April 2026 Newsletter
Click here for a PDF of the full newsletter.
Tuesday, April 21, 7:30pm, YN Program 6:30pm
Presentation:
1894 California Midwinter H&K $s - Jim D
Display Case:
Tokens & medals - Chris J
Refreshments:
Sean G
Future:
May Presentation: Canadian Dollar Commems 1935-1967 - Don F
May Display Case: Utah Goldback Series - Brian S
President's Message
Hi All – By the time you are reading this note, it will only be about 75 days until OUR show. I am happy to say the show is sold out and we have dealers on a wait list. Thank you to Tim and Russ. Looks like we will have another excellent show.
But to make the show work we need volunteers. There is a list included elsewhere that shows all the opportunities to volunteer. At the April meeting we will start sending sign-up sheets around for some of these opportunities. The leads for each group will be present at the meeting if you have any questions. New this year is that every member who volunteers for a minimum of 2 hours at one or more of the tasks (except manning the club table) will receive one free ticket to the show raffle as a small thank you. Also, volunteering at the show as well as other club events is one way to earn an RCC coin. Each year we struggle a bit to get volunteers to sign up early but then y’all come through in the end. Let’s help the group leaders out this year and sign up early.
A big thank you to Bob S for scanning all the issues, 1973-2024, of the NCNA Journal to the Newman Numismatic Portal. That was a big job and now those journals can be searched by anyone. Another thank you to Cheryl D for turning over the club history items that David B displayed each year in the exhibit area. Speaking of exhibits, it is not too late to submit an exhibit application. Come show off some of the great things you collect.
- Jeff M
Volunteer Opportunities for the 2026 Raleigh Money Expo
Members and friends – we will need people to volunteer for the show. Below are some areas where you can help. Remember the Expo funds all the things we want to do as a club including speaker’s awards, meeting snacks, the Xmas dinner, etc. One reason we can keep our dues so low is because of the show.
1. Registration – this involves sitting at the entrance and checking the registration cards people fill out against their IDs. There are still many openings in the list that was passed around at the last club meeting. Please consider volunteering for an hour or two (does not have to be consecutive) on several days. This is where we need the most people.
2. Move in Thurs/Move Out Sunday – Items such as cases, lights, signs, tablecloths, etc. must be taken from the storage unit to the show on Thursday (about 11- 2pm) and then taken back again on Sunday (about 3-5pm). Help is also needed on Thursday putting up signs, arranging tables, covering tables with tablecloths, etc. Sunday requires those items to be taken down. No individual item is heavy. Pizza is served about noon time on Thursday.
3. Serving Food and Clean Up – There is a dinner for dealers and members (who are working) on Thursday evening (about 6pm). Help is needed to set up the food line for the caterer, serve food, fill drinks, and then clean-up afterwards. No washing of dishes/utensils involved.
4. Dealer Check In – This happens Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Volunteers assemble Badges, show dealers where to go, etc.
YNs - here’s a chance to earn some money helping the dealers move in.
5. Back Door Monitor 8-10am Fri, Sat, Sun – One or two people to make sure only people with badges enter the building until the doors are locked at 10am.
6. Club Table (Fri, Sat, Sun)– Help man the Club table to sell Raffle Tickets and Souvenir Slabs, answer questions, hand out info, etc.
7. YN Area (Fri, Sat, Sun)– Help Brian run the games and quizzes for the kids. I can speak from previous experience that it gets hectic in there sometimes and it was almost impossible to visit the show floor (or bathroom) being there by myself.
Please help the club out in some way. If you want to help but cannot be at the meeting, please email me at jeff.mccauslin@gmail.com.
