Please note that these articles are from electronic backup files and may not be exactly as the final printed versions.
In the twenty-six years since I first began collecting I have witnessed many numismatic highs and lows. I have heard time and time again how speculators, over-grading, dwindling memberships, scandals, outright chicanery and now the introduction of electronic payment systems will bring about the end of numismatics as we know it. But I believe that our hobby is much too strong for such petty nuisances to ruin it.
For the past eight and a half years I have been involved in the monumental task of compiling a new bibliography on Canadian numismatics. As a result, I have spoken with literally hundreds of collectors, dealers, authors, researchers, publishers, bankers, designers, engravers, museum curators and other individuals from practically every walk of life. Many of these people were among the biggest ‘names’ in numismatics today and in almost every instance I found them to be extremely friendly, engaging and cooperative. As an added bonus I now have many new numismatic friends from all around the world.
Just the other day, for example, I had the unique pleasure of speaking to Bert Koper’s daughter, Vera. In the late 1930s Bert established the first national numismatic society in Canada - the short-lived Canadian Numismatic Art Society. Sadly, with this group’s demise in the mid-1940s, Bert faded from the national scene altogether. As a result of my talk with Vera, Bert’s photo will appear in our book for the first time ever as a lasting tribute to his contributions to Canadian numismatics and I could tell that Vera was absolutely thrilled her father would be remembered in this way.
In closing, I urge you to discourage pessimism and cynicism wherever you encounter it. Allow yourself to enjoy the more positive aspects of this wonderful hobby. Because, whether you realize it or not, you are a member of a worldwide fraternity - a fraternity so strongly interconnected that absolutely anything we attempt can be achieved. I encourage you to set and strive for your own numismatic dreams because, speaking from experience, the impossible really can become reality... with a little help from our friends.
One of the primary mandates of The Canadian Numismatic Association is to provide educational opportunities for members who wish to further their numismatic knowledge.
Your interest in numismatics may be based on many motivations, but it is important that you learn about the hobby and, in particular, the coins that you collect. The C.N.A. has made a concentrated effort to promote numismatic education in the form of convention seminars, in-house courses and correspondence courses.
As Chairman of the C.N.A. Education Committee, I am pleased to see that collectors have taken advantage of these opportunities. The first C.N.A./N.E.S.A. Numismatic Correspondence Course was released in 1995 with more than twelve hundred collectors now registered. The primary emphasis was on Canadian numismatics and included twelve chapters on related subjects. Students had to read the material and answer a series of questions at the end of each chapter. Many qualified people were needed to write the chapters while others have served as Course Administrators during the past eight years.
A committee of numismatists is now working on a second Course. We hope that it will be finalized, printed and released in time for the 2004 C.N.A. Convention in Toronto. It will be an exciting follow-up to the original course with completely new material. Although it will be predominantly Canadian in nature, there will be other numismatic subjects included. There will be more details on this course in coming months.
Educational forums during the annual RCNA Conventions have been held for many years. They offer an opportunity to learn more about a variety of numismatic subjects, whether you collect the material or not. In many cases, we have been able to obtain speakers from the local area who wouldn’t otherwise attend a convention and who speak on local topics. Two different educational forums are being planned for the C.N.A. Convention in Windsor in July.
For the past six years the C.N.A. have organized very successful one-day numismatic courses at a local college in the Toronto area. Five or six qualified instructors on various numismatic subjects have taught the course. These courses have been very popular and are usually a sell-out well in advance. C.N.A. will offer to organize a similar course in other areas across Canada in partnership with the local club if interest warrants the effort.
The Canadian Numismatic Association has these education opportunities in place for all collectors. We hope that you will take advantage of them in the future.
A World Wide Web of Opportunity!
With more people “surfing” the World Wide Web every day, the opportunities for organizations such as the C.N.A. to reach out to potential members and the general public are expanding dramatically.
