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MPC Gram

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Covering the entire World of Military Numismatics

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Series 003-Number 561, Thurski, February 21, 2002

Notes from "the Other Side"

By Joel Shafer

Well, we are rapidly approaching the Chicago auction. It probably has not seemed that long in coming to most people simply because the catalogs have not been out for very long. However, for me it has been a lengthier period because the catalog process entails quite a few steps-getting material, organizing it, writing it up, submitting it, proofreading, etc.-some which took place quite a while ago. (And, sometimes, each of these steps has several sub-steps; you get the idea...).

Just like anybody else, I am curious to see how it will go. We already have healthy bids on some higher dollar lots. By no means is that meant to discourage anybody. There should be enough quality material to go around at reasonable levels for everyone from the beginner to the most advanced collector. As I have stated many times, this truly was a labor of love. And it was both (labor intensive/a lovely privilege to work with this caliber of material). I am grateful to all who have enjoyed the catalog. I am just as grateful, if not more so, to those who have provided outstanding constructive comments on improvements for next time.

We want to continually provide a better product. We have had suggestions and comments from people around the globe-thank you. I found out that the adage about scholarship is absolutely true-the more you study/work with a given area, the more you find out what you do and do not know. There were so many lessons learned/relearned about this material. A couple examples will be specifically addressed: 1) Being open-minded is a good thing: With the exception of filling blue book pages as a young lad, I never considered myself anything of a coin collector. After writing this catalog, I came to grips with the fact that some collectibles made out of metal are not merely acceptable, but quite intriguing. For example, we have four aluminum tokens from Greenland’s Kantinen Narssarssuaq (lot #624) and a four-piece set from the Curragh Internment Camp in Ireland (lot #723). Not much is known about either lot. I used the available information, but there is much more to be discovered about both. And there are other lots for which information was sparse. 2) Somewhere, somehow, knowledge acquired long ago can come back at the right time.

This project reminded me of the extent of the Bons de Solidarite varieties by denomination. As I worked, I recalled the presentations by Lance Campbell about this series. I suppose that knowledge lay dormant until it was triggered. At any rate, there are some truly amazing varieties within this series, not to mention some of the vivid images depicted on the higher denominations. Taken together, these images relate something of a black/white movie of World War II. Many of the items can speak volumes for themselves far better than any words can. In all, it was a joy to work on this catalog. Now let the fun begin... By the way, if anyone has any questions, they can either call (262) 387-0866 or e-mail me (grbaypa@aol.com). I look forward to seeing you in Chicago!

More POW Items and Another Ski Stretch

By Larry "Ski" Smulczenski

A little over a week ago, I put three chits from Laredo AFB, Texas on eBay. I have vivid memories of that base during my career in the Air Force. I have mentioned recently, that I went through Basic Flight Training at Webb AFB in Texas. Laredo was a sister base that was down on the Mexican border with a twin city across the Rio Grande by the name of Nuevo Laredo. The instructors loved to take their students down to the valley on a day-night cross country so that they could slip across the border and buy a couple of jugs of rum to take home. The popular size was a 40 ounce bottle because it fit nice and tight between the ejection seat and the side of the airplane. The cost was about a buck and a half to two bucks a bottle. I wasn't much of a drinker, so my instructor bought my share to take home. Anyway, we had six or eight jugs in the back cockpit which I was going to occupy going home. I was to be what was known as "under the bag," i.e. flying night instruments during the trip home.

The bag was a hood that covered the back canopy so that you couldn't look outside for visual references as you flew. The flight was uneventful until we got back to Webb. Approach, landing, taxi back and shutdown were also uneventful. I thought I would earn some brownie points by unloading the instructors booze and putting it in the vehicle that met us at the plane. As I remember, I was balancing four-forty ouncers in my arms as I came down the ladder. As my boot hit the ramp, I stepped right beside a large tarantula. Now these hairy things really get big in west Texas, and they can jump in air like three feet. I can remember shooting at them with a 22 cal. rifle and watching the legs literally explode from the body. This sucker jumped as I left the ladder and brushed against my hands. I saw him out of the corner of my eye and it scared the bejeazus out of me. I dropped those four puppies I was carrying in a perfect line. One, two, three, four. Believe me, I really had to work to not get a pink slip for that flight.

