Clubs serve up good news and bad

A mystery Armenian piece is written up by Leon Saryan in “Milwaukee Numismatic News.”

A mysterious small (14.2mm) silver token acquired from an eBay seller in Vienna, Austria – An Enigmatic Armenian Copper Token – is the subject of an exploration presented in the October 2017 issue of the “Milwaukee Numismatic News,” authored by newsletter editor Leon Saryan. Represented on the obverse is a double pan scale and four Armenian letters; the reverse presents a cotton plant and four Arabic numerals (presumably the date 1232 Hejira, equivalent to 1815 AD). “The Armenian letters could be the initials of a person or one of the letters might represent the Armenian word for cotton,” Saryan states. “The use of Arabic numerals suggests the token originated from the Ottoman Empire, possibly the western or southern areas where the climate was conducive to cotton growing.” Could it be a “picker” token?

CONNECTICUT – A footnote article about the portraits carried on an 1842 The Bank of Windham “Frog” note is featured in the October 2017 quarterly issue of “NENA News.” The portraits are those of community pillars Col. Eliphalet Dyer and Col. Jedediah Elderkin of the Connecticut Militia, notes author C. John Ferreri, lawyers who took a young man, Samuel Huntington, under their wing. Huntington became the 18th governor of Connecticut, a president of the Continental Congress before George Washington, during the time the Articles of Confederation were adopted ... leading “some people argue that Mr. Huntington actually was the ‘First’ President of the United States.”

FLORIDA – The Winter 2017 issue of the Florida United Numismatists official publication – “FUN Topics” – features a seven-page retrospective glimpse of the publication’s evolution from its “Fun in the Sun” titled start in 1964. Founded in 1955, the quarterly was preceded by a periodic FUN “bulletin” distributed by secretary R.L. Hendershott. The present issue presents a varied range of interesting articles, along with messages from president Randy Campbell and convention coordinator Cindy Wibker calling readers attention to the plans and traditions in store for attendees at the upcoming 63rd annual FUN January convention in Tampa.

ILLINOIS – Local planning is already well under way for the 2019 American Numismatic Association anniversary convention in Chicago, a report in the October 2017 issue of the Chicago Coin Club’ monthly “Chatter” newsletter indicates. The formal kickoff for the club’s 100th anniversary year and its convention hosting will be its 1200th meeting in January 2019. Planning is under way for a convention kickoff banquet on Tuesday evening, with the invited participation of the New York Numismatic Club; that event may be marked with a special medal; special 1919 elongated coin sets are planned; a commemorative Red Book is being explored; an anniversary history booklet will be published; a sponsorship program is being explored.

NEBRASKA – A colorful portrayal of a cowboy “ ... riding off into the sunset ...” is featured on the cover of the Oct./Dec. 2017 issue of the “Journal of the Nebraska Numismatic Association.” Inside outgoing president and editor Mitch Ernst extends thanks to those who have served with him over the past 10 years ... “and those that came before
.... ” in lamenting that the organization on Nov. 1, 2017, faces a do or die challenge to continuing its existence, which began in 1956. In the absence of volunteers coming forward, Ernst warns; “After November 1st, the current board will decide how to dissolve the NNA and distribute its assets.”

TEXAS – Interesting gleanings from the Sept./Oct. 2017 issue of the Texas Numismatic Association’s “TNA News” President Richard Laster; “It is true that we depend more and more not so much on the things we can hold in our hands, but in the documents we can control with the click of a mouse. This is why it is CRUCIAL for every organization to have a top-flight Web presence.” Texas Renaissance Festival enthusiast Rick Ewing; Provides a glimpse into the culture behind the Ron Landis and Roger Russo medal issues. Lane Brunner’s perspectives; the 8th and 9th installments of his “History of Coin Grading” series, embracing the onset of third-party grading in the 1970s and 1980s.

REGIONAL – A jumbo September 2017, 100th issue of the Southeastern Token Society’s quarterly newsletter – “SETS News” – presented by editor C.R. Clark, celebrates the organization’s 25th anniversary. The feature article is an intriguing presentation contributed by Randy Partin offering a survey of “Cigar Brand Names on Exonumia,” of which 13 examples from the southeast are illustrated. In the early 1900s cigar smoking had become so prevalent that, Partin notes, “at shooting ranges in amusement arcades a fine cigar was often the prize for hitting the bull’s eye.” Hence the expression – “Close but no cigar.” – came to be applied to anything in life that was a near miss, he concluded.

NATIONAL – The quarterly issues of the Early American Coppers’ quarterly “Penny-Wise” publication typically arrive jam packed with authoritative original articles, meeting and membership notes reporting. The October 2017 issue was no exception, but I was drawn to the “Changing Face” observations of president Bill Eckberg; “The face of collecting has changed in the 50 years that EAC has existed ... and will continue to change ... As we embrace new technologies and ways to communicate ... remember that we have NOT changed the nature or focus of our club. We still enjoy our early coppers just as much, though we can now enjoy them in ways we couldn’t imagine 50 years ago.”

INTERNATIONAL – The Nepalese coin listed in the Standard Catalog of World Coins as KM-754, an autonomous 2012 VS dated (1955 AD) 4 Paisa – “Bullet Paisa” – of ruler Tribhuvana Bir Bikram, is the subject of a snapshot presentation in “The Cincinnati Numismatist’s” October 2017 issue. Nepal’s only 4 paisa and only holed coin issue, it states they were struck on salvaged brass cartridge case bases, from which the primer plugs had been removed. The cartridges had been fired by Nepal’s fearless Gurkha troops in World War II battles against the Japanese. Discovered in storage behind the Tangal Palace in Kathmandu by Gen. S.B. Shamslier Rana, he had suggested their use as a “fitting tribute to Nepal’s brave Gurkha’s sacrifices.”