Here is the registration volunteer form (PDF), which will be passed around at the meeting. If you are not able to attend the meeting, you can indicate your desired day/times by emailing Benjie at benjaminharrell1964@icloud.com Thank you – Jeff
Ancient Coins for 6th Graders
Paul L
The last part of February was insanely busy for me. I set up at the Spartanburg, SC show that ran Feb. 20th - Feb. 22nd (Fri / Sat / Sun). How hard could that be? Oh, did I forget to mention that I had agreed to do 4 presentations to 4 Social Study classes that next Monday, February 23rd. I also was then scheduled to fly to Munich, Germany...to walk a coin show --Numismata--, the next day on February 24th. Oh my!! Some of our highly organized club members would sneer, smoothly prepare ahead of time, and make it look easy.
Me? Let's just say I was up til 2am Saturday night working on the presentation.
OK, enough lead in!! I must have talked with a teacher from Salem Middle School (Apex, NC) during the 2025 Raleigh Money Expo because she contacted me in mid-January asking if I would want to present. Me? Talk about ancient coins? Psssssshaw!!! I also must have agreed to that date, not thinking through my other logistics, and I careened along. In my defense, aside from the presentation, I did one piece of preparation that I felt would be a tremendous hit. I put an uncleaned ancient Roman coin into a flip, with a very basic tag, one for each student I might present to. 125 coins prepped!
The day of!! I will honestly say that I didn't have a fine grasp of how advanced 6th graders might be. Yeah, my kids are at least a dozen years past 6th grade so I didn't have clarity. However, I would never underestimate kids in any way, shape, or form. To my delight? Dismay? Amazement? the teacher started each class by doing a small segment on the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and his wife Theodora. WOW!! How many of us had even heard about the Byzantine Empire in 6th grade. I was immensely thankful I had built a presentation that I could tailor.
I got to speak for 30 minutes to each of 4 classes and it was a blast. The kids were engaged. They asked questions. The humorous moment was when I had a coin pictured (actually 3 overall) that depicted Romulus and Remus suckling on a she-wolf. The teacher had spent some time on this exact imagery / mythology just a week earlier. Each class buzzed in excitement when they saw the images. PURE SERENDIPITY!!
At the end of the presentation each student received an uncleaned bronze coin with some very very concise instructions on how to gently clean. Again I will use the "buzzed in excitement." I did put in a plug for the Raleigh Coin Club if there were any kids who really enjoyed coins. I will also say that I did not specifically advertise my coin business because I didn't feel it appropriate.
There I am, all warm and fuzzy from presentations that went well. The goddess of serendipity had smiled upon me. Kids were engaged and nobody had a narcoleptic attack. Off I go the next day to RDU and my phone starts vibrating and buzzing with incoming emails. Y'know that phrase, "no good deed goes unpunished?" Yup, the teacher had instructed each of her 4 classes, 120 kids, to send me a follow up thank you email. I understood what she was trying to teach and I actually crafted individual responses for about 100 of them...while flying over the Atlantic.
So! End of February -- hectic and fun while sharing the fascination of ancient coins!!
The National Money Show and the Advanced Grading Class in Savannah
Sean G
In February I attended my first national coin show and I also enrolled in the Advanced Grading Class. I will provide an overview of the show and the class.
The main difference between a local show and a national show is the size and scale of the event. There are more dealers and more specialists. For example, Rick Snow from Tucson, AZ has a niche in Flying Eagle and Indian Head cents and Harlan Berk from Chicago specializes in ancient Greek and Roman coinage. If your collecting interests are more narrow and "off the beaten path," you will have more success finding or selling your coins at a national show.
Our club does an excellent job with top notch displays and educational programming at our annual show, but most local club shows do not have quite the level of display and educational material as was seen in Savannah. Multi million dollar rarities like an 1804 Draped Bust dollar, 1913 Liberty nickel and 1933 Eagle were in display cases for close viewing. Mint Director Paul Hollis was on hand and I learned that he is the first rare coin dealer to ever serve as Mint Director.