I got carried away with my story and lost the train of thought about what I had started to write about. The three chits sold to a buyer from Greenville, Pennsylvania. My mind mistook this for the Greensburg, Pa near where I was born and grew up. I was informed of my mistake and told that Greenville is on the western Pennsylvania border near Youngstown, Ohio. Then it struck me. That's where the Camp Reynolds POW Camp was located. Camp Reynolds' chits were unknown until a couple of years ago when R.A. Medina came up with a partially full booklet of chits. It quickly changed hands to a very advanced collection in the north central part of the United States. Both buyers paid a high price for these previously unknown treasures. Your columnist was fortunate to obtain a complete set of the chits from one of the owners although the price caused a lot of bleeding for the next couple of months. But now, those little pieces of paper occupy a cherished spot in my POW collection. There are five chits in the series. A light blue-gray 1c, a pink 2c, a light green 5c, an off white 10c and a yellow 25c. I haven't seen the booklet cover, but my guess is that it was printed by Allison Coupon Company based on the similarity of the design of the chits that Allison printed for POW camps in Illinois. I hope to see that cover one of these days.

I told my buyer about the discovery of the book and was amazed when an email came back saying that he had grown up in Camp Reynolds and currently lives a couple of miles from it. He and his brother are interested in any artifacts from Camp Reynolds and are trying to uncover the history of this camp. He told me that a few buildings from the Camp are still standing and a housing project occupies the area where the barracks used to stand. The Camp was named for a civil war general and operated as a World War II training base. Camp Reynolds was only open for about three years. He tells me that there are some photos of the camp in a VFW Hall in a nearby town. This was all exciting information as there is very little currently written that I have found about this location. I did know the origin of the name and also can add that the POW camp had an even shorter life than the main encampment. It was only open for ten months from April of 1945 to January of 1946 and housed 775 prisoners. Those reported dates are not firm and are still under investigation as there are conflicting reports that I have found. But isn't it amazing how you accidentally run into people with common interests when you simply ask a question about their homes or hobbies..

By next Thurski we will be in Chicago for CPMX and the Lyn Knight Auction which includes the Leo May collection of MPC. As I write this on Wednesday evening another coincidence appears on my desk calendar. My wife gave me this little calendar as a Christmas present, because it has facts about World War II for each day of the year. It is one of those rip off a page each day as the year passes. Each day's page has a piece of WWII trivia. Today's is very appropriate as we look forward to the trip to Chicago and a stay at the Holiday Inn on the fringe of O'Hare Airport. I quote.-- On this day in 1942, the carrier Lexington comes under attack from nine Japanese planes, with only one fighter plane available for defense. Pilot Edward O'Hare downs five Japanese planes in as many minutes to save the ship. O'Hare would later be killed in action and honored by having Chicago's O'Hare Airport named for him. I feel like Paul Harvey because there you have the rest of the story. Good day!

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Editorial

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We are very pleased to present the first weekly column from Joel Shafer. Ok, so Joel has not agreed to it (yet), but we sure hope that he will do it. Even if he will not agree to that, I hope that he will contribute more often. He put his email in the article so you might write to him encouraging him to write such a column!

I hate to think about how long I have known Joel. I am sure that some of Neil Shafer’s (Joel’s father) friends in the hobby tell Joel that they remember when he was born. I do not go back THAT far, but I remember him well before he got interested in girls!

