President's Coiner

As you should all know by now, I’m stepping down as your president at the end of this year. I’m not leaving MCCA, only leaving the president’s seat. I’ve been an active member of our wonderful club since 1999. After working two years (2001-2002) as your vice president, and 12 years as president (2003-2014), I believe it’s time for some new blood in the first seat at the front table. I’m hopeful that someone with younger children is interested in the position. My two girls grew up coming to the meetings with me, and it was a great experience. They were active in their preteen years with the club’s young numismatists program as many of our children members are today. My oldest daughter Hannah, at age 24, is still active to some extent and has a nice collection of ancient coins. My youngest daughter Sarah constantly reminds me that she still collects too, but only money she can spend (oh well, one out of two isn’t bad)!

I plan to stay active in numismatics and remain in the hobby. Not having to prepare two Friday nights a month for the meetings and having attendance optional Saturdays will seem like a vacation in the short run. Not being a club officer will provide me the time and opportunity to spread out and investigate other numismatic endeavors. I hope to get more active in educational exhibits at our regional coin shows. I hope to have time to work on a hometown bank exhibit for the First National Bank of Marietta, Georgia (Charter #3830). I look forward to doing some foreign travelling, a new experience that my wife introduced me to last year that I greatly enjoy. So, I’m not leaving MCCA, just changing seats.

We’ve had some great times over the last several years with the bullion guessing game, field trips, auctions, staffing coins shows, Christmas parties, hosting ANA shows, educational talks, and the general meetings. We’ve had interesting times when the room was locked, refreshments forgotten, or the building closed on meeting night. I wouldn’t trade any of it for all the silver in China! I’ve met many wonderful people through MCCA and consider some of them my closest friends. I’ve learned more about numismatics while being at MCCA than all the previous years before I joined. Being a member of MCCA is one of the best bargains in Atlanta, and I hope we can continue to spread the word and bring more people to us.

I’m hopeful that the new leadership will bring new and exciting ideas to MCCA. Now that my girls have grown up my emphasis, not interest, has changed. I look forward to participating in MCCA from a different perspective in the future. I know that MCCA will go forward as good or better than before, and I want you all to know that I will volunteer as a member to help it get there. It’s been a pleasure to be your president for the past 12 years. I’ve enjoyed every meeting, and look forward to attending as a general member under the new leadership. I’ll see you for the last two meetings in December, and at the Christmas party on December 14. I’m not going anywhere, so I won’t say “goodbye,” just “see ya later!”

As with everything this fall, this issue of my bi-monthly column suffers from scheduling problems and is not where it should be when it should be there. My bad. I demonstrate the same timing with my attendance at the last couple of meetings. My youngest daughter is a senior at UGA this year, so I’m making a concerted effort to be more involved with the football games and activities at Georgia on the weekends, especially Saturdays. I have not yet worked out the bugs with being two places at the same time. I will be at the October 18th meeting, but probably miss both November meetings (Gator Bowl and Auburn), then be back to close out the year by attending both meetings in December and our Christmas party on the 14th. Boy how time flies!

Speaking of time flying, it’s time for the final board meeting of 2014. I plan to reschedule the 4th quarter board meeting from November 15 to October 18 – our next schedules club meeting! Although it coincides with the Rome show, it is the only meeting I’m sure that I can make. I’ll have an initial agenda out to the board 10-12 days ahead, which is like later today. Usual room #4, 5:00 start time. Any and all are invited to sit in, keeping in mind that we are working off of a written agenda.

Recently we’ve had some unusual issues with use of our meeting facility. I wanted to let everyone know that I’ve been in contact with Dunwoody Parks and Recreation and they assure me that we will not have any additional “scheduling conflicts.” No reason or excuse was provided, just written confirmation that it will not happen again. Please keep in mind that we always move the meeting to room #5 (where we hold the YN meetings, across the hall) for the 2nd January meeting, an arrangement that we have had with the Weavers Guild for a number of years. It’s a scheduled once-a-year change that fosters cooperation amongst those using the facility.

You all know that I’ll be turning over the reins of the club to a new president at the annual Christmas / Holiday party that will start his/her tenure in January. It’s been a great 12 years as club president. As it turns out, our Vice-President has also opted to step down. So, we’re looking for new blood to volunteer as President and VP of the club for 2015. Please consider stepping up to actively participate by being a club officer. We’ll be taking nominations throughout October and into November, with voting to occur the last meeting in November or the first meeting in December. Feel free to speak with Norman or myself about the jobs and what they entail. Hours are easy, the job is enjoyable, the pay is reasonable, and the compensation package is excellent – with profit sharing and stock options. You get your own desk and personal chair, as well as an uncirculated 1889 CC PCGS MS65 Morgan Silver Dollar just for signing up! Yes, you are dreaming that you just read that last 2 sentences…

In the world of coins there’s a number of exciting things happening. The 4-piece 90% Kennedy half set will release Tuesday October 28 at 12:00 noon. Limit will be 5 per household, issue price $99.95 per set. I strongly suggest that you buy your household limit. Not only are some of the designs unique, but the coin is being made in its original 90% silver composition. The sets are affordable and special, no matter how many are ultimately sold and struck. As an end-of-year issue, there may be a relatively short purchase window, with a December 31st last possible date of sale.