I have been actively encouraging your C.N.A. Executive to broaden our ability to communicate the excitement of Canadian numismatics through emerging Internet technologies. Our first step, the C.N.A. website, is located at www.rnca.ca, and I urge every member to visit it regularly.
Other numismatic bodies have put many innovative ideas to work, and the C.N.A. can profit from their successes to generate interest and encourage collectors to join us. For example, the Numismatic Bibliomania Society (www.coinbooks.org) publishes a weekly online newsletter, The E-Sylum, which is free for the asking, complemented by an outstanding quarterly journal. E-Sylum readers have a habit of becoming NBS members!
The American Numismatic Association (www.money.org), has made amazing strides in communicating with collectors. In addition to a selection of articles and photographs, the site allows visitors to join and pay their dues online. Current tests could see future Board of Governors elections conducted by electronic ballot.
Accessibility through the Internet encourages wider interest and membership, and overcomes traditional barriers to communication such as high travel costs and mail delays, to name just two. There are many other cost-effective means of exploiting technology to grow the C.N.A.. One is the aggressive use of linking from other websites of numismatic interest. Another is vigorously promoting our website through The CN Journal, and the opposite is also true – pitching the current content of The Journal on our website.
Internet applications are being used numismatically in other creative ways. Several clubs and societies, some smaller than the C.N.A., feature chat rooms, moderated forums, and marketplaces where members can buy, sell, and trade. The Russian Numismatic Society (www.russiannumismaticsociety.org) is one such group.
Most of these tools of numismatic education and entertainment are not expensive to implement, and the cost is truly an investment in our future. They do, however, require a new approach – a different way of thinking – to see them to fruition. Astute and timely application of information technology will help ensure the C.N.A.’s long-term success as a popular forum for the enjoyment of Canadian numismatics.
Doug Andrews is the C.N.A.’s Manitoba Director, and a member of the ANA’s Information Technology Committee.
No Will?? - No Way!!
A few months ago, I got news of an auction whose material seemed out of place in the venue in which it was being offered. I began to suspect that these were the possessions of a very well known Numismatist who had recently passed away. This material was offered amongst such tacky items as rugs, furniture, knick-knacks and the like. Although not much in the way of actual collectibles was being offered, there were years of accumulation of books, directories, files and all the stuff that researchers dream of.
I called the auctioneer, a very pleasant fellow, who described some of the items but could “under no circumstances” reveal the owner. “The material is being sent to the block by the office of the Guardian and Trustees of Ontario.” With no list or catalogue, I was to arrive early on auction day. On the day, having an hour to explore, I found all the material I expected, but no other collectors I recognized. Why should I? These people were here for the rugs, furniture and knick-knacks.
At the end of the day, I had spent a lot of money but only a fraction of what the true worth is to token collectors and researchers alike. One other gentleman had battled me for directories (he was a collector of such items) but I did win some and there were enough other things in the room to keep my interest. As I left that night, my car was full of boxes, books, and metal cabinets. I was very, very, HAPPY! Then I slowly began to come down off my cloud. What a shame, I thought, that this material was sold off in this way. Yes, I had benefited greatly from knowing of the auction, but still, it just did not seem right.
It had been just a few months previous that my wife and I met with an estate planner with the purpose of making an updated will. Everything was fairly straightforward until we got to my coin collection. It turned out that liquidation of my collection could be a problem if I didn't work out some precise details. With his help, we came up with a workable solution. I now knew more than ever that those terms of disposal were not to be taken lightly. That evening's meeting with the estate planner and a couple of occasions later to have it all legalized was worthwhile. I am now confident that my collections, research files and books will be treated with the respect they deserve; and so will my heirs!
From what I could gather later, the above-mentioned Numismatist’s wife had no control over what took place. This is everyone's worst fear. A lawyer friend of mine recently showed me an appeal that a new Ontario Trustee placed in a legal journal asking if there was any law firm that may have knowledge of a 'living will' dated after August 1967 for our Numismatist's estate. This new Trustee was trying to find out information after the fact. But, it was too late. All of the material had been disposed of and nothing could change that reality, even if another will was indeed found. This is the very circumstance that we must all be both aware and afraid of.
