COIN
COIN NEWS September 2011
Where
money
B A N K N O T E
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N E W S
NEWS
I N C O R P O R A T I N G
SEPTEMBER 2011 £3.65 INTERVIEW WITH ITALY’S MINT DIRECTOR • FOOTNOTES TO 1066 • JUSTINIAN’S COINAGE
ANCIENT ROOTS An interview with the Director of the Italian Mint
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Vol. 48 No. 09
1066 A numismatic look at the Bayeux Tapestry
What’s it worth?
SALEROOM COUP The legendary triple unite at auction
This month we focus on Florins and BoS notes
Coincraft are Trying Promote Coin Collecting*. In June We Mailed 149,899 Copies of The Phoenix to Potential New Collectors. What has Your Dealer Done? By coin collecting*, we also include collectors of banknotes, ancient coins, antiquities, medallions in fact anything numismatic. At Coincraft we try to be the collector’s friend. After all, how many companies send out a full colour catalogue of coins, banknotes etc. every three weeks? Last year Coincraft sent out 35 different publications to established and new collectors alike. We are trying to give people the chance to become coin collectors. We have 27 staff and experts to help you, we are a family owned and family run business and we really care. Coincraft is one of the oldest and largest coin firms in the United Kingdom and we hope one of the friendliest. We DO NOT sell anything as an investment, we only deal with collectors. We also carry the largest inventory of coins in the country if not in Europe as well. We have been helping collectors since 1955, both buying and selling. How can we help you?
In this issue PUBLISHING FOR COLLECTORS SINCE 1983
Incorporating BANKNOTE NEWS
The coins of Justinian
COIN
NEWS ISSN 0958-1391
September 2011 Volume 48 No. 09 Formerly Coin & Medal News incorporating Coins & Medals, Irish Numismatics, and Banknote News Published monthly by Token Publishing Ltd.
Available at your Newsagent, or by Annual Subscription Within UK £34.00 for 12 issues Europe and World surface mail £42.00 World airmail £52.00 Please note that Editorial, orders, subscriptions and general enquiries can ALL be contacted at the following address: Orchard House, Duchy Road, Heathpark, Honiton, Devon EX14 1YD Orders, subscriptions, etc.: Telephone: 01404 44166 Advertising enquiries: Telephone: 01404 44167 General enquiries: Telephone: 01404 46972 Fax: 01404 44788 E-mail: info@tokenpublishing.com Website: www.tokenpublishing.com Managing Editor John W. Mussell, FRGS Member, British Numismatic Society, Numismatic Literary Guild, American Numismatic Association, International Banknote Society, etc. Advertising Director Carol Hartman Marketing Director Philip Mussell, BA DipM MCIM MIDM Deputy Editor Janet Webber, BA Hons Art Editor Lisa Camm-Keyte Advertising Manager Celia Dunsford Advertising Production Controller Klara Bodfish Book Publishing Coordinator Fiona Pyle Sales and Subscription Manager Alyson Thomas Executive Assistant Janis Thatcher Production Assistant Abbey Becow Accounts Controller Jackie Taylor Editorial Consultant John Pearson Andrew
35 Ancients 35 The coins of Justinian
One emperor, many mints
Banknote feature 74 RBS Lizars £1 note
Beauty and function
Insight 39 Numismatic footnotes to 1066 Coins before and after the Norman Conquest
Interview 44 Ancient roots
The Italian State Mint
On the fringe 49 Cloth money of the Upington Border Scouts Emergency currency from the second Anglo-Boer War
53
In focus Spirit of change: Ireland and the Euro 2002–10 Irish influence and achievement
Tokens 59 Tokens of the Parys Mines Company Copper mine currency
Back to basics 71 Token offerings
Exploring a vast subject
REGULARS Editor’s Comment...............................................2 Coin News & Views .......................................... 14 View of the Bay ................................................. 22 Around the World ............................................ 24 New Issues Coin Update ............................... 26 Royal Mint Bulletin .......................................... 28 Market Scene .................................................... 30 Coin of the Month ........................................... 62 Price Guide to FLORINS ................................. 65 Banknote News ................................................ 71 Price Guide to BANK OF SCOTLAND £10 and £100................................................................ 79 New Issues Banknote Update ..................... 82 Dealer Directory............................................... 85 Diary dates ......................................................... 86 Semi-display adverts ...................................... 90 The Web Page ................................................... 92 Classified advertising ..................................... 94
ADVERTISERS INDEX—SEE PAGE 95
Printed in England by Buxton Press for Smith-Marriott Ltd, Exeter Distributed to the Newstrade by Comag Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QX
Front cover: Interview with Italian State Mint Director—see page 44.
COIN NEWS is © 2011 Token Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is expressly prohibited. The views expressed by advertiser and contributors in COIN NEWS are not necessarily the opinions of the publishers. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, neither Token Publishing nor its contributors can accept liability for errors or omissions. Printed by the “Environmental Printer of the Year” For every magazine published, we plant a tree . . .
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Editor’s comment
Staying safe
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MAKE no apologies this month for writing broadly similar “Comments” in both COIN NEWS and MEDAL NEWS and I hope those of you who buy both magazines (and there are a number of you out there) will forgive me and, as you read on, I hope you will agree that the subject is worthy of covering in both magazines as it is of relevance to us all. The catalyst for this Editorial came a fortnight ago when the home of one of the Token team was burgled. He was out during the day and believed his house to be secure but somehow the thieves got in. They went through every drawer in the place and stole thousands of pounds worth of cash, laptops, watches, cameras, etc., but he was also lucky. He had an extensive medal collection in the house and whilst the burglars rifled through the cabinet they stole none of them. It transpires they were heroin addicts (the police have now caught them although his property is long gone) and only looking for items they could fence quickly and medals obviously weren’t on their hit list. Now whilst the trauma of having your house broken into is bad, and knowing that someone has been rifling through your personal possessions is a horrible feeling, the fact is it could have been so, so much worse. That wonderful collection that he had spent almost a decade accumulating could even now be broken up, melted down even and certainly lost forever. This warning shot has made him re-look at his security, get an alarm, take his medals to the bank and generally be far more aware of what potentially could happen. Not only that, but what the insurance company is insisting on has also made him realise he has to be far more diligent with his record keeping. Essentially, the insurance company are insisting on seeing receipts or some proof of ownership of all the items stolen— in some cases he is able to provide these but in most not, after all who keeps a receipt from a watch that’s six years old, or a laptop that is out of warranty? Very few of us would bother to keep such things. We have the goods, they work, they’ve been paid for and every now and then we de-clutter, getting rid of their boxes and receipts pertaining to them. Apparently we aren’t meant to do this “just in case” some low life decides to divest us of our worldly goods. Now, in the future he will of course keep such receipts, he’s learning the hard way, but how much worse would it have been if his medals had been stolen? Like most of us collectors he buys at auction (for which he will have proof of purchase) or on-line (again a proof of the transaction will be available somewhere) or at a medal fair/boot sale/antiques fair—for those transactions you can bet your life he has few proofs of purchase, after all why would he? He has the goods and they aren’t likely to go wrong! This experience then got me thinking about how he would stand in the event of an insurance claim where his medals had gone missing—and the answer is “not in a strong position”. The insurance company would need him to prove he had what he says he had and for him, and most of us, that would not be that easy. Now the insurance company aren’t being unreasonable—they can’t pay out any and every claim without checking because, as we all know, fraud does go on. But how do you actually go about proving the existence, or value, of a collection such as the ones we all have? Certainly he has a written record, but that’s something he wrote himself and so no proof at all in the eyes of the insurers. Apart from that, what else could be done? Well, it seems that in this day and age you have to have as much proof as is humanly possible in order to satisfy insurers and so I’d like to make a few suggestions but if any readers have further ones then please do get in touch. Firstly, check your coins are covered in your policy—if not then take steps to insure them separately. Then, if you can, photograph your collection, both as a collection as a whole (in trays, cabinets, etc.) and individual pieces (try to do that in situ so that the insurer knows that these were actually your items and not photos from a dealer’s table at a coin fair!). Once you have taken those photos don’t leave them on the SD card in the camera or on your laptop—cameras and laptops are likely to go missing too if you get burgled—so back them up on a disk and keep that in a safe place. Also, try to log every transaction, if you don’t get a receipt at least make a note of when and where you buy things. Bona fide dealers keep records too and will be able to confirm to an insurer that you did indeed purchase what you said you did. Apart from that there isn’t much more you can do except make things as difficult for a thief as possible. Consider taking your collection to a bank (if they’ll still accept them, many don’t). Think about an alarm or maybe a safe, failing that get a lockable cabinet/box (most burglars are looking for easily portable items: they will happily stuff a few coins in a holdall but won’t run the risk of being seen or caught with a coin cabinet or case). Ensure every window and door is a secure as it can be and, if they aren’t in a bank, make sure your coins are as well hidden, or as well disguised as possible. If a burglar is determined to get in to your house he will—your job is to make it as difficult as possible for him to do so, offer him as little to steal as possible and to make it as easy as possible for you to JOHN W. MUSSELL get the value of your collection back if he does. Not a particularly happy subject for my usual Group Managing Editor “Comment” I know, but maybe one that will save you a lot of heartache and a lot of money.
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News & views
Numismatic work of art at DNW A
T DNW’s September 26 sale, a superb example of one of the great rarities of the English hammered series, the gold triple unite of Charles I, is being offered. The coin was struck at the Oxford Mint in 1644 and is thought to be the finest example of its type (B-J VIII-L8; SCBI Brooker 842, same dies; SCBI Schneider 304 same dies; N 2385; S 2729). The reverse carries the declaration, “RELIG PROT LEG ANG LIBER PAR” (The religion of the Protestants, the laws of England and the liberty of Parliament) with the three Oxford plumes above and the small date 1644 with “OXON” below. Described as about Mint State with proof-like surfaces, the coin has an estimate of £100,000–120,000. To find out more visit www.dnw.co.uk, or telephone 020 7016 1700. Amazingly two further examples, but later issues, will appear at St James’s auction no. 18 the following day on September 27. For more details visit www.stjauctions.com or telephone 020 7930 7597.
Space age coin
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HEN Italian astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, went into space with the Soyuz TMA-20 to dock with the International Space Station he took with him a present from the United Future World Currency (UFWC). The good luck present was a silver prototype coin minted by the Italian State Mint for the UFWC and was given to him by the UFWC’s Dr Sandro Sassoli. During his 159-day mission on board the International Space Station Flight Engineer Nespoli found time to photograph his coin floating in the zero gravity above the earth.
Classical beauty at Baldwins S
ANCIENT FAKES C
OUNTERFEIT CRUSADER Ken Peters is well known to readers for his analysis of fake £1 coins. Now Ken has turned his attentions to the counterfeit coins of Roman Britain. In his book, Ken looks at counterfeit Roman coins—old and new—and gives the reader tips on identifying counterfeits. The book is available from Ken at £25 plys £2.50 p&p. To find out more write to Envoy Publicity, 8 Kings Road, Biggin Hill, Kent, TN16 3XU.
OME of the rarest and most historically important examples of Greek coinage ever seen have been consigned to Baldwin’s New York sale in January. The multi-million pound “Prospero Collection” contains over 600 coins from the archaic, classical and Hellenistic Greek periods. The collection was formed over several decades by a collector with a passion for the arts and an underlying theme for the magical and mythical can be seen throughout the collection. It has not been added to in the past 20 years and remains complete and untouched, with many of the coins having pedigrees dating back to collections dispersed in the early 20th century. Baldwin’s ancient coin specialist Paul Hill commented “the Prospero Collection is the most important collection of ancient Greek coins to appear on the market in almost a quarter of a century, since the sale of the Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection in New York. This will, without doubt, be one of the most significant ancient numismatic events of our generation and an opportunity to acquire coins that have not been available for decades’’. The sale of this spectacular collection promises to be one of the most significant and anticipated numismatic events for many years and will take place on January 4, 2012 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York. A more in-depth report on this superb collection will be featured in the November edition.
COINEX is coming T
HE undoubted highlight of the numismatic year takes place once again in the sumptuous ballroom of the Millennium Hotel in London’s Grosvenor Square. Organised by the British Numismatic Trade Association, the two day event will be held on September 30/October 1 and will attract collectors and dealers from all corners of the globe. On offer will be many of the great rarities as well as an outstanding selection of material from ancient and early hammered to the latest issues. For more information and for a free entry ticket make sure you order your copy of the October COIN NEWS or visit the BNTA’s website www.bnta.net.
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News & views Ides of March at Heritage
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ROBABLY the most famous ancient coin of all, the “Ides of March” silver denarius commemorating Julius Caesar’s assassination is to be offered at Heritage Auctions September 7 Long Beach World & Ancient coin auction. The coin, struck by Caesar’s assassin Marcus Brutus, is expected to bring in more than $500,000. “The ‘Ides of March’ denarius, struck in 42 BC, is the only Roman coin to openly celebrate an act of murder,” said David S. Michaels, Director of Ancient Coins for Heritage, “the only Roman coin to mention a specific date and one of the very few ancient coins to enter the popular imagination”. Should the coin reach its pre-auction estimate of $500,000+, it will establish a record price for a Roman silver coin. The coin was part of the world-famous Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection, sold in 1990, with an auction pedigree going back to the early 1900s. The event celebrated on the coin is, of course, the assassination of Julius Caesar on the “Ides of March”, March 15, 44 BC. The 20p-sized silver coin depicts the head of Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the ringleaders of the assassination plot, on its obverse. The reverse depicts a dome-shaped liberty cap, flanked by two drawn daggers, and the Latin inscription EID MAR. Since the early part of the 2000s, the coin has been part of a private Arizona holding, all of which is being offered in Heritage’s September 7 auction and dubbed The Rubicon Collection for the event. To find out more visit www.HA.com.
Hoard on display Cracking week T for Künker F
HE Frome H o a r d will be one of the showcase displays when the Museum of Somerset re-opens in September after a £6.93 million redevelopment. The hoard, one of the largest caches of Roman coins ever found, was recently saved for the nation following a national fundraising appeal. It will be available to view after the official opening on September 29. To find out more go to www.somerset.gov. uk/irj/public/services/directory/ service?rid=/guid/4096f99f-04372c10-9ab0-c4728e907b47. When it reopens admission to the Museum will be free.
IVE catalogues containing some 7,000 lots including several important collections, yielded an impressive 9.2 million euros for Osnabrück auction house, Künker, in their week-long June sale. Catalogue 188 contained a collection of 122 Osnabruck coins, which achieved €236,000 euros against a pre-sale estimate of €126,000. A collection of Saxony, the life accumulation of Saxon born Gerhart Rother, contained 1,115 lots all of which sold without exception outstripping its pre-auction estimate of €740,000 by reaching more than 1.2 million euros! Catalogue 190 was an important private collection from France including many trial pieces which also achieved a 100 per cent sell out. Gold featured highly in catalogue 191 so prices ran expectedly high. Part 2 of catalogue 191 contained German coins pre-1871 which again sold well. Russian coins formed a large part of catalogue 192 with many lots selling for more than estimated. For a full round-up of results and coin images simply log onto www. kuenker.de or telephone 0049 541 96 20 20 for future auction dates. Lot 1549: SAXONY. A rare Frederick III the Wise (1486–1525), partly gilded silver medal of 1532. EF, realised 18,000 euros.
Don’t miss it!
The 2012 edition of the acclaimed COIN YEARBOOK will be launched at COINEX. To pre-order your copy see the advert on page 96.
CHRISTOPHER EIMER P.O. Box 352, London NW11 7RF Tel: 020 8458 9933 art@christophereimer.co.uk www.christophereimer.co.uk Available direct from the author
%5,7,6+ &200(025$7,9( 0('$/6 $1' 7+(,5 9$/8(6
%\ &KULVWRSKHU (LPHU 2nd Edition, 2010: Price: £75.00. 2200 entries / 2000+ images in colour. (UK postage, please add £8) September 2011
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News & views Remembering 9/11
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HE ofďŹ cial proof silver medal struck by the US Mint in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers has generated immense interest with US buyers. In the week of issue sales at the US Mint reached nearly 60,000 for the memorial medals. Struck with different mint marks, the medal with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wâ&#x20AC;? West Point mintmark were favoured over the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pâ&#x20AC;? Philadelphia mintmark with 33,046 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wâ&#x20AC;? pieces sold against 17,952 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pâ&#x20AC;? medals. For further details of this and the second issue released in August log onto www.usmint.gov.
ProďŹ t for RM T
HE Royal Mint has reported another proďŹ table and successful year, delivering an operating proďŹ t of ÂŁ3.6 million, following its ďŹ rst full year of trading since being vested as a government-owned company in January last year. The past year saw the company inject the largest capital investment for many years, providing additional nickel-plating capacity to support growth in the application of its aRMourâ&#x201E;˘ plating technology, a key element of the circulating coin business strategy. The Royal Mint say that at a time when global demand for plated coins is increasing this will help underline their position as the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading export mint. At present they produce coins and medals for an average of 60 countries every year. The Royal Mint has also invested strongly in increasing the capacity of their commemorative coin production. This has enabled them to capitalise on signiďŹ cant opportunities in the marketplace, such as the growing international interest in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games coin programme. The 2010â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11 Royal Mint Annual Report can be downloaded via the Internet by logging on to: www.royalmint.com/Corporate/about/ AnnualReport.aspx.
Information courtesy of www.coinsweekly.com
New venture for popular personality
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ELL-KNOWN numismatic writer and researcher, Andrew Wager, is embarking on a new venture from September. Under the name Coins and Co, Andrew will be issuing monthly ďŹ xed price lists of coins, tokens and historical medallions. The lists will be emailed to those on the mailing list, with advance notice given of the time and date they will be sent out each month so recipients have maximum opportunity to snap up the item they need for their collection before being beaten by a rival collector. Andrew said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the days before email, collectors were very reliant on the reliability of their postman and by the time the list arrived many of the items they wanted had already been soldâ&#x20AC;?. Orders from Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list will be dealt with on a strictly ďŹ rst come ďŹ rst served basis and his 40 years of experience in numismatics will go into acquiring a wide range of interesting items. It is also planned to include numismatic articles of interest in future editions. To register your interest email coinsandco@btinternet.com.
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Coin news
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News & views
Eye of God A
RARE silver coin of the Iceni, struck in Norfolk over 2,000 years ago, is being offered by Elizabeth Cottam of Chris Rudd in their September 12 sale. The coin was unearthed recently by a metal detectorist in East Anglia and depicts a man’s head with one eye blinded (or closed) and with another eye (the “third eye”)—in his mouth. Elizabeth thinks he may be the Icenian counterpart of the Norse god Odin who sacrificed one eye in order to gain wisdom and the gift of prophecy. For those readers wondering how a Scandinavian/Germanic god came to be on an ancient British coin, especially when that coin was minted hundreds of years before the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings invaded Britain, Elizabeth quotes Dr Daphne Nash Briggs, author of Coinage in the Celtic World, who thinks that an ancient Germanic ancestry may have influenced the language, iconography and coin inscriptions of the Iceni and cites their famous Norfolk Wolf gold staters as evidence of this. Strange, partially concealed “spirit eyes” also occur on the coins of another eastern British tribe, the Corieltavi. To find out more about the sale visit www.celticcoins.com.
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IN BRIEF
BUSHEY AUCTIONS have changed the date of their auction due to venue difficulties. The auction will now be held on Saturday August 27 and rather than 28th as previously advertised. THE Ira and Larry Goldberg Pre-Long Beach Auction no. 65 on September 4–6 will feature the Cernunnos Collection of Celtic Coins. The full catalogue can be viewed online: www.goldbergcoins.com. Goldberg’s also have a new address for offices and auctions: 11400 W. Olympic Blvd Suite 800, Los Angeles, CA 90064, USA. September 17 sees the auction by Turner, Evans & Stevens of an entire private collection of Roman, Greek, Byzantine, English hammered and milled coins, 19th century tokens, banknotes, foreign coins and reference books. Catalogues are available by telephoning 01754 766061 or going to www.tes-property.co.uk. The Dutch Mint have announced plans to produce coins with QR Coding. The codes, which can be read by special readers and by many mobile phone cameras, direct people to a special website containing more information. The coin commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Mint building’s construction. Approximately 590 coins will be auctioned on October 1, 2011 in the Principality of Monaco. The coin auction arm of the Gadoury Company will offer everything from ancient to modern with a number of numismatic rarities. Held at the Hotel Hermitage at Place Beaumarchais, Monaco, full sale details are available at www. gadoury.com. Following the success of the first UK gold bar dispensing ATM machine in the Westfield Shopping Centre in Shepherds Bush, the owners, Gold to Go, plan to roll the machines out across the country. A new on-line resource is now available from NGC. The World Coin Price Guide offers daily world coin price updates, mintage figures and more. The new guide is free to use. To find out more go to www.nGCcoin.com/WorldCoinPrices. AT the Essex Numismatic Society meeting of July 22, members were treated to a fascinating talk by former Curator of the Royal Mint Museum, Graham Dyer, entitled “An Innocent Abroad” which gave an account of his 40-year career. The next meeting of EnS will be on September 23 at 7.30 at Chelmsford Museum— all are welcome. For more details visit www.essexcoins.org.uk or telephone Bob Thomas on 01277 656627.
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News & views
SPOTLIGHT
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Peterborough and District NS
ETERBOROUGH and District Numismatic Society was formed in 1967 and still boasts of having two founder members and a further three who joined within months of its foundation as members. The Society currently meet at the Belsize Community Centre, which has been their “home” for the longest period of their history. Over the years membership numbers have been a concern and, having changed their title to Peterborough Coin and Medal Club for a few years without any positive outcomes, they reverted to the original title as they feel it more truly embraces their collecting themes, including tokens and medallions. Membership, currently 12, is as high as it has been for some time which is encouraging and they provide a wide and varied events programme. They meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month, from September to May each year, except December when an annual dinner is arranged at the beginning of the month in conjunction with the local Postcard Club. Every two years they hold a display evening to compete for the Society’s shield. Our picture shows the recent winner, Stuart Flowers (seated in the striped jumper), whose display was entitled “The Widow of Windsor” and featured Victorian coins. In the spirit of society collaboration, the judges, David Gray and Roger Negus, were from the local Military Society. Peterborough NS meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month from September to May at 7.30pm at the Belsize Centre, Celta Road, Peterbrough, PE2 9JD. All are welcome to come along and find out more.
SUPER SALES at STACKS A
T the Official Auction of the June 2011 Whitman Coin and Collectables Baltimore Expo, Stack’s Bowers Galleries realised $10,186,912 across eight US and world sessions. The entire sale contained an impressive 7,116 lots, including over 2,000 lots of world and ancient coins and paper money. For a complete list of prices realised in the Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio June 2011 Baltimore Auction, visit www. stacksbowers.com. Lot 6019 at the Stack’s Bowers and Ponterio auction was this Lysimachos, AV Stater of uncertain mint, 305–281 BC which realised $7,670.
Designs on SAMOA T
HE Royal Australian Mint has been chosen to produce the new series of coinage for the small island of Samoa which will be released into circulation later this year. The designs include a 10 sene (Fautasi Race), 20 sene (Teuila flower, Samoa’s national flower), 50 sene (Manumea bird), 1 tala (Kava bowl) and the 2 tala which will replace the existing 2 tala note (Samoan National Emblem). The obverse of the coins will depict the effigy of His Highness, the Samoa Head of State, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi.
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Collection to charity
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OIN NEWS contributor Jim Jacobs has decided to auction thousands of his collection of 1933 US coins and donate the proceeds to St Jude’s Children’s Research Centre in Memphis, Tennessee. As Jim documents in his article “America’s Largest Coin Year Collection?” (COIn nEWS, May 2011) he began collecting the coins as it was the year of his birth and he later realised it was a significant year for US numismatics with that year being the lowest mint production in 138 years and with only two types of coins being minted and released—pennies and half dollars. Jim’s collection has gone on sale on the auction site eBay at of the end of July. As COIn nEWS goes to press, the auction has yet to close.
Colonial GOLD
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OLLECTORS of British colonial gold may wish to weep quietly. Top selling item in International Auction Galleries’ June sale in a wintery Melbourne was an impeccable 1893 Veiled Head proof half sovereign. It sold for A$500,950 including Buyer’s Premium, or £333,645 in real money. The successful bidder followed it up by purchasing an 1856 Sydney Mint half sovereign pattern proof for A$308,725 (£205,597). All up the auction realised in excess of A$4,000,000 (over £2,500,000). Readers can find a full description of lots and prices realised at www. iagauctions.com/auctions.html. Dr K. A. Rodgers www.tokenpublishing.com
September 2011
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A VIEW OF THE BAY
Here we take a look at some of the numerous numismatic items offered over the auction website eBay. This is just a small selection which have caught our eye. Read on and see if you agree with our reviewer (comments in italics) . . . Unless stated otherwise the descriptions are as the eBay listing written by the seller. 1953 UNC coin set in sealed plastic wallet with some storage bloom though never opened.—£6.06. In June 1971 these “plastic sets” were being offered in the numismatic press for £7, that’s £79.66 in today’s money; in June 1970 they were the equivalent of £11.50, £139.26 in today’s money. Go back another year, 1969, and they were £15, £191.40 in today’s money. William & Mary five guinea coin 1691, problem free coin. Good very fine, I think.—£4,350. Eight bidders placed an impressive 23 bids with a 99p start. The finishing price accurately reflected the true grade of this coin, it was not “Good Very Fine” but closer to Very Fine judging from the low quality photographs. This gives it a value in Coin Yearbook (CYB) of £4,500 so this was a strong result for the seller. Colonial era Conder 2 penny token Middlesex 696 1793 Spence George Gordon uncirculated.—£236.82. This was a lovely token which attracted 19 bids from eight bidders from a start of US$0.99, the seller was in the USA. These UK tokens are known as “Conders” in the USA due to a reference book on them being written by James Conder. They are popular in the USA where they are regarded as being early colonial items as they did circulate there at the time of issue. A nice good very fine, or better, quality 1818 George III Sovereign. 1818 is the
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second year that the modern gold sovereign was issued (S.3785), and is a highly sought-after date. This coin catalogues for £1,450 in VF and £3,750 in EF in Spink 2011.—£1,425. At first glance this may appear to have been a bargain buy, a “Good Very Fine or better” coin for Very Fine money. As it was closer to Good Fine than the stated grade the buyer has overpaid for it. There was, of course, an under bidder and they placed their bid with six seconds to go; if they had not come in it would have sold for £350 less. Great Britain 1834 silver 12 pence unc+. Sharp strike and lustre. MS62.—£17.48. This must be the highest grade UK coin ever offered on eBay, as it’s claimed to be “unc+”, which is, of course, ridiculous. It was difficult to judge the true grade of this coin as the pictures were of poor quality, somewhere around Fine would be my guess. Although it was claimed to be “MS”, i.e. a mint state coin scoring 62 out of a maximum of 70 for a perfect coin, this seller is a USA based “self slabber”, he grades and entombs the coins in a plastic holder himself hence the grossly exaggerated grade. Why it attracted 11 bids from eight bidders and sold for this inflated amount, from a seller with 36 negative feedbacks in the previous month, is an all too common eBay mystery. Pre 1947 GB 2,273g grams silver coins not all scrap metal. Here we have 2,273g of GB silver coins dating from 1920–46 some are
better than others. Sold as seen.—£732. With silver at an all time high, ignoring inflation, this may be the time for collectors to sell low grade silver coins for their metal value. The thought of an old coin being melted may not be appealing but many were in the great silver boom of the 1980s when pre 1947 silver coins could be sold for ten times face value, it is possible to now get around 24 times face—£2.40 for a worn two bob coin of little interest to collectors is very tempting. An opportunity to purchase a truly outstanding example of the rare Queen Victoria 1877 “young head” halfcrown in superb toned virtually UNC condition.—£331. If the first of the seven bidders had not returned with one second left it would have sold for £33 less. As CYB values an example at £200 in EF and £375 in uncirculated this was a good result for the seller. The buyer is happy with their purchase but a dealer has one in EF on their web site at £225 which might have been the better buy. Rare Great Britain George V Wreath Crown 1934.—£2,203.77. This coin had strange matt surfaces perhaps due to bad cleaning or “dipping”, it also was worn and possibly as low as very fine condition. This being eBay, however, resulted in 12 bidders placing a massive 29 bids and it selling for double what would have been sensible.
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September 2011
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September 2011
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Around the world
STARS WARS STRIKES BACK AT ANA DR KERRY RODGERS
The first legal tender .999 fine silver $2 coins of niue Island celebrating the principle characters of the first three Star Wars’ movies.
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Images courtesy new Zealand Mint.
