Status: U Return-Path: Received: from web12703.mail.yahoo.com ([216.136.173.240]) by strange.mail.mindspring.net (Earthlink Mail Service) with SMTP id ts1gto.jk3.37kbi0u for ; Sun, 7 Oct 2001 17:06:00 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <20011007210601.45004.qmail@web12703.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [208.191.151.209] by web12703.mail.yahoo.com via HTTP; Sun, 07 Oct 2001 14:06:01 PDT Date: Sun, 7 Oct 2001 14:06:01 -0700 (PDT) From: MPCgram Subject: MPCGram 454/3 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 454 Friday, October 5, 2001 Thrill of the Hunt by Al (got any 94s) Glaser Well sad to say, I have joined the ranks of the lost souls who can't figure out what to collect next. You know who you are! I have the 651 fractional set with the .05-.25 serial numbers ending in "94" my .50 ends only with the"4". I am wondering if anyone out there in Gramland might be able to help me out. I checked Phil's website and it appears three such notes might exist in the .50 denomination. I would be interested in a trade or outright purchase whatever would work. On a different note. I was looking through the MPC listings on eBay recently and just about fell out of my chair. There it was, a second printing of the 472 .50 note. I fumbled for my notes to check the serial number range and it was indeed over the 04000000 note range. For days I watched to see what action was on the note....nobody was bidding on it. Maybe, it just went undetected. Well, the day of the auction came. I was nervous as hell. I told my wife and kids I am not to be disturbed for the next two hours. I unplugged the telephone and locked the door. With about an hour to go, I noticed the cable light was flashing on my modem. THE CABLE IS DOWN. I was absolutely going nuts. I remembered I had a dial up 800 service for access so I got the phone cord plugged back in and started dialing. Finally, I get a connection....at 21600! Auction has only ten minutes left and still no more bids. Now I knew Harold was going to be laying in the weeds with 10 seconds left, but with this connection, I didn't think I should take a chance at a last second snipe. With a minute left I took a big gulp and put in my hefty maximum bid. I sat clicking the refresh button and sweating more each time the page began to load. Finally the auction ended and low and behold the note was mine for a mere fraction of what I was willing to pay. When my enthusiasm slowed, I decided to recheck the serial number on Phil's website. Turns out the second printing didn't start until about 80000 notes higher than the one I just won. Fortunately, I was the only idiot who didn't do his homework before bidding. Because if I had won that note for my maximum bid.....It would have been a world record price paid for a 472 .50 first printing note in VG. I will be doing a lot more research in the future. Thanks to all of you that did your homework. Pyschological Operations submitted by Herb Friedman I was interviewed by USA Today for the story below and thought that gramsters would be interested. USA TODAY - 10/3/01 By Andrea Stone Among the U.S. special operations forces massing along the border of Afghanistan in preparation for strikes against Osama bin Laden and his Taliban protectors are a small cadre of soldiers whose mission is not to capture bodies as much as hearts and minds. In this new war on terrorism, specialists in psychological operations — or "psyops" — will use old methods of persuasion to influence the behavior and emotions of enemy forces and hostile civilians in Afghanistan. Armed with mobile broadcast stations, leaflets and loudspeakers, these information warriors will seek to demoralize and strike fear in the Taliban while bucking up Afghan refugees and reassuring them that bin Laden, not the United States, is their real enemy. To get the message out, the 193rd Special Operations Wing in Harrisburg, Pa., has been deployed. The Air National Guard unit flies 6 EC-130E "Commando Solo" aircraft, which are airborne broadcast stations that can monitor and jam electronic transmissions. A spokesman declined to say where they are, but they are likely at air bases in Afghanistan's neighbors Uzbekistan or Tajikistan. Analysts say it is almost certain that soldiers from the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, N.C., which operates Commando Solo's radio and TV equipment, have been sent to the region. The group's 1,200 active-duty members are among 5,000 psyops soldiers in the Army. The remaining 76% are reservists who have not been called up, military officials say. "The information campaign is very important both strategically and with respect to Afghanistan," says William Nash, a retired Army two-star general at the Council on Foreign Relations. "We need to talk directly to the Afghan people." Strategically, the Pentagon's tight-lipped policy about its plans is part of a global psyops war to deny bin Laden and his Taliban hosts any clues as to when, where or how U.S. forces will strike. But on a tactical level, the military will be eager to