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MEMBERSHIP NEWS

A NEW SHOP IN TOWN?!?!

Look out Anchorage, the opening of a new coin shop in town has been scheduled for June 1st in the Fifth Avenue Mall. Anchorage Coin Club member Bill Hamilton is the mastermind behind this new establishment, announced at the Sears Mall coin show held in mid May.

Bill will be selling United States and world coins, as well as currency, bullion, and silver rounds, and supplies. Bill will be joining Roy Brown of Roy’s Coins, Mike McKinnon of Excaliber Cards, Carl or Carl's Jewelers, and Mike Robuck of Michael's Jewelers in the Anchorage retail market. Good luck Bill!

SHOW NEWS

The Anchorage Coin Club has just finished its Spring 1995 show schedule with the conclusion of our Sears Mall show. Activity at the show was quite brisk, considering that a show this late in the year is often slower due to the large number of people out recovering from cabin fever. Thanks go out to Mike McKinnon and Robert Hall for their time and effort in organizing the spring shows.

Looking ahead to next fall, the malls are presently being contacted to try to set up and confirm dates for our Fall 1995 to Spring 1996 shows. As mentioned before in the newsletter, the show committee has determined that there would be approximately six shows during this time period, with the first to be held in October 1995. The show committee has also decided that the show dates should be established as far in advance as possible, so we will hopefully have a tentative schedule within a month or two.

BIG-TIME SCHOLARSHIPS WON!

Two Young Numismatists (YNs) from the Anchorage Coin Club will be attending the American Numismatic Association’s Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs this summer.

Our first representative will be Robin Sisler, a YN well known for scouring through the dealer stock boxes at shows looking for errors and varieties. He won the scholarship given out this year by our club, paid for by a series of auctions organized by Vice President Mike Greer. The club will be picking up the tab for Robin’s airfare to Colorado and his tuition for the seminar, which includes room and board.

1995 Scholarship winners:

Mike Greer

Robin Sisler

Our second ambassador to Colorado Springs will be our VP, Mike Greer, who won the CONECA scholarship. For those who are new to numismatics, CONECA is a national club dedicated to the finding, identification, and cataloging of errors and varieties. Mike is presently working on an AU - BU set of Mercury dimes, as well as collecting varieties and type coins.

Congratulations to our two scholarship winners and have fun in Colorado!

JUNE MEMBERSHIP MEETING

JULY MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Our president, Mike Orr, has planned an auction for our July membership meeting. Materials for this auction may be brought in to the June membership meeting or the June board meeting for concensus grading as well as publication in the July newsletter. Any club member may submit materials for the auction, and anybody may participate in the bidding to purchase the items.

Almost any numismatically relevant materials are elidgable to be included in the auction, including coins, books, and supplies. You may also bring items in on the night of the auction, July 5th, but you will lose the benefit of having these items described (i.e. promoted) in the newsletter. Also, there is a 100 lot limit, and space in the auction is given out on a first come, first served basis. A list of auction rules can be found on the back cover of this issue.

Also to be included in the July auction will be the last few lots remaining from the YN auction. These lots include one box of books and magazines.

DUES REPORT

Kurtis Hawk, our treasurer, once again pulls through with a monthly dues report. Keep in mind that this report is dated May 17th, so if you have paid since then, your name will still show up on one of the below lists.

The following persons are past due on their dues payments and will not receive a newsletter next month if they are not brought up to date:

#19  T. T.                #138  J. M.

#32  L. T.                #139  J. A. W.

#65  S. M.                #141  T. W.

#73  J. C.                #142  M. H.

#75  G. D.                #143  D. F.

#92  G. L. C.                #144  M. L.

#120  D. G.                #145  B. E.

#121  J. H.                #146  D. L.

#122  B. H.                #147  P. R.

#124  M. F.                #148  D. B.

#125  S. R.                #150  B. W.

#126  R. B.                #151  W. J.

#127  P. T.                #152  S. K. / L. K.

#128  M. F. H.                #153  J. L. S.

#129  J. N.                #154  H. G.

#130  R. A. K.                #155  D. R.

#131  K. M.                #156  M. D. A.

#133  E. A. L.                #157  T. B.

#134  J. B.                #158  M. S.

#135  W. D. H.                #159  B. S.

#136  R. C.                #160  G. B.

#137  M. H.

The following persons are between one and two months behind for their dues payment:

#17  R. W.                #162  E. B. D.

#18  J. L.                 #163  J. D.

#161  J. N.                #164  C. B.

The following people owe their dues in the month of June:

#26  M. M.                #117  R. S.

#27  B. D.                #118  J. R.

