from using photocopiers and scanners.
Sharon will share her collecting experiences with polymer banknotes.
July 13, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Don Dool on
German States Coins from the Kipper Era (1617-1623)
This program deals with the German coinage issued during the 30-Years War (1618-1648).
Soldiers needed to be paid and large quantities of coins
were issued at overvalued prices that was further complicated by mass forgeries.
Then in 1619 rulers of larger states joined in the fraud with resultant inflation.
In order to establish a coin’s worth it was laid on a specially made scale (Wippe) by a "tipper."
If the coin was of full value, the Wippe tipped (German: kippen).
Kipper money was outlawed in 1622 after Austria and later the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations rose up against it.
June 8, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert Weinstein on
Small Change: Epidemic Counterfeiting in 4th Century Roman Britain
At the end of our regular June meeting we will recess and reconvene at our meeting at the MidAmerica Coin Expo.
June 25, 2005
1pm in the Mr. Lincoln Room of the Double Tree Hotel,
5460 N. River Road, Rosemont
(across the street from the 24th Annual MidAmerica Coin Expo
held at the Donald Stevens Convention Center).
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
David Sundman on
19th Century 3-D Slides of the U.S. Mint
Stereo photography was a popular way to view images during the 19th century.
It consisted of two separate photos that gave a 3-dimensional effect
when superimposed and viewed through special glasses.
David Sundman acquired a selection of stereophotos showing
the U.S. Mint during the 1800s and has converted them into a slide program.
David Sundman will lead this educational tour back through time
when the Mint was striking Indian cents, Shield nickels, and Seated Liberty coinage.
Those who attend will be given a special pair of viewing glasses and,
while supplies last, a bag of popcorn.
May 11, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Chuck Jacob on
Die-Struck Copper Coinage of China
China issued cast coinage in base metals for many centuries before the Christian era,
but die-struck coins didn’t appear until 1888.
Chuck’s presentation will concentrate on the 10-cash copper pieces.
They were issued into the 1930’s and were equivalent to 1-cent.
The central mint wasn’t the only issuer of the 10-cash coins.
Many of China’s 35 provinces also issued these coins.
Many varieties exist, with different dating systems and different dragon images.
Those who attend will also see the coin’s design evolution
as China went through the Boxer Rebellion (1900),
the decline of the Ch’iang dynasty and the rise of the republic.
April 13, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Alex Moulinas on
Coin Grading Perspectives
Professionally involved in numismatics since 1988,
Alex Moulinas recently joined the international coin department at Harlen J. Berk Ltd..
Previously, Alex graded coins at the Numismatic Guaranty Corp (NGC) in Florida.
Members attending this presentation will receive a greater understanding of the technical aspects in coin grading
and how it equates to the retail market.
Alex will explain what professional grading services look at and how they weigh each factor in a grade.
General comments on strike, luster and cleaning will also be covered.
At the end of our regular April meeting we will recess, and reconvene at our meeting at CICF.
April 23, 2005 - CCC Meeting - 1PM at the Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX),
which is held at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, formerly the Holiday Inn O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Clyde Hubbard on
The First Coinage of the Americas, Mexico City 1536
With the rapid increase in commerce of New Spain after the conquest, the
need for a mint became urgent. It wasn’t until May 11, 1535, however, that a
royal cédula was issued, and the mint began operation the following year.
Silver reales and copper maravedies, in eight denominations, were minted in
the name of Carolus et Johanna (Charles I of Spain and Joan the Mad) as late
as 1556. Mr. Hubbard will illustrate obverse and reverse of the major types
and issues, and describe hoards of these coins, including a recent find in
Cuba. Mr. Hubbard co-authored A Guide Book of Mexican Coins, co-authored the
definitive study of 1824 eight reale coins and published in 1967 his first
paper on the coinage of 1536.
Of interest to collectors of primitive money, every attendee receives a replica of Togo Stone Money accompanied by an original article giving the story of this little-known and fascinating currency. Since 1989, the CCC issued a primitive money souvenir with an original article to commemorate their CICF meeting. This 16th issue is written by CCC and IPMS member Robert Leonard.
March 9, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Douglass F. Rohrman on
Exciting Changes at the American Numismatic Society
The American Numismatic Society (ANS) was organized in 1858 in New York City
and has evolved into a preeminent national institution advancing the study of numismatics.
Recently, the ANS moved to 96 Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan.
The 35,000 square foot former bank building encompasses
the world’s largest numismatic library (100,000 volumes)
located on two full floors and a numismatic collection estimated at 800,000 pieces.
Admission is free and the library and coin cabinet are open for research by appointment.
Chicago attorney Douglass Rohrman sits on the Board of Trustees, the ANS governing body.
Attend this presentation and hear about the new plans and programs on the ANS agenda.
At the end of our regular March meeting we will recess, and reconvene at our meeting at CPMX.
March 19, 2005 - CCC Meeting - 1PM at the Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX),
which is held at the Holiday Inn O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Mark Anderson on
Hard Times in a Small Town Bank
The First National Bank of Grantsburg, Wisconsin was founded in 1905 by Swedish immigrant H.A. Anderson, Mark’s grandfather.
Join this presentation and hear the story of this bank,
its relationship with Wisconsin’s agrarian economy
and Anderson’s struggle to survive hard times and persevere with competing banks.
Mark’s presentation will show rare numismatic souvenirs and family photos.
Collectors attending this program will come away with a perspective
and appreciation that every bank note has a unique history and a story with real people.
February 9, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mark Wieclaw on
The Tetradrachms of Roman Egypt
The reverse designs will be emphasized during this program.
Coins beginning with Nero and up through Numerian will be shown.
January 12, 2005 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Greg Goodrow on
Vietnamese Cash Coinage, 968-1945
Greg Goodrow has collected Vietnamese artifacts since 1980;
nine years ago he began to specialize in collecting their coinage.
His talk will cover the beginnings of Vietnams cash coinage, types of cash coins,
influences from China and the historical significance surrounding different rulers.
Greg will also offer clarification on the many tributary names assigned to the country.
Contemporary counterfeits on the market and current literature will also be covered.
December 8, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet Meeting (reservations are required) - Featured Speaker:
Thom Cicchelli on
The Illinois State Quarter Story
Thom Cicchelli, a local graphic artist, submitted the artistic concept for the design stuck on the Illinois State Quarter.
Join Thom at the Chicago Coin Club Annual Banquet on December 8, 2004
and hear his story of the concept design and his experience in seeing it struck.
Those who attend will come away with a greater understanding of the work that goes into a coin design from concept,
all the steps of production and finally struck and issued into circulation.
The annual December Banquet will be held at
Alpine Banquet Haus, 11141 W. Roosevelt Road, Westchester.
A cash bar opens at 6 PM, and dinner is served at 7 PM.
The cost is $25.00 per person.
November 10, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
October 13, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
John vander Weit on
Coins of Alexander the Great
September 8, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Richard Hartzog on
Countermarked Coins
August 11, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Tom DeLorey on
The Debate Over Modern Double-Die Coins
July 14, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Saul Needleman on
Use of Jehovah on Coins and Medals
Dr. Needleman collected and researched for 25 years coins and medals that show Jehovah in Hebrew script.
He discovered most were struck during a narrow time frame in history
and were issued more for propaganda purposes than religious reasons.