Joel mentions the Bons de Solidarite issues. Some of the first adventures that Lance Campbell and I shared had to do with Bons de Solidarite. Lance was keenly interested in these so we worked on them quite a bit. This work translated into the listings in his book then later into WWII Remembered. That introduction makes me uncertain if I want to go on and talk about Lance or about Bons de Solidarite! Both are interesting. Of course the best would be if Lance would break his silence here in the Gram and write about the Bondies himself.

I believe that he and I were the first to locate some of the large certificates and introduce them to the market in the US. Certainly, I had never seen any before that and those first pieces that we found were the basis of the listings in the books. The pieces that we found were sold into collections. That was probably about 1988. I have not seen many (if any) of these certificates since then. They are neat.

We never found any complete booklets, certainly not of high denominations like the booklet in the sale. I was certainly interested to see that piece. Obviously, it was found in France. We knew that the "notes" were issued in booklets because of the tabs. We found some small groups still together, but no booklets. If anyone has seen other booklets, we certainly would be pleased to hear about it and publish it here in the Gram.

Festers, immediately check the company roster for spelling of your name and home town. Also check the number of Fests, I was embarrassed to discover that I had a mistake on an original Fester in that area!

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Mail Call

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Dear Esteemed Editor,

I must have missed something because I am reading about Researcher and Collector Editions of the next MPC book edition and do not know what they are writing about. Please write again about them so I might order one too. That is if it is within my budget.

Howard A. Daniel III

Dear Editor...

Somebody Has Hacked Your System......"They Have Gained Access To The GRAM."

Of All The Things......Not To Be Believed....!!

They Placed An Item In The Wanted Section....!!

We Can Not Allow This To Continue....This Is An Outrage....!!

I Have Stared The Search For This Scoundrel....

How Could Anyone Think They Could Get Away With That...?!?!

;o) Ed B

Dear Readers,

Wow, what an amazing pair of letters. One demonstrating very careful reading of the Gram, the other indicating blatant disregard of major stories. Go figure.

Howard, we will resend you a Gram with the particulars.

Ed, you are so correct, the Wanted section has hardly been used. We will be very excited to receive more wanted items.

By the way, you both should come to the Fest.

Steamed Editor

Dear Editor:

As for Johnston Island, I work for a government contractor. The population is approximately around 900 now. Soon to be smaller as we are preparing for closure in the next couple or three years. Right now another contractor is finishing up on their job of destroying chemical weapons. As it looks now the timing will be perfect to coincide with my retirement. That may or may not make a lot of people happy.

Sorry there is no military banking facility here. Right now there are 5 flights that come to or through the island but the prices have increased dramatically making it tough for some of the lower salaried personnel to get off the island in between their regular vacation. I won't be able to make it to the Fest this year but I will try and make plans for it next year. Will it be the same time frame and have you decided where it will be??

(Barnacle) Bill Lovell

Dear Barnacle Bill,

Wonderful, we look forward to having you for Fest IV! It will be at about the same time next year. Basically, it will be the weekend after CPMX. We will enter you on the advance reservations for next year.

Editor

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Departments

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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.

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Special "MPC" events

March 2002 8-10 - MPCFest III –

Fest II Company Roster

Name Fests MPC events hometown

Bell, Doug 3 3 Duncan, Oklahoma

Bows, Ray 1 1

Chambliss, Carlson 1 1

Cummings, Mike 1 1

Feeback, Sam 2 3

Frey, Ed 1 1

Freyser, Richard 2 2

Glaser, Al$$$ 2 2

Goldstein, Phil 3 3

Hardy, Wes 2 2

Hardy, Rod 2 2

Hicks, Gary 2 2

Koch, Tom 1 1

Kroll, Harold 3 4

Lippincott, Jack 3 3 Fargo, ND

Maloy, Kevin 3 4

Marshall, Ian 2 2

McNease, Bill 2 2

Mericle, Marv 3 3

Potter, Bruce 2 2

Ryanwood, Gene 1 1

Schrier, Nick 3 3

Schwan, Fred 3 4 Port Clinton, OH

Seelye, David 2 2

Smith, Elmer 2 2 Berne, IN

Smulczenski, Larry 3 3

Talso, Warner 2 3 Albuquerque, NM

Turner, Marcus 3 3

Walsh, Russ$$ 1 1 Dallas, Texas

Watson, Mark$$ 1 2

Yanchick, Bill$$ 2 3

[Fest reservations for Fest IV: Guido Crapanzano, Tom Warburton, (Barnacle) Bill Lovell, Harold Kroll, Fred Schwan]

