February 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 2

February 2010 – Volume 1 Issue 2

Walking Liberty Halves

The Walking Liberty Halves, which are more professionally known as the Walking Liberty half dol-
lars, are silver half dollar coins that are worth $0.50 U.S. These were released by the United States
of America and some of them can even be found easily today because of their minting date. Walking
Liberty half dollars were minted at different times and for multiple dates. These times and dates in-
clude 1916-1921, 1923, 1927-1929 and 1933-1947. The original design was created in 1916 by Ad-
olph A. Weinman. On the reverse side of the coin, you are even able to find his artists mark “AAW”
just under the wings of the eagle.

The different mintmarks can be seen under the saying “In God we Trust” which resides on the
front. However this mark was moved to the reverse side on 1917 and so for those dates forward
can be found underneath the words half dollar on the coin. The S sign for minting stands for San
Francisco Mint, the D is for Denver Mint and the P is for Philadelphia.

The designer of the Walking Liberty half-dollars, Adolph A. Weinman, was also the designer for the
very famous “mercury” dimes. Mercury dimes are thought to be one of the more attractive coins in
the history of the United States of America. This coin is considered one of the most beautiful coins
but is primarily known as the most beautiful half dollar, showing great craftsmanship on his part as
well as skill. While many coins has significant errors that you are able to find, Walking Liberty half
dollars only have one that is well known which is both sides with the image of the reverse side
rather than being two sided like most coins.

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org

 February 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 2
SOME HISTORY OF THE BAY CITIES & CULVER CITY COIN CLUB
(Taken from a flyer created in early 1972)

BAY CITIES COIN CLUB and the CULVER CITY COIN CLUB
Extends a cordial welcome to the
49TH SEMI-ANNUAL
CALIFORNAI STATE NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION CONVENTION

"Santa Monica-Where the Mountains Meet the Sea"

Bay Cities and Culver City Coin Clubs as your hosts selected as the design for the convention medal,
James and Laura Gardner Fraser's depiction of the early pioneers first viewing the Santa Monica Bay
and Pacific Ocean; the covered wagon and the setting sun over the bay and mountains gives a vivid
picture of one view of our historic past.

Truly, Santa Monica has had an historic past; from Juan Cabrillo's landing in 1542 and naming it the
Bay of Smoke----from the many Indian encampments; to the Franciscan Mission trails---Father Cre-
spi built the first establishment here in 1752 at the base of the Santa Monica Canyon; to the later
days of the great Rancheros, to the early movie. colony of Inceville, and even later to the famous
watering spa of the rich and famous, to today' s gracious way of living............A HISTORIC PAST
LOOKS FORWARD TO A GOLDEN FUTURE
*****************
BAY CITIES & CULVER CITY COIN CLUBS Joint Installation & Awards Banquet, January 20th, 1972,
Thursday, 8:00 P.M., Memorial Bldg., Overland & Culver Blvd., Culver City.
M.C. Curly Mitchell: Dinner, Fun and Fine Fellowship. Please join us.

(Continued on Page 3)

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 2

 February 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 2

SOME HISTORY OF THE BAY CITIES & CULVER CITY COIN CLUB
(Continued from Page 2)
BAY CITIES COIN CLUB
Organized in early 1944, with 20 charter members and Dr. O.K. Grier as president, the club first
met in the board room of the Santa Monica Bank at Fourth and Arizona Sts., through the courtesy of
Aubrey Austin, president of the bank, who later in 1947 became president of BCCC.
Bay Cities Coin Club was unique among California coin clubs in that it was a stag or men's club. No
ladies attended the club from the time of organization in 1944 until 1949, when Karl M. Brainard be-
came president. Ladies were invited to join, and in 1949, eight out of twelve new members were
ladies. The records show that Grace Brainard, Thelma Case, Maud Davidson, Mrs. Charles Mills,
Anna Block, Mrs. Sam Kabealo, Frances Palmer and Mary Lee Wedertz joined that year. From 1949
to 1971, the membership of BCCC has been almost equally divided between women and men.
Over the years, BCCC has produced many notable collectors who have gone on to serve as officers
in other clubs. Our fifth president, Harry Davidson, became president of the California State Numis-
matic Association; and nine presidents of the Numismatic Association of Southern California have
come from BCCC. They were Charles Ruby, W.B. (Bill) Fanning, Clarence (Slim) Dunbar, George
Bennett, Karl M. Brainard, Ed Borgolte, Peggy Borgolte (the first woman president of NASC), Jim
Betton and Ben Abelson. Back in 1950, Louis M. Reagan, then Secretary of ANA, was appointed hon-
orary member No. 85.
The Friendly Club always invites you to visit the old club (our 27th year), with new ideas and
young spirit. We meet on the third Thursday of each month at 8:00 P.M. at Westdale Savings &
Loan Bldg., 2920 So. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles. Calif.