On Any Given Sunday Morning
I woke up early this morning and you would think that this is the one day to sleep in. I mean, after all, it is Sunday morning. I could have rolled over and dozed off or got up and read the local newspaper but I decided instead to read another chapter in Private Gold Coinage of California by Edgar H. Adams. I purchased this fascinating book a couple of years ago from the numismatic literature specialist George Frederick Kolbe. After a while I turned to Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States by Donald H. Kagin Ph.D. to compare what he had written about the California assayers and minters mentioned in Adams book. To add even more of a visual affect than the plates in these two fine publications offered I picked from my shelves the June 2000 Sotheby auction catalogue of the gold coins and ingots from the SS Central America. The images of gold coins and gold bars are truly awesome. I then found a picture of the Famous 13 Gold Run (Rutledge and Davis Mine, Klondike 1901) in Gold Coins for Financial Survival by W. W. Turner. I was able to purchase this book at the American Numismatic Association library spare sale in July of 2001 during the annual Summer Seminar. Out of curiosity, I thought I would check the Internet for more information about the Famous 13 Gold Run. I found the same picture but no additional information. While the computer was up and running I launched my Optical Character Recognition software and scanned a couple of pages of Don Kagin’s book. I then emailed the section of text on Rock money to Bret Evans at Canadian Coin News. He is always looking for interesting tidbits.
At this point, you may be wishing that you too owned a large library for research purposes or hours of reading pleasure. But wait; there is more to my column than merely suggesting that you build your own reference library. Numismatic literature is difficult to find and expensive to acquire. How are you to obtain information from a specific reference source if you do not own the book? Recently I ran into that very situation as I needed an obscure German text that was not in any local municipal or university library. Fortunately, the book was listed in the C.N.A. Library index. A quick e-mail to the C.N.A. Librarian and the book arrived in my mailbox within a few days. Net cost $3.50, including return postage. Is this a bargain or what? Members are encouraged to borrow books on coins, tokens, medals, and paper money and other audio visual material from the C.N.A. library. Check out Geoff Bell’s Ex Libris column in the May 2003 CN Journal for more information.
What are you doing this Sunday morning?
Numismatic Friendships
I have been collecting Newfoundland coins for twenty years and have been attending Canadian shows for thirteen. I would like to talk about the latter years, not because it was during them that I finally found that elusive coin and completed my collection, but because of something far more important that I discovered; friendship. It took me a long time to realize that friendship is more important than filling holes in a collection. Those early collecting years were relatively empty as I had blinders on and did not realize the significance of fellowship.
The first show that I attended north of the border was at the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls in the spring of 1990. I was amazed at how small the show was, compared to the shows I had been to in the States, but was impressed at how much material I had to look at and how friendly the dealers were. In Ohio, where I live, you just don’t see coins like I saw at that first show, and in general, the dealers are indifferent towards you if you’re not a buyer.
Upon entering the bourse room, I sized up the layout and decided to work the floor clockwise. Within an hour, I broke one of my tenets by buying a coin before completing my search of the entire floor. I bought a choice EF Vicky (Victoria) twenty-cent piece from Rick Simpson because it was such a beautiful coin at a bargain price. Later on, I met Hugh Powell and spent quite a bit of time at his table because he specializes in my area of interest. He had many coins that would have fit into my collection, but my budget only allowed me one more. I came away with a coin that is special to me because it was minted in the birth year of my Newfoundland grandfather, a 1904 large cent in uncirculated condition. Hugh and I have been roommates many times since that first meeting and have become best of friends.
