The Journal of the Society for US. Commemorative Coins P.O. Box 302, Huntington Beach, CA 92648-0302 Membership: $20 per year includes journal subscription. SPRING/SUMMER - 1992 VOLUME 8 - #1 (A Double issue) IN THIS ISSUE . .. The Flying Tigers: Member in the Spotlight, Raymond L. Hastey SOCIETY FOR U.S. COMMEMORATIVE COINS A Not-for-Profit Corporation Society Mailing Address: Helen L. Carmody (714) 960-2925 SUSCC (General correspondence, P.0. Box 302 dues, donations, etc.) Huntington Beach, CA 92648-0302 Journal Mailing Address: Randall Jack Moore (619) 452-1971 Numismatic Directory (Letters to the Editor, 8368 Via Sonoma, Unit E articles, photos, etc.) La Jolla, CA 92037-2833 Address of Incorporation: c/o Charles E. Cataldo, Jr. (205) 536-0262 Alabama Coin & Silver (Corporate matters) 912 Bob Wallace Avenue SW Huntsville, AL 35801 Society Officers*. August, 1991 to August, 1992 President . Michael K. Garofalo P.0. Box 325, North Salem, NH 03073 Vice President . Helen L. Carmody Secretary. Jane E. Benson Treasurer . Barbara L. Garofalo YN Rep . Neil C. Watson Historian, Librarian, & Program Chairperson . Anthony Swiatek Publicity Chairperson . Roy T. Iwata Communications Chairperson . Leslie D. Watson ANA Club Reps . Frank W. DuVal 1 & Helen L. Carmody Journal Editor . Randall Jack Moore 2 Welcome to The Commemorative Trail Spring/Summer Issue - 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS Cover Photo: . Page 4 Jim's Whims: A Commemorative Quiz, by James J. Dooley . Page 4 NEWS FLASH: Iowa Commem Sale (Read this First) . Page 5 Special Series: Name That Commem!, by Bill Fivaz . Page 6 A Very Special "Thank You" to Bill Fivaz . Page 6 Tips for Trail Contributors . Page 7 Basic Page Layout for the Trail . Page 8 Editorial: Easier Said than Done . Page 9 A Very Special "Thank You" to Bowers and Merena Galleries . Page 10 Presidential Department: It's Time for a New Trailmaster . Page 11 Treasurer's Report . Page 12 Vice President's Office: Will We See the End of the Trail? . Page 13 Young Numismatist's Report: Sharing is the Key. Page 14 Society Announcement: Dues are Due! . Page 14 Secretary's Report: . Page 15 Secretary's Letter to All Society Members . Page 16 Letters to the Editor. Page 17 Announcement: Helen L. Carmody to Run for ANA Board of Governors .... Page 19 Die Breaks on the Columbia, SC, Half Dollar, by John Flitter. Page 20 Columbian Exposition Memorabilia: A Columbian Blowout . Page 21 Lafayette Dollar Varieties, by William Van Duzer . Page 22 Lafayette Dollar Exhibit at the ANA Convention, by Frank W. DuVal1 ... Page 24 Special Feature: Proposals for Modem Coinage, by Randall J. Doty ... Page 25 Memorabilia: Commem-related First Day Covers, by John Flitter . Page 30 Delaware Mystery Partially Solved: The Skeleton Key . Page 38 Delaware Model Photos, by Cathy Dumont-Deyat of Bowers & Merena . Page 39 Delaware Model Sold at Auction, an Editorial Note . Page 41 Israel State Medal: 500 Years Since the Expulsion of Jews from Spain . Page 42 Washington-Carver or Carver-Washington?: It's Time for a Change . Page 44 Show Reports: by Helen L. Carmody. Page 45 Long Beach Expo — February. Page 45 ANA/PNG Convention — February . Page 46 Central States Convention — May. Page 47 Long Beach Expo — June . Page 48 Special Feature: You're the Boss, by Diane Augustyne-Piret . Page 50 Special Feature: How do you Catch A Congressman? . Page 51 Staff Correspondence . Page 53 Photograph: Congressman Esteban E. Torres . Page 57 Memorabilia: Invitation to Mount Rushmore Anniversary Ceremony . Page 58 Geography and Coins: It's Time for a New Atlas . Page 61 In Special Recognition of Jane Benson . Page 62 Memorabilia: Invitation to First Strike Ceremony for Korean Commem .. Page 63 Iowa Sale: Letter to Governor Erbe from Helen & Don Carmody. Page 65 Iowa Sale: News Items . Page 66 Memorabilia: Tatham's Bargain Lists of 1934 and 1935 . Page 67 Jim's Whims: Quiz Answers . Page 69 An Excerpt from Rare Coin Review: "Helen Carmody Writes" . Page 69 Introduction to Feature . Page 70 Feature: Bridgeport, Connecticut, Centennial, by Ray Mercer . Page 71 Recommended Reading . Page 74 New Members . Page 76 3 Donations . Page 77 Introduction to Feature, by Helen L. Carmody. Page 78 Feature: An Interview with Gloria Rovelstad, by Q. David Bowers . Page 78 Club News, by Helen L. Carmody . Page 81 Introduction to Feature, by