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PUBLISHING FOR COLLECTORS SINCE 1983

Incorporating BANKNOTE NEWS

COIN

CoinexpFagaeir8— seweww.tokenpublish6ing.com or visit

NEWS ISSN 0958-1391

October 2011 Volume 48 No. 10 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

Starting out 37 Roman female portrait coins Advice on picking a theme for the novice collector

41 ElInsight Cid and the coins of the early Spanish “reconquista” Centuries of civil war reflected in coins

Collector’s notebook 47 Crime & coins

Keeping your collection safe

49

Spotlight The current ten pence piece An analysis of the issues

52

In focus Spirit of change: Ireland & the Euro 2002–10 A new generation of coins

Marketing Director Philip Mussell, BA DipM MCIM MIDM Deputy Editor Janet Webber, BA Hons Art Editor Lisa Camm-Keyte Advertising Manager Celia Dunsford

57

Advertising Production Controller Klara Bodfish Book Publishing Coordinator Fiona Pyle Sales and Subscription Manager Alyson Thomas

69

Back to basics Primitive monies A look at alternative currency

73

Banknote feature Clydesdale Bank’s Famous Scots A long lasting and much collected series

Executive Assistant Janis Thatcher Production Assistant Abbey Becow Accounts Controller Jackie Taylor Editorial Consultant John Pearson Andrew 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

Update A guide to State Quarters Examining this popular programme

Papermoney 77 Manuscript-signed Mawson

$100 launched Down Under Second series of notes honouring the Antarctic explorer

Front cover: El Cid and the coins of the early Spanish “reconquista”—see page 41.

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 .................................................... 31 Coin of the Month ........................................... 60 Price Guide to HALFCROWNS .................... 63 Banknote News ................................................ 71 Price Guide to BRITISH LINEN BANK ............... 79 New Issues Banknote Update ..................... 81 Letters .................................................................. 84 COINEX feature ................................................. 86 Dealers Lists....................................................... 89 Diary Dates ........................................................ 90 Semi-display adverts ...................................... 94 The Web Page ................................................... 96 Classified advertising ..................................... 98

ADVERTISERS INDEX—SEE PAGE 95

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 . . .

Coin news

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Editor’s comment

A note of caution

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AST month’s comment regarding the recent burglary at the house of a member of the Token Team has encouraged a number of you to write into us with your own experiences of this situation. Many of these letters and emails were rather enlightening and I thought I would make a note of them here in the hope that some good may come of what has been a rather nasty business (although the police did catch the people who broke into our staff member’s house, they were caught red-handed at the scene of another house breaking and asked for his, and a number of others in the area “to be taken into consideration”—sadly the items stolen had long gone.). The most obvious thing that came out of all of your correspondence was the need to keep your collection a secret—this may seem obvious to most of us and we are unlikely to sit in a pub and boast about the latest Henry VI Noble we have acquired but equally it is very easy to be tempted to chat to your friends and colleagues about your hobby, the fact you visited a coin show at the weekend or found something particularly interesting with your metal detector etc. That’s all very well but who else is listening? Do you really want all and sundry knowing you collect coins? That’s one of the reasons we put carrier sheets over our magazines when they’re delivered to subscribers’ doors each month! A little discretion may save a lot of heartache. The next piece of advice that came across was “keep your collection hidden”—some of you may well have your coins on display in frames on your walls—nice for you to look at but very easy for others to spot and equally easy for a thief to cart off if he does break in. Of course, I’m not suggesting that everyone who comes into your house is a potential thief but equally you don’t know who those who come into your house to do some work, read the meter etc. may tell about what they’ve seen (in all innocence of course), or who they, in turn, will tell and so on. Again far better to be safe than sorry. There were also a number of letters and queries regarding the valuation of collection—just what extent do you need to go to to ensure you’re fully covered? We can’t give insurance advice but in our own experience it seems that most insurance companies are prepared to take a self-valuation when it comes to covering relatively low value specialist collections—the book price (using our own COIN YEARBOOK or similar) will allow you to get a good idea of what your coins are worth and, unless you have any single items that are particularly valuable (usually over £2,000 but insurance companies do vary), that may well be all you need. But please do not take our word for it, always check with your insurer as to exactly what they require. Just be sure to update that valuation at least once a year—more if you have a high percentage of gold coins in your collection—otherwise you may find it impossible to replace your coins as the prices are way beyond what you insured them for. For higher value collections then it may well be worth your while getting a professional appraisal from a coin dealer or auctioneer, they will usually charge for this service—you’re using up their time and expertise after all—but will give you a formal written valuation that you can present to an insurance company should the need arise. At least then you won’t have to worry too much about having to prove ownership or value and it will cut out a lot of the hassle at what is already a traumatic time. Actually the trauma of a burglary—and the consequent insurance claim was also the subject of a number of comments, calls and letters all saying the same thing—that the horrible experience of a burglary is never helped by having to fill in countless forms and proving to an insurance company that you did have what you say you did and that it was worth the amount you say. Many readers said that they felt that they were being treated like the criminal and that they felt aggrieved that an insurance company would take money quickly enough but make the insured jump through hoops when it came for them to pay out. Sadly the simple fact of the matter is there are millions of pounds worth of fraudulent claims every year and, were it not for the apparently suspicious nature of the insurers, our premiums would actually be far higher so no matter how difficult your insurer may seem to be being, remember there is a reason behind it. The good thing is the vast majority of those who have written in actually had their claims settled in full—so even if there was some hassle at first it all came good in the end. The moral of the story seems to be that if you have done all you can to prevent a burglary, if you have insured your collection properly and have done your best to prove you had what you say you had then you won’t actually encounter many problems. The trouble is, of course, many of us only think about all this when it’s too late and that has been the reason for my “Comment” in these past two months—to get you to think BEFORE it is too late. I hope I have succeeded and hope too that I can talk about happier JOHN W. MUSSELL things next month! Group Managing Editor

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News & views

Furness Viking coin hoard declared treasure HE Viking hoard of 92 silver coins discovered at an undisclosed site in Furness, Cumbria, earlier this year has been formally declared treasure. T The hoard, which also included ingots and a silver bracelet, was found by a

metal detectorist—a newcomer to detecting! The local museum, Barrow’s Dock Museum, hopes to acquire the hoard once it has been valued by an independent committee. On hearing of the hoard being declared treasure, the Museum’s Curator Sabine Skae said: “I am delighted with this. It’s not a surprise but it’s a really important stage in the Dock Museum trying to acquire the Viking hoard for Barrow. It’s an exceptional find. It’s particularly exceptional for Furness. It really places us in the Viking kingdom”. It is thought the hoard was put in the ground around AD 955; until now, there has been no absolute proof of Viking settlement in Furness despite local place names such as Barrow, Yarlside and Roa giving clues into the heritage of the region.

ACCG defeated in court

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Baldwins BEST ever HK sale

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IDDERS came out in force for the one day sale held by Baldwins at The Holiday Inn Golden Mile in Kowloon, in conjunction with the Hong Kong International Coin Convention. The auction achieved an amazing, $5,256,675 (including Buyer’s Premium), the highest total of any of Baldwin’s sales held in the Orient and a fitting result for their 51st auction. Over 1,000 lots offering a plethora of Asian rarities were on offer with some exceptional provenances and high grades reflected in the prices achieved. A Sun Yat-Sen pattern silver dollar, Year 18, made in Italy sold to an online bidder in China for US$49,560. The Chinese banknote section of the sale offering rare banknotes resulted in some high prices being achieved. Highlights included lot 9, a Qing Dynasty, Ta Ching Pao Chao, 100,000-Cash note which sold for US$35,400 (estimate of US$30,000–35,000). This note was printed in the first year of issue of the largest denomination of the series, which made it a significantly rare piece. The China-Empire coins contained a number of outstanding rarities in high grade. A Hu Poo Silver Pattern 1-Tael (illustrated) was the star of the sale selling for US$271,400 (estimate of US$140,000–180,000). This outstanding lot was one of a number of coins included in the sale that were sold previously through Baldwin’s as part of the Norman Jacobs Collection in 2008. For a full copy of the prices realised visit www.baldwin.co.uk/auction-hkca51.

EGULAR Coin News readers will be aware the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild (ACCG) has become increasingly concerned about bans imposed in the US on importation of ancient Cypriot and Chinese coins. There is concern that the ban will eventually extend to other ancients including Greek and Roman. For sometime the Guild has been trying to get the matter in court to test the validity of the prohibition. A year or so back the Guild purchased 23 ancient Cypriot and Chinese coins from a London dealer and imported them into the US. They alerted Customs and the coins were duly seized. ACCG then filed an action “to test the legality” of the import restrictions. They took a shotgun approach. They sued not only the US Customs but the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, the US Department of State, and the Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. They alleged violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000, and the First and Fifth Amendments to the US Constitution. ACCG also contended that the defendant acted ultra vires and sought relief in the form of a declaratory judgment, an injunction, and a writ of mandamus. For its part, the government placed a motion to dismiss before the court. In due course Catherine C. Blake, US District Judge, opted for just that. The Court concluded that the concerns raised by ACCG about how the Department of State imposed restrictions were beyond judicial review. Presently the ACCG is evaluating its options. This ruling has ramifications for museums as well as collectors. It is conceivable that both groups could be forced to give up items in their collections to overseas governments “on the premise the coins are the cultural patrimony of the claimant nation.” Full details can be obtained at www.accg.us. Dr K. A. Rodgers

BOUNTY MEDALS AT AUCTION

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HE medals awarded to Captain William Bligh of HMS Bounty fame came up for auction in Australia recently. On Thursday, July 28, the Small Naval Gold Medal awarded for his part in the Battle of Camperdown (1797) when he was Captain of HMS Director sold spot on the pre-sale estimate at A$200,000 at Noble’s Melbourne auction rooms. The Society of Arts Gold Medal (left) given for his achievement in successfully conveying bread fruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies in 1793 doubled the estimate when it sold for A$100,000. Both medals were named to Captain Bligh and engraved with his accomplishments.

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October 2011

News & views Golden glow

Autumn action A

SPECTACULAR week of sales gets under way from September 26–30 in Osnabrück as auction giants, Fritz Rudolf Künker take to the rostrum with their latest consignments. Over 8,000 lots promoted in half a dozen glossy, full-colour catalogues with an approximate total estimate of seven and half million euros will ensure there really is something for everyone in this week of auction activity. The week commences with Catalogue 193 offering ancient coins and medals while Catalogue 194 offers coins and medals from medieval to modern times from around the world. Catalogue 195 contains approximately 800 coins of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph which is followed by Catalogue 196 with part II of the Hagander collection of Sweden and its territories. Catalogue 197 has gold cions from medieval and modern times and sure to prove popular are the Russian coins and medals from Catalogue 198. Also included in this catalogue are over 600 lots of Chinese coins including the first Western style coin struck in the country, produced during the Rebellion of Zhang When in 1837 (illustrated). Estimated at €4,000 this rare dollar is one of the highlights of the Chinese coin series. For catalogue details contact Künker on 0049 541 962020 or email service@kuenker.de.

A

T the Heritage Auctions Signature US Coin and Platinum Night Auction of August 11-12, a unique 1855-S $3 PR64 Cameo NGC, CAC, Ex: Golden Gate Collection, a supreme rarity in the world of numismatics, was sold for $1,322,500 (including 15 per cent Buyer’s Premium). Overall the auction realised more than $31.345 million (not including Post Auction sales), as 5,154 bidders vied for 7,370 lots. For more information on this and future sales visit www. HA.com.

NY dealer attack Getting together I

T is with sadness that COIN NEWS reports the murder of New York coin dealer, Steve Halfon, 61. He had been ambushed by three men after locking up his shop, Liberty Coin Co, on August 23 at 5.30pm. As COIN NEWS goes to press it has been announced that Andrew Jackson, 26, has been arrested for Mr Halfon’s murder. Hopefully the other men involved will soon be apprehended. According to police, the area in which the murder occurred has a high incidence of murder and mugging. Information courtesy of CoinsWeekly.com

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DINBURGH was the chosen venue for the 60th General Assembly of The International Association of Professional Numismatists (IAPN). Held over the weekend of June 23-27, a total of 43 of the world’s leading numismatic firms met to attend the diamond jubilee congress. As many as 14 different nations were represented including Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Monaco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, USA and Venezuela as well as several others participating via proxy. The IAPN meets annually to conduct its congress and this year it was hosted by A. H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd. Much was discussed and voted upon including new members and the appointment of a new president, vice president and executive committee. Four firms were voted into the IAPN—Antikwariat Numizmatyczny (Poland), ICE, Jerome Lacriox (Ireland), Nomos AG (Switzerland) and HLS Stacks Rare Coins (USA). For a full list of members log onto www.iapn-coins.org or contact the Secretary Jean-Luc Van der Schueren, 14 rue de la Bourse, B-1000 BRUXELLES.

First bullion coin of the Arabic world

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HE government-owned Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has launched the prototype of the first Bullion coin of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE’s aim is to create its own bullion coin for Arab investors. Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of DMCC, said “This innovative gold bullion coin was conceived to satisfy the demands from investors seeking access to gold as protection against the ongoing global economic uncertainty. The gold bullion coin pays homage to our President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, his vision, guidance and leadership”.

Information courtesy of CoinsWeekly.com

CHRISTOPHER EIMER P.O. Box 352, London NW11 7RF Tel: 020 8458 9933 art@christophereimer.co.uk www.christophereimer.co.uk %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) October 2011

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News & views

ROYAL RESULT S

COIN Shop, the world’s only gold coin retail chain, has seen its fastest selling retail coin ever with the recent William and Catherine Royal engagement gold coin issue. With over 300 coins sold, Scoin Shop staff have been working flat out to meet demand. Shop founder, Alan Demby, commented “There is a marked upward trend in value in some commemorative and rare gold coins rather than generic bullion coins. This is due to their limited mintage and the event they commemorate”.The Royal couple are in good company as the most popular coin subject thus far has been the Nelson Mandela kilogram medallion. Scoin Shops third outlet opened on September 13 in Westfield Stratford City, London ensuring coin collecting keeps a foothold on the High Street.

Four sales in four days

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OT one but four sales from DNW cover the week in the run up to Coinex on September 30 and October 1. The first DNW sale off the block is British coins on September 26, followed by Ancient coins on the 27th, Coins of the World on 28th and finishing off with British and World Paper Money on the 29th. One of the highlights of the Ancients sale is this Pantikapaion Gold Stater, c. 370–355 BC, featuring the head of a bearded Pan on the obverse and a horned griffin on the reverse weighing in at 9.08g. This extremely rare coin is expected to realise between £300,000–400,000. And, despite deserving a wellearned rest after the marathon of four sales in four days, DNW are off again on October 5 when their 18th Century British Trade Tokens sale occurs. All the catalogues can be found on-line at www.dnw.co.uk or for more details telephone 020 7016 1700.

