18th

This is my eighteenth letter as president.

It's been nine years. Nine long years. And at least twice a year I get reminded of it. It was back in 1995 during a business conference on a chilly and windy early evening when I hopped off the L-train near the loop in downtown Chicago. I fought the gale reading my map until I located North Clark Street. I got my bearings and high-tailed it straight to Harlan Berk's Coin Shop, more to get out of the biting cold than to enjoy any numismatic experience. Once I arrived I was greeted by my old acquaintance Tom DeLorey, a renowned numismatist with world-class credentials in many series, both US and foreign. He quickly headed to the vault and pulled out a 2x2 and tossed it to me.

Have you seen this one?

I studied it and replied, No, I have not. It was a mid-grade 1865 Indian cent with a nice full cud on the obverse near the date.

Cuds near the date are rare, I informed him. The mint was worried about insuring the visual integrity of their product, especially the obverse. So when they noticed an obverse cud, they quickly shut the machine down and retired the die.

We worked out a fair price and after picking out a few other nice coins I headed back outside to brave the darkening skies. Just write it up in the Ledger… and mention my name, Tom added as I left.

No problem, I replied, I'll try to get it in this issue. This month is busy, my son Jackson turns one and I'm sure it will be a busy month.

Jackson will be 11 in January and he is now joined by two younger brothers, and Tom's discovery still has never made it into the Ledger. And so there I was at the ANA in Pittsburgh this August, trepidating slowly towards Harlan Berk's table on the bourse floor, wanting to look at their stock but also preparing myself for the obligatory question, the same one I have unsuccesfully tried to answer twice a year for the last nine years, once at the FUN Show and once at the ANA.

However, this summer I was quick on my feet, and I thought I'd try a pre-emptive strike, they seem to be popular lately. Before he could even ask me I blurted out, Tom, I promise you, I will get that 1865 into the next issue. And so here it is, finally, after hibernating in my collection for the past decade. A nice 1865 Indian cent with an obverse cud. Obverse cuds are indeed rare on Indian cents and when they do occur are almost always full in nature, as the broken piece falls away from the die, which for the obverse was located in the upper or hammer position. For more fun with cuds go to this issue's ,"Whattizzit"? column. We actually have two" Whattizzit"? columns for you to enjoy.

Just as soon as I left Tom's table I headed off to our Fly-In Club's ANA meeting. and had a nice attendance at the Club meeting. We opened our meeting by meeting those in attendance. They are as listed below:

John Savio, a collector of premium quality Indian cent business as well as proof issues. John is the owner of one of the most stunning MS67 Indian cents I have laid eyes upon.
Don Rhodes, along with his orange hat from Tennessee.
Rob Johnson of Cornwall NY.
Bob Petersen of St. Louis Park, MN who began collecting after finding an Indian cent in cafeteria change.
Stanley Spurgeoness and his son from Buffalo, NY, a collector of Proof Indians.
Frank Leone of NYC, our new editor.
Rick Snow, Past President of the Club from Eagle Eye Rare Coins in Tucson, Arizona.
Bob Pedolsky, a collector who has re-discovered his love of Indian cents from North Carolina. Bob brought a small group of counterfeit Indian cents he had purchased 30 years ago in the New York City area.
Eric Von Klinger, of Coin World note.
Chris Pilliod, current President from Pennsylvania.
Lynn Ourso of Louisiana. Lynn is one of the nicest guys you'll meet in any walk of life.
Willis Shimker of Chicago.
Al Kruezer, a California dealer with Hawaiian shirts.
We missed our friend Ken Hill.

We had a presentation on an interesting shattered die 1863 Indian cent, which you may read in this issue, as well as a membership summary, which Secretary Vern Sebby writes about in this issue as well. I will mention that we had an unprecedented renewal rate. 78% of those renewasl sent out were returned for re-upping. This is the best we have ever done. It was an interesting ANA, but quieter than some in the past. It was especially difficult to find any choice Indians at a decent price. Some of the highlights of the ANA Show included:

* We handed out close to 100 flyers at the Club table and applications to interested parties
* Due to a shortage of club table space, we shared a table with our friends from CONECA-- a sharp group of very enjoyable folks.
* Rick Snow purchased from auction an unattributed 1856 Flying Eagle, the rarest 1856 die pair combination.

I have two important announcements to make. First of all I would like to introduce Frank Leone, a club member from New York, as our new editor. I have known Frank since he learned to spell correctly almost ten years ago. Seriously on behalf of the Club, I would like to welcome Frank, an all-around good-guy who as a very serious collector combines a strong old-fashioned passion for numismatic research with the ability to clearly articulate his point (and I know this first-hand). He has done a lot of writing in the past, including what is considered the leading book on Two Cent pieces. Being an IT director, he also brings us a lot of experience on the software and publishing end of the spectrum. Also on behalf of the Club, I would I would like to thank Rick Snow for all the years of his service as editor and hope he continues to supply much needed materials for market/and auction prices realized. There is no other specialty club that is as fortunate to have the leading authority on its coinage as the editor and contributing writer.

Now we desperately need fresh articles!!! In our renewal survey we found readers really enjoy the "Whattizzit?" column and the personal biography column,how you got started collecting coins, how your interests formed, your favorite coin, etc. Please send your work to Frank at his email or hard address:

Fly-In Club Editor
Frank Leone
P.O. Box 170
Glen Oaks, NY 11004 email: flrc@aol.com

Donatons. Finally, I would personally like to thank the following members for their added generosity in offering the club a donation along with their renewal.

Kevin Coyle
Carl Thomas
Jonathan Kern Rare Coins
Michael Motto
Roy Baker
Donald Wedding
James Bowman
John McGeachy
David Perry
Gerry Gerber
Dennis Montini
Rick Alteri
Darrell Wolfe
James Burk
JD Williams
Neil Landers

If you would like to share any thoughts, email address: Chris Pilliod