Helen L. Carmody . Page 85 Feature: The Iowa Commem; Parts 5 & 6, by Michael S. Turrini . Page 85 Iowa Centennial Commemorative Coin Sale Procedures, by Helen Carmody . Page 96 Letters from the Officers, by Helen L. Carmody. Page 99 Society Meetings, by Helen L. Carmody. Page 104 Long Beach — February (Congressman Torres: A View from the Top) . Page 104 Central States — May . Page 109 Long Beach — June . Page 109 Member in the Spotlight: Raymond L. Hastey. Page 110 A World War II Commem; Is it Time? . Page 117 Crime Report: Society Member Robbed . Page 118 A Commemorative Half Dollar Quiz, by James J. Dooley . Page 119 Some Thoughts on Improving the Trail, by the Editor. Page 120 Feature: The Texas Commem (Part 1), by Randall Jack Moore . Page 122 Memorabilia: Texas . Page 128 Photographs: The Alamo and the Cenotaph . Page 130 Homer's Monroe Half is Slabbed at Last! . Page 131 Society Membership Application Forms, by Richard A. Bacca . Page 132 Cover Photo: Over fifty years ago, before the United States had entered World War II, young Americans were serving in the American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force, fighting to keep open the Burma Road, which was China's lifeline. The AVG was later to be¬ come known as "The Flying Tigers." Our cover photo shows four of those Americans in the air over the mountainous jungles of Burma, flying their P-40 Tomahawks. In this issue of the Trail, we are we are extremely proud to feature as our "Member in the Spotlight" Society member Raymond L. Hastey, a survivor of the Flying Tigers. Our cover photo is shown by courtesy of R. T. Smith, himself one of the Flying Tigers. [Please see article beginning on page 110] JIM'S WHIMS — A COMMEMORATIVE QUIZ Society member James J. Dooley (R-1809, CA) responded to our request for "fillers" to use in plugging the blank spaces in the Trail. Below, Jim poses two questions. Can you answer them? You'll find the answers on page 69. 1. Question: The firm of Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict (Remington Type¬ writers), as a publicity stunt, agreed to pay $10,000 for the first Columbian half dollar struck. What they bought, and paid for, was actually the SECOND specimen struck. What happened to the FIRST specimen struck? 2. Question: What 1925 commemorative half dollar was authorized in part "... in memory of Warren G. Harding, president of the United States of America? [Thank you, Jim! As you cam see, this really does help! Please keep up your good work. Your "fillers" are most welcome!] 4 NEWS FLASH From time to time the Trail staff is notified of some special offer, event, appening, occurrence, or fact, which may be of special and immediate interest to our readers. In the future, when we learn of such an "item," we will tell you about it in this "News Flash" column. It isn't possible to anticipate the variety of jubjects that might thus be reported in subsequent issues; however, the criteria are that they should be special and of immediate interest. Please let us know of any items you feel should be mentioned in this "News Flash" column. Here is a sample: Iowa Commem Sale Society member STEVEN C. ELLIOT (R-1402, IA) sent us the following item which appeared in the Des Moines Sunday Register on 7/12/92: Half-dollars to mark Iowa Centennial The state is taking orders until Oct. 1. for 400 Iowa Centennial Com¬ memorative half-dollars, state Trea¬ surer Michael Fitzgerald announced. The half-dollars were minted in 1946 and are part of an original horde to be sold in anticipation of Iowa’s Sesquicentennial celebration in 1996. Bes Atom** $imbag Register The treasurer’s office is taking one order for one coin per envelope. Orders must be accompanied by a A GANNETT NEWSPAPER U S. postal money order or a cash¬ Published every Sunday morning DES MCMNES REGISTER ier’s check for $510 payable to the AND TRIBUNE COMPANY Iowa Centennial memorial Founda¬ 715 LOCUST STREET DES MCaa££_lA_5ai09 tion. The price includes $ 10 for post¬ ^-"■Vol 144 No 3 X age and handling. C July 12. 1992_> “The coins are in excellent condi¬ ■ Officers and Department Heads tion. They have been professionally Chart** C. Edward* Jr. President and Publisher (515)284-8041 encased in a numbered holder with a G«r>«va OvarttotMT drawing of the current State Capitol Vice President. Editor .