Boling Papers #2
Comments by Fred Schwan
This item from the Boling files is presented in honor of Bastille Day, July 14th. Unfortunately it is late. Perhaps it is Bastille Day in Fred time. One thing led to another such that we are just presenting this interesting World War II propaganda note. It is a simple rubber stamp applied to a Bank of France 5 fr note. The message of course is supporting victory by the Free French.
Ray Toy included an image of one of these pieces in one of his early books. I am not sure which one. This example from the Boling papers is important. In spite of the note being in dreadful condition, the image is excellent. The rubber stamp clearly shows the characteristics of letter press printing (in this case rubber stamping). In this case the terrible condition is a bonus. It is evidence that this note was in a short snorter and making it a World War II artifact.
My First ANA Summer Seminar (and Hopefully Not My Last)
By Tom Sparks
I had always wanted to attend an ANA Summer Seminar but work and family schedules, not to mention the cost, made great excuses not to attend. This year was different. The weekly mention of scholarships in the MPCGram was causing that itch to grow. So I reached out to Kathy Freeland to express my interest. The response was almost immediate and encouraging. After submitting some forms, I soon found out that this was going to be the year! I shared the news at our local Bozeman Coin Club. Membership in the ANA and attending the Summer Seminars were being promoted at our club. It was time for me to step up to the plate.
So I made my travel arrangements and planned it so that I would not have to rent a car. My flight arrived early enough that I was able to spend quite a few hours (and a few dollars) at the annual Colorado Springs Coin Club coin show just up the road. Uber for that. Back at the College, check in was smooth and the give-aways were plentiful. The CAC Grading 1776-2026-D Sample Emerging Liberty dime is really cool. The Stack's-Bowers satchel would come in handy for carrying books.
I had signed up for a single dorm room. The building where I stayed was quite old and a bit rustic with no air-conditioning. But the window opened and I procured two fans to help move the air. After settling in I went down for the welcome buffet and checked out the grounds. Colorado College was founded in 1874 and it is a mixture of old and not-so-old buildings. The real benefit for this location is that the ANA Headquarters, Library, and Museum are just across the street and a few steps down the block.
The Saturday evening orientation event was enjoyable and it was good to see quite a few familiar faces. Fred Schwan and Joe Boling, my instructors for the World War II Numismatics class, were in the upper atmosphere for folks with Summer Seminar longevity. There were also lots of Young Numismatists (YNs) in attendance. Based upon the excitement in the room, this was going to be a fun week!
I had decided before leaving Bozeman that I was going to donate some short snorters to the YN auction held Tuesday night. I picked out some nice examples, including a few HAWAII overprint Emergency Issue Silver Certificates, and submitted those for the auction. I was astounded to see what someone paid for that lot ($600) but the proceeds go to an excellent cause of funding YN scholarships for the Summer Seminar.
The class time was amazing. Fred and Joe are master story-tellers and their breadth of knowledge is incredible. There were only four students in our class which made it much easier to ask questions and spend some real quality time on the subject material. We had all brought "show & tell" so everyone had ample time to share. A personal highlight for me was giving Fred a copy of The Major General Clayton L. Bissell Short Snorter book and then being asked to sign it. Fred also mentioned that he would like me to submit images of some of the short snorters in my collection for the next revision of World War II Remembered. That will be an honor and give me something to work on!
I would strongly encourage interested collectors to attend an ANA Summer Seminar. Once you see the passion and experience the camaraderie it gets to you. For someone who has been a lifelong collector and who has attended several of the ANA coin conventions, you see another side of the hobby and the ANA organization. I felt compelled upon my return home to sign up to be a Life Member of the ANA. I plan to attend the Summer Seminars next year and have already received a thumbs up from a friend who is a newer collector to attend one of the grading seminars together.
… This time I may stay in a hotel.
Editorial
I was quite excited to see the Free France propaganda piece in the Boling papers. As i mentioned above, I remember seeing an example in an early Toy book. As with so many things that Ray had in his books, I did not fully appreciate or understand many of the things that he listed.
You probably know that WWII French colonial emergency issues are favorites of mine, but do you know why?
In the early 1970s when I was working on Ray's Allied book, I had to prepare the new lisitings for those notes. In most cases I had never seen the notes in question and in many cases I did not even understand why they had been. included in previous editions or why they should be in the new edition.
I was embarrassed at a minimum. I set out to correct my knowledge deficiency and made those French issues the object of my collecting lust. I have made lots of progress and even made interesting discoveries along the way. I think that in most cases I at least now understand why we list the varied items!
Mail Call
The Gram A welcomes mail from readers. Mail may be edited for space or clarity. Writers must be known to the editorial office and will be identified in the Gram by real or nickname.
Joe Boling's response to Tom Spark's article above:
Dear Tom
Certainly if you are sharing a room, a motel is cheaper. But there not many of them within easy walking distance, and you will miss some of the camaraderie that you mentioned. A grading seminar? Yuk. Unless you are going to be a dealer, you don't need to take grading. There are always so many other much more worthwhile choices.
— Joe
Dear Joe and Tom,
You want to take a grading class? There are several alternatives. They are all great and many people really like them. Take them all if you like AFTER completing the military numismatics curriculum! You have taken the basic military class (thank you). Next should be the detecting counterfeit paper money class and consider the advanced military numismatics class although that will take some special coordination. Then a gradiing class may be in order (starting with paper money grading of course)!
May I take this opportunity to thank you for becoming a life member of the ANA. Your continued support of the American Numismatic Association is appreciated by this life member!
— Editor
Hi Everyone,
I have had a request to see what I presented at CSNS this last spring, American Red Cross in World War II. If you want to see it, go to the Newman Numismatic Portal. Select view the recordings and find my presentation.
— Kathy
Dear Kathy,
Thanks for sending this notice. I look forward to seeing the program and to reports from other Gramsters too.
— Editor
Training Schedule (calendar)
2026
In this section, the MPGram lists events that are likely to be of special interest to collectors who are interested in MPC and other type of military numismatic items. We do not list "routine" coin shows where a collector might find a few items by chance. However, if we know that some Festers or Gramsters will be there we will list that same show in the hope of promoting fellowship. Send us your reports.
ANA World's Fair of Money® - 25-29 Aug, Pittsburgh
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Wanted to Buy [WTB] / In Search of [ISO] $10 Series 1934A North Africa silver certificate with the altered blue seal discussed in October 2022 MPCGram by Larry Smulczenski (Saturski #13) and covered in May/June 2008 SPMC article written by Peter Huntoon and Jim Downey. Please contact Andy Conroy (andyqconroy@gmail.com)