From: "MPCgram" To: Subject: MPCGram 860 Date: Thursday, February 27, 2003 11:28 PM =========================================== MPC GRAM =========================================== Covering the entire World of Military Numismatics Series 004 - Number 860 Thurski February 27, 2003 On the Road Again By Larry ?Ski? Smulczenski Leo May arrived at my house on the evening of Sunday, February 16th to start our prolonged trip to Fore Fest. Some of you don't know that Leo had an operation four weeks ago that put a band around his stomach reducing the quantity of his intake. It also has severely limited the type of food that he can eat to a soft almost liquid diet. A good example is that he has his eggs scrambled rare. That is akin to the Texan who eats his steak rare, throw it on the grill, turn it over and if it quits moo-ing, start eating. In Leo's case, it's throw a couple of eggs in a skillet, flip them over and if they quit cluck-ing, put them on his plate. That's the way he eats his breakfast these days, but to his credit he has lost over 40 pounds and gets around a lot better. The first time I saw Leo with his shirt off, I did however think that the Miami Soprano Mafia had gotten him in a crossfire as it looked like five slugs from an Uzi had hit him. It is amazing how a major operation like this can be done through five holes, each the size of a quarter. We got on the road for Chicago and CPMX bright and early by Leo's standards (about 10AM) Monday morning. There was a little concern about running into some sleet and snow but it never materialized. Three days and about seven antique stores, flea markets and militaria shops later we pulled into the Holiday Inn O'Hare where the CPMX show was held. After getting everything unpacked and saying hello to old friends, the first major order of business was to look at the auction lots in Lyn Knights sale. As Fred said in one of the Grams I read before we left home, it was a fantastic wish list. There isn't a collector around that couldn't find something in that selection of notes that he wanted to add to his collection. I was no exception. There were dozens of lots that I would have liked to have but I prioritized it down to about ten with hopes that I might at least win one or two. It was a thrill to again see up close and touch the notes from the Marv Mericle collection. I had seen them numerous times, but knowing this was the last time that they would be together as a group was a little sad. On the other hand, knowing that many of them would go to a new owner that would in most cases cherish them as much as Marvin had was a great feeling. Dealer setup at CPMX started at 10AM Thursday morning. Almost immediately, thrilling finds were being hailed on the floor. I was lucky enough to come up with my share of goodies to "Make my day" as Clint Eastwood would have said. I'm going to leave those for a future Thurski as I can write for sometime about those. Thursday passed very quickly and before you knew it, it was time to head for the Lyn Knight Auction of foreign paper money. As usual, Lyn provided a super buffet of edibles prior to the start of the bidding for all participants. The bidding was delayed for one hour until seven o'clock because of a glitch in the catalog where on one page the start was listed as six o'clock and on the very next page, seven o'clock was published. To make sure that everyone that wanted to be there for the start had that chance, Lyn started the actual call of auction lots at seven PM. As is customary in all Knight Auctions, the pace of the call was fast and furious. You couldn't doze or have your attention diverted from the sequence of lots or you would miss the opportunity to get a lot you were interested in. I thought bidding was strong for the notes of some countries but lax for others. It appeared that Korea was very strong, especially between two bidders on the floor as were the large group of notes from the Philippines. To contrast that, to me it appeared that most South American material was weak. In general, however the auction appeared to do well. I considered myself very fortunate to add three of the lots that I had my eye on to my collection. I could have had a few more except for a certain fellow from upstate New York who I couldn't compete with. I got a lovely 100 rupee, Government of Ceylon note, S/B 1226, in uncirculated condition except for a couple of pinholes. It has a 24 June 1945 date on it. I also won a nice uncirculated specimen of the 25 Gulden Netherlands East Indies Liberation issue. This is a variety of the one World War II Remembered lists as 5106s since the word SPECIMEN on the face is in blue while on the back it is in red. My final prize was lot 1150, the 5 livres from Syria and Lebanon (Levant States) with the location Damascus printed on the note. This note is illustrated as number 1974 on page 158 on WWII Remembered. The note, however, is listed as being dark brown in color when it actually has a green face and a blue, almost purple back. I was not to add to my POW chit collection because the &@#$%?