Status: U Return-Path: Received: from web5202.mail.yahoo.com ([216.115.106.170]) by runyon.mail.mindspring.net (Earthlink Mail Service) with SMTP id t9sqnj.3ai.37kbi7f for ; Thu, 1 Mar 2001 10:29:55 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <20010301152948.1197.qmail@web5202.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [205.188.197.46] by web5202.mail.yahoo.com; Thu, 01 Mar 2001 07:29:48 PST Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 07:29:48 -0800 (PST) From: MPCgram Subject: MPCGram 269 To: mpcgram@yahoo.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii ==================================================== MPC Gram ==================================================== Covering the Entire World of Military Numismatics ---------------------------------------------------- Series 002-Number 269 Thurski 1 March 2001 Ski Report from the Road by Larry "Ski" Smulczenski I'm still on the road on my way to FEST II and by the time you read this Leo and I should be in Chicago for CPMX. The trip so far has been uneventful as far as numismatics is concerned, but Leo did have an all points bulletin out to find me. I sent him maps I copied from the Internet on how to get to my son's house to pick me up, but it appears that the snail mail was late getting there and Leo had to delay the start of his trip waiting for them. He didn't have my phone number, which also was in the package and therefore sent me several emails trying to get in touch with me. For some reason, when I tried to retrieve my emails, all I was getting was my messages from December. We finally got together on Leo's cell phone and all is well. We're eager to review some of the lots in the Smythe Auction. Fred has already mentioned the Series 471-$10 that is listed as a major error with significant portions of color missing. We have seen this note before and feel that it is not a printing error, but we will look at it again and give your our opinion. It is very unfortunate that many of the good military notes in this auction have remains of small pieces of tape at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. We have seen similar notes in other Smythe Auctions. The owner of this collection for some reason decided to mount the notes in a large scrapbook and taped them onto the pages with these small pieces of tape. Since nearly all of these notes were acquired during World War II or during the postwar years leading to the Korean War, the tape was the type that had a glue that leached into the paper over a period of years and left a brown residue that is impossible to remove. I say impossible, but that simply means that I know of no easily attained solution that will remove the stain. This is not to say that a library archivist that works in the field could not remove the stain, but it would be expensive to have that service performed. We noticed this tape problem a couple of years ago when the first increment of notes from this collection was auctioned. I was fortunate to purchase a set of notes from this collection. It was a complete set of the first series of British Armed Forces Special Vouchers perforated "canceled" and with zero serial numbers. These can be seen as #403x to 409x on page 174 of World War II Remembered. The notes are themselves very beautiful and the small tape remnant is very light and hardly discernible, but an added feature of this lot was a little card that was tucked into the note holder. The card was from Fort Myer, Virginia and addressed to Major General John H. Hilldring as a resident member of the Fort Myer garrison. This was our first clue (later confirmed) to the owner of the collection. It was difficult to find information about General Hilldring, however I finally found a short biography of Hilldring in a book at the Eglin Air Force Base library. Hilldring was the Director of Civil Affairs in the Pentagon during World War II. After the war, he continued in the same position as a civilian. It is not hard to imagine what a great position he held as the war reached a climax and plans were developed for rebuilding war-torn nations. New currency was needed in all of the countries and Major General Hilldring was in the enviable position to acquire examples of these proposed currencies. It appears that he did this in the mid to late forties and now these notes are becoming prized additions to our collections ever if they have those darn tape stains. ==================================================== Editorial ---------------------------------------------------- In Marshall and I arrived in Chicago with (for us) relatively few problems. Yes, I locked car keys in the trunk while in a far away place. Yes, we found that we did not have a bourse table, and yes we had to trundle what seemed like thousands of pounds of "stuff" what seemed like hundreds of yards and up/down what seemed like hundreds of steps, but we are juiced for a great show. You will probably receive more reports than you want, but we will try to keep in interesting. =================================================== Mail Call --------------------------------------------------- Dear Editor, I agree with Pat & Ted G. 100%. I believe that the military emphasis is entirely being blown out of proportion by many gramsters. I was not in the military (I was 4F because I was born with one kidney). However, I did work for the federal government as a GS-12 & later was a college instructor aboard U.S. Navy ships in S.D., Japan & the Philippines, at various Navy shore-based installations in San Diego, & at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. His comments regarding the Ugly Americans hit the nail on the head as did his comments regarding the fact that many people (military & civilians alike) do not take the time to appreciate the local people & their culture. But this is beside the point. What unites the gramsters is the collecting of MPCs (& other military money) not whether or not they were in the military. You do not want to alienate people like Pat & Ted G. or non-military people such as myself. So, tone down all this military bull & let's stick with the purpose of collecting military money, i.e. for fun & enjoyment & education. Ken Berger Dear Editor, The Fest is looking more and more like a boot