From: "MPCgram" To: Subject: MPCGram 791 Date: Monday, December 02, 2002 10:04 AM ============================================== MPC GRAM ============================================== Covering the entire World of Military Numismatics Series 004 - Number 792 Monday December 2, 2002 Bought In Plain Sight by Mark "Sparky" Watson Do you have a set ritual when you get home from work? I sure do. I walk in the door, kiss the wife, hug the kids, and then head upstairs to the home office and fire up the computer. After connecting to the 'net, I click on over to the world's largest marketplace, Ebay. Like probably a lot of MPCGram readers, my first stop on Ebay is to look at the new listings under Military Payment. After checking for notes needed for my collection, looking for unidentified replacements, and seeing if there are any new high numbers, I start going through my pre-defined searches looking for MPC, AMC, war bonds, etc. listed in other categories. One night while using one of these searches, I came across an AMC 50 Mark note. After noticing the circulated condition of the note, I start heading the cursor up to the back button, as I'm one of those “Unc” collectors. However, just before I hit the button and forever passing on the note, I see the serial number starts with a dash. For those of you that don't collect AMC, a Mark note with a dash in the serial number means one of two things, a replacement note or much more likely, a Russian printing of the note. Reading the description, I see the seller lists the note as K196d (that’s SB196a for MPCGram readers). I grab my Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, look up the reference, and, sure enough, confirm that the seller has listed the Russian printing version. Oh well. Once again, the cursor inches towards the back button. But wait. Something in the serial number doesn't look right to me. The serial number has two zeros after the dash. Even though I don't actively buy AMC Marks, the ones I usually see start with something like 8 or 9. "Honey, dinner's ready." Drat. My conundrum must wait. I bookmark the listing and go downstairs for some family time for the rest of the evening. The next day after getting home from work, I began anew my evening ritual. After completing all the searches, I head back to the 50 Mark note. After pulling up the listing, I opened up the BBB (Big Black Book, a.k.a. World War II Remembered). Flipping to the section on AMC Marks, I look at the table on serial number ranges. There, SB says the Russian printing for a 50 Marks note starts with -40,000,001. But if that's the case, then the note listed isn't a Russian printing but in fact a replacement note! Could the seller have missed seeing the script F signifying a Forbes printing? I double-check the information I have and enter a place holding bid of $5, the starting price. Over the next few days, I continue checking the lot to see if I've been outbid. With four days left - it's a seven-day auction - I'm still the only bidder. Two days to go, no change. Less than a day, I'm still the only one bidding on the lot. As the hours tick down, I can only think of one thing, snipers. With three hours to go, I up my bid to my maximum. I figure that at this point, I might as well just bid because if anyone else is interested in the note, I'm assume they'll be sniping and not nibbling; nibbling is my term for those bidders that bid twenty times in a row raising the ante by only a $1 each time. With five minutes to go, I pull up the listing on my computer at work (ssshhh, don't tell the boss). As the time remaining clicks down, I continually hit the refresh button, dreading a last second snipe. With a minute to go, I'm still the only bidder. Thirty seconds, refresh, ten seconds, refresh, 3, 2, 1… No snipes. I won! After exchanging the typical post auction email with the seller, I write a check for $13 ($5 bid, $5 for registered shipping, and $3 for bank fees as the seller is foreign), and send it away. Now the wait begins. Eight days pass since I mailed the check. Ah ha! The seller leaves positive feedback on Ebay, so I know my check made it. Now, if it took eight days for him to get my check, maybe I'll see the note in eight more days. Sixteen days pass, and no note. Twenty days since the auction closed; the seller must be waiting for my check to clear. Twenty-four days and success! I get a slip in my post office box for a registered package. I go to the counter, and after the postman returns from the back, I get a multi-stamped letter from the seller. I jump in the car and hurry home to see if my bid paid off. I enter the house, and immediately head up to my office; the wife and kids can get their hugs and kisses later - this is important! I neatly slit open the top of the envelope, and pull out the note, wrapped in cellophane. Grabbing my loupe, I look at the scroll in the upper right corner of the note. An