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Coin news

Nobium first for RCM

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HE first nobium coin to be issued by the Royal Canadian Mint has just rolled off the production line— and immediately sold out! The new bi-metallic coin has a sterling silver outer ring and core however, nobium has been inserted and then selectively oxidized to create a colour. The first issue, $5, depicts a young buck standing to the fore with the moon in the background. The Buck moon is the native Indian Algonquin name for the full moon of mid-summer. Further coins of the same bi-metallic make-up are planned to depict Algonquin Hunter’s moon, the Wolf moon and Pink moon. Each coin’s nobium core will have a different colour. The Hunter’s moon coin has also been released. To find out more about the new series log on to www. mint.ca.

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October 2011

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News & views

IN BRIEF ALLGOLD coins are pleased to announce they have launched a new site specialising in modern base metal and silver collectable coins and sets. You can also shop by theme so if, for example, animals or transport are your collecting interest, then search under those themes. Always up to the minute with their pricing and offers, simply go along to www.coinshopuk.co.uk to find out more. FOLLOWING Paul Dawson’s serious car accident, the Spink Numismatic Circular for September will not be published. The next issue will be the November–December edition. GRADING specialists, PCGS, have announced the launch of a website in Japanese, Korean and Mandarin to assist their Far East customers. The new site can be found at www.pcgsglobal.com. PGCS have also unveiled a new application, Mobile CoinFacts, which lets smartphone users access the entire PCGS database from their mobile devices. THE American Numismatic Association has sworn in Ken Hallenbeck as their President. Walter Ostromecki joins him as Vice President.

PARK Avenue Numismatics announce the launch of its new online Rare US Coin Encyclopedia. For example, click on a Liberty gold $5 and you can read extensive research on the series and continue to view a host of PCGS and NGC coins available for immediate acquisition. Visit www.parkavenumis.com for more details. STOP THIEF: Stolen from a house in Epsom, Surrey, on July 24, a collection of coins including 50 coins from the 11th century and half crowns and guineas from the 17th century. Any information to Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222. AT the Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG sales 61 and 62 a veritable feast of Roman coins will be on offer. Sale 61 sees the RBW Collection of Roman Republican Coins Part I while Sale 62 is the S. C. Markoff Collection of Roman Coins. The sales take place over October 5–6 in Zurich. For more information visit www.arsclassicacoins.com or telephone + 44 20 7839 7270. CONGRATULATIONS go to Roy Spilsbury of Barnsley, who won the Banknote binder and slipcase in our May competition. Well done Roy!

Banking bonus at bumper sale

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HE Bushman collection of Bank of England dollars and bank tokens will be on offer at the St James’s sale of September 27. With nearly 100 coins on offer in this section alone, a highlight of which is the George III Bank of England pattern 5 shillings and sixpence of 1811 (pictured). Graded by PGCS as PR66 extremely rare, only one other example of this type is known. Also at the same sale, is an offering of choice and rare English gold coins including two triple unites, and a collection of milled halfcrowns running from Cromwell to the present day and including some classic rarities such as the 1701 elephant and castle. For more details or to view the catalogue visit www. sixbid.com or www.the-saleroom.com.

Online literature N

UMISMATIC researchers and bibliophiles are invited to visit the new website by Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers LLC. The site contains an online, illustrated catalogue of rare and desirable numismatic works available for purchase. A sophisticated search facility will enable prospective purchasers to conduct searches for ellusive numismatic titles. Well over 400 titles are currently available on the site with Kolbe & Fanning intending to add to this list on a regular basis. The new site can be viewed at www.numislit.com

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International Association of Professional Numismatists IAPN 18

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News & views Variety and choice The age of Vermeer HERE is much to tempt in the next Davisson’s auction closing on October here will be an opportunity to see fine

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11, including some exceptional pieces such as early hammered gold, an early transitional Athenian owl of spectacular style and huge flan as well as important ancient Celtic, Greek and Roman pieces. A rare St Peter’s coinage example depicts the sword of St Peter and hammer of Thor. Other pieces include exceptional portraits of Harold II and Stephen; all three dates of Edward VI crowns; some exceptional Charles I Civil War issues, followed by exceptional crowns of the Commonwealth and a Cromwell crown early strike before the die break. Added to this is a rare George I Maundy set; a smattering of choice Scottish silver and high grade Irish gunmoney; some fascinating and exceptional mint state Spence tokens and rare and spectacular silver proof tokens from the late 18th century in England. Davisson’s pride themselves on searching out interesting, worthwhile and rare pieces to offer in their sales. There is no buyer’s fee and payment for lots can be accepted in pounds sterling. A full colour catalogue is free on request via email allan@britishcoins.com or write to PO Box 323, Cold Spring, MN 56320. USA.

examples of 17th century English and Dutch coins and medals illustrating the great historic figures and naval wars of the period 1750 to 1789 at a new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum. The exhibition, England and the Dutch Republic in the age of Vermeer: Coins and Medals from the 17th-century, explores the relationship between the two counties over this 30-year timescale, in peace and war, and how this was reflected in their numismatic issues. The exhibition is located in the Glaisher Gallery and runs from October 4, 2011 to April 1, 2012; admission is free. To find out more visit www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk or telephone 01223 332 900.

50 years of CCI celebrated

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one-day iron age conference at the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford is being held on December 10 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Celtic Coin Index (CCI). The CCI was first thought of in 1959 by the archaeologist Professor Sheppard Frere and numismatist Derek Allen to record Celtic coins held in museums. The theme of the conference is “Between archaeology and history: new research on Iron Age coinage” and has been organised by Dr John Sills, author of Gaulish and Early British Gold Coinage. Among the seven speakers is the Guernsey archaeologist Dr Philip de Jersey, former keeper of the CCI and author of Celtic Coinage in Britain who will talk about coin hoards in Iron Age Britain. Other topics from the seven speakers at the Conference will cover the continental background to ancient British gold coinage; money, coinage and networks in Celtic Europe and beyond; and the CCI in the 21st century and its role on the Internet. To book a place at the CCI conference (costing £55, plus £10.50 for full lunch) contact Day and Weekend Office, OUDCE, Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA; email: ppdayweek@conted.ox.ac.uk or telephone: 01865 270380/270368.

One of the finds recorded by the CCI, the Brighstone hoard found in 2005.

PAUL DAVIES – WE STILL NEED TO BUY – WORLD GOLD COINS MODERN BRITISH GOLD AND SILVER PROOF COINS WORLD GOLD AND SILVER PROOF SETS PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SELL

PAUL DAVIES

PO BOX 17, ILKLEY, WEST YORKSHIRE LS29 8TZ, ENGLAND PHONE: 01943 603116 OUR FAX NUMBER IS: 01943 816326

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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. Charles I Tower Mint under king silver Crown, class 1a, mm lis, 1625. Reverse, this side with what appears to be two partial counter stamps of Ferdinand VII of the Philippines 1832–34. Perhaps used as a test piece? Large full 42mm flan. Weight: 28.2 grams.—£201.90. This very unusual item received two bids in the last seven seconds with the underbidder coming into second place by just £1.34, without these two bids it would have sold for £54.70 less. Last second bidding, “sniping”, makes eBay very interesting for sellers who watch their auctions as they end. Genuine medieval extant specimen, England Late Anglo-Saxon coinage. King Cnut 1024–30 (ND), mint state hammered silver Penny, NGC MS61. Attribution: Spink 1158. I originally purchased this superb coin from Northeast Numismatics who described this magnificent Mint State specimen as follows, “Spink 1158, Deoford. Thetford Mint, Helmet type; Pinean-on-Dead. Lustrous and Sharp”. This extant Mint State specimen represents a highly-collectable numismatic trophy for the speciality collector of Medieval hammered coinage. —£350. This coin was surprisingly bright for being so old but this did not deter eight bidders from placing 28 bids. It had been graded by a US grading company as “MS61” which is at the lower end of their uncirculated grade, what it would be graded at in the UK is difficult to say.

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Coin News

A British sterling silver Half Crown coin, dating from the reign of King George IV, and minted in 1825. Our opinion of the quality of this coin is “Good/Very Good”. There is some wear to the very highest points, and one very small dint to the milled edge. —£47.65. Unusually for eBay, the seller did not make exaggerated claims about the condition of this coin. It was around fine condition but it may have been cleaned. As Coin Yearbook 2011 (CYB) values an example in fine at £24 this was a great result for the seller with just three bidders placing an impressive 11 bids. George I? Copper 2 Penny engraved love token 1787 27mm. Reverse William Mollart 1787; obverse woman seated.—£87. This was a very unusual and attractive love token which attracted 12 bids from nine bidders. It was of nice style and it must have been greatly treasured by the original recipient. An English treasury 10/- note signed by John Bradbury. (t13), it has a few pinholes and a couple of light creases, crisp good Very Fine, Near Ex/Fine. Light marks as pic shows. A very collectable scarce note. I am selling up my collection of rare notes, don’t miss, see other notes for sale.—£95. When this note, Z/47 027672, was bought off eBay two months previously it was described as, “It has got four light vertical folds and a

light horizontal fold and a few slight creases. There are some ultra thin pin holes, but they are hardly noticeable and can only be seen using a magnifying glass. It has been lightly flattened due to being kept in a picture frame for many years.” Normally this seller makes a profit after he has ruined a note by cleaning and pressing it but this time he made a loss of £8, unfortunately I doubt that this will deter him from continuing this practice of many years. Penny Token 1813 Jersey Guernsey & Alderney rare.—£185. The unusually high start at £75 did not deter four bidders from placing six bids with the under bidder waiting until literally the last second to bid. Galata’s excellent publication The Token Book, ref. 2044, values an example in Fine condition at £125, as the reverse of this token was below Fine this was a great result for the seller. An opportunity to acquire a superb example of the extremely rare 1869 Queen Victoria bronze “bun head” Halfpenny in fabulous unc condition with considerable mint lustre. Listed in Spink as S3956 and Freeman as F306 (obverse 7, reverse G).—£1,088. As expected the 99p start attracted a lot of interest with five bidders placing an impressive 22 bids. As CYB values an example in uncirculated at £800 this would appear to have been a spectacular result for the seller.

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Around the world

AUSTRALIA’S

MILLION DOLLAR TEN SHILLING NOTES DR KERRY RODGERS

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N July Sydney banknote dealer John Pettit announced he had sold two first issue, 1913, Australian ten shilling notes for A$1.475 million (COIN NEWS, September, 2011). The notes carried serial numbers M000004 and M000005. Not only were they just the fourth and fifth notes ever printed by the Commonwealth of Australia, but they were also among the very first ten shilling notes issued anywhere in the British Empire, preceding Britain’s Bradbury’s by 15 months. The notes had changed hands six years earlier when M000005 fetched the then highest-ever price paid for an Australian ten shillings note at auction of $A297,075. Note M000004 sold at the same Noble Numismatics’ sale for A$285,425. There is clearly money in old Aussie notes. Background The colonies of Australia federated into a single nation in January 1901. In 1910 the Commonwealth Government moved to take over the power of issue from the country’s trading banks. The Prime Minister of the day, Andrew Fisher, was keen to see a new uniform issue of Australian-made Treasury notes in circulation as soon as possible. A printing works was set up in King’s Warehouse in Melbourne a building constructed in the 1890s that had latterly served as a storage area for Customs. Thomas Harrison, formerly of Waterlow & Sons was appointed as manager. Designs for the new issue were selected by Andrew Fisher, George Allen, the Treasurer, and security printer Bradbury, Wilkinson. The new ten shillings notes were to be blue with an ornate design on the front that featured the Australian Coat-of-Arms. On the back was a picture of Goulburn Weir. Printing of the first new ten shillings had been completed by April 1913. Numbering the notes was a separate operation and a ceremony to number the very first distinctive Commonwealth note was scheduled for 3.00pm on May 1 at King’s Warehouse.

Doing it by numbers The honour of numbering this first note was given to the Honourable Judith Denman, daughter of Lord Denman, Governor-General of Australia. Also in attendance were the G-G, his son, Andrew Fisher the Prime Minister, sundry Cabinet Ministers, the Governor of the Commonwealth Bank, and assorted bank managers. After the printing process had been demonstrated, a bundle of notes was placed in the numbering machine and Miss Denman pulled the lever, impressing M000001 on the first note. She was then presented with this note by the PM. Lord Denman numbered M000002 and his son M000003. Both received these notes from the PM. Everyone present wanted to have a go and while the PM agreed, he made it clear there would be no more freebies. Sir Rider Haggard numbered M000004 which was later presented to the PM along with M000005 in recognition of his perseverance in bringing these first Commonwealth notes into being. These were the pair John Pettit just sold for A$1.475 million. Half a paper sovereign From the beginning the new ten shilling notes were controversial. Doubts had been expressed about the wisdom of introducing such a low denomination paper note in Australia. The locals were not accustomed to a piece of paper valued at half a sovereign. Eventually, the words “HALF SOVEREIGN” were overprinted around the borders of the note in red to emphasize that the note was indeed equivalent to a currently circulating gold coin. Even so the Aussies took quite a while to adjust. By the end of that first month just 17,718 had been issued. The number rose slowly through the remainder of the year but for many months hundreds of thousands of printed and numbered notes languished in the Treasury vaults—more or less like millions of Sacagawea and Presidential dollars do in warehouses throughout Washington today. World War I was to prove the note’s saviour. Less than 50,000 had been issued by the time war broke out but by the end of 1914 over half a million were in circulation. With the country going off the gold standard in 1915, the Australian public accepted them pragmatically, if not cheerfully. In the background Judith Denman numbers Australia’s first ever Commonwealth banknote on 1 May 1913. In the foreground John Pettit holds the same note in March 2008 having just paid A$1.909 million for it. Image courtesy John Mulhall, Australasian Coin & Banknote Magazine.

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Coin OIN N nEWS ews

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Around the world Face and back of Prime Minister Andrew Fisher’s Commonwealth of Australia’s 1913 ten shillings M000005 (P#1A). Image courtesy Noble Numismatics.

M000001 And in 2008 John Pettit paid A$1.909 million for Judith Denman’s note M000001. The whereabouts of this piece had been unknown until it turned up in a letter file in England in 1999. It was then bought by a collector and returned to Australia the following year. In March 2006 it was offered by Noble Numismatics but failed to reach its reserve. In 2008 it was put back up on the block, this time by Paul Hannaford’s International Auction Galleries. At this sale three

bidders fought it out until the price went past A$1.6 million when one dropped out. The two remaining contenders continued the battle until the hammer fell at A$1.66 million. With 15 per cent Buyer’s Premium added the final price was a red hot A$1.909 million. At the time John commented, “To me this is not expensive for what it is. It’s always going to be relevant to our history. It’s a note that all collectors know because of the photograph of the Governor-General’s daughter holding it up when it was being printed.�

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Please visit us at Coinex 2011 /DQGPDUN +RXVH +DQRYHU 6TXDUH 0D\IDLU /RQGRQ : 6 +8 October 2011

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Latest issues AUSTRALIA

Theme: World Heritage Series—Purnululu National Park Mint: Perth Mint Metal: Aluminium bronze Denomination: $1 Diameter: 30.6mm Mintage: Unlimited Contact: Perth Mint, www.perthmint.com.au

ISRAEL

Theme: Jerusalem of Gold Series—the Western Wall Mint: Israel Mint Metal: Gold Denomination: Nis 10 Diameter: 32mm Mintage: Israel Coins and Medals Corp., www.israelmint.com

LATVIA

Theme: Riga Cathedral Mint: Bank of Latvia Metal: Silver Denomination: 1 Lats Diameter: 35mm Mintage: 5,000 Contact: Bank of Latvia, www.bank.lv, or your favourite new issues dealer.