HIRTY-FOUR years ago an Imperial-class Star Destroyer thundered across the screen in a New Zealand cinema. Far more importantly it was doing so, “in a galaxy far, far away . . .”.
I am no film buff but I was impressed. I certainly had no idea what I was in for or what it was all about. I was there at the nagging behest of my children. I now look back on those first three Star Wars’ movies most fondly. That post-crawl scene from the beginning of Part IV is still fresh in my mind’s eye. And now, for the first time, all the main players, those unforgettable goodies and baddies of the first three movies, are being celebrated on legal tender coins struck for Niue Island. New Zealand Mint has been commissioned to manufacture a three-year, 24-coin, Star War series for S&A Partners, the official licensee of Lucasfilm. The first release took place in August at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in Chicago. Further releases are planned annually into the first half of 2014. The first coins include eight 40mm, 1oz .999 fine silver $2 coins and ten 40mm, nickel-plated base metal 50 cents. Each depicts different characters from the first three movies. The eight silver $2s feature: Luke and Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO, Obi-Wan and Yoda, and, from the dark side of the Force, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Stormtroopers and the Death Star—accompanied by sundry vessels of the Imperial fleet. All ten main characters get individual billing on the nickel-plated 50 cents. The silver $2s come packaged in two sets of four. The four baddies are contained in Darth
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Vader’s helmet that breathes noisily when opened. The good guys come packaged in a replica Millennium Falcon that emits appropriate take-off sounds. In announcing the up-coming release, New Zealand Mint Vice President of USA Operations, Chris Kirkness, observed, “Lucasfilm is launching the complete Star Wars Saga on Blu-ray in September this year. Plus, in February of 2012 they will be releasing Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace in 3D, so there’s a lot happening around the franchise. The coin programme release will coincide with this global activity.” Presumably there are people on this planet who have never heard of the Star Wars’ saga. While it is most unlikely any such folk read Coin news, it is possible one or more readers has been off-world for part of the past three decades. Star Wars has been succinctly described as an epic space opera that takes place, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . .”. It was conceived in the mid ’70s by George Lucas and the first episode of a trilogy opened on what does indeed seem a long, long time ago, May 25, 1977. Subsequently a second prequel trilogy was released commencing in May 1999 and concluded in May 2005. The total box office revenue from all six films has totalled some $4.4 billion. But the franchise has generated many billions more with books, videos, TV series, cartoons, DVDs, computer games, collectors’ editions, comics, toys, what-have-you, and—now—coins. Star Wars devotees can get their first coin fix by visiting the NZ Mint website www.newzealandmint.com/starwars. Alternatively, try snail mail: PO Box 9260, Newmarket, Auckland 1149, New Zealand, or phone: +649 377 6837, or fax: +649 377 6836. Coins will also be available through several international dealers. Coins from the dark side of the Force come packaged in Darth Vader’s helmet.
The ten nickel-plated 50 cents from the first issue Star Wars legal tender coins to be released at AnA this August.
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Latest issues AUSTRALIA
Theme: Famous Australian Battles—70th Anniversary of the Batle of Tobruk Mint: Perth Mint Metal: Silver Denomination: $1 Diameter: 40.6mm Mintage: 5,000 Contact: Perth Mint, www.perthmint.com.au
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Theme: 10th Anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11 Mint: Pobjoy Mint Metal: Silver, cupro-nickel Denomination: $1, $10 Diameter: 38.6mm Mintage: Pobjoy Mint Ltd, Millenia House, Kingswood Park, Bonsor Drive, Kingswood, Surrey, KT20 6AY, www.pobjoy.com
CANADA
Theme: 100th Anniversary of the Silver Dollar Mint: Royal Canadian Mint Metal: Silver and cupro-nickel Denomination: $1 Diameter: 36mm Mintage: 15,000 Contact: Royal Canadian Mint, www.mint.ca
LATVIA
Theme: Hansa Cities Programme—Riga Mint: Bank of Latvia Metal: Silver Denomination: 1 Lats Diameter: 31.4mm Mintage: 15,000 Contact: Bank of Latvia, www.bank.lv, or your favourite new issues dealer.
SLOVAKIA
Theme: The Memorandum of the Slovak Nation 1861—150th Anniversary of Adoption Mint: Kremnica Mint Metal: Silver and cupro-nickel Denomination: €10 Diameter: 34mm Mintage: 20,000 Contact: National Bank of Slovakia, www.nbs.sk, or your favourite new issue dealer.
SWITZERLAND
Theme: A Bell for Ursli—well known Swiss children’s book Mint: Swiss Mint Metal: Gold Denomination: 50 Swiss Francs Diameter: 25mm Mintage: 6,000 Contact: Swiss Mint, www.swissmint.ch
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News & views
Bulletin
The latest news from The Royal Mint
As well as The Royal Mint’s world-class production facilities, the Llantrisant plant in South Wales also houses The Royal Mint Museum. It represents one of the most impressive numismatic collections in the world, featuring outstanding rarities alongside the currency we use everyday—serving as a true reflection of the history of the coinage in the United Kingdom and of many other countries. COIN NEWS has teamed up with the Museum to bring you an item from the collection every month.
Edward VII trial shilling C
ONTAINING as it does many trial and experimental pieces, the contents of the Royal Mint Museum cannot always be taken for granted. Coins that appear the same may have slightly different compositions and there will invariably be a story behind the difference. The Edward VII trial shilling, dated 1905, shown here is a slightly more obvious imposter, made as it is from a copper-based alloy, being much thicker and heavier than a standard shilling and having a plain edge. To these rather obvious points of difference can be added the S shapes sunk into the dies that struck the coin and appearing as raised features on the obverse and reverse. The question, then, is why the coin was made. There is no contemporary Museum accessions register to help us and the Royal Mint’s Annual Report is silent on the matter. Rather helpfully, however, a ticket associated with the coin from the time has survived and indicates that its existence relates to experiments being conducted into wear. The technically less than perfect nature of De Saulles’ portrait of Edward VII may provide us with a further clue but there, unfortunately, the trail runs cold—at least for the time being.
The Royal Mint offers limited edition, gold, silver and base metal collector coins along with a range of precious art medals and exclusive diamond jewellery. Below are a few carefully selected items from the current range.
Going for gold in 2012 W
ITH only one year to go until the opening ceremonies of the XXX Olympiad in London, the organising committee of the London Olympic Games have unveiled the new medal designs. In the presence of HRH Princess Anne, the Prime Minister David Cameron, the 2012 London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) Chairman Seb Coe, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and other distinguished guests. The President of the International OIympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge was also in attendance. The gold, silver and bronze designs are the work of British artist David Watkins who is an established professional in the field of decorative art. The medals will be struck at the Royal Mint and produced in gilt, sterling silver and bronze with a weight of between 375 and 400 grams (depending on the alloy) and a diameter of 85mm which is larger than normal size. Artists were invited to tender by the London Organising Committee of the Games (LOCOG) and were chosen by arts bodies from across the UK along with a panel made up of experienced creative leaders and sports representatives. The LOCOG Victory Ceremonies team worked closely with the British Museum’s Keeper of Coins and Medals, Philip Attwood, to look at the symbolic history of medals in Europe in the last century. A total of 15,000 athletes from over 200 countries will compete in the Olympic and Parlaympic Games next summer, and preparations are on track to ensure London 2012 is one of the most spectacular Games ever.
Information courtesy of Michael Alexander, LBMRC
For more information on these, or any other Royal Mint products please, contact The Royal Mint, Freepost NAT23496, PO Box 500, Llantrisant, Pontyclun CF72 8YT, United Kingdom | Telephone: 0845 60 88 300 | www.royalmint.com
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September 2011
Market Strap scene
Feel good factor JOHN ANDREW
W
ITH choice rare coins selling for sums that one would never have imagined possible in the 1990s, there is certainly a feel good factor in the world of coins. There is no doubting that material at the very top of the market has been undervalued in the past. However, it was also said in years gone by that coins are the cheapest form of antique. While the top end of the market may be selling for sums that look like telephone numbers, it has to be said that collectable material is still accessible to collectors. Coins that may have been bought for £25 in the second half of the 1960s may now cost £500, but it has to be remembered that £25 in say 1967 is approximately equivalent to £350 in today’s money. I was certainly paying an average of £25 for a good coin as a teenager towards the end of the 1960s. I do not collect coins today, but in my chosen field of collecting, my minimum spend on a piece today is usually £500. So, coins are still likely to be the cheapest form of antique in 2011.
Warwick & Warwick—Coins, Medals and Banknotes—June 15, 2011 This was this company’s first auction to be entirely devoted to coins, medals and banknotes. Previously these categories were sold in an event that embraced toys and other collectables. This is because the amount of numismatic related material handled by the auction house has been growing over recent years. The event totalled some £350,000. Most notable among the early English offerings was an Alfred the Great portrait penny, which apart from being a little ragged round the edges is in nearly very fine state. As is often the case, the King’s name is spelt AELBRED. The piece sold marginally below estimate at £1,265, which is still not a bad price for the coin. Good barometers of the market are 1937 proof sets from the crown down to the farthing (15 coins in all, including the Maundy) and 1887 currency sets from the £5 to the threepence (11 coins). Both have a lot of coin for their money. The 1937 set offered here in its original Royal Mint leather case was described as FDC and realised £276. The 1887 currency set of course does not have an official case and most offered in the market are in 1960s leatherette cases. However, the one offered at this sale was in a contemporary case issued by the Goldsmiths’ Alliance Limited. This was a jewellery company during the Victorian era based on Cornhill in the City of London. It became part of the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths’
£3,105 secured the Dardanelles overprint one pound.
Company Limited in the Edwardian period. The coins were described as being “mostly good extremely fine to nearly uncirculated”. The set sold at its top estimate £2,415. There was considerable interest in an Irish 1943 florin (illustrated), an extremely rare piece. Offered in fine condition it was contested to £2,760. Top of the banknotes was a 1915 Bradbury £1 with the Dardanelles Campaign overprint. Offered in nearly extremely fine condition it sold for more than double its estimate at £3,105.
Dix Noonan Webb—British & World Coins— June 21, 2011 This century English hammered gold has woken from a deep slumber to become one of the “flavours of the New Millennium”. Any reader of this column over the last 10 years or so cannot but have failed to notice that the demand for really choice English hammered gold is keenly sought. It is therefore encouraging to see some perfectly good examples being offered at this sale where the realisations do not look like telephone numbers. September 2011
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The piece that caught my eye was a Henry VI (first reign 1422–61) annulet issue noble issued at Calais. Apart from being very slightly creased, it is otherwise in better than very fine state and is on a full round flan. It realised £1,800 against a VF price in the Standard Catalogue of £2,400. Being a sucker for portrait pieces, my choice of hammered silver was the Henry VIII second coinage (1526–44) Tower mint groat. In very fine state, the piece has a bold portrait and is
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Market scene
The Burgers pond—one of only 142 struck—realised £216,000, almost double the pre-sale estimate.
enhanced by an attractive tone. It was sold at its top estimate of £360 against a Standard Catalogue price of £275 in VF. However, the most expensive early piece was a Hiberno-Norse Anlaf Sihtricsson (948–52) penny of the circumscription cross type struck at York. This extremely rare coin is in extremely fine condition and has the advantage of being full and round. The coin was contested to £11,400. A couple of pieces caught my eye in the milled section. A 1698 halfcrown was offered in good extremely fine state being enhanced by being well struck and attractively toned. It sold towards its top estimate at £1,056. The Coin Yearbook lists an EF example at £1,200. The second lot that interested me was an Elizabeth II item—a 1953 Maundy set. One rarely sees these, this date being the most sought after Maundy set of the reign. About as struck and in its original case, it sold for £744 against £700 in the Coin Yearbook An 1887 proof gold set in its original fitted case sold for £15,000. A small group of Scottish coins was offered including a couple of appealing Alexander III second coinage sterlings. They were class B and Mb1 respectively, offered in generally nearly extremely fine and better than very fine condition. Each sold for £372. The highlight in this section was a James VI fourth coinage thirty-shillings of 1583. Although slightly double struck in places, the piece is otherwise in good very fine state and has the advantage of old cabinet toning. This is an imposing coin with the
three-quarter-length profile figure of the young monarch clad in armour holding a sword upright before him. Not surprisingly it was contested to £1,920. The stars of this sale were in the world section. Indeed six of the 10 principal lots were South African. The auction house had secured two superb collections. Selig Gordon, a Johannesburg musical instrument dealer had formed a collection of South African coins that was considered to be the best in private hands. Elias Levine, a professional numismatist from the same city, formed the second collection. The result was the best group of South African coins and tokens to have been offered on the London market in recent years. The top two lots were from the Gordon Collection. These were both for Thomas Burgers ponds of 1874. The first, with the fine beard, is “practically as struck, extremely fine”. A total of 695 of these were struck before the obverse die broke and therefore the example is extremely rare. The second, with the coarse beard, is in the same grade. A total of 142 of these were minted from the gold provided by Burgers and therefore examples are excessively rare. The lots sold for £84,000 and £216,000 respectively against top estimates of £20,000 and £120,000 respectively. An 1898 Kruger threepence struck in gold, the so-called “Sammy Marks Tickey”, being one of 215 examples struck for the mining magnate Samuel Marks was offered in the same condition. It sold for £57,600 (£48,000 hammer). The market for coins of South Africa has considerably strengthened in recent years, DNW sold an example with minor surface marks, but otherwise extremely fine, in December 2005. It sold for a hammer price of £7,200. The sale totalled £767,814. There were 70 vendors and 183 successful buyers. Only 41 lots remained unsold.
Dix Noonan Webb—Ancient Coins—June 22, 2011
The gold aureus sold for an astounding £420,000.
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There are not many specialist ancient sales in London that total over a million —this one brought in £1.25 million. However, 86 per cent of this total was achieved for just one collection. This was a group of Greek and Roman coins from the “Cabinet of a Connoisseur” and it comprised just 33 lots. The highlight was a gold aureus of Octavian and Divus Caesar. Its obverse features a bust of Octavian with a light beard, whereas the reverse carries the bust of Caesar wearing a gold wreath. The piece was struck in the period between Octavian’s march on Rome in July 43 BC, during which he was a consul, and the formation of the triumvirate in the autumn of that year. This very rare coin is in extremely fine state and is sharply struck. It was contested to £420,000 against an estimate of £100,000–120,000. Top of the Greek pieces was a drachm issued at Katane (Sicily) in circa 405
BC. The piece is signed by Euainetos, who together with his contemporary Kimon, was considered to be an engraver par excellence. Its reverse depicts a quadriga being driven fast by a charioteer, with Nike flying above. Its reverse features the river-god Amenanos with two fish and a crayfish behind. The cataloguer wrote, “Of the finest classical style, extremely fine and attractively toned, very rare, perhaps the finest known example”. With an estimate of £9,000– 12,000, one felt this was, to use a banking term, a case of “words and figures differ”. More than one person thought so and it sold for £276,000. Only one piece from the “Cabinet of a Connoisseur” failed to find a buyer. However, when a group of fine ancient coins from other properties was offered, there were quite a few unsolds, possibly as a result of a combination of unrealistically high reserves and the fear of hoard material swamping the market. However, a silver oktobol issued at Ephesos in 340–330 BC was contested. This is certainly a beautiful coin of fine Hellenistic style. Its obverse features a bust of Artemis facing, while its reverse depicts a kneeling stag, its head turned back. The coin is in good extremely fine state and has a lustrous iridescent tone. It sold for £12,000, six times its lower estimate. www.tokenpublishing.com
September 2011
Market scene The sale included the Greek, Roman and Celtic coins as well as artefacts from the collection of the late Alan Harrison. From a Lincolnshire farming family, Alan discovered a Roman villa on his parent’s land and as a result developed a life-long interest in archaeology. He started field walking and very soon purchased a metal detector. Most of his archaeological finds were donated to the North Lincolnshire Museum. All his finds were meticulously recorded, but he did not publish them himself, but shared his work with scholars. His interest in archaeology resulted in his collecting coins. His knowledge and discerning eye resulted in three fine collections. The sale proved that good coins need not cost a fortune.
It is interesting to look at the comparison between Alan’s collection and the connoisseur’s. With Alan’s the top price was £3,120 for an aureus of Antoninus Pius issued at Rome in AD 140–143. It is in good very fine condition. One of the lowest prices was £84 for a bronze as of Vespasian issued in Rome in AD 71. It is very fine and has a pleasing green patina. Alan’s Celtic coins realised £41,286, his Roman £30,552 and his Greek £28,176. The sale totalled £1,249,578. There were 28 vendors and 90 successful buyers. Only 17 lots remained unsold.
Spink—General Sale—June 22 and 23, 2011 “It’s the same old story”, sighed auctioneer Richard Bishop after the sale, “it is all go, go, GO!” he added as Spink had another successful auction. There were hundreds of bidders, including 450 bidding by post with the successful ones buying about half the sale. Virtually every lot had a bid on it before the sale. On average there were five internet bidders on each lot. Richard summed up the sale very succinctly, “No seller was disappointed”. As always, quality was being sought, but generally there was competition for everything, which meant that there were no bargains here. In the English section here was a superb run of Elizabeth I pieces. Top of the pile was an absolutely superb first issue (1558–60) fine sovereign of thirty shillings. Struck on a full, wide spread flan, there is a small striking crack at 5 ‘o clock, otherwise it is extremely fine condition. Purchased from Spink in 1983 for £10,250. The cataloguer estimated it at £20,000–25,000. It
was contested to £67,200. Another Elizabethan gem was a milled coinage half-pound of 1560–71 in extremely fine state. It sold for £31,200. It was not just the hammered gold that was reaching new heights. A good very fine Edward VI fine issue (1551–3) shilling was offered with a most attractive portrait. The estimate was £500–600, but it is a gem and it is not surprising that it was contested to £1,440. However, good hammered silver was available for three figure sums. For example, an Elizabeth I 1578 sixpence in extremely fine state sold for £528. Forty-odd years ago such an example would have sold for £25 or less. This was a very good sale. It totalled £1,205,370.
Elizabeth I sovereign of 30 shillings made £67,200.
Lockdales—Coins & Collectables—July 10, 2011 Whenever I look at this auction house’s sales, there always seems to be something unusual in the early material. On this occasion it was an Anglo-Saxon silver secondary sceat that is a variety of 809 or 836 in the Standard Catalogue. Its obverse features a fantastic quadruped with its body facing left and its head right. It sports a fine pair of curved horns, has a forked tail and two crossed legs. It’s possibly doing yoga! A bird features upon the reverse and as with the obverse, there are numerous pellets in the field. The striking of the piece is bold, it is toned and in about extremely fine state. The coin was contested to £930, There was some good early English milled silver on offer. Top of the pile was a 1746 LIMA crown. Apart from minor haymarking on the obverse, the piece is practically in uncirculated state. Not surprisingly, it sold for £2,460. A 1688 crown was also sought. In extremely fine condition, the piece has been nicely struck and it has an aesthetically pleasing underlying colourful tone. It sold for the same sum as its 1746 fellow. Pick of the later milled is a Gothic crown of 1847. Apart from a few very tiny bag marks and edge taps, this coin is in good extremely fine condition with prooflike fields. It commanded £1,870. While there was a reasonable run of
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“bullion” gold, early pieces were thin on the ground. There was interest in a 1670 guinea described as “good fine or slightly better”. It was a pleasing example and was contested to £1,750 against a conservative estimate of £500–750. The sale totalled £187,000.
£2,460 secured the 1746 Lima crown.
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Market scene Dix Noonan Webâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Commemorative Medalsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;July 13, 2011
A faitful service medal named to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Negroe Alexanderâ&#x20AC;? realised ÂŁ5,000.
Plants. He soon became interested in the artefacts The breadth of subject matter covered in and numismatics of his island home, visiting commemorative medals, never ceases to amaze. remote coffee estates in the interior searching Glancing through this catalogue, there was for the tokens and tallies used. Over the years chess, forestry, politics, royal events and the West his interests began to embrace the Indies, to name but a few, However, the subject entire Caribbean area. His West that drew me like a magnate was â&#x20AC;&#x153;Medals Indies Collection included relating to Numismaticsâ&#x20AC;?. This was formed by David GrifďŹ ths, better the largest group of slaveryknown for his collection of British related medals to have been offered in London trade tokens. There was a 1773 in recent years. copper medal by Pingo marking The highlight of this the Death of Thomas Snelling. section of the Roehrs Generally in extremely ďŹ ne collection was an condition with a beautiful engraved Faithful Service rainbow patina, it sold for medal from British ÂŁ192; Heatonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;virtually Guiana. It was awarded as struckâ&#x20AC;? 1874 silver medal to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Negroe Alexander of commemorating the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Berbiceâ&#x20AC;?. This was a Dutch the Mint, Birmingham at ÂŁ396 and colony from 1627 to 1814 a 1976 silver cast medal of Herbert when it was ceded to Britain. In 1831 it then merged with Seaby (of B. A. Seaby fame) sold with Essequibo and Demerara to form 12 others relating to Richard Lobel, George Kolbe, Howard Simmons British Guiana. This exceptional piece is in very ďŹ ne state. It realised and various coin societies that ÂŁ5,000. However, the top lot in the sold for ÂŁ108â&#x20AC;&#x201D;onsidering Roehrs collection was a 1782 the Seaby medal is very engraved large openwork oval rare, that is a snip. gold medal commemorating The 49-lot collection the Battle of the Saintes and realised ÂŁ5,220. the capture of La Ville de Paris. The largest The Saintes are the group of collection on offer was islands between Guadeloupe Medals of the West and Dominica that were fought Indies. It was formed over during the American War by Edward Roehrs who of Independence. La Ville Paris was born in 1916 into was the ďŹ&#x201A;agship of the French a family of horticulturists Admiral Comte de Grasse. The of German origin. The family French ďŹ&#x201A;eet was defeated by the business was founded in 1869 by British under Admiral Sir George his grandfather ďŹ ve years after he Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes and arrived from Hamburg. Edward grew up La Ville de Paris was taken. Only in a horticultural environment. While four examples of this medal young he sailed around the Caribbean, Commemorating the are believed known. It sold eventually settling in Puerto Rico during Battle of the Saintes, this for ÂŁ12,000. The 187 lots in the 1949 where he started his own unique item sold for ÂŁ12,000. collection sold for ÂŁ180,048. plantation, Edward Roehrsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Exotic
IMPORTANT NOTE The above sums, unless otherwise stated, are inclusive of the Buyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Premium. In other words they are the hammer price plus the Premium. At Warwick & Warwick, the Premium is 15 per cent and at DNW and Spink it is 20 per cent. VAT at 20 per cent is payable on the Premium. At Lockdales, the Premium is 17.25 per cent inclusive of VAT.
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Ancients
ED ARCHER
The coins of
Justinian
J
USTINIAN is possibly the best known Byzantine Emperor because of the creation of the church of St Sophia (pictured above). This building still stands in Istanbul to this day although it was created about 1,550 years ago despite wars, earthquakes and being changed into a mosque after 1453. What makes it so special is that the massive central dome is supported by four half domes, giving the impression that the central dome floats in the air. The coins used in Justinian’s reign are broadly similar to those introduced by Anastasius in AD 498. Anastasius’s currency reforms included the reform of both copper and silver coins. The copper coins were various nummi varying from 1 nummus (fig. 1) to the large 40 nummi piece (fig. 2). The values of these coins used a mixture of Greek and Latin numbers. The silver denomination was based on the siliqua introduced by Constantine (fig. 3). The gold too was based on the Constantinian solidus (fig. 4). A feature of all coins bar the gold ones is that they are poorly designed which is all the more surprising considering the wonderful artistic achievements of the Byzantines. A brief word is necessary about the origins of Justinian’s family, including his predecessor Justin I who happened to be his uncle. They came from Salona near Split in Croatia and once Justinian had regained control of this area, he started minting coins. The coin in figure 5 is a small bronze coin called a pentanummium which translates as a five nummi piece. Salona was to be one of 18 mints that were working during Justinian’s reign. Justinian’s reign is recorded by the author Procopius in a book called The Secret Histories which makes for a very entertaining read. Undoubtedly Procopius would have made an excellent reporter for the late News of the World as scandal was meat and drink to him. He tells us that Justinian’s wife Theodora was the daughter of a bear keeper in the Hippodrome and a onetime prostitute who was involved in certain lurid activities involving a goose and grain! We do not have any representations of Theodora on coins of this period. The most well known portrait of her is in the church of St Vitale at Ravenna. September 2011
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1.
2.
The commonest coins issued in Justinian’s reign were those from Constantinople, modern Istanbul. This city was the central hub of the Byzantine world. Its location meant that it straddled the main trade routes north to the Black Sea and south to Africa. It also lay on the main route between Asia and Europe. The gold coin illustrated in fig. 6 is a solidus issued by Justinian, showing a facing angel holding a long staff surmounted by a cross in the left hand and a globe surmounted by a cross. Around the edge of the coin is the inscription “Victoria Avgg”. This translates as the victory of the Emperor and Empress. This probably refers to the main victories won in North Africa and Italy. The inscription CONOB means Pure gold from Constantinople— “Constantinoplis obryzum”. In Justinian’s reign Constantinople was a very prosperous city. However, Justinian nearly lost his throne in AD 532 as a result of the Nike riots which were caused by increased taxation and successfully united both sides of the Hippodrome against him. His wife Theodora helped to steady Justinian’s nerve and he regained control over Constantinople although not before half the city had been burnt to the ground. However, it did enable him to build Santa Sophia and rebuild his palace. The economy recovered as the large follis shown in figure 7 illustrates. This coin was issued in the 13th year of his reign, c. AD 539. The mintmark is CON for Constantinople and the section of the mint that struck it was the Alpha mint or first mint. This variety of follis was introduced by Peter Barsymas who was appointed as Count of the Sacred Largess in AD 538 . Thus this coin was one of the first to replace
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Ancients 7.
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Theodora and her court in the church at Ravenna.
the old style follis which shows the emperor in profile (figure 9). The next coin shown (10) is a 20 nummi piece from Nicomedia. The large K shows that it is a 20 nummi piece but the mint mark is not in the usual place, at the bottom of the coin. The N and I each side of the cross to the left of the K indicates that it was struck in Nicomedia. It might seem rather surprising to find coins being struck only 60 miles away from Constantinople but Nicomedia, modern Izmit, was the capital of the Eastern Empire prior to Constantinople assuming that title in AD 337. The mint of Cyzicus in Asiatic Turkey issued coins for Justinian. Its modern name is Aydincik. It was one of many important towns in Asia Minor but in Justinian’s time it was especially important as being the chief source for most of the marble that adorned Justinian’s Santa Sophia in Istanbul. The coin shown here in figure 11 is a small example of a decanummium issued for the people of Cyzicus. The tiny size was maybe Justinian’s way of saving on the wage bill for the marble!
10.
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Eastern issues of Justinian Moving further East to Antioch, Justinian faced three challenges there. The first was a very destructive earthquake of roughly the same magnitude as the one that hit Japan recently. The destruction was massive and led Justinian to rename the city “Theoupolis” or “City of God”. This did nothing to protect it from the second disaster which was the capture of the city by the Persian King Chosroes I. A silver dirhem of his reign is illustrated in figure 12. He took Antioch in AD 540 but was forced to give up the city when the bubonic plague decimated the population of the area. The follis from Antioch shown in figure 13 was issued in the period shortly after the earthquake and the inscription uses the Latin style TH for the inscription “theoup” underneath the large letter M. Later folles use the Greek Ø which represents the Latin style “Th”. The significance of this
13.
14.
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Coin news
was the replacement of the Latin alphabet throughout the Empire by Greek. Justinian was the last emperor to speak Latin fluently and after his reign Greek became the predominant language of the Byzantine Empire. The last coin from Antioch (14) is a pentenummium which has no value indicator but a monogram. Some of the smaller issues were struck this way to identify the provenance of the coin. African issues of Justinian The area where Justinian was most successful was the recapture of much of North Africa from the Vandals. The General responsible for the success of this campaign was Count Belasarius who was a man of outstanding talent. Robert Graves was so fascinated by this man’s story that he wrote an historical novel about him (Count Belasarius, Penguin, 2004). It really is a gripping read despite being fictional. Figures 15–17 give some idea of the type of bronze coins issued in Carthage. These range from the tiny one nummi piece to the pentenummium with the large E (15), the decanummium or 10 nummi (16) with the mint mark KAR, to the large 40 nummi piece with the mint mark KART (17). The substantial amount of coins minted reflect the great prosperity of Carthage in the Byzantine Period. A visit to the Bardo Museum in Tunis with its stunning mosaics, which is not far from Ancient Carthage, shows just how wealthy the place was in Justinian’s day. Also from Carthage is the silver siliqua of Justinian (18). Silver was more commonly used in Vandal territory and is fairly rare elsewhere in the Byzantine Empire of Justinian. The inscription refers chiefly to Justinian’s thanks for his victories in North Africa. But the letters “HTI” might refer to the value of the siliqua in nummi—a value of 250 nummi to the siliqua has been suggested by David Sear, but maybe more work still needs to be done in this field. Alexandria in Egypt was a major mint in Justinian’s time which is not surprising since www.tokenpublishing.com
September 2011
Ancients 15.