Dr. Needleman cataloged nearly 1,000 specimens and in 2002 published the only book known on this subject.
Join us for an evening rich in the history Europe as it emerged from the Dark Ages
and began a new course in their relationship with God.
June 9, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
William Bierly on
U.S. Pattern Coinage
Pattern coinage is comprised of those pieces proposed for
adoption as a regular issue, but not approved.
The Coinage Committee of Congress must approve all
coinage designs and many people believe that some of the
finest works of our mint engravers was rejected.
Join us for this fascinating numismatic talk on "what
might have been."
Member Bill Bierly will cover the history of pattern
coinage through slides of famous patterns and
reference books.
Bill Bierly will also speak on his specialty: the "God
Our Trust" and "In God We Trust" motto transitions on
pattern coinage from the Civil War era.
A handout will be provided for those who wish to learn
more.
At the end of our regular June meeting we will recess and reconvene at our meeting at the MidAmerica Coin Expo.
June 26, 2004
3pm in the Mr. Lincoln Room of the Double Tree Hotel,
5460 N. River Road, Rosemont
(across the street from the 23rd Annual MidAmerica Coin Expo
held at the Donald Stevens Convention Center).
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured program:
Face to Face with Famous Numismatists - Recollections by Q. David Bowers
Bowers is the author 40+ numismatic books and is the recipient of numerous literary awards.
He served as president of the American Numismatic Association and the Professional Numismatists Guild
and was bestowed with their highest awards.
He has lectured at Harvard University and appeared on numerous television networks
discussing his lifelong interest in rare coins.
May 1, 2004 - 85th Anniversary Banquet, 7pm at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF),
which is held at the Holiday Inn O’Hare, 5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL.
Dinner is buffet style; banquet tickets are sold on a reservation basis and are available at $39.
Featured speaker:
Scott VanHorn on
Coinage of the Late Roman Empire Seen Through it’s Portrait Type, 300 - 400 AD
Roman coinage portraits began to change with Constantine the Great.
A study of the coins issued over the next 100 years shows subtle yet remarkable differences.
Scott VanHorn will cover this historical era, point out changes in clothing,
diadems, laurel wreaths, etc. and explain what each signifies.
Those who attend will come away with an appreciation of the stories that can be told
through observation of the small details on coinage.
VanHorn holds Master’s Degrees in ancient history and Latin
and is near completion of his doctoral degree in Classical Studies at Chicago’s Loyola University.
He is an ANS Summer Seminar Graduate, has presented papers at several international conferences,
including the 13th International Numismatic Conference in Madrid, Spain.
VanHorn joined the Classical Numismatic Group in January, 2003 and works with electronic auction lots.
May 12, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert J. Greenstein on
The Coins of the Palestine Mandate, 1927-1947
The Palestine Mandate was born out of League of Nations
agreements ending the First World War.
It resulted in Great Britain receiving administrative powers
over Palestine, in addition to other countries.
The Palestine Currency Order of 1927 created a standard of
currency based on the Palestine pound, divided into one thousand mils.
The League of Nations mandate required the name of "Palestine" appear
in three languages: English, Arabic and Hebrew.
Coins were issues in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 mils from 1927
through 1947, but not struck with all possible year dates.
In all, there were 59 different combinations of dates and denominations.
The Palestine Mandate ended May 1948 with the creation of the
State of Israel, but the coins remained legal tender through
September 1948.
In the Gaza Strip and Jordan they remained legal through 1951.
Robert Greenstein is a life member of the American Israel
Numismatic Association and has been employed in professional
numismatics for over 30 years.
Those who attend this program will come away with a snapshot
view of a part of the world reaching from Biblical times
through centuries of invasions and rule by nearly every
major European and Asian empire.
April 14, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Andy Plioplys on The Early Coinage of Lithuania, 1100 - 1400 AD
March 10, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: John Connelly on $1.00 U.S. Coins from Eisenhower to Sacagawea
February 11, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mark Wieclaw on
The Silver Drachms of Parthia
The ancient Kingdom of Parthia covered lands of what is today western Turkey,
much of Syria and all of Iraq and Iran.
The Parthian Kings issued coinage from the 2nd century B.C.
through the 3rd century A.D.
Mark Wieclaw has collected this series of ancient coins since 1981
and will cover the story of Parthian imperial portraits that imitated Roman coinage
and how the reverse types are consistent with the Greek Seleucids who they displaced.
At the end of our regular February meeting we will recess, and reconvene at our meeting at CPMX.
February 28, 2004 - CCC Meeting - at the Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX),
which is held at the Holiday Inn O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
Featured Speaker:
Allen Mincho on
Illinois National Bank Notes
January 14, 2004 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert D. Leonard, Jr. on
Crusader Gold Coins, 1096 to 1450 AD
This presentation will begin with a review of the history of the
Crusades and the Crusader states throughout the Levant, then discuss the Islamic
coins that served as prototypes and their Crusader imitations, still bearing the
anti-Christian Muslim profession of faith!
(These imitations were later banned by the Pope.)
The curious cut gold series -- no complete coin is known, only
cut pieces -- will be described, as will copies of later Western coins,
including a newly-recognized series of imitation Byzantine coins issued at the time
of the Latin Empire.
Many of the actual coins discussed will be shown.
December 10, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet Meeting (reservations are required) - Featured Speaker:
Dr. Susan Solway, Professor of Art History, DePaul University on
Roman Coins Beyond Rome: Numismatic Passages into Medieval Art and Material Culture
Dr. Solway’s slide illustrated talk will cover the survival of Roman Coins
in the Middle Ages and their numismatic "afterlife" in medieval art
and material culture.
Small, portable, virtually impervious to decay, mass-produced and
widely distributed over the Roman Empire, whose territory became
the realm of the medieval world, Roman coins served simultaneously
as vehicles for the persistence of the classical tradition and
as raw material for physical and functional transformation
into artifacts of medieval culture.
Dr. Solway will cover such topics including coin ornaments and jewelry,
traditionally considered outside the realm of medieval art history
and numismatics; the "reuse" via fashioning and refashioning of coins
into Christian sacred objects; numismatic sources of medieval iconography;
reverence of ancient coins and their medieval imitations as Christian
relics, talismans and/or amulets;
and pictorial translations of imperial profile portraits as political
and propagandistic stamps of authority.
Everyone who attends Dr. Solway’s talk will come away with a new
appreciation of the intersections between numismatics and art history!
The annual December Banquet will be held at
Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 West North Avenue, Chicago.
A cash bar opens at 6:30 PM, and dinner is served at 7 PM.
The cost is $45.00 per person.
November 12, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
October 8, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert Weinstein on
Indo-Sasanian Coinage
Indo-Sasanian coins were first issued about 550 AD by the Gujuras, a Hun tribe.
Robert Weinstein will show these coins struck in Northern India
for several hundred years and derived from a Sasanid Persian prototype.
Designs were copied and the copies were copied,
resulting in a rapid degradation of design.
Some varieties are barely recognized when compared to the original type.
September 10, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Richard Hamilton on
Stock Certificates from Illinois Railroads
The art of scripophily as shown on the stock certificates of Illinois railroads
will be highlighted during this presentation.