(515)284-8502 and message relaying the history of the coin," Fitzgerald added. "The are certainly an attractive piece of our history." If the number of orders exceed 400, a drawing will be conducted Oct. 1 to determine who will get the coins. Orders should be mailed to: Sesquicentennial Coin Sale, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, State Capitol Building, First Floor, Des Moines, la. 50319-0005. For additional information about the Iowa half dollars, please refer to the table of contents in this issue of the Trail. In particular, please see the related articles about Iowa commems on pages 65, 66, 85, and 96. 5 NAME THAT COMMEM! Above is shown the obserse side of the Connecticut Tercentenary half dol- lor. Outlined on the coin is the rectangular area depicted in the XCU (extreme close-up) photo we left you to ponder in the previous issue of the Trail (Fall/ Winter Issue, 1991, Vol. 7, No. 3, page 83). Our friend, "Homer," identified the coin by studying the pictures in his new "Redbook." Did you identity it? (Photo courtesy of Bill Fivaz) For our new members: Scattered through the pages of the Trail, you will be seeing photos from Bill Fivaz's slide series, "Name That Commem." The photos come in sets of two, with the first being an XCU (extreme close-up) photograph of some portion of a U.S. commemorative coin (or medal) and the second showing the entire piece with the XCU area outlined on it (as shown above). The object of this series is for the viewer to look first at the XCU and to determine from what coin or medal it is taken. Bill notes, "It's fun, and it makes people realize that maybe they don't look at their coins quite as closely as they think they do!" We hope our new members will enjoy Bill's delightful series as much as our "old-timers" have. It really is a lot of fun! A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO BILL FIVAZ It would take pages and pages to report all the favorable comments we have heard about the photographic work of Society member WILLIAM F. FIVAZ (LM-25, GA). Bill's ongoing photo-series, "Name That Commem!" represents only a small part of his many contributions to the numismatic hobby, however, it's an important part of our journal. Everyone who has met this warm, gracious, and highly talented gentleman will join in saying THANK YOU, BILL! [Homer says "Its neat stuff!"] 6 TIPS FOR TRAIL CONTRIBUTORS by the Trail Staff On the following page is shown the basic page-layout format we've been using as a general standard during the past two years in typesetting the Trail. As you will note, we are typesetting our journal at 12 characters per hori¬ zontal inch and 6 lines per vertical inch (single-spaced). The change from 10 to 12 characters per inch has resulted in a 20% increase in the volume of text we are able to present in a given space. The change from double-spacing to sin¬ gle spacing nearly doubled our capacity by compressing the text. In all, those two changes alone have enabled us to make an "order of magnitude" improvement in the quantity of information we can include in a given issue of the Trail. Needless to say, in more than doubling the quantity of information in any given quarterly issue (or, quadrupling it in our double-issues), we have also proportionally increased our demand for typesetting and editorial services. By establishing standards for vertical and horizontal margins, our journal has been improved in the sense that it has better "eye appeal." However, that does not mean that we will no longer publish those interesting oddball items of non-standard size. This basic page layout is included here just to remind you that it would be very helpful to our future editors and typesetters to receive submissions (articles, letters, photos, etc.) in a standardized format, if at all possible. If not, we'll still try to publish it. Some important points to keep in mind when submitting items for publication in Trail are: 1) Members and non-members alike are welcome to submit items. 2) Unless you specifically request us to do so, we will NOT publish your mailing address or telephone number. 3) When submitting any material for publication, please be sure to include your mailing address and a telephone number (a note as to "best time to call" is also helpful). If we are unable to contact you privately to clarify points of concern, your submission might go unpublished. From our point of view, long-distance telephone calls are less time consuming and less expensive than written correspondence. Additionally, phone calls produce immediate results (a decided advantage when we are facing publishing deadlines — which is the normal case). 