At the same show, I was given an education on Newfoundland gold by Jim Lawson and first learned about Newfoundland’s twentieth century tokens from John Cheramy. Since then, I’ve also become good friends with Jim and cherish the stories he told me about his early years working for Fred Bowman in Montreal, making the rounds of the coin shops and later on hearing stories of Jim’s thirty-five years serving as a Mountie all over Canada. Unfortunately, I lost touch with John as he retired from the numismatic scene soon after.
The next Canadian show I attended was the 1991 C.N.A. in Toronto, where I bought a few more coins and met a few more friends. I was a successful bidder in my first auction, conducted by Chuck Moore, picking up a few Newfie five-cent pieces. We’ve spent many hours since then discussing numismatics and politics and I look forward to each meeting. Canadian auctions continue to amaze me because so many scare or rare coins go to the book or to the first bidder. I’m still not sure if that’s because of a thin market or Canadian bidders are overly polite. Ha. Ha. I asked Chuck about this phenomenon years later and he replied, “You (dealers and collectors) must conspire ahead of time deciding which lots each of you will bid on.”
It was two years before I made it to another Canadian show, but it is an event that I’ll always remember because of the unforeseen benefits I reaped. I attended the 1993 ONA Convention in Guelph and have been averaging two shows a year since. I drove up from Ohio, arriving early Friday afternoon. After entering the hotel and checking out the bourse room, I realized I was the only one there! No public, no dealers, in fact the bourse room was empty! I waited out in the car for an hour or so and finally noticed some numismatic types walking towards the entrance. I approached them and learned that they were there to set up the room for the show, which started on Saturday. I helped them set up tables, cases and lights, etc. and consequently was invited to the reception that night where I met more people, many of whom have become close friends.
An ONA reception is unequalled in my Canadian numismatic experience. It is an informal gathering of dealers and registered attendees of the convention and is held Friday night after dealer set up. It is an intimate gathering of true numismatists and purely a social event well worth attending. Since then, I’ve attended most of the ONA Conventions and have been a day early to every one, having a great time each year.
That Fall I attended the TICF Show in Niagara Falls, finding a few more coins and meeting more people. The next year I repeated these two shows and also attended the C.N.A. in Hamilton. I met Michael Walsh there for the first time and he made a lasting impression. He had several cases of impressive coins. Stan Wright offered me the 1873H five-cent piece in VF30, key to the Newfoundland series, but I couldn’t afford it at the time, . Since then, I’ve bought many coins from these two friends.
The second show that I attended in Toronto was The TICF Show held at the Convention Centre downtown where I bought and traded for a few coins on the bourse floor and picked up more in the auction. I was introduced to Jerry Himelfarb, a true numismatist, who primarily buys high grade Canadian or Newfoundland coins with eye appeal. Jerry has contributed some in-depth articles to Canadian Coin News, is a student of population reports, an accomplished grader, an avid reader and a Shakespearian buff. Whenever we get together the hours fly by as we discuss the nuances of numismatics. Unfortunately, he’s recently moved to Australia and is dearly missed.
The next memorable show that I attended was the ONA convention in 1999,which was in Guelph again. I exhibited for the first time, displaying my Breton tokens from Newfoundland and had a wonderful time. Due to my exhibit, I met several collectors such as Mike Hollingshead, Paul Petch, and Rick Craig. Mike looked over my exhibit and the next day gave me an old beat up Condor token that he had at home with a hanging fleece on it that resembled the Rutherford tokens in my display. I was fascinated and have been collecting hanging fleece Condors ever since. Someday I hope to be able to display them along with the Rutherford’s.
Paul Petch and I have become good friends, communicating frequently and sharing information on the running of coin clubs and numismatics in general. Often times we’ll have a “numismatic show and tell” when we get together.
Rick Craig is a token collector of the entire Canadian series, including post-Breton material. I met him at that show because as I was going around the bourse floor asking for Newfie coins and tokens, dealers were telling me that someone was just ahead of me asking for tokens. I doubled back the other way so I’d at least have a chance to find something before he got there first. We eventually met half way around the room, discussed our common interest and have met several times since. In fact, Rick bought a token on eBay for me as we had swapped want lists and I wasn’t very computer literate at the time.