get its side of the story to Afghan fighters and civilians. "Psyops are more critical now because it's an information war," says Edward Rouse, a former Army psyops officer. In a conflict in which no shots have yet been fired, "this becomes more of a war of the mind than a war of the body." Advocates of psyops chafe at what they say is an unfair reputation for spreading propaganda. Prohibited by U.S. law from trying to influence Americans, psyops soldiers say they share facts with foreigners and market democracy and the American way of life to them. "The very essence of any kind of psychological operation is telling the truth," Nash says. Like all special operations missions, psyops are veiled in secrecy. But psyops veterans say past wars point to the kinds of methods and messages the Army is likely to use in Central Asia. It will be a two-pronged approach aimed at two audiences: civilians and Taliban fighters. "We will use divide-and-conquer leaflets that attempt to separate the people from the Taliban," says Herb Friedman, a retired Army psyops soldier. Whether through radio broadcasts, leaflets or bullhorns, U.S. forces will try to "make it clear this is not a war against the Afghan people, that this is a war against bin Laden," says James Phillips, a Middle East and terrorism expert at the Heritage Foundation. "We could exploit existing cleavages" by targeting Taliban commanders whose loyalties stem more from bribes than ideology by promising them payoffs or a role in a future Afghan government, he says. Broadcasts and written materials will be tailored and tested with Afghan-Americans before they are used. "The worst thing we could do is throw out a message that would anger them even more," Rouse says. He says comparing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Hitler backfired during the Gulf War in 1991. That's because the enemies of Hitler's occupation of Europe 60 years ago — Britain, France and Jews — were seen as occupying powers in the Middle East. Cultural sensitivities are crucial, Friedman says. He expects messages to appeal to Afghans' Muslim beliefs. "There will be religious leaflets taking various phrases from the Koran that speak of peace and not killing one's neighbors," he predicts. "There will be photographs of dead women and children and the question 'Is this what Allah teaches?'" The largest audience may be refugees fleeing Afghanistan in advance of an expected U.S. strike. Psyops soldiers will likely spread the word that food being distributed by relief organizations to prevent widespread famine was paid for by the United States. How effective is psyops in turning adversaries into allies? "The trick is to convince the people of Afghanistan or the Taliban that they're going to lose the war," Friedman says. * Psyops officials like to brag about their successes. Like forcing Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to surrender in 1990 after 3 ear-splitting days during which psyops soldiers blared heavy metal rock at the Vatican embassy where he was holed up. Or persuading thousands of Iraqis through leaflets and loudspeakers to surrender during the Gulf War. In one case, 500 Iraqis left their bunker to give themselves up to three psyops soldiers armed with bullhorns. A major challenge this time is getting the message through. The military has few troops who speak Pashtu or Dari, the dominant languages in Afghanistan. It may have to recruit Afghan-American translators or hire people in the region. Even then, it will be difficult to communicate with most Afghans. The country has only three radio stations, no TV and little electricity. Commando Solo planes could jam Afghan stations and broadcast their own message or that of rebel groups. They also could airdrop battery-powered radios. Leaflets could be a problem in a country where two out of three people can't read. Psyops soldiers will likely drop leaflets with pictures. Fiona Hill, a Central Asia analyst at the Brookings Institution, is skeptical about using psyops in Afghanistan because most of the people will be heading toward refugee camps, she says. "There will be a big problem of establishing communication with the populations. They aren't highly literate, they're scattered, there's little power and few people have access to a radio." Despite such obstacles, analysts say it's worth trying to win Afghans over with words rather than weapons. Rouse says, "Psyops is a humane weapon because it can prevent death on both sides." ============================================== Editorial ----------------------------------------------- The Spink auction today was well attended and overall the prices were strong. Lots of good (great) military material went into some deserving colections. Unfortuately not a single piece is going to the so called PCBH (Port Clinton Black Hole)! Marcus arrived just in time to witness a complete bungling of my best chance to get some notes that I wanted. I tuned out and forgot where the lots were in the auction and was standing in the hallway chatting when they passed me by. To make it worse, MUCH