Table Of Content

! 1 !' i New Jersey Numismatic Journal The Journal of the Carden State Numismatic Association Fall Issue / 2008 Volume 33, Number 2 Frances Cackowski, Editor What a Wonderful 2008 Convention!! Spencer Peck transfers the responsibilities of the GSNA presidency to Dave Bailey Presenting the ‘‘Order of the Elephant GSNA LEADERSHIP President: David Bailey First Vice President: Jim Majoros, jim.inajorosa usna.org Second Vice President: Ray Williams, rav.u illiams a izsna.oru Treasurer: Stephen Searle Recording Secretary: Peter Wacker, pcle.wackcrn usna.oru Corresponding Secretary: Tom Rothacker, tom.rothackem/ usna.oru Convention Chairman: Tom Hyland, tom.hvlanda/ usna.oru Membership Chairman: Cezar D Dutnago Editor: Fran Cackowski: asilraiVr/ yalioo.com WebMaster: Eric Knapp Assistant Editor: Erik the Red Table of Contents President’s Message Page 3 Letter from the Editor Page 8 2008 GSNA Convention Page 9 ANA Summer Seminar Page 14 Dave Wilson Scholarship Page 17 ANA Page 19 Clubs Around the State Page 21 Advertising Pages 23 Application for GSNA Membership Page 28 Advertising in the Journal Interested in advertising in the next GSNA journal? 2007 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 The seventeenth of May, 2008 was one of the proudest days of my life. Spencer Peck passed the GSNA’s gavel to me, and 1 was officially the president of the Garden State Numismatic Association, a dream come true. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the people who helped to make our show a great success. The GSNA staff is comprised totally of volunteers. However, their expertise, dedication, and just plain hard work is of such a high caliber that major corporations would envy. In addition, these volunteers juggle their GSNA responsibilities with their “real” jobs, family and life. 1 would first like to thank Spencer Peck for keeping the GSNA’s convention a reality for the past five years - not an easy feat. Spence has the ability to take individual talented people and then turn their combined assets into a well-oiled machine. Our show chairman, Tom Hyland combines superb organizational skills with terrific people skills. Tom helps to prevent problems, both big and small with both humor and expertise, no easy task. Then there is the “face” of the May GSNA convention - Mai and Joanne Heckman. Mai and Joanne meet and greet everyone with a smile as them come in the door. In addition they market the benefits of the GSNA, and this year they signed up almost one hundred new members. This year they rose to the additional challenge and collected the dues of one hundred and seventy-one members - a huge savings of not only time, but the cost of postage. Jim Majoros - our omnipresent master of ceremonies. Jim uses his contacts with not only the numismatic press, but also the local and state press to get our show publicity, as well as to publicize other GSNA activities. In addition, he arranged for the attendance of the US Mint representative, Tim Grant; coordinated the YN program with Larry Gentile, and handled the mike. Jim is a true GSNA treasure. Speaking of Jim, another Ocean County Coin Club official is a big asset to the GSNA. Dennis Berube not only assists with the table up front, but 3 also has the responsibility for coordinating the excellent exhibits that make us so proud. There are several “behinds the scenes” people that certainly help to make the show a success. There is Stephen Searle who stepped in to fill Ron Thompson’s shoes as treasurer. Steve did a fine job in keeping the money matters straight, at times a daunting task. Ray Williams and Tom Rothacker who set up the room with tables and the electrical wiring. Not only did they set up the show, but stayed to break it down long after the public had left. Cezar Dumago helped not only at the desk, but went around encouraging dealers to become GSNA members. (Cezar had now stepped up to become our new membership chairman.) Doug DelGuercio and Steve Middleton also pitched in as the show opened to lend a hand with the signing in of attendees. A big thanks to Eric Knapp who designed and executed our professional grade bourse directory. What a great piece of work!! In addition, we had several great guests that added to our show. I wish to thank Larry Gentile for his fine young numismatist program. I had the pleasure of assisting him last year, and admired the fact that he could keep so many children spellbound for so long. As a teacher, 1 was impressed with his knowledge, patience and willingness to share the joy of numismatics with the children. Another esteemed guest was Tim Grant of the US Mint who shared mint happenings with show goers. I also wish to recognize Bill Horton, former ANA President, who manned the ANA table, explaining the benefits of ANA membership to all who stopped by. In addition to our volunteers and guests, I wish to thank Tom and his kitchen staff for the excellent food at such reasonable prices. Finally, and maybe most importantly, I would like to thank the dealers, members, and general public for attending our convention and making it one of the best east coast shows. I look forward to serving as your president, and I plan to visit most, if not all, of our member clubs during the upcoming year. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you. Your fellow numismatist, Dave Bailey 4 Meet Your New President By Dave Bailey Hi, 1 am Dave Bailey, and I look forward to serving you as President of the G.S.N.A. For those of you who do not know me, 1 decided that 1 should tell you a little about my numismatic past. I remember the very first day that I started to collect coins. It was November 1, 1954 and I was eight years old. The day before was Halloween and I was counting up my loot (about seventy-five cents, a good haul for the time), and 1 started to notice the cents in a different light. I remember being impressed by a penny dated 1919 with an S below, and 1943 steel cents. 1 was hooked. My parents were not coin collectors as such. My dad had an old large cent in about good condition dated 1800. 1 was amazed that there could be a coin that old. He also had some Indian head cents an a few liberty nickels. My mother had only two coins in her collection and they were both gold coins that she had won for academic achievements. The five dollar Indian gold especially fascinated me as this was the time that I was well into cowboys and Indians. (I still have these coins, and have fond memories of my parents whenever I look at them.) My father did not collect, but he was supportive in other ways. He came home with a gift of a Whitman cent folder so that I had a place to put my growing collection in. He would also lend me twenty dollars so that I could go to neighborhood banks to check through rolls. Summer days passed quickly with the expectation than a ’09 SVDB would be in the very next roll. As I grew older, I expanded to nickels, dimes, quarters, and a few silver dollars given to me at Christmas by my grandfather. I marveled that coins from the 1880’s could be had in almost brand new mint condition for face value. High school saw my collection growing. I was very proud that the pages of the Whitman folders were full except for the key dates such as the 16D dime. Then it happened! My best friend, Wayne and I were digging in a field when we discovered and old copper coin. After cleaning the dirt off the coin we could read the legend “Gilvemus Tertius.” We brought it to a local dealer who was puzzled by it for a few minutes, but finally announced after consulting ‘Craig’ that it was a British coin of William III and dated 1696. He dismissed it as only worth about a quarter and pointed to a junk box labeled foreign coins, 10 5 cents / 15 for a dollar. My numismatic life changed, and I was off on a new direction. My first dollar purchase included British coins of Queen Victoria, King George III and a George II Vi penny of 1732 - the year that Washington was bom. I found my collecting niche - foreign. I collect British commonwealth, French, medals, tokens, and ancients. This was a perfect transition to college. Money was tight, but I could swing for a couple of dollars at the junk box. I went to St. John’s University in Brooklyn, and there I met my future wife - Fran. Many a date was spent going to the Chase Manhattan Money Museum. We would marvel at the coins, and then go to check out the stock of several dealers in midtown. Sometimes the coins were so enticing that we cancelled dinner out and returned to Fran’s house where a good meal could always be had - and it was free! After I graduated from St. John’s I started my career as a teacher. I incorporated coins in my classroom as a teaching tool before it became an official ANA program, because they truly are “pieces of history that you can hold in your hand.” I ran a successful school coin club as well. Every now and then I still see former club members and talk about coins as well as their families. I also joined a club to increase the pleasure of sharing coins and their stories. After several years of membership, I was honored by being elected President of the Staten Island Coin Club. This was one of several local coins clubs that I was to join as well as the ANA, ANS and GSNA. I often attended coins shows in New Jersey, and was impressed by the friendly atmosphere of the Watchung Hills Coin Club. I was persuaded to “cross the bridge” and joined their collector family, subsequently serving four years as President. WHCC led me to the New Jersey Numismatic Society, an organization that I currently serve as Vice- President. I am also proud to be a member of the Ocean County Coin Club, but, unfortunately, time and distance prevent me from being as active as I would like. I am thrilled to serve as your President, and to have the opportunity to give back to a hobby that I love. Feel free to contact me to share your ideas, advice and suggestions. I will be visiting our member clubs and look forward to seeing each and every one of you. 6 Speakers Bureau The GSNA Needs Speakers!!! Do you have information to share with others in the manner of those like William Dewey and Dave Wilson? If so, please join our Speakers Bureau. You may have devoted many years in