I attended the C.N.A. Convention in Kitchener hoping to get one coin out of the auction, as it was all I could afford. I accomplished my goal but was in a dilemma. Sandy Campbell had two coins that were high on my upgrade list and he realized that I was interested. When I told him that I had just blown my budget he asked, “If you weren’t broke would you buy them at the mentioned price,” and when I said yes he said, “Take them and pay me when you can.” After some hesitation, I took them and it has changed my approach to collecting. They were the first of many coins that I’ve bought from Sandy.
I exhibited at the ONA and C.N.A. shows in 1999, 2000, and 2001 meeting a few people each time. At the C.N.A. Convention in Quebec City, I met Sid Belzberg who was viewing my exhibit of Newfoundland 50-cent pieces. We became e-mail friends during the next year and I was invited to his place in Toronto last year when I came up for the ONA Convention. He had the most impressive collection that I’ve ever seen and probably ever will see. I had spent three hours just looking at his Newfie material and then to hurry me along he handed me a wooden box saying, “I think you’ll appreciate this”. I opened the lid and there was a set of four and a duplicate of the British Columbia patterns! After I recovered from gawking, I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at his Canadian material. I was surprised and saddened when I learned of Sid’s decision to auction his collection. I was able to acquire one piece out of the sale as a remembrance of the time when he invited me into his home to view his collection.
Another interesting person I met a couple of years ago was John Regitko. At the 2001 ONA Convention, again Guelph, I was introduced to John, who was staffing a club table. I had seen him at shows in the past but had never met him. I knew that he was a past president of the C.N.A. and was involved in the original TICF Shows etc. We talked for some time and he asked me to submit a brief autobiography. He said he would like to publish it in the Ontario Numismatist, which was subsequently printed.
Early Sunday afternoon as I was getting ready to leave I realized I couldn’t find my jacket. I put the word out giving a description of it, and left to catch my plane. Later that afternoon my jacket was found and if you’re familiar with ONA Conventions they have a raffle late in the day on Sunday. My name was drawn as the grand prize-winner and I could have my choice of a Caribbean cruise or $1000 cash! Before I got home, John telephoned to tell me about finding my jacket and my good luck with the raffle and spoke to my wife. Needless to say, I got the jacket and my wife got the $1000. Thanks, John.
Collecting Newfoundland coins has been a great joy in my life – but it hardly compares with the pleasure and values I’ve been blessed to receive in exchanging ideas and information with my peers and in making enduring friendships with so many interesting and knowledgeable numismatists. I’ve attended two more ONA Conventions, two C.N.A.’s, and a Torex Show since that ONA Convention in 2001. I went to two of those shows barely able to cover expenses but came away as satisfied as if I had plugged a major hole in my collection.
In Windsor I was just elected to be the C.N.A.’s representative of the central United States and I’m looking forward to further participating in Canadian numismatics.
Bill Kamb was awarded first prize in Exhibit Category A - Canadian Coins & Tokens - at the C.N.A.’s 2003 Convention. In addition to his participation at Canadian shows, he is active in the newly formed Ohio State Numismatic Association and served on the selection committee for the Ohio State Quarter design.
Two Kinds of Cars
Lee Iacocca, retired Chrysler Corp. chairman, told producers in a TBS cable documentary “Driving Passions” that his Dad once gave him some sage advice on car making: “There are two kinds of cars: The kind that sell ... and the kind that don’t sell. Make the kind that sell. The rest — forget it.” What Mr. Iacocca was really saying is that a car manufacturer should concentrate on building vehicles that buyers want and are willing to purchase. This seems simple enough but is actually incredibly complex. Market studies can identify features that are in demand, engineers can incorporate the latest technologies but it is the carmaker that must find the elusive mix of style, comfort and performance that will drive the buyers to the showroom floor.
