NCW

Coin and paper money collectors and scholars met in Chapel Hill to examine the history of money in North Carolina in a two-day symposium in celebration of the North Carolina Collection's exhibition "Hard Cash & Hard Times" and National Coin Week.

The emphasis on Saturday, April 17, was paper money. During a regional meeting of the Society of Paper Money Collectors, five experts made presentations on their specialties: Bob Schreiner, the development and use of obsolete paper money; Paul Horner, illegal paper money in North Carolina; Claud Murphy, Confederate and Southern States paper money; Larry Cotten, national bank notes; and Harry Corrigan; the economics of paper money in the US after the Civil War.

On Sunday, the focus turned to coins. Halbert Carmichael discussed the influence of English coinage on North Carolina and US colonial and national coinage; Alex Armstrong, the influence of Spanish coinage on our coins; Neil Fulghum, the private coinage of the North Carolina Bechtler family; David Boitnott, the Charlotte mint gold coinage; David Provost, the Roanoke half dollar commemorative; and Bill Robinson; the availability and condition population of Charlotte and Bechtler coins.

On each day, Gallery Keeper R. Neil Fulghum led a tour of the exhibition. Visitors brought coins and paper money for identification and informal appraisal. One guest brought a rare Missouri National banknote that had a reported population of only one--his was the second.

The event was intended to highlight the numismatic interests of the North Carolina Collection Gallery and Keeper Fulghum and his assistant, Laura Baxley. Fulghum hopes to increase the numismatic holdings of the NC Collection to a more complete representation of the use of money in the State. The North Carolina Collection's currency holdings are fairly strong with respect to obsolete, Confederate, and state issues, but they are decidedly weak in colonial paper and national bank notes--two areas where Keeper Fulghum would appreciate support and expertise from private collectors.

For more information about the North Carolina Collection Gallery, contact Neil Fulghum at 919-962-1172, e-mail rfulghum@email.unc.edu or Laura Baxley, Assistant to the Keeper , 919-962-1172, e-mail lbaxley@email.unc.edu.

The following photos were taken by Bob Schreiner, except where noted. All may be used for publicizing the Weekend in Chapel Hill event without further permission.

	Left to right: Halbert Carmichael, president of North Carolina Numismatic Association; Judith Murphy, president of Blue Ridge Numismatic Association, past president of the Society of Paper Money Collectors, and member of the Winston-Salem Coin Club; Neil Fulghum, Keeper of the North Carolina Collection Gallery; Bob Anthony, Curator of the North Carolina Collection; David Provost, president of the Raleigh Coin Club. Neil is accepting the check from the five organizations. Photo by Claud Murphy.
	Halbert Carmichael, left, serving as spokesperson for all five numismatic organizations, presents the check to Keeper Neil Fulghum.
	Gallery Keeper Neil Fulghum (to left facing us in white shirt and dark tie) conducts a tour of the Gallery for Saturday participants.
	Left to right: Gallery assistants Tiffianna and Virginia, Professor William S. Powell and his wife.
	Judith Murphy welcoming the Saturday audience while the panel waits. Left to right: Claud Murphy, Harry Corrigan, Larry Cotten, and Paul Horner. Not shown is Bob Schreiner, also a Saturday panelist.
	Halbert Carmichael presenting on Sunday. The panel members are, left to right, Alex Armstrong, Neil Fulghum, David Boitnott, Bill Robinson, and David Provost.

A Weekend in Chapel Hill with Coins and Paper Money
A celebration of the exhibition "Hard Cash & Hard Times: A History of North Carolina Currency" and National Coin Week