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Justinian and his courtiers as shown in a beautiful mosaic at the church in Ravenna.
it was then the largest Byzantine city in North Africa. It was also the centre for much of the debate surrounding the early church, as well as being one of the greatest centres of learning in the world. For a person studying numismatics it has some very interesting denominations: 33, 12, 6 and 3 nummi coins. Only Thessalonica had an equally quirky collection of denominations. The coin shown in figure 19 is a 12 nummi piece from Alexandria, its main feature being the value indicator “IB”. European issues of Justinian Justinian’s main campaigns were conducted against the Ostrogoths over a period of 19 years, between AD 535 and 554. These campaigns were conducted by Justinian’s two generals Belasarius and Narses who managed to reconquer Italy and stave off an invasion by the Franks. Several mints were established in Italy including Sicily and Naples but the main ones were Rome and Ravenna. By this time Ravenna was the main centre of power in Italy not Rome which was just a shadow of its former self. Indeed Ravenna had become the principal city in Italy during the 5th century as its position on the East coast of Italy made it easy to defend. Justinian was to lavish considerable sums of money on its churches. The picture above shows a fine mosaic depicting Justinian and his courtiers in the church of St Vitale, Ravenna. The coin in figure 20 is a decanummium of Rome; the main distinguishing feature of this coin is the large I between two stars. However, some
authorities consider that this coin might have been issued elsewhere in Italy as it lacks a mint mark. The other decanummium (21) was issued in Ravenna in the last year of Justinian’s reign; it shows a large I flanked on the left by the word “ANNO” and on the right by the number 37 in Roman numerals. This date was AD 564, the year before Justinian died and ten years after Italy had been pacified. By this time some parts of Spain had been reconquered and a new province called Spania had been set up. Thessalonica in Greece was one of the main imperial cities in the European part of the Byzantine Empire. It had been important since the time of the Roman Emperor Galerius who built a palace there at the beginning of the 4th century. Like Alexandria some very interesting denominations were struck in Thessalonica, these included the 16, 8, 4 and 2 nummi pieces as well as the normal nummi found elsewhere in Justinian’s Empire. Figure 22 shows the 16 nummi piece; this shows a large I separating A from SP with the mintmark Tes below indicating Thessalonica. Fnally figure 23 shows the 8 nummi piece with a capital H separating the letters A and P. There are several mints that I have not illustrated or referred to in this article, including that of Cherson in the Crimea. This port gave access to the rich lands of Russia and the Ukraine. It was an important source of grain and furs as well as a host of other goods. However, I hope that I have given an idea of the variety of mints that operated in the reign of Justinian.
19.
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Sources SEAR, David, Byzantine Coins, Seaby, reissued 1996. OSTROGORSKY, George, History of the Byzantine State, Rutgers University Press, 1969. MANGOLD, Professor, History of the Byzantine Empire, Oxford University Press, 2002. GRIERSON, Philip, Byzantine Coins, Methuen, 1982. GRAVES, Robert, Count Belasarius, Penguin, 2004. Procopius’ Secret History, Penguin, 2007. September 2011
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September 2011
Insight MARVIN TAMEANKO
NUMISMATIC a
FOOTNOTES to AD 1066
D 1066 is one of the most famous and memorable dates in the history of the western world. almost every school child knows it was the year of the the norman Conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings, where William, the Duke of normandy, later called William the Conqueror, defeated the Saxon king of England, Harold II (Godwinson). naturally, historians maintain an objective neutrality and hesitate to say whether England would have been a better place under norman or Saxon rule so, in the long perspective of time, both Harold and William emerged as legendary heroes in British history. Fortunately for scholars and posterity, a masterpiece of embroidery art, the Bayeux Tapestry, was created just after 1066 to document the events prior to, during and following the battle at Hastings. The narrative illustrated on this tapestry is corroborated by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, the English historical records, initiated in the reign of the Saxon king, alfred the Great. The Chronicles are considered the most important written source of English history, beginning with the departure of the romans and ending in the decades after the norman Conquest. many coin collectors viewing the Bayeux Tapestry today are mildly surprised to find that the scenes and the imagery, along with the Latin captions and borders, remind them of the simple designs on the contemporary English hammered coins, called “Silver Pennies”. It appears that the artists designing the needlework tapestry used the same compositional styles, tricks of the trade and artistic conventions employed by the craftsmen engraving the coins. So it would be interesting to examine the coins, struck before and during the norman invasion of England, as if they were footnotes to the historic characters and events that are stitched into this remarkable work of art.
Duke William of Normandy arriving in England, as shown on the Bayeux Tapestry in a coin-like composition with borders and a Latin caption.
The Bayeux Tapestry is an exceptional example of medieval artwork, one-half meter (1.6 feet) wide and 68.38 meters (224.3 feet) long. It illustrates the history of the Norman Conquest of England in a horizontal, continuous format, sometimes called a “tableaux”. It is often whimsically described by artists today as the “first British comic strip”. The tapestry begins with a portrait of Edward the Confessor, the Saxon king of England, 1042–66, then shows Harold Godwinson as the Earl of Wessex, during his forced stay in Normandy, taking the oath that tricked him into supporting William’s claim to the throne of England. This claim was based on a promise, supposedly offered earlier by Edward the Confessor, to make William the successor to the English crown. The tapestry proceeds to the death of Edward and the crowning of Harold as king of England. It then depicts September 2011
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the embarkation of William with his invasion fleet and his landing in England. Finally, we are shown scenes of the dramatic battle of Hastings and the death of Harold. There are two tapestry end panels, approximately 6.4 meters (21 feet) long, missing and lost, and these probably showed William accepting the surrender of London and his coronation as king on Christmas Day in 1066. A scholarly debate continues today about who actually made the tapestry and where, but a consensus of opinion suggests that it was stitched by English women in Kent under the direction of artists employed by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, William’s half-brother. The original tapestry is now located in the town of Bayeux, in France, but a full size replica is exhibited in the Museum of Reading, in Berkshire, England. It has also been reproduced in numerous books on medieval history and art. The tapestry begins with an illustration of King Edward the Confessor because his reputed promise to award William the crown of England was the direct cause of the war and made the Norman invasion legal. Edward is shown enthroned, crowned and holding his royal sceptre, with a rendering of his bust very similar to the one used on his coinage.
A “Hammer Cross” type silver penny of Edward the Confessor, 1042–66, struck by the moneyer Ulfcetel in the York mint in 1056–59 (English Hammered Coinage, Vol. I, by J. J. North (hereafter cited as North), no. 828).
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Insight
An image of Edward the Confessor, shown at the beginning of the Bayeux Tapestry.
The background history to the Norman Conquest actually begins 50 years earlier when, after a series of unsuccessful rulers, the Saxons turned to the Danish king, Cnut (Canute) the Great, for a strong monarch who would bring law and order to their troubled kingdom. Cnut was formally appointed by the “Witan”, a group of Saxon officials called “ealdormen”, the nobles and prelates of the land who traditionally served as counsellors to the king. Eventually King Cnut (1016– 35), became the strongest monarch in Europe ruling over an empire consisting of England, large parts of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Scottish Isles. During Cnut’s reign, four great earldoms, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria, along with seven lesser realms including Essex, Sussex and Kent, were established in England. These earldoms were administered by influential noblemen, the “Earls”, who owed allegiance to the king. Despite the great power of the Earls, only the king could issue coins and Cnut’s coinage consisted of silver pennies showing him as the supreme ruler of England, wearing an elaborate crown and often holding the royal sceptre.
A silver penny, Quatrefoil type, of King Cnut, 1016–35, struck by the moneyer Aethelmaer in Lincoln, 1017–23. (North 781.)
When Cnut died his two sons, Harold I (Harefoof) and Harthacnut (Hardicanute), succeeded him as rulers of the empire. Harold I served as joint king with his brother in 1035– 37 then became the sole king in 1037–40. Harthacnut succeeded his brother as sole king in 1040–42 and became the last Danish monarch to rule England. The coins of Harold I and Harthacnut carry similar portraits with both rulers wearing an imperial crown. Unfortunately, Harthacnut was an ineffective ruler and the Saxon nobility, led and dominated by Godwin, the Earl of Wessex, deposed him and restored the royal Saxon House of Alfred the Great by electing Edward the Confessor, 1042–66, as their king. Apparently, the Witan’s choice of Edward was made easier by the fact that he was married to Godwin’s daughter.
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Silver pennies: top, a “Jewel Cross” type of Harold I, 1035–40, struck by Eadweald in London in 1036–38 (North 802), and below, a rare “Arm and Sceptre” type, of Harthacnut, 1035–42, struck in the name of Cnut by Leofstan in Cricklade in 1040–42 (North 799).
King Edward had been raised in Normandy and was so fond of the Normans that he filled his court with them and their culture. This caused bitter clashes between Edward and his Saxon nobles who, led by Godwin, eventually expelled the Norman advisors and courtiers, and forced Edward to give up his royal duties. Edward reluctantly placed all state affairs and the governance of the nation into the hands of Godwin and devoted himself to religious matters and the construction of Westminster Abbey. His zeal for his religious duties earned him the title, “the Confessor”. In 1053 Godwin’s son, Harold, became the new Earl of Wessex and, like his father, dominated the royal court and governed the country as if he was the king. At that time, another of Godwin’s sons, named Tostig, was elevated in rank and became the Earl of Northumbria. During his tour of inspection around the kingdom in 1064, Harold’s ship was caught in a storm and forced to seek refuge on the hostile coast of Normandy. There he fell into the hands of William, Duke of Normandy, the cousin of Edward the Confessor, and was imprisoned. Negotiations for his release failed and, to gain his freedom, Harold agreed to sign an oath to help William attain the crown of England after Edward died. William tricked Harold into making this oath sacred and unbreakable by hiding the bones of a local saint under the table that held the document he signed. Duke William of Normandy presiding over the signing of the oath by Harold, as shown on the Bayeux Tapestry.
In 1065 Harold’s brother, Tostig, the Earl of Northumbria, revolted against King Edward’s rule but was defeated and exiled to Norway. While there he allied himself with Harold III, Hardrada, king of Norway, and in 1066 Tostig invaded the north of England intending to usurp the crown. In that same year, www.tokenpublishing.com
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Insight “ . . . The chroniclers tell us that William tripped and fell on the beach when he came ashore and his officers, seeing this as a bad omen, became fearful and dispirited . . . ” Edward the the Confessor died childless and the throne of England fell open to all contenders. William of Normandy began his preparations to invade England and claim the crown promised him by Edward but at that same time, the Witan declared Harold Godwinson as King Harold II. During his very short rule, King Harold II struck coins but only of a single type with the Latin word PAX, “Peace”, inscribed on the reverse. This inscription was an imitation of the PACX legend featured on King Cnut’s and Edward the Confessor’s coinage minted in previous years. The word Peace appearing on Harold’s coinage must have been wishful thinking and proved to be ironic because he knew only war during his short reign. The obverse of Harold’s coins portrayed him crowned and sceptred as the new Saxon king of England but his portrait was engraved to look like Edward the Confessor’s, to indicate a continuity in the succession to the monarchy.
The Norman shock troops, the heavily armed cavalry, shown on the Bayeux Tapestry.
The rare PAX coin, the only type of silver penny of King Harold II (Godwinson), 1066, struck in the York mint by the moneyer Outhgrim. (North 842.)
In September 1066, Harold was guarding the coast of England against William’s impending invasion when he was called away to repel the armies of Tostig and Harold Hardrada who were advancing from the north. Harold rushed his army northward and defeated his brother and Hardrada at the battle of Stamford Bridge, a famous victory and another reason the year 1066 is so illustrious in English history. While Harold was engaged in the north, Duke William landed on the south coast of England. The chroniclers tell us that William tripped and fell on the beach when he came ashore and his officers, seeing this as a bad omen, became fearful and dispirited. Noticing this, William instantly leapt to his feet clutching handfuls of earth and proclaimed that he was taking possession of England with his bare hands, and by the glory of God. When news of the invasion reached Harold, he ordered a forced march southwards for his exhausted army and, less than three weeks after his victory at Stamford Bridge, arrived to do battle with the Normans at Hastings. Harold was the first to reach the fields of Hastings and immediately occupied the most advantageous position at the top of Senlac Hill. He than arranged his forces in the typical Saxon formation with the “house-carls”, his knights and elite soldiers, in the centre and the “fyrd”, the national army of lightly armed, commoners on the wings. Harold’s army consisted of formidable spear- and axe-equipped infantry, archers and some cavalry but, by tradition, Saxon horsemen rode onto the battle field and then dismounted to fight as foot soldiers. William of Normandy had more and better archers than Harold and a large cavalry corps made up of heavily armed knights, trained in shock troop tactics. Such a strike force was unfamiliar to the Saxons and had never been used before in England. In addition, the Normans deployed their army using highly co-ordinated tactics, usually opening the battle with a massive flight of arrows, followed by a cavalry charge and then the infantry rushing the enemy lines.
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To oppose William’s mobile forces, Harold arranged his army in the static, Saxon “Shield Wall”, a line of soldiers armed with spears or axes, with their shields interlocked to prevent attackers breaking through. This was an effective defensive manoeuvre, patterned after the Roman “testudo”, the tortoise-like, overlapping shield formation, and it had served the Saxon armies well for decades but Harold’s wings were made up of undisciplined, poorly trained fyrdmen, hastily conscripted during his march south. On the other side of the battlefield, William’s army consisted of experienced elite forces, confident, well trained and disciplined.
The Saxon Shield Wall being attacked by Norman cavalry, shown on the Bayeux Tapestry.
The Normans opened the battle with a dense shower of arrows to soften up the wall of Saxon shields. Then the heavy cavalry charged uphill followed by the spearmen. William’s forces attacked several times but could not break the unyielding Shield Wall, but when the Norman cavalry retreated from the futile attack, the undisciplined Saxon fyrdmen broke ranks and chased them down the hill. The Norman cavalry quickly turned and butchered the spread out and unorganised pursuers. William then ordered his archers to fire high letting the arrows drop over and behind the Shield Wall, and mounted a final, mass charge that broke the Saxon lines. Harold was mortally wounded by an arrow in the eye but his bodyguard fought to the death to protect their king. The Normans were awed by the bravery and raw courage of the Saxons but had Harold been prudent enough to wait for the arrival of his better armed reinforcements, he might have defeated William.
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Insight England. Also, the most common penny of William I repeated Edward’s and Harold’s coin inscription of PAX(S), with the letters placed in the angles of the reverse cross, perhaps to show that he was the legitimate successor to the Saxon kings.
The death of Harold with an arrow in his eye, shown on the Bayeux tapestry. The Latin legend, HAROLD: REX: INTERFECTVS: EST, means “King Harold is Killed”.
William’s victorious knights were mostly impoverished and landless minor gentry who joined the invasion in search of territory and spoils of war, and after Hastings they marched through England forcing the people into submission and seizing the possessions of the wealthy land owners. Then the Norman nobility built an imposing chain of stone forts throughout the land, including the Tower of London, to serve as symbols of their power and to maintain tranquility in the land. Surprisingly, William continued to employ the Saxon moneyers to mint his English coinage and this may confirm that the tradesmen, merchants, and middle classes were not suppressed or mistreated so that they could contribute to the Norman economic plan for England. A fine coin of William I, struck after Hastings, showed the Conqueror wearing a Norman, jeweled headdress, patterned after the rich crown worn by the Byzantine emperors, and referred to by numismatists as a “Bonnet”. These coins probably were struck as victory pieces to celebrate the conquest of
Top: A silver penny, of the “Bonnet” type, of William I, 1066–87, struck in London by the moneyer Aelfsl, in 1068–71 (North 845), and a penny of the PAXS type, minted in Canterbury in 1086–87, by the moneyer Brihtwold (North 842).
The Norman victory at Hastings changed the course of British history but the animosity between the Saxons and the Normans remained long after the battle. In the aftermath of 1066, the Anglo-Saxon “governed” and the Norman “governors” created and lived in their own separate worlds and only much later in history would these two peoples come together as a unified nation.
Coin photos courtesy of the Classical Numismatic Group, CNG, www.cngcoins.com.
WXUQHU HYDQV VWHYHQV
AUCTION SALE SATURDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2011 @ 11.00 am
On behalf of Mr Francis Mason of Skegness, Lincolnshire of his complete private collection of: ROMAN, GREEK and BYZANTINE COINS, A SELECTION OF ENGLISH HAMMERED and MILLED COINS, 19c PROVINCIAL TOKENS, BRITISH and FOREIGN BANKNOTES, 19/20c USA, RUSSIA and other FOREIGN COINS together with a large selection of REFERENCE BOOKS.
POSTAL AUCTION MB56 TOKENS & TICKETS
Closing 13 September 2011—catalogue online Medieval through to 20th Century GB & World
AT THE MART SALEROOM, ROMAN BANK, SKEGNESS, LINCOLNSHIRE, PE25 2SL VIEWING: WEDNESDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER, 2011 11.00 am – 6.00 pm FRIDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER, 2011 11.00 am – 6.00 pm SATURDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER, 2011 8.00 am to start of sale
FULL DETAILS & CATALOGUE CONTACT THE AUCTIONEER—JONATHAN BOOTH Telephone: 07917 186527 (mobile) 01754 766061 (office) Email: Jonathan.Booth@tes-property.co.uk
ZZZ WHV SURSHUW\ FR XN 42
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Interview
Ancient roots Classic numismatic design has its roots in the ancient states of Athens and Rome. Today, this unparalleled tradition continues in the modern city of Rome at the Instituto Poligrafico Zecca dello Stato, the Italian State Mint. As Italy celebrates 150 years of Unification in 2011, Michael Alexander of the London Banknote and Monetary Research Centre speaks to Angelo Rossi, Director of the IPZS about its past present and what’s in store for this prime producer of classical European coinage.
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or many world coin collectors, the coinage of the many Italian states before unification and those of Italy are considered among some of the most beautifully designed, with classic renditions of historic persons, legendary and allegorical figures. It is worth mentioning that one of the most admired engravers/designers of British coinage, Benedetto Pistrucci, famed for his rendition of the classic St George slaying the dragon which has graced sovereigns, larger gold coin denominations of £5 and £2 and the silver crowns of no less than seven monarchs since its introduction in 1816 was also trained in Rome before securing a position at the Royal Mint in 1816. Italy’s longest serving king, Victor Emanuel III (reigned 1900–46) took a particular interest in the coinage of a unified Italy as he was a keen life-long coin collector. The former king’s collection was world renowned for including some of the most extraordinary rarities (including some of the coins issued under his reign with his portrait) and much of it is on display in the Roman Museum to the delight of dedicated numismatists. As Italy celebrates its 150th year of unification, we take a look at the recent history of their coinage which has been so admired by collectors for many years. Should you find yourself in Europe’s Eternal City, I can heartily recommend a visit to the Roman Museum as well as the Temple where the first Mint is said to have existed—a veritable plethora of homage to our favourite activity. Like so many countries in Europe, there was an extensive history of coinage before the modern state was founded such as Italy. The IPZS is a little over 80 years old, can you give our readers some background on how the Instituto Poligrafico Zecca della Stato came to be? Of course you know that the City of Rome has been producing coins steadily since the 4th century AD and the site where it all began was on a temple which was itself called the “Juno Moneta”. The second word itself originally derives from “Monere” meaning “to warn” and it is this origin at least for Latin languages where the word for coin is derived. According to tradition, the first Roman mint was established in 289 BC so yes, in this regard, you’re correct, the history of coinage and the state of Rome do go back quite a long time, much longer than the modern Italian state. The Instituto Poligrafico is over 80 years old but, the first purpose-built Italian Mint building itself celebrates its centenary this year since it was formally inaugurated on December 27, 1911 in line with the country’s 50th anniversary of unification by King Victor Emanuel III. Its location is on the Via Principe Umberto and the administrative offices and some archives are still housed there. The State Mint was combined with the State’s printing works in 1978.
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Prior to the establishment of these facilities, where were Italian national coins produced after unification? At the time of unification in 1861, there were functioning Mints in Florence, Turin (which was the first capital of the newly unified kingdom), Naples and also in Milan which were left over from when these regions were independent kingdoms or states. The Papal Mint in Rome was located in Fondamenta Street in the same place where it had been set up in 1665 by Pope Alexander VII, in a building close to the Vatican Gardens and St Peter’s Basilica. By 1882 it was the only location where Italian coins were produced. It was this facility which was transformed into the Kingdom’s primary Mint when it was taken over by the Italian Treasury and after Rome officially became the country’s capital. In 1901 the Government of the day announced that they were going to build a new larger facility and modernise production. So in 1904 an agreement was reached to sell the old building, which housed the original Mint, back to the Pope. Until 1978 the Mint had belonged to the Treasury, then we became a division of the Istituto Poligrafico—which is the Italian Government Printing House—and henceforth the name Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato came into use. In 2006 a more modern minting plant www.tokenpublishing.com
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Interview was developed at Via Gino Capponi, close to Appia Road, which you are visiting today. 2011 is the 150th year anniversary of Italian unification, I would like to look back at one of Europe’s best known currencies, most notably the Lire. When was it introduced into Italy? The word specifically is derived from the Latin “Libra” or pound. This monetary system was first introduced in Italian territory after Napoleon’s campaigns which included the eastern and central part of Italy as well as the northern part with Milan as capital. It is also a continuation of the Sardinian Lira since theirs dates back to around 1816. At the time of Italy’s unification, there were several currencies in use which included the Venetian pound, the Two Sicilies piastra, the Tuscan fiorino, the Papal States scudo and the ducat of Naples and Sicily. Several of these currencies had sub-divisions and were probably a little confusing outside their territories. Another aspect of the need to unify the national currency was that Italy was a founding member of the Latin Monetary Union so the need to form a stable national currency was really essential. In 1862 King Victor Emanuel II proclaimed that the currency of the unified state would be the Lira and it remained the national currency until it was replaced by the Euro in 2002. So, officially, it was in use for just under 140 years. King Victor Emanuel III was a keen numismatist and his collection was world renowned. How much, if anything, did he have to do with organising the Italian mint and if so, what was his function? Well, quite a lot really. The King chose the location for the new facilities, commissioned the construction and officiated at the opening ceremonies himself. What isn’t particularly well known was that as a boy he often used to visit the mint in Rome, and one specific visit was documented on December 22, 1882 when he was only 14 years old. So, it’s probably when and why his technical and artistic interest in coins was awakened and why he had so much involvement in the first purpose-built mint for the Italian Kingdom. That location is the building on Via Principe Umberto and now houses the Academy of Medallic Art* which was itself founded in 1907. Previously it was the only location for monetary production and workshops. It also housed the Mint Museum and as such, it created a comprehensive factory, a museum and art school in one location. Italy’s last commemorative crown was issued in 1911 coincidentally, for the 50th year of unification, and the last 20 lire coin of a similar diameter was struck in 1936. Crown coins are so popular with collectors, so why did Italy discontinue the minting of large silver coins?
the Italian lira’s exchange rate was changed considerably, and the lira was reduced to 1/5th of the value before 1914. With the issue of new silver coinage in 1926, 5 and 10 lire coins were introduced, which were equal in size, weight and fineness to the earlier 1 and 2 lire silver coins. Larger silver 20 lire coins were added in 1927 but they were only 15 grams in weight and had a lower silver fineness than the two smaller denominations. The coin you mentioned, the 1911 5 lire “Cinquantenario”, is considered one of the most beautiful coins minted at the beginning of last century. It was modelled by David Calandra and engraved by Luigi Giorgi. The 20 lire of 1936 you also mentioned represents an impressive example of coin, modelled by Giuseppe Romagnoli and engraved by Pietro Giampaoli. Romagnoli was, incidentally, the first Director of the Academy of Medallic Art and produced a total of 69 coins both for the Italian Kingdom and for the Italian Republic. Inflation was reflected in the coins with their high denominations. Since the first issues has there ever been a concerted effort to re-value the lira? In the 1980s the Italian Government did carry out some studies on what was described as a “heavy lira”, where the rate exchange would have been 1 “heavy” or new lira for 1,000 old lire, but there was no conclusion and the Mint was not directly involved in these studies. The greatest change, which eliminated a lot of zeroes from the currency, obviously came about when Italy adopted the Euro. Before this the only changes were when the coins were redesigned and reduced in size and higher denomination coins introduced in the 1950s and again when the 50 and 100 lire coins were reduced in size in 1990. Having said that, back in 1905 the Government set up a technicalartistic Monetary Commission, charged with examining new metallic national coins, and this Commission is still at work at the Ministry of Economics and Finance. The Italian mint released the first bi-metallic circulation coins ever in 1982 with
Quite simply the need for these larger coins was no longer economically practical. For Italy, the production of the large 5 lire coins was more of a necessity in commerce rather than just for commemorative purposes. The last large silver 5 lire coins were produced in 1914, just before the beginning of World War I, when over 270,000 pieces were produced. With the discontinuation of the Latin Monetary Standard after the war, September 2011
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Interview the issue of the 500 lire coin. How long did this process take to develop and what was the technology involved? The production of this innovative technique was initiated by the former Mint Director, Nicola Ielpo and the designs were developed by the Academy of Medallic Art’s Director, Laura Cretara. In 1981 after the technical feasibility of these innovative coins had been assessed, the IPZS filed a patent and the tools were ready at the beginning of 1982. The coin was also officially presented at the XII Mint Directors Conference in Lisbon that same year. The new coin merged two different metals in colour and composition and also introduced the indication of the value in Braille characters. At the beginning of this process, the two pieces had to be pre-assembled, with a second step to devise little crevices on the internal rim of the external ring, which contrasted the internal core of the coin. Later on, it became possible to both assemble and strike the coins at the same time. Schuler, the company providing the monetary presses, set up a device to carry out this operation. This coin was also produced not only for Italy’s use, the IPZS produced this new coin for other countries as well. So, as far as modern coinage is concerned, yes, our Mint was the first to produce a bi-metallic coin for general circulation and it was big news at the time. The Italian mint strikes coins for two other states, San marino and the Vatican, and there is a very great similarity in these designs to Italian coins, both with the lire and with the Euro. Will collectors ever see abstract or contemporary designs from any of these authorities? Since the Italian Mint began the production of Vatican coinage from 1929 and San Marino coinage since 1862, the coins from these authorities were inter-changeable with Italian coins as both treasuries used the Lira system. I think their look is due to that shared monetary system and simply due to our tradition in craftsmanship. You visited our design studios today so you saw for yourself the traditional approach that the designers, engravers and artisans take. I think for us, to take a very contemporary approach to numismatic design here at the IPZS, the attempt might fall short as we are so well known for the classical approach with the results being those designs which are easily recognised as those from the workshops of the IPZS. Perhaps it’s a situation of “do what you do best” and for us, it’s the more classical approach. Having said that, it is always their prerogative if the treasuries of San Marino or Vatican would like a modern design, I can tell you that the two states sometimes do avail themselves of artists not belonging to the Italian Mint, but often they are former students of our Academy of Medallic art!
coin was also minted which carries the official national logo or insignia for the anniversary. The two coins will be offered in the annual proof and mint sets and the coins are also available individually. This coin is the third time that Italy has issued a coin to mark an anniversary of Unification. The first being in 1911 for the nation’s 50th anniversary and again in 1961 when the Italian union turned 100 years old. The obverse of the coin depicts a rendition of an allegorical female figure in profile and the reverse design carries the commemorative inscription of “150 ANNIVERSARIO DELL’ UNITA D’ ITALIA” with the years “1861 - 2011”. This coin will be available separately and in year sets. you’re rather new as Director of the IPZS, but I think many collectors might want to know if you also collect coins or are an enthusiast. If so, what coins are included in your collection? As you know, prior to taking on the position of Director, I was in the field of printing and head of production here at the IPZS. I also co-ordinated the move to these premises in 2003 and I was also in charge of circulation coin production, more on the technical side of things you might say. Since I became Mint Director last year, I have become much more interested in all of our coins so, little by little, I am collecting! I also have four children and I do hope that some of them will become active collectors, new collectors really . . . we do need to encourage new collectors! We at the IPZS do have a new marketing project to speak to children in primary schools to encourage them to collect with special programmes aimed at a younger audience. Ultimately, it’s the people and culture themselves who are reflected on coins so I think the work we are doing with the schools will eventually, be very beneficial. Well, if some of those programmes encourage young people to collect, then you’ve already made a positive difference in the activity. Sr. angelo rossi, Director of the Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Thank you very much for your time today. It has been our pleasure to welcome you to the IPZS. I would like to thank ms. maria rosa Villani, Director of the academy of medallic art for providing translations, background and historical facts pertaining to both the Italian State mint and the academy of medallic art, it is greatly appreciated, my thanks also go to ms. ameila Travaglini for all of her assistance in arranging this interview and my day at the IPZS.
regarding the anniversary here in Italy, which has brought me here to speak with you today, can you tell our readers what has been done by the IPZS to mark the national event? Yes of course, the IPZS issued a new 5 euro silver coin which marks the anniversary, and also a circulation 2 euro *The Academy of Medallic Art has played a substantial role in the production of quality Italian coin design. Founded in 1907, the aim was to model Italian coins and medals according to the Renaissance tradition and style. The Government of the day astutely set up a dedicated art school within the premises of the Mint, in order to provide the artistic needs and requirements for both instructor and student. In 1978 with the transfer of the State Mint to the Istituto Poligrafico, the School significantly widened its interests and activities thanks to the passionate work of the Academy’s former Director Laura Cretara and is credited with achieving a top rate institute with an unmatched reputation for excellence and craftsmanship. Since then the activities of the School have been constantly increasing and updating its courses and training. Besides the original bass relief modeling and direct engraving instruction, 15 courses have been added (from the traditional engraving on hard stone to chiseling, sculpture and other exact techniques up to and including state-of-the-art computer graphics) revitalising the heritage of medallic arts and the high standard of the artisan techniques and craftsmanship. This is an international Academy which is unique in the world. During their 104 years of activity, many foreign students have been received, many artists coming from foreign mints who have been attending specific courses oriented to their professional, specific interest or expertise. The former chief engraver of the United States Mint, Elizabeth Jones attended our School and we recently welcomed engravers from the Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese Mints, Furthermore two Italian students have recently been employed by the Royal Mint.
