Notice of January Meeting

The next meeting of the Association will take place Monday January 21 2002 at 7:30 p.m. in the Library of Colonel Gray Senior high School.

You are welcome to arrive early, for 7 p.m., to join in informal discussion before the meeting begins.

This is a "show and tell" session, so bring along your most interesting coins, tokens, reference books or what-have-you. This might be a good time to sell or trade items too.

Don't forget that membership dues are indeed due so bring cash or cheque. Dues are $15 for a single membership, $20 for a couple, and $10 for students. Our thanks to those who have already responded; receipts will be sent to you with the next newsletter.

Elsewhere are some ideas presented by the committee of three established in November. One concern has been that we don't spend enough time talking about numismatics. One possible solution -- which comes from George Manz in Regina -- is to have the programme first, then the business meeting after. Let's try that on the 21st.

Finally, it appears that winter weather is upon us. If Colonel Gray school is closed due to storm conditions, then the PEINA meeting will not be held that evening but will be rescheduled to the following Monday. Let us hope this doesn't happen. If you are not sure, don't hesitate to call the PEINA president at his home.

P.E.I.N.A. Executive

The November meeting is, according to our constitution, our Annual Meeting where the executive is elected for the following year. As reported in the December newsletter -- and this is meant to serve as a reminder -- the Members present decided to go with the devil(s) they know, and the current executive was re-elected with a unanimous vote.

The president did point out the other commitments of our secretary and said he would be taking minutes as best he could when the secretary was not able to be with us. Mr. Secretary, you may relax!

On the Agenda

Taken the opportunity to show off your recent acquisitions, or your favourite goodies. Bring along reference books too, in case someone has something to be identified. At least one person will be bringing along the Dalton and Hamer reference work "The Provincial Token-Coinage of the 18^th Century" (published 1910-1918, reprinted with Introductory Notes and Additions, 1996) and generously furnished to this deserving numismatist by his good friend Santa Claus!

This will be of interest to anyone with unidentified British tokens of the 1780s and 90s which occasionally appear at local shows and which are sometimes hard to pass up.

As agreed upon at the November meeting, a report will be presented by your committees established to look into and bring forward suggestions and recommendations concerning future programming and the direction of the club in general. Membership and publicity were two areas specifically mentioned that needed attention as we enter the new year.

Members of this committee are Clair Perry, Ralph Bagnall, and Mark Holton.

The December Meeting

The President must apologize for not being present at the December party. He had several other events taking place that evening but promises to be present in January!

Our thanks go to Gloria Houston for hosting a most enjoyable evening. As proof, the photographers present will display their work, at the January meeting.

The February Meeting The February meeting will include an auction of paper money, tokens, woods and several books recently donated to the club, thus this advance notice. One item that is sure to attract attention is a 25 cent note of 1900, signed by Courtney, in VG condition.. Another useful item is The Currency and Medals of Prince Edward Island which will make an excellent addition to any collector's reference library.

A complete list will be distributed at the January meeting, and also included in the February newsletter.

Dues Due

The by-laws of our association state that dues are paid on an annual basis. They are $15 for a single membership, $20 for a family, and $10 for a student. Please pay our Treasurer as your earliest convenience, or send payment to the president at the address at the top of the first page. This will be much appreciated by the club.

Summerside News

The clipping reproduced below from the January 5 Guardian says it all. This is a good time to think about the security of your collection.

There are several business in town that can give you peace-of-mind, including the banks and credit unions with their safety deposit boxes, and business that will sell you your own safe. Remember that if you use the safety deposit box for keeping financial papers, the cost may be deductible on the income tax form. A tax accountant is probably the person to turn to for advice of this nature, and it's worth looking into the deductibility aspect of security.

One other aspect of "security" is environmental security. The "brown photo albums" may refer to the colour of the cover, or the colour of the inside pages to which the notes were attached. If the pages were brown, then they were probably dyed and one must ask if the dye will damage (stain) the notes. Modern photo albums probably have pages made from pulp paper, as opposed to rag paper. Paper made from pulp can be very acidic, and over time can damage whatever may be in contact with its chemicals. An acid-free storage system should be sought to replace any system which can damage the collection it is meant to preserve.

January Show & Tell

The January meeting -- that's Monday, January 21, 2002, weather permitting -- will be a "show & tell" session. Give thought now to what you'll be bringing: your most interesting item, or something whose identity continues to elude you. It doesn't have to be a coin or token. Perhaps you've found a reference book worth noting, or have some other item. Whatever it is, we'd love to see it!

A.P.N.A. and C.P.M.S.

Now is the time to renew your membership -- or join for the first time -- these two numismatic organizations.