accumulating your knowledge, and it is important for the future of the hobby that this knowledge is shared. Sharing is how we all learn. Contact you editor with the topics that you are willing to speak on. Note: Dave Bailey, your current president has a number of Microsoft Powerpoint presentations, including - “Numi New Jersey” - Colonial New Jersey as depicted by its coins. It is appropriate for schools, clubs, etc. Call him at 718-761-6596 if you have any interest. Dues are Overdue!!! Did you pay your dues for 2008? In order to save mailing costs, we will be collecting dues at the annual convention in May since a majority of our members attend this event. If you were not able to attend the convention and have not yet paid your 2008 dues, then this is a reminder that this is your last issue, and you will be dropped from the membership rolls. Your dues work toward advancing numismatics for both adult members and YN’s. Members attend the annual conventions for free, and receive this journal. Individual Membership $10 Club Membership $15 Junior (under 18) $3 Mail your check to: GSNA, PO Box 561, Middlesex, NJ 08846 7 Letter from the Editor By Fran Cackowski Where does the time go? It seems like I was just preparing the spring pre-convention journal issue, and now it is almost fall. What happened to the summer? It has been an exciting time, both numismatically and personally speaking. It started with another fabulous convention, thanks to our esteemed chairman, Tom Hyland and all of our hardworking volunteers. Each year I am amazed at the way that the puzzle of myriad tasks clicks together to produce a show that appears to be seamless and effortless to the attendees and dealers. Dealers, attendees, and YN’s were enthusiastic about the event. I have included lots of picture in this journal. If you attended, this is a chance for you to relive the show. If you were not able to attend, this is a chance to participate vicariously, and to make plans not to miss the 2009 extravaganza. In addition, this summer the ANA held its main convention in our backyard - Baltimore. As a result many of our members had the opportunity to attend one of the world’s premier coin events. Both the GSNA and the NJNS booked meeting rooms enabling their members to get together while at the convention. Initially there was some concern that the attendance would not justify two separate meetings but both rooms were filled to capacity to the delight of current and past members. We had an opportunity to see old friends and their spouses. One of our YN’s worked as a floor page for Larry Gentile. Also Dave and I had the opportunity to tour a Liberty ship docked in the harbor. What a great vacation!! Check out my pictures!! Speaking about vacations, Zachary Beier, a YN from Ocean County attended both summer sessions at the ANA Summer Program in Colorado Springs. (One week on scholarship, and the second week funded by Mom and Dad.) I have included letters from both Zach and his father detailing his numismatic adventures. I hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I did. Zach is very intelligent, helpful and personable young man, and well deserving of the 2008 GSNA’s YN of the year award. Enjoy the changing seasons. 1 look forward to seeing each and ever) one of you at local clubs and shows. Have Camera, Will Travel... Fran 8 The 2008 Convention!!! What a great time we had at the 2008 convention. The attendance was great, the dealers were pleased, and Mai and Joanne Heckman signed up almost 100 new members (99 to be exact.) In addition, by collecting dues at the convention, they saved the GSNA postage and mailing fees for the members that attended. Thanks to everyone for working so hard. The YN program was well attended. Bill Horton came to represent the ANA, and Tim Grant of the US Mint not only manned the Mint exhibit, but spoke to the YN’s as well. Members and visitors came to buy and sell coins, view the exhibits, meet old friends and partake of the great food. The GSNA’s general meeting was held, with awards presented to: • Roxbury Coin Club - Club of the Year • Eric Knapp - Numismatist of the Year • Zachary Beier - YN of the Year The Presidential torch was passed from Spence Peck to Dave Bailey, and Jim Majoros presented Spence with grateful memories of his presidency as well as this ANA award designated to honor the service of past club presidents. We all hope that Spence continues to provide the GSNA with his advice, experience, and assistance. Following the general meeting, we then honored Spence with a special “presidential” cake to thank him for all that he has done for the GSNA and numismatics in New Jersey. I have attached lots of pictures that 1 took at the convention, mostly at random, trying to capture the total flavor and “feel” of the convention experience. If anyone would like a particular picture or two, please email me at asifranfcrvahoo.com and I send it to you. I look forward to the 2009 Convention. Mark your calendars for May 14-15-16. See you there!! 9 2008 Convention Highlights Mai and Joanne Heckman greeting attendees Attendees lined up to enter 10