F! It's a replacement note and not a Russian printing; bought in plain sight off Ebay. So, the next time you see an AMC Mark with a leading dash, check the serial number as well. For the ½ to 20 Mark notes, the serial numbers for the Russian printings start at 50,000,001. For the 50 Mark, it's -40,000,001, the 100 is -35,000,001, and for the 1000 Mark, it drops down to -25,000,001. So if you see a note with a lower number, it's a replacement note. Happy hunting! ============================================== Editorial ============================================== After intending to depart for the Michigan State show on Thursday night in order to be there for the opening, I departed for the show on Saturday afternoon! At least I did get a few projects finished by staying behind. Joe Boling was attending the Michigan event in order to teach a class on exhibit judging. He teaches this class each year at the ANA summer convention and occasionally around the country at events where the organizers are trying to build a cadre of judges. If you are affiliated with a major numismatic organization that might be interested, talk to Joe. By the item that I got there, he was heavily embroiled in exhibit judging and related activities. I was able to challenge John Wilson with my MPCFest coin and earn a drink before Joe put me to work. We finished the work at 4am! Joe got up at 8am to attend the exhibit awards breakfast. As you can imagine, I opted to stay in bed, but I did get up by 10am to complete my major reason for going to Dearborn. Well, I did not finish it, but I worked on it. I entered on my computer corrections to WWII Remembered that Joe has been entering in his master book for these seven years. I hope to finish the transcription in conjunction with the Fest or even sooner if the opportunity strikes. Fred ============================================== Mail Call ============================================== Dear Gram I guess I should lend my 2 Pence to the Nazi Flag Furor if the editor allows it. Actually this is more of a response to the letter of Mike Cummings, since I was not a party to the Flag incident and do not know the details. My thoughts below are strictly numismatic. I've been selling items related to W.W.II and the Holocaust for 30 years and it is much to simplistic to say that the answer to who buys this stuff is "the Jews." My customer base for this kind of material, which started out strictly with the notes and tokens, and later spread to all kinds of ephemera includes Catholic Priests, various Protestant ministers, Rabbis, churches, synagogues, schools, individuals of all religions, Germans and no doubt Nazi sympathizers. No doubt the majority of my customers for this material are Jewish but since I specialize in what I call Numismatics of the Holy Land and the Jewish People from Ancient to Modern Times (I know that's a mouthful) the majority of my customers are most likely Jewish. And there are a great many of my Jewish (and non-Jewish) customers not want to have anything to do with this field. That's all their choice. Thirty years ago their was precious little written about concentration camp money. Since then, thanks to various authors and researchers of many religions, our knowledge of what was used, why it was used and who used it has expanded greatly. No doubt we will learn more in the future. I could go on and on but I wanted to be brief. You cannot cubbyhole and categorize collectors, no more than you can say "you can only collect this" or "you can't collect that." And those of you who know me, know that the last thing I am is a liberal. Bill Rosenblum Dear Editor, There is nothing wrong with collecting Nazi flags (Fred, perhaps my response will not be in violation of gram policies if I frame it in terms of collecting.) or confederate flags. In fact, collectors of such items serve an important and necessary function, as do all paper money collectors. We have a right and even an obligation to collect such items. We preserve history. All the same, it is offensive to many African Americans to have the confederate flag flying from the Georgia state house. The distinction is not terribly subtle. I'm sure gram readers see it. As I understand it the ANA WW2 exhibit is an educational exhibit. It is not just an exhibit of someone's collection. None of the supporters of flying the Nazi flag have bothered to explain the educational value in doing so. I was sure someone would bite at the pc - liberal comment. Down with California! Mel ============================================== CALENDAR OF EVENTS ============================================== 2002 December 6 (DAWN meeting at 7 PM at the Bear Valley American Legion Hall on Mississippi just west of Federal in SW Denver.)