4) When submitting any previously published material, please include sufficient details so that we can contact the publisher, should we deem such a course of action to be prudent. In any case, we always want to be able to give credit where credit is due; publishers, authors, and photographers alike all do appreciate (and deserve) acknowledgement of their works. 5) Our Society's policy on allowing other publications to reprint what we have published is very liberal. Our only requirement is that requests for such authorization be made in writing. We cannot authorize reprinting of some materials which appear in the pages of the Trail (cartoons, for example). If you are concerned about copyright matters, please let us know at the outset! 7 12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 7*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX0 3 0 4 0 5 0 6 0 7 0 8 0 9 0 0 0 1 Basic Page Layout 0 2 0 3 for 0 4 0 5 The Commemorative Trail 0 6 0 7 0 8 0 9 Horizontal Spacing: 102 columns per 8-1/2" line; 0 0 80 columns of text @ 12 characters per inch; 0 1 22 columns (total) of margin; 0 2 Left & right margins adjustable. 0 3 0 4 0 5 Vertical Spacing: 66 lines per 11" page; 0 6 55 lines of text per page; 0 7 11 lines (total) of margin; 0 8 Top & bottom margins adjustable. 0 9 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 4 This Page Will also Serve as a Gauge 0 5 0 6 for the 0 7 0 8 Sizing and Layout 0 9 0 0 of 0 1 0 2 Photographs and Other Reproductions 0 3 0 4 to be Included in Future Editions of 0 5 0 6 The Commemorative Trail 0 7 0 8 0 9 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 4xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx0 5555555555555555555555 Last Line of Text on this Page 5555555555555555555550 8 EDITORIAL by Randall Jack Moore (R-1792, CA), NLG Easier Said Than Done At the ANA Convention in Seattle, in 1990, Ray Mercer and Helen L. Carmody persuaded me to undertake the "typesetting function" for our journal. Ray held up a sample copy of the Trail and asked me how long it would take me to typeset it. I looked at it, and answered that I could probably type the text in about a week. In retrospect, my response to Ray's question was worse than naive, it was based upon a solid foundation of ignorance! At the time I had had no experi¬ ence as a typesetter or as an editor. Rather, my thinking was that I could type 40 or 48 pages of double-spaced text (a typical issue of the Trail at the time) in a week or so. Since that time, I've learned that the job of "typesetting" involves much more than merely typing out the words others have written. Often, it requires time-consuming correspondence or personal telephone calls in order to clarify a point. Additionally, when "push comes to shove," the job of typesetting demands a measure of "attention to detail" in such matters as spelling, hyphenation, lay¬ out, pagination, and a host of other innocuous matters we all usually take for granted. My own academic background certainly did not prepare me for typesetting or editing. In grammar school, I won a giant Hershey bar in a spelling bee, and, in college, I received "straight A's" in my English classes (not bad, I suppose, for an electrical engineer). In fact, nothing in my life experience prepared me for the responsibilities of serving first' as assistant editor and then as editor for an important journal. There has been a lot of "on the job training." I've certainly learned that winning spelling bees or earning good grades in English courses have very little to do with the realities of publishing a jour¬ nal such as the Trail. Needless to say, I've had my nose buried in reference books such as Roqet's Thesaurus, several different dictionaries, and in writing- style guides such as Strunk & White's The Elements of Style or The Chicago Manual of Style. When all else fails, I simply throw myself on the mercy of Helen L. Carmody and have her "English it up for me!" Speaking of Helen Carmody, I want to mention that without her help in pre¬ paring this issue of the Trail, it would be at least another month before you would have it in hand. My editorial in the previous issue included