Notice of February Meeting and Auction

The next meeting of the Association will take place Monday, February 18, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. in the Library of Colonel Gray Senior High School.

This will be a "Timbit" evening - members are asked to bring along some goodies to put on the plate which we shall share during the meeting. We do not have coffee-making facilities, so those with a fondness for the bean will have to bring their own!

You are welcome to arrive early and join the 7 p.m. crowd for informal conversation before the meeting begins.

If you overlooked this in January, please don't forget to bring along your membership dues for 2002, which are $15 for a single membership, $20 for a couple, and $10 for students. Many thanks to those who have sent in their dues via mail. The Treasurer distributed 2002 membership cards at the January meeting. Those members who have paid and were not present at the meting will find their card enclosed with this newsletter.

The snows of winter are certainly with us now. If Colonel Gray school has closed for the day due to the weather, then the PEINA meeting will not be held that evening but will be rescheduled to the following Monday. If the following Monday also sees stormy weather then we will delay a further week Let us hope this doesn't happen. If you are not sure, don't hesitate to call the PEINA president at his home.

On the Agenda

Our February meeting will feature an auction of numismatic material -- see the list printed elsewhere in this newsletter -- followed by an introductory session devoted to grading. Bring along a coin or two so we can begin to further our understanding of grading and the issues surrounding this practice.

The business portion of the meeting will follow the programme, and will be kept short.

The January Meeting

The January meeting saw a turnout of a dozen hardy souls who ignored the heavy snowfall warning issued earlier in the day. Fortunately the snow heeded Boomer's forecast, and we were safely home before the snow arrived around midnight.

The meeting was informal, with members sitting at the small tables in the central area of the library rather than the large boardroom-style table in the conference room. We opened with a half hour of general conversation, made the more lively by the photos taken by Gloria and Clair of the December potluck party. These were passed hand to hand and sparked many amusing comments. Clearly, a good time was had by all, and again, special thanks are due to our hostess that evening.

The show-and-tell session brought forth an interesting cross-section of numismatic collectibles, including jewellery made of love tokens, trade dollars, some coins and related artifacts from the French regime in P.E.I., Conder tokens, reference books and modern Canadian silver dollars.

This was followed by our short business meeting. A list was circulated of ideas generated (or at least restated) by the Group of Three. Members present were asked to rank from 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest) the ideas in order of their preference and add any written comments they thought appropriate. For the record, the list is included elsewhere in this newsletter.

Members seemed content with this "new" format for our meeting, which ended shortly after 9 p.m. Only when we have substantive business to deal with will be follow our more formal ways and keep detailed minutes for Mr Secretary's binder.

The March Meeting

Our March meeting takes its cue from the indicated wishes of members. We shall devote the evening to the subject of grading, and we thank member Ralph Bagnall for offering to lead us into this subject. Members are invited to bring along coins and tokens on which we can "experiment". Already, a 1935 Canadian silver dollar -- which is said to be in "great shape" -- and some rare Canadian tokens are waiting to make their appearance. Don't miss this interesting meeting!

The Survey

The survey sheet which was passed out at the January meeting has yielded interesting results. Members were asked to mark the items 1 to 5 in order of significance, but this was interpreted several ways! Some members marked several items as their number one choice, others marked one item only. Some members marked all the items on the list!

The items receiving the most "first choice" selections were #1-Information Sessions, #5-Business Session Held Last, and #6-Meet at Round Tables.

Receiving the most votes of any sort were #1-Information Sessions, #5-Business Session Held Last, and #3-Publicity (10 votes each). Next came #2-New Members (9), then #6-Round Tables, #9-Streamline Minutes, and #10-Business Arising with 8 each. The others: Timbits (7), Auctions (6), and CNA Course (6). This survey is not scientific, but it appears that simplifying meetings, and a focus on programme, appear to be the direction members want to take, but with considerable support for the other items too. So, give this some thought and be ready to take part in our discussion at the next meeting.