-7, opening of World War II Numismatics exhibition at American Numismatic Association Museum, Colorado Springs, CO. 10 a. m. A special ceremony will begin at 10:55 a. m. marking the moment of attack on Pearl Harbor. [Joe Boling and Warner Talso confirmed, Fred Schwan possible] 2003 FUN Florida United Numismatists, Orlando, 9 - 12Jan 2003 Confirmed table holders and attendees [Leo May (table), Fred Schwan (table), David Seelye (table), Larry Smulczenski (table w/Schwan), Harold Kroll, Marcus Turner, Howard Daniel, David Amey, Rod and Wes Hardy, (with table), Al Glaser, others please confirm. CPMX 9: 20 - 23 February, Chicago, IL MPC Fest IV: 28 Feb - 2 March, Port Clinton, OH Fest Registrants: Doug Bell, Joe Boling†, Guido Crapanzano†, Dick Freyser, Philip M. Goldstein$$, Gary Hicks, Harold Kroll, Jack Lippincot, Kevin Maloy, Leo May$$, Fred Schwan, David Seelye, Nick Shrier, Larry Smulczenski$$, Warner Talso$$$, Marcus Turner, Tom Warburton, Mark Watson, Bill Yanchick, Tom Koch, Nancy and John Wilson†, Bill McNease, Cuneyd Tolek†, Wenell Wolka†, Al Glaser. Registration fee: $148 double occupancy $198 single occupancy (including meals and motel). Payments may be sent to BNRPress, 132 E. Second St., Port Clinton, OH 43452 or via PayPal to fredschwan@yahoo.com. Suggested airports in order of desirability: Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit (attempts will be made to provide ground transportation to/from these airports) $$ = Paid Running total: 26, †=new fester. ANA National Money Show, March 21-23, 2003, Charlotte (NC) Convention Center, Contact ANA Convention Department at convention@money.org or JoeBoling@aol.com for forms to exhibit. Hours are 10-6:30 Friday & Saturday & 10-2 Sunday. Hotels are The Westin Charlotte (704-375-2623) and the nearby Hampton Inn Charlotte Uptown (704-373-0917). Howard Daniel will be manning a joint NI/NBS/IBNS club table where Gramsters can meet each other. He is also conducting a joint NI/IBNS meeting on Saturday and invites all Gramsters to the meeting's show and tell session and to meet other collectors with similar interests. Masstricht April 4-6, Valkenburg, The Netherlands, contact Jos Eijsermans, Box 3240, NL 5930 Tegelen Netherlands ======================================== 2003 scholarship fund Donations of cash and numismatic material will be gladly accepted. Generally the numismatic material is auctioned at MPCFest, but might be sold via ebay or other places. Your scholarship donations help the hobby by sending qualified individuals to the ANA summer seminar military money class. Except for unavoidable charges like ebay fees, 100% of your donation goes to scholarships. 2003 Scholarship Donors Ed Hoffman RA Medina Dick Freyser Larry Smulczenski David Seelye Howard Daniel Steve Feller Warner Talso Pam West Mr. 691 Contact me at: "Marcus Turner" maturner@indy.rr.com Checks should be made out to the "Military Numismatists Scholarship". or Marcus Turner 8103 East US Highway 36 Suite 163 Avon, Indiana 46123 USA ========================================================= MPC ANA Museum Project ========================================================== Below is a list of the MPC holdings in the ANA Museum at this time. It goes without saying that donations of additional notes will be most welcome. Series 100 – [50 sen] Series 461 - 5 cents Series 471 - None Series 472 – [5 cents] Series 481 - 5 cents, [10 cents,] 50 cents, $1 Series 521 - 5, 15, 25, 50 cents Series 541 - 5, 10, 25 cents Series 591 - NONE Series 611 - NONE Series 641 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1, $5, $10 Series 651 – [$1] Series 661 - [10, 50c], [$5], $10 Series 681 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1, [45] Series 691 - [$1, $5, $10, $20] Series 692 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1 Series 701 - [$1, $5, $10, $20] [50c etc.] = notes donated by Gramsters contact Chris Connell ANA Museum Collections Manager 818 North Cascade Ave. Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3279 collections@money.org (719) 632-2646 ======================================================== RESEARCH ======================================================== Papermoneyworld maintains an innovative interactive data base of all military payment certificates. Everyone is invited to enter notes in their possession or that they have observed. Visit the site at: http://www.papermoneyworld.net/user/default.asp this project is financially supported by David Seelye www.thempcman.net, coinman@rochester.rr.com ========================================================== Subscription information: ========================================================== You can enter an email address to receive the gram by using the link below. Use this to change your address (add the new one), add a friend or enemy. http://www.papermoneyworld.net/WebMailList/Default.asp =================================================== HOT CONTACT LIST - DEALER & RESOURCE 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, or furnish information dedicated to this field. They have