Mr. Hamilton has collected stock certificates for over twenty years
and will show and discuss certificates from the Chicago Great Western Railroad,
Chicago St. Paul Minneapolis & Omaha Railway,
Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railroad,
the Burlington Northern,
and the Chicago Burlington & Quincy.
August 13, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mike Metras on
Early Trains on Obsolete Currency
The first steam engine in the U.S. ran on Christmas Day in 1830
in Charleston, S.C..
Mike Metras will show the early development of steam engines as
reflected on obsolete currency vignettes and other period pictures.
July 9, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Don Dool on
Numismatic Finds of San Martin
Don dool recently returned from Argentina.
While visiting, he acquired over 30 additional numismatic San Martin items.
San Martin is a popular revolutionary,
and is the Liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Peru from Spanish rule.
Join Mr. Dool as he tells the story of San Martin
through medals, numismatic catalogs, photos of monuments,
catalogs, and newspapers.
June 11, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Steve Feller on
Newly Discovered Facts about Confederate Coinage
For years numismatists thought they knew everything
there was to know about Confederate coinage.
But over the last decade new records have revealed that
the Confederate government was in possession of dies
and were striking U.S. coins.
Feller has been a student of this coinage for many years
and will tell this interesting story.
At the end of our regular June meeting we will recess and reconvene at our meeting at the MidAmerica Coin Expo.
June 28, 2003 - 11am at the MidAmerica Coin Expo,
which is held at the Donald Stevens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL.
No admission charge for our meeting.
Featured Speaker:
Mark Borckardt, V.P. at Bowers & Merena Galleries on
First Issues of the U.S. Mint
Mark is a leading authority on the issues of the first U.S. Mint
and has served as an instructor at the ANA Summer Seminars.
Details about this talk will be added here by June 11,
but do plan on attending this presentation,
just days before he teaches a one-week course
in this area at ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs.
May 14, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Clifford Mishler on
Fifty Years of Perspectives in Numismatics
Under his leadership at Krause Publications for forty years,
Clifford Mishler has been at the very center of the hobby.
Join him at this club meeting as he tells what the hobby was like
when he started fifty-three years ago,
how it evolved through the years,
some of the notable people he came to know
and what they taught him.
Expect him to wrap up the talk with where he thinks our hobby is headed.
April 9, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
John Wright on
300 Years of Portraits of the Caesars as shown on Sestertii Coinage
John Wright is known for his collection and knowledge
of U.S. Large Cents.
But many don’t know that for over twenty years
he has been collecting and studying Roman bronze coinage.
Join him as he shows portraits of the Caesars
as reflected on sestertii coins from Julius Caesar (44 BC)
through Postumus (268 AD).
The talk will include the history of how each came to the throne,
what they did for/to the empire, and how each met his end.
At the end of our regular April meeting we will recess, and reconvene at our meeting at CICF.
April 26, 2003 - 1pm at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF),
which is held at the Holiday Inn, 5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL.
Featured Speaker:
J. Graham Esler, Retired Chief Curator, Bank of Canada’s Currency Museum, on
The Canadian Silver Nuisance, 1865-1870
By 1865 in Canada, U.S. silver coins traded everywhere at face value,
except at banks and government offices. This is the story of
how unscrupulous traders shipped large quantities of silver coins into
Canada, traded them at full value, only to buy the coins back later from a
government agency at a discount! Canadian citizens were paid in U.S. silver
coins, only to have their bank deduct a percentage when it was deposited.
Join Mr. Esler as he relates the details of this little known story, the
hardships it caused the average Canadian and how the circumstances lead
to the creation of Canadian’s first national currency.
March 12, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Louis Jordan on
Role of Hogge Money in the Formation of the Sommer Islands Economy
One of the first coinages in the New World was issued
showing a hog as the primary image.
They were struck in 1616 in England for circulation
in the Sommer Islands.
For many years these extremely rare coins were thought
to be tobacco receipts.
But in the past 15 years more examples have been
uncovered with metal detectors.
Further study is beginning to reveal that they were
a token coinage for the Sommer Island Company.
They circulated for about 10 years in a very
primitive island economy and were replaced
by tobacco because of its intrinsic value.
February 12, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speakers:
Phil Carrigan and Carl Wolf on
Building and Maintaining A Numismatic Library
Many collectors will buy a $2,000 coin,
but pass on the purchase of a reference book
even if it was written by the dealer selling the coin.
This presentation will develop an approach to establishing
a numismatic library based on the individual’s collecting interests.
It consists of having current reference books,
but should include subscribing to auction catalogs
and fixed price lists, both current and earlier issues.
Just as important is maintaining the collection of books
and protecting it from damaging environmental effects and poor storage.
Discover the biggest culprits to your library
and learn how to make custom covers for your magazines and rare books.
At the end of our regular February meeting we will recess, and reconvene at our meeting at CPMX.
February 22, 2003 - 1pm at the Chicago Paper Money Exposition (CPMX),
which is held at the Holiday Inn, 5440 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL.
Featured Speaker - Douglas Ball on
Role of State Bonds on the Economic Development of the United States, 1800-1900
Through much of the 19th century the United States
experienced a dramatic increase in its population
that required the building of massive public works
and infrastructure projects. Many banks were chartered
and state governments issued numerous bonds to underwrite
the building of canals, turnpikes and railroads.
Join Mr. Ball as he shows examples of these bonds,
tells how they originated and explains how they played
a significant role in the building of the country.
January 8, 2003 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Kevin Dailey on
French 20 Francs, the First Euros
After reviewing the various French rulers that appear on the coins,
Kevin will examine the similar-sized gold coins that it spawned in other countries,
including the United States.
December 11, 2002 - CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet Meeting (reservations are required) - Featured Speaker:
Mark Wieclaw on
Chinese Snuff Bottles
This presentation will take a look at snuff bottles produced in the
middle to late 19th century.
We will see a variety of materials, from Agate to Jade to Rhino horn,
along with the incredible designs carved into each of the bottles.
The annual December Banquet will be held at the
Alpine Banquet Haus, 11141 W. Roosevelt Road, Westchester.
A cash bar opens at 6 PM, and dinner is served at 7 PM.
The cost is $20.00 per person.
September 11, 2002 - CCC Meeting - Featured speaker:
Dr. James McCormick on
Microscopic Images of Coins and Paper Money Produced by J.B. Dancer
In the late 1800s, J.B. Dancer produced microscopic images of many items;
using them as sales aids for his microscopes.
Dr. McCormick’s research has resulted in a book about J.B. Dancer and his work.
Join us for this most unusual and entertaining talk
and slide presentation.
August 14, 2002 - CCC Meeting - Featured speaker: Alex Basok on Steps of the Investigative Numismatist
July 10, 2002 - CCC Meeting - Featured speaker:
Andrius Plioplys on
Lithuanian Banknote Proofs from the 1920s
In anticipation of an impending war,
a briefcase containing proof material was secreted behind a masonry wall.
Join us for the intriguing story of their discovery in the 1990s,
and how the items made their way to Chicago.
June 12, 2002 - CCC Meeting - Featured speaker:
Mark Wieclaw on
An Almost Complete Perspective on Numismatics
Different people bring different goals and perspectives to our hobby.
Join us as a past president of our club
looks at the hobby from his views as a collector,
coin dealer, club officer, and a show organizer.