Design Change

After some two years, a slight change in this newsletter may be noticed. No, your eyesight is not failing! The size of letters has been slightly reduced in order to make more efficient use of the paper.

Also, at the top of this page, you will see the date of our first meeting back in 1964. This information comes from a pleasant discovery, on a stormy evening in January, in the pages of the 1988 C.N.A. Convention booklet. The convention that year was hosted by the PEINA, with Gordy McCarville and Brian MacKenzie (now, unfortunately for us, living in Prescott, Ontario) as Co-Chairs of the Host Committee. What a great job everyone did!

In that convention brochure was a brief history of our association. As this information may be of interest to more recent members, it is reprinted below.

It reads as follows.....

"Prince Edward Island Numismatic Association Formed in 1964

The Prince Edward Island Numismatic Association came about as a result of a formation meeting held in Charlottetown on February 19, 1964, with sixteen people in attendance.

The club was formed with the intent of providing an organization which would "foster the numismatic hobby, and the dissemination of information on subjects relating to it, such as tokens, medals, and paper money."

It was further decided "that such an organization as was being planned should be more than city-wide in scope...and that it be province-wide as far as acceptance of members is concerned."

An initial slate of officers was selected with Ted Black as President, Spurgeon MacLennan as Vice-President, and E. Lund as Secretary-Treasurer.

Membership fees were set at $3.00 for regular memberships, and $1.00 for a student membership. As a comparison, the 1986-87 membership fees were set at $5.00 for all annual memberships, with a provision for life memberships of $50.00

As the PEINA enters its 25^th year, membership stands at 35, including one life member. The membership has an active agenda, including hosting two shows and sales annually, which attract dealers from throughout the maritime provinces.

The Prince Edward Island Numismatic Association is pleased to welcome the Canadian Numismatic Association to "Canada's Birthplace"."

The 1988 brochure was found in a box of papers belonging to the PEINA which the President was given some time ago. His present task is now to see if we have a complete run of newsletters, including the "Numisbulletin" of several years ago. Stay tuned for further developments.

Further to the above....

Thanks to Ken Prophet at the C.N.A. HQ in Barrie, Ontario, we have received a copy of a letter sent to the then C.N.A. General Secretary Louise Graham. In it, PEINA secretary Dan Dayan sends along an application from PEINA to join the national organization. That letter is reprinted here, and note the date: March 4th, 1964.

"Dear Mrs. Graham:

Recently we have managed to form a Coin Cub here in Ch'town, and would appreciate being considered for membership in the C.N.A.

Mr. Ted Black our president who is not a C.N.A. member would like to submit his membership application also.

Enclosed you will find application forms and cheques covering both.

I feel quite strong about this, and believe that in the near future, the majority of our members will make individual applications for membership in the C.N.A.

As we are but a small group at present, sixteen to be exact, we are at quite a disadvantage concerning a set of by laws to adopt.

If you have anything on hand that you could suggest for a club's use, we would appreciate you forwarding us same at your earliest convenience, also any other information you feel might help.

Listed below I have our executive which you will want for your own reference.

President

Mr. E. C. Black

Vice-President

Mr. S. MacLennan

Secretary

Mr. D. Dayan

Treasurer

Mr. E. Lund

Trustee

Mr. H. Ings

Trustee

Mr. C. MacInnis

Trustee

Mr. H. MacLellan

Sincerely,

Dan Dayan, CNA #6073

Secretary

The information received from Ken Prophet also clears up a little mystery, discovered when a sheet of old club letterhead came to light. Our CNA membership number was stated at #6451 but it is now #12576. Mr Prophet explained that the PEINA was indeed a CNA member from 1964 to 1972 but resigned in 1972. The PEINA did rejoin in 1976, but as back dues were not paid, the club received a new membership number. Our 25 years as a CNA member dates from 1976, not 1964, but it is interesting to see that the club did join in its early years.

Our thanks go to Ken Prophet for taking the time to check his records.