NIUE

Theme: Benjamin the last Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) Mint: Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux (PAMP) Metal: Gold plated ($1), silver ($5) Denomination: $1, $5 Diameter: 40mm (both coins) Mintage: 10,000 ($1), 3,000 ($5) Contact: Downies, PO Box 888, Abbotsford, Victoria, Australia, www.downies.com

SLOVAKIA

Theme: 100th anniversary of the birth of Jan Cikker (Slovak Composer) 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.

TUVALU

Theme: Ships that changed the World—the Golden Hind Mint: Perth Mint Metal: Silver Denomination: $1 Diameter: 40.6mm Mintage: 5,000 Contact: Perth Mint, www.perthmint.com.au

To have your new coin issues featured on this page, please email the details to abbey@tokenpublishing.com

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October 2011

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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.

Canadian silver dollar of 1911 O

NE of the great rarities of the Canadian coinage is the one dollar of 1911. The master tools were made by the Royal Mint and, prior to their being shipped across to Canada, a trial striking was carried out. A little like the 1933 penny, no record was made of exactly how many were produced but two are definitely known and the coins have over the years generated an extensive literature. The specimen in the Bank of Canada’s National Currency Collection, on long-term loan from the Royal Mint Museum since the mid 1970s, was loaned as a gesture of good will. What has been less clear, until now, is the provenance of the other specimen of the coin in private hands. As was reported in a recent issue of COIN NEWS,, within the last 18 months a copy of William Hocking’s catalogue of the Museum collection, annotated by Hocking himself, was acquired for the Museum and it reveals that before 1914 two specimens of the 1911 dollar came into the Museum. One is now in the Bank of Canada and the route by which the other specimen seems to have eventually found its way onto the market would appear to be by having been de-accessioned direct from the Royal Mint Museum. Precisely when and why this was done remains unclear but any thought of the involvement of the Deputy Master William Ellison-Macartney, who left the Royal Mint in February 1913, as has been mentioned, is extremely unlikely.

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.

Fit for a Queen A

NEW commemorative UK £5 to celebrate the 2012 Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen has been announced by the Royal Mint with a brand new effigy of Her Majesty exclusively designed for the new crown. The portrait is inspired by a sculpture by Ian Rank-Broadley, mounted in the entrance to the Supreme Court building on Parliament Square in London. The £5 crown will be UK legal tender and will be struck in platinum, gold, gold-plated silver, silver and cupro-nickel. The reverse, an adaptation of the effigy first used on UK coins in 1953, will be used with an olive branch and ribbon below, the date “2012” to the left and the Latin inscription “DIRIGE DEVS GRESSVS MEOS” to the right. The platinum, gold and silver coins will have a plain edge and in incuse letters the inscription “A VOW MADE GOOD”, while the gold-plated silver and cupro-nickel coins will have a milled edge. The final design will be revealed on the Royal Mint website in October 2011 before the coins go on sale. To be among the first to see the design you can register your interest at www.royalmint.com.

All at sea A

THREE-metre replica of the current Mary Rose £2 coin was floated on the exact spot in the Solent where the Tudor flagship sank in 1545 and was subsequently raised in 1982. Marking the 500th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Mary Rose (1511), the giant coin has been hailed as the world’s first floating commemoration. The flotation was overseen by Alexzandra Hildred, a member of the original diving and excavation team at the Mary Rose Trust, with the assistance of the Royal Navy Fleet Diving Squadron. The Mary Rose £2 coin will find its way into our change this year. In addition, 1,511 commemorative precious metal versions of the coin have been struck in 22 carat gold. John Lippiett, Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust said “We are delighted to continue our relationship with the Royal Mint following production of the Mary Rose £2 coin. We have much work to do to secure the future of the ship and we are grateful to everyone who supports our fundraising drive to help us build the new Mary Rose Museum here in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Building work is underway and we plan to open it before the end of 2012. Our hope is that people will send a Mary Rose £2 coin back to us here in Portsmouth to help us achieve our target.” Visit www.royalmint.com for more information on the Mary Rose coin and www.maryrose.org for further information about the project.

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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Market scene

Last of

THE SUMMER SALES by

JOHN ANDREW

F

OR this reporting period, we are in a bit of a no-man’s-land: it is the tail end of the 2010–11 season and the lead-up to the 2011–12 one. There was nothing of particular note on offer—rest assured, it will be a different matter with the Coinex sales. Whereas the top end of the market is booming, this is not the case for the run-of-the-mill coins. At this level, coins are still affordable. As I work on preparing these reports, I am becoming increasingly frustrated at playing “Hunt the Premium”. Years ago, this was not a problem as the slice the auction house adds to the buyer’s bill was pretty standard. This is not the same today with the range being from 15–20 per cent. While some houses are quite open about this charge, others hide it away in the small print at the back of the catalogues. We know we have to pay it, so, why not put it clearly where we can immediately see it? Or, does the level of the Buyer’s Premium embarrass the auction houses?

Baldwin’s—Islamic Coins—July 26, 2011 This was a joint auction between Baldwin’s and Arabian Coins and Medals of the United Arab Emirates. It was held in London. Top price here was in the Umayyad section for a silver dirham. It was struck in 83h during the reign of ‘Abd al Malik at Abarqubadh in what is now Iraq

between Wãsit and al-Basra near the border with Khuzistãn. Apart from a small edge clip, the piece is in very fine state. It is an extremely rare coin, but was only estimated at £4000–5000. It was contested to £18,880.

This rare Umayyad silver dirham realised £18,880.

Bonhams—General Sale—July 27, 2011 This event started with just over 100 lots of military medals. A small scripophily section followed. The highlight here was two Chinese Central Government 1913 “Austrian” Loan 1 bonds for £50. This is a scarce bond, which should have been repaid. Both have minor edge damage, which does not effect the print, but the top half of one is showing discolouration to the paper. With consecutive serial numbers (3588/9), they were offered as separate lots. They realised £1,880 each, despite the differential in condition. The highlight of the banknote section was a provincial English five-pounds issued by Leeds Bank Wm Wms Brown & Co on July 15, 1891. Apart from a few stamps on the reverse this is a good very fine example of this attractive and rare note, There is a central vignette of what I believe is Leeds town hall and a coat of arms to the left. The word FIVE is emblazoned on a central band in red—no fear here of the note being mistaken for a lower denomination! The note was contested to £1,880, over 2.5 times its top estimate, illustrating the buoyancy for English provincial notes. Top flyer in the small section of Roman coins October 2011

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was for a billon antoninianus of Laelin issued in 269. Apart from some surface porosity this rare piece is otherwise in very fine state and has the advantage of being struck on a full flan. The

A Provincial English fivepounds issued by Leeds Bank Wm Wms Brown & Co achieved £1,880.

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Market scene

This Charles I silver 30-shillings realised £682.

A Kempson’s 1797 “Penny of Scotland” token realised £470.

coin sold above its top estimate at £823. This eclipsed the top price in this section for a gold solidus. Several were offered, with the top price being secured for an example of Valentinian (375–92). Issued at Trier, it is in about extremely fine state and sold for £705. The least expensive was another Valentinian example, this time issued at Antioch. Apart from a few scratches in the fields on both sides, the piece is otherwise in very fine condition. It realised £364. The British section began with a small offering of Celtic gold. Top price here was for a 1st century AD “wild type” gold stater of Cunobelin ruler of the Catuvellauni. In very fine or better state, it appears to be a new unpublished die variety. It sold marginally above its lower estimate at £799. There was very little hammered English silver. Indeed, the highlight here was the scruffiest looking “thing” that I have ever seen at auction. Apart from being creased, there being a die crack at 1 o’clock as well as in the centre, the example was otherwise in poor condition. The numismatic definition of “poor” is “A very worn coin that unless extremely rare, is of no value as a collector’s piece.” Now, the piece in question is a 1660 Commonwealth sixpence with the anchor mintmark. North lists the coin as very rare and the Standard Catalogue lists a fine example at £625. Bonhams cataloguer estimated the piece at £200– 300, which in my view was punchy. How wrong, I was. The coin sold within these guidelines at £306. Not a bad price for a poor piece in every sense of the word. There was nothing special in the Early English milled section. Probably best of the bunch was a 1746 George II halfcrown. Apart from some flecking, it is in nearly extremely fine condition. It sold below estimate at £364 against a Standard Catalogue price of £150 in VF and £600 in EF. What looked like a reasonable 1739 two-guineas was offered. It had some flecking, but it is lustrous around the legend. It is otherwise in very fine

state. However, there was the damning phrase, “possibly mounted at some stage”. Estimated at £600–900 it nevertheless commanded £799. The mid-market is certainly not as robust as the top end. The gold price saw an interest in “bullion”-type gold. Top price here was for an 1887 currency “long set” from the gold £5 to the silver threepence, all housed in a contemporary red case. The coins are in very fine state and the set sold for £2,350. While the English material was run-of-themill, the small Scottish and Irish section was better. A Charles I silver 30-shillings was offered in good very fine condition. A pleasing coin, it commanded £682, 45 per cent above its top estimate. A Charles I third coinage (1637–42) 12-shillings was offered with a good portrait. Apart from a few adjustment marks to the reverse, this piece is otherwise very fine. The lot sold marginally above its top estimate at £306. Top price in the world section was for an impressive set of Austrian restrike 4-ducats of 1915. Mounted as a belt (10 coins) and as a bracelet (3 coins), the coins themselves were in extremely fine condition. The lot sold for £5,640. The prices for gold was strong—as one would expect with the price of bullion. A 1731 Brazilian 12,800-reis of Joao VI struck at Minas Gerais was offered in very fine condition, but, having been struck from a rusty die. Nevertheless, it sold for £2,644. A Swiss Confederation 100-france of 1925 combined rarity and gold. Only 5,000 pieces were minted. Apart from some contact marks and light edge bruises, the piece is in about uncirculated state and has proof-like surfaces. It commanded £4,465. John Millensted, head of Coins at Bonhams, drew my attention to three coins from German New Guinea. “A young couple brought them to a Valuation Day in the south east of England. Their children were playing with some Churchill crowns and these 5- and 2- and 1-mark pieces. After a little research they proved worthy of consigning to the sale.” The 1894 5-marks features a bird of paradise upon its reverse. Apart from some slight wear to the highpoints on the bird, it is otherwise generally very fine. Only 19,000 were struck. It sold for £764. The 1894 2- and 1-mark were sold as a single lot. It realised £388. “It just goes to show that interesting material is still out there unnoticed”, John said with a smile. Top of the tokens was a Kempson 1797

This G. W. de Saulles gold Edward VII Coronation Medal of 1902 achieved £3,760.

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Market scene “Penny of Scotland” featuring Adam Smith upon its obverse. The reverse bears a scene of a manufacturing workshop from Smith’s Wealth of Nations, his book on economics, The token, which is bronzed, is in extremely fine condition. It was contested to £470. Needless to say, in the historical and commemorative medals section, it was the hefty gold medals that carried the big price tag. Top of the pile was G. W. de Saulles gold Edward VII Coronation medal of 1902. In its original

red leather case of issue, the piece is generally in extremely fine state. More importantly its weight is 92.9 grams. It realised £3,760. Two 22 carat gold medals commemorating General Dwight D. Eisenhower were offered. Issued by Slade, Hampton and Son, the medals, which are in their original cases are in good extremely fine condition. However, more importantly, the combined weight of the pieces is 132.5 grams. They sold for £3,525. The sale totalled £334,424.

Warwick & Warwick—General Sale—August 17, 2011 This sale covered coins, medals and banknotes. A good performer in the banknote section was a 1915 Bradbury £1 with the Dardanelles Campaign overprint. This all sounded a little déjà vu. Then I remembered, Warwick & Warwick had secured £3,105 for a nearly extremely fine specimen at its June sale. The example at this sale is only in fair state. Nevertheless, it was contested to £604. There was certainly interest in a William and Mary 1690 guinea graded as good fine. Estimated at £750, the piece sold for £1,380. This compares with a Coin Yearbook price of £550 in F and £2,000 in VF. The vendor should be pleased. There was an even bigger fight over an 1859 “Ansell”

graded as very fine. Estimated at £1,200, it realised £2,415 against a Coin Yearbook price of £1,200 in VF. Its consignor should have a very broad smile. Notable among the modern British issues was a 1932 crown graded as nearly extremely fine. Warwick & Warwick was expecting £250 for this. However, it was contested to £575, which is just £100 below the listing for an EF specimen in the Coin Yearbook. The sale totalled £293,367.

IMPORTANT NOTE

All of the above prices are inclusive of the Buyer’s Premium. In other words, they are the hammer price plus the Premium. At Baldwin’s this is 18 per cent, at Bonhams 17.5 per cent and at Warwick & Warwick 15 per cent.

October 2011

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At the Warwick & Warwick sale this William & Mary guinea achieved £1,380.

An 1859 “Ansell” sovereign realised £2,415.

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October 2011

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*OLX\LZ [V 9 0UNYHT /VUL`Z\JRSL 9VHK )HZZL[[ :V\[OHTW[VU :6 )< -VY KL[HPSZ VM V[OLY H]HPSHISL WH`TLU[ TL[OVKZ [LSLWOVUL \Z VU H]HPSHISL HT WT KH`Z ;LYTZ! KH`Z HWWYV]HS 7VZ[HNL MYLL V]LY ‰ V ^ ‰ VYKPUHY` ‰ YLJVYKLK ‰ ZWLJPHS KLSP]LY` Coin News 35 October 2011 www.tokenpublishing.com 3H`H^H` MHJPSP[PLZ H]HPSHISL

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Starting out A marble bust of Vibia Sabina in the Museo del Prado, Madrid.

TANJA MAIJALA

Starting a collection of

Roman Female Portrait Coins O

NE way in which a newcomer to Roman Imperial coin collecting can cut the mighty empire with its plethora of rulers, coin types and provinces down to manageable size is to choose a narrow collecting theme and stick to it. Many beginners who have gone before have adopted the same approach. Nevertheless it is still possible to find a theme which offers a sufficient number of coins at reasonable prices to make pursuing the objective both attractive and challenging. Take women, for example. Their portraits seem quite scarce as one turns the first and early second century catalogue pages; until we arrive at Hadrian’s reign and encounter the image of his wife, Sabina, whose first coins began to circulate in AD 128. From that year until AD 235 the portraits of a dozen females found their way onto the coinage of the empire. As a group they make a most interesting theme.

