56th Year INGERSOLL COIN CLUB BULLETIN MAY 2017 Meeting No. 555 Ingersoll Coin Club Vol. 56 No 5 Correspondence: 57 Fyfe Ave., Woodstock Ont. N4S 3S5 ingersollcoinclub.ca Founded 1961 Meets the third Monday of the Month September thru June @ 7:30p.m. At the Senior Centre –250 Ingersoll St., Ingersoll, On. 519 485 3869 Next Meeting: May 15, 2017 Program: Points of Collecting President’s Message 2015--2016 EXECUTIVE Welcome everyone to our 555th Club meeting. President Ron Culbert At this time Laura, Deb and I would like to thank the ICC for the lovely card and the visitations at the funeral home with the unexpected passing of Deb's mother on Good Friday afternoon. Past President I would also like to thank Toby for stepping in for me and doing such an awesome Neil Macaulay presentation on retail purchasing cards, as well as chairing the meeting for me. It sounds like all went well and Deb and I appreciate Toby and Betsy for taking care of the Vice President drinks and snacks until the June meeting. Toby Grimminck REMEMBER if no one steps up to take care of this important part of our meetings, it will be no more. So, volunteer your time and let myself, Toby or Neil know that you are willing to do Treasurer and the task of the break. Membership I understand that Randy Underhill is doing the presentation this evening and I am sure it will be interesting as usual. Dave Pommer (continued on page 2) Ron Culbert 519-539-4640 Treasurer’s Report Starting Balance...............................................................................&258.30 Secretary Laura Culbert CREDITS/INCOME: Membership Fees ..................................................$ 0.00 Directors Draw Tickets...........................................................$ 43.00 Terry Bishop Donations……………..................................................$ 50.00 Angelo Farranto Coffee & Pop...........................................................$ 19.00 Bob Fletcher Sub-Total of Credits/Income....................................$123.25...............$381.55 Fred Mabee EXPENSES: Bulletin and mailings………. ……………………………..…. $20.00 Vickie Edwards Draw Prizes.………………........................................... $35.00 Randy Underhill Coffee/Pop………………….………………………...……......…. $ 0.00 Aulis Koslonen (Hon) J.C. Graphics (paid by cheque) ………….…………….…...$55.37 Sub-Total of Expenses …………………………………….………………….………...... $110.37 Editor Neil Macaulay Final Balance .....................(Cash on hand) ...................................... $326.55 st [email protected] Bank Balance as of Mar 31 ….…………….............................................. $6138.91 One Share........................................................................................... $ 150.00 www.ingersollcoinclub.ca Thanks, Dave 28 56th Year INGERSOLL COIN CLUB BULLETIN MAY 2017 Meeting No. 555 Message from the President (Continued from the previous page) I understand that the mint is working on our medals and we hope to have them soon. At our June meeting we will have a speaker and their mentor from the Thames Valley Children's Hospital program as usual as well as the strawberries and the ice cream and our usual auction. The executive will be meeting on a date to be determined with the Senior Centre as we have the July 1st Celebration at The Cheese Museum and we will be asking for assistance in operation of an appraisal table and a kids table. This is very interesting and fun for anyone who can help for this event. We will also require a couple of members to help put of a presentation as well as an exhibit and a question and answer session at the Kiwanis Senior Centre on Hamilton Road in London. I expect it to be about 2 hours starting at 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, If any one hears of any other clubs that would like a presentation please let us know, as this is a good way to get new members interested in our awesome hobby. Ron Culbert Secretary’s Report April 17, 2017 Meeting called to order at 7:30 by Toby Grimminick, vice-president. Toby informed every one of the loss of Ron’s mother-in-law and asked that everyone sign the card for the family. Acceptance of the minutes: A motion was made by Dave Pommer to accept the minutes and seconded by Terry Bishop. All were in favour of the motion. Toby mentioned that we are still looking for someone to take over looking after the refreshments on a regular basis. Betsy Grimminick will look after it until our June meeting. Toby spoke about the upcoming coin shows in the area. Toby then was the speaker for the night and spoke on Gift Cards. He brought in displays of cards from Walmart and mentioned that many people are starting to collect gift cards. There are many ways to collect cards, you can collect them by type sets, numbered cards, different dates, and different printings. Some Canadian Tire cards can have numerous printings. Disney World also has many gift cards and some of them are hard to find and need some research to