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On the fringe
Cloth Money
of the Upington Border Scouts DR KERRY RODGERS uncovers a story within a story from the Second Anglo-Boer War . . .
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CONFESS I have often wondered if, at the height of Britain’s imperial past, that deep within the bowels of the Office of the Secretary of State there was not some education centre where colonial civil servants and military officers might learn the basics of mass-producing emergency currencies immediately prior to their going forth to serve Queen and Empire.
For some reason the British have long seemed extraordinarily good at this activity. Whether it was General Gordon besieged by 50,000 Dervishes or Colonel Baden-Powell encircled by 8,000 Boers, there was never any hesitation in creating emergency currency, often seemingly out of thin air. Even more remarkable, the notes proved quite acceptable not only among the military but to local merchants. One lesser known but most extraordinary such currency was that of the Upington Border Scouts produced during the Boer War. Last year, four of these Scout issues were sold by Spink. Another example was offered a couple of months earlier by Heritage Auction Galleries. Each is a remarkable artefact. Notes of issue they certainly are, but paper money they certainly were not.
either the Imperial War Museum or Britain’s National Army Museum. Even the UK’s National Archives, which holds comprehensive files of enrolment forms and nominal rolls of local armed forces during the Boer War, lacks any record of the scouts. Nonetheless commanders on the battlefield knew the mettle of these men. They were signed-up with alacrity to serve, of course, under British officers. Even here, little is known of these officers who were drawn principally from militia units of the Imperial Army such as 3rd and 4th Cameronians.
A nasty little war The Second Anglo-Boer War erupted in 1899. From the outset Boer guerrilla units proved effective in preventing the British establishing and maintaining any sort of long term control over vast areas of the Boer Republics. The British soon discovered they could not control any area by military columns alone. As soon as a column moved out of an occupied town or district, British rule faded away. This was particularly the case in northern and western South Africa. To address this issue, the British raised irregular units of mounted scouts and used these to patrol isolated areas of the country where it was nigh impossible to maintain regular forces. Controversially many scouts were drawn from mixedrace communities. These included the descendants of Boer settlers and black women. Many were successful farmers in their own right. Others were Kalahari hunters. Whatever their roots they all had excellent local knowledge, all were superb shots, and all could ride extremely well. Importantly, they all shared an intense loathing of the Boers. The use of mixed-blood troops or even the arming of nonwhites became and remained a hot topic throughout the entire war. The Scottish Review became quite overexcited at the thought of “. . . uncivilised blacks and English soldiers, shoulder to shoulder in a war against a white race”. This attitude continues to echo today. In compiling this account no contemporary photographs of any mixed-race scout unit could be located, despite there being many of their Boer guerrilla opponents. Few records of the scouts exist at
Location map, South Africa. Modified from Wikimedia Commons.
Being prepared Of these units the Upington Border Scouts are one of the better known. They were raised in Northern Cape Province in
MAIN IMAGE AT TOP: A rare image of a Boer War scout unit on patrol although not the Upington Border Scouts.
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On the fringe May 1900. By November their number stood at 300. In January 1901 it had reached 500 to finally total 786 all ranks divided into 8 squadrons. These were commanded by Major John Birkbeck formerly of the 4th Scottish Rifles. The Upington Scouts patrolled an area of roughly 150,000 square miles in north-western Cape Colony more or less centred upon the townships of Kenhardt and Upington. Mobility was the key to their success as demonstrated in an early skirmish. In June 1901 a Boer force descended on Upington. Two squadrons of Scouts were garrisoned at Kenhardt 72 miles away. They covered this distance along heavy sandy roads in sixteen and a half hours. After just a short halt they turned on the 250-strong enemy, routing them in a day-long fight, capturing all the Boer wagons, spare horses and ammunition. The Scouts lost one officer killed and two men wounded. The Boers were less than impressed at finding themselves pitted against non-white troops. The Boer Commandant in the district issued a proclamation advising that all nonwhites would be recognised as non-combatants. Any who were captured would be executed out of hand. The Scouts reciprocated. Any wounded Boers found on the field of battle had their skulls crushed. After a further encounter in July with a similar result to that in June, the Boers quit the Upington district allowing it to enjoy a comparative peace for a number of months. On patrol the troops travelled light, unencumbered by wagons. Their sleeping blanket doubled as a saddle blanket with their overcoat strapped in front. They carried no cookingpots and little food. They ate only meat. Spare ammunition was carried on their horses. Logistics were a big issue. All supplies had to come through De Aar, a major junction on the Cape Town–Kimberley railway but 300 miles from Upington. An escort of 300–400 was needed to get their goods back safely to base, which meant that much food was eaten on the way with another fair portion consumed by the escort taking the empty wagons back. Major Birkbeck asked if his Scouts could not live off the land as the Boer guerrillas did but his superiors forbade this. It is likely this order was ignored. In April 1901 300 from the group were assigned to support a regular army column. Over the next seven months they acted as advance and flanking scouts and were engaged in a number of skirmishes. When finally ordered back to their home base, they fought a running battle with Boer guerrillas along the way, even becoming snowed-in for three days.
Making money Upon their return Major Birkbeck found there were now 600 guerrillas under arms in the north-western southern Africa and that all communication between Upington and De Aar had been cut for several months. The telegraph wire was destroyed along many miles, post-carts had been captured by the Boers, and there was just enough food for the garrison to last one month - irrespective of the needs of the civilians. His problems were compounded by their being less that £20 cash left in the town and none of his troops had been paid for months. The British authorities in De Aar stated baldly they had no way of delivering any money safely to Upington. As such, Major Birkbeck left his now well-experienced officers and troops to deal with security issues, and addressed the money situation by that well-established British precedent - he made his own. He had a crowned block stamp carved from wood showing a jackal, the animal whose skin decorated the Scouts’ hats. Each note bore this stamp at its right face, along with the stamped words ISSUED BY PAYMASTER.B.S.UPINGTON at the top each note accompanied by a serial number and date of issue. Below Birkbeck hand-wrote: “Pay to the Bearer The sum of / [amount] / for pay”. The amount was given numerically below along with his signature “J. Birkbeck, Major, O.C.”. The notes were issued for 2, 5, and 10 shillings, and for £1, £2, and £5 (P#711-715, although the Standard Catalog does not include the £5 denomination). Very few of the men receiving them could read and a contemporary account states Birkbeck used different coloured inks to denote each value. As paper was in short supply and durability important, the notes were hand-written on cloth. When that ran out blinds, bed-sheets, sacks and table-cloths were pressed into Major Birkbeck’s service. The Spink sale catalogue states that shirts were torn up also to produce these notes but no contemporary record of this procedure was found. In all £45,000 worth was placed in circulation. It says much for the Major’s good right arm that he stuck to the task. In a town without money the notes proved popular. They rapidly become the circulating currency of the district. Local traders took them without question and gave them out in change. The Post Office and Savings Bank accepted them as did the Civil Commissioner. Unsung heroes In the ensuing months Major Birkbeck led a daring raid on Keimeos with just 100 men riding half-starved horses. They drove off the Boers to recover 1,500 sacks of newly harvested grain. In all their endeavours they lost just one officer killed and one wounded, 19 other ranks killed and just over 100 wounded. Not a single man surrendered and many an unwounded man lay alongside a wounded comrade until dark. Not one despatch rider was captured although several made it through
Cancelled Upington Border Scouts’ 2 shillings, March 1, 1902, handsigned by J. Birkbeck, Major. (Image courtesy Spink.) Cancelled Upington Border Scouts’ 2 shillings, February 1, 1902, that sold for $1,035 last year in F. (Image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries.)
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On the fringe Cancelled Upington Border Scoutsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 10 shillings, March 1, 1902, printed possibly on sackcloth.
on wounded horses or on foot. Not one man in the entire regiment died of disease. Both ofďŹ cers and NCOs received several mentions in Lord Kitchenerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s despatches but no other awards. None of the notes were redeemed until after peace was declared when they were paid out in full, often far from the district of issue. The Standard Bank at Cape Town cashed many hundreds with even a few presented and paid out in Natal on South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eastern seaboard. Most of the few surviving notes are stamped across their face: CANCELLED BY
Cancelled Upington Border Scoutsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ÂŁ2, March 1, 1902, showing the Scoutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jackal logo at lower left.
Extremely rare Upington Border Scoutsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ÂŁ5, February 1, 1902. (Above images courtesy Spink.)
PAYMENT. Uncancelled notes are extremely rare and highly collectable. In many ways, the surviving notes constitute one of the few memorials to these remarkable soldiers. They appear to be our sole remaining testament of Major John Birkbeck. His regimentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history contains scant mention of him. Their records state baldly that he joined the 4th Battalion Scottish RiďŹ&#x201A;es as Second Lieutenant on February 11, 1897, was promoted to Captain on November 8, 1899, and left the Regiment c. 1904. They have no photographs of him.
Acknowledgment: This story would not have been possible without the assistance of David Biggins. Readers wanting to know more could visit Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s excellent Boer War web site: http://www.angloboerwar.com/south-african-units/301-borderscouts. Thanks also to Barrie Duncan, Assistant Museums OfďŹ cer, South Lanarkshire and to curators at the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum for patiently searching their records. References: FEATHERSTONE, S. J., 1907, The Colonials in South Africa, 1899â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1902, their record, based on the dispatches. Blackwood, 497pp. [Long out of print but available through Google Books.] JOOSTE, G., 2002, Innocent blood: executions during the Anglo-Boer war. New Africa Books, 238pp. [Translated Roger Webster and Graham Jooste from So Het Hulle Gesterf, 1998.]
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In focus EDWARD COLGAN
Spirit of
Change— Ireland and the Euro
2002–10
Part Three: An Irish Purpose— A celebration of Irish influence and achievement
A
FEW weeks before the issuing of the Treaty of Rome 2 euro coin in March 2007, the Central Bank had launched another “cross-border” coin. This coin formed part of an initiative between the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland and the Croatian National Bank and was a twin proof set of a crown-sized silver Irish 15 euro coin and a crownsized silver Croatian 150 kuna coin to commemorate the Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. The inspiration for this joint numismatic project was Mestrovic’s magnificent “Girl and Harp” design which the Croatian sculptor had presented to the Irish Free State, after learning that his design for the new Irish Free State coinage had arrived too late to be considered by the W. B. Yeats Design Committee. Yeats was to describe the “girl and harp” as “a magnificent design”. It was however to wait 80 years before it appeared on an Irish coin. The new coin was officially launched on February 12, 2007. In a major break in tradition, a common obverse design was used on the Irish and Croatian coins. The Irish version featured a central design of squares and shamrock leaves with the date “2007” appearing in the upper leaf and the Irish harp in the lower leaf with the word “EIRE” above the central design and “15 Euro” below the design. The Croatian version transposes the squares and leaves and has the date “2007” in the upper square and the Croatian “chequer board” coat of arms in the lower square and the national legend in Croatian “REPUBLIKA HRAVATSKA” and the value “150 Kuna”. Interestingly the Central Bank in their literature describe this face of the coin as the reverse and the side bearing Mestrovic’s “harp and girl” as the obverse for both coins. The “reverse” of both coins features the Mestrovic “girl with harp” and the legend around the border “IVAN MESTROVIC 1883-1962”. The harp featured in the design is the Dalway harp, the alternative to the Trinity College or Brian Boru harp which the 1928 designers were asked to use as the basis for their harp designs. September 2011
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The “obverse” design of squares and leaves was designed by Damir Matavsic. Some 8,000 of the Irish proof coins were struck and 3,000 of the Croatian coins of which 1,000 double-boxed sets were made available for sale over the two days of the Irish International Coin Fair on February 17–18, 2007. The proof coins were all struck by the Croatian Monetary Institute. On September 11, 2007 the Central Bank issued its second proof gold 20 euro and silver 10 euro set. This commemorative issue was to mark a celebration of Ireland’s Celtic influence in Europe. The coins struck to commemorate “European Achievements” formed part of the “Smallest Gold Coins in the World” programme and the 2007 Europa Coin Programme. Both coins follow the same design with the obverse featuring the harp and the legend “EIRE” and the date “2007”. The reverse features a cruciform shape of stylized intermingling or metamorphic Celtic figures which the coin’s designer Mary Gregoriy say “dance” around the coin. The figures in turn hold symbols of Ireland’s contribution to Europe and the wider world—a book to represent Ireland’s literary tradition, a violin or fiddle to represent music, a shovel to represent human labour and emigration and a laptop to represent modern Ireland and as Mary Gregoriy wrote of her design “to show the importance of Ireland’s buoyant economy in Europe and the world which now attracts investors and migrant workers to Ireland”. The value of the coin “20 euro” and “10 euro” is repeated in the border of the reverse.
“80 years in the making”— the 2007 Mestrovic Silver proof 15 euro coin.
The 2007 “celtic influence” coins celebrating Ireland’s buoyant economy—a year before the crash.
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In focus
The reverse of the silver 10 euro and gold 20 euro struck in honour of Skellig Michael.
Tom Ryan’s award winning 2008 gold proof 100 Euro coins.
To be continued … 54
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The coins were produced by the Mayer Mint in Germany with the gold coin having an issue limit of 25,000 and the silver proof a limit of 35,000. As with the previous issue a two-coin proof set was also issued by the Central Bank with a limit of 5,000. In 2007 the Central Bank was to produce 294 million coins and was to issue some 446 million coins, a significant increase in demand from the previous year. The tiny island of Skellig Michael— Sceillig Mhichil—Michael’s Rock, lies about 10 miles off the coast of south west Kerry. In about AD 600 a community of monks established themselves on this rocky outpost at the edge of Europe living in their bee-hive cells. For the next 600 years it was one of the most important centres of monasticism in Ireland and long after the departure of the monks it continues to be a place of pilgrimage and reflection for those willing to cross the choppy waters and make the challenging climb to the summit of this UNESCO World Heritage site. The Department of Finance and the Central Bank in 2008 decided to celebrate “Skellig Michael” by issuing two commemorative coins: a proof gold 20 euro and a proof silver 10 euro coin, as part of the 2008 Europa Coin Programme to mark “European Cultural Heritage” on April 21, 2008. The two coins followed the same design. The obverse featured the Irish harp and “EIRE” and the date “2008”. The reverse, designed by Michael Guilfoyle, featured Skellig Michael with neighbouring Little Skellig in the background. The upper part of the coin features the silhouettes of 13 different birds associated with the islands including gannets, fulmars, kittiwakes, terns, puffins and razorbills, flying towards 12 stars. The value of the coin “20 Euro” or “10 Euro” is to the left of the island and tucked below is the “star” logo of the Europa Coin Programme. The proof gold 20 euro was again a participant in the “Smallest Gold Coins in the World” programme. At is launch the Governor of the Central Bank drew attention to one aspect of the coin in that “these coins are also the first Euro collector coins to have script on the coins completely in the Irish language”. The gold and silver proof coins were to be struck by the Royal Dutch Mint and had an issue limit of 15,000 for the gold coin and 25,000 for the silver coin. Again, 5,000 two-coin sets were also made available for collectors. Whilst the focus of this article is on the coins issued by the Central Bank of Ireland, early 2008 also saw the Royal Mint issue a set of coins “for an Irish purpose”. On Thursday, March 20, 2008, HM The Queen distributed the Royal Maundy at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh, the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. Members of the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic hierarchies, as well as other religious and faith leaders, attended the service at which the Queen distributed the specially struck small silver coins of a four pence, three pence, two pence and one penny, to a total value of 82 pence —the same age as the Queen—to 82 men and 82 women from all over Northern Ireland. This was the first time that the Queen had performed the Maundy service outside mainland Britain,
although probably not the first time that the Royal Maundy had been distributed in Ireland. It would seem very likely that James II performed a similar ceremony, possibly at Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin, during his period in Ireland between 1689 and 1690, although without the specially struck silver Maundy coins. On September 3, 2009 the Central Bank was to issue another double gold and silver commemorative set to mark “International Polar Year”. The coins were to honour Irish Polar explorers Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922) born in Co Kildare and Tom Crean (1877–1938) born in Co Kerry and their participation in the illfated Endurance expedition of 1914–16. The two coins were designed by Thomas Ryan, who had previously designed the Dublin Millennium 50 pence of 1988, the Irish gold and silver ECU coins of 1990 and the Irish deer reverse which featured on Irish pounds from 1990 to 2000. The coin set consisted of a proof gold 100 euro coin—the highest denomination Irish coin ever to be struck—with a diameter of 28mm and weighing at 15.50 grammes. The accompanying silver coin was a proof 5 euro coin of similar size but about half the weight. Both coins were to follow the same design. The obverse featured the Irish harp, “EIRE” and the date “2008” within a laurel wreath with the International Polar Year logo beneath the harp. The reverse design features the two Polar explorers with the Endurance in the background and the value of the coin “100 EURO” or “5 EURO” to the left of the two figures. The upper border includes the legend “ERNEST SHACKLETON ANTARCTICA TOM CREAN”. The gold and silver coins were to be struck at the Austrian Mint with an issue limit of 3,000 for the gold coin and 6,000 for the silver coin, of which 1,000 of each were marketed in a doublecoin set which was sold out within days of the issue. Ryan’s striking design was to achieve international recognition when the gold 100 euro coin was to subsequently win first prize in the 2009 International Prize Vincenza Numismatica Collection Competition. There was an irony that as Ireland issued its highest denomination coin, the recession and resulting banking crisis began to grip Ireland. Only a year earlier, Mary Gregoriy’s “Celtic culture” coins had referred to “Ireland’s buoyant economy” and now some of its most important banks and financial institutions faced nearcollapse. The Recession was also reflected in the demand for coin. In 2008, the Central Bank produced 292.6 million coins and issued 283.6 million coins, representing a 36 per cent fall in demand for coin from the previous year. In September 2008, faced with a shortage of small denomination coins— another indicator of the worsening economic situation— the Central Bank placed a contract with the Mint of Finland for the production of 250 million low denomination coins consisting of 100 million one cent coins, 80 million two cents and 70 million five cent coins. These coins bear no distinguishing features to indicate they were struck in Finland and continued an arrangement since 2002 where some production of Irish euro coins was outsourced to other EU mints. It is estimated that since 2002 about 8 per cent of Ireland’s circulating coin has been produced abroad. www.tokenpublishing.com
September 2011
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Figure 1. A substantial open-cast mine or quarry. The Parys Mine pictured in 1913.
Tokens
Tokens of the
Parys Mines Company DENZIL WEBB
T
HE discovery of a massive deposit of copper ore in that part of Parys Mountain known as Trysclwyn is due to the work of Charles Roe of Macclesfield, a silk twist manufacturer, and several associates, all of whom had close connections with the copper industry. To encounter Parys Mountain, it is necessary to cross the Menai Straits to the isle of Anglesey. Roe did not know it at the time of his discovery, but it would soon become apparent to him that he had stumbled across the largest deposit of copper ore ever discovered in the world. This made Roe and his associates famous—and rich!
The Parys Mine (figures 1 & 2) was not a conventional mine in our usual understanding of the word, but rather a substantial open cast site with only a little underground working—in other words a quarry. To develop and work the site a large workforce was required, and to pay them a large quantity of token coinage was also required. The historian and celebrated numismatist, Charles Pye, estimated that the Parys Mines Co. issued about 200 tons of penny tokens and about 50 tons of halfpence. Other estimates have suggested a figure of 250 tons of pennies. About 50 tons of farthings are also known to have been issued, but not by the Company. They were coined for sale to collectors, and are just small versions of legitimate pennies and halfpence. Several unsuccessful attempts to discover and mine copper ore from Parys Mountain were made, the first having been undertaken by Messrs Alexander Frazier and Sir Nicholas Bayley in 1762. Shafts sunk by these men were flooded out before any ore could be found. Shortly afterwards a small quantity of ore was found, but the cost of extraction was much greater than the realised profits, resulting in the attempt being abandoned. Roe and his men encountered similar problems, and were also ready to abandon the venture, but in one last attempt, Roe’s agent divided the workmen into several groups of three or four, and instructed them to sink shafts about 800 yards eastwards of a place called the Golden Venture, on a presumption that a spring, which surfaced nearby, must come from a body of mineral. His conjecture was correct, and in less than two days they met with, at a depth of no more than seven feet from the surface, the solid material, which proved to be that vast body which was afterwards worked to such advantage. The day of the discovery was March 2, 1768. For many years that followed, this date was kept as a festival by the miners. In addition to the blocks of copper ore, the water that was impregnated with copper was run into rectangular wooden tanks, some 36 feet long by 12 to 15 feet wide and about 20 inches deep, into which quantities of scrap iron were placed. This attracted the copper, and as the iron rusted away, yellow ochre was formed. As already stated, the quantity of tokens minted was staggering, and for this reason a collector should experience little difficulty in obtaining specimens, although it should be stressed that the majority encountered are found to be in poor condition. The obverse of the tokens features a druid’s head facing left surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves and acorns. The reverses feature a monogram cypher P M Co with a surrounding legend reading WE PROMISE TO PAY
THE BEARER ONE PENNY. Some of the first issue of 1787 in which the cypher is far less elaborate than those that followed are undated (figure 3). In most other cases the date is to be found above the cypher (figure 4). There are a limited number of specimens available with a letter D above the cypher, and the date moved to below the cypher. The meaning of the letter is unknown, but it is believed that they were minted to be presented as gifts to the families and friends of the Company directors. The die variations to be encountered in the series are legion, mainly being distinguished by the width of the wreath, the number and position of the acorns on the wreath, the design Figure 2. The pumping house above the mine.
of the monograph cypher, the lettering of the dates, and edge legends. Specimens of the token illustrated in figure 3 are to be found with a plain edge, or an edge carrying the legend EDW. HUGHES. THO. WILLIAMS. IOHN. DAWES + PARIS. LODGE. A photograph of “Parys Lodge”, stated to have been the residence of the Rev. Edward Hughes when in Amlwch, is to be found in The Provincial Token-Coinage of the 18th Century, by R. Dalton and S. H. Hamer. Another of the 1787 pennies carries the edge legend ON DEMAND IN LONDON LIVERPOOL & ANGLESEY.
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Tokens
Figure 3. The first issue of penny tokens in 1787 were undated. The monograph cypher is much less elaborate than most of those that followed, and is surrounded by WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND ONE PENNY.
Figure 4. The words “on demand” are dropped from later issues, with the reverse legend reading WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ONE PENNY. The date is above the cypher.
Figure 5. The purpose of the letter D above the cypher is unknown, but it is believed that a limited number of these were minted for the directors to present as gifts to relations and friends. The date is below the cypher.
A penny of 1787 has a much less elaborate cypher on the down strokes of which is inscribed the words PARY MINES COMPANY. Immediately above the cypher is a sprig of oak, and above that the date which is in line with the surrounding legend: WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND ONE PENNY 1789. There are four edge types noted on pennies of 1790, viz; plain edge, PAYALBE * IN * LONDON * OR *ANGLESEY, the same as last without the stars, and PAYALBE IN ANGLESEY OR LONDON. The genuine 1790 pieces show the date below the cypher with the surrounding legend ANGLESEY * MINES * PENNY. Counterfeits of the 1790 issue are also noted with the date above the cypher and the surrounding legend WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ONE PENNY. All the legends already mentioned also appear on various halfpennies. Two issued in 1787 are not dated, with the legend surrounding the cypher on one of them reading WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND HALFPENNY, and on the second type WE PROMISE TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND ONE HALFPENNY. Both carry the same edge legend: EDW. HUGHES. THO. WILLIAMS. IOHN. DAWES. PARIS. LODGE +. Another 1787 halfpenny shows us an obverse featuring the druid’s head within an open wreath. The monograph cypher on the reverse is inscribed PARYS MINES COMPANY with the date 1787 below, surrounded by THE ANGLESEY MINES HALFPENNY. The edge legend reads PAYABLE IN ANGLESEY LONDON OR LIVERPOOL .X. Only one of the 1789 issue of halfpennies show the date below the cypher on the reverse, with the legend HALFPENNY
ON DEMAND curved around. The edge inscription reads PAYABLE IN ANGLESEY AT GREENFIELD OR IN LONDON X X . Some interesting edge legends are noted on various 1791 issues, in addition to those already given: PAYABLE AT THE OFFICE OF W. TAYLOR R V MOODY & CO. ; PAYABLE AT CRONEBANE OR IN DUBLIN ; PAYABLE IN LONDON LIVERPOOL OR BIRSTOL. +. ; PAYABLE AT MACCLESFIELD LIVERPOOL OR CONGLETON. This last is also to be found on pieces dated 1792, together with three others: BIRMINGHAM REDRUTH AND SWANSEA; ARMIS TUTERIS MORIBUS ORNES.X.; engrailed with oak leaves and acorns. In listing some of the main varieties, this article only scratches the surface of an immense field suitable for indepth research. Taking into considering differences in the druid’s head and hood, the surrounding wreath, the position of the date or lack of one, many differences in the monogram cypher and surrounding legends, together with edge legends, and many other minor differences, there are in fact some 500 varieties. As the farthings that were issued were not minted by the Company, I feel that they are outside the scope of this feature. Suffice to say that most of them had milled edges, which did not occur among the pence and halfpence, those that did not have legends being most plain, sometimes engrailed. The Parys Mines tokens aside, Charles Roe’s Cheshire tokens are well known to collectors. He was in fact an established token issuer prior to the Anglesey issues, who owned a private mint in Birmingham where the bulk of the Company’s Parys Mines issues were coined. Towards the end of the series, a relatively small quantity of halfpenny tokens were minted for Roe by a local button manufacturer.
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Wanted all world coins, tokens and currency coins.