Vibia Sabina, raised from infancy in the household of her great uncle, Trajan, following the death of her father, was groomed by the emperor’s wife, Plotina, and by her own mother, as a suitable wife for her distant cousin, the emperor’s ward, Hadrian. They married in AD 100 when Sabina would have been about 13. Hadrian succeeded as emperor in AD 107 and Sabina dutifully took her place alongside him as empress. Alas, the marriage was not a happy one and it remained childless, thanks largely to Hadrian’s preference for a man in his bed. The couple were also ill-matched in character; Hadrian’s cool aloofness at odds with Sabina’s at times fiery temperament. Despite those difficulties, Sabina took her duties as empress very much to heart. She accompanied the emperor during parts of his great tour around the empire, for which Hadrian rewarded her with the title Augusta (majestic); and she remained a powerful and important member of the imperial family until her death in AD 137–8. She was subsequently deified by Hadrian. During this reign it became fashionable for high-born ladies to display ornate and complex hairstyles, though to judge from her silver coins Sabina usually wore hers in a neat plait,

Denarius showing Sabina’s customary plait, or queue, hanging behind and falling below her neck.

On this scarcer denarius Sabina wears her hair in a plaited coil on the crown of her head.

One of the many DIVA FAVSTINA denarii issued after the death of Faustina I.

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or queue, hanging down her back. But on one rather scarce denarius she is depicted with her plait coiled on the crown of her head. You should have little difficulty in finding an inexpensive denarius showing her straight plait, but a coin with the more elaborate hairstyle will cost rather more. The marriage of Annia Galeria Faustina and Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus was an altogether happier relationship than that of Sabina and Hadrian. Known to us as Faustina I (or Senior), she married the man we now refer to as Antoninus Pius in a private ceremony around the year AD 110. They had four children, though three died young and before Antoninus became emperor. The fourth child, a daughter, later became Faustina II (or Junior) and married the future emperor, Marcus Aurelius. As an empress Faustina I earned respect for her wisdom and her charitable works. When she died in AD 140 Antoninus mourned her deeply. He had her deified; and he founded a charity for orphans which he named Puellae Faustinianae (Girls of Faustina). He also authorized the striking of various coins in her honour bearing the legend, Diva Faustina (goddess

Faustina II, wife of Marcus Aurelius.

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Starting out

Lucilla and Crispina were both banished and executed.

Plautilla brought Caracalla a huge dowry, but little affection.

Aquilia Severa, former Vestal Virgin.

Julia Domna, a power behind the throne; wife to one emperor and mother of two more.

Julia Paula—briefly famous.

Julia Soaemias, killed by the Praetorian Guard.

“ . . . Their 30-year union proved extremely happy; in fact Faustina bore Marcus 13 children . . . ” Faustina). You should find it easy to add an example to your collection. Annia Galeria Faustina Minor, or Faustina II, daughter of Antoninus Pius, had entered into an arranged marriage with Marcus Aurelius, the adopted son of Hadrian, in AD 145. When her husband succeeded as co-ruler with Lucius Verus she was given the title Augusta and became empress in AD 161. Their 30-year union proved extremely happy; in fact Faustina bore Marcus 13 children. But motherhood did not prevent her from accompanying her husband on some of his military campaigns. She was revered by the legions and proud to receive the title Mater Castrorum (Mother of the Camp). Detractors in Rome sought to damage her reputation by spreading rumours of adultery and of involvement in poisonings and other crimes. But Marcus Aurelius trusted her implicitly and stoutly defended her. He was overcome with grief when she died in the winter of AD 175 on one of his military campaigns in Cappadocia. Lucilla was one of Faustina II’s 13 children and married to Lucius Verus, who became joint emperor with Marcus Aurelius in AD 161. She outlived her husband, but later became involved in intrigues against the emperor Commodus which resulted in her banishment and later execution. The next empress, Crispina, wife to Commodus, suffered a similar fate. These women’s lovely coin portraits betray not a hint of the blemishes history has recorded against them. It was said of Julia Domna, who lived from AD 170–217, that she wielded enormous power behind the throne of the

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Roman Empire. She was certainly well placed to play the part, being husband to one emperor (Septimus Severus) and mother to two more (Geta and Caracalla). Like Faustina II, Julia Domna enjoyed accompanying her husband on military campaigns. She came to Britain with Severus in AD 208 and was by his side when he died in Eboracum (York) the following year. Her sons were supposed to rule jointly according to their father’s wishes; but they frequently quarrelled. Within a year Geta was dead, murdered by Caracalla’s soldiers. Julia later joined Caracalla in his campaign against the Parthians in AD 217; and when her son was assassinated during this war his grieving mother committed suicide. Many of her denarii are plentiful and well within a beginner’s budget. An arranged marriage saw Plautilla become the bride of Caracalla in AD 202. She brought him a huge dowry, but he disliked her almost at once and in AD 205, when her father suffered execution for treachery against Severus, Caracalla had Plautilla banished. After languishing in prison for several years she was strangled by one of his soldiers in AD 211. The next regal female on our list, Julia Paula, was also the subject of an arranged marriage, this to the emperor Elagabalus in AD 219. But in AD 220 he divorced her and married one of Rome’s Vestal Virgins. Julia Paula faded to obscurity. Nevertheless her coins, like those of Plautilla, display interesting portraits and hairstyles. The Vestal Virgin in question was Aquilia Severa. By traditional the punishment for breaking the Vestal vow and leaving the temple was burial alive; but Elagabalus claimed www.tokenpublishing.com

October 2011

Starting out

Julia Maesa,

her.

yal grandmot

a wise and lo

he had married her for religious reasons, while Severa claimed she had been taken by force. Nevertheless public outrage forced Elagabalus to divorce her. He briefly married a noblewoman named Faustina, great-grand-daughter of Marcus Aurelius; but within a few months he declared the original divorce invalid and lived openly with Severa. She remained with him until his assassination in AD 222. Julia Soaemias, cousin to Caracalla, plotted the downfall of the usurper Micrinus, who had ordered Caracalla’s assassination in AD 217. Julia claimed that her child, Varius Avitus Bassianus, then aged 13, was Caracalla’s illegitimate son. Legions loyal to Julia’s family proclaimed the boy as emperor. (It was then that he adopted the name Elagabalus after his family’s patron deity.) His mother became the de facto ruler of the Roman Empire, while the teenaged emperor devoted himself to

religious practices. But discontent over religious and sexual scandals cost them popular support; both the emperor and his mother were killed by the Praetorian Guard in AD 222. Their bodies were thrown into the river Tiber as a mark of contempt. Julia Maesa, mother of Julia Soaemias, assisted her daughter in promoting Elagabalus and was rewarded by him with the title Augusta avia Augusti (Augusta, grandmother of Augustus). She persuaded the emperor to adopt her other grandson, Bassianus and to make him Caesar. When Elagabalus agreed the grandson changed his name to Severus Alexander. He was to reign as emperor from AD 222–235; but his grandmother died in AD 223, her wise counsel and loyal support sadly missed. I hope this brief encounter with some of the Roman Empire’s leading women during the second and third centuries has whetted your appetite not only for collecting their denarii, but also for learning more about their eventful lives. Once you have a coin portrait of each you can expand your collecting interests into the third and fourth centuries where equally colourful females await. Tanja Maijala has been an enthusiastic collector since she saw her first exhibition of Viking coins and artefacts as a young girl back home in Finland. She is presently employed by the TimeLine Group at Upminster as their Client Services Administrator and Researcher on Northern European coins and artefacts. (* Thanks to TimeLine Auctions for assistance with illustrations used in this article. )

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Insight MARVIN TAMEANKO

S

EL CID, AND THE COINS OF THE EARLY SPANISH “RECONQUISTA”

CHOLARS often use coins to help explain a complex and obscure period of history. This may be illustrated by the coinage struck during the early Christian re conquest of Spain from the Muslims, a seminal event in the history of the western world. Historians complain that this protracted conflict, launched in the 11th and completed in the 15th century, was a very complicated affair and that many of the events became shrouded in legend. The internecine wars in both Muslims and Christian kingdoms, the treachery of shifting alliances, and the assassinations of several rulers, all contributed to a very confusing history. Because of this, modern scholars simply define the “Reconquista” as a long, drawn out civil war between Spaniards of two different religious faiths, the Christians, who rose to power in Spain in the 6th century AD, and the Muslims who arrived in AD 711. Heightening the complexity of this story, the royal names of Sancho, Ferdinand and Alfonso were reused, often at the same time, by several Christian kingdoms in the peninsula. To clarify this complex history, we may examine the life of the Spanish national hero, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, also known as El Cid, “The Lord”, 1040–99, and the coinage stuck by his contemporaries, both friends and enemies. Rodrigo was a Castilian of the minor nobility, heavily involved in the wars between the Christian and Muslim kingdoms in Spain. His sobriquet, El Cid, was made up of the Spanish article “el”, meaning “the” and the Arabic word “sidi” or “sayyid”, meaning “Lord” or “Master”. This title was conferred on Rodrigo by both Christians and Muslims in honour of his military successes. Also, history recorded that El Cid was a competent and innovative leader but also an ambitious nobleman who, because of his military successes, became the “alferez”, the chief general of the king of Leon and Castile, Alphonso VI, 1072–1109.

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A stylised portrait of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, “El Cid”, from Retratos de Espanioles Ilustres, 1791. A Public Domain photo from Wikimedia Commons.

To set the background for the Reconquista we must turn to the history of early Iberia after the decline of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. In 410 the nomadic Visigoths (Western October 2011

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Goths) devastated the Roman Empire and sacked Rome but were soon forced out of Italy and settled in the Roman provinces of Gaul and Hispania. The Vandals had previously settled in the Iberian peninsula but in 429 these barbarian horsemen reinvented themselves, became sailors and left Spain for North Africa where they established a new kingdom. The newly arrived Visigoths were left to share the region with the Romans already living there and they founded their own monarchy, called the Kingdom of Toulouse, within the Roman province of Gaul. In 507, this kingdom was invaded by the Franks from the north and the Visigoths retreated to their Iberian realm. The Visigoths ruled over an Arrian Christian kingdom in Spain for two centuries but in 710, their king, Witiza, was assassinated and Roderic, the duke of Baetica in southeastern Spain, usurped the throne. Witzia’s son escaped to North Africa and joined with Julian, the governor of the Christian city of Ceuta, and invited the local Moors, led by Tariq ibn Ziyad, to help regain the throne in Spain. The Moors were a military, Muslim nation formed of local Berber tribesmen who had intermarried with the invading Arabs. In 711 the Moors, accompanied by the Christian soldiers of Julian, crossed over from North Africa to Gibraltar and attacked the Visigoth kingdom. This invasion, to aid Witizia’s son against Roderic, quickly became the excuse for the Moors to take possession of Spain for themselves. The conquerors called their new Spanish territory Al-Andalus and this title developed into the later name for all of southern Spain, “Andalusia”. By 719 the Moors drove most of the Visigoths into the northwestern mountainous region of Spain and Portugal but many native, Spanish Christians and Jews, who had been persecuted by the Arrian Visigoths, remained behind and served their new, more tolerant Muslim masters. This mixed population later created the special culture that developed and strongly influenced the character of medieval Spain. After 719, the displaced Visigoths created a new Christian territory, named the Kingdom of the Asturias, in the northwest corner of Spain and Portugal, and a realm called Septimania in Catalonia The Austurian rulers did not strike their own coinage but instead reused the Visigoth crude, gold tremisses already circulating in the peninsula. These coins were rough imitations of the coins struck by the Romans and Byzantines and usually incorporated the distinctive Christian symbol of the “cross patee”, a cross with flared ends. A typical Visigoth coin, struck in the Emerita mint before the Moorish invasion,

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Insight for King Ervig, 680–687, showed a crude, facing bust of Jesus, with a cross behind His head, and this may be His earliest portrait engraved on coinage.

A rare Visigoth tremisses struck for King Ervig, 680–687, showing the facing portrait of Jesus and the cross pattee in the design. See Medieval European Coinage by P. Grierson and M. Blackburn, no. 267.

The Moors, realising the fertility of Spain, concentrated on improving local irrigation and agriculture, and increasing trade with other countries. From earlier commercial contact with the Byzantine Empire, the Muslims had developed a currency-based economy and coins played a large part in their transactions. To facilitate European trade, the Moors copied the Byzantine style of coinage even to the extent of using only Latin inscriptions on their early coins. This fact may be illustrated by the fine gold coins struck in Spain which eventually would become the universal trade currency of the period. Some rare gold coins struck by the Moors in Spain at that time were transitional types, with bilingual legends in Arabic and Latin. This coinage included a gold solidus (also called a dinar) and its fractions, issued in 717 from the Al-Andalus mint (Cordoba). These coins showed an eight-pointed star on the obverse with the Latin legend, FERITOS SOLI IN SPAN ANXCI, meaning “Solidus, Made in Spain in the Year (ANNO XCI) 91”. The reverse Arabic inscription gave the name of the ruler, MUHAMMAD RASUL ALLAH, in two lines in the centre, surrounded by the proclamation, BY ALLAH, THIS DINAR WAS STRUCK IN AL-ANDALUS IN THE YEAR 98, the Arabic date corresponding to AD 717. The discrepancy in the dates given on this coin was caused by the difficulty in equating the Arab to the Christian calendar.

Barcelona. Later, in the 9th century, a kingdom in the Marche, called Navarre (Pamplona), adjacent to the older Kingdom of the Asturias, gained its independence from the Carolingians and acquired the nearby territory of Aragon. As well, in 929, the Umayyad leader of Muslim Spain, Abd al-Rahman III, enlarged the Al-Andalus emirate and, with his new power, became the first Spanish Caliph. This new Umayyad dynasty ruled Muslim Spain until 1031. Meanwhile, the Visigoth kingdom of the Austurias evolved politically into a kingdom called Leon, and in 930, the region called Castile broke away from Leon and became a separate state when its ruler, the Count of Burgos, formed an alliance with the neighbouring Muslim kingdoms. In 970 Sancho III, The Great, the king of Navarre, 970–1035, joined with Castile and invaded Leon. The rulers of the many different kingdoms in the Iberian peninsula issued a variety of coins and this resulted in a complicated medieval, Spanish numismatic history. To categorise these coins, numismatists divided them into Muslim coins labeled as “Hispano-musulmanas”and Christian coins, referred to as “Hispano-cristianas”. Naturally, the wealthy, more stable Muslim kingdoms issued the largest quantities of coins in Spain. The Muslim coinage consisted of denominations made of gold, silver and bronze, copied from earlier Arabic designs. Christian coins were issued only as “dineros” and halves (obols), made of “billon”, a heavily debased silver alloy, and these coins imitated the Frankish currency used in the Spanish Marche, struck by the Carolingians. Most Christian coins portrayed the king’s head on the obverses with the Latin title IMPERATOR, “emperor”, and gave the mint city’s name in the reverse inscription. The reverse designs usually consisted of some floral device, surmounted by a cross pattee. These earliest Spanish Christian coins were very crude and most kingdoms mixed their circulating coins with the finer Muslim coinage from surrounding territories. Some Christian kingdoms simply minted rough imitations of the regional Moorish coinage, causing even more confusion in the numismatic history of the era. The first Hispano-cristianas coins were struck by Sancho III of Navarre, but only in limited quantities. They were so rare very few specimens exist today. A specimen issued from the mint city of Najera, believed to be of Sancho III but unconfirmed, is illustrated here to show the appearance of his coinage and how it closely imitated the contemporary, widespread Carolingian types.