these words: "Mike Garofalo has already written about the "joys" of typesetting each issue. Because of a catastrophic computer failure, I have had the "joy" of typesetting this issue twice ..." Unfortunately, that situation was only the tip of the ice¬ berg. Shortly after writing those words my second computer crashed. While pon¬ dering my alternatives (sharp razors or fresh rope), I got lucky. After about twenty frantic telephone calls to data-recovery specialists, none of whom could be of help, I learned of the existence of a computer-wizard by the name of Don Maslin, who, by a stroke of good fortune, lives within a few miles of me. He came to my home and, within a few hours, was able to restore the missing files pertaining to that issue of the Trail (and I lost interest in razors and rope). In rapid sequence, all three of my Kaypro 10 computers suffered a series of failures of involving their IBM/Winchester hard-disks. Compounding these major 9 problems was an annoying series of minor failures involving a fan motor, a disk- controller, a floppy disk-drive, a keyboard, and, just a few days ago, either a power-supply 01 the cathode-ray tube. At the moment, two of my Kaypros are up and running (knock on wood) and, hopefully, one or the other will see me through this issue of the Trail. My Kaypro computers are, by today's standards, antique. None of them will accept entry of a date later than 1988 ("Number too large, reenter"). During the past two years, while struggling to typeset issues of the Trail, I've often thought about our former editor, Mike Garofalo, who put his heart and soul into this same chore using an even more obsolete computer, a Commodore 64. I don't know how he did it, but I applaud his achievements. Clearly, one of the most valuable contributions anyone can make to our Soci¬ ety is to serve as a club officer. The more time-consuming the job, the fewer the volunteers. As my term as editor of the Trail draws to a close, I want to recommend that our Society invest in its own future by providing certain of our future officers with computer equipment which would allow them to perform their responsibilities more rapidly, more accurately, and more efficiently. Certainly any future editor will need a good desk-top publishing system. Similarly, the jobs of our vice president, secretary, and treasurer would be made far easier if each had a modest computer system (compatible with the system used by the editor), which would enable them to communicate essential information by floppy-disks, rather than by the tedious format of typed listings (of members added or dropped, changes of address, dues collected, membership numbers assigned, etc.). Well, it's easier said than done, but we can do it! A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO BOWERS AND MERENA GALLERIES All of our Society members are very familiar with the name Q. David Bowers, a gentleman who is unquestionably the world's most prolific author of numismatic articles and books. In the past, the Trail has frequently published materials submitted by Dave Bowers, or about him. Q. David Bowers and his business partner, Raymond N. Merena, have created what we believe to be the world's largest and most important privately owned numismatic archive. That achievement alone is worthy of our gratitude, however, there is more! Dave Bowers and Ray Merena have graciously opened their archives for use by the Trail staff and have already (at their expense) provided us with countless pages of materials not elsewhere available. Wouldn't it be nice if we could repay Bowers and Merena Galleries in kind, rather than merely by saying "Thanks?" Let's do it! If you have any materials which might be of interest to numismatic scholars in the future, don't throw them away. Instead, send them to Bowers and Merena Galleries, P.0. Box 1224, Wolfeboro, NH 03894, for inclusion in their archives. Items of interest include numismatic-related memorabilia, correspondence, cover envelopes, coin-packages, promotional items, invitations to attend Treasury or Mint ceremonies, news clippings, photographs, and the odd or curious. Photo¬ graphs or photo-copies of scarce or unique items would be especially useful. By contributing to this important archive (which, although privately owned, is none¬ theless a national treasure) we can each demonstrate OUR VERY SPECIAL THANKS!!! 10