Table of Contents

A Message from the President

The past year was very good for PAN. We saw increased membership. OurFall 2024 Coin Show was a blockbuster with record attendance and a sold-outbourse floor. Our KidZone as always saw many budding young numismatists.The Richard C. Jewell Lecture Series sponsored by Stack's Bowers Galleries wasvery well attended with a great group of lecturers. The series was hosted byour past PAN and current ANA President Tom Uram. Our Competitive ExhibitArea had a nice group of highly qualified exhibits competing for the top spotsin their categories. Security reported no major incidents. The team of uniformedand plain clothes folks have been working PAN shows for many years. Wehave been very fortunate to have this group stay together to protect our shows!

As many have noticed, this Winter Clarion issue has arrived later than usual. Editor Matt Campbell puttogether a beautiful issue. The fault lies with myself since I am responsible for the member mail list. Iunfortunately had a medical set back with weeks in the hospital and enduring chemotherapy. It has been abit of a rough ride. February seems to be a little bit better and should allow me time to catch up. A heartfeltthanks to all who have e-mailed and sent cards and prayers for my recovery. I am hoping for a betterFebruary.

Starting with the spring show May 29-31, keep in mind that our shows will now occupy both sides of theMonroeville Convention Center moving forward. Parking has been a constant challenge in the past and ourintent is to have all the parking slots available for our attendees and dealers. This has added a significantexpense to our show budget but the numbers seem to work. We had to slightly increase our bourse fees. I amalso asking for our show attendees to help by placing a couple bucks into our donation jug at theregistration table. Please make an effort to go to the other side (South Gallery) and walk throughthe lecture, club, exhibit, and living history areas plus any other special displays we provide.

From the Editor's Desk

I am delighted to start off my second year as editor of The Clarionwith an issue bursting with meticulously researched articles as wellas inspiring narratives of journeysin numismatics. The issue contains informative academic articles such as Lawrence Korchnak's"Norway's Unique Siege Coin," Malcolm Johnson's"Iceland's Althing Commemoratives," and Clarion regularMark Benvenuto's "Canada's Real Silver Dollars 1935-1966." Michael V. Hicks gives us the cover story, "Can IGet Your 'John Hancock?' Autographed Bank Notes Adda Unique Touch." Many of us collect banknotes, but Hickshas upped the challenge and the reward by collecting inkautographs to complement the facsimile signatures of allof those Treasury secretaries and others.

On the general numismatic interest but no less engagingside, Paul Schultz shares an ingenious idea for a rewarding collection based on his genealogy that proved to bevery difficult to assemble, but surprisingly not at greatcost in "Rarity ? Cost." For those who have just finishedup a collection or typically collect US coins by series, date,and mint and are looking for the next numismatic threadto start weaving, Paul's article is perfect food for thought.

Similarly, Dave Lombardo writes in "On the Road: Combining a Love of Coins, Photography, and Travel" abouthow the America the Beautiful quarters paired perfectlywith his long love of travel and photography, and senthim and his camera to a memorable destination he wouldnot have visited otherwise. Rob Throckmorton recountshis childhood introduction to coin collecting with charmrivaling Ralphie in A Christmas Story. Many of us invitekids and young people to club meetings and give out buffalo nickels and steel pennies, and sometimes that little effort will create a numismatist like Rob, who encourages usto keep up that effort in "How Three Steel Pennies HelpedMe Pay It Forward."

The Spring PAN show is months away, but the EarlyAmerican Coppers Society (EAC) will hold its conventionin Pittsburgh May 14-18. Mark Borckardt, the EAC's historian, contributed an article, "The Lure of Early Copper."Many collectors start off with modern series such as theMorgans, Peace dollars, and Lincolns. Early copper 1793-1857 invites collectors into a world of endless subtypesand varieties. Instead of buying the same Peace dollar butwith a different date and mint mark over and over again,collectors must look for numerous varieties, many attainable, of early half cents and cents.

For more information on PAN, see:
https://pancoins.org/