find them. He has lots of phone cards and phone cards are big in the United States. Other types include: Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Tim Hortons, and hundreds and hundreds of different companies and businesses that use plastic cards in one sort or another. He stores his cards in holders that he purchases from Staples. He had an impressive display of what people are now collecting. Draw winners were: 1 oz. Silver: Dave D. Envelope #1 Betsy G. Envelope #2 Nancy M. Envelope #3 Carlyle P. Meeting was adjourned at 8:35 after the auction. Dave Pommer 29 56th Year INGERSOLL COIN CLUB BULLETIN MAY 2017 Meeting No. 555 COUNTERFEIT 2004 AND 2005 CANADIAN TOONIES Before I start to write about the main topic, I feel that this question should be addressed. Is it legal to own contemporary counterfeit coins? In numismatic terms the meaning of contemporary counterfeit is a forgery made close to the date that appears on the coin and meant to deceive commerce. The legalities regarding ownership of contemporary counterfeit coins and tokens might appear to be completely clear, as per Canada’s criminal code 450, everyone who, without lawful justification or excuse, the proof of which lies on him, (a) buys, receives or offers to buy or receive, (b) has in his custody or possession, or (c) introduces into Canada, counterfeit money is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years. The wording of code 450 may be simple, but law is very complicated and complex. The wording is meant primarily for the person or persons that are essentially and knowingly committing crimes to be charged and convicted under said laws. At this time, I’m not aware of anyone who has been charged with simple possession to research, educate or collect contemporary counterfeit coins. In my humble opinion, research, education and collecting of contemporary counterfeit coins and tokens in Canada, is a legitimate facet of numismatics, provided there is no intent to defraud someone with them. Counterfeit coins have always been an interesting part of the history of both numismatics and the larger world of commerce. The risks are high in the counterfeiting under world, for much of history counterfeiting was punishable by death and today there are long jail terms. Counterfeiting has also been used, by the U.S.A., Britain, and many other countries, as a weapon of war against other countries. Today counterfeiters mainly concentrated on the higher denominations, the logic being it is worth the risk. Counterfeiting is used by terrorists as one of the means to finance their operations, though there are organized crime groups and petty crooks working alone, having nothing to do with terrorism, who are also involved with counterfeiting. The study of counterfeits can actually be an enjoyable part of the hobby of collecting coins, ancient as well as modern. Some collectors enjoy creating a "black cabinet" of counterfeit coins for educational purposes, as help in counterfeit detection, and as examples of the black art of counterfeiting. Fakes of modern and ancient coins sold as authentic coins on eBay and other Web sites are a frequent problem, though if you follow the online coin discussion groups, a great number of these coin forgeries are frequently exposed. The coin and bullion industry prefers not to talk too loudly about the issue of counterfeits for fear of scaring off collectors and investors. Knowledge is power. Not all dealers have the same authenticity expertise, and as a collector the more you know, the greater the chance you'll avoid getting taken. To gain added knowledge or share your experiences, join a local coin club or a national association, attend major shows that offer seminars. In 2006, I began to notice the outer ring appeared to have an aluminum colour on a few of the toonies I had saved in a coffee mug. At this point I began to pay more attention to the change I received and a 30 56th Year INGERSOLL COIN CLUB BULLETIN MAY 2017 Meeting No. 555 quick test was to drop the toonie on a table. The counterfeit examples have a short dull ring compared to a longer and louder ring of a toonie minted by the Royal Canadian Mint. In October 2006, the CBC ran a story that the RCMP and Quebec police broke up a highly- sophisticated counterfeit ring that was manufacturing fake loonies and toonies. The operation was stumbled upon by accident, on Sept. 14, 2006, police in Repentigny, a city northeast of Montreal, accompanied Revenue Quebec officials arrived at a metal token manufacturing factory to carry out a search warrant for GST evasion. When officials entered the factory, they discovered buckets of loonies and toonies almost ready for circulation. The complexity of the operation and the end product that came out of that factory was good enough to fool the public for the last twelve years. It was the first time police had come across a counterfeit coin operation, as most counterfeiters choose to counterfeit paper money.