Paul Hybert writes:

Walter started the presentation by asking us, "What does paranormal mean?" The general concensus was anything not in our physical reality, which can be simply stated as out-of-body. The program focused on examples from the more modern world; the mythological figures of the Greek, Roman, and other ancient civilizations is for another speaker, place, and time. The first topic was dragons.

Although dragons appear in both eastern and western cultures, they are viewed quite differently: good and benevolent in the east, and mostly as fire-breathing evil in the west. The Chinese dragon is the highest ranking creature in the Chinese animal heirarchy, and it is the only mythological creature of the twelve represented in the Chinese calendar. At one time, the dragon was strongly associated with the emperor, and hence power and majesty; tradition holds that children born in a year of the dragon will have luck, success, and power.

A number of pieces were shown, starting with an undated 10 tiao note from a warlord in China's Jilin Province; it has serpentine dragons within the outer frame. A copy of a $1 sight banknote has a smiling dragon flying over ships at sea, protecting them and providing good weather; it has no wings, as is typical for eastern dragons, but it still flies - magic! The same general design also appeared on a 1938 1 yuannote from the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. Examples of dragons on Japanese coins and notes from the 1890s concluded the examples of eastern dragons.

A 1922 10 pfennig notgeld from Braunschweig includes a winged dragon, with smoke wisps from its mouth, among a group of creatures around a walking ex-soldier. The alligator type of mouth adds to its sinister appearance. The dragon on a 50 pfennig notgeld is multiheaded but smaller; a soldier clad in only a loin cloth and carrying only a sword is fighting it, quite successfully too, as some of the heads have been cut off!

Not all German dragons were references to its defeat in World War I; a 1904 5 mark imperial treasury banknote (Reichskassenschein) has a winged dragon with the obligatory wisp of smoke from its mouth. Probably the best known of the western dragon stories is that of Saint George slaying the dragon. Walter recounted one of the folklore tellings of the brave horseman, armed with a lance, defeating the dragon, saving a princess, and converting the kingdom to Christianity. In the middle ages, the action took place in places with various names, situated in modern Libya, Syria, and Georgia among others. Examples on coins include the 1857 half penny token from the Bank of Upper Canada, to the 1892 crown from Great Britain; both based upon Pistrucci's famous rendition. So much for dragons - on to vampires and devils!

To read the complete newsletter, see:http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/chatter/2012/May/(www.chicagocoinclub.org/chatter/2012/May/)