Ͳ WƌŽŽĨ ĐƌŽǁŶ ϭϴϯϵ ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ άϭϱ͕ϬϬϬ Ͳ DĂƚĐŚĞĚ ƉƌŽŽĨ ĐƌŽǁŶ ĂŶĚ ŚĂůĨ ĐƌŽǁŶ ϭϴϯϵ ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ άϭϵ͕ϬϬϬ Ͳ ϭϴϯϵ WƌŽŽĨ ƐĞƚ ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ άϴϬ͕ϬϬϬ Ͳ ϭϴϴϳ WƌŽŽĨ ƐĞƚ ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ άϭϴ͕ϬϬϬ Ͳ ϭϴϵϯ WƌŽŽĨ ƐĞƚ ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ άϮϰ͕ϬϬϬ ũĞƚŵĂũΛŚŽƚŵĂŝů͘ĐŽŵ ϬϬͲϱϴͲϮϵϯͲϰϱϭ͘Ϯϰ͘ϰϬ ĂŌ Ğƌ ϮƉŵ ϬϬͲϯϯͲϰϭϯ͘ϲϯ͘ϳϳ͘ϰϬ ĨƌŽŵ ϭϲͬϲ 60
Coin news
please call : david c pratchett tel: 07831 662594 email: uccedcp@aol.com web: coinsonline.co.uk or send items to: UCCE PO box 57648 mill hill London nw7 0fe
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61
Richard Plant
TH N O M E H T COIN OF
A lira mocenigo from Mantua
T Roman times, to the Etruscans. Then, with the Romans, it became famous as the birthplace of their HIS month I am showing a lovely silver lira coin of Mantua in Italy. Italian cities usually have very long histories and Mantua is no exception as it goes right back to pre-
great poet Virgil, 70–19BC, who told the story of how the Trojan prince Aeneas escaped from Troy as it was being sacked by the Greeks, to Italy where his descendants were to found the city of Rome. A great story, probably completely untrue (although I expect the Romans believed it); and the Aeneid, the name by which the epic poem telling this story was known, became a Roman best seller. Then in the Middle Ages came another great contact for Mantua. In 1304, the body of St Longinus, the name given by tradition to the centurion in charge of the party of Roman soldiers who carried out the Crucifixion, whose body had been lost on two previous occasions, was rediscovered in Mantua, making the city an important place of mediaeval pilgrimage. On the illustrated coin, minted by William Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Marquis of Montferrat, AD 1550–87, there is reference on the reverse to both these aforementioned famous people, Virgil and St Longinus. The legend is a quotation from the Aeneid, book 9, line 262 “RECEPTO NIHIL ISTO TRISTE”, which translates as “On his return all our sorrows will disappear”. This ought to refer to the Resurrection of Jesus but in the Aeneid it actually refers to Aeneas himself. Whilst Aeneas is away on a visit elsewhere, the Trojan camp is attacked by hostile Italians, the situation is desperate, when two brave Trojans, Nisus and Euryalus, volunteer to get through the enemy lines and get Aeneas who will put things right for them, so that “all our sorrows will disappear”. But the pictorial illustration in the centre is much more interesting: St Andrew, on the left, receives a casket from the kneeling figure of St Longinus on the right. In the Bible, “St John”, chapter 19, verse 34, we read that Longinus “pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water”. Then, as we read in “St Mark”, chapter 19, verse 39, after seeing how Jesus died, he said, “Surely this Man was the Son of God”. Legend adds to the Bible story that Longinus was at the time suffering from an eye complaint, but some drops of Jesus’ blood fell into his eyes, and he was immediately miraculously cured. After Jesus’ body had been taken away by His friends, Longinus is said to have scooped up and preserved the bloodsoaked earth from around the Cross and this, together with Longinus’ own bones, ended up in St Andrew’s Basilica in Mantua. The coin shows Longinus offering the container holding the blood of Our Lord to St Andrew for safe keeping.
GB gold coins M. J. Hughes PO Box 1515 Kingston Upon Thames KT1 9UE Tel: 07917160308 E-mail: mjhughes87@aol.com Website: www.GBgoldcoins.co.uk Buyers and sellers of British & World coins. Specialising in Sovereigns and Krugerrands. Always interested in buying any coins Extremely competitive prices paid! Please get in touch for a no obligation quote, or if you need a little advice.
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ABC Coins and Tokens We stock a large selection of Scottish coins, tokens and communion tokens and also offer a wide range of hammered and milled British and World coins, tokens and numismatic books.
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We issue regular sales lists of:
• British Coins • Gold Coins • Foreign Coins • Banknotes PLEASE TELEPHONE OR WRITE FOR A COPY
FOR SALE Souvenir Memorabilia Giftware Company Principle products based on Pre decimal Coin Collections in gift themed presentational packaging.
Retirement Sale Highly portable—could operate from anywhere in UK. Excellent opportunity to acquire a successful business with a continuous track record of profitability and might appeal to a prospective purchaser with a strong intrinsic interest in the products.
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Coin price guide
Price guide to: Florins The Price Guide is intended as a supplement to the highly acclaimed COIN YEARBOOK and we hope the prices quoted will provide a true reflection of 2012 the market. The grading used in this price guide is strictly as the recognised English EDITION system. In the listing “—” indicates either: Metal or bullion value only; not usually AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER found in this grade; or not collected in this condition. NOW Date
Mintage
F
VF
EF
UNC
VICTORIA (1837–1901)
YOUNG (CROWNED) HEAD ISSUES Godless” type (without D.G.—“Dei Gratia”)
1848 “Godless” Pattern only plain edgeVery rare 1848 “Godless” Pattern only milled edge Extremely rare 1849 .......................................... 413,820 £20 £50 £170 £350 (Beware of recent forgeries) “Gothic” type i.e. date in Roman numerals in obverse legend “brit.” in legend. No die no.
Date
Mintage
F
VF
EF
UNC
1875 mdccclxxv ..................... 1,117,030 £20 £55 £200 £450 1876 mdccclxxvi ....................... 580,034 £35 £100 £350 £700 1877 mdccclxxvii....................... 682,292 £25 £60 £200 £450 1877 — 48 arcs in border no W.W. .......................... incl. above £25 £60 £200 £450 1877 — 42 arcs ................... incl. above £25 £60 £200 £450 1877 — — no die number ..... incl. above Extremely rare 1878 mdccclxxviii with die number ...................... 1,786,680 £20 £55 £200 £425 1879 mdcccixxix no die no ... 1,512,247 Extremely rare 1879 — 48 arcs in border ...... incl. above £25 £60 £220 £450 1879 — no die number .......... incl. above Extremely rare 1879 — 38 arcs, no W.W.. .... incl. above £20 £55 £200 £450 1880 mdccclxxx Younger portrait .......... Extremely rare 1880 — 34 arcs, Older portrait2,167,170 £24 £60 £200 £425 1881 mdccclxxxi — — ........... 2,570,337 £20 £55 £190 £500 1881 — xxΓi broken puncheon . incl. above £30 £70 £200 £450 1883 mdccclxxxiii — —.......... 3,555,667 £20 £50 £170 £375 1884 mdccclxxxiv — — ......... 1,447,379 £20 £50 £170 £375 1885 mdccclxxxv — — .......... 1,758,210 £20 £50 £170 £375 1886 mdccclxxxvi — — ............ 591,773 £20 £50 £170 £375 1887 mdccclxxxvii — —......... 1,776,903 £40 £110 £300 £625 1887 — 46 arcs ..................... incl. above £40 £110 £325 £650 JUBILEE HEAD ISSUES
1851 mdcccli Proof ....................... 1,540 1852 mdccclii ......................... 1,014,552 1853 mdcccliii ........................ 3,919,950 1853 — Proof ........................ incl. above 1854 mdcccliv ........................... 550,413 1855 mdccclv ............................ 831,017 1856 mdccclvi ........................ 2,201,760 1857 mdccclvii ....................... 1,671,120 1858 mdccclviii....................... 2,239,380 1859 mdccclix ........................ 2,568,060 1860 mdccclx ......................... 1,475,100 1862 mdccclxii .......................... 594,000 1863 mdccclxiii ......................... 938,520 “brit” in legend. Die no. below bust 1864 mdccclxiv .................... 1,861,200 1864 Gothic Piedfort flan ...... incl. above 1865 mdccclxv ....................... 1,580,044 1866 mdccclxvi ......................... 914,760 1867 mdccclxvii ....................... 423,720 1867—only 42 arcs in border incl. above “britt” in legend. Die no. below bust 1868 mdccclxviii ........................ 896,940 1869 mdccclxix ......................... 297,000 1870 mdccclxx ....................... 1,080,648 1871 mdccclxxi ...................... 3,425,605 1872 mdccclxxii ..................... 7,199,690 1873 mdccclxxiii..................... 5,921,839 1874 mdccclxxiv .................... 1,642,630 1874 — iv over iii in date ...... incl. above
September 2011
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Extremely rare £22 £60 £200 £450 £22 £55 £200 £475 — — — £2000 £500 £1200 — — £25 £70 £225 £525 £25 £70 £225 £525 £25 £55 £225 £500 £22 £55 £225 £500 £22 £55 £200 £500 £35 £80 £250 £600 £175 £400 £1000 £2400 £700 £1500 £3000 £6000
1887 ..................................... incl. above 1887 Proof ..................................... 1,084 1888 ....................................... 1,547,540 1889........................................ 2,973,561 1890........................................ 1,684,737 1891........................................... 836,438 1892........................................... 283,401
£6 — £7 £7 £10 £20 £30
£14 £28 £55 — — £200 £15 £45 £120 £15 £45 £120 £25 £80 £225 £60 £200 £425 £90 £300 £700
£7 — £10 £9 £7
£16 — £18 £25 £20
OLD HEAD ISSUES
£22
£55 £220 £475 Extremely rare £35 £70 £275 £625 £35 £70 £275 £550 £40 £100 £350 £700 Extremely rare £30 £30 £20 £22 £22 £22 £22 £30
£75 £75 £55 £55 £55 £55 £55 £70
£300 £300 £200 £200 £175 £200 £200 £300
£675 £725 £500 £500 £425 £425 £425 £600
1893........................................ 1,666,103 1893 Proof ..................................... 1,312 1894........................................ 1,952,842 1895 ....................................... 2,182,968 1896........................................ 2,944,416
£40 — £70 £70 £55
Coin news
£85 £225 £220 £200 £140
65
Coin price guide Date
Mintage
F
VF
EF
UNC
Date
Mintage
F
1897........................................... 1,699,921 1898........................................... 3,061,343 1899........................................... 3,966,953 1900........................................... 5,528,630 1901........................................... 2,648,870
£7 £7 £7 £7 £7
£20 £20 £20 £20 £20
£55 £55 £55 £55 £55
£140 £140 £140 £140 £140
1930........................................ 5,753,568 1931........................................ 6,556,331 1932........................................... 717,041 1933........................................ 8,685,303 1935........................................ 7,540,546 1936........................................ 9,897,448
£3 £3 £12 £3 £3 £3
EDWARD VII (1901–10)
1902........................................... 2,189,575 1902 “Matt Proof” .......................... 15,123 1903........................................... 1,995,298 1904........................................... 2,769,932 1905........................................... 1,187,596 1906........................................... 6,910,128 1907........................................... 5,947,895 1908........................................... 3,280,010 1909........................................... 3,482,829 1910........................................... 5,650,713
EF
UNC
£6 £18 £40 £6 £15 £30 £30 £225 £600 £6 £16 £35 £6 £12 £25 £6 £12 £25
GEORGE VI (1936–52)
£8 £20 £55 £95 — — — £120 £10 £35 £120 £500 £12 £40 £150 £475 £60 £160 £600 £1500 £10 £35 £130 £450 £11 £35 £130 £450 £18 £55 £350 £900 £15 £50 £240 £700 £14 £35 £100 £300
GEORGE V (1910–36)
First issue 1911........................................... 5,951,284 £6 1911 Proof ........................................ 6,007 — 1912 .......................................... 8,571,731 £6 1913........................................... 4,545,278 £10 1914......................................... 21,252,701 £6 1915......................................... 12,367,939 £7 1916......................................... 21,064,337 £6 1917......................................... 11,181,617 £87 1918......................................... 29,211,792 £6 1919........................................... 9,469,292 £8
£12 — £15 £25 £18 £18 £18 £22 £18 £20
£40 — £35 £50 £28 £26 £25 £35 £28 £40
£85 £125 £125 £160 £60 £60 £60 £90 £90 £90
Second issue —debased silver 1920......................................... 15,387,833 £3 1921......................................... 34,863,895 £3 1922......................................... 23,861,044 £3 1923......................................... 21,546,533 £3 1924........................................... 4,582,372 £10 1925........................................... 1,404,136 £25 1926........................................... 5,125,410 £7
£12 £40 £12 £40 £12 £40 £10 £30 £30 £85 £60 £250 £22 £50
£85 £65 £65 £60 £220 £700 £125
Fourth issue—new reverse
1927 Proof only ............................ 101,497 1928......................................... 11,087,186 1929......................................... 16,397,279
VF
— £3 £3
— £6 £6
— £14 £15
£90 £35 £30
1937...................................... 13,006,781 1937 Proof ................................... 26,402 1938........................................ 7,909,388 1939...................................... 20,850,607 1940...................................... 18,700,338 1941...................................... 24,451,079 1942...................................... 39,895,243 1943...................................... 26,711,987 1944...................................... 27,560,005 1945...................................... 25,858,049 1946...................................... 22,300,254 Cupro-nickel 1947...................................... 22,910,085 1948...................................... 67,553,636 1949...................................... 28,614,939 1950...................................... 24,357,490 1950 Proof ................................... 17,513 1951...................................... 27,411,747 1951 Proof ................................... 20,000 ELIZABETH II (1952–
£3 — £5 £3 £3 £3 £3 £3 £3 £3 £3
£4 — £8 £4 £4 £4 £4 £4 £4 £4 £4
£6 — £15 £7 £7 £7 £7 £7 £7 £7 £7
£10 £10 £25 £9 £11 £9 £9 £9 £9 £9 £9
— — — — — — —
— — — — — — —
£1 £1 £1 £2 £1 £2 —
£3 £3 £5 £7 £9 £8 £9
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
— £2 — £6 £5 £25 £1 £3 £1 £3 £4 £25 £3 £20 £4 £25 £1 £4 £1 £2 £1 £2 £1 £2 £1 £2 — £1.50 — £1.50 — £1.50
)
1953 ..................................... 11,958,710 1953 Proof ................................... 40,000 1954...................................... 13,085,422 1955...................................... 25,887,253 1956...................................... 47,824,500 1957...................................... 33,071,282 1958........................................ 9,564,580 1959...................................... 14,080,319 1960...................................... 13,831,782 1961...................................... 37,735,315 1962...................................... 35,147,903 1963...................................... 26,471,000 1964...................................... 16,539,000 1965...................................... 48,163,000 1966...................................... 83,999,000 1967...................................... 39,718,000
A full list of British Coin values can be found in the Coin Yearbook 2012 available in October (pre-order now by calling 01404 44166)
Coming next month: Illustrated Price Guide to Halfcrowns 66
Coin news
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September 2011
R I C H A R D W. J E F F E R Y The name in coins and banknotes for over 40 years
~OFFERS FOR SALE~
1900 1900 1901 1901 1901 1901 1902 1902 1902 1902 1903 1903 1903 1903 1904 1904 1904 1904 1905 1905 1905 1905 1906 1906 1906 1906 1907 1907 1907 1907 1908 1908 1908 1908 1909 1909 1909 1910 1910 1910 1910 1910 1911 1911 1911 1911 1911 1912 1912 1912 1913 1913 1913 1913 1914 1914 1914 1914 1915 1915 1915 1916 1916 1916 1916 1917 1917 1917 1917 1918 1918 1918
SOVEREIGNS SYDNEY UNC LONDON UNC SYDNEY UNC SYDNEY UNC LON OH UNC PERTH UNC PERTH UNC SYDNEY UNC MELBOURNE UNC LONDON UNC MELBOURNE UNC SYDNEY UNC LONDON UNC PERTH UNC SYDNEY UNC LONDON UNC MELBOURNE UNC PERTH UNC SYDNEY UNC LONDON UNC MELBOURNE UNC PERTH UNC SYDNEY UNC PERTH UNC LONDON UNC MELBOURNE UNC SYDNEY UNC LONDON UNC MELBOURNE UNC PERTH UNC PERTH UNC MELBOURNE UNC LONDON UNC SYDNEY UNC PERTH UNC LONDON UNC MELBOURNE UNC LONDON UNC SYDNEY UNC MELBOURNE UNC CANADA AUNC PERTH UNC PERTH UNC LONDON UNC MELBOURNE UNC SYDNEY UNC CANADA UNC LONDON UNC MELBOURNE UNC SYDNEY UNC PERTH UNC LONDON UNC SYDNEY UNC MELBOURNE UNC MELBOURNE UNC SYDNEY UNC LONDON UNC PERTH UNC MELBOURNE UNC PERTH UNC SYDNEY UNC SYDNEY UNC LONDON UNC PERTH UNC MELBOURNE UNC MELBOURNE UNC PERTH UNC SYDNEY UNC CANADA UNC MELBOURNE UNC INDIA AUNC CANADA UNC
£295.00 £295.00 £325.00 £295.00 £295.00 £375.00 £320.00 £305.00 £305.00 £305.00 £295.00 £295.00 £295.00 £320.00 £310.00 £295.00 £295.00 £320.00 £295.00 £295.00 £295.00 £320.00 £295.00 £310.00 £295.00 £295.00 £295.00 £290.00 £295.00 £310.00 £295.00 £295.00 £295.00 £295.00 £320.00 £295.00 £295.00 £295.00 £295.00 £295.00 £675.00 £310.00 £295.00 £270.00 £290.00 £270.00 £325.00 £270.00 £275.00 £275.00 £275.00 £270.00 £275.00 £275.00 £270.00 £270.00 £270.00 £280.00 £275.00 £275.00 £275.00 £275.00 £385.00 £295.00 £345.00 £265.00 £275.00 £275.00 £335.00 £275.00 £285.00 £335.00
1918 1918 1918 1919 1919 1919 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1923 1924 1924 1925 1925 1925 1925 1925 1926 1926 1926 1927 1927 1927 1928 1928 1929 1929 1930 1930 1930 1931 1931 1931 1932 1937 1937 1957 1958 1959 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1974 1976 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
PERTH SYDNEY INDIA SYDNEY CANADA PERTH MELBOURNE PERTH PERTH PERTH MELBOURNE PERTH MELBOURNE PERTH LONDON SOUTH AFRICA MELBOURNE PERTH SYDNEY SOUTH AFRICA MELBOURNE PERTH PERTH PERTH SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH AFRICA PERTH SOUTH AFRICA PERTH SOUTH AFRICA PERTH MELBOURNE PERTH MELBOURNE SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH AFRICA PROOF PROOF LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON PROOF CASED PROOF CASED PROOF CASED PROOF CASED PROOF CASED PROOF CASED
UNC £270.00 UNC £270.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £355.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £525.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £385.00 UNC £285.00 UNC £425.00 £375.00 UNC UNC £275.00 UNC £275.00 UNC £275.00 UNC £425.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £275.00 UNC £425.00 UNC £1,495.00 AUNC £425.00 UNC £495.00 UNC £275.00 UNC £275.00 UNC £395.00 UNC £275.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £275.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £475.00 UNC £320.00 UNC £695.00 UNC £275.00 UNC £295.00 FDC £1,975.00 UNC £1,875.00 UNC £265.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £265.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £255.00 UNC £265.00 UNC £265.00 UNC £295.00 UNC £265.00 UNC £265.00 UNC £290.00 UNC £265.00 UNC £265.00 UNC £270.00 UNC £270.00 UNC £270.00 UNC £280.00 FDC £285.00 FDC £275.00 FDC £275.00 FDC £290.00 FDC £285.00 FDC £285.00
WANTED FOR CLIENTS—TOP PRICES PAID SOVEREIGNS EF TO UNC CANADA 1909—1913, 1914 SYDNEY 1921—1924 MELBOURNE 1928—1929
SOVEREIGNS SHIELD VF TO EF LONDON 1838—1839 EF TO UNC LONDON 1842 TO 50
• Above prices subject to gold prices change • TREBEHOR, PORTHCURNO, PENZANCE, CORNWALL TR19 6LX • Tel: 01736 871263 • Coins sent on 7-day approval against payment. P&P £1 buyers risk. Reg Post £5 ~ Up-to-date computer quotes available for coins and banknotes ~
Please note that all stock is in the bank which may cause a slight delay in sending.
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Coin News
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?- ):- )4?)A; 3--6 <7 8=:+0);- +071+- +716; -;8-+1)44A" *ZQ\Q[P =;) )][\ZITQIV We will purchase single items or complete collections and can travel anywhere to view at short notice. If you have coins, medallions or banknotes you wish to sell, please contact us at the address below. Knightsbridge Coins (S. Fenton) 43 Duke Street, St Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, London, SW1Y 6DD, UK Telephone: 020 7930 7597/8215/7888 Fax: 020 7930 8214 info@knightsbridgecoins.com
The only coin dealer with membership of all four Numismatic Organisations 70
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Token Offerings
DR KERRY RODGERS attempts to embrace a vast subject . . .
T
HE Concise Oxford Dictionary defines token money as: “coins of higher nominal than intrinsic value but exchangeable for full standard money at the higher rate.” That’s a bit of a mouthful. The essential point is that a token’s metal content is worth less, often far less, than its face value. By that measure, all the coins in our pockets or purses are but tokens. They have been so for much of the 20th century. World War I put paid to any of our coins having a face value equal to their metal content.
In the past token coins tended to pop into existence whenever there was a shortfall in the official coin supply. They did so in the Middle Ages when spurious coins were imported from the continent to masquerade as sterling. Chaucer refers to them into his Monk’s Tale. Brass, so-called, Nuremburg tokens were all the rage in the 16th century. In both cases there was a demand because of a shortage of small change. By the 17th century British traders had begun striking their own from metals such as tin and lead. Even these failed to satisfy the demand and the government of James I opted for a slice of the action. James, however, did not want his Royal Mint involved. He issued Letters Patent for Lord Harrington to strike copper farthings. Both the official and unofficial tokens commanded a handsome profit for their minters but made a loss for those forced to use them. It was the Commonwealth that brought the token into its own in Britain. No copper coins were issued between 1648 and 1672 and well over 20,000 different types of traders and municipal tokens were produced. Then, in 1672, Charles II issued the first regal copper coins and all private tokens were banned. Come the 18th century and few copper coins issued from the Royal Mint between 1755 and 1797. Once again privatelystruck pennies and halfpennies appeared to fill the gap. The designs of these tokens provide a wonderful commentary on Georgian Britain’s commercial, social and political life. They proved a popular contemporary collectable, with made-forcollectors’ items struck in number. The series ended with issue of Mathew Bolton’s cartwheel coinage in 1797. But the Industrial Revolution brought with it a need for vast numbers of copper coins, if for no other reason than to pay the new breed of factory worker. It took a while for the Royal Mint to meet this demand. Once again the hiatus was filled September 2011
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by private firms striking copper pennies and halfpennies in number. These tokens were eventually declared illegal in 1817 but pragmatism saw them continue to circulate among workers and their families for many years. Meanwhile, a shortfall occurred in the silver coinage of the gentry in the early 19th century. This was satisfied in part by the official issue of a variety of token coins, especially from the Bank of England. The denominations are somewhat unusual. They point to an attempt to relate the intrinsic value of silver in a denomination to its face value—as would be required by the middle and upper class, unlike the working classes who had no say in the matter. There is a dollar and half dollar, a three shillings, eighteenpence and ninepence. And if the Royal Mint was unable to satisfy the demands of the Mother Country it was certainly unable to supply the colonies. Token copper pennies and half pennies proliferated in New Zealand and Australia in the 19th century. But, in effect many of the cut and pierced coins of the Empire are in effect tokens. These date from about the mid 18th century. In colonies hard-pressed for currency, metal was removed from silver coins and their value raised to an excess of their intrinsic value in an effort to retain it within each colony. But there’s more. Many countries have from time to time dabbled in token coinages. Tokens have been and are used in travel or to purchase essentials like beer. Tokens have been and are used in military establishments, prisoner-of-war camps and leper colonies. Dedicated token collectors are a group somewhat apart from the mainstream coin ’n note boys ’n and girls. It is a highly specialised area. Anyone tempted to stray into this field, and I was one four score and many moons ago, is strongly advised to get themselves a small library and a mentor or two.
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BANKNOTE News
THE SPECIALIST BANKNOTE SECTION INCLUDED FREE WITH COIN NEWS
New Zealand notes to get makeover O
n June 30, the Reserve Bank of new Zealand (RBnZ) announced it was considering issuing a new banknote series, Series 7. Several concerns have arisen with the current series. For starters, new Zealand’s existing notes are 12 years old. The last change occurred in 1999 with the move from rag paper (P#177–183) to polymer (P#185–189). Typically, modern notes reach their use-by date at about a dozen years. Secondly, new Zealand has a very low rate of counterfeiting. The RBnZ wants to keep it that way with a security upgrade in order. Thirdly the condition of the present $5 notes is not good. These are intensely used and on the whole their quality, “does not meet the public’s expectations”. Since that June announcement the bank has sought opinion from the trading banks, businesses and public. On July 20, RBnZ Governor, Alan Bollard, released the Bank’s findings and decision. All five existing banknotes: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 will be updated. New Zealand to retain their Queen. The Bank’s survey showed the public to be satisfied with the colours, design and themes of the existing notes as well as the range of notes available. Consequently, the Bank does not envisage making any significant changes to the subjects depicted on the notes. The Governor clearly stated that the respected individuals shown on the present notes will continue to be portrayed. These include HM Queen Elizabeth II on the $20. However, collectors can expect the designs to be updated and that the revised issues will have a new look, given the advances in printing technology. The upgrade project is at an early stage and the first new notes are unlikely to be released before 2014. Dr K. A. Rodgers
Flower power W
HEN the HSBC Hong Kong unveiled their new banknote designs in July little did they realise that some of the HK$100 notes had an unfortunate error—the petals of the Bauhinia flower, the city of Hong Kong’s emblem, were pointing the wrong direction. The note depicts the flag-raising ceremony of the Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (commemorating the handover of Hong Kong by the British in 1997). The image shows a band playing in front of the Golden Bauhinia Square, where the national flag and regional flag of Hong Kong are flying, however, the bauhinia symbol on the regional flag is reversed. Once the fault was highlighted by the local media, HSBC immediately apologised. It has not been made known how many of the flawed notes were printed but the bank did confirm that none of the notes had made it into circulation.
Special notes sold
T
WO early Australian ten shilling notes have been sold by John Pettit Rare Banknotes for 1.475 million Australian dollars. Bearing serial numbers M000004 and M000005, they were presented to Prime Minister Andrew Fisher at a special numbering ceremony in Melbourne on May 1, 1913. Judith Denman, daughter of Governor-General Lord Denman, received M000001, which coincidentally Pettit purchased at auction in 2008 for 1.909 million Australian dolalrs. The sale highlights the strength of the rare Australian banknote market in these times of economic uncertainty. See next month’s COIN NEWS for the full story.
Getting together
F
OLLOWING their successful 25th anniversary, the Paper Money Fair Maastricht will take place September 24–25. The last show saw more than 190 stands from all over the world and the autumn fair looks on course to be just as successful For details please visit www.papermoney-maastricht.eu. Closer to home is the IBNS World Paper Money Fair held this year at its new venue of the Bloomsbury Hotel, 16–22 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3NN. Starting on Friday, September 30, at 10am until 6pm and continuing October 1, 10am until 4pm, a wealth of dealers will be in attendance. As this is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the IBNS, make a date in your diary to ensure you attend to show your support for this worthwhile organisation. For further details log onto www.wpm.info.
Book of the year sold out! T
HE announcement last month that Roger Outing’s book, The Standard Catalogue of the Provincial Banknotes of England and Wales, had won the IBNS Book of the Year, has generated a lot of interest causing a flurry of last minute orders for our remaining few copies of the book. Consequently we are now virtually sold out. The good news is that Roger is currently working hard on updating the book, however, as with all labours of love, this may take some time and no date is yet in sight for publication and will probably be some years away. Any announcement of publication will appear in Banknote News—so keep reading! September 2011
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Coin news
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Banknote feature
Jonathan Callaway
THE ROYAL BANK
OF SCOTLAND’S Lizars £1 note
I
n 1832 the Royal Bank of Scotland commissioned a new £1 note design from William Home Lizars, the highly regarded Edinburgh engraver. Lizars, an artist of some distinction whose early oil paintings can still be seen in the National Gallery in Edinburgh, had already established himself as a printer and engraver following the early death of his father in 1812. Indeed he had already prepared a previous note issue for the Royal Bank, but neither he nor the Bank would have guessed that his design was to stay in production for another 135 years, surviving a number of modifications, size changes and even changes of printer, along the way. It is a remarkable story of excellent and classic Victorian art being adopted and nurtured by a banking institution which radiated caution, prudence and conservatism until very recent times. To be fair to its competitors north of the border, nearly all Scottish banks embodied very similar virtues. Many collectors of Scottish notes have specialised in this long-lived design and as a result discovered the many minor and not so minor changes to it during its long history. The basic features of the original design are worth considering in detail, given its longevity. At the upper centre of the note and dominating the design is a head and shoulders portrait of George I and the motto “ESTABLISHED 1727 GEORGIUS I REX”. This was later abbreviated slightly to “ESTABLISHED 1727 GEO Io REG”, probably around 1860. George I only just made it on to the notes. As king of both England and Scotland
he signed a Royal Charter granting permission to found the Bank on May 31, 1727 but died less than two weeks later on June 11, 1727. His portrait is flanked by those two heraldic stalwarts of the Royal Arms, the unicorn and the lion, both with suitably fierce expressions. Sitting on the portrait frame above the King is a crown with the frame itself incorporating a wreath of laurel leaves. This whole ensemble rests on a bed of roses and thistles, the traditional flowers of England and Scotland, through which weaves a banner with the words “DIEU ET MON DROIT” (“God and my Right”). Two other vignettes appear on the note; to the lower left is Britannia, one of those allegorical female figures so beloved of the Victorians. She is in a familiar pose standing with an anchor in front of a rock on the seashore, holding a spear and with sailing ships in the background. The anchor
RBS £1 1832ish proof Wilson (2)—The original Lizars design from 1832 and, above, the vignette in detail.