Fest registration is $149 including lodging, meals, activities, and assorted goodies. Single occupancy is available for an additional $50. Payments may be sent via snail mail to MPCFest/Fred Schwan, 132 E. Second St., Port Clinton, OH 43452 or (preferred except for credit card payment) via paypal using email address fredschwan@yahoo.com. Thank you very much.

Three airports are reasonably available for the Fest. In order of proximity they are:

Toledo

Cleveland

Detroit (Metro)

All three are reasonable. If you can arrive early enough AND coordinate it well ahead, every attempt will be made to pick you up at the airport to save on rental cars. Festers are encouraged to coordinate among themselves for rides. We will also run notices in the Gram and, finally, we will try to coordinate for Festers to run pickups from Fest central.

June 29 to July 5

W.W.II numismatics seminar at ANA Summer Seminar, July 2002

Session I (June 29 through July 5, 2002)

Session II (Sunday, July 7 through Thursday, July 11, 2002)

general events will return

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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 maturner@indy.rr.com

or

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

Joel Shafer

Ed Hoffman

Howard A. Daniel, III

Keith and Sue Bauman

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Hot Contact List

Below is the BNR Press Hot Contact List. This list serves several functions. Obviously it is an outreach by the dealers listed for your business. Most of them buy and sell MPC. Others organize shows or publish periodicals. They have supported the new Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates with their advertising. They deserve your support and patronage.

Secondly, this is a draft from the book that participating dealers should check for correctness. Finally, dealers who are not on it and want to can still get their ads in if they act promptly. Respond to this email or call (419) 732-6683.

We are sorry if the format is a little messed up here in the Gram, we are not sure of how to fix it!

Hot Contact List

Dealers and resources for collectors

Name/phone/fax/email

Allens (614) 882-3937 (614) 882-0662 info@allens.com

American Coins & Collectibles (800) 865-3562

American Numismatic Association (800) 367-9723 ana@money.org

Bob Baker (713) 864-3122

Ken Barr (408) 272-3247 ken@kenbarr.com

Fred Bart (810) 979-3400

Dick Balbaton (508) 699-2266 (508) 643-1154 RJBalbaton@AOL.com

Keith and Suzanne Bauman (248) 262-1514 tnaksbauman@earthlink.net

Joe Bissell (602) 440-0442 (602) 494-9103

BNR Press (419) 732-6683 (419) 732-6683 fredschwan@yahoo.com

Remy Bourne (800) 789-7070 (763) 789-4747

Ed Carne (614) 882-3937 (614) 882-0662 info@allens.com

Champion Stamp (212) 489-8130 (212) 581-8130

Cookie Jar Collectibles (301) 604-9225 cjc-pi@home.com

Guido Crapanzano [39] 2-8056228 [39] 2-4459856

Currency Dealer Newsletter (310) 515-7369

David F. Cieniewicz (205) 852-7015

Currency Grading & Certification (602) 493-4758 (602) 494-9103 sales@gradedcurrency.com

