New Jersey Numismatic Journal The Journal of the Garden State Numismatic Association Winter Issue 2005/2006 Volume 30, Number 3 Frances Cackowski, Kditor New Jersey is the Place to Be! %7 Winter is Cold! & Coins are Hot!!!! GSNA LEADERSHIP President: Spencer Peck, [email protected] First Vice President: Jim Majoros, [email protected] Second Vice President: Ray Williams, [email protected] Treasurer: Ron Thompson Recording Secretary: Peter Wacker, [email protected] Corresponding Secretary: Tom Rothacker, [email protected] Convention Chairman: Tom Hyland, tom.hvlandV gsna.org Membership Chairman: Dave Bailey Editor: Fran Cackowski:' [email protected] Assistant Editor: Mary Bailey Graphics Designer: Brian Crocker Table of Contents President’s Message Page 3 Letter From the Editor Page 4 GSNA Convention Page 5 YN Zone Page 6 Exploring the ANA Page 7 Gold Coins in 19the Century America Page 10 A Lion's Tale Page 12 Club Events Page 13 Clubs Around the State Page 15 Advertising Page 14,19 Application for GSNA Membership Page 20 Advertising in the Journal Interested in advertising in the next GSNA journal? 2006 Journal Rates: $100.00 Full page 50.00 Half page 25.00 Quarter page To advertise, call the editor at 718-761-6596. 2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Spencer Peck The New Year is upon us and now is time to chart our course for 2006. The market remains both strong and very active with no letup in sight. This bodes well for the hobby. (You'll notice that I refrain from calling this an Industry; just old fashioned I guess). Anyway on the evening of 9/11/2001, gold closed on the New York COMEX at $285.00/oz., and silver was $4.28. If you look at current prices everything has just about doubled in four years. Will the trend continue? I don't have a crystal ball but when I look at the growing national debt, balance of payments imbalances and the rush by both political parties to promise us everything for nothing, I see no letup in sight. Given the meandering stock market, low interest rates on savings accounts and CDs I believe we will see a steady movement to tangible assets for some time to come. This can only be good news for collectors. Do not forget our upcoming 31st Annual GSNA Convention to be held Thursday through Saturday May 18-20, 2006 at the Ukrainian Center in Somerset. The Convention officially open to the public at 1 PM Thursday, but you can purchasee an “Early Bird Pass” for $25.00, good for all three days. We will also again be offering, in conjunction with the ANA, their very popular “Introduction to Grading” Seminar. This will run on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 16 & 17; the two days before the Convention. It will again be at our Convention Hotel, the DoubleTree in Somerset. This is probably the most worthwhile investment you can make in the hobby, especially when you can easily roll mortgage payments around buying coins. 'Knowledge is Power; Invest in Yourself.” Details and application forms will be posted on our web site: www.GSNA.org. The Seminar will be limited to twenty-five slots, so plan to act quickly as the available spaces are sure to go fast! Tom Hyland, our trusty bourse chairman, will have a full lineup of dealers in U.S. coins, currency, tokens and medals, as well as world and ancient material. John Bums will also be along from Pittsburgh with a large assortment of books, as will Paul Pfeil bringing supplies that you may need. Other Convention features will include Larry Gentile’s very popular YN Seminar on Saturday; exhibits, and an auction by New World Rarities on Friday evening. We also think that the U.S. Mint will have a display on Saturday. If you have children or grandchildren we encourage you to bring them along. If you have thought about exhibiting, bite the bullet and share your love of the hobby. All members should get involved. It’s fun and you will make many new friends. Happy Collecting and Happy New Year, Spence - ANA LM4334 3 Letter from the Editor Well, 1 cannot believe that I have been your editor for a full year, and it has certainly been a great experience. I have gotten to meet some wonderful people, visited some clubs, taken a lot of pictures, and began to really appreciate how knowledgeable and active the numismatists are in NJ, as well as the importance of the GSNA to the hobby. 