The PEINA is a member of the Atlantic Provinces Numismatic Association, however you can join as an individual member on your own and receive their informative newsletter as well as participate, to the extent you wish, in the ongoing affairs of the organization. See the renewal form attached to this newsletter. If you are joining for the first time, simply cross off the word "renewal". Membership also brings an invitation to attend the twice-yearly A.P.N.A. Shows.

The Canadian Paper Money Society is for all those who have an interest in Canadian paper money. Again, the cost is modest, and membership brings you in touch with the community through a well-researched and informative newsletter. Again, the form is photocopied and included with this newsletter.

How much is that in Euro?

If you have been following international news, you will know that January 1 brought a new currency to a dozen countries in Europe. Britain, Demark and Norway continue with their own national currency, but the others have embraced a common currency. Seven new notes have appeared, and a number of coins, which can be used anywhere within the currency union. National currency in these states is now obsolete and will be redeemed during the next few weeks or months, depending upon the individual country. Copied with this newsletter is an announcement from the European Central Bank which appeared in The Economist for December 1, 2001.

One interesting sidelight to the introduction of the new currency is the appearance of larger denomination notes which had been quietly tucked away for a "rainy day". See the attached article from Reuters News Agency which appeared in the Globe and Mail on Saturday, December 22.

1911 Canadian $500 goes on the block

The Moncton Times & Transcript ran an interesting piece on Christmas Eve regarding the January 11 auction at the annual Florida FUN show in Orlando, complete with a colour photo. It seems that only two other examples are known of this rare $500 note which features a portrait of Queen Mary, consort of King George V. It will be interesting to see if the Bank of Canada's Currency Museum is able to acquire this note, and for how much. The newspaper article is reproduced elsewhere in this newsletter.

Bibliofind.com

The last newsletter mentioned the ease of finding used reference books by means of Abebooks.com which is a consortium of independent book dealers in Canada, the U.S., Britain, Australia and elsewhere. Using the search engine, and searching by author, title, or subject, the collector can quickly locate the source of a desired reference book and determine its condition and price as well as payment and shipping details.

Bibliofind is a similar internet venture, and offers a similar service. If you are looking for a book on Roman coins, or on Great War medals, Abebooks.com and Bibliofind.com are well worth using.

For collectors concerned about credit cards and Internet security, it is possible with most book dealers to pay by cheque or money order. However, if you can't wait and want to buy right away, one option is a low limit credit card. This can be arranged where you do your banking. Ask for a card with a deliberately low reserve of $100 or $200, whatever you are most comfortable with.

P.E.I. Dumps

We think most Island numismatists would know what a "dump" was, if ever they were asked to identify this object in a game of Trivial Pursuit. The word is applied to those small disks of silver, punched from the centre of a Spanish dollar when, in the early 19^th century, the government of P.E.I. produced a thousand "Holey Dollars" to meet a shortage of circulating coin. There is great attention given to the Holey Dollar, but what about the dumps?

The October and November 2002 issues of the C.N.A. Journal has a two-part article by numismatic historian and writer Wayne L. Jacobs, on the subject of The Mystery of the Disappearing P.E.I. "Dumps". Copies will be available at the January meeting, for anyone interested in reading Jacobs' fascinating piece of research on why dumps are now in such short supply.

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

The spring APNA rally, hosted by the Halifax Regional Coin Club, will be held Friday May 24 and Saturday May 25. An important auction is being held as part of the weekend of activities, to be held at the Seniors' Service Centre, 45 Octerloney Street, Dartmouth. As PEINA members may want to consign items to this auction the complete details -- except for the actual start time -- have been lifted from the Atlantic Numismatist (A.N.) and included elsewhere in this newsletter. Let's hope the start time is not too early, so that keen folk from afar have time to travel and arrive in time for Lot One.

No word yet on special hotel deals, etc., but keep watching the A.N. or this newsletter for all the exciting details. We are sure that a great weekend is being organized.

The Committee of Three and the future of PEINA

The committee held an informal meeting on January 10^th and reviewed a wide range of ideas and suggestions regarding the future and the various directions in which this club might travel.

At the January 21 meeting, everyone will receive a sheet listing the ideas and suggestions and topics, and then will be invited to indicate which are of the most interest by marking 1, 2, 3, etc., in terms of priority and importance. We are interested to know what the membership considers important, so that we can begin to match interests with people willing to be responsible for them. For example, publicity and membership have been often mentioned, as well as the monthly programme.

The committee has come up with a long list of possibilities. Here's a chance for you to state your particular interests and preferences.

Reminder

Just a reminder, that the next PEINA meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the library of Colonel Gray Senior High School.

Contributions to this newsletter are always welcome.

Don't forget your membership dues for 2002.