Cygnet Charters (419) 734-2422

Ray Czahor (301) 604-9225 cjcpi@comcast.net

Doric Coins & Currency (508) 699-2266 (508) 643-1154

FUN (407) 321-8747

Phil Goldstein (845) 254-MPC1 (6721) IWANTMYMPC@AOL.COM

Great Lakes Bank Note Company (800) 793-0683

David Cieniewicz (256) 852-7015

Mike Cummings (863) 603-9899 (863) 603-9880 mpccoin@hotmail.com

Great Lakes Bank Note Company (419) 732-6683

International Bank Note Society joeboling@aol.com

Essie kashani (909) 627-3996 (909) 627-2776 kashani10@aol.com

Great Lakes Bank Note Company (419) 732-6683

Lowel Horwdel (765) 583-2748 765 583-4584 horwdel@inshightbb.com

Lyn Knight (800) 243-5211

Krause Publications (715) 445-2214 (715) 445-4087 bnr@krause.com

Harold Kroll (251) 649-5134 HARBONS@AOL.com

Leo May (305) 271-8391 LeoMayent@aol.com

Ian Marshall (416) 445-0286 (416) 445-0286 iam@total.net

Memphis Coin Club (901) 757-2515

MPCGram (419) 732-6683 MPCGram@Yahoo.com

Bob Reed (504) 361-5684

Fred Schwan (419) 732-6683

David Seelye (585) 594-1987 (585) 594-2311

R. M. Smythe (800) 622-1880 (212) 908-4047

Military Trader (800) 334-7165

Fred Schwan (419) 732-6683 (419) 732-6683 FredSchwan@Yahoo.com

Richie Self (318) 868-9077

Mel Steinberg & Son (415) 453-9750 (415) 457-4432 melsteinberg@mindspring.com

Scott Winslow Associates (603) 472-7040 (603) 472-8773 scott@scottwinslow.com

George Warner (307) 672-3700

Pam West [44] 0208 641 3224 [44] 0208 641 3224 pamwestbritnotes@compuserve.com

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

Your advertisement of material for sale (related to military money collecting) will be accepted for this section at no charge as a public service.

Fourth edition Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates by Fred Schwan shipping about March 5. Order yours now.

Standard edition (400 pages!) $50

Collectors’s Edition (432 pages!) $95

Researchers’ Edition (432 page, 46 produced, limited to availability) $125

All orders plus $4 shipping per order (NOT per book). Send snail mail payment to BNR Press, 132 E. Second St., Port Clinton, OH 43452 or PayPay using email fredschwan@yahoo.com.

MPC for sale:

Series 472 1 Dollar 1st Printing VG-F 9.00

Series 472 1 Dollar 1st Printing ph F-VF 12.00

Series 472 1 Dollar 1st Printing F-VF 15.00

Series 472 1 Dollar 1st Printing VF 18.50

Series 472 1 Dollar 1st Printing A.EF 40.00

Series 472 1 Dollar 1st Printing EF 87.50

Series 472 1 Dollar 1st Printing A.UNC 165.00

Series 472 1 Dollar 2nd Printing VG 12.50

Series 472 1 Dollar 2nd Printing F 20.00

Series 472 1 Dollar 2nd printing VF 45.00

Series 472 1 Dollar 2nd printing UNC 725.00

Series 472 5 Dollars F 110.00

Series 472 5 Dollars VF 200.00

Series 472 5 Dollars EF 450.00

Series 472 5 Dollars A.UNC 1350.00

Series 472 5 Dollars CH. A.UNC-UNC 1750.00

Series 472 10 Dollars F-VF 70.00

Series 472 10 Dollars VF 130.00

Series 472 10 Dollars GR EF 90.00

Series 472 10 Dollars EF 270.00

Series 472 10 Dollars A.UNC 900.00

Please confirm at coinman@rochester.rr.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.

Collector wants 481 .25 center, VF position # 1, if you have one for sale, advertise it in the Gram

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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 – ski@prodigy.net

critic: Harold Kroll – HARBONS@aol.com

scholarship coordinator – Marcus Turner maturner@indy.rr.com

fact checker: Warner Talso

index manager: Ed Beaman

webmaster & technical advisor -- Doug Bell - (Wiz): doug@papermoneyworld.net

The Boss: Judy Schwan