May 8, 2002 - CCC Meeting - Featured speaker:
Bruno Rzepka on
The Art of Steel Engraving
From picking up paper money overseas to make a short snorter
(signed by Jack Benny and Carol Landis) while in the U.S. Navy,
to many years first as a tool and die maker and then inspector,
to his collaboration with Jim Grebinger on the error section
of Donlon’s book on small size currency,
Bruno has the experiences to make a wonderful talk.
Join us!
April 6, 2002 - Session 1 of the 1000th CCC Meeting at 1pm at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF),
which is held at the Holiday Inn O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont.
Admission to the meeting is free, but admission to the show is $5.
Featured Speaker:
Steve Album on
The Development of Islamic Coinage, 650 - 1250 AD
Today newspapers and television showcase many Islamic history programs. But what
most coin collectors don’t know is that Islam did not strike distinctive religious coins
during its early years. For the first seventy years Islamic coins imitated the Byzantine and
Sasanian coinage. Everyone is invited to attend the meeting and hear Album tell the story
of this unique time in history.
He published A Checklist of Islamic Coins, now in its
second edition, and is currently a senior fellow at Worchester College, Oxford,
England and in this position he began publishing the first of ten volumes of a Sylloge of
Islamic Coins in the Ashmolean (Museum) in 1999. Volume 2 of this impressive work
has just been printed and is now available.
For the fourteenth successive year the Chicago Coin Club will also present every
attendee with an educational card dealing with some area of primitive money. Researched
and written by Robert D. Leonard, Jr., the 2002 issue will cover Gold Dust Currency
and each souvenir card will include genuine gold dust. History is sprinkled with stories of
gold dust being used as money including California in the 1850s, Georgia in the 1830s
and as recently as the 1980s in the Amazon Rain Forest in Brazil. Perhaps the most
enduring example is the gold dust system used for over 1,000 years by the Ashanti tribe
in Ghana, Africa. Only 150 copies printed and extra copies will be sold for $5.00 + $1.00
for postage.
April 6, 2002 - Session 2 of the 1000th CCC Meeting at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF),
which is held at the Holiday Inn O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont.
Featured Speaker:
Dr. Ute Wartenberg, Executive Director of the American Numismatic Society, on
Owls to Athens - The Dollar of the Ancient World
Formerly the Assistant Keeper and Curator of Greek Coins at the British
Museum, Wartenberg wrote the book After Marathon - War, Society and Money in Fifth-Century
Greece. In it she describes the political and economic world of ancient Greece,
under the leadership of Athens, as reflected in their coinage. Athenians referred to their
coins as "owls" because of the common reverse design showing an owl, the symbol for
Athena the patron goddess of Athens. Those who attend this presentation will enjoy the
slides of these magnificent and miniature masterpieces from the British Museum and the
ANS cabinet.
Banquet tickets are sold on a reservation basis and are available at $45.
A cash bar will open at 6 PM, and the banquet will start at 7 PM.
March 13, 2002 - 999th CCC Meeting - Featured speaker:
Sharon Blocker on
I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
Although her railroad collection started about 20 years ago
with paper items such as postcards, books, and other exonumia,
the collecting bug bit again when
Sharon encoutered railroad themed world currency at a currency show.
She has since started a
collection of world currency and coins with railroads on them.
Sharon will
take you around the globe and show you her examples of railroadania.
The title "I’ve been working on the railroad" means that this collection is still a work
in progress.
March 2, 2002 - 998th CCC Meeting at 1pm at the 8th Annual Chicago Paper Money Expo (CPMX),
which is held at the Holiday Inn O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont.
Admission to the meeting is free, but admission to the show is $5.
Featured Spaker:
Fred Schwan on
New Discoveries in Military Payment Certificates
Originally published in 1980, Fred Schwan’s
Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates
just had its fourth edition released.
So many new discoveries have been uncovered that it includes 108
additional pages over the third edition.
Join us as Schwan will reveal new research and tell stories of these new findings.
He is also donating three copies of his new book to be used as door prizes.
For the seventh consecutive year, the Chicago Coin Club will present everyone in
attendance with a souvenir card dealing with Chicago numismatic history. This year the
National Bank Notes of the First National Bank of Chicago will be covered.
February 13, 2002 - 997th CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Paul Hybert on
Learning from U.S. Mint Reports
What were some of the big and small concerns of the Mint during its first hundred years?
The original documents are available in a number of forms.
This talk will start by introducing some of those forms,
and then, by using some of those reports,
show both the results of some decisions and the information
that would influence later decisions.
For example,
we all know the Large Cents were replaced by the small copper-nickel cents in 1857;
want to see an annual tally, from 1857 until 1863, of how many Large Cents
ended up back at the mint for melting?
(Oops, maybe that is a poor example.)
January 9, 2002 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Philip Carrigan on An Overview of Canadian and Maritime Numismatic Entities
December 12, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Annual Banquet Meeting (reservations are required) - Featured Speaker:
Reid Geisler on
Error Coins
The annual December Banquet will be held on the 56th
floor of the Bank One Plaza Building
(formerly the First National Bank Building) at the "Mid-Day Club."
Hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar open at 6 PM, and dinner is served at 7 PM.
The cost is $44.00 per person.
November 14, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
October 10, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mark Wieclaw on
Morgan Type Carson City Morgan Dollars
September 12, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Harlan J. Berk on
Some Medals of the Roman Empire
Some examples of gold and silver medals were passed around
while Harlan gave background on each and a general overview
of Roman medals.
(The scheduled speaker could not attend.)
August 8, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Donald Dool on
General José San Martín, Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru, as Depicted in Numismatics and Philately
A review of the life and achievements of one of the leaders of the Spanish American Revolutions.
July 11, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert Leonard on
American Fruit Picker Tokens from Coast to Coast
This covers the history of
fruit picker tokens and tickets from the 1850’s until very recently,
including the economic reasons why they were issued and the political reasons
why they had to be discontinued.
Bob has been
collecting fruit picker tokens in a small way, off and on, since the early
1970’s.
There are far too many tokens and
tickets to show so the program gives the
historical and economic basis for use in each state, illustrated by the most
unusual and interesting tokens from it.
Naturally, there is a great deal about the role of American railroads in the
development of fruit growing, which led to the need for fruit picker tokens.
If you have the least interest in railroading,
labor legislation, immigration to America, or even agriculture, you
will find this interesting.
June 13, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Tom DeLorey on
1943 Bronze Cents and 1944 Steel Cents
It is the talk he gave at the ANS’s
Coinage of the Americas Conference in Baltimore on March 17.
It is the history of the two related transitional errors, plus a
previously unreported 1942 trial cent.
May 9, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Steve Feller on
Bank Notes From the Vault
In this presentation banknote enthusiast Steve Feller will tell of every
collector’s dream phone call.
It went something like this from the Coe
College business office,
"We were searching the vault and came across a
tattered envelope with some old bank notes in it.
Would you be interested
in seeing them?"
Was he?!
After ascertaining that the first note in the
bunch was a Continental Currency note of 1778 issued in Baltimore
Steve’s appetitie was whetted.
There were over a dozen interesting notes which
will be described.
They came from around the world.
The rest of the story
will also be told in which a folded letter in the vault from B. Max Mehl in
1932 led to the identity of the collector and his most interesting
relationship to the college.