* guy from New York who wanted them more than I could afford. The Marv Mericle sale on the second night was a barn burner. The auction hall was almost filled to capacity. My guess was that there was 4 to 5 times as many people there as the first night. There were folks there whom we never knew had an interest in MPC. The bids started high and continued to be raised. To me, the amazing part was that the winning bidders number announced continually changed. What I'm trying to say is that it definitely wasn't the same person winning all the lots. Everyone wanted to have a selection from the Mericle collection. Fred has already expounded on the record price garnered by the Series 541/$5, so I won't go there, but when it was all over we all marveled at the strong showing MPC made in this auction. Last year I told you about the guy that crashed through the fourth(?) floor window of the Holiday Inn at CPMX and landed in the hospital. Well, this year one of out own Gramsters was unfortunate enough to end up in the hospital for a couple of hours because he tried to be a good Samaritan. Brian Giese tried to keep the elevator door at the Holiday Inn open for a person that was late getting on. The door, however, wouldn't stop and poor Brian ended up with the middle finger of his right hand broken in three places. It is difficult for a right handed person to use only his left hand, especially when that right hand is throbbing. The amazing part is that he got little sympathy from hotel staff or management. There will be more from Fest and Chicago in the Thurski's to come. =========================================== Editorial =========================================== If the Fest had ended today, I would be thrilled about how much fun it was. About 15 Festers were here today. I have not seen any notes change hands, but I have seen and heard lots of wild things. Of course there were a few travel glitches, but most were met with cheerfulness and defeated soundly. I hope that tomorrow goes as well from this perspective. I have to tell you one little follow up on Ski?s travel gram. The 5 livres from Syria and Lebanon (Levant States) that he is so happy to have purchased was intended for me. By that I mean, I intended to purchase it. The fact is that I simply forgot that it was in the Thursday section of the auction. Now I am trying to get it from Larry. If he has not told you the story of how he passed on a great WWII French colonial collection, he should. It is based on that pass that I am trying to convince him that he does not collect such things and that I should be allowed to help him! Fred =========================================== MAIL CALL =========================================== Dear Editor, My name is spelled Schrier. My challenge confiscated at security!!! Need new one Nick Dear Mr. Schrier, As you can imagine, I am very familiar with the w/without C spelling/pronunciation problem. We are sorry about the poor treatment, but we are skeptical about the challenge coin. Sounds like you forgot it. You might have tried ?the dog ate it.? editor =========================================== CALENDAR OF EVENTS =========================================== 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, Nancy$# and John Wilson#, Bill McNease, Cuneyd Tolek#, Wendell Wolka#$$, Al Glaser$$, Ian Marshal, Carlson Chambliss, Wes and Rod Hardy, Sam Feeback$?, George Fitzgerald$, Kevin Neidy#, Bill Haines#?, Ed Beaman$$, Marv Mericle, Cameron Bueschel#$, Tiffany Bueschel$#, Russ Walsh$$, Robert Drew#$, Bob Olson#, Ron Waddell#$, Loretta Freyser#$, Steve Swoish#. 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 (coordinate w/Sparky Watson mcwatson@yahoo.com) $$ = Paid. Running total: 43, #=new fester (running total 16 new Festers). Fest Auxiliary: Jane Talso, Judy Schwan. Coordinate arrival and departure with adjutant Sparky Watson: mcwatson@yahoo.com The Fest will be held at the same location as the past two years: Holiday Inn Express 50 NE Catawaba Road Port Clinton, OH 43452 Phone 419 732-7322 DO NOT MAKE RESERVATIONS AT THE HOTEL OR PAY ANYTHING DIRECTLY TO THE HOTEL!!! View the auction catalog at: http://members.aol.com/delcocoins/auction.html Fest IV Training Schedule (Draft) Friday 28 February 1200-1800 in process Watson 1800-1930 chow mess sergeant 1800-2230 exhibits (concurrent) Joe Boling 1930-2030 group therapy Gary Hicks 2030-2130 pay call paymaster May 2130-2200 March madness pairings Wendell Wolka 2230-2300 March madness first round Wendell Wolka 2300-2330 bull session 2330 exhibits must be removed Boling 2331 px, canteen closed TBA 2400 lights out first sergeant Saturday 1 March 0400-0600 10k run, 3k swim (ice permitting) first sergeant 0600-0641 work detail laying out Series 641 0641 photo detail in messhall 0600-0800 chow first sergeant 0830-1000 show n tell Gail Baker 1000-1100 March Madness round II Wolka 1100-1230 snow n tell Gail Baker 1230-1245 company picture Hardy and Hardy 1245-1315 chow mess sergeant 1315-1630 bourse Seelye 1630-1745 show n tell Baker 1745-1800 nap individual 1800-1845 chow mess sergeant 1900-1930 March Madness finals Wolka 1930-1945 awards John Wilson 2000-2400 RVN poker game reenactment Schrier 2000-2100 auction lot viewing (concurrent) 2400 canteen closes, lights out 2401 bed check Sunday 2 March 0400-0600 10k run, 3k swim (ice permitting) first sergeant 0600-0700 chow mess sergeant 0700-0730 destruction of MFC 011 (from last year) Bill McNease 0730-0830 auction lot viewing Goldstein/Ski 0845-1030 auction MPCFest IV Auction Online Catalog 1100-1230 police call and early departures Watson 1230-1315 chow mess sergeant 1315-1500 field trip (TBA) Judy 1500-1800 pool party Jodi Foster Monday 3 March 0830-0900 breakfast Holiday Inn 0900- final departure Coordinating instructions: Show n tell contact Gail Baker (education@money.org) Arrival and departure coordination: Mark Watson MCW@qnet.com Auction items coordinate : Larry Smulczenski skifla@prodigy.net, Phil Goldstein IWANTMYMPC@aol.com Exhibits contact joeboling@aol.com MPCFest V, reservations now being accepted. Reservations entered in order received: (Feb-Mar 2004): Roger Urce#, John Cheney#, David Seelye, Phil Goldstein, Harold Kroll, Gail Baker#, Fred Schwan. # new Fester, $ paid. $$ paid single occupancy. Running totals: total 7, new festers 3. March 12, deadline for Bank Note Reporter MPC issue. Submitt your ads and editorial material for this special issue. Contact Mary Roloff: roloffm@krause.com. 