The YN Corner
by Larry Nakata

One never knows what to expect at our YN meetings. This month's meeting featured a 30 minute VHS tape on "Errors and Varieties" from the American Numismatic Association library. Following the tape presentation, the YNs who attended the session had a chance to cherrypick through some 20 unsearched circulated rolls that I had collected in my youth. Among those rolls were Indian head cent rolls, a Liberty V Nickel roll, pre 1930 Lincoln wheat cent rolls, a Mercury dime roll, silver Roosevelt dime rolls, and silver Washington quarter rolls. The YNs were allowed to keep any errors and varieties they found. Pizza and soda pop were enjoyed by the YNs and the adults at that meeting.

A fun time was had by all the YNs and the adults as we cherrypicked through those rolls. We were not able to search through all of the rolls in the limited time available that Friday evening.........but we did manage to find about five errors and varieties. At the conclusion of the YN meeting, each YN was allowed to keep one of the rolls for themselves. Mike Greer chose one of the Indian cent rolls.....while Sarah Bilak chose another of the Indian cent rolls.

Like I said....One never knows what to expect at our YN meetings!

Congratulations go out to Robin Sisler on being the recipient of our club's YN scholarship to Colorado Springs this summer. Congratulations also go out to Mike Greer on winning the CONECA scholarship to Colorado Springs. Both YNs will be heading out on the same flight to the ANA Summer Conference. Having two of our YNs go to this conference is certainly an achievement that our club can be proud of. Of course, we will be expecting a report from our two YNs when they return back from Colorado Springs.

With Summer soon to come, there will be one more YN meeting scheduled for 7 pm on June 9th (the second Friday of June). Following this meeting, we will be going on Summer hiatus until the month of October. This will allow our YNs the opportunity to enjoy the Summer. The topic for our June 9th meeting will be "Silver Dollars".

The month of September will see our Coin Seminar on "Ancient Coinage" which will be held over September 8-10. All going well, it is our hope that the YNs will be able to attend this seminar. Their ability to attend will depend on the number of adults who attend this coin seminar. I need nine more adults to sign up for the coin seminar to make this possible. Your support is appreciated.

I hope to see a good turnout of the YNs at our June 7th meeting (7 pm at the Central Lutheran Church).

                                - Larry Nakata

PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES

The big raffle has finally ended, and a lucky Mike McKinnon has won the 1865 MS-63 Indian cent, a $100 coin.

Other prizes given out include the membership prize of a 1945-S BU Washington quarter won by vice president Mike Greer and a 1987 mint set won by member Richard Bilak for the door prize. Congrats to all three!

ACC Classifieds!

Any member or subscriber may submit a classified ad for free publication. Ads are limited to 40 words, one per month, and may be rejected if suitability is questionable. Classified ads may be announcements, for sale, wanted, or whatever, as long as it is somehow related to numismatics, card collecting, or rondy pins. Call in your ad at 344-9856 or mail it to the club's PO box for publication.

Alaska 35th anniversary statehood coin, silver, $25 each. Call 248-6767.

Wanted: unused., mint US postage. Does not have to be complete sheets or matching designs. Paying 90% of face. Call Mike at 344-9856 mornings.

President's Message
#3 - June 1995
by Mike Orr

        If you missed the Sears Mall show this month, it was one to remember! There always seems to be some odd goings on at these events and this one was no exception. In the past, we have had people set up their own portable business in shopping carts. We have asked those that have acted poorly to leave, but this is the first time a mall bank was held up while we had a show in progress! From the information I received, a man went into the branch bank at the Sears mall, pushed a demand note at the teller and walked out with about $300. What a country!! He gets my vote for dumb outlaw of the year. Never the less, the show must go on or at least I would like to see the shows go on. In my opinion, they are a vital aspect of the club and the best recruiting tool that we have for new members.

I want to thank all the coin and card people that helped make the Sears mall show happen. Mike McKinnon works very hard, as does Robert Hall, to set these shows up. Also each show I grow to appreciate the card people more. For those who do not realize this, these folks we are working with are a great group of people. Thanks again to Larry for setting up his display on counterfiets. I was set up next to him and saw a lot of interest as many people went through the information provided. Also, Loren Lucason brought in his micro photographic equipment and set up a display along with his photographs of Ancient and Mideval coins. He has a nice setup, and has agreed to photograph coins for verification and insurance purposes for the club. His stated purpose is to capture on film the characteristics of the older, unique coins. Their imprint is quite distinctive and can be readily captured on film. Those interested can see him either before or after the monthly meeting.

The charge will be minimal, with the first photograph free, and cost can be spread by offering multiple coins at one time. Again, thanks to Larry and Loren.

Which brings me to a subject not quite as pleasant. Many members have expressed concern about these shows in the last few weeks. So I feel the need to address this issue once again. I thought that this was mostly resolved at the March Board meeting, but I was wrong. Again, for those that missed that meeting, the board agreed to limit shows to six per season. Coin tables still have priority over card tables. If people setting up coins do not want the tables, then they go to the other members with collectibles. The malls dictate the size of our shows from about 40 to 50 tables. My position was that it is not as important that the number of card tables always be equal to coin tables, however, I know that there is strong disagreement on that point. I felt that a rough equivalency would come automatically once shows could be planned far enough out in advance and that is the challenge for next fall. We have been going through growing pains the last year. Nobody knew what would happen when past boards decided to increase revenue for the club by instituting these shows and nobody is to blame.