“ . . . William Home Lizars, the highly regarded Edinburgh engraver . . . ” 74
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Banknote feature
RBS £1 1923—The final square £1 note is still very handsome. RBS £1 1936—The last hand signed £1 note of 1936 with prefix L is very scarce.
and the shipping are references to the international trade the Bank intended to promote and finance. To the lower right is another female representing Plenty, holding aloft the traditional cornucopia and standing in front of boxes, bales and barrels of manufactured goods, again with sailing ships in the background. The denomination of the original note was stated as Twenty Shillings and it was payable to the Bank’s Secretary Robert Sym Wilson, or Bearer. From 1845 the notes were payable to Wilson’s successor James Wright and by 1853 the denomination had been amended to One Pound. The next change to the notes was in 1854 when the words “PURSUANT TO ACT OF PARLIAMENT” were added. This was done to reflect the terms of an Act of 1853 allowing certain Scottish banks, specifically including the Royal Bank, to compound stamp duties payable on their note issues and to issue and reissue their notes on unstamped paper. These words stayed on the notes until 1967 and were only dropped when the David Dale £1 note was introduced that year. It was probably in 1859 that the Bank started to use watermarked paper on its £1 notes. Also in 1859, Lizars died leaving no heirs to take over his business. There appears to have been a hiatus until W & A K Johnston acquired his business the following year. According to James Douglas in Scottish Banknotes the first thing W. & A. K. Johnston did in 1860 was to rework the £1 note and print it in blue rather than the previous black, adding as a security measure the letters “R.B.S.” in large Gothic script across the centre of the note, printed in a reddish-brown ink. At some stage, perhaps not initially, a light yellow overlay was also added to the note as a further security enhancement. Whether the 1860 date is correct or whether the change in colour came several years later—no issued notes from these crucial years have survived to pin this down—the colour changes cannot be said to detract from the design. A number of W. & A. K. Johnston trials using the new colours are dated between 1865 and 1868 and these may have been the result of experiments with coloured inks prior to their introduction. These trials, and the issued notes which followed, showed that Johnstons reworked Lizars’ original plates and close examination suggests this did not enhance the detailed facial features of George I or his lion and unicorn companions. Around this time, the George I portrait ensemble was applied by Johnstons to revised designs of the higher denomination notes and remained in use on them until 1967. In 1865 a number of notes appeared in circulation which turned out to be forgeries. It seems a fully engraved steel plate had been stolen from Lizars, probably after his death, and a number of notes produced from it. The forgeries were all dated and signed by hand and had printed serial numbers. The source was never found but collectors have not surprisingly been misled by these notes given the high quality of the September 2011
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printing, even though they appear out of sequence with the changes to the series set out in the Douglas catalogue. The key features are that while they carry the Lizars imprint they are all dated six years or more after his death, and they are printed on unwatermarked paper. From 1875 notes became payable to the Bearer alone rather than to James Wright or Bearer but no further changes were introduced until 1900 when the small prefix letter was replaced by a larger Gothic one, coinciding not only with the end of the alphabet but the turn of the century. A minor change in the printers’ imprint also took place in 1900: W. & A. K. Johnston had taken on limited liability status and opened an office in London. Signature changes also took place during this period, that of W. Turnbull being the first printed one, from 1875 to 1878. Prior to 1875 the £1 notes had been entirely hand signed. Turnbull was followed by F. A. Mackay, W. Templeton, D. S. Lunan and D. Speed. An interesting series of essays was prepared in 1913 by Johnstons, some of which had a reverse design featuring a vignette of the Bank’s Head Office building in St. Andrew’s Square, Edinburgh. None was adopted and the next, minor, change came in 1920 when prefixes in red Roman capitals were introduced. The last of the old Lizars “square” notes was issued in 1926. In 1927 reduced size £1 notes appeared. Like all the reduced size £1 notes introduced by the Scottish banks in the 1920s, they featured a printed reverse. The uniface square was finally no more. The Royal’s reverse introduced vignettes of their Edinburgh HQ and their main Glasgow office while Lizars’ essential design features survived on the obverse. There was several modifications, though, including the restoration of the original wording to the caption around the George I vignette despite the smaller space left to work with. The most noticeable changes were the addition of engraved borders framing the whole design and a more elaborate central “R.B.S.” panel where the letters are now in outline within in a reddishbrown panel. Radiating from this panel is a sunburst overlay comprising lines of microtext repeating the Bank’s name. As the series progresses a very pale yellow underlay within the framed area of the note becomes a more and more pronounced shade of yellow. The reduced size £1 notes issued from 1927 to 1936 with the printed signature of David Speed as Accountant are the last Scottish £1 notes to carry a hand signature and one has to pity the team of signatories who had to sign more than 10,000,000 of them in the ten year lifetime of this series. They were signed on behalf of the Cashier who must have been very relieved not to have had to sign them all himself! Only 31,500 notes of the final date, October 31, 1936 were printed (the date is not December 24, 1936 as stated in the catalogue) and consequently this prefix L note is very scarce. In fact it is probably a scarcer note than
Coin News
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Banknote feature
This detail of the vignette of the 1967 RBS £1 note demonstrates how the quality of Lizar’s original design was lost over time, partly due to the reduction in the size of the notes in 1927 and again in 1964. RBS £1 1956—Turn this upside down and get out the magnifying glass to spot W. H. Egan’s name!
the better known suffix A variety which appeared on about the first 125,000 notes of the first date, February 2, 1927. When David Speed was made up to Chief Accountant in 1937 the opportunity was taken to drop the additional hand signature and start a new fractional prefix system. The first date, January 2, 1937, also sees a scarcity: for a small part of the initial print run a serif A is used for the A/1 prefix but this was soon dropped in favour of a non-serif A. All subsequent prefixes are non-serif. Another scarcity in this series is seen when a small part of the D/1 prefix dated September 1, 1939 was printed with an additional suffix A. This was done to identify notes printed with duplicate serial numbers in a rare error by the printers. Nobody wanted to waste the extra notes and only four of the 16,000 printed are positively known to have survived (not just the one, as previously reported). Only a couple have come on to the market and these were sold for remarkably high prices. In 1953 the printers’ imprint changed to W. & A. K. Johnston & G. W. Bacon Ltd, otherwise there were only minor changes until notes dated February 1, 1956 appeared. In a story retold in these pages a few years ago by Trevor Jones, a bold engraver working for Johnstons introduced his own name, W. H. EGAN, into the field of the Glasgow office vignette on the reverse of the note. This remained undetected until he confessed many years later. His name is hidden in the grass in front of the building in tiny letters which he inserted upside down. It takes a little work with the magnifying glass to find them! What
seems surprising is that every note from 1956 to 1967 carries his unauthorised name, even specimen notes and even after the further size reduction in 1964. It must be assumed that either he engraved the new smaller plates himself or they were reduced mechanically with no real scrutiny of the design detail. The final Royal Bank £1 note to use the venerable Lizars design is dated November 1, 1967 (prefix CX) and interestingly the design bows out with a note dated later than its successor: the David Dale which replaced it is dated September 1, 1967. In a final tribute to Lizars, it is clear to anyone who puts one of his original designs next to a note of the final issue that the quality of his original engraving is vastly superior to what followed. This is not entirely a criticism of Johnstons, whose immediate post-Lizars plates were basically those of Lizars with a new imprint, more a recognition that changes in printing techniques from the 1920s onwards, introduced to meet the need to save money and produce much higher volumes of notes, sadly and inevitably led to compromises in engraving technique. The size reductions obviously did not help either. The series remains, however, very popular with collectors and, as Douglas says, offers wonderful scope for specialisation. References: Douglas, James, Scottish Banknotes (1975). Douglas, James (and Pringle, Robert), 20th Century Scottish Banknotes Volume 2 (1986). Acknowledgements: My thanks go to Dave Murphy for providing additional information for this article.
IAN GRADON WORLD NOTES Quality banknotes bought & sold
P.O. Box 359, Durham, DH7 6WZ Tel: 0191 3719700 Mobile: 07929 602933 E-mail: igradon960@aol.com
Website: www.worldnotes.co.uk IBNS Member 7516
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December 2010
A Great Deal for Banknote Collectors • Every month I produce a large list of some 30 pages offering thousands of different, world wide banknotes. • I also issue a quarterly, specialised listing of English, Scottish, Irish, Isle of Man and Channel Island notes. • My price lists, as well as many special offers can now be accessed on the internet.
Visit my website at:
www.collectpapermoney.co.uk I have been buying and selling all types of paper money for over 20 years and I pride myself on offering a first class reliable service. If you have notes to sell, or if you would like to receive some of the best sales lists around, please contact me.
BARRY BOSWELL
24 Townsend Lane, Upper Boddington, Daventry, Northants. NN11 6DR Telephone: 01327 261877 Fax: 01327 261391
e-mail: Barry.Boswell@btinternet.com
WORLD BANKNOTES Dealers write for wholesale list World’s largest stock ★ ★ ★ EDUCATIONAL COIN COMPANY Box 892 HIGHLAND, NEW YORK 12528, USA Tel: 845-691-6100
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ROBERT OWEN 1 HOUR NOTE 1833 EF ...........£65
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DP² SP
BRITISH ISLES AND ALL WORLD
PAPER MONEY FOR THE BEGINNER TO THE ADVANCED COLLECTOR Our note conditions are in accordance with the IBNS approved system. If a note has been cleaned or washed we say so. BERNHARD £10 PEPPIATT VF................................... £85 GERMANY 20RM 28.4.1945 P.187 LAST NOTE 3RD REICH UNC.................................................................... £15 B288 £1 HOLLOM B04Y LAST SERIES A/UNC ... £75 B209A £5 6.11.1919 HARVEY HULL BRANCH VF £750 B318 £20 FFORDE A01 UNC .................................. £465 B343A £5 DU70 MISSING SIGNATURE GDEF ... £185 ZIMBABWE 100 TRILLION DOLLAR UNC ........... £5 B208C £10 NAIRNE SMALL EDGE TEAR FINE .... £750 US COLONIAL 1/- 25.3.1776 NEW JERSEY PS1818 EF ..................................................................... £150
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75(925 :,/.,1 %$1.127(6
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September 2011
Banknote prices
Price guide to: Bank of Scotland £10 to £100 notes New 7th Edition now available
The Price Guide is intended as a supplement to the highly acclaimed BANKNOTE YEARBOOK and we hope the prices quoted will provide a true reflection of the market. The grading used in this price guide is strictly as the recognised English system. In the listing “—” indicates either: not usually found in this grade; or not collected in this condition. F
VF
TEN POUNDS SC131a Signatory: D. MacNeill (Secretary) Prefix 7/A dated 16.10.1894 to prefix 4/B dated 30.9.1909 ......................................................................... Rare SC131b Signatory: P. Macdonald (Secretary) Prefix 5/B dated 20.11.1912 to prefix 8/B dated 5.11.1919.......................................................................... Rare SC131c Signatory: A. J. Rose (Secretary) Prefix 9/B dated 15.8.1921 to prefix 1/C dated 9.3.1929 ........................................................ from £700 £1200 SC131d Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and A. W. M. Beveridge (Treasurer) Prefix 2/C dated 24.1.1935 ...................................................... Rare
VF
EF
SC132a Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and A. W. M. Beveridge (Treasurer) Prefix 3/C dated 28.1.1938 ..............................................£750 £1350 SC132b Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and J. B. Crawford (Treasurer) Prefix 4/C dated 16.7.1942 and prefix 5/C dated 15.10.1942 ...............................................................£650 £1200 SC133 Signatories: Lord Bilsland (Governor) and Sir William Watson (Treasurer) Prefix 6/C dated 26.9.1963 and prefix 7/C dated 27.9.1963 .................................................................£280 £450
EF UNC
SC134a Signatories: Lord Clydesmuir (Governor); A. M. Russell (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 1.5.1974 to prefix L dated 29.9.1978 .......£70 Replacement note—prefix ZB ........................................£100 SC134b Signatories: Lord Clydesmuir (Governor); D. B. Pattullo (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix M dated 10.10.1979 to prefix W dated 5.2.1981 .....................................................................£70 Replacement note—prefix ZB ........................................£100 SC134c Signatories: Sir T.N.Risk (Governor); D. B. Pattullo (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix X dated 22.7.1981to prefix CX dated 6.8.1987 .....................................................................£40 Replacement note—prefix ZB ..........................................£55 SC134d Signatories: Sir T. N. Risk (Governor) and P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix CX dated 1.9.1989 to prefix EP dated 31.10.1990 .................................................................£35 Replacement note—prefix ZB ..........................................£50 SC135 Signatories: D. B Pattullo (Governer) and P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix EQ dated 7.5.1992 to prefix GG dated 13.4.1994 ................................................................... £30 Replacement note—prefix ZB and ZC(?) ........................ £55 SC136a Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix AA to prefix BM dated 1.2.1995 .............................—Replacement note—prefix ZZ .......................................... £45 SC136b Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and G. Masterton (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix BN to prefix CF dated 5.8.1997 .............................£20 Replacement note—prefix ZZ ..........................................£45 SC136c Signatories: M. J. Grant (Governor) and G. Masterton (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix CG to prefix DT dated 18.8.1998 ............................— Replacement note—prefix ZZ ..........................................£45 SC136d Signatories: Sir John Shaw (Governor) and G. Mitchell (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix DU to prefix EU dated 18.6.2001. ...........................— Replacement Note—prefox ZZ ........................................£45 SC136e Signatories: G. Mitchell (Governor) Prefix EV dated 26.11.2003 to prefix FM dated 24.9.2004. ....................................................................— Replacement note—prefix ZZ ..........................................£45
September 2011
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EF UNC SC136f
SC137
Signatories: D. Stevenson (Governor) and C. Matthew (Treasurer) Prefix FN to FX dated 1.1.2006. ..........................................— Replacement note—prefix ZZ ..........................................£45 Signatories: D. Stevenson (Governor) and C. Matthew (Treasurer) Prefix AA dated 17.9.2007 and ongoing ............................— Replacement note—prefix ZZ ............................................—
£18 £60
F
VF
TWENTY POUNDS SC141a Signatory: D. MacNeill (Secretary) Prefix 5/B dated 26.5.1894 to prefix 6/D dated 2.9.1910 ........................................................................... SC141b Signatory: P. Macdonald (Secretary) Prefix 7/D dated 26.10.1911 to prefix 10/E dated 29.12.1920 ....................................................................... SC141c Signatory: A. J. Rose (Secretary) Prefix 1/F date unknown, to prefix 10/F dated 21.6.1932 ................................................................. £500 SC141d Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and G. J. Scott (Treasurer) Prefix 1/G dated 2.12.1932..............................................£500 SC141e Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and A. W. M. Beveridge (Treasurer) Prefix 2/G dated 11.1.1935 and prefix 3/G dated 16.2.1935 .................................................................£400
VF
£130 £200
£130 £200
£70 £85
£60 £80
£55 £9 £30 £90 £35 £90 £30 £85 £20 £70 £20 £70
£20 £70
SC142a Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and A. W. M. Beveridge (Treasurer) Prefix 4/G dated 28.3.1936 to prefix 7/G dated 22.7.1938 .................................................................£380 SC142b Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and J. Macfarlane (Treasurer) Prefix 8/G dated 16.5.1939 and prefix 9/G dated 12.9.1939 .................................................................£380 SC142c Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and J. B. Crawford (Treasurer) Prefix 10/G dated 5.6.1942 to prefix 5/J dated 11.8.1952 ....................................................... from £160 SC142d Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and Sir W. Watson (Treasurer) Prefix 6/J dated 5.12.1952 to prefix 10/J dated 24.4.1953 .................................................................£150 S143a Signatories: Sir John Craig (Governor) and Sir W. Watson (Treasurer) Prefix 1/A dated 6.4.1955 to prefix 5/B dated 12.6.1956 ................................................................. £110 S143b Signatories: Lord Bilsland (Governor) and Sir W. Watson (Treasurer) Prefix 6/B dated 25.3.1958 to prefix 4/H dated 3.10.1963 ...................................................................£85 SC144 Signatories: Lord Polwarth (Governor) and J. Letham (Treasurer) Prefix 5/H to prefix 9/H dated 5.5.1969 .......................£170
Rare Rare £950 £950
£650
EF
£650
£650
£350
£320
£220
£180 £350
EF UNC SC145a Signatories: Lord Polwarth (Governor) and T. W. Walker (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 1.10.1970 ..................................................£190 SC145b Signatories: Lord Clydesmuir (Governor); T. W. Walker (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 3.1.1973 ....................................................£180 SC145c Signatories: Lord Clydesmuir (Governor); A. M. Russell (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 8.11.1974 and 14.1.1977 ..........................£150 SC145d Signatories: Lord Clydesmuir (Governor); D. B. Pattullo (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A and B dated 16.7.1979, and prefix B dated 2.2.1981 ...................................................................£100
Coin News
£380 £350 £280
£200
79
Banknote prices EF UNC SC145e Signatories: Sir T. N. Risk (Governor); D. B. Pattullo (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix B dated 4.8.1981 to prefix K dated 15.12.1987 .................................................................£90 SC146 Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix K dated 1.7.1991 to prefix AU dated 12.1.1993 ...................................................................£70 SC147a Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix AA to prefix AY dated 1.5.1995 ............................. £40 Replacement note—prefix ZZ ........................................ £100 SC147b Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and G. Masterton (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix AY dated 25.10.1996 to prefix CE dated 1.4.1998 ....................................................................... — Replacement note—prefix ZZ ..........................................£80 SC147c Signatories: M. J. Grant (Governor) and G. Masterton (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix CE to prefix DL dated 22.3.1999 .............................— Replacement note—prefix ZZ .......................................... £70 SC147d Signatories:Shaw (Governor) and G. Mitchell (Treasurer & Managing Director) Prefix DM to prefix DW (DW 900000) dated 18.6.2001 .................................................................... — Replacement note—prefix ZZ ..........................................£70 SC147e Signatory: G. Mitchell (Governor) Prefix DW 900001 dated 26.11.2003 to prefix FN dated 24.9.2004 ..................................................................... — Replacement note—prefix ZZ ..........................................£60 SC148 Signatories: D. Stevenson (Governor) and C. Matthew (Treasurer) Prefix AA dated 17.9.2007 and ongoing ............................— Replacement note—prefix ZZ ............................................—
F SC172a
£140
£100
SC172b
SC172c
£60 £180
VF £50 £150 £45 £120
SC173a
SC173b
EF
Signatories: Sir John Craig (Governor) and Sir W. Watson (Treasurer) Prefix 10/K dated 14.9.1956 to prefix 3/L dated 3.12.1956 ................................................................£650 £1250 Signatories: Lord Bilsland (Governor) and Sir W. Watson (Treasurer) Prefix 4/L dated 24.3.1959 to prefix 8/N dated 30.11.1962 ..............................................................£650 £1250
EF UNC £40 £120 £40 £100 £35 £80
FIFTY POUNDS
SC174a SC174b SC174c SC174d SC174e
SC161a Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix AA dated 1.5.1995 ................................................... £90 SC161b Signatories: M. J. Grant (Governor) and G. Masterton (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix AA to prefix AB dated 15.4.1999 ............................. — SC161c Signatories: G. Mitchell (Governor) Prefix AB dated 29.1.2003 to prefix AC 500000 dated 24.9.2004 ..................................................................... — SC161d Signatories: D. Stevenson (Governor) and C. Matthew (Treasurer) Prefix AC 500001 to prefix AD 100000 dated 1.1.2006 .......................................................................— SC162 Signatories: D. Stevenson (Governor) and C. Matthew (Treasurer) Prefix AA dated 17.9.2007 and ongoing ............................— Replacement note — prefix ZZ ..........................................—
£85 £160
F
VF
£150 £120
SC174f SC175
£110 SC176a £110 SC176b
SC176c
ONE HUNDRED POUNDS SC171a Signatory: D. MacNeill (Secretary) Prefix 7/C dated 12.7.1894 to prefix 1/G dated 9.12.1910 ......................................................................... SC171b Signatory: P. Macdonald (Secretary) Prefix 2/G dated 11.12.1911 to prefix 4/H dated 17.4.1919 ......................................................................... SC171c Signatory: A. J. Rose (Secretary) Prefix 5/H dated 7.7.1920, to prefix 8/I dated 8.6.1930 ........................................................................... SC171d Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and G. J. Scott (Treasurer) Prefix 9/I dated 28.5.1932 and prefix 10/I dated 8.11.1932.......................................................................... SC171e Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and A. W. M. Beveridge (Treasurer) Prefix 1/J dated 8.1.1935 and prefix 2/J dated 31.1.1935 .........................................................................
VF
Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and A. W. M. Beveridge (Treasurer) Prefix 3/J dated 23.3.1937 and prefix 4/J dated 12.8.1937 ........................................................................ Rare Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and J.Macfarlane (Treasurer) Prefix 5/J dated 2.4.1940 to prefix 8/J dated 25.9.1942 ........................................................................ Rare Signatories: Lord Elphinstone (Governor) and J. B. Crawford (Treasurer) Prefix 9/J dated 16.8.1946 to prefix 9/K dated 14.12.1951 ..............................................................£600 £1100
SC176d Rare Rare
SC176e SC177
Rare
Rare
Rare
Signatories: Lord Polwarth (Governor) and T. W. Walker (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 6.12.1971 .................................................£650 £1100 Signatories: Lord Clydesmuir (Governor); T. W. Walker (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 6.9.1973 ...................................................£650 £1100 Signatories: Lord Clydesmuir (Governor); A. M. Russell (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 11.10.1978 ...............................................£500 £850 Signatories: Lord Clydesmuir (Governor); D. B. Pattullo (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 26.1.1981 .................................................£500 £850 Signatories: Sir T. N. Risk (Governor); D. B. Pattullo (Treasurer & General Manager) Prefix A dated 10.6.1982 to prefix A dated 26.11.1986 ..............................................................£400 £700 Signatories: Sir T. N. Risk (Governor); P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix A dated 14.2.1990 .................................................£380 £600 Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix A dated 22.1.1992 to prefix A dated 9.2.1994 ..................................................................£250 £400 Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and P. Burt (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix AA dated 17.7.1995..............................................£280 £400 Replacement note—prefix ZZ............................................... Rare Signatories: D. B. Pattullo (Governor) and G. Masterton (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix AA dated 18.8.1997..............................................£220 £300 Replacement note—prefix ZZ............................................... Rare Signatories: M. J. Grant (Governor) and G. Masterton (Treasurer & Chief General Manager) Prefix AA dated 19.5.1999..............................................£220 £300 Replacement note—prefix ZZ............................................... Rare Signatory: G. Mitchell (Governor) Prefix AA to prefix AD dated 26.11.2003 to prefix AB 400000 dated 24.9.2004.................................— £250 Replacement note—prefix ZZ............................................... Rare Signatories: D. Stevenson (Governor) and C. Matthew (Treasurer) Prefix AB 400001 to AB 720000 dated 1.1.2006 ..............— £200 Signatories: D. Stevenson (Governor) and C. Matthew (Treasurer) Prefix AA dated 17.9.2007 and ongoing .......................... — £180 Replacement note—prefix ZZ........................................... — £260
The Banknote Yearbook contains a comprehensive price guide to the banknotes of the British Isles. To order a copy call 01404 44166 or visit www.tokenpublishing.com
Coming next month: Price guide to British Linen Bank 80
Coin News
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September 2011
September 2011
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81
LATEST ISSUES By our banknote correspondent, TREVOR WILKIN
LESOTHO
A new series of Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) notes appeared on March 1, 2011 Viz 10, 20, 50 and 100 Maloti. To date, the highest value on issue, the 200 M, has not appeared in the new colours. These notes represent a complete revamp of designs notwithstanding that some elements previously appeared on earlier notes. For each, as a first, the same three portraits of past (and present) monarchs from left King Moshoeshoe II (1938–96), King Letsie II (born 1963) and Morena (as he was popularly known and which means great king) Moshoeshoe I (1786–1870) appear on the front. Letsie became king in 1990 after his father King Moshoeshoe II (who appeared on the note issue from 1979– 92) was banished by a military government which seized power in a coup in 1986. Democracy was restored under Letsie, the next in line, who was elected by the Council of Chiefs according to custom and worked for the return of his father. After another coup and military intervention by South Africa, Letsie abdicated in 1995 on the condition his father be re-instated, which he was. Moshoeshoe II’s return was short lived as he was killed in a car accident a year or so later on one of Lesotho’s treacherous mountainous roads. Letsei resumed his interrupted reign. Moshoeshoe I, son of a minor chief is credited with establishing the nation of Basotho from an amalgam of tribes some of whom he offered protection in his mountainous stronghold in the early 1800s from the rampaging Zulus. As the Boers were driven north from the Cape Colony they settled and claimed lands of the Basotho nation. A number of wars followed with both the Boers and with the British over some 30 years until in 1868 the British Protectorate of Basutoland was decreed with Moshoeshoe as king. As the Kingdom of Lesotho which came into being on independence in 1966, the boundaries are pretty much unchanged to this day. Lesotho’s coat of arms and the date “2010” is in a small square at the top, front right. The arms consist of a Basotho shield emblazoned with a crocodile and supported by two horses. Ostrich feathers, an assegai and a knockberri or club are in the background. Various images appear on the back, some of which in one way or another have been there before. For the red 10 M white alpine flowers, possibly Queens Blossom, are a first. Native huts appear on the back of the blue 20 M which is reminiscent of the earlier 20 M although the overall scene is quite different. Similarly reminiscent, horsemen are on the violet 50 M and for the green 100 M there is a shepherd with a flock of sheep. Mountains form a backdrop to most of the images on the backs of these notes. They are indicative of the topography of the country as it nestles up against the mighty Drakensburg Mountains (from the Dutch meaning Dragon Mountain). In Sesotho, the language of Lesotho, it is known as Maloti and such is its significance that its name is taken for the national currency unit. Moshoeshoe I doubles up as the watermark accompanied by an electrotype of the denomination numeral and a traditional and symbolic mokorotio hat in the watermark panel. Making a second appearance on each note, the mokorotio hat this time encompassing the denomination numeral, forms a perfect registration device just to the left of the portrait gallery. Each note has an interrupted metallic security thread which broadens as the value increases and changes from silver for the 10 and 20 M to gold on the 50 and 100 M. On the later, the initials “CBL” appear along with a four leaf clover design; the two alternate on the 50 but are on distinct groups on the 100 M. Unless my eyes deceive me there are two quite separate engravings on the threads on the 10 and the 20 M. On some notes I have seen there is the anticipated “CBL” but on others it is something quite different. A metallic patch with reflective qualities increasing as the value rises is at the far front right and at bottom left is a heavily patterned compass rose like design both of which contain the denomination numeral which becomes more apparent when the note is tilted De La Rue is understood to be the printer although there is no imprint. Former CBL Governor Dr Moeketsi Senaoana is the signatory. He died of an illness just after the series release.
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Please see Trevor Wilkin’s advert on page 78
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September 2011
BNTA MEMBERSHIPS IN COUNTY ORDER (Those members with a retail premises are indicated with an*)
LONDON AREA
Dealers who display this symbol are members of the
BRITISH NUMISMATIC TRADE ASSOCIATION The primary purpose of the Association is to promote and safeguard the highest standards of professionalism in dealings between its Members and the public. In official consultations it is the recognised representative of commercial numismatics in Britain.