supported the new Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates with their advertising. They deserve your support and patronage! Name phone fax / cell email Allens (614) 882-3937 (614) 882-0662 info@allens.com American Coins & Collectibles (800) 865-3562 American Numismatic Ass'n(800) 367-9723 ana@money.org Guy Araby(562) 945-7891(310) 508-0018 guyaraby@earthlink.net 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 RBalbaton@aol.com Keith and Suzanne Bauman (248) 647 8938 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 cjcpi@comcast.net Guido Crapanzano [39] 2-8056228 [39] 2-4459856 Currency Dealer Newsletter (310) 515-7369 David F. Cieniewicz(205)852-7015 CGC (602) 493-4758 (602) 494-9103 sales@gradedcurrency.com Mike Cummings (863)603-9899 (863) 603-9880 mpccoin@hotmail.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 Philip M. Goldstein : (845) 586-4672 iwantmympc@aol.com or MPC Website Great Lakes Bank Note Company(419) 732-6683 IBNS joeboling@aol.com Essie Kashani(909) 627-3996 (909) 627-2776 kashani10@aol.com 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(305) 720-0695 LeoMayEnt@aol.com or Wide World of Banknotes Ian Marshall(416) 445-0286 (416) 445-0286 iam@total.net Memphis Coin Club (901) 757-2515 MPCGram (419) 732-6683 MPCGram@yahoo.com Pomexport Ltd. 1-201-641-6641 / Fax: 1-201-641-1700 E-Mail: Info@pomexport.com // website: http://www.Pomexport.com Bob Reed(504) 361-5684 bobreed@rrcoins.net Fred Schwan (419) 732-6683 (419) 732-6683 FredSchwan@yahoo.com David Seelye(585) 594-1987 (585) 594-2311 coinman@rochester.rr.com Richie Self (318) 868-9077 R. M. Smythe(800) 622-1880 (212) 908-4047 www.smytheonline.com Mel Steinberg & Son(415) 453-9750 (415) 457-4432 melsteinberg@mindspring.com Military Trader(800) 334-7165 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, purchase or trade 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. In all cases confirm your order via email first. FOR SALE: WANTED SECTION: 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 as a reply. Wanted listings will run for a period of 1 month. WANTED - I have a want list for the gram which consists of JIM notes that I have been unable to find to date: Burma (JIM ) - Ten cents fractional letters. Malaya (JIM ) - one cent 2 letters. Malaya ( JIM ) - ten cents 2 letters. Netherlands East Indies Tien cents 2 letters. =================================================== MPC CATALOG CORRECTIONS & ENHANCEMENTS Page 18, Bottom - Users of Military Payment Certificates Check marks were omitted from production copies of books. Please check off the following: Australia: 641, 661, 681, 692 Canada:461 through and including 591 Korea: 641, 661, 681, 692 New Zealand:641, 661, 681, 692 Thailand: 641, 661, 681, 692 United States: All (date listed: 02 APRIL 2002) Page 201, Bottom Right - Very last sentence on this page Two serial numbers listed for the second printing of Series 472 .50 cent notes. The first serial number listed is obviously in error as a nine digit number: C040351392C Correct Serial Number is: C04035139C D Freyser (date listed 10 April 2002) Page 207, #833/4 - Series 481 .25 4th Printing (table listing serial number breakdowns) line 5 Start Number is incorrect. It appears as: (start) D14784001D(end) D14784000D Correct start number should be: D09408001D PK6 (date listed: 03 APRIL 2002) Page 214, #855/r2 - Series 541 $1 Replacements, Ending serial number is incorrect Correct number is F1112000 (date listed: 02 APRIL 2002) Page 220, #884/2r - Series 641 .50 Replacements On page 284, it is broken down into 2 printings. That's correct, BUT, on page 220 he lists only (1) printing reported. It should "list" both first and second printings. Guy Araby (date listed 04 APRIL 2002) Page 287, Series 661 Series Summary, 25 cent note: the "list" shows "#CU as 10(7) . It should read, 8(7). As only 8 are known in CU. Just recount P.289. Guy Araby (date listed 08 APRIL 2002) Page 398, Series #541 $10 on "UNC." price is $2500, on P.214 the UNC. price is $3500. Also the rest of the prices don't match all the way to "VG" on this issue. They should be the same price. Guy Araby (date listed 08 APRIL 2002) =================================================== MPC Gram Staff: Publisher: Fred Schwan - MPCGram@yahoo.com Editor: Philip M. Goldstein - IWANTMYMPC@aol.com Subscription Manager:Doug Bell - doug@papermoneyworld.net Tuesday Columnist : Joe Boling - JoeBoling@aol.com Thurski Columnist: Larry "Ski" Smulczenski - skifla@prodigy.net Friday Columnist:Fred Schwan - MPCGram@yahoo.com Critic: Harold Kroll - HARBONS@aol.com Scholarship Coordinator: Marcus Turner - maturner@indy.rr.com Index & Back Issue Manager:vacant Webmaster & Technical Advisors:Doug Bell "Wiz" - doug@papermoneyworld.net Russ Walsh - russ.walsh@gte.net Fact Checker: Warner Talso - Calendar Coordinator: John & Nancy Wilson - 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com