A very rare gold coin, a dinar or solidus struck in Spain (Al-Andalus) in 716/17 by an uncertain ruler, with bilingual, Latin and Arabic, inscriptions. See Monedas de las Dinastias Arabigo-Espanolas by A. Vives y Escudero, cited hereafter as Vives, no. 10.

A crude billon dinero supposedly of Sancho III, the Great of Navarre, 970– 1035. The obverse legend is IMPERATOR, the reverse, horizontal inscription is a blundered NAIARA for the city of Najera. Coin photo courtesy of a private collector.

In 732, the Franks led by Charles Martel stopped the Muslim advancement into Europe by defeating a large raiding force in central France at the Battle of Tours. The Muslim army retreated to Spain and in 756 the leaders of the Umayyad dynasty consolidated their power and became the sole rulers of Al-Andalus. They proclaimed Abd al-Rahman, as the Emir of Cordoba and he soon became independent from his overlord, the Umayyad Caliph of Damascus. In 777, Charlemagne, the grandson of Charles Martel, invaded Spain and, crossing the kingdom of Zaragroza, pushed the Muslims out of northeastern Spain as far as the Erbo River. The Carolingians then established a Christian buffer zone on the border stretching from the Basque territory on the Bay of Biscay to Catalonia on the Mediterranean. This territory was known in history as the “Marca Hispania”, the “Spanish Marche”(frontier) and it was soon extended to

In 1031, dynastic conflicts caused Al-Andalus to be subdivided into a dozen domains, called the “Taifa Kingdoms”. These were ruled by petty kings called in Spanish, “Reyes de Taifs” or in Arabic, “Muluk al-Tawa’if”, but in English, “Party (Fractional) Kings”. The major kingdoms were Malaga, ruled by the Hammudid family, Seville held by the Abbadids, Cordoba by the Jawharids, Granada governed by the Zirids, Badajoz reigned over by the Aftasids, Toledo, controlled by the Dhu’l Nunids, Valencia and Almeria administered by the Amirids, and Zaragoza ruled by the Hudids. Historians reported that at certain times as many as 30 of these kingdoms existed. The most successful Taifa dynasty, the Abbadids of Seville, was strong enough to repel the Christian raids and remain intact but the other small kingdoms fought against each other and withered under pressure from the neighbouring kingdoms.

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Insight

A diagram of the Iberian peninsula showing the main Christian and Muslim kingdoms in 1033.

In 1033, Sancho III, the Great, of Navarre conquered Leon and divided it into two separate kingdoms, Leon and Castile. He gave Leon to his son Ferdinand and Castile to another son, also named Sancho. In addition, Sancho III created the kingdom of Aragon in 1035, adjacent to Navarre, for his youngest son, Ramirez. Then the largest Christian kingdoms in Iberia were united under one family but only for a short time and they fought against each other just as fiercely as they battled the Muslims who held the southern and central part of Spain. Following Sancho III’s death in 1035 Castile returned to the nominal control of Leon, ruled by Ferdinand. To support their economies, the Christian kings of Leon, Castile, Navarre and Aragon struck small quantities of crude silver dineros and, following the precedent set by Sancho III, they copied the designs of the contemporary Carolingian coinage. A rare dinero of Ferdinand I displayed the king’s facing head with the legend SPANIA, for Spain, on the obverse. The reverse showed the cross patee surrounded by the inscription REX FERNAND, for King Ferdinand. Very few of these coins survived and only line drawings appear in catalogues to illustrate their designs.

A very rare billon dinero of Ferdinand I, 1035–65, king of Leon and Castile, struck in Leon. It showed his facing portrait on the obverse with the royal inscription on the reverse. From Las Monedas Espanolas by Adolfo, Clemente and Juan Cayon, cited as Cayon, 903. Coin sketch by the author.

In 1035, Ferdinand consolidated Leon and Castile into one political entity, took the title King Ferdinand I, and ruled from 1035 to 1065. During his reign, Ferdinand began the concentrated invasion of the Muslim territories and in 1057, a youthful Castilian, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, enrolled in Ferdinand’s army to fight against the Muslim kingdom of Zaragoza. The army of Zaragoza was defeated but in a peace treaty its ruler, named al-Muqtadir, was permitted to retain his kingdom as a vassal of Castile. In 1063 Ferdinand’s rebellious brother, Ramirez I, king of Aragon, attacked the Muslim city of Cinca in Zaragoza’s territory. This was a violation of the treaty with Castile so the Castilian army and Rodrigo joined with al-Muqtadir to oppose Ramirez at the Battle of Graus where Ramirez I was killed and the Aragonese army defeated. Rodrigo distinguished himself at this battle and was awarded the title, “Campeador”, or Champion. When Ferdinand I died in 1065, his kingdom was divided up October 2011

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among his sons. Alfonso (VI) was awarded Leon, another son named Sancho (II) was given Castile, and Sancho Garcia (I) was granted the territory of Galicia, in the northwestern corner of the peninsula. Also, Ferdinand’s two daughters were allocated cities; Urraca was given Zamora and Elvira, the city of Toro. Ferdinand had instructed his children to collaborate and work together in peace but as soon as he died, Sancho II, the ruler of Castile and Alfonso VI of Leon, joined against their brother, Sancho Garcia I, and took possession of Galicia. Then Sancho II turned on his brother Alfonso VI, defeated his army and forced him to take refuge with his sister Urraca in the strongly fortified city of Zamora. At that time Sancho II, 1065–72, became ruler of both Leon and Castile and continued to enlarge his kingdom by conquering both Muslim and Christian cities in the region. Being an opportunist and a loyal Castilian, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar joined the army of Sancho II. But in 1072, Sancho II was assassinated in a plot some historians say was arranged by his brother Alfonso VI and his sister Urraca. Sancho had no heirs so Castile reverted to his brother, Alfonso VI of Leon, who then reigned over both kingdoms from 1073 to 1109. Although Urraca was only a minor character in this part of the Reconquista, she was a remarkable woman who became queen of Leon and Castile after her brother’s death in 1109 and reigned until 1126. Her descendants continued to play an important part in western history, becoming the royalty of Spain, Portugal and Burgundy in France. Secure on his double throne in 1073, Alfonso VI continued with the task of re conquering Spain. Rodrigo, now bearing the title El Cid for his military accomplishments, became Alfonso’s general and won several important battles. Historians remark that El Cid was a brave hero and effective military leader who used innovative tactics to defeat his enemies but he was also cruel, selfish, overly proud and capable of diplomatic duplicity when it suited his purposes.

An equestrian statue of El Cid located in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. Photo courtesy of Stan Shebs, from Wikimedia Commons.

El Cid faithfully served King Alfonso VI but in 1079 he led an unauthorized expedition into Muslim Granada and defeated the Emir Abdullah at the Battle of Cabra. After this victory, El Cid supposedly seized more than his proper share of the booty including many of the spoils that should have been set aside for Alfonso, his overlord. This disloyalty angered the king and he exiled El Cid from his court in 1081. Then El Cid became a mercenary general and, offering his services to the ruler of Zaragoza, fought for him against other Muslim kings, the Christian king of Aragon and also the Count of Barcelona, Berenguer Ramon II. In 1085, Alfonso VI conquered Toledo and took possession of this large and important kingdom in Muslim Spain. From Toledo, Alfonso struck his first coinage, consisting of billon dineros and obols. These coins consisted of only two different

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Insight design types but all showed the cross pattee with the legend, ANFUS REX, “Alfonso the King”, on the obverses. One of the reverses of this coinage displayed the Chi-Rho monogram of Christ in the centre with the name of the mint cities, TOLETVO (Toledo), LEO CIVITAS (City of Leon), or S. IACOBI, inscribed in the margins. The other coin type, showing a motif of stars and circles on its reverse instead of the Christogram, was also struck at all these mints Chi-Rho Type

Stars and Circles Type

The two types of billon dineros of Alfonso VI, as king of Leon and Castile, 1073–1109, both struck in Toledo. Cayon 906 and 908.

After Toledo was conquered, the Party Kingdoms lost their most powerful ally and began to crumble. The next year, in 1086, the Kingdom of Seville, suffering from persistent attacks by the Christians, invited the Berber Almoravids from Morocco to come to their aid. Led by Yusuf ibn Tasfin, the Almoravids organised all the Muslim armies of Al-Andalus, confronted the combined forces of Leon, Castile and Aragon at the Battle of Zallaka near Badajoz, and virtually annihilated the Christian armies. Terrified by this defeat, Alfonso recalled El Cid from exile to lead his surviving forces. However, in 1088 for some unrecorded reason, Alfonso and El Cid had a falling out and the King banished him once again. At that time El Cid decided to look after his own interests and once again sought employment with the Muslim king of Zaragoza. In 1089, the kingdom of Seville was attacked by the rejuvenated Christian armies and its ruler called again on ibn Tasfin for military aid. The Almoravids pushed back the Christians and then realized that a weak Al-Andalus, even though occupied by fellow Muslims, was theirs for the taking. Amid popular acclaim, ibn Tasfin swept away all of the Taifa kingdoms except Zaragoza, and ruled over Al-Andalus until he died in 1106. To restore and encourage trade and commerce, ibn Tasfin struck a new gold coinage imitating the popular, traditional style of Arabic dinars. These carried the standard Muslim legend proclaiming the oneness of Allah and that Mohammed was the only Prophet, on their obverses, while the reverses displayed the name of the new ruler, Emir Yusuf ben Tasfin, along with the date and the mint name.

At that time El Cid, taking advantage of the chaos in Spain, assembled his own army made up of Christians and Muslims, and set out to create a kingdom for himself on the Mediterranean coast near Valencia. But several obstacles needed to be overcome. The first was El Cid’s old enemy the Count of Barcelona, Berenguer Ramon II, who stood in his way. So in 1090 El Cid attacked and defeated the army of Barcelona and then arranged the marriage of his daughter to the Count’s nephew to guarantee future peace. After taking over Barcelona, El Cid did not strike his own coinage because officially he still ruled in the name of his overlord, Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile. So Alfonso’s coinage became the common currency in El Cid’s territory but the circulating coins of Ramon Berenguer II and his predecessors, as well as the fine Muslim coinage of the nearby kingdoms, continued to be used for commerce. Barcelona was a Catalonian kingdom prospering from agriculture but also from the tribute, in gold coinage, paid by the nearby Muslim kingdoms. This tribute was so large that the Counts of Barcelona melted down the coins and struck their own imitations of Arabic gold dinars, called “mancus”, and these coins became the accepted trade currency in the region. Mancus were Arabic in appearance but carried Latin legends on their reverses. A typical specimen, struck in Barcelona, copied the dinars of the Muslim city of Ceuta, in North Africa but had the Latin legend RAIMVNDVS COMES, for “Count Ramon”, inscribed in the reverse margin. There were so many of these popular coins in circulation that El Cid adopted them as part of his official currency.

A gold coin, called a mancus, struck for the Count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer I, 1035–76, in the Barcelona mint, an imitation of the Arabic dinar but with Latin reverse legends. Cayon 1716.

The second major obstacle facing El Cid was the powerful city of Valencia, ruled by the Muslim ruler, al-Qadir. Taking advantage of an uprising in the city, El Cid attacked and besieged Valencia from 1093 until its capitulation one year later. Uncharacteristically, El Cid broke his promise of safe conduct for the commander of Valencia, named ibn Jahhaf, and burned him at the stake. He then took control of Valencia, made it his capital, and established his kingdom in the surrounding territories.

An illustration of El Cid at the terrible siege of Valencia in 1093. A Public Domain photo from Wikimedia Commons.

A gold dinar of Yusuf bin Tasfin, 1087–1106, struck in Qurtauba (Cordoba) in 1101-02. See Monedas Hispano-Musulmanas by A. Medina Gomez, no. 123.

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Insight At that time, the coinage of Valencia consisted mainly of fractional, gold dinars and silver dirhems. These were often made on blanks crudely cut from metal sheets and carelessly struck with inferior dies. It appears that as long as the coin was made to the correct weight, it was acceptable in the marketplace. These coins, mixed in with Alfonsos VI’s coins and the currency of several other kingdoms were used as the currency of Valencia during El Cid’s reign.

A crude, fractional silver dirhem struck for al-Qadir, in Valencia (Balansiya), circa 1090. Vives 922.

Despite these regional conflicts, the Reconquista continued and received greater support when the First Crusade was proclaimed in 1096 by Pope Urban II, who compared the re conquest of Spain to the crusade in the Holy Land. However, in 1099, only five years after establishing his kingdom, Rodrigo died during the siege of Valencia by King Bucar of Morocco, who came to aid his fellow Muslims. Remarkably, the Chronica del Cid, the “Chronicles of the Cid,” reported that he gained a posthumous victory over King Bucar when his whole army surged out of the city gates, led by Rodrigo’s dead body strapped to his horse, carrying his banner and charging the enemy. The siege was lifted and a defeated King Bucar returned

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home. El Cid’s capable widow, Jemena (Ximena) ruled for three more years until the Almoravids attacked in 1102. Unable to defend the city Jemena abandoned it and Alfonso VI ordered that the fortified citadel of Valencia be destroyed to keep it out of the hands of the enemy. Over the following years, the Almoravids became weak and were unable to resist the Christian onslaught, so the more powerful Almohads from North Africa crossed over into Spain and in 1195 defeated Alphonso VIII of Castile at Alarcos. However, the momentum of the Reconquista could not be stopped and the Almohads were defeated in 1212 at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Muslim Cordoba fell to Christian attacks in 1236, Valencia in 1238, and Seville in 1248. Slowly, Spain began to be dominated by the Christian kings. In 1340, the Marinid sultan of Morocco, Abu al-Hasan, led the last Muslim invasion of Spain in an attempt to stop the re conquest. He had high hope of succeeding because the two principal Christian leaders, Alfonso XI (the Just), of Castile, and Alfonso IV (the Brave), of Portugal, were enmeshed in a deadly rivalry. But the two Alfonsos joined together and defeated the Muslim forces at Rio Salado, near Tarifa. Finally, in 1492 the husband and wife monarchs, Ferdinand I of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, completed the Reconquista by conquering Granada, the last remaining Muslim kingdom in Spain. In 1919, El Cid’s memory was honoured in Spain and his remains were transferred from the crypt in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardena to a monument in the centre of the Burgos Cathedral, a tomb more appropriate for a Castilian celebrity. Despite his many faults, El Cid had already become a national hero of Spain, exalted in its most famous epic poem, El Cantar de Mio Cid. Coin photos courtesy of CNG, www.cngcoins.com, unless otherwise stated.

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Collector’s notebook

DR K.A. RODGERS ruminates upon personal security and the collector . . .