1 am proud to be part of it all, and I thank you all for the opportunity. During the summer Baltimore show, lunchtime conversation centered around the previous ANA’s show that was held in San Francisco. A comment was made that coin collecting does better in cold climates, since it is an indoor hobby to be enjoyed by the fire. Do you agree or disagree? Send me your opinions, and I will publish a selection of them. (I would like to start a “letters to the editor” section.) Meanwhile, curl up with your coins, books, and medal, thinking of the coming spring, and the GSNA convention that will be held in May. I hope to see all of you there. Fran Dues Are Due!!! Calling all members!! Dues are now payable on a calendar year basis. Our new treasurer, Ron Thompson, has sent out payment requests for the year 2006. Please pay promptly them promptly. Your payments enable the GSNA to bring you the annual convention in May, arrange for local ANA seminars, support a valuable YN program, and publish this journal. Donations are both accepted and requested. If you have a few extra bucks in your pocket, how about adding some to your dues payment? All donations $20.00 and over will be featured in the next copy of this journal. (A donation could also be made in the memory of a fellow numismatist.) 4 GSNA Convention May 18 - 20, 2006 Somerset, NJ 31st Show! SHOW HOURS DIRECTIONS Route 287 to Exit 10 Thur. 1 PM - 7 PM Take Route 527 North. Fri. 10 AM-7 PM Turn left on Davidson Ave. Sat. 10 AM-4 PM The Ukrainian Cultural Center is on the right. Free Admission ANA & GSNA Sponsored Coin Grading Seminar For Members! May 16 & 17 Visit the GSNA web site, For more information and an application www.GSNA.org, visit www.GSNA.org or call Spencer Peck 908-236-2880 for the latest convention and club information. NJ Token & Medal Show Auction Friday at 6 PM Books and Supplies By New World Rarities Consignments are now Exhibits being accepted. Free Appraisals Call 800-431-1018 Buy, Sell, and Trade DEALER INFORMATION Coins , Currency, Dealer set up 9 AM - 1 PM Thur. May 19 Early admission badge good Tokens, & Medals for all 3 days is $25. C4, EAC, & NJES Show Chairman: Tom Hyland Meetings Saturday Phone: 973-875-7926 YN Program 10 AM Sat Email: [email protected] 5 YN Zone Are there any YN's out there? We are looking for answers to the following questions and if you answer them correctly, you will be in a drawing for a beautiful gold-plated state quarter - we will have the first three state commemorative quarters. Here are the questions: 1. What are the first three state commemorative quarters? 2. The Liberty Head nickel was struck during what years? 3. One year, an important word was not shown on the Liberty Head Nickel. What was the year and what was the word? 4. Who designed the Liberty Head Nickel? 5. Who was the original owner of the five nickels that were dated 1913 and struck, but were not meant for circulation? The answers to these questions can be found in the Yeoman “Red Book”. Please send your answers to GSNA - Jim Majoros, 65 - 16th Street, Toms River, NJ 08753 or email them to maiorfd’ameri-com.com. Please include your name, address, and date of birth. All those who complete the quiz will receive three uncirculated foreign banknotes. The GSNA is looking for YN’s to compete for the annual “YN of the Year” award for 2006. YN’s who are members of this or other GSNA clubs — and have not previously won this award - are eligible. If you are not a GSNA club member, but are a member of GSNA, you may nominate yourself by including information about your coin collecting activities, etc. Nominations are due by April 15 - please review the awards article elsewhere in this issue. Check out the American Numismatic Association (ANA) website www.monev.org for lots of good information in their YN newsletter and other items of interest. Would you like to be a part of the greatest numismatic club in the world? For only $20 per year, you can join the ANA and participate in its YN ancient and copper coin programs (where you can receive free coins!). The ANA also provides scholarships for their summer educational sessions for qualified YN members. If you are interested in an application, please write or email me (my contact information is listed above). Hope to see you at our May convention in Somerset - we'd all like to meet you and say hello! We are also looking for exhibitors for the convention (with prizes for all), so please let me know if you are interested. Jim Majoros YN Coordinator 6 Exploring the ANA I have heard a lot about the ANA lately, and none of it was good. • The website stinks.... • The board reneged on a “good faith” deal after spending the money... • The ANA is for sale to the highest bidder.... • Closed-door meetings... Why should I support an organization that is a “secret society?” • Why was Walt fired from the board right after he was duly elected by