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 May 30 ? June 1 POW Conference II, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA Registration fees: $150 for general registration; $200 after 1 May 2003. (A day fee of $50 per full day, $25 per half day will be accepted at the time of registrationŻas space allows for walk-in registrants to join pre-regs.) $100 for presenters, uni/college students, senior citizens, veterans of any age, overseas participants. (Registrations must be received by 1 May to qualify.)(Presenters coming for one day may attend half of that day free; if they'd like to attend the entire day they will be asked for a $25 contribution to help defray conference costs. [Basically, all presenters and panelists are being given $50 credit.]) $50 for TRACES donors/non-working TRACES board members. $50 for Journalists may attend the exhibit opening, 1-5 Saturday afternoon at the Johnson County History Center in Iowa City/Iowa, for free; those wishing to attend the rest of the conference in order to write articles/tape reports may do so at $25 per day. The exhibit itself is free and open to the public. We are very pleased to have, per plan, some half dozen German POWs or their families with us for the exhibit and conference; as much as we would like to waive the conference registration fee, we must ask that they make a one-time $50 contribution to help defray the unavoidable costs of making this conference a reality. Berlin Study Tour participants may attend for free. Please (!) pass this invitation to anyone you think might be interested in either presenting or attending. For more information about TRACES visit www.TRACES.org. Memphis International Paper Money Show: 13-15 June, Cook Convention Center, 255 N. Main St., Memphis TN 38103-1623 Military Numismatics Summer Seminar Session I dates are Saturday, June 28, to Friday, July 4; session II, Saturday, July 5 to Friday, July 11, 2003 Link for more and general information: http://www.money.org/sumsem2003.html Link to photos from Seminar II http://www.money.org/summer2002images5.html application for military money scholarship http://www.papermoneyworld.net/news/MilitaryNumismatists Scholarship Fund 2003.pdf PCDA National and World Paper Money Convention. November 19-23, 2003. St. Louis Hilton Airport Hotel, 10330 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63134. ======================================== 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 Leo May John & Nancy Wilson Max Spiegel Gail Baker Chris Connell Bill Haines Joel Shafer Mikhail (Misha) Istomin Gary Hicks Robert Drew Contact me at: "Marcus Turner" mailto: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 IMPORTANT SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION The last information given in the gram did not include the official release of application/donation information. This information can be found at the link below. We encourage everyone to print copies of this information and distribute it to those who might be interested. Further you are encouraged to e-mail the pdf document to anyone you see fit. Thank you http://www.papermoneyworld.net/news/Military Numismatists Scholarship Fund 2003.pdf Marcus Turner Scholarships from the ANA: See the following location for an application for financial aid to the summer seminar: http://www.money.org/sumsemfin.html =========================================== MPC ANA Museum Project =========================================== ANA collection of MPC: Thanks to donations from Douglas Bell, Dick Fryser, Ed Beaman, David Seelye, Philip Goldstean, Michael Cummings, Ray Czahor, David Pitchford and Mr 691the ANA MPC collection is current as follows: Series 100 - [50 sen], [1Y, 5Y, 10Y, 20Y all A underprint] Series 461 - 5, [10] cents, [$1] Series 471 - [5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $10] Series 472 - [5, 10 cents], [$1, $10] Series 481 - 5 cents, [10, 25 cents], 50 cents, $1, [$5] $10 Series 521 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, [$10] Series 541 - 5, 10, 25 cents Series 591 - [5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1] Series 611 - [5, 10, 25 cents, $1] Series 641 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1, $5, $10 Series 651 - [$1] Series 661 - [10, 25, 50c], [$5], [$1, $5] $10 Series 681 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1, [$5], [$20] 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 --Chris Connell =========================================== RESEARCH =========================================== New modification to the database you can now retrieve your password if you have forgotten at the main logon screen. Keep in mind syntax is important. The mpc database has changed its name it now going to be refered as, WW II P a p e r M o n e y D a t a B a s e This is just a hint of things to come If you are having truble loging on please inform doug bell At doug@papermoneyworld.net 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 http://www.thempcman.net/, mailto: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 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. 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 Rendezvous with Destiny MFC Series 022 souvenir notes. Paying up to five times face value. Put your for sale notice in the Gram. =========================================== 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! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/