J

OHN MUSSELL’S editorial in the September issue of COIN NEWS reminded me of an article in July’s Numismatic News entitled, “Coin Dealers Become Increasing Targets for Criminals.” I have been aware of the need for personal security ever since I became a serious collector. On this occasion both the editorial and NN headline grabbed my attention from having just read of the 1974 armed robbery of Baldwin’s that saw the theft of the unique Triple Unite pattern of Charles I by Abraham van Der Dort. The entire security issue is by no means new and I am very aware that coin ’n note robberies are on the rise today, be they at conventions, shops or in homes. Sadly, too often they have become violent. In such cases, once is too often. Stateside thefts have long been twoa-penny. Have a look at www. coincollectingnews.org/category/ coin-theft. But it is the recent increase in such crimes that promoted the Numismatic News story that relates the growth to several factors. Firstly, there is the state of the economy. The hard times are impacting seriously on those at the bottom of the food chain. Far too many are opting for illegal measures to survive. Secondly are the high prices of gold and silver. These are tempting criminals. The value of a coin or medal to a collector is not the issue. If it is made of gold or silver it can go in the melt pot and provide cash-in-hand for the thief. Both factors also hold weight in the UK (and NZ) as much as in US. But in the UK, as in the US, there is a third matter: the question of indifference, the notion that, “It won’t happen to me.” Such apathy is a no-no for collectors. Few of us can afford the security measures that dealers employ. Perhaps too, we feel we don’t need to despite the frequent STOP THIEF reports in COIN NEWS. Perhaps we feel our collections are too small to attract a burglar. Sure there have been spectacular heists of private collections in recent years. These include the 2005 Wimbledon armed robbery of £500,000 of ancients and the 2007 theft of Lord and Lady

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Stewartby’s Scottish collection. Certainly my modest collection makes it unlikely that an armed robber will pop through the French doors. However, as Phil Mussell found there is a real issue with the small time opportunistic thief and, specifically, some of our youngsters with too much time on their hands. Some 20 years ago a friend assembled a collection of circulating currency from the 20-odd countries he had visited. He had them housed in top-of-the-line Lindner albums that stood on a custom-made polished walnut bookshelf in his lounge. He delighted in them, showing them off to friends, workmates and neighbours. That I fear was his downfall. Their existence became general knowledge. He came home from work one day to find his lounge in disarray and the albums stripped bare. Later the police reported picking up some kids who had done the break-in after school. They had taken the notes to a Forex office and cashed-in what they could. The rest were scattered to the four winds on a local beach. My friend never returned to collecting. The lesson I learned from his hurt is to avoid drawing my collection to the attention of potential thieves. Many robberies are crimes of opportunity, be they of £500,000 collections or a few coins, and be they from a dealer or a collector. The important thing is to reduce that opportunity and avoid encouraging any would-be robber. For starters I try not to draw a target on myself. I don’t advertise what I own or where it may be stored. I am close-mouthed. I vividly recall many moons ago wandering into a bourse in Sydney to have a dealer across the room question me in a loud voice about an expensive note I might—or might not—have purchased. This disregard for my security still rankles. And I follow the advice of a security expert who once explained that I can’t ever expect to deter a determined thief but I can encourage them to try next door. I do this by making it blindingly obvious that breaking into my place will take (a) time and (b) make a lot of noise. All I can do is to practice prudence as best I might. Perhaps COIN NEWS readers have other ideas.

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Spotlight

The Current Ten Pence Piece PATRICK MACKENZIE

I

N the late 1980s it was announced by the Royal Mint that new smaller 5p pieces would be issued in 1990 to replace the old shilling-sized coins, and that 10p pieces would follow in 1992. These would replace the florin, or two shilling-sized coins. The latter issue proved to be the more interesting. After a short period it was apparent that there were two Obverse die-varieties, and two Reverse die-varieties, cross-paired and all dated 1992. NOTATION Obv 1 Obv 2 Obv 3 Obv 4 Obv 5 Obv 6 Rev A Rev B Rev C

QUANTITY OF BORDER BEADS 99 101 100 102 102 None 99 101 None

All four had appeared in circulation by early December 1992, following the initial issue on September 30, 1992. Late 1995 saw the issue into circulation of 1995 coins, at which point it was assumed that all dated 1992 had been issued, the official Royal Mint figure is a total of 1,413,455,170. There was thus a challenge to assess the quantity of each of the four varieties. But first a table of all the known Obverses and Reverses of the current coins, with their recognisable features: NOTABLE CHARACTERISTIC(S)

Maklouf portrait, 1 of date points to Left of a bead. “ “ 1 of date points to Right of a bead. “ “ 1 of date points to a bead. Rank-Broadley portrait, D of F.D. points to Right of bead. “ “ “ D of F.D. points to Left of bead. “ “ “ Left bar of N in PENCE points to Left of a bead. Left bar of N in PENCE points to Right of a bead. Top left of the Royal Shield of Arms.

And now a table listing the combinations of dies found over the years: DATE(S) 1992

1993 & 1994 1995–97 1998 & 1999 2000–04 2005 & 2006 2007 & 2008 2008–10 2011 (Nickel-plated steel)

MINTAGE CIRCULATION 1+A 1+B 2+A 2+b None issued 3+A None issued 5+A 5+A 5+B 5+B 6+C None issued as at July 14, 2011

STANDARD(S) BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED AND PROOF 2+B 3+B 3+B 4+B 5+B 5+B 5+B 6+C 6+C

A total of a little over 100,000 1992 dated coins were examined over the 15 plus years, and the next table includes the total findings along with issue estimates (mintages), the count continued until the last batch was completed. Estimates are to the nearest thousand: DIE COMBINATION 1+A 1+B 2+A 2+B TOTALS:

QUANTITY FOUND 84,624 2,970 890 11,539 100,023

ISSUE ESTIMATE 1,195,847,000 41,970,000 12,577,000 163,061,000 1,413,455,000

Apart from the occasional BU coin (escapee from a set), and the even rarer Proof, the scarcest UK coin was the 2006 2+A. Out of a total issue figure of 118,803,000 circulation- standard coins for that year, only about 2,915,000 were estimated to have been issued, the balance of around 116 million being 5+B. This particular survey has now ceased! October 2011

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In focus EDWARD COLGAN

Spirit of

Change— Ireland and the Euro

2002–10

Part Four—A New Generation—Edward Colgan concludes his look at Ireland’s recent numismatic history Above right: The Irish obverse of the 2009 “Stick Man EMU two Euro commemorative coin.

The reverse of the 2009 “Ploughman” silver proof 10 Euro coin.

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EW YEAR’S DAY 2009 marked the 10th anniversary of the European Monetary Union (EMU), the adoption of a common currency by the Eurozone countries and was commemorated by the issuing of a commemorative Two Euro coin with the same obverse or national design across the Eurozone. On January 5, 2009, the Central Bank issued its second commemorative Two Euro coin featuring the common obverse design for all Eurozone countries of a stylized human figure or “stick-man” holding the Euro symbol in the left hand. The design of the obverse was by George Slamatopoulus of the Bank of Greece who had won a public vote across the European Union for his design. The Irish version of the Two Euro coin includes “EIRE” above the central design and the legend below the design “AEA 1999–2009 EMU” —the AEA is the Irish acronym for EMU. Some 5 million of these Irish EMU Two Euro coins were to be struck for issue during 2009. Ireland, since the introduction of the Euro, is almost unique in not having issued any commemorative Two Euro coins, besides the two common Eurozone commemoratives for the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and the Tenth anniversary of the European Monetary Union. As early as 2005 the author had proposed the issuing of a commemorative Two Euro coin to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Guinness Brewery on December 31, 2009—a name and product synonymous with Ireland. Ideas for the design included a portrait of Arthur Guinness with his trademark signature or the Guinness harp and trade mark signature with the dates 1759 and 2009 incorporated within the central design. The event had been marked by An Post in 1959 and was again in 2009 with the issuing of special commemorative stamps but despite the author’s endeavours, not with a commemorative coin! On January 30, 2009, the Central Bank launched its 2009 Uncirculated Coin set at Croke

Park in Dublin to mark the 125th anniversary of the forming of the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) which was established to foster native games and culture of Ireland at a time of growing national awareness in 1884. Later in the year, on November 3, 2009, a commemorative crownsized 15 Euro silver proof coin was issued to mark the GAA’s anniversary. The coin designed by Michael Guilfoyle featured the Irish harp and “EIRE” and the date “2009” on the obverse. The reverse featured the “frosted” Celtic Cross crest of the GAA to the left and a stylized figure playing hurling with the legend “125 Years” with the value of the coin “15 Euro” at the base of the reverse. The proof coin was struck at the Dutch Royal Mint and had an issue limit of 10,000. The issuing of the commemorative set of coins to honour Ivan Mestrovic in 2007 was to be followed in May 2009 with the issuing of a new set of commemorative gold and silver coins to honour another iconographic image from Ireland’s early monetary history—the Ploughman banknotes. The gold proof 20 Euro coin and the silver proof Ten Euro coin were launched on May 6, 2009 and celebrated the 80th anniversary of the launch of the Consolidated Banknote series, which were commonly known as the “Ploughman” series because of Dermod O’Brien’s original design of a ploughman and his horses which appeared on these early banknotes from 1929 through to 1940. O’Brien’s design of a “Ploughman with a Team of Two Horses”—a traditional Irish ploughing scene—was to in some way complement Percy Metcalfe’s farmyard series on the coins of the new Irish Free State. www.tokenpublishing.com

October 2011

In focus The obverse of the two coins feature the Irish harp “EIRE” and the date “2009”. The reverse design which is essentially the same on both coins was designed by Emmet Mullins and shows a stylized version of the ploughman with his team of two horses ploughing a field which follows the shape of the coin. The value of the coin “20 Euro” on the gold proof and “10 Euro” on the silver proof are at the centre of the reverse design with the “star” logo of the 2009 Europa Coin Programme above the heads of the horses. The Europa Coin Programme in 2009 focused again on European Cultural Heritage, with Ireland deciding to give a particular emphasis to its agricultural legacy as represented on the coin. The gold coin as in previous years was a participant in the “Smallest Gold Coin in the World” programme. It should be noted that whilst the gold 20 Euro was the same size as its predecessors at 14mm diameter, the weight of the coin had reduced from 1.24 gms to 1.00 gm — another possible indicator of the Recession and the rising price of gold. The “Ploughman” proof coins were to be struck at the Mayer Mint in Germany with a limit of 15,000 gold pieces and 15,000 silver pieces, again 5000 pieces of both coins were reserved to be sold in a Special Two-Coin commemorative set. July 2009 was to see the issue of Ireland’s third proof Euro set which incorporated a proof version of the EMU commemorative Two Euro coin. The proof set was struck by the Mint of Finland and launched on July 22, 2009 and was limited to 5,000 sets. The Central Bank was to produce 186 million coins during 2009, but only issue 112 million coins reflecting a substantial fall in demand for coin which was down 61 per cent on the previous year. There was a particular fall in the demand for lower denomination coins suggesting that there had been a reduction in hoarding and as a consequence of the Recession, people were tending to use small denomination coins rather than putting them aside. The Irish Numismatic Society in their annual bulletin (No 36) reflecting on the worsening economic situation, mused on the advice of Dean Jonathan Swift writing in 1728—“I have often wished that the law were enacted to hang up half a dozen bankers every year and thereby interpose some short delay to the future ruin of Ireland”. Almost 82 years after Percy Metcalfe’s farmyard series had been issued, Metcalfe’s

original horse design for the half crown was used by the Central Bank to launch the 2010 Uncirculated Euro Coin set on January 14, 2010. The horse was to be the first in a series of three limited annual mint coin sets featuring animals on the packaging, that have appeared on Irish coins—the horse for 2010, the salmon from the florin and later the decimal 10 pence for 2011 and the Irish wolfhound from the sixpence for 2012. The international Dublin Coin Fair at the Royal Dublin Show grounds has, over the years, seen the “unofficial launch” of a number of Ireland’s collector coins. In February 2010, the Central Bank of Ireland stand featured Michael Guilfoyle’s sketches for the 25th anniversary of the Gaisce Award Scheme. The silver crownsized proof Ten Euro coin and accompanying small gold 20 Euro coin was issued on April 28, 2010. Gaisce, the President’s Award Scheme, is Ireland’s National Challenge Award to Young People and focuses on them undertaking a series of challenges focusing on community involvement, personal skills, physical recreation and adventure journey. The design for both coins followed essentially the same design. The obverse echoed the “International Polar” series with the Irish harp, “EIRE” and the date “2010” within a laurel wreath. The reverse designed by Guilfoyle brought together two themes—with the central part of the design focusing on the entrance to Aras an Uachtarain—the official residence of the Irish President in Phoenix Park, Dublin. The inclusion of the Aras was not only a direct reference to the President as Patron of Gaisce but also made reference to the 2010 Europa Coin Programme and its theme of “European Architecture”. The lower part of the coin shows a series of silhouette figures of young people undertaking a range of activities associated with the Gaisce award. The legend “Gaisce 25 Years” appears above the figures of the young people with the “star” logo of the Europa Coin Programme. The value of the coin “10 Euro” of “20 Euro” is to be found in the upper part of the coin above the portico of Aras an Uachtarain. As with previous issues, the gold 20 Euro is a participant in the “Smallest Gold Coins in the World” programme. The gold 20 Euro continued to have the lower weight of 1.0 gram. The gold and silver proof coins were struck at the Royal Dutch Mint with a limit of 10,000 gold coins and 12,000 silver coins of which 2,000 of each were reserved for sale in Double coin sets.

Michael Guilfoyles sketch for the 2010 “Gaisco” coin as displayed at the Dublin International Coin Fair 2010.

The Central Bank of Ireland launch of the new generation “Horse” design 15 Euro coin.

October 2011

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The reverse of the 2009 Gaelic Athletics silver proof 15 Euro coin.

The reverse of the silver and gold 2010 “Gaise” proof Euro coins.

Coin news

53

In focus

The 2010 “New generation� Horse design silver proof 15 Euro coin.

On October 13, 2010, a crown-sized silver proof 15 Euro coin was launched by Central Bank —A Tribute in Silver to Percy Metcalfe’s Classic Irish Coin Design—featuring his horse design. The reverse of the coin which was designed by Emmet Mullins was described as “a modern interpretation of the original horse designâ€?. Metcalfe’s horse design has the distinction of appearing on the Irish half crown from 1928 to 1967, the decimal 20 pence from 1986 to 2000 and an adapted version on a modern Euro coin in 2010. The obverse of the crown-sized coin features the Irish harp, “EIREâ€? and the date “2010â€?. The reverse features a modern interpretation of Metcalfe’s hunter horse with a foal standing alongside. The classic horse design ďŹ lls almost the whole of the coin to striking effect with the value “15 Euroâ€? to the right above the horse’s ank. Emmet Mullins in reecting on the design of the coin describes them as a “New Generationâ€? with Metcalfe’s original designs having been replicated but with the creature’s offspring included. Future issues will see the salmon and grilse in 2011 and the Irish Wolfhound and puppy in 2012. The 2010 “Horseâ€? silver proof was struck at the Royal Dutch Mint and had an issue limit of 15,000. The late autumn of 2010 was to see the Irish economy thrown into greater crisis with the almost total collapse of its banking system. The Irish Government found itself facing a deďŹ cit equating to nearly one-third of the country’s gross domestic product and the wider Eurozone

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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community with a possible “runâ€? on the euro and destabilisation of other Eurozone economies. In the space of three years, Ireland had gone from the fastest growing economy in Europe —the Celtic Tiger—to requiring a major bailout to the tune of 90 billion Euro in loans from the European Union, the United Kingdom and the International Monetary Fund to save the economy from total collapse. The housing market had collapsed with mass mortgage defaults and unemployment rising to about ½ million with many skilled people looking to emigrate once again. In its train, the Irish Government were to announce once of its tightest austerity budgets and recovery plan with some 15 billion Euros in cuts to public services and increases in tax. Ultimately, the crisis was to see the fall of the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen and the collapse of his government and the Fianna Fail party in February of 2011. It was against this backdrop of major economic crisis that the Central Bank, towards the end of December 2010, launched its 2011 Uncirculated Euro Coin set featuring the salmon and ďŹ shing on the display folder. Metcalfe’s leaping salmon previously featured on the orin from 1928 to 1967 and on the large and small decimal ten pences from 1969 through to 2000 and will once again be found on an Irish coin to be issued later in 2011. There is a sad irony that Metcalfe’s designs which were originally issued at a time of major political change and economic challenge in the 1920s and ‘30s, ďŹ nd themselves appearing once again on an Irish coin at a time of major political and economic challenge for a “new generationâ€? of Irish men and Irish women.