*A.H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd ATS Bullion Ltd Beaver Coin Room Keith Chapman * Classical Numismatic Group Inc / Seaby Coins *Philip Cohen Numismatics Andre de Clermont Michael Dickinson *Dix Noonan Webb Christopher Eimer Glendiningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Harrow Coin & Stamp Centre *Knightsbridge Coins C. J. Martin (Coins) Ltd Nigel Mills Morton & Eden Ltd Moruzzi Ltd *Colin Narbeth & Son Ltd Numismatica Ars Classica *Pavlos S Pavlou Physical Gold Ltd Predecimal.com incorporating Rotographic Publications Roma Numismatics Ltd Simmons Gallery *Spink & Son Ltd Surena Ancient Art & Numismatic The London Coin Company Ltd
BEDFORDSHIRE
*Cambridge Coins and Jewellery Simon Monks
send a stamped addressed envelope to: General Secretary, BNTA PO Box 2, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7WE Tel/Fax: 01797 229988 E-mail: bnta@lineone.net
84
DRG Coins and Antiquities K B Coins David Miller
KENT
London Coins *Peter Morris
LANCASHIRE
*Colin de Rouffignac James Murphy *Peter Ireland Ltd
MONMOUTHSHIRE
Anthony M. Halse
NORFOLK
*Roderick Richardson Chris Rudd BucksCoins
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
*Giuseppe Miceli Coin & Medal Centre
NORTHUMBERLAND
*Corbitt Stamps Ltd
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE History in Coins
OXFORDSHIRE
*Richard Gladdle
SUFFOLK
*Lockdale Coins Ltd Mike R. Vosper Coins
SURREY
Allgold Coins Daniel Fearon M. J. Hughes KMCC Ltd Mark Rasmussen Numismatist Nigel Tooley Ltd
BERKSHIRE
SUSSEX
BRISTOL
WEST MIDLANDS
Frank Milward
Tim Wilkes
Saltford Coins BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Charles Riley
CAMBRIDGESHIRE *Den of Antiquity International Ltd CHESHIRE
A F BROCK & Co Ltd
*Birmingham Coins David Craddock Paul Davis Birmingham Ltd *Format of Birmingham Ltd Mint Coins Ltd
WARWICKSHIRE
*Peter Viola *Warwick & Warwick Ltd
CORNWALL
WORCESTERSHIRE
DEVON
YORKSHIRE
Richard W Jeffery Glenn S Ogden
DORSET
For a free Membership Directory please
HERTFORDSHIRE
*Dorset Coin Co. Ltd
ESSEX
Time Line Originals
J. Whitmore
Airedale Coins AMR Coins Paul Clayton Paul Davies Ltd Weighton Coin Wonders*
ESSEX/HERTS/LONDON BORDERS WALES David Seaman Lloyd Bennett GLOUCESTERSHIRE Silbury Coins Ltd
HAMPSHIRE
*SPM Jewellers Studio Coins *Victory Coins West Essex Coin Investments
*Cardiff Coins & Medals *North Wales Coins Ltd Colin Rumney
SCOTLAND
*Scotmint Ltd
IRELAND
Ormonde Coins
ww w . b n t a . n e t Coin News
www.tokenpublishing.com
September 2011
DEALERS LISTS EACH month a bewildering selection of lists are offered by dealers featuring all aspects of the hobby. To help collectors decide which lists are of interest to them and to save valuable time and frustration on the part of the dealer, we give a brief review of the lists seen (and the inland price where applicable). When sending for lists a large S.A.E. is always appreciated. Dealers: we are happy to include lists received from advertisers, free of charge—a nominal charge of £5 per issue is requested from non-advertisers. AIREDALE COINS, PO Box 7, Bingley, West Yorkshire BD16 1XU. Modern coins. ANCIENT & GOTHIC, PO Box 5390, Bournemouth, BH7 6XR. July/August list No. 267—Coins and antiquities. A. H. BALDWIN & SONS LTD., 11, Adelphi Terrace, London WC2N 6BJ. Fixed pice coin list. ARGHANS, Unit 9, Callington Business Park, Tinners Way, Moss Side, Callington, Cornwall PL17 7SH. April list of world banknotes. STEPHEN J. BETTS, 4, Victoria Street, Narborough, Leicester LE19 2DP. List T&M 26 world coins. BARRY BOSWELL, 24 Townsend Lane, Upper Boddington, Daventry, Northants NN11 6DR. World Banknotes. JAMES & C. BRETT, 17 Dale Road, Lewes, Sussex BN7 1 LH UK. 26pp of world coins. STEVE BURKINSHAW, 19 Oak Lodge Road, High Green, Sheffield S35 4QA. Hammered and milled . C A M B R I D G E S H I R E CO I N S , 3 5 5 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8JG. Coins and accessories. NIGEL CLARK, 28 Ulundi Road, Blackheath, London SE3 7UG. List of 17th c. tokens. COINCRAFT, 45 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3JL. “The Phoenix”. Large newspaper-style list of coins, banknotes, books, etc. COINS HISTORIC, PO Box 5043, Lower Quinton, Stratford upon Avon CV37 8WH. Email: sales@coinshistoric.co.uk. Catalogue No. 1 of ancient coins COLIN COOKE, PO Box 602, Altrincham, WA14 5UN. Hammered/milled coinage. M. COESHAW, PO Box 115, Leicester LE3 8JJ. 14pp list of coins and collectables. CNG, 14 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4PP. 11pp list of numismatic books. DAVID CRADDOCK, PO Box 3785 Camp Hill, Birmingham B11 2NF. List of British coins for sale. IAN DAVISON, PO Box 256, Durham DH1 2GW. 18pp list available—Hammered and milled coins dating from 1066–1910. DEI GRATIA, PO Box 3568, Buckingham, Bucks MK18 4ZS. Coins and antiquities.
CLIVE DENNETT, 66 Benedicts Street, Norwich NR2 4AR. Shop open 9.30am to 4.30pm. Closed Thurs & Sun. List of banknotes. DORSET COIN CO. LTD, 193 Ashley Road, Parkstone, Dorset BH14 9DL. Lists of British coins, world banknotes and gold coins. JEAN ELSEN, Avenue de Tervueren, 65, Brussels, 1040 Belgium. List 256— ancient, medieval, modern and oriental coins. GK COINS LTD, 17 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HU. List No. 5. List of British and world coins. GALATA, The Old White Lion, Market Street, Llanfyllin, Powys SY22 5BX. 130 pp of books. B. GOULBORN, PO Box 122, Rhyl LL18 3XR. Lists of English coins and notes. IAN GRADON, PO Box 359, Durham DH7 6WZ. Internet list—world paper money. ANTHONY HALSE, PO Box 1856, Newport, S. Wales NP18 2WA. Summer List—12 pp of English, foreign coins and tokens. MUNTHANDEL.G.HENZEN, Postbus 42, NL-3958 ZT Amerongen. Tel: +31 (0) 343-430564. Email: info@henzen.org. List 225, world coins. List 216, Dutch coins. ALVIN HOUSE, 4 Carpenters’ Terrace, Martock, Somerset, TA12 6HF. British coins. IRISH BANKNOTES, PO Box 99, Kells, Co. Meath, Ireland. 16 Page list containing Irish banknotes. www.irishpapermoney. com. R. INGRAM, 206 Honeysuckle Road, Bassett SO16 3BU. List 90: Hammered, milled, modern. DMITRI KHARITONOV, Gen. Janouska 900, 19800 Praha 9, Czech Republic. Email: kharitonov@volny.cz. Russian banknotes. K. B. COINS, 50 Lingfield Road, Martins Wood, Stevenage, Herts SG1 5SL. 105 pp of English coins. K & M CO I N S P O B o x 3 6 6 2 , Wolverhampton WV10 6ZW, or 07971 950246. British and World coins and tokens. Please email: for details: mickbagguley@hotmail.co.uk.
ATS Bullion Ltd
Dealers in Bullion & Modern Coins
KLEEFORD COINS, 42b Shop Lane, Nether Heage, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 2AR. List available, email: kleeford@ btinternet.com. FRITZ RUDOLF KüNKER, Münzenhandlung Gutenbergstrasse 23, 49076 Osnabrück. List No. 195. World coins, ancient to modern. LIGHTHOUSE (Duncannon Partnership), 4 Beaufort Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 9DJ. 24pp catalogue of coin accessories. LINDNER, 3a Hayle Industrial Park, Hayle, TR27 5JR. 60pp. catalogue of accessories. MANNIN COLLECTIONS LIMITED, 5 Castle Street, Peel, Isle of Man IM5 1AN. September colour list of Isle of Man banknotes. GIUSEPPE MICELI, 204 Bants Lane, Duston, Northampton NN5 6AH. British/ foreign coins. TIMOTHY MILLETT LTD. PO Box 20851, London SE22 0YN. www.historicmedals. com. Historical medals (£10, refundable on purchase). PETER MORRIS, PO Box 223, Bromley BR1 4EQ. List No. 13 Banknotes; No. 8 Foreign coins, world coins, books; No. 56 British coins; No. 37 medals. COLIN NARBETH & SON LTD, 20 Cecil Court, Leicester Square, London, WC2N 4HE. 28pp list of world banknotes available. NOTABILITY BANKNOTES, Email: info@ notability-banknotes.com. List of world notes. GLENN S. OGDEN, 53 Chestnut Cresc, Culver Green, Chudleigh TQ13 0PT. List No. 50. 18pp 19th/20th c. English coins. ROGER OUTING, PO Box 123, Clayton West, Huddersfield HD8 9WY. List 18—Cheques, banknotes, banking memorabilia. PETERCOINS, PO Box 46743, London SW17 0YF. Regular lists of low cost British Coins. MARK RASMUSSEN, PO Box 42, Betchworth RH3 7YR. List 21—English/ world coins. RODERICK RICHARDSON, The Old Granary Antique Centre, King’s Staithe Lane, King’s Lynne PE30 1LZ. 18pp. Hammered & milled.
F. J. RIST, PO Box 4, Ibstock, LE67 6ZJ. 2011 Summer list of ancient & early English coins. CHRIS RUDD, PO Box 222, Aylsham NR11 6TY. July list 118: 20pp of Celtic coins. Liz’s List No. 54 (August): Celtic coins—all under £200. SALTFORD COINS, Harcourt, Bath Road, Saltford BS31 3DQ.. 6 lists per year of coins, tokens & medallions. Postal only. STUDIO COINS, 16 Kilham Lane, Winchester, Hampshire S022 5PT. Numismatic list no 84. THE COLLECTOR’S BAY, 18 Ross Road, Wallington, Surrey SM6 8QB Tel: 0775 925 3127. List of coin accessories. T H E LO N D O N CO I N CO M PA N Y LTD, PO Box 57635, London NW7 0DS. British & world coins. www. thelondoncoincompany.com. MICHAEL TRENERRY, PO Box 55, Truro TR1 2YQ. (August) Ancient/ hammered. JOHN WELSH, PO Box 150, Burton on Trent, Staffs DE13 7LB. 16pp list of British coins. D. S. WELTON, 13 Monmouth Road, Harlington, Dunstable, Beds LU5 6NE. List 21—8pp of British Coins. PAM WEST, PO Box 257, Sutton, Surrey SM3 9WW. 20pp list Irish notes. JOHN WHITMORE, Teynham Lodge, Chase Road, Upper Colwall, Malvern, Worcs WR13 6DJ. Coins, tokens, etc. TIM WILKES, PO Box 150, Battle TN33 0FA. List No. 13, medieval/Islamic coins. WORLD TREASURE BOOKS, PO Box 5, Newport, IOW PO30 2JG. List 24. D. YAPP, PO Box 4718, Shrewsbury Mail Centre SY1 9EA. 11pp list of banknotes of the world.
DEALERS— Please send your current list to Token Publishing Ltd, Orchard House, Duchy Road, Heathpark, Honiton, Devon EX14 1YD
Cathedral Court Medals MEDAL MOUNTING & FRAMING
Suppliers of Gold Coins & Bars for Investment
COIN AND MEDAL SALES
2 Savoy Court, STRAND, London WC2R 0EZ
Miniature Medals • Replacement Full Size Medals Cap Badges / Titles • Military Research • Write-up of Service • Medal Cleaning Ribbons supplied • Framing Service
Tel: 020 7240 4040
Fax: 020 7240 4042
e-mail: bullion@atslimited.fsnet.co.uk Website: www.atsbullion.com Open Mon – Fri 9.30 – 4.30pm Contact us for friendly advice whether you are buying or selling.
Website: www.atsbullion.com September 2011
www.tokenpublishing.com
A good selection of British coins; Tokens; Foreign, Ancient and Roman coins in stock. For coin and medal sales at our Ripon office, please phone or email us to make an appointment. Don’t forget your “wants list”—we always honour appointments, so please don’t let us down.
First Floor Office, 30A Market Place West Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 1BN Telephone: 01765 601400 Mobile: 07720 714563 Email: parsonscathedralcourt@btinternet.com
Coin news
85
Diary dates FAIRS/EVENTS
DATE
EVENT
CONTACT
Charing Cross Market—Coins, Stamps and Collectables
1 Embankment Place, London (opposite Embankment Tube Station)
Sept 3
Bloomsbury Coin Fair
Bloomsbury Hotel, 16-22 Great Russell Street, London
LINDA MONK FAIRS ( 0208 656 4583
Collectors Fair
Methodist Community Centre, Silver Street, Nailsea
( 01761 414304
Sept 4
( 01483 281 771
Wolverhampton Coin Fair
Social Club, Church Road, Bradmoor, Wolverhampton
( 07971 950246
South Coast Coin and Medal Show
The Pavilion, Southampton University, Wide Lane Sports Grounds, Eastleigh, Hants
( 07890 764452 (Rick Coleman)
Sept 7
Coin and Collectables Fair
Stowmarket Football Club, Bury Road, Stowmarket
CLICKCOLLECT ( 01485 578118 (David James)
Sept 8
Coin and Collectors Fair
The Guild Hall, Plymouth
( 01749 813324
Sept 10
Coin and Collectables Fair
Large Parish Hall, De La Warr Road, East Grinstead
( 01342 326317
Midland Coin Fair
National Motorcycle Museum, Bickenhill, Birmingham
( 01694 731781 (Mike Veissid)
Cheltenham Fair
St Andrews United Reform Church, Montpelier Street
( 0117 962 3203
Coins and Collectables Fair
The Maltings, Ship Lane, Ely, Cambs
CLICKCOLLECT ( 01485 578118 (David James)
Sept 16–18
Antiques and Collectors Fair
Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet
( 01636 702326.
Sept 17
Collectors Fair
America Hall, Pinhoe, Exeter
( 01761 414304
Little Clacton Coin & Stamp Fair
Youth & Community Centre, Parish Fields, Plough Corner, Harwich Road, Clacton
( 01255 862087
Sept 24– Sept 25
World Paper Money Fair Maastricht
Polfermolen, Valkenburg
Eijsermans Events ( +49 2821 71166 69 : eijsermens-events@t-online.de
Sept 25
Wakefield Coin, Medal and Banknote Fair
Cedar Court Hotel, Denby Dale Road, Calder Grove, Wakefield
( 01522 684681 (Eddie Smith)
Sept 30–Oct 1 World Paper Money Fair
Bloomsbury Hotel, 16-22 Great Russell Street, London
: www.wpmf.info
Sept 30–Oct 1 Coinex International Numismatic Show
Millenium Hotel, The Ballroom, 44 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London
( 01797 229988 : www.bnta.net
Sept 14
AUCTIONS
VENUE
September (every Saturday)
DATE
AUCTION
LOCATION
CONTACT
Sept 4
Coins and Collectables
Los Angeles
BONHAMS & BUTTERFIELDS ( + 1 323 436 5455 : www.bonhams.com/uscoins
Sept 10
Auction 110: World Coins
Brussels
JEAN ELSEN ( +32 273463 56 : www.elsen.be
Sept 13
World Coins and Banknotes
Croydon
CROYDON COIN AUCTIONS ( 020 8656 4583 : www.croydoncoinauctions.co.uk
Sept 15
Specialist Coin Auction
Bushey
HERTFORDSHIRE COINS IN ASSOCIATION WITH BUSHEY AUCTIONS ( 01923 777543 : www.busheyauctions.com
Sept 17
Coins and Numismatic Books
Skegness
TURNER EVANS STEVENS ( 01754 766061 : www.tes-property.co.uk
Sept 18
Auction 87: British, World and Ancient Coins
Ipswich
LOCKDALES ( 01473 218588 : www.lockdales.com
Sept 24
Postal/online Coin Auction
Postal/online
KLEEFORD COIN AUCTIONS ( 01773 856900 : www.kleefordcoins.webs.com
Sept 26–Sept 28
Choice and Rare Coins
London
DNW ( 020 7016 1700 : www.dnw.co.uk
Sept 26–Sept 30
Auctions 193–198
Osnabruck
KUNKER (+ 49 421 958 1117 : www.kuenker.com
Sept 27
Auction 18: British and World Coins
London
ST JAMES’S ( 020 7930 7997 : www.the-saleroom.com
Sept 28–Sept 29
London Coinex Auction 70–71: British, Ancient, and World Coins, Military and Commemorative Medals
London
BALDWINS ( 020 7930 9808 : www.baldwin.co.uk
Sept 29
English and World Banknotes
London
DNW ( 020 7016 1700 : www.dnw.co.uk
FURTHER INFORMATION—As details can change after we have gone to press, please check times etc. with organisers before setting off on your journey.
Our April 12th auction had over 60 people in the room, with strong support from the postal bidders. Most however managed to acquire at least some of their “wants”. We wish you a great summer, see you September 13th. A Apply for a catalogue now PHONE / FAX 020 8656 4583 or visit our website
www.croydoncoinauctions.co.uk
E-mail: graeme@croydoncoinauctions.co.uk 86
Coin News
www.tokenpublishing.com
September 2011
WAKEFIELD FAIR COINS, MEDALS, BANKNOTES AND MILITARIA Come and see us at our superb venue, Cedar Court Hotel Denby Dale Road Calder Grove, Wakefield WF4 3QZ At Junction 39 off the M1
3XW WKHVH GDWHV LQ \RXU GLDU\ QRZ
&XW RXW WKHVH GDWHV DQG SXW WKHP LQ \RXU GLDU\ TO BE HELD ON THE LAST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH
September 25th October 30th Approximately 35 dealers Admission: ÂŁ1 Adults Children under 14 free Free car parking (Park in the main car park at reception) 9.30-14.30
WE ARE NOW IN THE CEDAR SUITE ENQUIRIES: Eddie Smith 01522 684681
Open EVERY Saturday at 1 Embankment Place, London Opposite Embankment Tube Station.
&+$5,1*
&5266 0$5.(7
Est 1974
In addition to the Coin Dealers present, there are also stamps and postcards on show. Open 07:30 to 14:30.
Enquiries 01483 281771 E-Mail: rodney@rodneybolwell.wanadoo.co.uk
./(()25' &2,1 $8&7,216
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ZZZ NOHHIRUGFRLQV ZHEV FRP )RU D IUHH $XFWLRQ &DWDORJXH SOHDVH FDOO RQ RU (PDLO NOHHIRUG#EWLQWHUQHW FRP $OVR DFFHSWLQJ ORWV IRU IXWXUH DXFWLRQV 3OHDVH FDOO IRU GHWDLOV September 2011
www.tokenpublishing.com
INAUGUARAL
COIN, MEDAL & BANKNOTE AUCTION TO BE HELD SUNDAY OCTOBER 2ND 2011 CHARING CROSS HOTEL, LONDON VIEWING ON THURSDAY 29TH, FRIDAY 30TH, SATURDAY 1ST (COINEX DATES) Almost 1000 lots of quality Roman, Hammered, milled and world coins, Military and commemorative medals, British and world banknotes to be sold at auction, some without reserve
We are still accepting consignments at great commission rates. CATALOGUES ÂŁ5 by post, or bid online at thesaleroom.com Registered Office: Sovereign Auctions, Golden Cross House, 6 -8 Duncannon Street, Charing Cross, LONDON WC2N 4JF
Contact: info@sovereign auctions.co.uk, r99cc@yahoo.com or g.miller4@btinternet.com By phone Rick: 07890 764452 or Glen: 07854547371 Coin News
87
Diary dates SOCIETIES
DATE
Sept 1
Sept 3 Sept 5
VENUE
Wallace Humphrey Room, Shelthorpe Community Centre, Loughborough The Eagle & Child, Maltkiln Lane, Bispham Green, Ormskirk Swarthmore College, Woodhouse Square, Leeds Please call for venue details
Sept 8
Sept 12 Sept 13
Sept 14 Sept 15
Sept 19
“Gold in the Second World War” by LOUGHBOROUGH COIN & SEARCH Stephen Skellern SOCIETY ( 01509 261352 : www.norwichcoinandmedalsociety.co.uk “Argenteus Binio—the Rise and Fall of ORMSKIRK & WEST LANCS NS the Antoninianius” by Chris Leather ( 01704 531266 Members’ Exhibits YORKSHIRE NS ( 01977 682263 South Wales & Monmouthshire NS ( 02920 561564
The Albert Hotel, Victoria Lane, Huddersfield
“Siege Pieces of Charles I—Part 2” by A. Travis Presidential Address
The Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London
“The Coins of Ecuador” by Michael Anderson
Reading Coin Club ( 01753 516390 : www.readingcoinclub.co.uk HUDDERSFIELD NS ( 01484 866814 LONDON NUMISMATIC CLUB ( 07976 156320 : www.londoncoinclub.org.uk
St Martin’s Church Hall, Erith Road, Club Auction Barnehurst, Bexleyheath, Kent Nursery Inn, 258 Green Lane, Heaton Norris, Open Evening Stockport Fairkytes Arts Centre, Billet Lane, Hornchurch “Propaganda on Roman Coins” by Robin Baker The Edward Wright Room, Beaufort Annual General Meeting and Trading Community Centre, Beaufort Road, Session Southbourne, Bournemouth Fry Social Club, Keynsham “Finders Keepers? Treasure Trove past, present and future” by Peter Clayton Please call for venue details Monthly Meeting The Scout Building, off Walton Road, Wealdstone, Harrow Crewe Memorial Hall, Church Lane, Wistaston, Crewe The Cecil Roberts Room, Central Library, Angel Row, Nottingham RAF Assoc. Eric Nelson House, 16 Bewick Road, Gateshead St Paul’s Centre, Chapel Road, Worthing
BEXLEY COIN CLUB ( 020 8303 0510 South Manchester NS ( 0161 432 2044 HAVERING NS ( 07910 124549 Wessex NS ( 020 7731 1702 HAVERING NS( 07793 905035 Bedfordshire NS ( 01234 870645
“Starting a Business” by Lionel Brown
Harrow Coin Club ( 020 8952 8765
“The Rise and Fall of Antoninianus” by Chris Leather “Bums on Thrones” by Richard Fife
Crewe & District Coin & Medal Society ( 01270 569836 NS OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ( 0115 9257674
Society Meeting
TYNESIDE NS ( 01661 825824 : www.tynesidecoinclub.info “The Countermarking of Base Testoons Worthing & District NS and other Shillings during the Reign of ( 01634 260114 Elizabeth I” by Chris Comber Small Hall, Surbiton Library, Ewell Road, Annual General Meeting followed by a Kingston NS Surbiton short talk ( 020 8397 6944 The Raven Inn, Poulshot, near Devizes, “Researching Military Medals” by John Wiltshire NS ( 01380 828453 Wiltshire Lodge The White Horse, Trowse
Sept 21
CONTACT
Annual General Meeting
Please call for details
Sept 6
SUBJECT/EVENT
“Coin Weights and Scales” by Frances and Howard Simmons
Nursery Inn, 258 Green Lane, Heaton Norris, Five Minute Talks by Members Stockport The St James Centre, Stadium Way, Pinhoe, “Football Medals” by Norman Sheil Exeter
NORWICH COINS & MEDALS SOCIETY ( 01603 617127 : www.norwichcoinandmedalsociety.co.uk South Manchester NS ( 0161 432 2044 Devon & Exeter NS ( 01395 5688830
C. A. B., 19 Tower Street, Ipswich Sept 23 Sept 24
Sept 26 Sept 27
“Obscure Numismatic Literature” Ipswich NS ( 01473 728653 by Robin Baker Chelmsford Museum, Moulsham Street, “Viking Coinage in Ireland” by Andy Essex NS ( 01277 656627 Chelmsford Woods Highfields Community Fire Station, Hassocks Bi-monthly meeting IBNS (EAST MIDLANDS CHAPTER) Lane, Beeston ( 0115 9280347 Please call for Venue Details Annual General Meeting and Banknote THE BANKNOTE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND Auction ( 01382 542423 : bnss2006@ntlworld.com The Scout Building, off Walton Road, “Tokens” by Jim Corbishley Harrow Coin Club ( 020 8952 8765 Wealdstone, Harrow Belsize Community Centre, Celta Road, Annual General Meeting PETERBOROUGH & DISTRICT NS Peterborough ( 01733 567763 The Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, The Linecar Lecture—”Not Lost Forever: British NS ( 020 7563 4045 London, WC1H 0AB understanding Roman Coin Finds over the Past Fifty Years” by Dr Richard Reece
SECRETARIES—Please send details of your meetings to Token Publishing Ltd, Orchard House, Duchy Road, Heathpark, Honiton EX14 1YD or email to: abbey@tokenpublishing.com giving at least two months’ notice 88
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BLOOMSBURY
COIN FAIR BLOOMSBURY HOTEL 16-22 Great Russell Street London WC1 3NN
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Admission £2.00 Dealers in English, Foreign, Ancient, Antiquities, Tokens, Medallions and Banknotes
September 3rd 2011 (9.30 am - 2.00 pm)
NEXT FAIR: DECEMBER 3RD 2011
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Enquiries: Tel: 01694 731781
The Largest Monthly Coin, Medal & Banknote Fair in the Country
The Midland Coin Fair
NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM Bickenhill, Birmingham, B92 0EJ Opposite the NEC on the M42/A45 junction. Free parking. Refreshments Second Sunday of EVERY Month 10.00 am to 3.30 pm Admission £2 Running continuously for over 25 years!!
September 11th October 9th
All enquiries to Mike Veissid
Midland Coin Fair Hobsley House, Frodesley Shrewsbury, SY5 7HD Tel: 01694 731781
www.coinfairs.co.uk September 2011
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89
Semi-display advertising Raise the profile of your business with an entry in this section— generous discounts available (see page 95 for details)
COINS
Coins For Sale Roman, Celtic, English Hammered Coins, 17th Century Trade Tokens Write or telephone for a free copy of our large sales catalogue in which almost every item offered is illustrated.
Michael Trenerry
PO Box 55, Truro, Cornwall TR1 2YQ Tel: 01872 277977
Fax: 01872 225565
A Comprehensive selection of British Coins New list available now
K. B. COINS
50 LINGFIELD ROAD, MARTINS WOOD, STEVENAGE, HERTS SG1 5SL TEL: 01438 312661
FAX: 01438 311990
HUGE FREE LISTS
ON SALE NOW
English Hammered and Milled coins
W. A. Nicholls
206 Honeysuckle Road, Soton SO16 3BU
Superb selection of Roman, British, Hammered & Milled coins. Gold, Silver, Copper & Bronze. For your FREE copy of our monthly list, please apply to:-
PO Box 44, Bilston, West Midlands WV14 6YX. Tel: 01543 452476
PETER MORRIS 1 STATION CONCOURSE, BROMLEY NORTH BR STATION, KENT Open: Monday to Friday 10am–6pm Closed Wednesday Saturday 9am–2pm and other times by arrangement Write for free copy of latest coin list: FREEPOST (no stamp needed) PO BOX 223, BROMLEY, KENT BR1 4EQ Telephone 020 8313 3410 Visit our web site: www.petermorris.co.uk E-mail: coins @petermorris.co.uk
MOORE ANTIQUITIES
023 - 8032 - 4258
GLENN S. OGDEN
English coins, send for a FREE list
I re l a n d 4 0 Pa g e N e t Pr i ce L i s t N ow Ava i l a b l e Irish Hammered, coinage of the Great Rebellion, Irish coppers, Silver Gun Money, Free State coinage Proofs and Morbiducci Patterns, Irish Art Medals and Irish Paper Money.
Del Parker
Email: irishcoins2000@hotmail.com
1-206-232-2560, PO Box 7568, Dallas TX 75209, USA See us at: Coinex, Dublin Fair & Simmons Fair, Baltimore & NYC Inc
GLENELY COINS
British, Roman and Ancient Greek Coins Bought and Sold
www.glenelycoins.co.uk Tel: 01793 750307 07739 426194 Email: chris_kellow@hotmail.com
FORMAT
Although we specialise in foreign coins, we also buy and sell British
Format
Second Floor, Burlington Court, Lower Temple Street, Birmingham. Tel: 0121 643 2058 Fax: 0121 643 2210
53 Chestnut Crescent, Culver Green, Chudleigh TQ13 0PT Tel: 01626 859350 Mobile: 07971 709427 Email: glenn@gillianogden.wanadoo.co.uk www.glennogdencoins.com
PO Box 57635, London, NW7 0DS
R.P. COINS
COINS, BOOKS, CATALOGUES & ACCESSORIES Bought & Sold. Please visit our website -
www.rpcoins.co.uk or call Rob Pearce on 07802 713444, fax 0161 798 7428 RP Coins, PO Box 367, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 9ZH
01243 824232 07850 037091 www.mooreantiquities.com moore.antiquities@virgin.net WANTED AND FOR SALE:
Specialists in Buying and Selling Modern, Gold and Silver Coins from the UK and Around the World.
