Fred Holabird, a mining engineer by trade and also a respected scripophily authority whose interests focus on Western mining history, will be the keynote speaker at the Chicago Coin Club’s meeting to be held in conjunction with the November 8-11, 2012 National Coin and Currency Convention.
The event, the 27th annual numismatic convention sponsored by the Professional Currency Dealers Association, will be held at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare, located at 5440 North River Road in Rosemont, IL, directly across the street from the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
Patricia Foley, General Chairman of the convention, said of Holabird, “Mr. Holabird is especially well versed in Western historical themes and is a principal in the highly regarded Holabird-Americana firm. His subject will be I Own Arizona: James Addison Reavis and the Peralta Land Grant Fraud. Reavis was a real estate promoter and forger who created fraudulent land grant documents and associated transaction records that he surreptitiously planted in the Spanish and Mexican government archives purporting to give him title to 18,000+ square miles in the Arizona and New Mexico Territories. When his ownership of the claims was challenged, he went so far as to create a false background for a woman he married whom he alleged was a lineal descendent of the original grantee in order to defend his claim through marriage to her. Although largely forgotten today, Reavis’s claims clouded thousands of land titles in Arizona and New Mexico during the 1880’s and 1890’s. He gained millions of dollars by selling quit claim deeds back to the occupants of properties that he claimed to be the true owner of by virtue of his rights to the Peralta land grant.”
Foley continued, Mr. Holabird’s talk before the Chicago Coin Club is scheduled for 1PM on Saturday, November 10 in the Kennedy Room of the Crowne Plaza. We are particularly pleased to have the Chicago Coin Club participating in our event once again this year. They are an especially progressive group with a long history of well attended meetings held in conjunction with various Chicago area numismatic conventions that expand interest in numismatics and allied fields through the presentation of talks by respected researchers in a wide range of topics.”
The Chicago Coin Club meeting is open to the general public. Membership information in the organization can be obtained from Secretary Carl Wolfe via e-mail to [email protected].
Chairman Foley added, “Fred Holabird will be joining financial historian Lawrence Schuffman, whose program will be World War I Liberty Bonds and Their Historical Context in the Fight Against the Kaiser. Mr. Schuffman’s talk will be at 3PM Friday, also in the Kennedy Room. We are very excited about the quality of the two educational presentations that will be part of the National Coin and Currency Convention this year. I hope as many of our attendees as possible will avail themselves of the learning opportunities that they present.”
Featuring dealers from 22 states, the National Coin and Currency Convention will include dealers in U.S. and world coins, as well as collectable paper money. Rooms for attendees are available at a special discounted rate of $115 by calling the Crowne Plaza at (877) 337-5793 and asking for the National Coin and Currency Convention rate.
The show will feature an auction by Lyn Knight, with sessions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Information about the Knight auction will be available on the firm’s website, www.lynknight.com.
The National Coin and Currency Convention will be open from 1PM-6PM on Thursday, November 8 for a Professional Preview, where collectors, as well as dealers without booths, will be able to gain early access to the bourse area in advance of the general public for a $75 registration fee, which includes bourse access during booth holder only periods for the balance of the event. The regular public hours will be Friday and Saturday, November 9-10 from 10AM-6PM and Sunday, November 11 from 10AM-2PM. Registration Friday through Sunday is $5 for a three day pass.
Kevin Foley, who has served as Bourse Chairman for each of the previous 26 years of the convention, will once again serve in that capacity. Dealers interested in booth space should contact him by phone at (414) 807-0116 or via e-mail at [email protected]. More complete details, including the complete Schedule of Events and the booth holder listing, are available at www.pcdaonline.com
Media contact:
Kevin Foley: (414) 807-0116
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Website: www.pcdaonline.com
