The PlanchetApril 2013

Issue #532

The next meeting will be
Monday, April 22nd, 2013
The Meetings of the Indianapolis Coin Club are held
the fourth Monday of each month at theNorthside Knights of Columbus
2100 E. 71st Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Meetings consist of a business session, an intermission, educational program,and a numismatic auction. Doors open at 6:00pm, meeting will begin at 7:00pm.

Indianapolis Coin Club Educational ProgramThis months Educational Program will be:'Early U.S. Mint Sets' - by James Warden
Next Months Meeting Date & Program:May 20—’TBA’ by Jim Roehrdanz (3rd Monday this month)

For a complete list of 2013 Meeting Dates &Educational Programs see the last page of this newsletter.

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Collecting U.S. Coins Since 1952
Indianapolis, Indiana(317) 257-1906
Fax(317) 257-2220

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The Monthly Planchet is the official publication of the Indianapolis
Coin Club. It is published monthly in Indianapolis, Indiana. All
inquiries should be sent to ICC, P.O. Box 2897, Indianapolis, Indiana,46206.

The 2013 Indianapolis Coin Club
Officers and Board Members:
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
Newsletter Editor
Past President
Sgt-at-Arms
Board Member 2012-2013
Board Member 2012-2013
Board Member 2012-2013
Board Member 2013-2014
Board Member 2013-2014
Board Member 2013-2014

Donn Wray
Michael White
Vinton DoveMark Eberhardt
OPEN
Jim Roehrdanz
Jim Warden
Jim Fuson
Ron JacksonPaul Vaughn
Dave Reid
Bob Bettcher
Gary Conner

FORT VANCOUVERCENTENNIAL HALF DOLLAR
1825 - 1925by*Michael SchmidtDuring the early 1800's the area that was to become the American Northwest was disputed territory between the Americans and the British. It was also a major source of pelts for the fur trade. In1824 Dr John McLaughlin came to the Oregon Territory in the employ of the Hudson Bay Company. In 1825 he built Fort Vancouver in what is today Vancouver, Washington. The fort wasnamed for George Vancouver, the commander of the British expeditionary forces in the area in the1790's. Dr McLaughlin became the head of what was effectively the only government in the territory. Although he was described as a benevolent despot, he apparently ruled fairly and was acceptedby the Americans, British, and the Indians in the area. There were no major uprisings during thetwenty two years that he ran the fort.
In 1924 with the centennial celebrations coming up the Fort Vancouver Centennial Commission
approached their local congressman Rep Albert Johnson with a request for him to attempt to secure
a commemorative half dollar for the event. But Rep Vestal of the House Committee on Coinage
convinced him that this just would not be possible and got Johnson and the Centennial Commission
to accept a commemorative medal instead. But when Vestal then reported out of committee the bill
for the production of a commemorative half dollar for HIS state of Vermont, Rep Raker of California added an amendment for the production of the California Jubilee Half Dollar. Well if Vestal andRaker were getting their coins, Vancouver was going to get theirs too by gum. Johnson added hisamendment and the Fort Vancouver Half Dollar was authorized Feb 24th 1925.
The designs were specified by the Centennial Commission. A bust of McLaughlin for the obverseand a representation of the Fort on the reverse. Chester Beach was selected to be the designer but hewas going to be out of town and unavailable. No problem; the Fine Arts Commission would selectanother artist and the President of the Commission had one in mind, so his wife Laura was given yet
another design commission for a commemorative half.

(Continued next page)(Continued)

The final obverse showed an older more mature bust of McLaughlin than that proposed by thecommission, with county name above the bust. Below the bust is found the Doctors full name andHALF DOLLAR. Flanking the bust are the centennial dates 1825 1925 and the divided motto IN
GOD WE TRUST. The reverse shows the view of the fort but more as just a background image.
The foreground is dominated by a standing figure of a frontiersman in a coon skin cap holding arifle. The addition of the frontiersman was done by Mrs. Fraser on her own initiative. In a separate
border around the central image is the inscription Fort Vancouver Centennial,
Vancouver Washington founded by the Hudson Bay Company. Although the entire issue was struckat the San Francisco Mint, no mintmark appears on the coin. Mrs. Fraser must have known exactly
what she wanted because the design work went quickly. She received the commission on June 15 thand had the design work finished by July1st.
The dies were received in San Francisco before the end of the month and on August 1st the first
50,000 coins of the 350,000 authorized were struck. That same day Lt Oakley G Kelly, flight commander of the Vancouver Barracks, flew down to San Francisco, picked up the coins, and flew backso they would be ready for the opening of the Centennial Exposition.
The Exposition opened on August 17th 1925. The coins went on sale for $1 apiece. But apparently
the Commission had not made any plans for marketing the coins other than locally. When the Exposition closed just one week later 14,966 coins had been sold and the other 35,034 coins were returned to the mint to be melted back down. Since many of the coins had been sold to non-collectors,
and the mintage was so low, uncirculated coins are very scarce today.