camp with little time for social interaction among festers etc. It does not look like much fun to me! A Gramster Dear A., I am sorry about the "sound" of the schedule. I do not think that it will be what you think, but still those are your decisions. The Fest is by, of and, for collectors. The first thing that we will do (possibly not the very first) is put up the schedule and talk about it, then basically do whatever the group wants. I must agree that possibly the military metaphor as a literary/training device may have gone too far. Editor =================================================== Departments --------------------------------------------------- WWII numismatics seminar at ANA Summer Seminar 2001 --------------------------------------------------- Not only does the scholarship fund have an official identity but also has a bank account! Any further donations should be paid to the order of "Military Numismatists Scholarship" and sent to: Military Numismatists c/o Marcus Turner 8103 East US Highway 36 Suite 163 Avon, IN 46123 THE UPDATED LIST OF SCHOLARSHIP BENEFACTORS 2/12/01. These folks have generously provided money or material to finance scholarships to the ANA WWII Numismatics seminar. Your contributions will help promote collecting WWII material and be greatly appreciated. Mr. Anonymous Donor Mike Cummings Sue and Keith Bauman Ed B. Doug Bell Tom Denly, Denly's R. A. Medina Harold MPCKid Kroll Leo "Paymaster" May Mrs. R.C. Matherne Bill McNease Marcus Turner Larry Ski Guido Fred PK6 Joel Shafer World Wide Ventures John & Nancy Wilson Neil Shafer W. E. Yanchick ----------------------------------------------------- MPC Fest II ----------------------------------------------------- MPC Fest is the annual feast of MPC. After some difficulties of coordination we have not changed the dates and tentatively scheduled 9-11 March 2001 for MPC Fest II. Confirmed participants in MPC Fest II Doug Bell, Sam Feeback, Al Glaser, Phil Goldstein, Rod Hardy, Wesley Hardy, Gary Hicks, Harold Kroll, Jack Lippincott, Ian Marshall, Larry Smulczenski, Bill McNease, Leo May, Kevin Maloy, Marv Mericle, Bruce Potter, David Seelye, Nick Schrier, Fred Schwan, Dan Swartz, Warner Talso (and Jane), Marcus Turner, Tom Warburton, William E Yanchick, Dick Freyser (We are well past last year's participation level. We have doubled that level. Can we triple it, more? If you have made a reservation and your name does not appear above, please contact the gram immediately (MPCgram@yahoo.com). PayPal and PayDirect are available, the associated email address is fred@papermoneyworld.com. It works great. We love it. A copy of the schedule of events and other particulars is available from MPCGram@yahoo.com. Remarks: registration is $164, after March 1, $189). This includes two nights lodging (double occupancy, room assignments by first sergeant the only possible exception is married couples), Meals as indicated (Friday evening not included), equipment and amenities. The value of souvenirs and goodies distributed will likely exceed the cost of the entire Fest. Reservations accepted now at MPCGram@yahoo.com, deposits ($50 minimum) accepted at MPC Fest, 132 East Second Street, Port Clinton, Ohio 43452. Confirmed reservations will be listed daily in the gram—make your reservations now! Additional information; the Holiday Inn Express is located at 50 NE Catawba Road, Port Clinton, Oh 43452, you may use one of the online map services to get exact driving directions. DO NOT make your own reservations or inquiries. The best airports in order of distance are Toledo (45 mins), Cleveland (90 mins), Detroit (100 mins). We will try to coordinate ground transportation, but there are no guarantees here. Questions: send your questions to MPCgram@yahoo.com. In most cases the questions will be answered in the letters section of the gram. After all, if you have the question, someone else probably does too. ==================================================== Post/Base Exchange (PX/BX/NEX) Dump your dupes! Your classified advertisement for items for sale will be run here for free. Send your ads to the gram. This service is for everyone, most humble dealer or most advanced collector. The point is to make the gram more interesting. Send in a list of items for sale and we will list them here in the gram. In all cases confirm your order via email first. FOR SALE Retail Merchants Bureau of Boise, Idaho "tokens," $5.00, limit ONE shipped postpaid. (please no checks on this item) WOW!! These are by the way, new, mint, as made, uncirculated or whatever you wish to call them. So in honor of Presidents Day, rush your payment to: Doric C&C POB 911 N Attleborough MA 02761-0911-11 USA Victory Peso - 2 Peso Replacement. Pick 95a in VF serial F00071929*. 100.00. Contact Tom at kochfam@gte.net MPC Series 641 50c CU $21, David Seelye, email for confirmation coinman@rochester.rr.com. US military chits: NCO & EM Open Mess/Cam Ranh Bay 96312 $10 booklet covers with one each 5, 10, 25 (canceled) chits, $35, email for confirmation iam@total.net WANTED Collectors may submit lists of items wanted for their collections for listing here. Dealers and collectors who have these items are then encouraged to list them for sale in the above section. This is a trial, if you like it, send your list. Wanted by a collector: a 481 $5.00 in Fine or better. =================================================== Staff: publisher and editor: Fred Schwan - fred@papermoneyworld.com; assistant editor - Phil Goldstein IWANTMYMPC@aol.com critic: Harold Kroll - MPCKid@papermoneyworld.com; index manager: Ed Beaman webmaster & technical advisor: Doug Bell - (Wiz): doug@papermoneyworld.com; The Boss: Judy Schwan ===== MPC Gram is published by BNR Press and papermoneyworld.com as a free service to the community of military money collectors. Your suggestions, criticisms, complaints, editorial contributions, letters, and even praise are very welcome. The entire contents including linked illustrations are copyright protected by the publishers. In the case of contributors, the copyright is protected on behalf of the creators. Please send all correspondence regarding the gram to MPCgram@yahoo.com. Thank you very much for your participation. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/