April 11, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Louis E. Jordan on
Recent Discoveries on John Hull and the Massachusetts Mint
In May of 1652 Massachusetts Bay passed legislating authorizing the
coining of silver three pence, six pence and shilling coins and
appointed John Hull as mint master.
In some hitherto unpublished
ledgers John Hull made several entries concerning the mint.
This new
information provides insight on the location of the mint, gives
information on various aspects of coin production including the
"turn around time" to produce coins from silver, the actual weight of
newly minted coins and how mint charges were calculated.
At the end of our regular April meeting we will recess, and reconvene at our meeting at CICF.
April 28, 2001 - 1pm at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF),
which is held at the Ramada O’Hare Hotel, 6600 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL.
Featured Speaker - David Hendin on
Biblical Coins: 1st Century BC - 2nd Century AD.
March 3, 2001 - 1pm at the Chicago Paper Money Exposition,
which is held at the Ramada O’Hare Hotel, 6600 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL.
Featured Speaker - Chet Krause on
The Mining Scrip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
At the end of our CPMX meeting we will recess, and reconvene at our regular monthly meeting venue.
March 14, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Harlan J. Berk on The New Issues of Croesus and A Discussion on Signed Greek Coins
February 14, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Drew Michyeta on
Franklin Mint Issue of Silver First Day Covers from the Period 1971 through 1975
Drew would like to make his feature presentation more of an open discussion
and forum, encouraging the membership to participate during his talk to share
reminiscences about events which were occurring during the same time period.
January 10, 2001 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Dennis Fuller on
Civil War Tokens and Related Items
Mr. Fuller has been actively collecting the tokens on and off dating back to
1971
when the items were affordable.
An active member of the Oak Park Coin Club since 1977, Hillside
Coin
Club since 1996, and joined the Chicago Coin Club in 1997, he tries to attend as
many Civil War shows as he can in the Chicagoland Area as well as the Annual
Show in Mansfield, Ohio and Gettysburg, Pa during Fourth of July weekend.
He has visited many Civil War Battlefields, including Gettysburg, Pa.,
Federicksburg, Va., Chancelorsville, Va., Manassas, Va., Antietam, Md. and
Spotsylvania, Va.
He received his B.S. Degree in Accounting from Loyola University.
December 13, 2000 - CCC Annual Banquet (reservations are required) - Featured Speaker:
Steven Zitowsky on
Love Tokens.
The annual December Banquet will be held on the 56th
floor of the Bank One Plaza Building
(formerly the First National Bank Building) at the "Mid-Day Club."
Hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar open at 6 PM, and dinner is served at 7 PM.
The cost is $35.00 per person.
Love tokens are coins that have been hand-engraved with a name(s),
initials and/or dates. A hole was usually made so it could be added to a
piece of jewelry and most often was a gift a man presented to the love of
his life. This might be his fiancee, wife or daughter.
Love tokens probably started in England during the 1700’s, but reached
the peak of popularity during the Victorian Era. Most were produced on
smaller silver coins like the dime, but some are found on larger silver and
gold coins.
Early love tokens were probably engraved by the giver himself, but over
time certain groups emerged as engraving specialists. This would be jewelers
and county fair artists. A man parted from the woman he loved and with
plenty of time on his hands oftentimes engraved elaborate tokens for his
love. This was particularly true of soldiers waiting to be shipped out or
hospitalized soldiers recuperating from wounds.
The Chicago Coin Club has secured a number of slides and examples of
"Love Tokens" to present a program at the Banquet. If any member has
examples to add, please bring them secured in a 2X2 or flip to show your
table mates during dinner.
Members who bring "the love of their life" to share this romantic
numismatic topic will be presenting them with an evening to remember.
November 8, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
In the past few years, the material that generated the
most interest was either related to the club or to
Chicago-area numismatics.
Now is a good time to consider consigning to the auction;
details will appear in the October Chatter.
We will be able to accept lots shipped to Chicago if
that would be convenient for you.
October 11, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Tom DeLorey on
A Workshop for Their Gain? - Modern Errors, Accidental or Not
What is going on at the mint?
Not only does it seem that a new error piece hits the market
every few weeks, but look at those errors.
These are things that haven’t happened here before!
Or have they?
Join Mr. DeLorey as we try to understand what is happening at the mint.
September 13, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Cliff Priest on
Stocks and Bonds Depicting Buildings and Scenes in Chicago
Will have stock and bond certificates that depict buildings and scenes in
Chicago. Some are buildings that were envisioned and not built as depicted,
while some are as they actually were. Several will be companies that rented
space in a building BUT hinted they owned the building. Others will be
scenes in Chicago.
August 9, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Saul Needleman on
Chicago Century of Progress in Elongated Cents
Review some local history with us as we remember
the World’s Fair held in Chicago in 1933,
which was the one-hundredth anniversary of the
founding of Chicago.
July 12, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Event:
Kevin Dailey presents The Numismatic `Jeopardy’ Game
Similar to the television show, and similar to the
World Series of Numismatics at the ANA annual convention,
this evening should entertain as well as educate you
(unless, of course, you know everything already).
Teams will be formed at the meeting.
June 14, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert Weinstein on
The Coinage of the Sakas
Saka was the name by which the Scythians refer to themselves.
These were a nomadic people who are first mentioned in history in
the 8th Century BC as raiders and plunders of Greece,
Persia, Egypt and Assyria.
They were held together by a common language and culture that reached
from Eastern Europe to the borders of China.
Within numismatics perhaps the most commonly known Scythian
subgroup was the Parthians.
Join Mr. Weinstein as he shares with members examples of the diverse
coinage from these people (300 BC - 300 AD) and gives an
update on the latest research in Indo-Scythian numismatics.
May 10, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert Feiler on
Odd Denomination Notes and Scrip from the United States
Join us as Bob talks about a full range of odd
denomination items from a $3 bill to ...
April 8, 2000 - 1pm at the Chicago International Coin Fair,
which is held at the Ramada O’Hare Hotel, 6600 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL
Featured Speaker - David L. Vagi on
Some New Perspectives on Ancient Roman Coins.
The coinage of the ancient Romans is under constant reappraisal, as history,
archaeology and numismatics are living sciences. New perspectives are fueled
not only by archaeological discoveries, but also by the critical
re-examination of existing knowledge. Having recently finished the
two-volume book Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, David Vagi will
share some of the most interesting perspectives of recent years. A variety
of topics will be explored, including the Julio-Claudians, coin
denominations and the purchasing power of coins in ancient times.
At the end of our regular meeting we will recess and reconvene at our usual meeting location on April 12.
April 12, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Don Dool on
X-Ray Analysis as Applied to the Composition of Coins
Mr Dool will give a brief technical talk on the x-ray analysis of coins
and the equipment used.
He had coins suspected of being contemporary counterfeits and had them
tested under that method.
Join the members for his resulting analysis and gain insight into
identifying counterfeits in your own collection.
March 8, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speakers:
Bob Vandevender and Jim Hodgson on
Small Size US Currency.
After an introduction and explanation of Grading Standards,
we will show examples of the different grades of notes.
The main presentation will discuss the various types of small size currency
(silver certificates, United States notes, etc.) and varieties such as mules,
blocks, etc..