There was a long line to enter the show on Day 1 (Thursday, FEB 26th) and the bourse floor was busy. I entered without having to wait in line because ANA members receive that courtesy. So there's my plug for the ANA! The major grading services were there and I submitted some raw coins for grading. When you submit coins at a show, you don't have to pay for shipping and insurance.
The last thing I will mention is that Savannah is a beautiful city to visit. For that reason, I brought my wife. Alas, it did not turn her into a coin collector. But she loved the city and its famous squares, which are like small parks.
Now for some information about the Intermediate Grading Class. The instructors were Bob Mellor, an ANA District Representative in FL, and Bill LaTour, owner of Lowcountry Coins in Charleston. They each brought cases of their own slabs with tape over the grades. We graded copper, nickel, silver and gold coins and they elaborated on some of the nuances between the metals. They showed us coins that were over and under graded and emphasized that we should not completely rely on the slab. The graders are only spending about 10 seconds on most coins and they can miss. Some coins can change their appearance within the slab - especially copper.
There were 15 - 20 students and we got to know each other a bit. I even sold some of my coins (Morgans and buffalo nickels) to the guy sitting next to me. I had planned to sell them at the show. Some of the students were dealers and some were there for the second or third time. They explained that the instructors rotate and it's a good way to stay sharp.
During the day, prominent dealers stopped in and spoke to us. Two guys you may know of are Seth Chandler from Witter Coin in San Francisco and John Brush from David Lawrence Rare Coins in Virginia Beach. ANA President Mark Lighterman also checked in.
The cost for ANA members was $250 and my hotel room was $130 per night. So, some cost involved, but for collectors who are adding coins every year, it has value. I took the class because I wanted to get better at detecting cleaned coins and the differences between wear and weak strikes. I got better at both!
If you decide to take a grading class, I suggest familiarizing yourself with the basics of Fine, Very Fine and Extremely Fine grades for popular coins that you don't collect. For example, I don't collect Walking Liberty halves or Buffalo nickels but they are obviously two very popular series. The class emphasizes AU and higher grades, but we graded a lot of circulated coins, too.
I attached a photo of a grading book I own called Making The Grade by Beth Deisher. She was a long time editor of Coin World and, interestingly, is from NC. Both instructors recommend this book and it is now out of print.
Jeff P Earns RCC Challenge Coin
Jeff P is the latest recipient of the Challenge Coin for Outstanding Support to the Club. Jeff has been a continual supporter of the club, setting up the room each month prior to the meeting, bringing snacks, and helping at the club table at various shows. We can always depend on him to be there and be involved. We are grateful for his commitment. Congratulations to Jeff!
RCC VP Russ F Serves NCNA
Russ F has expanded his numismatic service from the local level--RCC--to the State. He recently accepted appointment to the North Carolina Numismatic Association's Board of Directors. He will finish the remaining year of David B's term.
If you aren't a member of NCNA (https://ncna.club/), consider joining, and attend their show in October.
Young Numismatist Program
Brian S
Last Month… stacking, and what a wild ride this has been! Stacking is the act of purchasing precious metals (usually silver and gold) based on quantity rather than condition. With stacking, you don’t even have to collect coins. Many people stack rounds or bars of gold and silver with no historical value, so they can have the most volume for the lowest price. Normally, this collection of valuable metal grows in value very slowly, but gold and silver prices have been spiking the last few years. This has lead to a rush of people selling so much precious metal that some dealers and refineries can no longer accept more. But the one simple rule of stacking is this; you stack whatever you want to stack. Coins, rounds, bars, bricks, gold, silver, platinum. It all has value.
This month… I will be away on vacation. The meeting will be conducted by Danny S and the talk be on toned coins provided by Brenna B. Give both of them your utmost respect and attention.
The Raleigh Money Expo is June 26 to June 28 at the State Fairgrounds. Volunteers are needed and appreciated. The biggest contribution will be for the move-in on Thursday June 25 and the move-out on Sunday. Anytime you can help would be great.
Take care Coin Hawks,
Brian S
