War Declared
by Bill Myers
I recently obtained this envelope. It is dated 11 December 1941 and postmarked in Washing DC with the "BUY DEFENSE SAVINGS BONDS AND STAMPS" postmark. It announces FDR and Congress declaring war on Germany and Italy on 11 December 1941 after Germany and Italy declared war on the US on the same day. What I find interesting is that the envelope would have to be printed quickly after the declaration of war unless the person issuing the envelope had some inside information. Also, it would have to be rushed to the post office to get the postmark, 11 December 1941 was a Thursday so it could be postmarked that day unless the issuer had a contact in the post office that would post date the envelopes if they were turned in after 11 December 1941.
War Ended
by Bill Myers
V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day) has two primary dates because of the gap between Japan's initial surrender announcement and the formal signing of surrender documents. August 15 (or 14), 1945, marks Emperor Hirohito's radio broadcast announcing surrender, while September 2, 1945, marks the official signing ceremony on the USS Missouri.
Steve Feller to Be Honored
Details are developing regarding the dinner in honor of Steve Feller. The event will be held at Christo's Mediterranean Grille, 130 6th St., Pittsburgh.
Dinner will be at 7pm.
Additional details are to be determined. If you are interested in atending contact Ray at Ray.feller@gmail.com
Editorial
Excitement is building here at Fest HQ as the ANA convention aka World's Fair of Money is right around the corner. I look forward to seeing many of you at this great event. See the notice above for info on the Steve Feller dinner on Thursday evening. When Ray found Christo's and informed me of the selection, I immediately looked it up on the Internet. I suspect that many. of you have done the same, or will. The web site was more or less typical except for one important detail. There was a notice that the restaurant is permanently closed!!! I immediately called the list phone number, several times, and received only a useless recorded message.
Next I called Ray. I did not get an answer but when I texted her the nature of the problem she called instantly. After chatted for only a minute, she called the number and not only got an answer but the person on the other end was Cristo!!! No they are not closed and they have no idea what I ws talking about. I am pretty sure that Ray too thought that I was crazy. Fortunately, I had taken a screen shot. of the notice and sent it to Ray. So, be careful. I hope to see you there!
I planned on having a front page announcement re the 2027 Fest dates for this Gram, but it is now Sunday and I'm still working on this Gram which I had planned for Friday. So I just stuck the info in the training schedule below. The Fest will be April 2-4 with the normal pre and post activities. Call Kim to make your reservations. Hint, many of you have specific room preferences. If you want your "regular" room call Monday or Tuesday.
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.
Dear Harold,
Neil had this piece which is Series 859. It was for the 1959 exercise. I assume yours is for the 1958 exercise.
— JD
Dear Editor,
Bill Myers, Harold Kroll, Doug Bell, Dave Frank, and I just participated in a Zoom meeting for the Society of Ration Token Collectors. We shared and discussed a great deal of useful information about World War II rationing and related collecting areas, and the conversation highlighted a strong connection to MPCFest.
I believe a Friday forum on rationing would draw meaningful interest from several festers, just like the Bond Collectors Forum, the Military Stamp Collectors Forum, and the JIM & Philippines Collectors Forum. The topic would give attendees a focused way to explore wartime home-front history, military-related collecting, and the broader connections among these collecting specialties.
I encourage you to consider adding this forum to the 2027 MPCFest schedule and to gauge interest from other festers. I think it could become a valuable addition to the program.
Thanks,
— John Phipps
Dear Editor,
John Phipps suggested a ration mini-fest at the MPC fest and I think there would some interest in it.
— Bill
Dear Bill and John,
Thanks for the great idea. I is not often that we get a great and obvious suggestion that is also easy! Bravo. Consider it done, but remind me in January when we start circulating the program.
— 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
Notables planning to attend: the Bolings, the Schwans, Ray Feller, Michael Chou, Danny Spungen, Roger Urce, Dave Frank, Joel Shafer, Dave Leong, Adam Bickford
2027
American Numismatic Association National Money Show, 4-6 March Virginia Beach, VA (Bolings attending).
MPCFest, Holiday Inn Express, Port Clinton, OH 2-4 March registration required (except bourse 10-2 2 March) 419 349 1872 (questions) 419 732 7320 (registration, ask for Kim).
Georgia Numismatic Association April 16-18, Dalton, GA. (John Phipps, David Marble attending)
Central States Numismatic Society, April 21-24 Schaumburg, IL
Please help us fill in the dates for events listed and give us any additional events that might conflict. Thank you very much.
MPCFest sponsors
Joe and Louise Boling, Mike Buckley, Steve Fahrlander, Ray Feller family, Dave Frank, Kathy Freeland, Loretta Freyser, Al Glaser, Dave Hunsicker, Brett Irick, Jennifer and Eric Kibbey (dba Camelot Coins), Harold Kroll, Bill Myers, Joel Shafer.
MPCFest is possible because of the generous support of its sponsors.
Gram Exchange
Do you have something for sale (or trade)? Are you looking for something for your collection? You can offer items here in the Gram or list specific items that you need.
FOR SALE
Send your text and images (!) to the editor for inclusion in the Gram Exchange. Please send the images in jpeg format with each image in a separate file.
Large World War II home front ration collection featuring an MV red token and ration book 5. Too many items to describe. Contact Dave Frank at dave@frankcomputers.com and I will email you a list of all the items. Would prefer to sell the whole collection rather than individual items. It's a very nice collection accumulated over 25 years.
List your items for sale here for FREE
WANTED
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)