The talk will start at a midlevel discussion but
can get as detailed in the subjects as listeners desire.
February 9, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Allen H. Meyer on
Theft of Valuable Coins: Impact on Innocent Collectors.
This presentation is in response to Mr. Eric Newman’s summary of the ANS’s
position on the theft of their coins, as he spoke to the ANA Convention in
August. During and after that meeting, the concern of many of us collectors
had to be the impact of the innocent purchase of coins or other objects of
art which may have been stolen. Stolen not by the person from whom you
purchased, but by some unknown person earlier in the chain of title.
While not debating Mr. Newman’s presentation, which he considers fair and
reasonable, Mr. Meyer’s purpose is to explore the role of an innocent buyer
in this unfortunate mess and how it impacts upon us as collectors in
Illinois.
At the end of our regular meeting we will recess and reconvene at the CMPX on Saturday, February 19.
February 19, 2000 - 1pm at the Chicago Paper Money Exposition,
which is held at the Ramada O’Hare Hotel, 6600 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont, IL
Featured Speaker - Wendell Wolka, of Dublin, Ohio on
Obsolete Bank Notes from the State Bank of Ohio
The State Bank of Ohio was chartered in 1845 and grew to forty-one Branches.
The Bank prospered throughout its existence and unusual (for the time)
safeguards assured that note holders never lost a single dollar.
Three branches were closed and two withdrew from the bank in an orderly fashion.
By 1864, all but two of the remaining thirty-six had converted to National Banks.
The bank left behind a rich history that can be seen via its bank notes.
Wendell Wolka has researched the bank’s history at the Ohio State Archives for over five years.
He has discovered long forgotten letters and documents that aided the maddening
process of solving such diverse mysteries as the identity of the portraits on later issues
and the number of bank notes that were printed, issued, and destroyed for each branch.
This information also revealed interesting problems the Bank had with one of its
printers as well as all of the original printing contracts.
Mr. Wolka has been a student of Ohio’s banking history and
its diverse note issues for many years and will share a look
at many excessively rare genuine, counterfeit, and altered bank notes.
Join us for this in-depth talk that is certain to be entertaining and informative.
January 12, 2000 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mike Metras on
Modern Ethiopian Coinage
Ethiopia introduced European style coinage in an effort to show themselves
as a member of the modern world community at the end of the last century.
This presentation reviews the coinage they introduced and how well it met
that goal. You will also see other coinage and tokens used in Ethiopia since
that introduction. These include the colonial coins of Italy and the East
African
Currency Board along with the ever-present and dominating Maria Theresa
Dollar.
Notgeld emergency money was produced from the beginning of the first World War to the end of 1923. In general, Notgeld was issued by various German cities as a means of raising money. The majority of issues were on paper in bright colors and depicting various scenes and designs. Notgeld was also maunufactured on substances other than paper. Mr. Wieclaw will show many examples of these including leather, rubber, coal and silk. This is a unique area of numismatics covering an historically important period of time. The events in Germany that lead to the issuance of Notgeld were also the events that caused Adolph Hitler to become involved in politics. Be sure to join us for this exceptionally interesting talk.
November 10, 1999 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
October 13, 1999 - CCC Meeting
After the scheduled speaker had to cancel,
an extended show and tell session was planned.
September 8, 1999 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Dr. Saul B. Needleman on
Use of God’s Name, Jehovah, on Coins, Medals, Tokens and Jetons
Starting in 1517, European countries began to use "Jehovah" written
in Hebrew on their coinage.
It was a purely Christian concept with underlying political and
economic motivations that culminated in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648).
Ruling monarchs tried to invoke the name of God to fit their
own agenda and when it was over the face of Europe had changed completely.
Dr. Needleman has been studying this subject for fifteen years
and has completed a compilation of over 850 coins,
medals and tokens issued between 1517-1817 that fit
into this little known area of numismatics.
Those who attend will see examples of these coins and come
away with a new historical and numismatic perspective from the Age of Reformation.
August 14, 1999 - CCC Meeting held in conjunction with the
American Numismatic Association Convention
in Room 4 of the Rosemont Convention Center at 1 pm. Featured Speaker:
Eric P. Newman on
The Sheldon U.S. Large Cent Theft
Dr. William H. Sheldon, considered by many as the foremost expert
on early U.S. cents, did research at the American Numismatic Society (ANS)
in New York City during a period beginning over fifty years ago while preparing
his books on the subject.
He died in 1977.
It has been determined by the Superior Court of Los Angles,
California and the California Court of Appeal (subject to further
possible appeals) that Dr. Sheldon stole many early U.S. cents
from ANS in a switching scheme, leaving inferior examples
of the same variety in the place of stolen coins.
By using data recently made available to the public,
Eric Newman will relate some of the exciting details
of Sheldon’s life and clandestine activities.
July 15, 1999 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Mark Wieclaw on
June 9, 1999 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Louis Jordan on
The Numismatic Collections of the University of Notre Dame Libraries
Louis Jordan, Librarian and Director of Special Collections at the
University of Notre Dame, will speak on the University’s numismatic
collections in general, and specifically on colonial and early US coppers.
We will have a computer with an internet connection at the meeting
to help view the on-line collections.
The on-line collections start from the URL
www.coins.nd.edu
and a peek before the talk is encouraged!
May 12, 1999 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Warren C. Schultz on
Ugly Mamluk Silver
Warren Schultz is an Assistant Professor of History at De Paul
University.
Extending from the 13th to the 16th centuries AD,
the Mamluk Dynasty ruled the lands around the western Mediterranean.
The large silver coins from this era will be shown,
and some ideas of their usage in the Islamic world will be given.
April 10, 1999 - CCC Meeting held in conjunction with the
Chicago International Coin Fair at the Ramada O’Hare Hotel at 1pm.
Featured Speaker:
ANA Museum Curator, Bob Hoge on
Coins of a Flying Tiger, Marlowe Wegner
Mr. Wegner started collecting Chinese coins, from ancients
to moderns, while serving in China with the Army Air Corp
during World War II.
His extensive collection has been donated to the ANA Museum.
Join us as the Museum’s curator illustrates Chinese
numismatics with this beautiful collection.
March 10, 1999 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Robert Leonard on
U.S. Postage Stamps Used as Money
Postage stamps have been used as money in place of coins
chiefly in Gold Rush California, during the Civil War,
and during the Great Depression.
Some of these were issued in little encasements
by a variety of businesses for advertising purposes
as well as to make change - among them the Tremont
House in Chicago, one of whose proprietors later
founded the Drake Hotel.
Stamp money from all three periods,
including rare encased stamps, will be displayed.
February 10, 1999 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Alex Basok on
Coins of The Hermitage
Formerly the Russian Winter Palace but now a museum,
The Hermitage in St. Petersburg is famous for its
extensive and exquisite collections.
Included among the numismatic items is a set
of US coins presented by the US government in the
eighteenth century.
Plan to attend this meeting and learn much more
about this fascinating collection.
At the end of our regular meeting we will recess
and reconvene at the CMPX on Saturday, February 20th.
February 20, 1999 - CCC Meeting reconvenes at the Chicago Paper Money Exposition held at the Ramada O’Hare Hotel at 1pm. Featured Speaker: Art Kagin on A 70 Year Retrospective of Collections, Dealers and Numismania
January 13, 1999 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Tim Kyzivat on
Chicago Broken Bank Notes
A slide retrospective of bank notes from former banks in the city,
and from towns incorporated into Chicago.