I believe it would be a great mistake to withdraw from the public eye. I am calling for greater participation next season. As I understand this, it should start with the show at the Northway Mall in October. I believe the disgruntled club members could be more responsive. The past couple of months have been filled with ill feeling about our shows. I did not create this issue, but I feel it is my duty to try to resolve it. This is my appeal to cease and desist (bury the hatchet). Lets end the bickering and get on with the business of running the club. I hate clandestine back fighting behind the scenes. Remember, the board meeting is the proper forum for discussing these issues, not the membership meeting. This will be the last time I write on this issue. Lets get involved and have fun this summer and put bad feelings behind us.

At our June meeting, Mike Nourse has agreed to give a talk on Peace dollars. Things he will be covering include the grading of the coins, special characteristics, curiosities and little known facts about the series. When he was at the Atlanta ANA convention he took advantage of the chance to learn more about these coins. This talk is a result of that trip (and most importantly he has agreed to show up!). He has worked hard on this and it should prove to be quite interesting. Thanks, Mike. In July, we would like to have an auction. I am asking members to bring submittals for this into the June meeting. Consensus grading will again be done at the board meeting. Our established auction rules will apply.

In closing, I want to encourage those who have been riding the fence on our seminar this fall to come join us. As of this writing, we have fourteen committals. Any help to fill it up and get the word out would be greatly appreciated. This should prove to be one of the more interesting seminars we have had. Collector interest in this field is very thin in Alaska and this is a great opportunity to spark more interest. Of the few hand hammered medieval coins I have had over the years, I have never had any difficulty marketing them. Unlike what we collectors experience with modern machine produced coinage, no two coins of this period are exactly the same. This is a great opportunity to expand our knowledge in another field of numismatics. So come on and join us! Lets fill all the tables and bring in the YNs for free like last year. These events are great fun! Until next month, good luck and good hunting!

                                - Mike Orr

NEW MEMBERS

The Anchorage Coin Club would like to welcome two new members to our group. Bob is a collector of silver dollars, and Tuck and Becky Mallory are specializing in the area of Alaska tokens.

Editor's note: this is the eleventh installment in a series of articles started in August 1994.

Start with a few statistics from 1890:

Imports: $789,310,409

Exports: $857,828,684

Population: 62,947,714

National Debt: $890,784,371

        By the 1890's, there was little room left for westward expansion. Even the US census bureau declared that the frontier was gone as of the 1890 census.

The Indian wars, which had been ocuring continuously during the days of going west finally ended in 1890 with one final battle. The army was sent in to prevent a band of Sioux from performing their ghost dance on Pine Ridge in South Dakota. The Indians fled to Wounded Knee, about 20 miles away, for safety. When the army tracked them down, and shot Sitting Bull, their leader, an all out battle began. In one of the worst massacers in US history, virtually all of the 340 Sioux were killed. At this point, the Indians had been defeated.  

The first half of the decade saw a wide array of new inventions being produced, many of which are still in use today. Thomas Edison was hard at work in his laboratory, turning out such inventions as the kietoscope, or movie projector. Henry Ford had his first practical automobile for sale in 1895, one hundred years ago.

Many of the new inventions were displayed and promoted at the Columbian Exposition held from May through October 1893 in Chicago. This exposition was the site on which the first US commemorative coins were sold; the Columbian half dollars of 1892 and 1893, and the Isabella quarters of 1893.

The half dollars are very affordable at $10 to $15 each for a decent specimen.

At the end of the decade, it was war time again. The Cubans revolted against Spain in 1894 and asked for American assistance to drive the Spanish out. President McKinley resisted for four years, but finally congress voted to recognize Cuba as an independent country in 1898.

The Spanish Empire, a dominant world force 300 years previous, was now so feeble that it was defeated in only three months.  Much of the Spanish navy fleet was sunk in one four hour battle at Santiago harbor.

The terms of surrender left Cuba as an independent country, and the United States in control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Another result of the Spanish American war was the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands. The United States had established a naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1887. When war was declared with Spain, this base along with those at Midway and the Samoan Islands was determined to be necessary for our protection in the Pacific theater.

In the area of coinage, the 1890's saw the end of the long running seated liberty design on our dimes, quarters, and half dollars. Cents, nickels, and dollars did not see any design changes, but all three did see huge production figures.

Gold coinage, which was now limited to the $2.50, $5, $10, and $20 denominations, also saw little change and mostly large production figures.

Coming in July: The 1900's

To save cost, members not responding to renewal notices within three months will be considered inactive.

The Anchorage Coin Club is a non-profit organization formed to provide information, education, and a meeting place for individuals having an interest in numismatics.

Correspondence Address: PO Box 230169  Anchorage, Alaska 99523