the membership? • The dues are too high for what I get. Bottom line of this is, why should I, an average collector, join the ANA or continue my membership in such an organization? What should I do about their annual request for contributions? It is my fervent belief that the average collector needs the two large numismatic organizations in the United States, the ANA and the ANS far more than these organizations need them. As a serious collector, 1 MUST support them for the hobby to continue to grow, and, frankly, the value of my collection is dependent upon the strength of numismatics. The ANA provides me with these very valuable things: 1. Influence on a major scale. The hobby is beset with a number of major challenges that even the strongest local club cannot handle. Counterfeits, grading discrepancies, and nationalism. Today’s technology has made counterfeits available with such “accuracy” that even the experts are sometimes fooled. We need a powerful lobby to protect us, encouraging law enforcement to go after the perpetrators. In addition, the ANA runs local seminars for collectors teaching how to protect themselves against fraud. Grading has become a controversial area. The ANA not only runs grading seminars for its collectors, but it has the “clout” to begin to standardize a difficult arena. Note: The GSNA will host an ANA grading seminar in May, 2006 in conjunction with its annual convention. Nationalism - Who wants to find out that his or her collection has been deemed a foreign country’s “national treasure”? Also some foreign countries are starting to view even common ancient coins as treasures not to be allowed to leave the country. We need a strong lobby in Washington to protect us against irrational decisions. 7 Exploring the ANA (continued) 2. Library and education - Both the ANA and the ANS have extensive libraries, and numismatics is totally dependent on research and learning. When my husband, Dave, comes home from a show, he first lists his purchases, and then researches anything that he can find about the coin. “Buy or read the book before buying the coin.” How many times have you heard that? Even if you do not do the research yourself, someone else probably did before the coin came into your possession. Remember, the ANA will lend out its books to any member for merely the cost of media postage. (I have used this facility, and was very happy with the service.) 3. The annuals conventions - Only an organization as big as the ANA has the resources (including money) to put on an international show of the magnitude that we have come to expect. 4. The ANA has accomplished so much for our junior collector population. The ANA Summer Seminars in Colorado Springs have drawn nothing but praises from everyone who has attended. The ANA has outstanding educational programs at all their conventions, every day, all day long. Junior trivia programs and their auctions for the youngsters are always first class and also draw many new young collectors as well as praises by their parents. In addition, the two - year old "Coins in the Classroom" courses have been a big hit with the teachers throughout the country and should cultivate new collectors, young and old. Seminar scholarships for the youngsters and for the teachers attending "Coins in the Classroom" require funding from the ANA budget, consequently, the need for additional funds for the association. Are you willing to let all of this go due to a few “glitches” in the organization? First, we have a new board. Give Bill Horton and his directors a chance to make things happen. Gail Baker has been moved from education to the Website team to expedite that issue. The differences in the naming of the museum have already been resolved. As far as being a “secret society,” what organization does not have meetings, especially informal ones, closed to the public? I feel sorry for Walt, being so publicly humiliated, but we will never know what actually happened, and he was let go unanimously by the board. I believe that we should move on, supporting both the organization as well as the new board. If you do not like what is going on, speak up and be heard. Bill Horton and the directors are very accessible. Use the benefits awarded to every member, and think twice about “throwing out the baby with the bathwater.” 