CULVER CITY COIN CLUB

The Culver City Coin Club was organized in 1958, November by an interested group of friends in
that city. At first, when the group was small, the members met at each other's homes. It is a non-
profit organization, The first 41 members are charter members; our first president was Eric Warner.
Quite a few of our original members are still active with us. Paul Thornburg was our first second vice
-president and still retains that post "by choice." This year the Board of Governors voted to award
Honorary Life Membership to Paul Thornburg and Maurice Shabazian for their continued service to
CCCC.
The Four C Journal is our club bulletin which each member receives every month; we are proud of
our publication and the efforts of our members. Our dues have remained the same over the years;
$1.00 for Juniors and $2.00 for adults.
Culver City Coin Club is always willing to help in the promotion of our hobby; the club has made
many educational displays for schools, banks and conventions; the club also has made group visita-
tions to other clubs (this gives a big boost to both organizations.) Our members are active on a wide
scale-----from Ernie Hood and his Believe It Or Not Displays of "The White House", "Lincoln Log
Cabin" etc. to sponsoring state-wide conventions.
Visitors are always welcome: good food, active auctions, varied displays, interesting speakers and
programs, and always fine fellowship.
CCCC meets the second Thursday of each month at 8:00 P.M. Urupan Room, Culver Memorial
Building, Culver City, corner of Overland Avenue and Culver Blvd. Culver City.

(Editor’s note: editing and formatting was changed slightly to fit existing format.) JvB

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 3

 February 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 2

Photos from our January Dinner Meeting at Dinah’s Restaurant

Our Grand Prize Winner of the Gold Drawing

Eric Auerbach

BCCC4 BAY CITIESCCCC

PAGE COINJournal
CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 4
 February 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 2

January Club News

The January dinner meeting was called to order at 6:55 PM with 35 people present, including
guests. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Steve D. Walter Ostromecki won the membership
drawing of $3, which he took in the form of drawing tickets and then donated them to the YN’s
(Young Numismatists) at the meeting. (Thank you Walt!)

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Garn A.—Explained dinner payment issues due to the fact that we will not be able to get separate
checks at our annual dinner meeting. He is going to put the total bill, including tax and 15% tip on
his credit card. Each diner was to list on sheets of paper exactly what they had for dinner and will
be presented a bill from Garn at the next regular meeting in February.

AFTER DINNER
Garn A.—Introduced Walt Ostromecki as an ANA Governor, Culver City Coin Club Life Member and
Bay Cities Coin Club Member (Life?) to give us a short speech.
Walt O.—Stated that he enjoyed being at our annual dinner meeting and requested us to join the
ANA (American Numismatic Association). He told us that he could sign us up that night at a special
price of $18 instead of the regular price of $28. (Several members joined the ANA that night.) He
also mentioned that although the ANA has had financial and other problems in the past, that they
are getting a handle on those problems and they seem to be being resolved.
Jack vB.—Passed out papers showing our current logo and two other modified designs that George
G. created. After a short description of each design he requested that a vote be taken to possibly
change our logo to include the design showing “Culver City” in the sun suggesting that the sun is
setting on the Culver City Coin Club. A vote was taken and the sunset version was the winner. (See
page eight.)

COIN RAFFLE

1.) 1930-D—Lincoln 1c-Jack vB. 11.) 1954-D—Washington 25c-Gordon W.

2.) 1947-D—Lincoln 1c-Ryan P. 12.) 2009-P&D—Terr. Set 25c-John F.
3.) 1925-S—Buffalo 5c-Jack vB. 13.) 1928-D—St. Liberty 25c-Gordon W.
4.) 1907-P—Liberty 5c-Steve R. 14.) 1898-P—Barber 25c-Steve R.
5.) 1943-P—War nickel 5c-Dan R. (guest) 15.) 1939S&1907P—Barber 50c-Eric P.
6.) 1833-P—Half dime 5c-Dan R. (guest) 16.) 1937-D—Walker 50c-John F.
7.) 1943-P—Mercury 10c-Gordon W. 17.) 1923-S—Walker 50c-Rob P.
8.) 1951-S—Roosevelt 10c-Jack vB. 18.) 1945-P—Walker 50c-George G.
9.) 1964-P—Washington 25c-Ryan P. 19.) 1949-S—Franklin 50c-John F.
10.) 1962-Prf-Washington 25c-Clint McG. 20.) 1883-O—Morgan $1-Steve R.

A few of the coins were donated by John S. & Jack vB. Thanks go out to them!
Garn A. donated back two of his coin wins for a second drawing. Thanks, Garn!

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 5

 February 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 2

January Club News-Continued

MEMBERSHIP AWARD/GOLD DRAWING

1.) 1999-Prf—SBA $1-Steve D. 9.) 2009–Prf—Terr. Proof Set 25c-Al dM.

