Club history

Origins

The Twin Cities Ancient Coin Club may be the finest and most active ancient coin club in the United States. The club was formed in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota around 1958 or 1959. It is believed that John Hartmann founded the club. Some of the other founders or earliest members were Rod Olson, H. G. (Oscar) and Carroll Gibson, Bill Wheelock, and Whitney Lindwall. The club temporarily became inactive circa 1963-65.

In November of 1964, Hartmann took over the editing and publishing of The Voice of the Turtle*--an early publication devoted to ancient coins. In addition to publishing the small magazine, Hartmann attempted to form a nationwide club which was known as the Ancient Coin Club of America. The magazine was used as the voice and centerpiece of the club. Hartmann encouraged the formation of local chapters around the U.S. In response, Chuck Gustafson and Jim Buelow reactivated the TCACC around 1966, and it became an affiliate member of the Ancient Coin Club of America. The club has been meeting regularly since that time.

In the "Club News" column of the June 1966 issue of The Voice of the Turtle, it is mentioned that "there were 56 present at a recent Minneapolis meeting." So the club was going strong by this time.

Meeting Locations

Originally, the club members met at local restaurants, usually in Minneapolis. At one time, meetings were held at the Nicollet Hotel downtown. Later, meetings alternated between Minneapolis and St. Paul locations. In the early 1970s, meetings were occasionally held at the University of Minnesota (Social Sciences Tower, West Bank, Room 850). Normally, the club met in the basement meeting room at the Penn Mutual Building at 1276 University Avenue. Eventually, the club was forced to move when the building was closed. After meeting at various locations for about 1 1/2 years, we moved to the St. Paul Jewish Community Center in Highland Village (1375 St. Paul Ave.) in the mid-1970s. The November 1974 club newsletter disclosed that that month's meeting was held at the Argonaut Building (550 South Snelling, St. Paul). About 1981 or 1982, we started meeting at our present location---Immanuel Lutheran Church on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul.

Distinguished Members and Guests

The club has had many noteworthy members over the years. A member in the 1960s-70s, Carroll Gibson later worked at the Getty Museum and is now a talented sculptor (Oscar died in about 2001). She has created some wonderful sculptures of ancient Greek coins (see the link on the Links page).

During the 1970's, Dr. Otto J. Schaden was a member of the club. Dr. Schaden was teaching the Middle Egyptian language at the University of Minnesota at the time. He went on to become a prominent Egyptologist, discovering the famous KV63 mummification storage area near the tomb of King Tutankhamun in February 2006.

Another member from the '60s or early '70s was Dr. Joan M. Fagerlie. In the mid-'60s, Dr. Fagerlie was the Curator of Roman and Byzantine coins at the American Numismatic Society in New York. Now retired, she remains a Life Fellow at the ANS. Other early members included Art McCracken (a well-known local coin dealer who had a shop in the Andrews Hotel), and Howard Brin.

Tom Jones, a former professor of ancient history at the University of Minnesota, occasionally gave talks at the club. Other prominent speakers and/or visitors have included Harlan Berk (1972), Arnold Saslow, Steve Rubinger (of NFA and later Antiqua), Jack Weatherford (author), Wayne Sayles (founder of The Celator), and Kerry Wetterstrom (current publisher of The Celator).

Newsletter

In the early years, postcards were used to remind members of the up-coming meetings. Since at least 1971, the club has mailed a newsletter to its members (all known issues are posted on the Links page of this website and they make interesting reading). In 1974, the club offered a cash prize to the member who submitted the best short article for the newsletter that year. Those submitting articles included Carroll Gibson, Otto Schaden, Dave Sims, and Howard Brin. A 1977 newsletter reveals that Steve Rubinger (of NFA) sent a group of coins to the club to be sold at the November and December meetings!

Today

Today, we have about fifty paid members and a typical club meeting attracts 20-30 members. At times, our meetings attract as many as 40 members and guests. Although the club has had numismatic luminaries as members, the heart and soul of the club has always been the average collector. So whether your pocketbook allows you to seek out beautiful rarities, or confines you to the occasional humble bronze, you are welcome at TCACC.

* The Voice of the Turtle was begun in 1963 by Harold Roepe.