Status: U Return-Path: Received: from web5205.mail.yahoo.com ([216.115.106.86]) by tyner.mail.mindspring.net (Earthlink Mail Service) with SMTP id tdkgvr.90k.37kbi5q for ; Sun, 15 Apr 2001 20:59:39 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <20010416005937.5293.qmail@web5205.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [152.163.201.208] by web5205.mail.yahoo.com; Sun, 15 Apr 2001 17:59:37 PDT Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2001 17:59:37 -0700 (PDT) From: MPCgram Subject: MPCGram 311 To: MPCGram@yahoo.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii ==================================================== MPC Gram ==================================================== Covering the Entire World of Military Numismatics ---------------------------------------------------- Series 002-Number 311 Sunday, April 15, 2001 More—how many collectors are there? By David Seelye The number of active MPC collectors has been a topic of interest to me for some time now. There is no easy way to get an accurate number, only an estimate. I propose that the current number of active MPC collectors world wide is 3500. There are several sources to help determine this figure. The Bank Note Reporter took a survey in 2000. The breakdown of what the readers collect shows that 19.5% of those that responded to the survey collected Military Payment Certificates Vs 56.2% that collected US Paper Money. Working the math gives 1634 collectors who read the Bank Note Reporter. I have been keeping, since August 2000, a listing of all that have bid on eBay on AMC and or MPC. The current total is 833 different eBay "handles" or email addresses. I have been sending notices to eBay bidders about 1) MPC Gram, 2) MPC Chat, 3) MPC listed on my web site. Over time I have modified the "trigger" of sending out the email. Originally I sent out notices only after a bidder was active in two different months. Currently I send out notices to all bidders that have an email address, as eBay as of 26 February does not allow direct access to email address from a "handle." I didn't want the collector who "discovered" eBay MPC site to become discouraged if he couldn't find that scarce note so I sent him/her an email to let the collector know there was an active network of similarly interested people to talk "shop," trade, buy and sell. At paper money shows, there are 3 major paper money shows per year in the US, CPMX in Chicago, Memphis, and St. Louis, the number of people who stop at my table that are not any of the other categories is 10-20 per show. By extension to the other "large" shows across the US the are probably 300-400 people that only go to shows for their buying-selling-trading activities. The other 700 or so are kind of lumped together from the rest of the world, along with those that don't fit into the above categories. Up until recently MPC was relegated to only foreign paper money dealers. This is apparent if you attend coin/paper money shows outside of the USA . In my transition from foreign coin dealer to MPC dealer, I attended the two best shows in Germany for two years. I bought many notes at these shows. I was a "new" customer and they were a new source to be mined. I have several clients in Germany, Great Britain, and Japan. I recently sold a group of the Series 691 $20.00 to a dealer who was taking them to Viet Nam for collectors there. I suspect that this category may have the largest error in my guess. Comments are requested. ==================================================== Editorial ---------------------------------------------------- This Gram starts the second calendar year. We have called the Gram volume two since Veteran’s Day. Make that series two. The idea to number by series was Brad Peacock’s. It might also have been his idea to number from Veteran’s Day. Now that we have completed a full year we deserve the second series designation by any standard. The year was such a great success only because of the wonderful, if not always cheerful, contributions of many of you. Beyond any doubt the most important contributions have been by our two regular columnists Joe Boling and Larry “Ski” Smulczenski. Their work has been wonderful and overall on time too! (very important to an editor). I hope that all readers will take the opportunity to thank these fellows in person, via email, and here in the Gram! We look forward to another fruitful year of good stuff from you guys. Of course there have been many other contributors from at least three continents. Every article, every letter, every tidbit of news is appreciated. Keep sending them! There is room for more columns here in the Gram. If you cannot do one very week, but would like to try every other