April 4th. 2011.
Next club meeting Monday 9th May 2011.
Meetings are held
at the
NOTICES
As
announced at the April meeting this years social
visit will be to the
1) A conducted tour of the coin gallery
and/or look at the Fishpool hoard with Barry Cook.
2) A handling session where members could
see requested coins that are not on view. (We will need to provide a list of
requested items prior to the visit)
3) Members
visiting other parts of the museum/
So far 16 persons
have indicated an interest which is already above the maximum number. However, for those who could not make the April meeting if you are
interested in participating please call the Chairman on 01276 65663. We
will then have to see how we can make the numbers fit possibly a draw/
preference to those who have not been previously. Conversely if anyone has to
drop out please let the Chairman know asap.
For the handling
session we need to let the BM know what we want to see. So at the May meeting I
will be asking to hear your requests so be ready (and realistic). I know this
seems early but as I advised I will be away all June and July so I need to get
things sorted now.
·
PLEASE SEE ATTACHED A PROPOSAL FROM THE CHAIRMAN
REGARDING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CLUB CONSTITUTION.
·
Please also
find attached a Census request from the Club Secretary. If you could please
complete and return this as soon as possible (latest the AGM in June) I would
be most grateful.
April Meeting
In our April
meeting, Stuart Adams gave a talk on market tokens entitled
The premise of a
market token was as follows you buy three sacks of apples from Mr Jones fruit and veg stand. You pay 3d per sack for the
apples, as well as a 1d deposit for
the actual sacks for this you receive three 1d tokens as compensation. These
tokens are only redeemable at Mr Jones stand, provided they are accompanied by three
(empty!) apple sacks! This works in Mr Jones
favour in three ways firstly, you return his sacks to him; second, you have
to return to his stand to purchase your next lot of apples; and third, by
having to have both sack and token, you cannot acquire tokens (that you have
not left a deposit for) and redeem them en masse.
Some of the tokens
are of a standard shape (ie coin/disk shaped!)
whereas some are more elaborate and in a few cases,
give a clue as to the vendor and/or stock carried.
Billingsgate Market
was originally opened in 1016, and in the late 1500s,
Spittalfields Market (originally
on the bank of the
Borough Market was
first established by Royal Charter in 1550, however claims are abound that the
market was in existence as far back as Roman times! The current buildings were
built in the 1850s, after a couple of moves due to traffic congestion. An
example of a Borough token is that of John Gun, which is an
oval token with a rifle-shape stamped out.
Stratford Bridge
Railway Station opened in 1847 and became Stratford Market station on 1st
November 1889 after the fruit and veg market which
had sprung up around the station became recognised. The token example shown for
Overall an
excellent and well illustrated talk was delivered on a subject which has the potential to be fairly complex! The 24 members
who attended the talk extended their thanks to Stuart in the usual way, and a short Q&A session followed.
Future
Events
Past Events
·
1 years ago Mr
S Bhandare gave a talk entitled An Introduction to
Indo-Greek coinage
·
10
years ago Michael Gouby
give a substitute talk on Cartwheel Coins
·
40
years ago Mr. B.H. Grove spoke about Roman Coins and
their Relation to History
Club
Secretary.
Chairmans Proposal Limitations for
Serving on the Committee
At the April meeting I made a plea for volunteers to serve on the committee, since this year in June two existing members are standing down. To date nobody has offered their services.
One existing committee member (Peter Hall) is standing down because he has completed 5 years and rule (6d), limits continuous service to 5 years. However, Peter has indicated to me he is willing to continue.
As Chairman my concern is that each year it is getting harder to find club members willing to serve on the committee. I therefore think a change is needed.
Last year at the AGM we were unable to fill a post and this was only achieved with subsequent arm twisting, a situation as Chairman I find totally unacceptable. Furthermore, many of the most likely volunteers have previously served many times and are reluctant to serve again.
Before I make a proposal let me say in support of the current rules I am an advocate of new blood coming onto the committee since new ideas and enthusiasm builds a strong club. Also for some 5 years is more than enough.
Conversely, if we dont have a committee the club will fold and coercing an unwilling person is not a good long term solution and hardly likely to build a strong and effective committee.
In committee we have debated the pros and cons and come to a decision for club members to vote upon.
Our proposal is that Rules 6c and 6d be deleted, thus allowing a
committee member to seek re-election without restriction.
How did the committee come to this view?
a) Most importantly, as rule 6b requires election/ re-election of every officer at every AGM the club membership still holds the ultimate decision making power and can thus exercise a restraining influence on any dominant factions.
b) Under rule (6c) a committee members length of continuous service is limited to 3 years with the possibility of a 2 year extension. The reality is that in recent years a lack of volunteers has meant that almost all committee members end up doing 5 years, thus making rule (6c) somewhat superfluous.
c) While rule 6(d) limits continuous service to 5 years it also allows one back again after 2 years. This return period is so short as to be more of a hindrance than a help, especially where banking arrangements and external contacts ( BNS, BANS, etc) are concerned
d) The change in no way affects members offering their services to be on the committee. We will still be calling for volunteers and I (and this committee) would always support new blood in preference to extensions beyond 5 years
e) In the face of current difficulties it seems nonsense to loose the services of willing officers for the sake of some outdated restrictions.
At the May meeting I will be seeking your views and support prior to the talk so please think about this before the next meeting. If you are unable to make the May meeting and have a view you wish to express please contact a committee me. If the reaction is favourably the rule change will be formally ratified at the AGM.
Remember despite the above we are still looking for willing volunteers.
READING COIN CLUB CENSUS 2011
As mentioned in the notices, please can I ask you to complete
the below form and return it to me either by email, or in the SAE enclosed.
Please note that all details will be held securely, and will only be used in
connection with Reading Coin Club.
Full Name -
.......................................
Postal Address
Post Code -
Contact Telephone Number -
Email Address (please provide this for cost-saving purposes
for the Newsletter approx £8/year per member who receives a posted
Newsletter!) -
Member Since -
Committee Positions Held: Dates
of Service (if known):