*This article was written by Michael Schmidt for the 'Old Fort Coin Club' of Fort Wayne, IN. It originally appeared in the April
2013 issue of their newsletter 'The Chatter' and is reprinted here in the 'Planchet' by permission.

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The Treasurers Report was not available at time of publication.

March 25, 2013 - Minutes of the Indianapolis Coin Club Meeting.
Open – The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Club President, Donn Wray. 18 bravesouls ignored the doomsday weather reports of impassible snow and ice to attend the meeting.
We met at the Northside Knights of Columbus Hall, 2100 East 71st Street.
The Secretary’s report was accepted as published in the Planchet.
Old Business – None.
New Business – The Secretary reported that the 75th Anniversary Medal committee had drawings ready to send to the medals company to have trial designs made.
The Educational Program – Since the scheduled speakers for the evening had both called andreported that they were still snowed in, Joe Boling gave an impromptu report of an “MPCFeast” convention he had attended the previous week. As always, Joe’s presentation was mostinteresting, and was filled with a great deal of information about Military Payment Certificates(MPC). He said that the members’ spouses were called “Tinkerbells,” and they had their own
activities, separate from the other members. There were several programs presented by members of the club, including Glenn Buckley, who was the designer of the MPC series #692 and701. There was a bourse on Friday, with much fun had by all who attended the convention.
After the Break, the 50/50 Drawing was run by Bob Bettcher.
The Door Prize was awarded.
Auction – Joe Boling ran the auction. Assisting were Bob Bettcher, Jim Roehrdanz and Vinton
Dove. There were several donated lots in the auction.
The meeting Adjourned at 7:52 PM.
Respectfully submitted,Vinton Dove, SecretaryIndianapolis Coin Club2013 Meeting Dates & Educational Programs
January 28, 2013 - 'The "Next Gen" $100 Federal Reserve Note' - by Joseph Boling*Prize sponsor: Mark Eberhardt

February 25, 2013 - 'Coin Knowledge Quiz' - by Mark Eberhardt*Prize sponsor: Vinton Dove
March 25, 2013 - 'MPC Fest Recap' - by Joseph Boling*Prize sponsor: Ron Jackson

April 22, 2013 - 'Early U.S. Mint Sets' - by James Warden*Prize sponsor: David Reid

May 20, 2013 - (3rd Monday) - 'TBA' - by Jim Roehrdanz*Prize sponsor: Michael White

June 24, 2013 - 'TBA' - by Michael White*Prize sponsor: Donn Wray

July 22, 2013 - 'TBA' - by Gary Conner*Prize sponsor: Jim Roehrdanz

August 26, 2013 - 'TBA' - by Logansport Coin Club
*Prize sponsor: Shannon SpearsSeptember 23, 2013 - I.C.C. Exhibit Night*Prize sponsor: OPEN - No sponsor yet...

October 28, 2013 - 'Small Size Type Currency' - by Donn Wray
*Prize sponsor: OPEN - No sponsor yet...

November 25, 2013 - “State of the Hobby” by Mark Eberhardt*Prize sponsor: OPEN - No sponsor yet...

December (?) 2013 – NO MEETING - I.C.C. Holiday Banquet – Details TBA
TBA = To Be Announced*For 2013 we are introducing an 'Attendance Prize' drawing at each monthly meeting as anadded incentive for all I.C.C. members to attend as many meetings as possible and to encourage
new membership. Everyone attending each regular monthly meeting will receive a prize ticket
when they arrive at the meeting and sign in at the greeting table. The prize each month will be a
90% silver U.S. Half Dollar (or equivalent 90% silver content coin) The I.C.C. Board membersand officers chose to act as sponsors and donate the monthly prizes rather than funding themfrom our budget. You'll find the monthly prize sponsor listed below each monthly meeting date.
You'll just have to show up to see what you may win!
Please keep this in mind each month; regardless of who is giving the monthly program and/or the topic, we owe it to that person and the membership to remain quiet and pay attention during the program. It’s important that we respect the knowledge
that is being shared with us as well as the time and effort the speaker is donating to our club.
The same rules should apply to our monthly auctions; please remain quiet and pay attention.
Thank you.