Box thalers originated during the middle of the sixteenth century and were pricipally manufactured in the Augsberg and Nuremberg area of Germany. They were created by artisans who would hollow out these large size silver coins so that the sides would unscrew or snap open like a box. The interior could be used for a variety of purposes and would hold portraits, snuff, secret documents, personal mementos, etc. Robert Feiler has been collecting these unique and cleverly crafted pieces for a number of years and has a number of very attractice pieces to show. Recently he acquired a box thaler where its contents are a series of hand paintings on transparent mica. One is a full portrait of a lady and the rest are different parts of her wardrobe that fit perfectly over her - like a modern paper doll. His presentation promises to be particularly entertaining to our guests who are not numismatists. He’ll also show pieces from his collection of changed coins, which for the most part are a spin off of the box thalers.
November 11, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Club Auction
There will be no exhibits and no featured speaker
due to the auction.
October 14, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Dr. Joel J. Orosz on
Early U.S. Coin Collectors (Pre-1840’s)
One of the earliest numismatic sales in the U.S. was held November 1, 1858.
More than one book refers to this date as the beginning of our hobby in this country.
They do not know that numismatists had already been active for more than a century.
Dr. Orosz has researched these early collectors through historical periodicals
and journals and has uncovered many fascinating stories of people
like Rev. Andrew Eliot, Boston; Pierre Eugene Du Simitiere, Philadelphia;
Rev. John Christopher, New York City; and Robert Gilmor, Jr., Baltimore.
His well-written papers on this subject have received numerous awards due in
large part to his ability to extract relevant information that is pertinent
to today’s coin collectors.
September 12, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Jack Huggins, Jr. on
Building a Numismatic Exhibit
A case exhibit is another way to share numismatic information
with other collectors and the general public.
With the American Numismatic Association convention coming
to Chicago next year, many members are expressing
an interest in building exhibits.
Jack Huggins has won a number of exhibit awards including
Junior Best-of-Show at two consecutive ANA conventions and Adult
Best-of-Show from Central States Numismatic Society.
Presently, he is in charge of the exhibits for the Illinois Numismatic
Association and the Central States Numismatic Society.
He’ll share from his wealth of experience and tell what constitutes a good exhibit.
He’ll also have a handout spelling out how exhibits are judged.
If you want to know the who, what, where, why and how of exhibiting,
then this is one talk you can’t afford to miss.
August 12, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Alexander Basok on
Russian Coinage of the 1980 Olympics
During the late 1970’s collectors were bombarded with promotional
advertisements trumpeting the fantastic investment opportunity of the
Russian coinage for the upcoming 1980 Olympics. Advertisements
promised twenty-eight uncirculated and twenty-eight proof coins.
Eighteen years later evidence has uncovered many discrepancies
including indications that over 150 different coins were issued and
some with improper mintmarks. Mr. Basok has been assembling this
story for his upcoming book on Soviet coinage and his presentation
and story telling promises to entertain and educate. His original
belief that there was more to this promotion than was meeting the eye
and the way he went about gathering the information is an approach
that all collectors can apply to their own areas of collecting.
July 8, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Dave Denis on
U.S. Type Sets - Half Cent through the Nickel
Since nearly everyone in the Club started collecting U.S. coins, this
meeting should be a special treat. For nearly sixty years Mr. Denis
has been assembling and upgrading a type collection of U.S. coins.
Complete type sets will be shown of the half-cents, large-cents,
small-cents, two-cents, three-cent (nickel only) and the five-cent
pieces (nickel only). Mr. Denis will cover the history of each
coinage change and share some of his buying experiences in assembling
this testament to U.S. coinage.
June 10, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Bruno Rzepka, on
U.S. Paper Money Errors
Last year the Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced over 10 billion pieces of paper money with only a
.5% error ratio. Although today’s advanced technology has curbed the number of printed errors that reach
the general public, years ago many slipped past inspectors and are quite collectible. Bruno Rzepka has been
collecting error notes for over forty years and at one time amassed a collection of nearly 1,300 pieces.
Join him as he shows a selection of errors that include: paper flaws, ink streaks, overprints, double
denominations, blank sides, misalignments, mismatched serial numbers, etc. He’ll also cover the literature
available to collectors of this material.
May 13, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Steve Feller, Ph.D. on
Monies of WWII Concentration Camps
No matter what his circumstance, modern man has an inherent need for a medium of exchange.
This was also true of the Nazi-ruled camps and ghettos during World War II.
A least thirty camps are known to
have issued their own scrip.
The local ruling authority created some issues, and in others, the prisoners
themselves designed and produced their own emergency currency.
Mr. Feller has researched this subject
for over twenty years,
has studied the records in the archives of the United Nations and at the National
Holocaust Memorial Museum and is considered a foremost authority of Holocaust money.
Join him when
he tells the story of this money and shows slides and examples
of the diverse issues that include bank
notes, coins, small change chits and food coupons,
some printed on magazine scraps, post cards and other
odd bits and pieces of paper.
Those who attend his unique talk will leave with insight into this little
known numismatic footnote from one of history’s most infamous events!
April 8, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Jimmy Kaczor on
Illinois-Michigan Canal Bank Notes
During the 1830s government and business interests of the
United States campaigned for big infrastructure improvements.
Connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River through a
canal system was one of the projects that received widespread
support.
The canal’s eastern terminus was in Chicago, on the South Branch
of the Chicago River, while the western terminus was
in Joliet, on the Illinois River.
Competition from the Railroads in the 1870s put Canal
traffic into a steep decline. By 1880 it was operating at a very
low level and by 1890 parts were filled in and returned to
farmland. However, during its construction and operation, the
Canal Company with the backing of the State of Illinois issued
four different series of bank notes that were used to pay for
materials and labor. Join Mr. Kaczor as he tells the story of the
Illinois-Michigan canal and shows a complete set of their bank
notes.
March 14, 1998 - CCC Meeting at the CICF (1pm starting time) at the
Merchandise Mart Expo Center, 350 N. Orleans St., Chicago, IL
Featured Speaker:
Jane I. Guyer, Ph.D. on
"Primitive Money" in 19th Century Equatorial Africa
As an anthropologist, Dr. Guyer took up the study of African primitive currencies to better
understand social and economic conditions. She is not a numismatist, but by studying how
currency and the transaction process played a role in the relationships between people, Dr.
Guyer drew insights into the local and regional social structure in the era before colonial rule.
Equatorial Africa is one of the most complex regions of the world for scholars of indigenous
currency systems. The many different societies of this area created their own copper, iron,
raphia-cloth and shell monies, and European traders imported yet others. Dr. Guyer’s studies of
the iron spear currency of Southern Cameroon included museum work and interviews with
elders about manufacture and use in the past. Further questions about regional circulation led
her to the comprehensive currency collection in the Royal Museum of Central Africa in
Tervuren, Belgium. Those who join Dr. Guyer for this informative program will hear a program
on primitive money told from a perspective rarely heard in numismatic circles.
