Liberty Seated Collector's Club

LSSC Annual Meeting

2010 ANA Convention, Boston, MA

LSCC President John McCloskey called the meeting to order at 9 AM on August 12, 2010 at the Sheraton with about 50 in attendance. Secretary-Treasurer Len Augsburger read the Secretary and Treasurer reports which showed the club at close to break even for the current club year. A vote was held on next year’s dues rate and the dues will remain at $20.

Gerry Fortin discussed an initiative to work more closely with the Redbook editors. Pricing input is needed, and Gerry also explained the Redbook guidelines on variety inclusion. The Redbook typically lists only varieties which can be identified even on low grade coins, and only those varieties which command strong premiums. Finally, if the variety is repeated across multiple series, that increase the chances of Redbook inclusion.Gerry then discussed the idea of a class on Liberty Seated coinage for the ANA summer seminar. A two-day class may be the best way to start.

The Kamal M. Ahwash award for best article to appear in the Gobrecht Journal in the 2008-2009 club year was awarded to Dennis Hengeveld for his article on collecting seated half dollars by date.

The James B. Pryor award for the best numismatic research in Gobrecht Journal issues #76-#100 was awarded to Randy Wiley; Bill Bugert accepted it for Randy who was not in attendance. The Pryor award is given every 25 issues and is awarded for research based on technical observations and analysis of actual coins. Randy received the award for his article on 1861-O half dollar varieties published in issue #94 of the Gobrecht Journal. John McCloskey noted that he has received multiple requests for issue #94, which is out of print. We will try to post this particular article on the LSCC website.

The upcoming 2010-2011 volume of the Gobrecht Journal will feature a dime on the front cover. Candidates are a high grade 1859-S and 1860-O. John presented sample copies of each and solicited feedback.

John discussed the photo archive of James Vernon Epps trade dollars in his possession. This set was featured in a Kurt Krueger auction at the 1984 FUN. John has about 100 images on color slides, which hopefully will be converted to digital format for others to enjoy.

John circulated a questionnaire to the audience asking to identify underrated seated coinage, or supposedly common dates that are difficult to locate. Results will be published in a future number of the Gobrecht Journal.

The November issue will feature an article on the 1875-CC dime discussing the emission sequence of the below-CC and above-CC varieties. Gerry Fortin has prepared this in consultation with John McCloskey.

A spirited auction, called by Brad Karoleff, produced excellent results for the club treasury.

Auction Results:

· Gobrecht Journal sample covers featuring the 1859-S and 1860-O dimes ($80).

· Gobrecht Journal Collective Volume #5 signed by members in attendance ($100).

· Hanover Numismatic Society 1967 medal in silver, featuring a portrait of Christian Gobrecht ($75).

· Deluxe leather-bound copy, #10 of 10 copies, of Bill Bugert’s book on San Francisco seated half dollar die varieties ($425).

· Deluxe leather-bound copy, #10 of 10 copies, of Bill Bugert’s book on Carson City seated half dollar varieties ($1,000).

A big thanks to the successful bidders and the donators for their support of the LSCC!.