To paraphrase Mr. Iacocca there are two kinds of numismatic articles: those that are read and those that are not. You know what kind our new editor Paul Petch wants to publish. At the recent C.N.A. Convention in Windsor, admirably hosted by the Windsor Coin Club, someone pointed out that there are three kinds of readers of The CN Journal: beginners, established collectors and advanced numismatists. If we target specialized research articles for the advanced we risk overwhelming the beginner. The CN Journal must incorporate a mix that will properly service all levels of collector interests.
The monthly journal of the American Numismatic Association recently changed its layout and editorial direction. According to The E-Sylum, the weekly e-mail newsletter of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society: “the ANA made a good decision in ‘lightening’ the format as Numismatist is the primary benefit to the majority of ANA Members.” The editor, Barbara Gregory, replied: “The American Numismatic Association has received hundreds of favourable responses from readers regarding the redesign. Many members have noted that, for the first time, they read the magazine from cover to cover.”
What kinds of articles would you like to see in future editions of The CN Journal? Bill Cross, publisher of the Charlton catalogues, has suggested more articles on varieties to cater to the recent interest in this area. Do you have an idea, subject or topic that you would like to see researched and written about? How about a general interest column written by a well-known numismatist? Let us know what you would like to read because that is exactly the type of article The CN Journal intends on publishing.
The J. Douglas Ferguson Award
The J. Douglas Ferguson Award was established by a donation made by Mr. Ferguson who was the first Honorary President of the Canadian Numismatic Association. An independent Board of Award was established, albeit with strong ties to the Canadian Numismatic Association.
Under the terms that established the Award, it is to be given annually to the living numismatist who, in the opinion of the Board of Award, has contributed most to the advancement of the science of numismatics in Canada, either through research, writing, publishing, or in any other manner, and who has not previously received the Award. Mr. Ferguson directed that the 1969 Award be given to Fred Bowman and the 1970 Award be given to Sheldon S. Carroll. Messrs Bowman, Carroll, and Donald M. Stewart were then appointed as the permanent members of the Board of Award. The President of the Canadian Numismatic Association, ex officio, is the fourth member of the Board. The Award may be given to a permanent member of the Board on the unanimous vote of the other three members and this has happened once, when Donald M. Stewart received the Award. A further tie of the Board with The Canadian Numismatic Association is that the Association holds the Board’s funds in trust and nominations may be made only by Association members. Calls for nomination were first made in 1971.
Today, the Award is considered the highest Canadian numismatic distinction and while inextricably related to The Canadian Numismatic Association it is not an award of the Canadian Numismatic Association. This distinction tended to be lost until the Board presented the Award to a non-member of the Association. The questions that were asked at the time caused us to review the original documents establishing the Board to confirm this.
I believe that in the minds of the donor and original board members, the Award was the highest award of the Association, as the Association represented numismatics in Canada. It has become a tradition that the Award is presented as the culmination of The Canadian Numismatic Association Annual Convention Banquet.
The Award originally consisted of a 1.20 ounce 24 carat gold medal, accompanied by a citation. Arnaldo Marchetti designed the medal. The Lombardo Mint, of Sherbrooke,Quebec, struck the first order of ten medals. When the time came for ten more medals to be struck, the price of gold had soared, so the weight of the medals was reduced to 0.75 ounces. Problems with the production of the second lot of ten medals led the Board of Award to have the third lot of ten medals struck at Royal Canadian Mint in 1989. Because of the high price of gold and ghosting evident on the thinner lighter medals, the Board reluctantly decided that future medals would be struck in sterling silver, gold plated after being engraved with the recipient’s name.
There is one other point that should be mentioned. There is no connection between the Award and the J. Douglas Ferguson Historical Research Foundation. The Foundation was named in Mr. Ferguson’s honour and is a charitable foundation dedicated to assisting numismatic associations, research and publication. As a charitable foundation, it can give tax receipts for donations.