Of course, this means we have another item for the unofficial agenda: in 2004, how will we celebrate our 40^th anniversary?

More Newsletter News

Yvon Marquis of the CNA has sent us a report on the club newsletter competition. This monthly (except July and August) production earned 65 points out of 100. The winning newsletter (95 points) comes from the SNQ and is worth a look. This is a handsome production, and clearly has taken a lot of time and money to produce. Interesting, the SNQ publishes a detailed programme timetable, in advance, so that members will know in September what the programme will be the following May. I wonder if we should adopt a similar scheme?

A copy if the SNQ newsletter will be available for examination at the February meeting.

Our thanks to Yvon Marquis for sending this to us, also for his work on behalf of numismatists. Yvon is Chair of the CNA Club Services committee, and writes the monthly colomn on club activities in the CNA Journal. Merci, cher ami!

How much is that in Euro, part II?

Included elsewhere in this newsletter is an interesting essay sparked by the recent introduction of the paper Euro into several western European countries. Who says the study and collecting of paper money is dull!

P.E.I. Dumps

Last month I made reference to a story in the CNA Journal, about the missing P.E.I. "Dumps" from the Holey Dollar. That's not all that's missing. This club has been a member of the CNA for over 25 years, plus nine years from 1964 to 1973, so we should have some 34 years worth of CNA Journals. We don't.

If anyone has any of our Journals, or any other books or numismatic literature from the club library, please let the President know so they can be stamped and inventoried. It is the editor's intention of printing in the near future an inventory of the existing club library, for the benefit of members.

A.P.N.A. Spring Rally and Auction

Mention was made of this last time. Be sure to reserve Friday and Saturday, May 24 and 25, for this important event being held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Also, get in touch with the organizers if you have items for the auction.

C.N.A. Journal

As a member of the Canadian Numismatic Association our club receives the informative CNA Journal which is produced on a monthly basis. Mention has been made recently of the articles on the "dumps" from the P.E.I. Holey Dollar. Every month, the Journal prints a number of special and regular articles on a variety of numismatic subjects. In the December issue, an interesting piece of research by Ronald Greene regarding a British Columbia token, and an article on our new plated circulating coinage. The January/February issue touches on everything from the Harry Potter medals to the blanks used for the 1962 five cent coins.

The Journals also contain book reviews, items on new coins and medals, club news, CNA news and information, as well as announcements and advertisements.

These Journals are brought to the meeting every month; don't hesitate to ask to see them and yes, if you promise to bring them back, you are welcome to borrow them until the next meeting.

Security

The recent theft of a collection of paper money is Summerside has made collection security something to think about. It can't happen here? Well, sometimes it can.

A friend has suggested that I mention the insurance coverage available to collectors and dealers who are members of the Canadian Numismatic Association. Hugh Wood Canada Ltd. specializes in the insurance of numismatic collections -- they cover other collected objects as well -- and this includes "numismatic literature and/or other articles of numismatic interest and/or associated accessories." The advertisement of Hugh Wood Canada Ltd. which appears in the last CNA Journal also mentions that "Any specific items not listed above may be written into the policy."

PEINA members may want to think about this aspect of their collection(s). Information about coin collection insurance is available from Connie Gregory, at 1-800-240-7055 or more directly at (416) 229-6600 ext. 278. The fax number is (416) 229-6800, the website is www.hwint.com and the e-mail address is cgregory@hwcanada.com

Reminder

Just a reminder, that the next PEINA meeting will be held February 18 from 7 p.m. in the Library of Colonel Gray Senior High School. Park in the big lot on the north side of the school and enter via the "Teachers' Door".

And don't forget your dues, and some money (or your chequebook) for our auction!

Wanted

Collector seeks coins from Ghana picturing a cowrie shell, such as one cedi coin 1979, 1984, 20 cedis 1991, 1995, also 200 cedis coin dated 1996, 1998. Please see newsletter editor for details.