UK Freephone: 0800 085 2933/Int Tel: +44 208 343 2231 Email: sales@thelondoncoincompany.com Visit our Secure On-line Shop on www.thelondoncoincompany.com
www.coinsandtokens.com ANTHONY HALSE
A large selection of coins from budget priced date fillers to coins for the advanced collector. Send for a free list of English, Foreign and Tokens PO BOX 1856, Newport South Wales, NP18 2WA 01633 413238
Bronze Age, Celtic, Roman, Saxon, Viking, Medieval & later coins & artefacts up to 18th Century • Whole collections or single items purchased • Unit 12, Ford Lane Industrial Estate, Ford, Nr. Arundel, West Sussex BN18 0AA
– VALDA COINS –
01430 879060 / 07905 467650 Specialists in Modern Gold and Silver Proof Coins and Sets Visit our e-shop and order on line at www.weightoncoin.co.uk
Separate lists of English coins for beginners to established collectors. Send for your free copy. EVANS, 80 Aberfan Road, Aberfan, Mid Glam CF48 4QJ Tel: 01443 690452
BRITISH COINS FOR SALE Crowns to fractional farthings. Copper and bronze specialist. Some foreign. DAVID CRADDOCK PO Box 3785, Camp Hill, Birmingham B11 2NF Tel/Fax: 0121 773 2259 Send for free list
DORSET COIN COMPANY LTD Dealing in British Coins, Sets, Proofs, Foreign Coins and Banknotes. Send for latest list
193, Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset BH14 9DL. Tel: 01202 739606
COINS & CO
The new name in numismatics New monthly email list of English and world coins, tokens, medallions. Please specify interest.
Hurr y to snap up the bargains from list 1! coinsandco@btinternet.com
Never miss an issue of COIN NEWS. Take out your subscription today and save nearly £10 per year! Tel: 01404 44166
Log on to our website at www.tokenpublishing.com for all the latest news, views, events, books, accessories and much more . . . 90
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Semi-display advertising MEMORABILIA
We stock all types of Manx memorabilia including banknotes, coins, postcards etc. Shop open 10-4 Mon–Sat 21 ST PAULS SQUARE, RAMSEY, ISLE OF MAN
Email:tonyhar@manx.net Tel: 01624 818303/07624 492484
Buying and selling English hammered coins, British milled coins and British tokens. Meet me at the fairs. Large ebay stock. Email: sales@johnnewmancoins.com Tel: 01903 239867. Mobile: 07814 793312 www.johnnewmancoins.com
F. J. RIST For a comprehensive catalogue of Ancient Greek, Roman, Judaean, Parthian, Sasanian, Byzantine, Early British, European and Crusader Coins, please write or telephone for a free copy F. J. Rist, Po Box 4, Ibstock, Leics LE67 6ZJ Tel: 01530 264278
Colin Narbeth & Son Ltd 20 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4HE Paper Money Dealers Visit our Web site at: http://www.colin-narbeth.com A wide range of notes on offer
BRITISH BANKNOTES
Probably the biggest selection in the UK, mostly high grades. BRADBURY to LOWTHER Free up to date computer listing. Tel: 01736 871263 Trebehor, Porthcorno, Penzance, Cornwall TR19 6LX A Free list of World and British banknotes is available from
D. YAPP PO Box 4718, SHREWSBURY, SY1 9EA Tel: 01743 232557 www.david-yapp.com
Arghans
African banknotes – sensible prices
List from Arghans, Unit 9, Callington Business Park, Tinners Way, Moss Side, CALLINGTON PL17 7SH. Tel: 01579-382405 e-mail: keithp44@waitrose.com
IAN GRADON WORLD NOTES
Coins Wanted
UNIVERSAL CURRENCY COIN EXCHANGE
Buying Swiss 80%, Can 80% and Ireland 80% Contact: Universal Currency Coin Exchange, UCCE, PO Box 57648, Mill Hill, NW7 0FE Tel: 07831 662594 E-mail: uccedcp@aol.com. www.coinsonline.co.uk
Banknotes bought and sold. Bulk lots, collections and single items wanted. Tel: 0191 3719 700 email: igradon960@aol.com website: www.worldnotes.co.uk
Roger Outing PO Box 123 Huddersfield HD8 9WY Tel: 01484 860415 rogerandliz@banknotes4u.co.uk www.banknotes4u.co.uk Specialising in British banking history: cheques, books, banknotes and all banking memorabilia
Ye Olde Banknote Shoppe
We stock a huge range of Banknotes and Coins from UK and around the World, also Tokens and Medals, Roman & Celtic and a host of other collectables. View our current catalogue online at
www.oldbanknoteshop.co.uk
Contact email: jim@oldbanknoteshop.co.uk Crowns, halfcrowns wanted, G, VF ++ Charles to George II, lists of what you have to Twyford Antiques Centre, Evesham. Tel: 446923
Auctions/Fairs/Societies World Paper Money Fair 2011 NEW VENUE Bloomsbury Hotel 16–22 Great Russell Street London WC1B 3NN
Fri Sep 30th 10-6pm Sat October 1st 10-4pm www.wpmf.info email: enquiries@wpmf.info Sponsored by Spink
LONDON COINS AUCTION Next Auction: Keep a look out for details! • Viewing arrangements now include Saturday & Sunday • NEW Catalogue format available • Call us or check out our new website for more information
LONDON COINS
4 - 6 Upper Street South • New Ash Green • Kent • DA3 8JJ Tel: 01474 871464 • Email: info@londoncoins.co.uk • Website:www.londoncoins.co.uk
MATT HOOD MEMORIAL COIN AUCTION Postal auction with monthly catalogues
UK, Foreign & Ancient Coins Tokens, Medals, Banknotes, etc
For a free catalogue contact: Tim Barna, PO Box 335, Lyndhurst, Hants SO40 0DA. Tel: 07833-692956 mhmca@hotmail.co.uk
B. FRANK & SON
Numismatic Auctioneers (Est 1983) Have you sent us your lots for our
84th Auction Sale
to be held in Newcastle in the autumn? We must have your items by early September We especially need: Pre-decimal British coins English, Scottish, Irish hammered coins Scottish Banknotes Older foreign banknotes Commission as low as 8% B. FRANK & SON, 3 South Ave.,Ryton, NE40 3LD 0191 413 8749 Email: bfrankandson@aol.com
A list of forthcoming auctions can be found on page 86 Medallions
CHARLES RILEY COINS & MEDALS
Professional Numismatist since 1990 Coins and medallions bought and sold PO Box 733, Aylesbury HP22 9AX Tel: 01296 747598 email: charles.riley@virgin.net
www.charlesriley.co.uk
Coin Shops An invitation to view our website
www.cambridgeshirecoins.com
www.pdmedallions.co.uk
Buying and selling for over 20 years
• • • •
Coins Wanted. Gold-Silver-Copper-Collections. Over 5,000 Coins for sale on-line. Coin Trays – Capsules – Albums – Books. 01223 503073
Buy historical medals on line. British, European, World medals available. Browse through our current stock. Regular up-dating of items for sale.
We buy single or collections of medals.
info@cambridgeshirecoins.com
Banknotes
British Notes Buying/Selling
Quality British Notes
Pam West, PO Box 257, Sutton, Surrey. SM3 9WW Tel/Fax: 0208 641 3224 Email: pamwestbritnotes@aol.com www.britishnotes.co.uk September 2011
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Advertise on this page from as little as £10 per issue Call Celia on o1404 44167, or email: celia@tokenpublishing.com Coin news
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Web directory Increase the traďŹ&#x192;c to your site with an entry in this section. All entries are hot-linked in the digital issue so new collectors are just a click away! See page 95 for details.
www.HistoryInCoins.com Â&#x160; Hammered to Milled: English, Irish & Scottish Â&#x160; Catering for beginners right through to serious collectors Â&#x160; Established February 2001. Fresh additions EVERY Tuesday Â&#x160; 3,000+ ITEMS FOR SALE (all with obverse & reverse images) $OH[DQGHU ,, VKRUW FURVV 6FRWWLVK 3HQQ\ 3KDVH ' Âą 3,(5(6 2 1 52& 5R[EXUJK PLQW
Contact me for details on this and other quality coins. Tel: 07944 374600
Coins
www.coincraft.com British coins, World coins, British banknotes, World banknotes, Roman coins, Greek coins, antiquities, medallions, supplies, Edward VIII bought and sold.
foreigncoin.com Over 4,000 certiďŹ ed coins
www.coinsofbritain.com
Lloyd Bennett. A good selection of British coins from
www.tokenpublishing.com The one stop shop for all your collecting needs plus latest news and much, much more. Log on now to www.tokenpublishing.com.
www.chards.co.uk
View our stock on-line. Vast selection from Roman to modern. Exclusive gold site and many collector items. Proofs and bullion. Many special offers. Links to all other Chard websites
www.gilliscoins.com Ancient coins, Greek, Celtic, Roman, Byzantine, Saxon, Viking, English, Irish, Scottish, Tokens. Antiques as before including Bronze-age, Iron-age, Dark-age, Medieval pottery, glass etc.
For everything you need to know about Petition Crowns log on to:
Saxon times to the present day. English hammered coinage, occasionally Celtic, Roman and Anitquities. All items illustrated and updated weekly.
www.petitioncrown.com
www.davidseamancoins.co.uk
www.ringramcoins.com
ď łSimple to use. ď łScreen sized photographs of each piece. ď łMainly British milled with a selection of hammered and good selection of maundy sets and odds.
The Biggest selection of English coins on the Web. An extensive selection of Hammered including Gold as well as a vast range of Milled from 1656 to date. 023 80324258
www.saltfordcoins.com
argentumandcoins.co.uk/
Try the rest Then try the best
www.saltfordcoins.com Irish Coins and Notes Ancient Greek & Roman Del Parker
irishcoins.com
Specialising in British milled coinage from 1662 to date ď ˇAll coins pictured on the websiteď ˇ ď ˇSecure on-line paymentď ˇ
www.cngcoins.com Classical Numismatic Group offers continuous on-line auctions of Greek, Celtic, Roman, Byzantine, Medieval British and World coins.
www.pennycrowncoins.co.uk An extensive catalogue mostly comprised of English and United Kingdom milled issues each coin illustrated using high-quality photographs
92
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September 2011
Web directory www.tonyharmer.org Coins and banknotes, postcards,stamps and Collectables
www.wrightcoins.com
British, gold, silver and copper coins, many high grade and rare milled coins for sale, hammered also available. 01398 323211
Coins, postcards, antiques and collectables, all items photographed, updating weekly
Visit us and have a look around
www.scccollectables.com www.johnnewmancoins.com Buying and selling English hammered coins, British milled coins and British tokens.
www.clickcollect-coins.co.uk
Auctions
We buy and sell British and Foreign coins of all ages and reigns in our easy to use website
www.warwickandwarwick.com
www.weightoncoin.co.uk Specialists in Modern Gold and Silver Proof Coins and Sets Sovereigns of different dates and Mint marks always available.
www.yorkcoins.com Roman, Ancient British, English, Scottish & Irish Hammerd Coins ~Professional Numismatist~
www.gbgoldcoins.com
Buyers and sellers of World and British Gold Coins—Fair prices paid for Sovereigns and Krugerrands
Coins Wanted Buying and selling for over 20 years Over 5,000 coins online
01223 503073
info@cambridgeshirecoins.com
www.celticcoins.com Chris Rudd sells more Celtic than anyone else worldwide. For a free catalogue phone
01263 735 007
www.denofantiquity.co.uk Buying & Selling Ancient Coins & Antiquities
Tel: 01223 863002 Email: thedenofantiquity@yahoo.co.uk
www.petercoins.com Your local coin shop on the net!
www.petercoins.com
Bi-monthly sales of English, Foreign and Ancient Coins, Medallions, Tokens and Banknotes. See our website for free on-line catalogue.
Auctions taking place this month are listed on the diary page on page 86
www.antiquities.co.uk
www.downies.com
Quality Ancient Coins and Antiquities
Australia’s largest coin dealer, specialising in Australian coins and banknotes, world coinage, stamps, medals and quality numismatic material. Visit our website for online shopping and free catalogue
Simon Chester Coins.com
www.cambridgeshirecoins.com
www.croydoncoinauctions.co.uk
Antiquities
www.spink.com COINS, BANKNOTES, MEDALS, STAMPS AND BOOKS – THE COMPLETE ONLINE SERVICE FOR THE COLLECTOR.
Free valuations without obligation on specialist collections and single coins, old accumulations, dealers’ stock, hoards and even unpopular and obscure material
Dealing in British Milled Coins
www.simonchestercoins.com
Banknotes
www.David-yapp.com British and World Banknotes
Accessories
www.coincabinets.com Peter Nichols, Cabinet Makers Full range of coin cabinets available. Tel: 01424 436682. Email: orders@coincabinets.com
www.David-yapp.com Books www.douglassaville.com Out of Print, Secondhand and Rare Books on Coins, Tokens, Medallions, Orders, Decorations and Medals. Easy to use Website listing books for sale. All areas of the subject.
A wide range of Numismatic accessories are available online from
www.tokenpublishing.com Miscellaneous
www.galata.co.uk NUMISMATIC BOOKS, COINS AND TOKENS Books for metal detectorists and beginners a speciality. We even write them ourselves. Website updated twice weekly
Subscribe to COIN NEWS today and receive the digital version free of charge. For further details go to www.tokenpublishing.com September 2011
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Coin news
93
Classifieds Use the classified section to locate a rare coin, sell unwanted items, or simply exchange correspondence with other collectors— Advertising is FREE for non-trade COIN NEWS subscribers, so why not take out your subscription today! Coins for sale
AUSTRALIA 2010 SILVER BULLION COINS—Year of the Tiger Series 2, all sizes. Also 2010 UK 5-coin Sovereign Set. Tel. Phil on 01633 485787/07803 125183. (09/11) PRUSSIAN EINREICHS, Thaler 1810 A, F/VG, rare, £30. USA 1864 L Indian cent, G/fine, rare, £40. Tel: 0116 2128669. (09/11) W W W C O I N S O N A B U D G E T. CO.UK A great site for new collectors, also for filling in those elusive gaps. Great prices: new items being added all the time. Wants lists welcomed—a fast friendly service. Contact me on the above website. (09/11/03T) ENGLISH AND UK COINS. Please ask for list— G. Ogden, 53 Chestnut Crescent, Culver Green, Chudleigh TQ13 0PT Tel: 01626 859350. (12/11/12A ANCIENT AND HAMMERED COINS PLUS CLASSICAL ANTIQUITIES for sale. Large display at The Ginnel Antiques Centre, Harrogate. Odyssey PO Box 61, Southport, PR9 0PZ. Tel: 01704 232494. (02/12/06T) ROMAN, CELTIC, ENGLISH HAMMERED AND BRITISH COINS BEFORE 1895 for sale and wanted—ring anytime or write for mail order sales catalogue, or visit our stall at antiques fairs in the South. Ancient & Gothic, PO Box 5390, Bournemouth, BH7 6XR. Telephone:a 01202 431721. Est. 1977. (01/12/12T) FREE ENGLISH—FOREIGN LISTS. Crowns to farthing fractions. Proof—BU sets. Maundy odds. Banknotes. Telephone: 01709 526697. (10/12/24T) CLOUD “9” COINS AND BANKNOTES. Down to earth coins and notes at down to earth prices. Twentieth century circulated coins bought and sold. CLOUD “9”, 4 Queen’s Row, Cheddar Gorge. 01934 744679. (10/11P) FREE CATALOGUE! FREE COINS! FREE BANKNOTES! Extensive range of coins, ancient to modern, tokens, banknotes, antiquities and related items. Low to medium grades our speciality! (UK only) Contact: Dei Gratia, PO Box 3568, Buckingham, Bucks., MK18 4ZS (stamp appreciated). Tel: 01280 848000. Email: daves@dgcoins. freeserve.co.uk. Go to website at: www.dgcoins.freeserve.co.uk www.dgcoins.freeserve.co.uk. (02/12/06T) MERLINS OF GODALMING, Bridge Street, Godalming, Surrey. Celtic, Roman, hammered, milled. 01483 426155. Sorry no lists. (05/12/12T) ELIZABETH II Royal Mint proof sets 1971–2005. Offers. Telephone: 01234 306580 (Bedford). (12/12) PETERCOINS—your local coin shop on the net! Selling a wide range of British coins. www.petercoins. com. SAE for list to: PO Box 46743, London, SW17 0YF. (11/11/12T) COLLECTOR SURPLUS, South Africa, mostly crowns, Irish mixed, Gibraltar Crowns etc. Tel: 01526 860971. (10/11)
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Coin news
MAUNDY SETS 1904, 1905, 1914, 1915 UNC toned in red dated boxes. Ex. condition. 01473 414646. (04/12) PRESTIGE NUMISMATICS the place for all types of premium World coins. Customer satisfaction is our priority. www.prestigenumismatics. com. (11/11/03T) WORLD COINS: Medieval and modern. Tokens, Countermarks, Jettons, medallions etc. Please send an SAE for latest list to: Stephen Betts, 4 Victoria Street, Narborough, Leicester LE19 2DP. (12/11/06T) SP ASIMI, selling BRITISH MILLED coins 1662–1946. Visit our cabinet at: THE EMPORIUM, 112 High Street, HUNGERFORD, Berkshire RG17 0NB, 01488 686959. (01/12/12T) ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN COINS. Free catalogue. Great for beginners and budget minded collectors. For more information contact T. Barna, PO Box 335, Lyndhurst, SO40 0DA. Email: tbarna_andsonuk@hotmail.com (09/11/06T) BRITISH COINS FREE LIST of inexpensive coins plus details of free gift. Des Welton, 13 Monmouth Road, Harlington, Dunstable, Beds, LU5 6NE, or email: des.welton@ ntlworld.com. (12/11/06T) WORLD AND BRITISH COINS. Please send for a free list. James & C. Brett, 17, Dale Road, Lewes, Sussex BN7 1LH. Web list available from jc.brett@btinternet.com. (12/11/06T) EARLY ENGLISH MILLED: The most extensive date range available anywhere. 1658–1967 Farthings—Gold virtually every date. Free list tel: 023 80324258, write to 206 Honeysuckle Rd, Southampton SO16 3BU, email: info@ringramcoins.com. www. ringramcoins.com. (10/11/12/A) ringramcoins.com
Coins Wanted
SELECTED BRITISH COINS for all tastes. Fast, friendly and efficient service. British coins bought and sold. View coinsonline in the shop. Contact Barry Kemp on 01706 344520. (11/11/06A) £3,000 FOR the rare Royal Mint error of 2008. The One penny (Royal Shield) with the Queen’s head upside down! Please telephone with details: 07587 103617. (04/12/12T) HALFPENNIES—1865, 1883, 1922. Farthings—1865, 1874 & 1875, 1915. High grade only. Peter, 01489 57721. (11/11) 1/10TH, or 1/20TH gold angel, sentimental reasons. Chris 01359 250012. (11/11) A BEGINNER looking to fill gaps with lower grade coins. English and USA. Please contact with list. details, Email andy@trott89.fslife. co.uk. (11/11) WE BUY SOVEREIGNS—best prices paid. Please telephone Paul on 07779 461929. (12/11/06A) FORMAT OF BIRMINGHAM COIN & MEDAL SALES LISTS WANTED BY COLLECTOR. The following Sales Lists are required; 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 66-70 inc. Send details/price required inc. of airmail to Australia to: randjwheatley@ bigpond.com or rosejohn8741@ gmail.com. (10/11P)
PRE-1920 AND PRE-1947 SILVER COINS wanted. Will pay good price in accordance with fluctuating silver market price. Tel 020 8530 4109, or send details to Nick Lyons at 1 Millbrook, 73 Woodford Road, South Woodford, London, E18 2EB. (08/12) SPANISH COINS IN GOLD AND SILVER, especially “COBS”. (Portuguese and Dutch coins also wanted). Please contact: Beachcomber Trading Company (BTC) PO Box 8, Newport, Isle of Wight, P030 5JW. Tel: 01983-740712, or fax: 01983 740800. (04/12/12T) SHIPWRECK COINS, any wreck, any quantity. Also shipwreck auction catalogues. BTC, PO Box 8, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 5JW. 01983 740712. Fax: 01983 740800. (04/12/12T) BUYING PRE-47 SILVER AT 24x face; Call/write for latest price. Buying obsolete but redeemable banknotes/coins of Switzerland, Ireland, Germany & most other countries. Collectable coins/tokens wanted. Please contact: Taylor, 4 Sherwood Avenue, Ruislip, Middlesex HA4 7XL. Telephone: 01895 638885. (11/11/06T) BUYING PRE-47 SILVER 24x FACE, PRE-20 40x FACE. USA Pre-1965 10 cents to 1$ £8 per $. CANADA Pre-1965 £6 per $. Wanted REDEEMABLE NOTES of Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, France, Belgium, Portugal. COINS/NOTES of Spain, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland. Taylor, 4 Sherwood Avenue, Ruislip, Middx. HA4 7XL. Tel 01895 638885. (12/11/06T) 1863 GB FLORIN needed urgently. Minimum fine condition. £500+paid Please send details by email to: wmg.1923@tiscali.co.uk. (11/11) BRITANNIA AS OF HADRIAN (BMC 1174) wanted in high grade (GVF or above). Any reasonable price considered. Care of Lawrence Chard 521 Lytham Road Blackpool. 01253 342081. (RTC) AUSTRALIAN PRE-1966 SILVER AND COPPER COINS WANTED. tel: 0794191 9686, email: mc@ guanomondo.com. (09/11/06T) WA N T E D D O N AT I O N S OF BRITISH or foreign coins, banknotes. Please send to to Dogs for the Disabled, The Frances Hay Centre, Blacklocks Hill, Banbury, Oxen OX17 2BS. Charity No: 1092960 (05/12/12C) BRITISH COINS wanted by collector. Almost anything considered. Phone Chris on 01793 750307/07739 426194. (06/12/12T) PRE-47 & PRE-20 silver wanted. Also modern 925 silver crowns or ingots. Top prices paid. Contact: 01935 824878. (12/11/12A) DANZIG WANTED. High grade coins 1923 onwards. Top prices paid. Please emails details to: wmg.1923@ tiscali.co.uk. (12/12) BLACK CAT COINS. Buying English Milled coins. Gold, silver, copper, bronze, proof sets, Maundy money. We are located in the Oxfordshire area and can arrange a home visit to you at your convenience. Tel: 01844 279832 or email: blackcatcoins@live.co.uk. (12/11/12T)
REGISTERED CHILDRENS CHARITY 295732. Require donations of coins, tokens, banknotes, anything saleable. Please send to W. E. Cornish, 70 Downham Gardens, Tamerton Folit, Plymouth PL5 4QF. (02/12/12C) PRE-1947 silver coins wanted. Pre1920 also. There are probably many adverts in this column wanting these coins so if you phone around PLEASE PHONE US LAST for the best possible offer you will get! Est. 1966. 07879 865 118 or email: info@ uk-mint.com Web: www.uk-mint. com. (11/11/12T) WORLD AND BRITISH gold coins wanted. Fair prices paid. Tel: 07917 160308. (01/12/06A) 10TH OR 20TH GOLD ANGEL. Tel 01359 250012. (10/11)
Tokens
SOUTHWOLD TOKEN 1668 halfpenny, good condition, £30. Tel: 01359 250012. (09/11)
Banknotes
WORLDWIDE BANKNOTES AND COINS at great prices. Please visit: www.collectorscurrency.com or email: bruce.tupholme@gmail. com. (04/12/12T) QUALITY BANKNOTES from the British Isles & Commonwealth. www.notability-banknotes.com,, or www.notability-banknotes.com email: info@notability-banknotes. com. (09/11/06A)
Cheques & Ephemera ARE YOU INTERESTED IN COLLECTING Old Cheques, other Financial Instruments or Banking Ephemera? Then why not join the British Banking History Society. Tel: Keith for info: 020 83605665. (11/11)
Miscellaneous
AUCTION CATALOGUES, numismatic groups, June 5, 1991 to December 4, 1996. 26 catalogues in all—£52.00 the lot plus p&p. Mr D. R. Twiddy, tel: 01926 315860. (08/11) NZ AND AUSTRALIAN postcards wanted to buy. Tel: 0794 1919686. (09/11/06T) COUNTERFEIT COIN CLUB. New members welcomed. Details: CCC, 8 Kings Road, Biggin Hill, Kent, TN16 3XU. Tel: 01959 573 686, or email: kenvoyhotmail.co.uk. (11/11) T Y N E S I D E N U M I S M AT I C SOCIETY: Meeting second 2nd Wednesday every month. New members welcome. If you collect coins, banknotes, cheques, etc., telephone: 0191 258 2042 or 01661 825 824. (09/11) CLEAN COPY OF COIN NEWS, dated December 2000 (the shipwreck issue) wanted. Please phone 01983 740712, or send to PO Box 8, Newport, IW, PO30 9JW. Will swap for Penzance Museum shipwreck booklet (value £4). (09/11) EXCHANGE ALL kinds of collectables. References available. Free numismatic literature to numismatic students. Details to Antonis Filippou, 24 Tsalduhidi Str., 54248 Thessaloniki, Greece. (11/11)
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September 2011
Directory section Advertisers Index ABC Coins and Tokens.................................... 63 Airedale................................................................ 47 Argentum............................................................ 51 ATS Bullion Ltd................................................... 85 Allgold Coins ..................................................... 61 Baldwins Auctions......................................19, 30 R. P. & P. J. Beckett............................................. 64 Birchin Lane Gold Coin Company.............. 68 Bloomsbury Coin Fair...................................... 89 Yves Blot............................................................... 60 BNTA...................................................................... 84 Bonhams.............................................................IBC Barry Boswell...................................................... 77 Bushey Auctions............................................... 52 Cambridge Coins & Jewellery...................... 58 Cambridgeshire Coins.................................... 34 Cathedral Court Medals................................. 85 Chards................................................................... 27 Charing Cross Market...................................... 87 CNG........................................................................ 67 Coincraft......................................... IFC, 13, 47, 77 Coinex......................................................................8 Colin Cooke............................................................5
Croydon Coin Auctions.................................. 86 Paul Davies Ltd.................................................. 43 Paul Davis Birmingham Ltd........................... 63 Clive Dennett..................................................... 77 DNW....................................................................9,72 Dorset Coins....................................................... 64 Downies................................................................ 43 Roger Dudley..................................................... 63 The Duncannon Partnership........................ 63 Educational Coin Company.......................... 77 Christopher Eimer.............................................15 Format................................................................... 52 GB Gold Coins.................................................... 62 G K Coins.............................................................. 55 Goulborn.............................................................. 69 Greenlight Publishing..................................... 68 Ian Gradon........................................................... 76 A. D. Hamilton.................................................... 78 History in coins.................................................. 92 IAPN........................................................................ 16 IBNS........................................................................ 81 R. Ingram Coins........................................... 56, 57 Richard Jeffery................................................... 67
Jersey Post........................................................... 18 K. B. Coins............................................................. 58 Kate’s Paper Money......................................... 76 Kleeford Coins.................................................... 87 Knightsbridge Coins........................................ 70 Kunker....................................................................12 Lindner.................................................................. 52 Lockdales............................................................. 43 The London Coin Company................... 22, 92 The London Coin Fair...................................... 89 M & H Coins......................................................... 55 Midland Coin Fair.............................................. 89 Morton & Eden......................................................4 Peter Morris......................................................... 68 John Mowbray International........................17 Colin Narbeth & Son Ltd................................ 78 NGC...........................................................................6 Peter Nicholls..................................................... 58 Notability............................................................. 78 Numismata.......................................................... 87 Numismatica Ars Classica.............................. 48 Orpington Coins & Medals............................ 61 David Pratchett.................................................. 60
Roderick Richardson....................................... 55 Royal Mint................................................. 29, OBC Chris Rudd..............................................................2 Douglas Saville ................................................. 67 Simmons Gallery............................................... 42 Sovereign Auctions.......................................... 87 Stack’s, Bowers & Ponterio............................ 64 St James’s Auctions.............................21, 23, 25 Timeline Originals...............................................3 Token Publishing Ltd....................................... 96 Treasure Hunting.............................................. 68 Michael Trenerry Ltd....................................... 61 R. Tresias............................................................... 64 Turner Evans Stevens...................................... 42 Wakefield Fair..................................................... 87 Warwick & Warwick................................... 10, 38 Weighton Coin Wonders............................... 34 John Welsh...........................................................11 West Essex Coin Investments...................... 83 Westminster Auctions.......................................7 Tim Wilkes............................................................ 62 Trevor Wilkin....................................................... 78 York Coins............................................................ 51
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September 2011