2.) 1982-D—Geo. Wash. 50c-George G. 10.) 2009-?—Silver Eagle $1-Steve D.
3.) 1982-D—Geo. Wash. 50c-Valentijn R. 11.) 2009-?—Silver Eagle $1-John S.
4.) 2-1951-?—Franklin 50c-George G. 12.) 2009-?—Silver Eagle $1-Clint McG.
5.) 1938-D—Buffalo 5c-Jack vB 13.) 2009-?—Silver Eagle $1-Lou B.
6.) 1945-D—Jefferson 5c-Gordon W. 14.) 1926-P—Peace $1-Steve D.
7.) 1952-D—Franklin 50c-Anthony L. 15.) 1902-O—Morgan $1-Steve D.
8.) 1865-P—Two Cent 2c-Clint McG. 16.) 2006-S—SF Mint $5 GOLD-Eric A.

Garn A. & Richard N. each donated back a coin win for a second drawing. Thanks, guys!

Two new members signed up tonight—bringing our membership total to 40!!

Meeting adjourned at 8:42 PM.

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 6

 February 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 2

President’s Message
It is always an interesting event when we have our annual dinner
and membership awards. This year’s event at Dinah’s was no ex-
ception. It was a little crazy at the beginning with another group
sharing the room for a short time. Moreover, we had a little mix-up
on the time, which turned out fine as everyone pretty much showed
up at the normal meeting time. Therefore, once we got into the
swing of things it was a fun evening. Particularly at the end when
Eric Auerbach won the gold coin…I think he was more surprised
than anyone else was. Congratulations, Eric!
It was also a pleasant surprise to have Walt Ostromecki join us at
the dinner. As I mentioned, Walt has served as President of both
the Culver City and Bay Cities Coin Clubs so it was nice for him to
be there when the two clubs were officially merged into one. Walt is currently serving on the Board
of Governors of the American Numismatic Association. As he travels quite a bit, I wanted to thank
him again for taking time from his busy schedule to join us…and to take a few minutes to speak to
us. His offer to join the ANA was well received as I joined again and a few others joined as well.
In addition, as Walt offered to present a program at one of our monthly meetings, we have since
set a date for him to do so. Walt will be presenting his program at our March 11th meeting on the
topic of DUMB COINS. I think we are going to have some fun with this one. So please be sure to
attend the March meeting…and bring a friend.
In an email to me after the dinner, Walt raised an interesting question…whether the club has con-
sidered becoming an ANA member? The old Bay Cities Coin Club was a long-standing active mem-
ber. Culver City long ago had decided not to join. Dues for the club would be $75 a year, which can
be reduced to ZERO, by having 15 ANA members. The ANA will take off $5 dollars for each ANA
member the club has. Based on the show of hands at the dinner, and those that joined, we could
already have 9-10 ANA members in our club. Therefore, club membership in the ANA could be at a
negligible cost. This is something we need to discuss at the next meeting.
During the week following our dinner, Walt was also instrumental in recommending one of our club
members for a 2010 Summer Seminar Young Numismatist Scholarship. Now celebrating its 41st
year, the Summer Seminar features a weeklong lineup of classes in ancients, paper money, Morgan
dollars, Lincoln cents, shipwreck coins, commemoratives, or medals and tokens. Students learn to
grade coins and detect counterfeits and, most important, talk with distinguished scholars, rising
young stars and successful business leaders. With Walt’s help, Tyler Gobble has applied for this
year’s Summer Seminar Young Numismatist Scholarship. This is really a great opportunity for Tyler
and we are all pulling for him to win a scholarship to attend.
Before our meeting on February 11th, there are a couple of coin shows that I hope our members re-
membered to attend. First was the show at the Elk’s Lodge in Westchester on Saturday and Sun-
day, January 30th and 31st. Moreover, everyone should be aware by now of the Long Beach Coin
Show on February 4th thru 6th. We are hoping to hear many tales about everyone’s experiences at
these shows and the prize finds they discovered there. I look forward to hearing from you at the
meeting. Until then…
Collect Early and Often
Garn
BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 7
 February 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 2
OUR NEWEST LOGO VOTING RESULTS

January’s logo February’s Logo

The newest logo reflects the sun setting on the Culver City Coin Club.

Refreshments
February—Jack von Bloeker III March—?????

Member Spotlight
February—Scott Gobble March—Walt Ostromecki

Coin Shows
Feb 4-6 Long Beach
Long Beach Convention Center Hall A, 100 S. Pine Ave.
Hrs: Thurs. & Fri. 10AM-7PM, Sat. 10AM-5PM ADM
Feb 15 Anaheim
Embassy Suites Hotel, 3100 Frontera St., Free parking
Hrs: Sun. 9AM-3PM FRE

Meetings are normally held at the El Segundo Library, 111 West Mariposa Avenue,
El Segundo, CA. Next meeting is on Thursday, February 11th @ 6:30 PM
(Place & time are subject to change)

2010 OFFICERS
President Items of interest for this newsletter
Garn Anderson can be mailed to:
Vice President The BCCC Journal
Richard Navarro c/o Jack von Bloeker III
Secretary/Editor 5714 Apia Drive
Jack von Bloeker III Cypress, CA 90630
Treasurer or emailed to:
George Gill jvonb3@ca.rr.com

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 8