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Thomson Roddick & Medcalf

COIN, MEDAL & MILITARIA AUCTIONS Carlisle - Thursday 29th September at 1.00pm Sale by auction of coins, tokens, medallions & numismatic miscellanea including an extensive selection of gold, silver & other coins, with very many proof sets, proof coins & similar in gold & silver from a single private collection. Our subsequent coin sale (to include banknotes) will be on Thursday 17th November with medals & militaria on 18th November—entries are invited. Catalogues at www.thomsonroddick.com or on request. Viewing Wednesday 28th, 10am to 5pm & auction day from 9am. Thomson, Roddick & Medcalf, Coleridge House, Shaddongate, Carlisle CA2 5TU. 01228 528939 or auctions@thomsonroddick.com www.tokenpublishing.com

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October 2011

Update

A guide to U S STATE QUARTERS RODERICK FAREY

T

HE ambitious plan to issue a series of quarter dollar pieces from 1999 to 2008 with reverses commemorating each of the 50 states comprising the United States of America, introduced a new cohort of coin collectors to the hobby in America. After being authorised by passage through the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Bill allowing the production of the series of 50 quarters with reverses specific to each of the fifty states was signed by President Clinton on December 1, 1997 as Public Law 105-124. The quarters were to be issued from 1999, with five different designs each year, in the order in which the states joined the Union. The accompanying table details the states with the year in which each of them joined, starting with Delaware in 1787 and finishing with Hawaii in 1959. The obverse, common to all the state quarters, was a modification of that on the existing Washington quarters which had originally been issued in 1932 to mark the bicentenary of Washington’s birth, and featured the familiar bust of George Washington by the sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon engraved by John Flanagan, but modified for lower relief by William Cousins. Thus, unusually, two sets of initials appear on the truncation, JF and WC. To the right of the bust one of three tiny letters appears; P, D or S. This signifies where the coin was struck, so P indicates the Philadelphia Mint, D for the Denver Mint and S, which appears only on proof coins, is for the San Francisco Mint. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination QUARTER DOLLAR were transferred to the obverse. LIBERTY appears in letters of reduced size to the left of the bust and IN GOD WE TRUST was shifted to the right, having originally been on the left from 1932. Certain features were common to all the reverses: the name of the state and the year in which the state joined the Union at the top, the year and E PLURIBUS UNUM at the bottom and

a prominent feature associated with that state in the centre. Thus, for example: the 2004 Florida quarter reverse shows a 16th century Spanish galleon approaching a strip of land with two palm trees, a space shuttle and the motto GATEWAY TO DISCOVERY. Springfield, Illinois was the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln and thus his image appears on that state’s quarter of 2003. The image of the minuteman, a colonial militia man, taken from the Daniel Chester French statue at the North Bridge in Concord, site of one of the earliest skirmishes in the War of Independence, adorns the reverse of the Massachusetts quarter issued in 2000. The design for the California reverse commemorates John Muir, not a familiar name to British readers but the instigator of the US National Parks, together with Yosemite Valley’s monolith known as Half Dome and a Californian Condor above. Competitions were held in each state for the reverse design and that finally selected was translated into a workable model by the Mint. Popular themes included the outline map of the state, the state flower, state bird, a historical reference or some architectural or natural feature associated with the state. Proof sets of quarters encapsulated in plastic were issued for each year from 1999 to 2008, having blue backgrounds for the base metal specimens, consisting of outer layers of cupronickel bonded to a pure copper core, and a red background for specimens struck in 900 fine silver. With mintages in the hundreds of millions, ranging from the lowest of 194,600,000 for Oklahoma quarters from the Denver mint to the highest of 943,000,000 for Virginia quarters from the Philadelphia mint, the coins quickly entered everyday commerce and ordinary people, perhaps for the first time, found themselves looking at the different designs and starting to collect the different types. It was inevitable that special albums were produced to store and display collections of the quarters. There are a box of tubes for the storage of the quarters,

LeftL common obverse version two. plus, close up of the “P”, “D”and “S”.

Florida quarter reverse.

Illinois quarter reverse.

October 2011

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57

Update

Massachusetts quarter reverse.

California quarter reverse.

Base metal proof set.

albums which just hold the 50 different states, others which accommodate coins with both the P and D mintmarks and even an instructional map of the United States with cut outs for the quarter from each state. Adding to the interest is the possibility of finding error coins, the most valuable being a mule with the reverse of the Sacagawea dollar and the obverse from a Philadelphia quarter, struck on a dollar blank. Other errors include double struck coins, off centre strikes, brockages and coins with a misalignment of the obverse and reverse die axes. However, the arrest and successful prosecution of a Philadelphia mint employee who had stolen coins which he had struck incorrectly and subsequently sold between 1998 and 2000 has raised doubts about the legitimacy of some error coins. A particular coin to look for is the 2004 Wisconsin quarter from the Denver mint which is known with die varieties each having an extra leaf to the corn; one with an extra leaf high up near the left hand leaf and the other with a leaf lower down, touching the representation of the cut round of cheese. These varieties command a healthy premium over the price

Wisconsin quarter reverse.

Ohio quarter coloured reverse.

South Dakota quarter coloured reverse.

of the ordinary version which is shown in the accompanying illustration. Taking the state quarter collection to a new level, one enterprising company has taken quarters and produced attractive coloured reverses, which are really mini works of art, as seen in the photograph of the Ohio quarter, commemorating the birthplace of the aviation pioneer Orville Wright and astronaut John Glenn. The South Dakota quarter represents the well known monument to the presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln at Mount Rushmore. The programme was judged to be so successful, not the least because of the hundreds of millions of dollars profit resulting from issued coins being retained by the public, that in 2009 an extra six designs were produced for Washington, DC, and the five insular territories of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. See the following page for a complete breakdown of the issues in the State Quarters programme.

Footnote: The Official Red Book, A Guide Book of United States Coins by R. S. Yeoman edited by Kenneth Bressett includes illustrations, mintage figures and valuations in dollars for all the State Quarters. Available from Token Publishing Ltd at £12.50 (sprial bound version also available at £12.00) plus p&p (UK, Europe and world surface £3.00; airmail £5.00).

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October 2011

Update TABLE OF US STATE QUARTERS Year

Wisconsin California

Entered Reverse Design Union 1787 Caesar Rodney on horseback. 1787 Female figure of Commonwealth over state outline with keystone 1787 Washington crossing the Delaware 1787 Peach over state outline 1788 Oak tree 1788 Minuteman over state outline 1788 Dome of old state house capitol with oak leak clusters to left and right 1788 Palmetto tree and wren on flower over state outline 1788 Natural rock formation surrounded by nine stars 1788 Three ships- Susan Constant, Discovery and Godspeed 1788 Stature of Liberty over state outline 1789 Plane with Orville and Wilbur Wright 1790 Yacht with bridge in background 1791 Two maple trees in front of Camel’s Hump Mountain 1792 Horse with fence and stable 1796 Three stars with fiddle, trumpet and guitar over music score 1803 Early plane and astronaut over state outline 1812 Pelican and trumpet with outline of state showing original area purchased in 1803 1816 Racing car over state outline with 19 stars 1817 Two magnolia blossoms and leaves 1818 Lincoln as a youth over state outline with farm scene to left Chicago skyline to right and border of 21 stars 1819 Seated Helen Keller pine branch to left and magnolias to right 1820 Pernaquid Point Light on rocky shore with schooner at sea to right 1821 Lewis and Clark’s boat on Missouri River with the Gateway Arch in the background 1836 Diamond with rice stalks to left, flying mallard to right over a lake 1837 Outline of the state with map of the Great Lakes 1845 Galleon to left palm tree on land to right with space shuttle above 1845 Star over outline of state with border of a lariat 1846 One room schoolhouse with teacher and pupils planting a tree to the right 1848 Head of a cow, ear of corn and a cut round of cheese 1850 John Muir to left Half Dome to right with condor above

Minnesota

1858

Oregon Kansas West Virginia Nevada

1859 1861 1863 1867

Nebraska

1867

Colorado North Dakota

1876 1889

South Dakota

1889

2007

Montana Washington Idaho Wyoming Utah

1889 1889 1890 1890 1896

2008

Oklahoma New Mexico Arizona Alaska Hawaii

1907 1912 1912 1959 1959

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

State Delaware Pennsylvania New Jersey Georgia Connecticut Massachusetts Maryland South Carolina New Hampshire Virginia New York North Carolina Rhode Island Vermont Kentucky Tennessee Ohio Louisiana Indiana Mississippi Illinois Alabama Maine Missouri Arkansas

2004

Michigan Florida Texas Iowa

2005

2006

October 2011

Motto on reverse The First State Virtue Liberty Independence Crossroads Of The Revolution Wisdom Justice Moderation The Charter Oak The Bay State The Old Line State The Palmetto State Live Free Or Die Jamestown 1607–2007 Quadricentennial Gateway To Freedom First Flight The Ocean State Freedom And Unity My Old Kentucky Home Musical Heritage Birthplace Of Aviation Pioneers Louisiana Purchase Crossroads Of America The Magnolia State Land Of Lincoln 21St State Century Helen Keller(English And Braille) Spirit Of Courage Corps Of Discovery 1804–2004

Great Lakes State Gateway To Discovery

The Lone Star State Foundation In Education Grant Wood Forward John Muir Yosemite Valley Boat with two fishermen on tree lined lake with loon on the Land Of 10,000 Lakes water and state outline to left Part of Crater Lake with Wizard Island trees in foreground Crater Lake Buffalo facing right and sunflower on left New River with New River Bridge New River Gorge Three mustangs with sun rising behind mountains and The Silver State sagebrush to left and right Sun over oxen drawn covered wagon to left and Chimney Chimney Rock Rock to right Rocky Mountains with trees in the foreground Colorful Colorado Two grazing bison with sunset over the Badlands in the background Mount Rushmore Monument with pheasant flying above and heads of wheat to each side Montana landscape with bison skull above Big Sky Country Leaping salmon with Mount Rainier in the background The Evergreen State Head of peregrine falcon on left with state outline on right Esto Perpetua Rodeo rider on bucking bronco The Equality State Meeting of two locomotives at Promontory Point in 1869 Crossroads Of The West with golden spike in the centre Scissor-tailed flycatcher in flight over flowers Stylised sun over state outline Land Of Enchantment Grand Canyon with cactus in foreground Grand Canyon State Grizzly bear with salmon in mouth and North Star above The Great Land Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The Standing figure of King Kamehameha I with eight of the Life Of The Land Is Perpetuated In main islands Righteousness)

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59

Richard Plant

H T N O M E H COIN OF T

“Alexander� tetradrachm

W

E numismatists might think it an excellent idea if our forthcoming 2012 coins were all dated 1896 and showed the old head of Queen Victoria; but if that happened everyone else would think that some one at the Royal Mint had gone completely potty. But that’s the sort of thing that the Ancient Greeks used to do. This month’s coin names Alexander the Great, who died in 323 BC, and the type—Head of Heracles wearing lion skin headdress on the obverse, with Zeus seated on the reverse—is the normal Alexander the Great silver tetradrachm coin design. But this coin is dated, and the date “year 12â€? in the era of the Lycian city of Phaselis, equates with 207/6 BC, 116 years after the death of the ruler it names! This immediately puts us collectors in a dilemma. Do we put it in with the rest of our Alexander coins in our “Macedoniaâ€? tray (if we have one), or under “Phaselisâ€? with any other Lycian coins we may own? But, even worse, this particular coin has an anchor countermark, which was the badge of the Syrian “Seleucidâ€? kings, thought to have been stamped on the coin in 162 BC when Demetrius I, 162–150 BC, was collecting an army in preparation for an invasion of Syria to take the throne which had been unjustly denied him by Antiochus IV. So should this coin really belong to our “Seleucidâ€? coins? Personally I just list my mine under Macedonia as a “Posthumous Alexanderâ€?; however, really, what a feeble title for a coin that has seen so much history! Why did Greek cities produce these posthumous Alexanders? In 207/6 BC Phaselis was supposedly ruled by the Egyptian Ptolemaic kings; but a few years later, in 197 BC, they were “liberatedâ€? by the Seleucid Antiochus III. Lying between two such powerful neighbours as the Ptolemies and the Seleucids I would suspect that they were tactfully avoiding using a portrait of a king from either dynasty, considering that Alexander would be acceptable to all parties, as Ptolemy I and Seleucus I had both been loyal generals of Alexander the Great. So what about the countermark? In the early days of my collecting, countermarks were thought to deface a coin, and they reduced its value sometimes considerably; but since those days much research has gone into studying countermarks, and where such marks are understood, as in the case of this Phaselis coin, then such marks can enhance the value. But remember that where a countermark is NOT understood, it can still spoil a coin. Alexander the Great wintered in Phaselis in 333 BC, showing great reverence to one particular ancient relic held by the city, the broken spear of the Greek hero Achilles, who had been Alexander’s personal hero since boyhood—this fact almost certainly inuenced the Pharselians when choosing a “neutralâ€? coinage.

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Ͳ ĆŒĹ˝Ç Ĺś Ď­Ď´ĎŻĎľ ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ ΏϭϲÍ•ĎŹĎŹĎŹ Ͳ Ď­Ď´ĎŻĎľ Ć?Ğƚ ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ ÎŹĎ´ĎŹÍ•ĎŹĎŹĎŹ Ͳ Ď­Ď´Ď´Ďł ĆŒĹ˝Ç Ĺś ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ ÎŹĎŻÍ•ĎŹĎŹĎŹ Ͳ &ĹŻĹ˝ĆŒĹ?Ĺś ϭϴϹώÍ• ϲώÍ• ϲϳÍ• ϳϏÍ• ϳϯÍ• ϳϴÍ• ϳϾÍ• ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ Ď´Ď­Í• Ď´ĎŻÍ• ϴϹ͕ Ď´Ďł ĨĆŒŽž ͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘͘ ÎŹĎ°Í•ĎŹĎŹĎŹ

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Coin News

MEDAL MOUNTING & FRAMING Miniature Medals • Replacement Full Size Medals Cap Badges / Titles • Military Research • Write-up of Service • Medal Cleaning Ribbons supplied • Framing Service 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 listâ€?—we always honour appointments, so please don’t let us down.