week, that is possible. Perhaps you can be paired with someone to do alternating weeks. You do not have to be an expert to write a column. It would be possible to write a column which did little more than review a given issue based upon the listings in WWII Remembered and supplement it with your own comments and questions! There is no limit to the imagination that might be displayed in formulating a strategy for a column and in the columns themselves! =================================================== Mail Call Dear Gram, I keep my notes in Lindner albums w/slipcases. If anyone has had a problem with these--PLEASE let me know! Thanks, Steve Jinks Dear Gram, There are MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of DOLLARS worth of stamps stored in these albums [Linder] with no problems to date. Had there been any, you'd have probably heard of it by now. Richard Dear Richard, Wow, if millions of dollars worth of stamps are in such albums, it is amazing to think that it used to be billions! Thanks for the insight. Editor =================================================== Departments --------------------------------------------------- WWII numismatics seminar at ANA Summer Seminar 2001 --------------------------------------------------- Not only does the scholarship fund have an official identity but also has a bank account! Any further donations should be paid to the order of "Military Numismatists Scholarship" and sent to: Military Numismatists c/o Marcus Turner 8103 East US Highway 36 Suite 163 Avon, IN 46123 THE UPDATED LIST OF SCHOLARSHIP BENEFACTORS 3/22/01. These folks have generously provided money or material to finance scholarships to the ANA WWII Numismatics seminar. Your contributions will help promote collecting WWII material and be greatly appreciated. Many donations were received at CPMX and MPCFest. Mr. Anonymous Donor, Mike Cummings, Sue and Keith Bauman, Ed B., Doug Bell, Tom Denly, Denly's, R. A. Medina, Harold “MPCKid” Kroll, Leo "Paymaster" May, Mrs. R.C. Matherne, Bill McNease, Mel and Jeremy Steinberg, Marcus Turner, Larry Ski, Guido, Fred, PK6, Joel Shafer, World Wide Ventures, Pam West, John and Nancy Wilson, Neil Shafer, W. E. Yanchick, Mark Watson, Al Glaser, Phil Goldstein, Rod Hardy, Wesley Hardy, Gary Hicks, Jack Lippincott, Ian Marshall, Kevin Maloy, David Seelye, Nick Schrier, Elmer Smith, Dan Swartz, Tom Warburton, Dick Freyser, Tim Kyzivat ==================================================== Post/Base Exchange (PX/BX/NEX) Dump your dupes! Your classified advertisement for items for sale will be run here for free. Send your ads to the gram. This service is for everyone, most humble dealer or most advanced collector. The point is to make the gram more interesting. Send in a list of items for sale and we will list them here in the gram. In all cases confirm your order via email first. FOR SALE For Sale: One Pound Australian Currency, Fanning Island Plantations, LTD (SB#1541 pg 216). This is the whole note! VF Condition. Satisfaction guaranteed. Scan available upon request. $450. Contact marcus@papermoneyworld.com. For Sale: British Military Authority X Notes, (BMA). Used for the invasion of Tripolitania and Sicily in 1943, and put in use 1944 in Greece at the request of the Greek government. S/B303b, 2/6 VF @ $150.00 and S/B304b 5/- VF @ $175.00. or the pair @ $300.00. Note that these are the rare code letter X notes. It is likely that this letter was used exclusively in Yugoslavia. Contact Mpckid@papermoneyworld.com WANTED Collectors may submit lists of items wanted for their collections for listing here. Dealers and collectors who have these items are then encouraged to list them for sale in the above section. This is a trial, if you like it, send your list. =================================================== Staff: publisher and editor: Fred Schwan - fred@papermoneyworld.com; assistant editor - Phil Goldstein IWANTMYMPC@aol.com critic: Harold Kroll - MPCKid@papermoneyworld.com; index manager: Ed Beaman webmaster & technical advisor: Doug Bell - (Wiz): doug@papermoneyworld.com; The Boss: Judy Schwan ===== MPC Gram is published by BNR Press and papermoneyworld.com as a free service to the community of military money collectors. Your suggestions, criticisms, complaints, editorial contributions, letters, and even praise are very welcome. The entire contents including linked illustrations are copyright protected by the publishers. In the case of contributors, the copyright is protected on behalf of the creators. Please send all correspondence regarding the gram to MPCgram@yahoo.com. Thank you very much for your participation. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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