February 21, 1998 - CCC Meeting at the CPMX show (1pm starting time) at the
Ramada O’Hare Hotel, 6600 N. Mannheim Road,
Rosemont, IL
Featured Speaker:
Douglas Ball, Ph.D. on
U.S. Continental & Colonial Currency, 1690-1786
Continental and Colonial currency evolved in a chaotic fashion.
Join Douglas Ball as he tells the story of how the international economy of our country
developed with only modest cooperation of the thirteen different governments each
issuing their own currency.
A colony’s proximity to unfriendly Indian Territory had the largest single impact on a
local economy with heavy military spending and resultant inflation.
Those who attend this talk will leave with the knowledge of how the economic
peculiarities of that time and its resulting impact is still with us today
and is reflected in our Constitutional provisions and the NYSE.
Douglas Ball is Vice-President and director of Research of the R.M. Smythe & Co., Inc.,
dealers of paper money, stocks, and bonds since 1880.
January 14, 1998 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mark Wieclaw on
Photography with a 35mm Camera
Good photographs of coins cannot be achieved through the
simple "point-and-shoot" method. Only by employing special
techniques, plus having the right lens, the correct film,
and proper lighting can you get good results. Mark Wieclaw has
been taking coin photographs for ten years and delivered a
program on this subject five years ago. Since then he has
refined his techniques and developed new processes, especially
in photographing coins in plastic housing. Those who attend
will leave with a better appreciation of the narrow requirements
needed and will gain the knowledge of how they can do it
themselves. A handout will be available.
November 12, 1997 - CCC Annual Auction
This is the evening of our annual auction and there will be no
exhibits. We have been promised that a large collection of past
club medals will go up for sale, and if last year’s auction was
any indication, the bidding could get pretty exciting. Please
bring in your material or send a list as early as possible so we
can begin to accurately catalog it. Turn your material or list
over to either Carl Wolf or Bill Burd. This is also a great time
for you to donate material with the proceeds going to the Club.
October 8, 1997 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Leon A. Saryan on
Medieval Coins of Cilician Armenia, 1080-1375 AD
For most of the 13th century, Cilician Armenia was a
primary trade center of the Middle East.
During this period the Armenians played an important
role in the Crusades.
Dr. Saryan has studied and collected the coinage of
this period for over twenty years,
has traveled to Armenia four times and used historical
manuscripts of the era to research his findings.
Join him as he shows the copper, silver, and gold
coins from this medieval culture and explains their
historical background and significance in relation
to the times.
September 10, 1997 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Paul R. Hybert on
Numismatists on the Internet
Each week more coin dealers, auction houses, and private numismatists
are added to the Internet.
Join us as we go for a ride on the net visiting
different sites including our own club’s home page,
the American Numismatic Association, the American
Numismatic Society, plus some of the current auctions and
fixed price lists being offered by coin dealers.
If time warrants, we’ll also visit the sites of
private collectors who have a specialized interest.
One site even offers a bibliography and critical review
of numismatic literature.
We’re fortunate that our meeting room is equipped to
display an enlarged image of the computer screen on the wall,
so there won’t be any need to crowd around a small display.
Those who attend will leave with a handout of popular
Internet addresses and will learn how to quickly retrieve
in-depth and unfiltered information to keep abreast of
current events.
August 13, 1997 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Bruce W. Smith on
Knife and Spade Coins of Ancient China
Best guesstimates put the beginnings of Chinese knife
and spade coins as early as 900 BC, making them the
earliest money manufactured by man.
Chinese authors have written about these unique numismatic
antiquities for over 1000 years,
but gained little notice from western collectors until
the late 1800s.
Bruce Smith has been a serious student of this subject
for 30 years, has traveled to China several times and
lived there for a year.
Join him as he shows examples from his collection
and shares with members the inscriptions on these
coins and how they fit into a system of weights
and denominations.
July 9, 1997 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Michael S. Gasvoda on
The Mount Vesuvius Atonement Series of Roman Coinage
Mount Vesuvius erupted August 24, 79 A.D. and buried the cities of
Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum.
Convinced this was a result of their gods’ anger, Romans
instituted a number of programs to appease them.
This included a series of eleven coins struck under Emperors
Titus (79-81 A.D.) and Domitian (81-96 A.D.).
Mr. Gasvoda will show the coins from this series that marks one
of the greatest natural disasters of all time and explain the
symbolism and significance of each.
June 11, 1997 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
John D. Wright on
Collecting U.S. Large Cents
Large cents were minted from 1793-1857 and were among the first coins
struck under authority of the United States Government.
As a foremost expert in this field, Mr. Wright will tell the
history of large cent collecting, cover how the series is broken
down into three groups, show fascinating pieces and varieties
within each group, and discuss some of the methods of collecting
these unique pieces of American history.
Here
is what he said eleven years ago on the topic.
May 14, 1997 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Anthony Swiatek on
Artificial Toning of Coins
Beautifully toned coins in high grade can be highly desirable
and often times they command higher prices. But, what you
don’t know can hurt you, especially if the toning is hiding
something. The most common reason artificial toning is added
is to disguise surface damage, a lower grade, etc. and therefore
the coin’s value is falsely increased. Using slides Mr. Swiatek
will share his many years of experience and show us the difference
between original and artificial toning.
April 5, 1997 - CCC Meeting at the CICF show (1pm starting time)
at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers,
301 East North Water Street.
Featured Speaker:
William Spengler on
Cowrie Shells as Money in Asia & Africa, & Their Imitations
Cowrie shells began their use as money thousands of years ago
and they continued to be used well into the nineteenth century.
They were a primary means of exchange in Asia and Africa,
particularly in those countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Mr. Spengler will cover these unique money forms and tell just
how their values varied.
Cowries have been so popular that imitations also have been
manufactured for thousands of years, and Mr. Spangler will
show examples of imitations made of gold, silver, bronze,
bone, ceramic, and sea shell.
March 12, 1997 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker:
Mike Metras on
Axum Coins and Places.
Those attending this talk will see coins of ancient Ethiopia
tied into archeological sites of today.
This will be an augmentation of Mr. Metras’ talk
four years ago, but through video, with
observations on this communication medium.
February 15, 1997 - CCC Meeting at the CPMX show (1pm starting
time)
at the Ramada O’Hare Hotel, 6600 N. Mannheim Road.
Featured Speaker: Ian A. Marshall on
Replacement Notes of the World.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing replaces defective
currency with
Star Notes.
Different security systems are employed by other countries
to account for their replacement currency.
Mr. Marshall will discuss this unresearched area of paper money
collecting, show examples of world replacement notes,
and list many rarities unknown to collectors.
The Chicago Coin Club will be presenting to everyone in attendance
a printed sheet showing bank notes issued in 1852 by the Bank of
Chicago.
This collector’s item will be serial numbered and will include
the history of the Bank of Chicago.
January 8, 1997 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Herb and Martha Shingoethe on Obsolete Bank Notes
November 13, 1996 - CCC Meeting - Annual Club Auction
October 9, 1996 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Bob Leonard on M. A. Abrahams and His Tokens.
September 11, 1996 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Saul Needleman on Non Judaic Use of Hebrew Words on Coins.
August 14, 1996 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Bob Weinstein on Ancient Indian Coinage.
July 10, 1996 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Brian Stubbs on Primitive Money.
June 12, 1996 - CCC Meeting - Featured Speaker: Harry Flower on The Saga of Gold.