SAN JOSE COIN CLUB WOODEN FLATS

The San Jose Coin Club Wooden Issues of 1956

In 1956 the California State Numismatic Association (CSNA) had accepted the club's bid to host the spring 1956 convention brought with it a problem. Hosting this convention had certain costs associated with the entertainment of the guests which were not reimbursed by CSNA. The club treasury was very low, as this was long before the day of high profit coin shows. There was need to raise some money to finance the event.

One evening, Charles Kappen, Bill Webber and Bill Vennard, a Los Gatos printer (The Village Printer) met in the Carnation Creamery on The Alameda and Newhall to discuss the problem. The solution was to print a series of wooden money resembling Depression woods, and sell them through the club membership for one dollar per set to finance the convention expenses.

Vennard printed the woods for the club without charge. Printing was on 5 x 3 inch thin wooden strips. A set consisted of four pieces, a half cent with an 1804 dollar printed on the reverse, a two cent with a Roman Aes Signatum on the reverse, a three cent with a Roman Aes Grave on the reverse and a twenty cents with a New York colonial note of 1759 on the reverse, all contained in a special printed envelope. The cuts for the numismatic items depicted were old Calcoin News cuts sold to the club by San Francisco coin dealer Earl Parker for five dollars. A total of 280 sets were reported to have been produced in the May 1956 issue of Calcoin News. The sales records, however, show that 284 sets were distributed as of 1960.


Reference #	Date	Obverse	Reverse
F1	1956	Half Cent	1804 Dollar
F2	1956	Two Cents	Roman Aes Signatum
F3	1956	Three Cent	Roman Aes Grave
F4	1956	Twenty Cents	Colonial Note of 1759

Illustrations

F1 Obverse 1/2 Cent

F1 Reverse 1/2 Cent

F4 Obverse 20 Cents

F4 Reverse 20 Cents