This is my eighth letter as president. Well, there definitely was a lull in the hobby in September and October. We are facing military and economic strains we have not felt as a nation for quite some time. But it seems like as we approach the Holidays people have been re-invigorated with their pastimes.

FUN Show. And the FUN Show is right around the corner. Everyone who attends gets really pumped up for this event. And this show seems to be a magnet for Indian cent enthusiasts and more than a few are anticipated to make our meeting. A meeting time has been set for 1:30 p.m. on Friday, January 11th. It will be in Room 231C at the Orange County Convention Center. A topic that several have asked to discuss is mis-placed digits. Marv Erickson has volunteered to speak. He is the nation’s leading researcher of MPD’s.

News from around the club….. John Smith has left the hospital after his bone marrow transplant and is looking forward to renewing his life. He can not make the FUN Show but wishes his fellow club members the best. I met Robert Lutzel, member from Connecticut, at the Baltimore Show, where he informed me he was putting together an UNC roll of 1909 L/L Indian cents and he was very nearly complete. He also acquired an 1865 Fancy-5 Snow-14 at the Show, a very difficult find. George Pauwels of Ohio informed me that he cherrypicked an 1865 Fancy-5 Snow-1 in choice brown uncirculated, another very tough find.

Vern Sebby has stepped in as Treasurer and has brought a lot of experience from his accounting background from the Illinois Prison system (he is an employee— not an inmate). Vern will be a welcome addition as a Board member and I can attest he has already put in a lot of effort for the Club. Vern’s main interest is high-grade pristine original red-brown Indian cents and over the past 30 years of collecting has developed a very keen eye for quality. If you have not done so, I highly recommend reading all of his articles by date for each Indian Cent issue. This would make for a good topic of discussion and if Vern is available at the New York ANA, perhaps we can ask him to be a guest speaker.

Now to the main point of this letter. We are always eagerly looking for good articles on any Indian cent or Flying Eagle piece. Few of us are literary geniuses, nor do we have to be, so Shakespeare be not afraid. An idea may be simply a numismatic experience a member may have had—these are always interesting to read. Or it may be of a historical nature, the minting process during these times, personal adventures such as where and how one acquired a favorite example, your favorite date to look for, or a story of a particularly interesting Indian cent in one’s collection would be appropriate. If you need photography please contact Ken Hill. He has volunteered to do photography as long as they will be used for an article in the Ledger. He may be reached at:

Ken Hill
P.O. Box 18943
Seattle, WA 98118-0943

The club will pick up the costs other than your postal fees to get the coins to Ken. Ken is an original member who is retired in Seattle and has perfected his skills as a photographer. His prints are professional quality, as good if not better than the major auction houses. Ken is an error enthusiast and has a regular column on Indian cent errors, a very hot area currently with choice pieces under heavy demand.

I will be working on a new brochure for the Club’s application for 2002 and will send out copies to the State representatives to take to the local coin shows.