The Planchet

March 2015

Issue #553

The next meeting will be
Monday, March 23rd, 2015
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:“The Eagle Has Landed” By Jim Warden
Next Months Meeting Date & Program:
Monday, April 27th, 2015, at 7 pm.
TBA by Donn Wray
For a complete list of 2015 Meeting Dates & Educational Programs see the last page of this newsletter.
More information can be found on the Indianapolis Coin Club’s website at:

http://www.indianapoliscoinclub.org/

President's Message
Dear Indianapolis Coin Club Members:
The weather in Indianapolis is warming up! As I write this, Indianapolis had its first 70° degree day in overfour months! The snow is melting, the birds are singing, and people are walking outside. So of course, one'sthoughts turn to the old phrase, "Read the book before you buy the coin!" and sources of information about
coins and paper money. The Indianapolis Coin Club offers some help as you look to increase your expertise.
The Indianapolis Coin Club Library ‐ Jim Sukup, our librarian and Paul Vaughn have done a great job of orga‐
nizing, listing and publicizing the books available to Coin Club members. Thanks! The February Planchet in‐cludes a list of all the books held by the library. Just to highlight a few classics:
 Lange, David W., The Complete Guide to Mercury Dimes, 1993;
 Julian, R.W., Medals of the United States Mint: The First Century 1792 ‐ 1892, 1977;
 Mallis, A. George and Van Allen, Leroy, Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars: The Comprehensive Catalogueand Encyclopedia of U.S. Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars, 1976. Though this book was updated, it is still aclassic;
Bressett, Ken and Kosoff, Abe, editors, Official ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins, ANA, 5th Edi‐tion, 1996. This is a great book for those interested in learning how to grade U.S. Coins, even though there
are two newer editions.
To check out these and other books from the ICC library, send an email to the club at iccbooks@yahoo.com.
Our librarian will bring it to the next meeting if it is available.
There are other sources of information about coins and paper money:
Local: The Planchet, Newsletter of the Indianapolis Coin Club. Our Archive includes years of the newsletterwith a wide range of numismatic articles.
State and Regional: Indiana State Numismatic Association, I.S.N.A. News. The State Association publishes
information about coin shows in Indiana, the annual state show, articles and other information for members.
The Central States Numismatic Society distributes The Centinel, with articles, a coin show calendar, scholar‐ship information and other help for the collector.
Publications of various coin/paper money organizations: The Numismatist (monthly) from the American
Numismatic Association; Paper Money, Official Journal of the Society of Paper Money Collectors (Bimonthly)
and many others.
Numismatic Publications: Numismatic News (weekly) and Coin World (weekly and monthly), World Coin
Newsletter (monthly), Bank Note Reporter (monthly) and many others.
Many sources of coin and paper money information are available to the coin or paper money enthusiast,
whether through our library, membership in local, state or national organizations, or via subscription. How‐ever you choose to get numismatic information ‐ you will improve and deepen your knowledge of your col‐lection.

Jeffrey Bercovitz

From the Editor
Remember that club members can place items up for auction each month at the club meeting.
Auction sheets cost $1, and you can list up to 5 items per sheet. Auction sheets can be found at
the club website: http://www.indianapoliscoinclub.org/forms/Auction_Sheet_ICC.pdf, and foryour convenience one will be included at the end of this newsletter. Bear in mind that while
only members can sell at auction, anyone can bid.
Highlights from last month’s auction include: Several proof and mint sets sold.
 15 Mercury dimes sold for $25.
 A 1989 silver Canadian Maple Leaf sold for $23.
 A 2007 American Silver Eagle sold for $22.
 A 1935E $1 silver certificate star note in VG condition sold for $3.
This month’s auction will include: No items were submitted this month by publication time.
Remember, if you plan to place items for auction at the following meeting, send the details toandreusrex@gmail.com by the third Monday of the month and I will publish them as space permits. A copy of the Auction Sheet is attached at the end of this newsletter.
——————————————————————————————————————-

1974-1980 French 50 Francs
This month’s coin of the month is the French 50 franc coins struck from 1974-1980.
This coin succeeded the similarly sized 10 franc coin from the previous ten years. Boththe rising price of silver and decline of the franc made the increase in face value necessary. Through the late 1970’s the average exchange rate of the French franc wasabout 4.5 to the dollar. This means a 50 franc coin had a value of about $11 US. Because the coin was very large and had a silver content, it probably didn’t circulate
much. Also circulating at the time were 10 and 50 franc notes.

Augustin Dupree first created the design for the coin in 1795. The obverse shows
Hercules flanked by allegorical figures representing Liberty and Justice. Liberty isshown holding a pole topped with a Phrygian or Liberty cap similar to some US coinsfrom the 1790’s through the 1890’s. Justice is identified by the scales she is holding.
Hercules in the middle is wearing a Nemean lion skin from the 12 tasks that according
to legend bestowed immortality.
Circling the figures is Liberte Egalite Fraternite (Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood) andDupree. The reverse shows 50 Francs surrounded by a wreath of oak and olive.
Around the wreath is Republique Francaise. The edge is neither plain nor reeded but
has symbols representing agriculture, industry and commerce.
As mentioned earlier, this is a large silver coin. The size is 41 mm and weighs 30
grams of 90% silver and 10% copper. The actual silver weight is .87 troy ounce. Compared to a standard US silver dollar this coin is about 12% larger. Collecting this coin is
not difficult. Most years the mintages range from 4 to 11 million. The only key date is
the 1980, which was only issued in mint sets and has a mintage of 60,000. Values forthe common pieces are $33 in MS63 and the 1980 is worth $80.

