May 2026 Newsletter
Click here for a PDF of the full newsletter.
Tuesday, May 19, 7:30pm, YN Program 6:30pm
Presentation:
Canadian Dollar Commemoratives - Don F
Display Case:
Utah Goldbacks - Brian S
Refreshments:
Benjie H
President's Message
Hi All – Our show is a sell-out, and we have dealers on a wait list! What a great situation to be in. Now we, the club members, need to make it work for the dealers.
We need volunteers. We need you! While we got some sign-ups last month, there are many, many slots still open. Lots of holes to fill. At the May meeting we will continue to send sign-up sheets around for these opportunities. The leads for each group will be present at the meeting if you have any questions. But if you can’t be there and want to help out, just contact us. New this year is that every member who volunteers for a min 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 Challenge 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.
Also, it is not too late to have an exhibit at the show. Surely, you have something in your collection that you are proud of and want to show off. Here is your chance. We provide a locked case, or more, for your use. You just need to put items in the case and make a few signs to describe what you have. We have a great new award coming for first, second, and third place in the People’s Choice Award. You definitely will want to win one.
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
The Bechtler House: A Numismatic Daytrip
Paul H
The numismatistic (is that a word?) community of North Carolina has a gem of a destination: Rutherfordton, North Carolina, the home of the Bechtler family that struck their own gold coins in the 1830s and ‘40s. Every aficionado of old coins should explore Rutherfordton and the Bechtlers! A trip to see the Bechtler Home and mint site in Rutherfordton is a great excuse for a family “day in the mountains!” Rutherfordton is 33 miles south of Morganton, about half way between Asheville and Charlotte, and 250 miles from Raleigh. An hour or two may be spent touring the house and watching the PBS Documentary “Gold Fever and the Bechtler Mint,” produced by UNC-TV. Exhibit panels are located throughout the house telling the Bechtler story. There are plenty of restaurants and shops in town, a children’s museum, and several historic buildings. The three-mile ride to the Bechtler Mint Site Historic Park should not be missed. A quick internet search will show plenty of other destinations in the area.
Briefly: In 1787, Rutherford Town was named the county seat of Rutherford County, both in honor of General Griffith Rutherford of Revolutionary War fame. During the 1830s and 1840s, the area around the town was a major gold producer. In 1829 Christopher Bechtler, Sr., his sons Augustus and Charles, and a nephew Christopher Bechtler, Jr., emigrated from Grand Duchy of Baden to Philadelphia. By the summer of 1830, they had moved to Rutherfordton. Christopher Sr. opened a business making jewelry, clocks and watches, and gunsmithing. In 1831 he started assaying gold, and as a service would strike off gold coins for a 2 ½% fee.
“The two-story, frame house was built for the Bechtler family on North Washington Street in 1838. Tradition says that the home was constructed by builder David Houser of the Cane Creek community in northern Rutherford County. The Bechtler Home originally consisted of two rooms and a wide center hall on each floor. Surviving architectural details from the 1830s include fluted door and window moldings and stylized Greek Revival mantels. In the years following the Civil War a dining room wing was added to the home. Other additions were made in the early 20th century. Late Victorian era trim survives in the downstairs main hall and on the front porch.” -Lindy Abrams, head of Parks, Arts, Recreation & Culture Department of the Town of Rutherfordton
The Bechtler House is at 130 West 6th Street, Rutherfordton, NC 28139. Currently (May 2026) The Bechtler House is open by appointment on Fridays, by phone or email: 828.980.0568 or labrams@rutherfordton.net. The town is working towards creating a regular staff position to have regular hours for the public. The Bechtler Mint Site Historic Park, located at 342 Gilboa Church Road, off Hwy 221, three miles north of the Bechtler House, is open daily.
Footnote
1. Bechtler firearms are extremely rare. A Bechtler double percussion shotgun was in a Brunk Auction, Feb 13, 2021, lot 976 Estimated at $80,000-100,000 (unsold.)
References
https://www.rutherfordton.net/town-history Rutherfordton town history
https://www.romanticasheville.com/museums.htm. Best 40 Museums and Historic Sites, Western North Carolina.
Barfield, Rodney / Strawn, Keith. The Bechtlers and Their Coinage North Carolina Mint Masters of Pioneer Gold North Carolina Museum of History, 1980
Lattimore, Robin Spencer. Gold & Glory: North Carolina Gold and the Bechtler Heritage Hilltop Publications, 2007
Private correspondence with Lindy Abrams: Parks, Arts, Recreation & Culture Director, Rutherfordton, NC
Exhibit Panels throughout the house and at the Bechtler Mint Heritage Park
The Bechtler House is open by appointment on Fridays, by phone or email: 828.980.0568 or labrams@rutherfordton.net
Young Numismatist Program
Brian S
Last Month… I was on vacation.
This month… I want to keep the educational side of this meeting short, so let’s just have a little fun. If you have one, bring a cent album that holds the years 1959 through 1982, at least. It’s been less than a year since the cent was officially discontinued and already it’s becoming tricky to find any of these coins in circulation, let alone the older years. I have a bin stuffed full of older memorial cents, so I’ll bring that. I do have a few cent albums myself, but if you already have one, please bring your own. I will talk a little bit about the history of the memorial cent.
More importantly, I want to talk about the upcoming coin show. 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 and the move-out on Sunday. But there are many other ways and times to help, which I will discuss. However you can help would be great.
Take care Coin Hawks,
Brian S