8 ANA News By Jim Majoros Larry Gentile, who does the GSNA YN program every year, continually works with YN’s all year long. He does shows in White Plains and Rye Brook, NY and is currently working with three libraries in North Jersey (Butler, Kinnelon, and Denville). Word is spreading amongst the chief libraries, and Larry may just be doing one in your neighborhood sometime soon - you never know! The ANA mid-year convention (this year in Atlanta, GA) is getting close and some New Jersey members may be making the trip. The name of the convention is the National Money Show, and it will be held through April 7-9 at the Cobb Galleria Centre. There has been lots of news lately on the ANA's termination of a recently elected ANA Governor. ANA President Bill Horton, along wdth ANA Board members, summarized the problem in an open letter to the editor of Coin World that appeared in the November 7, 2005 edition. The ANA is again seeking out applicants for their two-week summer seminar program. Check ANA online at w'ww.money.org if you are interested, and don’t forget that National Coin Week is coming up (April 16-22) for everyone who would like to get the hobby out to the public. GSNA Club Awards It is not too early to think of your nominations for the GSNA annual awards for Club of the Year, YN of the Year, and Numismatist of the Year. YN of the Year and Numismatist of the Year must either be members of the GSNA or members of a GSNA club. The Club of the Year must be a GSNA club. Only one nomination per club will be accepted, and must be signed by the president or a designee. The letter must include the club activities for the period April 1, 2005 through March 31,2006. Note: The 2005 winners were WHCC, and therefore they are not eligible this year, as well as Jessica Knueppel (YN) and A1 Zaika (Numismatist). Nominations must be submitted no later than April 15, 2006. Send them to GSNA, 65 - 16th St, Toms River, NJ 08753. If anyone has any questions, you may contact Jim Majoros at 732-255-6911 or maiorfqiameri-com.com. GSNA Club of the Year - $100.00 check GSNA Numismatist of the Year - $ 100.00 savings bond GSNA YN of the Year - $50.00 savings bond 9 A Book Review and Commentary (Gold Coins in 19th Century America- Part II) By David Ginsburg How was business conducted in 19th century America? Did gold coins actually circulate in the 1840s and 1850s or did they spend their working lives primarily going from the bank to the Customs House and back to the bank? To help answer those questions. I’ve acquired a number of books, including some first- person sources that mention the use of specie in everyday life. Let’s look at one: Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi by George Devol (Cincinnati: Devol & Haines, 1887) reprinted by Applewood Books, Bedford, MA. According to this book of his memoirs, George Devol was bom in Marietta, Ohio on August 1, 1829. He was the son of a boat builder and had little liking for school. In 1839, when he was 10 years old, he began his career on the river by running away from home to become a cabin boy on the steamer Wacousta for $4 a month. He worked the Mississippi riverboats until 1846, learning to cheat at cards along the way. With the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, he joined a boat destined for the Rio Grande, but soon tired of cheating soldiers at cards. After spending some time in New Orleans, he decided to visit his parents, working his way up the river as second steward on a riverboat, for $20 a month. He stayed home in Ohio for a “few years’’, working as a riverboat caulker with his brother. He became infatuated with the game of faro, which took all his money. After some deliberation, he determined “to either quit work or quit gambling.” So, one afternoon, he pushed his tools into the river and told his brother that he “intended to live off of fools and suckers.” He spent the rest of his life riding riverboats and trains, operating faro banks, racing horses, fighting and drinking and, always, relieving suckers of their money. As you might expect, Mr. Devol’s memoirs are episodic and somewhat vague as to time and location (although in his Civil War and later reminiscences, he’s careful to refer to “greenbacks” instead of “banknotes”). In reading the book for numismatic references, it’s clear that most of the surprisingly large amounts of money that passed through his hands was in currency rather than specie. Certainly, it’s easier to make a quick escape from a riverboat or train with $6,000 in large bills rather than 19 pounds in gold coin, but I was somewhat surprised by Devol’s frequent references to $100, $500 and even $1,000 banknotes. Devol first says “The year (in the early 1850s) I was in St. Paul they paid off a lot of Indians a short distance from the town. I was told that the Red Man was a good poker player, and was always looking for the best of it. They paid them in 10