Reprinted with permission from the Elgin Coin Club

Advertise in the Indianapolis CoinClub Newsletter! The cost is only
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The 2014 Indianapolis Coin Club
Officers and Board Members:
President
Vice-President
SecretaryTreasurer
Newsletter Editor
Past President
Sgt-at-Arms
Board Member 2014-2015
Board Member 2014-2015
Board Member 2014-2015
Board Member 2015-2016
Board Member 2015-2016
Board Member 2015-2016

Jeff Bercovitz
Michael White
Vinton DoveMark Eberhardt
Andy Nahrwold
Donn Wray
Jim Warden
Jerry CorazPaul Vaughn
Jim Roehrdanz
Jim Sukup
Shannon Spears
Bob Bettcher

VINTON DOVE
Business Consultant
Collecting U.S. Coins Since 1952
Home (317) 257-1906
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U.S. COINS
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LARRY HYLTONBROWNSBURG, IN
ANA, ISNA-LM, CSNS-LM(317) 852-8458
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.

Indianapolis Coin Club
General Ledger for February 2015

Not available at time of publication

February 23, 2015 - Minutes of the Indianapolis Coin Club Meeting.
Open – Club President, Jeff Bercovitz, called the meeting to order at 7:09 PM. 36 people attended and signed the attendance book. We met at the Northside Knights of Columbus Hall,
2100 East 71st St. Jeff noted that Life Member, Charles Alber and his wife, Ruth were in attendance, and that a 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar would be the door prize.
The Secretary’s report and the Treasurer’s report were accepted as published.
Visitors – Ken Seals, a member of the Muncie Coin & Stamp Club, The Marion Coin Club andthe Anderson Coin Club was introduced.
Committee Reports – Vinton Dove announced that he would not be bringing the75th Anniversary Medals to the meetings any more unless someone called him and requested that he bringcertain medals. He requested that anyone who had reserved a medal and who has not yet
picked it up to call and say if they still wanted it or not. His number is in the Planchet.
Old Business –None.
New Business – Jeff noted that the list of books in the ICC Library was published in the February Planchet. Jim Sukup announced that he had purchased 2 more (used) books for the Library.
Kills! Jim Sukup found a 1919 Dime in his change; Steve Howery found one silver quarter inchange; Dennis DeBruhl found his first 1909 VDB cent several years ago when he gave a friend
a nickel for 5 cents; Steve Murray had a kill which the Secretary didn’t catch; (Sorry Steve!!)and in 1953 Vinton Dove found a mint state 1917 Type I Quarter and an 1893-S/S/S dime in
XF condition in change. (Yes, he is old! Hah, Hah!) Jim Roehrdanz noted the passing of Jay
Cline, one of the leading authorities on Standing Liberty Quarters. Jeff announced that the Club
needed to copy old Planchets from anyone who would allow him to copy and return them. The
purpose is to complete the Library’s files. The Secretary reminded the members that the Central States annual coin show will be April 22 – 25 in Schaumberg, IL, and Joe Boling added thatthe annual Chicago International Coin Fair would be April 9-12 at the Crown Plaza hotel inRosemont, IL.
The Educational Program – The program was “Why do people counterfeit?” by Joe Boling.
Joe made a slide presentation with pictures of genuine and counterfeit paper money from theWWII era, and pointed out the differences in the two. He said the biggest reason that the governments made counterfeit notes was to destabilize a nation’s monetary system. The program
was so good that even the Secretary understood most of what Joe said!!
Break.
The Attendance Drawing (Door Prize) was won by Paul Vaughn.
The 50/50 Drawing was won by Donn Wray.
Auction –Joe Boling ran the auction. Assisting were Bob Bettcher, Donn Wray, Steve Howery
and Vinton Dove.
The meeting was “officially” Adjourned at 9:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted, Vinton Dove, Secretary

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Indianapolis Coin Club
2015 Meeting Dates & Educational Programs
January 26, 2015 - 'Indiana's State Seal on Medals & Currency' - by Jeff Bercovitz*Prize sponsor: Jeff Bercovitz

February 23, 2015 - ‘Why Do Counterfeiters Counterfeit? - It’s Not All About Getting OverOn Your Fellow Man’ -by Joseph E. Boling*Prize sponsor: Joseph E. Boling

March 23, 2015 - ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ -by Jim Warden*Prize sponsor: Jim Warden

April 27, 2015 - ‘TBA’ -by Donn Wray
*Prize sponsor: Donn Wray

May 18, 2015 - ‘World War II Medals’ -by Jim Sukup*Prize sponsor: Jim Sukup

June 22, 2015 - 'First's, Last's, and Finest Known's' -by Michael White*Prize sponsor: Michael White

July 27, 2015 - ‘TBA’ -by Paul Vaughn*Prize sponsor: Paul Vaughn

August 24, 2015 - ‘TBA’ - by Logansport Coin Club Speaker Exchange*Prize sponsor: Vinton Dove

September 28, 2015 - I.C.C. Exhibit Night*Prize sponsor: Shannon Spears

October 26, 2015 - ‘Love Tokens -by Andy Nahrwold*Prize sponsor: Andy Nahrwold

November 23, 2015 - ‘Annual State of the Hobby Address’ -by Mark Eberhardt*Prize sponsor: Mark Eberhardt

December 1, 2015 – NO MEETING - I.C.C. Holiday Banquet*For 2015 we are continuing the 'Attendance Prize' drawing at each monthly meeting as an added 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 or greater 90% silver content coin) The I.C.C. Board members and officers as well
as several I.C.C. members chose to act as sponsors and donate the monthly prizes rather than funding
them from our budget. You'll find the monthly prize sponsor listed below each monthly meeting dateabove. 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 themembership to remain quiet and pay attention during the program. It’s important that we respect the knowledge that is being sharedwith 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.