Numismatic Fall 2013 California State Association of V. 10, No. 3 Numismatic Southern California $9.95 Association The California Numismatist The California Numismatist Offi cial Publication of the California State Numismatic Association and the Numismatic Association of Southern California Fall 2013, Volume 10, Number 3 About the Cover The California Numismatist Staff A medal of Gutenberg graces the Editor Greg Burns cover because it’s one of my collect- P.O. Box 1181 ing interests and also because his wise Claremont, CA 91711 counsel is so needed at this point in [email protected] TCN’s history. You see, we need to Club Virginia Bourke think about what the publication will Reports 10601 Vista Camino look like in the future. Whether we South Lakeside, CA 92040 continue with a traditional print publi- [email protected] cation, go all-digital with subscribers footing the bill completely for any Club Sally Johnson hard copies, or have some mix of the Reports PO Box 10416 two. I don’t pretend to have the an- North San Jose, CA 95157-1416 swers, but I am trying to keep my eyes [email protected] open for ways to keep TCN a viable Advertising Roy Iwata receptacle for CSNA and NASC mat- c/o CSNA ters, and member articles in particular. P.O. Box 2449 Let us know what you think... GB Seal Beach, CA 90740-1449 Visit Us on the Web [email protected] The California Numismatist has a Web site at www.CalNumismatist.com. You can fi nd the offi cial scoop there in between issues. Also, both CSNA and NASC main- tain their own Web sites at: www.Calcoin.org www.NASC.net 2 The California Numismatist • Fall 2013 Contents Articles Guide to Grading Taylor Webb ........................................................................................................ 10 Francis E. Spinner Sol Taylor............................................................................................................ 12 Bohemian Grove Token Joel Anderson ..................................................................................................... 16 Through the Numismatic Glass: The Pacifi c—US Coins for Hawaii and the Philippine Islands Dr. Thomas F. Fitzgerald .................................................................................... 18 The Story of a Challenge Coin Jim Phillips ......................................................................................................... 22 Medals Long After the War Mark Benvenuto ................................................................................................. 24 Affordable US Half-Dollars that are Pre-Civil War? Mark Benvenuto ................................................................................................. 28 Got Two Bits? Don Hill .............................................................................................................. 31 The Whittier Coin Club, 1959 to Now Sol Taylor............................................................................................................ 32 Philippine Notes of World War II Bill Febuary ........................................................................................................ 36 Columns Presidents’ Messages Alex Jaramillo and Michael Turrini .................................................. 4 Editor’s Page Greg Burns ..................................................................................................... 6 Book Review Don Hill ........................................................................................................ 37 California Token Spotlight Merle Avila .............................................................................. 38 Numismatic Luminary Jim Hunt ........................................................................................ 40 The Emerging Hobbyist Michael S. Turrini........................................................................ 52 ANA Report Jim Hunt ........................................................................................................ 54 Association Reports Corresponding Secretaries’ Reports ......................................................................................8 Association News Items and Events (starting on page) ......................................................42 Goings On ........................................................................................................................... 56 Around the State ................................................................................................................. 62 Everything Else CSNA Membership Application ......................................................................................... 27 We Get Letters .................................................................................................................... 61 Directory of Member Clubs ................................................................................................70 NASC Membership Application ........................................................................................73 Calendar of Events .............................................................................................................. 74 Advertisers Index ................................................................................................................ 75 Offi cers, Boards and Chairs ................................................................................................76 Writing for The California Numismatist ............................................................................. 78 Numismatic Nostalgia .........................................................................................................79 The California Numismatist • Fall 2013 3 Presidents’ Messages NASC... Greetings, fellow numismatists! NASC’s Golden State Coin Show was a defi nite success. I want to thank all the hard-working volunteers who made this the best show possible. Every one of you was important to the success of the show. There are a few people I will single out to thank for their contribu- tions. Kay Lenker, bourse chairman, always works hard to line up dealers. Thanks goes to Armando Nieto for printing the raffl e tickets. Phil Iversen, Don Berry, and Roy Iwata set up the comfortable dealer’s room. After the show they broke down the equipment and returned it to storage. Roy Iwata stepped in at the last minute to chair the exhibits, and recruited 13 exhibi- tors who showed many interesting displays. Mary Yahalom chaired the front desk with charm and excellence and also published the show program. Mary was assisted at the front desk by Jerry Yahalom and Vicki Jaramillo. The Scouts Merit Badge workshop was a resounding success, with 43 boy and girl scouts participating. Great job, Walter Ostromecki and Albertus Hoogeveen, and thank you to Garrett Burke for the interesting presentation. We were fortunate to have ticket-seller extraordinaire Janet Reeves lending her expertise during the show. George Moore organized the delicious award banquet, and his company sup- plied the awards. My gratitude goes out to Harold Katzman for his enthusiastic personality and skills behind the Nona G. Moore 35th Gold NASC Club Benefi t Drawing. The prizes enticed many people to buy tickets. We were able to return over $3900 to the clubs for their treasuries. As the show wound down, I was able to speak with several of the dealers about how the GSCS could be improved. I received suggestions which I will share at the next board meeting. Congratulations to Editor Greg Burns for the astounding ninth year in a row that the TCN has received top honors in the ANA regional publication awards. Happy collecting!g! AlexAlex Jaramillo NASCNAS President 4 The California Numismatist • Fall 2013 CSNA... First and foremost, congratulations to Editor Greg Burns! Again, TCN is the “best regional publication”! Wow! Second, I have appointed Roy Iwata (Seal Beach), and Edwin Hoff- mark, Jr. (Vallejo), to serve as direc- tors, replacing two recent resignations. Third, elsewhere in this issue, there are updates and notices for our upcoming Convention and Coin Show in Long Beach. “Captain Howard”, Vice-President Howard Feltham, is holding fi rm to the helm, has set sails, and plotted a course for the good ship “CSNA Convention Fall 2013”. Pull Who’s better dressed? anchor, set sails, and chart course this November to Long Beach! Other reports and happenings can be read in the next pages, but at this point I would like to submit to our readers and members that the concerns and issues before our hobby and our association require thought and thinking much differently, and that can be diffi cult. In short, we—as a hobby, with our local coin clubs, and for our association as well as compatriots, the NASC—need to think and to act globally. It is not just a digital age. It is now the social media age. When my once- bankrupt hometown now has QR codes to report potholes, and our association still lacks a Facebook page, well, we are behind. True, many customs and com- mon practices remain; yet, there are technological advances, sadly, leaving our hobby, clubs, and association at the bus stop waiting. I would welcome thoughts from our members or anyone, and can be con- tacted at [email protected]. Closing, the legendary prizefi ghter, Mohammed Ali, remarked that “a man who views the world the same at fi fty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” The same applies to our “world of money”. Remember: have fun with your hobby! Always serve others! Enjoy your col- lecting! And, create hope