A Bid to Win
The term 'snipe bid' was used in last month's CN Journal in a story about two unique RCM gold coins sold by Internet auction. The snipe bids arrived in the last 30 seconds of the sale and raised the final price of the coins by over $50,000. What a difference 30 seconds can make!
Unless you are a regular user of Internet auction services, you will not be familiar with what this modern-day term is all about. Simply stated, and like the military terminology from which it is drawn, it describes someone who remains hidden until they strike. In the case of the Internet auction, the way the sniper is revealed is with a bid in the closing seconds of an auction — just before the publicized closing time — in an effort to place a winning bid before any time remains for it to be challenged.
Reading discussions regarding snipe bidders on the Internet, there are many negative comments hurled at this predator of the auction scene. It makes one wonder about opinions closer to home. What kind of an interesting discussion would flow from some collectors in the Southern Ontario region who participate in Internet auctions? When Alan Roy, Mark Argentino, Rick Craig, Don Bunjevac and Paul Petch compared opinions, it turned out there was no discussion at all.
Snipe bidding is their favourite way of participating in Internet auctions. Some even use an automated bidding service to place the snipe bid, in case they expect to be busy as the auction closes. It is an effective way of winning auctions with a well-considered maximum of what a lot is worth. Bidding too early can result in an unreasonable contest of wills with other bidders. There is great danger of loosing one's self in the heat of the competition and regretting what you may pay in order to win.
Snipping is like the mail bid at a regular auction. The people at the auction compete and place their maximum bids. That does not mean that the high bidder is necessarily the winner, however. The mail bidder has considered carefully what the item is worth, knowing that there is only one chance to establish a maximum bid. Is the snipe bidder any different?
So, in many Internet auctions that run over a period of a few days, those days are not really just the time available for bidding. Those days become the time available for locating lots of interest, researching price trends and considering, in your own heart-of-hearts, exactly what you think the lot's true value is. It could mean you will snatch the item from some current high bidder who thinks they are getting a bargain, or you could discover that it is worth far more than your estimate, as you lose to some other sniper!
What We Expect of Our Friends
The time has now come to remind our many friends that they, too, have a responsibility, and a share in the work done and planned by us. A magazine (and this Association) is as good and as strong as its readers and friends will make it; because it is to them, and the advance of our scientific heritage, that we dedicate our efforts.
What we, the editors and publishers have done, is clear to all who have seen and read our magazine in the past; we propose to continue to present authentic, clear and useful numismatic information both in a technical and a popular vein, in the future.
We have always welcomed everybody’s co-operation, and we have received contributions from a large number of outstanding scholars, but no effort is too humble nor too technical to remain outside our range. Numismatics, we feel, is a most democratic pursuit, which unites in a truly spiritual brotherhood its followers from all walks of life.
We wish that many, who have kept back in the past, may come forward as contributors; we wish that those who have constructive ideas, would communicate them to us, and we wish that some of our friends, who, at this late date, have not yet renewed their membership, would do so at once — our continuity depends on members as well as on contributors.
Ours is a unique task, keep this mind. It is common knowledge that there is at present nowhere in the world a similar journal, nor one that measures up to our standards, and yet maintains a healthy equilibrium between technicality and popularization.
If you have not already done so, we must ask our old subscribers to send in their renewal submittance at once. The paper scarcity makes it well-nigh impossible to send out copies not previously subscribed to and paid for.
If you have been fooled up until now, I guess that last sentence gives us away. These comments came from the October, 1944 issue of Numismatic Review, published by Joseph B. and Morton M. Stack of New York between 1943 and 1947. Even though almost 60 years have passed since it was written, these words remain timely. They eloquently express the C.N.A.’s dependence on its members and The C.N. Journal contributors.
It is our hope that you approve of our modest efforts as we conclude our first year of Journals and that we may look forward to your continued friendship through 2004.
Paul Petch, Editor