CONA February 2019 Newsletter

February Meeting

When: 7 p.m., February 20, 2019
Oakstone Academy: 939 State St. Westerville, Ohio 43081
Topic: Apothacary tokens and manhole
Speaker: Rachel W. and Gerry Tebben

February Presentation 

In keeping with the shortness of the month, the meeting will feature two brief presentations – Rachel W. is going to talk about apothacary weights and Gerry Tebben is going to give a presentation on manhole covers.

Apothecary weight tokens were based loosely on the troy weight and used by pharmaceutical chemists and bullion merchants from 1878 until the late 1960s to measure out powders and medicines. The apothecary weight token system began in Great Britain with the British Weights and Measures Act. In 1960, apothecary weights became obsolete and were formally abolished starting in Australia. Everything was replaced by metric weights soon after. – Rachel W. 

Manhole covers are probably the most important numismatic item in the history of the world. They’re not only round and dated, they save lives by preventing inattentive people from falling down holes. – Gerry Tebben

January Presentation 

On the Crossroad: The Hellenistic Kingdom of Cappadocia:

Elephants, it turns out, weren’t very good in battle, John R. said as an aside during his presentation on the coins of Cappadocia and the inbred rulers whose portraits appear on them.

Romans, he said, had a long history of dealing with the oversize creatures that the Cappadocians sent into battle. “They knew all you had to do was make a lot of noise and the elephants would turn around and run.”

The Kingdom of Cappadocia issued coins from the 5th century B.C. to the early first century A.D. They typically show the king on the obverse and a god on the back.

John said the coins of Cappadocia run scarce but inexpensive. Coins with a known population of just a handful can be purchased, when they’re available, for just a couple hundred dollars.

Some of the rulers are known mostly by their coins. Little survives about them. Citing Ariarathes III (230?-220 B.C.) as an example, John said, “You could write it (his biography) in one sentence.”

CONA Medal Struck

Efforts to develop a presentation medal that the CONA club can offer to presenters and other deserving club members and guests is being realized this month with the minting of 250 medals.

This two-year effort , initiated in 2017, was led by a Presentation Medal Committee consisting of Geoffrey G., Chris P, Don T. and Max L. (our young nut) with later assistance from Janis T.

By November 2018, a preliminary design was forwarded by the committee to Stephen Petty to finalize, locate an engraver and to get a first strike minted.

By early December the design was finalized and Osborne Coinage Co. (Ted S.) was selected to finalize the art, develop dies and provide pricing for 250 medals.

The CONA Board approved this scope of work and the selection of the Osborne Coinage Company at our 2018 Christmas Party.

In late January, Spence S. and Stephen Petty, based on a vote of the Board, agreed the first strike was acceptable and authorized Osborne Coinage Company to strike 250 CONA Presentation Medals.

We should have these for the club’s use no later than the March CONA meeting. The first strike medal will be given to our historian, Bruce S., for archiving.

From our ANA Representative

Hope you all are staying warm, what a see saw weather pattern we have been having. I am looking forward to April when temps start to warm up and it is coin month ( yes not coin week but coin month )

Here is something we all can participate in and have some fun. Hundreds of dealers and collectors are using the month of April for national coin month, not week. Close to a million coins will enter the cash registers and tip pockets all over the country.

Some specially marked (holograms) coins will be used in change that can be redeemed for high value coins by following the instructions. Yes dealers and collectors are putting old and valuable coins into regular circulation to help boost the hobby.

It’s something we all can do. We all have a roll or two ( HA HA ) of wheat pennies, why not use some of them for change or put into the give-a-penny, takea-penny dishes that are at most retail stores and gas stations.

One dealer is going to use his for tips at eating places but is also going to let the waiter/waitress know that the change is something special. Just think if just 1/2 of one percent of over a million coins makes a new collector. Try it I am. – Bob, ANA District rep Ohio

By: Gerry Tebben

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