worse, the prices were reasonable to CHEAP on these notes that I really WANTED. REALLY wanted. There is certainly a lesson there, but I am unlikely to learn it! ============================================== Mail Call ----------------------------------------------- Dear Gram, Your email for Lyn Knight is in error. Believe it is: lynfknight@aol.com ED Dear Ed, Thanks for the "catch." Would you belive that it was a trial? Editor Dear Editor, Thank you for sending Gram 452 three times. It gives me a lot to do in the hotel in Rome. Bill McNease Editor, I think this is a new record for number of copies of the same gram I've received in one day. Today I received the following 5 copies: 'MPCGram 452/1 at 11:10:58'; 'MPCGram 452/1 at 11:11:02'; 'MPCGram 452/1 corrected copy at 11:18:01'; 'MPCGram 452/3 at 11:18:54'; and finally 'MPCGram 452/3 at 11:18:59'. Now I've been receiving two copies for at least a year (recently grams ending in '/1' and '/3'') and have been waiting for this to be corrected. I know you are not going to charge me extra for all these additional copies, but I'm convinced my laptop is getting heavier and heavier with each additional extra copy. I really would be quite satisfied with just one of each. I've held off saying anything before as I didn't wish to risk a change that might cause me to receive none. I read and enjoy each one. Hope you computer wizards can help here. Thanks Dick Freyser Please put me down as a possible attendee of MPCFest III. Dear Bill, Dick and others, Busted! Yes, I am busted. the multi Gram scheme was a clever plan to provoke mail from some of the quite Gramsters? You are not buying that? Well at least it got us a new Fester! See you in PC, Dick. Ok, see what happens when the boss tries to take over the job of one of the loyal workers? He goofs it up! In trying to speed number 452 to Gramsters, we managed to goog it up rather nicely. Now that I think about it, we made some more errors when trying to do the same for 453. Our apologies to everyone, but especially to the mail room staff and manager who had nothing to do with the problem(s). Editor ================================================ Departments ------------------------------------------------- Calendar of events for Gramsters maintained by Howard Daniel, Nancy and John Wilson and Gram staff, last updated September 7, 2001 show reports are requested on all events. Even if it was not a great show, there must be something to report. What and whom did you see? Market activity? Share your observations and thoughts with Gramsters everywhere. ---------------------------------------------------- Phillips Auction October 4, 2001 October 5-6. 2001 Remy Bourne Literature Auction featuring selections from the Katen library. Contact Remy at 1/800789-7005 for information October 4 - 7, 2001, long Beach Coin and Collectible Expo Long Beach California Convention Center, 400 booths, Educational Programs, Auctions by Heritage and Ponterio Spink Auction October 5, 2001 World Paper Money Fair, run by London Chapter of IBNS, October 6/7, 2001 Special "MPC" events March 2002 8-10 - MPCFest III - reservations in order received: Guido Crapanzano, Harold Kroll, Larry Smulczenski, Gary "Got any fours" Hicks, Tom Warburton, David Seelye, Jack Lippincot, Phil Goldstein, Warner Talso, Nich Schrier, Tom Koch, Mark Watson, Bill Yanchick, Doug Bell, Sam Feeback, Bruce Potter, Dick Freyser, Fred Schwan {running total 18}] W.W.II numismatics seminar at ANA Summer Seminar, July 2002 Session I (Sunday, June 30 through Thursday, July 4, 2002) Session II (Sunday, July 7 through Thursday, July 11, 2002) --------------------------------------------------- Donations are now being accepted for scholarships to the 2002 "Military Money" course at the 2002 ANA Summer Seminar. Inquiries and donations should be sent to: Military Numismatists c/o Marcus Turner 8103 East US Highway 36 Suite 163 Avon, IN 46123 Donors to 2002 Scholarship Fund Steve Feller Harold Kroll R. A. Medina Guido Crapanzano David Seelye Leo May Warner Talso Marv Mericle Mark Watson Gail Baker ==================================================== 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 Real nice MPC 611 $1 choice CU with average centereing, $105, confirm at fredschwan@yahoo.com. 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 or sale in the above section. This is a trial, if you like it, send your list. =================================================== Staff: publisher and editor: Fred Schwan - MPCGram@Yahoo.com; assistant editor - Phil Goldstein IWANTMYMPC@aol.com distribution manager - Brad Peacock bp22@swbell.net Tuesday columnist Joe Boling – JoeBoling@aol.com Thurski columnist Larry “Ski” Smulczenski –skifla@prodigy.net critic: Harold Kroll - MPCKid@AOL.com; index manager: Ed Beaman webmaster & technical advisor: Doug Bell - (Wiz): doug@papermoneyworld.net; 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!? NEW from Yahoo! GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting, just $8.95/month. http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1