Also in coin news, there was An 1879CC GSA Morgan Dollar graded as a NGCMS65 that just sold for almost $43,000! The rarest of the CC’s in a GSA holder (not counting single issue coins), even the MS62 coins bringing more than $8,000 today. This is quite a feat for one of 3600 coins that sold with a minimum bid of $300 in GSA sale #4 February of 1974. The average sell price for the coins was $478.39, and it was the first “sell out” of any GSA issue. I’ve also seen the prices for the 5 ounce ATB bullion “quarters” advertised as low as $t110 each. Where this is still over melt, it is the least expensive this coins have been since their creation. Finally, with bullion prices so low, now is the time (in my opinion) that everyone should be buying gold and silver. Yes, it can still go down further, but the potential to increase dramatically in value in the future is far greater than any addition decreases.

I look forward to penning my final “President’s Coiner” for the November/December issue of the newsletter. Until then, good hunting!

Welcome to the July/August “summer” edition of the President’s Coiner. Hopefully you’re reading this from a comfortable chair in an air conditioned environment. Please take the time to peruse the information that follows. I’ve included some house-keeping items as well as coin information that you can use in the immediate future.

MCCA is looking for a new president! After 12 years of working with a GREAT organization, I am stepping down at the end of the year to allow someone to step up. This is my last year of children at UGA, the second year of excellent UGA football season tickets, and as you may have heard, I discovered European travel last year and got hooked. So, I’ll be stumping in the final 3 newsletters of 2014 for volunteers to run for the position in November. Ideally, I’d like to see someone with kids take the job so that our YN program will always be on their minds. The position is open to all MCCA members in good standing. It’s not a hard job – anyone can do it. I plan to stay active in the club, but will probably be at fewer meetings next year. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the position.

Norman and the club need your help! We have over 60 active members that attend one or both meeting each month. Norman’s job of lining up a 20 minute educational presentation and refreshments for each meeting (22-24 meetings a year) has become increasingly difficult. Please consider volunteering to provide either a talk or refreshments for one of our gatherings. If a majority of the regularly attending members participated, it would require just one presentation or refreshment purchase a year. Remember that the club will reimburse up to $35 of the refreshment expense (with receipt). Your commitment of the time is what is really needed and appreciated. Please see Norman to sign up for an upcoming available date.

Also, please be courteous to the educational speakers and membership in general. Once the meeting has started, members and guest should remain in their seats and keep personal conversations to a whispered minimum. If you need to discuss a matter with another member, please step outside in the hallway so as not to interfere with the normal activities going on as part of the meeting. Once the meeting has started, review of the auction lots needs to wait until the refreshment break. It is distracting to the membership to have person(s) reviewing lots while the meeting is in progress. Thank you for your attention to these matters.

As you read this, the bullion contest participation list should be ready. I’ll have a copy on the website / in the newsletter shortly. Print a copy and follow the ups and downs of who’s leading the race for the 1/10 ounce 2014 AGE and the 2014 proof ASE. Winners will be announced based on the close of the last business day in November, and the awards will be presented at the annual Holiday/Christmas Party in December. If you can’t make the party, we will hold them until the next meeting.

The Baseball coins have been HOT as expected. No one seems to have many for sale, and the prices continue to climb, especially for the early release pieces and those that have been autographed. NGC just did a big article about availability and pricing. Visit their web site to see the information. Next up is the 50th Anniversary Kennedy Half program. Much of the info has been released about the program. Three sets available, limit of 5 of each set per household: July 24 release of the 2-coin P and D uncirculated sets, original accented hair design, $9.95 per set. August 5 release of the ¾ ounce .999 fine gold coin, 12:00 EDT. Price will be set on the Thursday before release, probably around $1300 each. A date has not been set for release of the 4-coin set, all made of .900 fine silver as the 1964 coins were. One coin from each of the 4 Mints – proof, reverse proof, uncirculated, and enhanced uncirculated. Cost will be $99.95 a set. The main piece of information missing from all three choices are the mintage’s and ordering window. Because of the 5-per-household limit on all three choices, I believe we will see a limited mintage that will be available until sold out, similar to the baseball coins. I guess we will know shortly since the first of the sets goes on sale in 3 weeks!

Have a great summer, volunteer often for the club, and please let me know if you want to be president!