What's Happening

From the desk of your Secretary

December 24/05 - Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This has been a good year for ECI. We have seen a continued growth in membership even though it now appears that we will not reach our goal for the second year. We have watched our newsletter mature with more content; we have added new features to our website like "the Wrangler" and the "ECI Store." We have witnessed a major change in the manufacture of encased coins with the closing of Northern Mint and the Penny Press Mint stepping up to fill the gap. All in all we have taken major steps in growing ECI with 2006 promising to be even better.

November 11/05 - We proud to announce that ECI has been instrumental in securing the 2006 F.U.N. encased nickels commission for PPM. The pieces will be given away during the show next January 5th - 8th in Orlando.

~ The membership committee has developed a new one page flyer, posted and linked to the "Site Features II" page under "ECI Promotional Tools", that can be printed off and posted in coin shops, club room bulletin boards or passed out at meetings and coin shows. There are several over items posted on the page that are useful in promoting ECI. Cecil

October 10/18 - Pictured below the ceremony launching the West Virginia State Quarter on steps of the State Capitol Building. This photo was scanned from the cover page of the November 1st issue of Numismatic News.

The West Virginia State Quarter launch ceremony was held on the steps of the State Capitol Building in Charleston on Friday October 14th. ECI members attending the event were Bob Kirk #7, Richard Bottles #35 and I. There may have in other members in the crowd of over 6,000 that missed my notice. After the ceremony I presented Acting Mint Director David A. Lebryk a set of our 2004 encased nickels. Not surprising, they were the first encased coins that he had ever seen. On the previous evening Mr. Lebryk and several members of his staff met with local coin collectors at the Marriott. Those attending was given the opportunity to pose questions and offer comments to the Mint officials. ECI members attending were Richard Bottles #35, Don Clifford #110 and I. As far as I know no other members were present. I have had a die engraved for the quarter as a West Virginia souvenir piece. I plan on having 320 P mint pieces struck initially. The encasements will be sold in one dozen piece lots wholesale to local retailers. Forty proof pieces are being struck this week for sale thru the ECI Store, the proceeds going to the club.

“This new quarter celebrates the natural splendor of West Virginia and its engineering triumph, the New River Gorge Bridge,” said Acting Director Lebryk. “The construction of this magnificent bridge is symbolic of the ingenuity and strength of West Virginians. Many obstacles had to be overcome to build it, but when finished, it was tall, graceful and indispensable.”

The New River Gorge Bridge, which was completed on October 22, 1977, reduced what was once a 40-minute drive down winding mountain roads to less than one minute. At 3,030 feet, with an arch length of 1,700 feet, the New River Gorge Bridge is the longest steel arch bridge in the country. The New River Gorge Bridge is also the second highest bridge in this country (876 feet), with only the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado ranking higher.  

~ The Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled a new 25-cent coin designed to honour Canada's veterans. The new quarter, which depicts the profiles of two veterans – one young, one old – portrays the theme of the changing face of our veterans, Minister of Veterans Affairs Albina Guarnieri said from Kingston, Ont.

Ottawa portraitist Elaine Goble is the artist behind the new commemorative quarter. In 1995, Goble became drawn to stories about Canada's veterans and began to explore the theme in her work. She has since completed 17 portraits of veterans – many of which have been acquired by the Canadian War Museum – and has begun a portrait series about the consequences of war for survivors.

With 2005 marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, "it is important for Canadians from every region of this country to pause and reflect," Marguerite Nadeau, president of the Royal Canadian Mint, said at the unveiling. We will encasing this quarter as soon as we find a roll. Cecil

October 10/13 - Following is a mint issued drawing depicting the 2006 Jefferson nickel design. Congratulations are in order for this one. I personally thought "Ocean In View" was not the best. Too busy.

~ Beginning October 17th I will be returning to back my job and will only be available in the late evenings for ECI related work. So if you email, be assured that I will get back in touch. The vacation is over. Cecil

October 10/05 - Well now we are about to wrap up 2005 in less than three months. Turning 60 this year has made me reflect, "where has time went?" One thing I know for sure is where a good portion of this year's has gone; nursing a broken butt. Below is my latest personal photo.

This is what happens when you're careless and fall hard enough to crush the top section on your femur. The second picture shows what it would have looked like just seconds before I tested the hardness of that new front entrance walk. I'm not complaining in the least. I could have very easily broken my back or crushed my skull, which the doc said would have probably been fatal. Of those choices, a broken butt is fine with me.

- I congratulate all those who have contributed to the last two issues of our newsletter, you have made them the best to date. Just in case you didn't know, it's named the "The Lucky Penny". Member participation is the key to success of any club and ECI is no exception. As we continue to grow members will be called upon the serve in varied capacities and I trust that we will answer the call when presented.

- Our goal of growing to 300 members by February 1, 2006 is becoming more of a dream that a reality. Today we stand at 192 members after losing 1 to death and 3 resignations. Why anyone would resign form a dues-free organization is beyond me. Anyway, if each member would recruit only one new members each, we would surpass our goal and then some in no time flat. Surely there are at least 500 people world-wide who collect encased coins in one fashion or another. I see half that many bidding on eBay from time-to-time. If we are to grow we have to become involved; each and everyone of us in the effort. An email, a few words at the next coin club meeting, or a phone call could do the trick. But we'll never know until we give it a try. Please do.     Cecil