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October 2011

Coin price guide

2012 EDITION

AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

Price guide to: Halfcrowns

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 the market. The grading used in this price guide is strictly as the recognised English system. In the listing “—” indicates either: Metal or bullion value only; not usually found in this grade; or not collected in this condition.

Date

Mintage

F

VF

EF

UNC

Date

F

VF

EF

UNC

OLIVER CROMWELL

1656 ................................................................ 1658 ................................................................ £1000 1658 Proof in Gold ............................................

Extremely rare £1800 £3750 — Extremely rare

James II first bust

James II second bust

WILIAM AND MARY (1688–94)

CHARLES II (1660–85)

William & Mary first bust Charles II first bust

Charles II second bust

1663 First bust .................................................. 1663 — no stops on obv. ..................................

£150 £200

£600 £3500 £800 —

— —

Charles II third bust

1689 First busts; first shield .............................. 1689 — — no pearls in crown .......................... 1689 — — FRA for FR....................................... 1689 — — No stop on obv................................ 1689 — Second shield ...................................... 1689 — — no pearls in crown ........................... 1690 — — ......................................................... 1690 — — error GRETIA for GRATIA ................ 1691 Second busts ........................................... 1692 — .............................................................. 1693 — .............................................................. 1693 — 3 over inverted 3 ..................................

William & Mary second bust £100 £100 £160 £100 £100 £100 £160 £350 £150 £150 £150 £170

£350 £350 £600 £500 £350 £350 £700 £1500 £450 £450 £450 £625

£1600 £1600 £2000 £1850 £1500 £1600 £2600 £4200 £2100 £2100 £2000 £2500

— — — — — — — — — — — —

WILLIAM III (1694–1702)

Charles II fourth bust 1664 Second bust ............................................. £250 £1200 £5000 — 1666 Third bust ................................................. £900 — — — 1666 — Elephant ............................................... £800 £3000 — — 1667/4 — 7 over 4 ............................................. Extremely rare 1668/4 — 8 over 4 ............................................. £300 £1500 — — 1669 — .............................................................. £400 £1600 — — 1669/4 — 9 over 4 ............................................. £250 £900 — — 1670 — .............................................................. £125 £500 £2500 — 1670 — MRG for MAG ...................................... £300 £1000 — — 1671 — .............................................................. £125 £450 £2500 — 1671/0 — 1 over 0 ............................................. £150 £600 £2750 — 1672 — Third bust ............................................. Extremely rare 1672 Fourth bust ............................................... £125 £500 £2500 — 1673 — .............................................................. £125 £500 £2350 — 1673 — Plumes both sides ............................... Extremely rare 1673 — Plume below bust ................................ £5000 £15000 — — 1674 — ............................................................. £140 £650 — — 1675 — .............................................................. £125 £400 £2000 — 1676 — .............................................................. £125 £400 £1800 — 1676 — inverted 1 in date ................................. £125 £400 £2000 — 1677 — ............................................................. £125 £400 £1500 — 1678 — ............................................................. £200 £800 — — 1679 — GRATTA error ....................................... Extremely rare 1679 — .............................................................. £120 £400 £1800 — 1680 — .............................................................. £160 £725 — — 1681/0 — 1 over 0 ............................................. £250 — — — 1681 — .............................................................. £125 £450 £2000 — 1681 — Elephant & Castle ................................ £3500 £10000 — — 1682 — .............................................................. £120 £450 £2750 — 1683 — .............................................................. £120 £500 £2400 — 1683 — Plume below bust ................................ Extremely rare 1684/3 — 4 over 3 ............................................. £275 £850 £4000 — JAMES II (1685–88) 1685 First bust .................................................. 1686 — .............................................................. 1686/5 — 6 over 5 ............................................. 1686 — V over S ............................................... 1687 — .............................................................. 1687/6 — 7 over 6 ............................................. 1687 Second bust ............................................. 1688 — ..............................................................

October 2011

www.tokenpublishing.com

£220 £220 £220 £225 £220 £300 £200 £200

£600 £600 £700 £750 £650 £850 £600 £600

£2750 £2750 — — £3000 — £3000 £2500

— — — — — — — —

1696 First bust, large shields, early harp .......... £70 £240 £900 — 1696 — — — B (Bristol) below bust ................ £70 £240 £1000 — 1696 — — — C (Chester) .................................. £80 £325 £1100 — 1696 — — — E (Exeter) .................................... £100 £400 £1300 — 1696 — — — N (Norwich) ................................. £90 £400 £1300 — 1696 — — — y (York) ........................................ £80 £350 £1500 — 1696 — — — — Scottish arms at date ............. Extremely rare 1696 — — ordinary harp ................................... £80 £275 £1350 — 1696 — — — C ................................................. £110 £500 £1000 1696 — — — E.................................................. £100 £500 £1000 — 1696 — — — N ................................................. £150 £600 £2250 — 1696 — Small shields, ordinary harp ................ £70 £250 £900 — 1696 — — — B ................................................. £90 £300 £1000 — 1696 — — — C ................................................. £90 £300 £1200 — 1696 — — — E.................................................. £100 £450 £2000 — 1696 — — — N ................................................. £110 £450 £1500 — 1696 — — — y .................................................. £100 £450 £1500 — 1696 Second bust ............................................. Only one known 1697 First bust, large shields, ordinary harp ... £ 75 £300 £1000 — 1697 — — — GRR for GRA .............................. Extremely rare 1697 — — — B ................................................. £80 £300 £1000 — 1697 — — — C ................................................. £80 £350 £1100 1697 — — — E.................................................. £90 £350 £1100 — 1697 — — — N ................................................. £100 £350 £1100 — 1697 — — — y .................................................. £90 £350 £1100 — 1698 — — ......................................................... £100 £350 £1200 — 1698/7 — — 8 over 7 ........................................ Extremely rare 1699 — — ......................................................... £130 £425 £1600 — 1699 — — Scottish arms at date ...................... Extremely rare 1700 — — ......................................................... £120 £375 £1300 — 1701 — — ......................................................... £125 £400 £1350 — 1701 — — No stops on rev ............................... £150 £600 — — 1701 — — Elephant & Castle below ................. Fair £2000 1701 — — Plumes in angles on rev. ................. £230 £625 £2200 —

Coin news

63

Coin price guide Date

Mintage

ANNE (1702–14) 1703 Plain (pre-Union) ....................................... 1703 VIGO below bust ...................................... 1704 Plumes in angles on rev............................ 1705 — .............................................................. 1706 Roses & Plumes in angles on rev. ............ 1707 — .............................................................. 1707 Plain (post-Union) ..................................... 1707 E below bust............................................. 1707 — SEPTIMO edge .................................... 1708 Plain .......................................................... 1708 E below bust............................................. 1708 Plumes in angles on rev............................ 1709 Plain .......................................................... 1709 E below bust............................................. 1710 Roses & Plumes in angles on rev. ............ 1712 — .............................................................. 1713 Plain .......................................................... 1713 Roses & Plumes in angles on rev. ............ 1714 — .............................................................. 1714/3 4 over 3 .................................................

F

VF

EF

UNC

Date

Mintage

F

VF

EF

UNC

GEORGE IV (1820–30 £500 £100 £150 £120 £90 £80 £80 £80

£2200 £340 £500 £500 £350 £300 £200 £200

£80 £80 £90 £75 £220 £80 £80 £80 £80 £80 £125

£250 £250 £275 £270 £800 £325 £325 £325 £325 £325 £500

— — £1100 — £1600 — £1600 — £1200 — £1000 — £850 — £850 — Extremely rare £900 — £900 — £1000 — £800 — — — £1000 — £1000 — £1000 — £1000 — £1000 — — —

George IV first bust, first reverse

George IV second bust, third rev

1820 First bust, first reverse .............incl. above 1821 — — ......................................... 1,435,104 1821 — — Proof ...............................incl. above 1823 — — ......................................... 2,003,760 1823 — Second reverse ...................incl. above 1824 — — ........................................... 465,696 1824 Second bust, third reverse ..... incl. above 1825 — — ......................................... 2,258,784 1826 — — ......................................... 2,189,088 1826 — — Proof ...............................incl. above 1828 — — .............................................. 49,890 1829 — — ............................................ 508,464

£25 £25 — £800 £25 £30

£70 £70 — £2500 £70 £80

£25 £25 — £60 £55

£250 £550 £250 £550 — £1500 — — £250 £500 £225 £600 Extremely rare £70 £180 £400 £70 £180 £400 — — £1250 £150 £400 £900 £130 £375 £875

— £30 £30 £35 £30 £60 £40

— £70 £70 £80 £70 £125 £130

WILLIAM IV (1830–37)

George I halfcrown

Anne halfcrown

GEORGE I (1714–27) 1715 Roses & Plumes in angles on rev. ............ £450 £900 1715 Plain edge................................................. 1717 — .............................................................. £450 £900 1720 — .............................................................. £425 £900 1720/17 20 over 17 ........................................... £370 £800 1723 SSC in angles on rev. ............................... £370 £800 1726 Small Roses & Plumes in angles on rev. ..... £3500 £22000

£3200 — Extremely rare £3200 — £3200 — £3000 — £2750 — — —

GEORGE II (1727–60)

1831 .............................................................— 1831 Proof (W.W. in script & block) ................— 1834 W.W. in block ............................... 993,168 1834 W.W. in script...........................incl. above 1835 ................................................... 281,952 1836 ................................................ 1,588,752 1836/5 6 over 5 ................................incl. above 1837 ................................................... 150,526

Extremely rare — £1500 £250 £600 £250 £600 £275 £650 £250 £600 £500 — £475 £1000

VICTORIA (1837–1901)

George II young head 1731 Young head, Plain, proof only................... 1731 — Roses & Plumes in angles on rev. ........ 1732 — — ......................................................... 1734 — — ......................................................... 1735 — — ......................................................... 1736 — — ......................................................... 1739 — Roses in angles on rev. ........................ 1741/39 — — 41 over 30 .................................. 1741 — — ......................................................... 1743 Old head, Roses in angles on rev. ............ 1745 — — ......................................................... 1745 — LIMA below bust .................................. 1746 — — ......................................................... 1746/5 — — 6 over 5 ........................................ 1746 — Plain, Proof .......................................... 1750 — — ......................................................... 1751 — — ......................................................... GEORGE III (1760–1820) 1816 “Bull head” ............................................— 1817 — .............................................. 8,092,656 1817 “Small head”............................incl. above 1818 — .............................................. 2,905,056 1819/8 — 9 over 8 ............................incl. above 1819 — .............................................. 4,790,016 1820 — .............................................. 2,396,592

George III bull head

64

Coin news

George II old head — £140 £140 £140 £140 £140 £140 £150 £140 £75 £75 £65 £65 £80 — £200 £225

— £400 £400 £400 £400 £400 £370 £550 £400 £175 £175 £160 £160 £220 — £500 £700

£20 £20 £20 £20

£75 £75 £75 £75

£20 £40

£4750 £1350 £1350 £1350 £1350 £1350 £1100 — £1000 £700 £700 £650 £650 £800 £1800 £1600 £2000

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

£200 £450 £200 £450 £200 £450 £200 £450 Extremely rare £75 £200 £450 £130 £400 £950

Victoria young head

Victoria jubilee head

YOUNG HEAD ISSUES 1839 (two varieties) .......................................— 1839 Proof ......................................................— 1840 ................................................... 386,496 1841 ..................................................... 42,768 1842 ................................................... 486,288 1843 ................................................... 454,608 1844 ................................................ 1,999,008 1845 ................................................ 2,231,856 1846 ................................................ 1,539,668 1848 Plain 8 .......................................... 367,488 1848/6 ..............................................incl. above 1849 ................................................... 261,360 1849 Small date ...............................incl. above 1850 ................................................... 484,613 1853 Proof only ..............................................— 1874 ................................................ 2,188,599 1875 ................................................ 1,113,483 1876 ................................................... 633,221 1876/5 6 over 5 ................................incl. above 1877 ................................................... 447,059 1878 ................................................ 1,466,323 1879 ................................................... 901,356 1880 ................................................ 1,346,350 1881 ................................................ 2,301,495 1882 ................................................... 808,227 1883 ................................................ 2,982,779 1884 ................................................ 1,569,175 1885 ................................................ 1,628,438 1886 ................................................... 891,767 1887 ................................................ 1,438,046

£750 — £40 £700 £50 £120 £40 £40 £50 £90 £70 £65 £80 £50 — £22 £22 £25 £30 £22 £22 £25 £22 £22 £22 £22 £22 £22 £22 £22

Victoria old head £2500 £6500 — — — £3300 £200 £600 £1350 £1200 £3000 £6000 £110 £500 £1200 £300 £800 £2000 £90 £450 £950 £90 £450 £950 £100 £475 £1000 £300 £1200 £3000 £225 £700 £2250 £150 £500 £1250 £180 £700 £1400 £120 £500 £1400 — — £3000 £60 £220 £500 £60 £220 £450 £60 £220 £500 £60 £250 £500 £60 £220 £425 £60 £220 £425 £60 £250 £500 £60 £225 £400 £60 £225 £375 £60 £225 £400 £60 £225 £375 £60 £225 £375 £60 £225 £375 £60 £225 £380 £60 £225 £375

George III small head www.tokenpublishing.com

October 2011

Coin price guide Date

Mintage

JUBILEE HEAD ISSUES 1887 ...............................................incl. above 1887 Proof .............................................. 1,084 1888 ................................................ 1,428,787 1889 ................................................ 4,811,954 1890 ................................................ 3,228,111 1891 ................................................ 2,284,632 1892 ................................................ 1,710,946 OLD HEAD ISSUES 1893 ................................................ 1,792,600 1893 Proof .............................................. 1,312 1894 ................................................ 1,524,960 1895 ................................................ 1,772,662 1896 ................................................ 2,148,505 1897 ................................................ 1,678,643 1898 ................................................ 1,870,055 1899 ................................................ 2,865,872 1900 ................................................ 4,479,128 1901 ................................................ 1,516,570

F

VF

EF

UNC

£7 — £10 £10 £10 £10 £10

£12 — £20 £18 £18 £18 £18

£25 — £45 £45 £60 £60 £65

£60 £225 £135 £120 £140 £140 £150

£10 — £12 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10

£20 — £30 £25 £18 £18 £18 £18 £18 £18

£50 — £75 £65 £55 £55 £55 £55 £55 £55

£95 £200 £200 £150 £170 £150 £150 £150 £150 £150

Date

Mintage

Third issue —Modified effigy 1926 ...............................................incl. above 1927 ................................................ 6,837,872 Fourth issue—New shield reverse 1927 Proof ............................................. 15,000 1928 .............................................. 18,762,727 1929 .............................................. 17,632,636 1930 ................................................... 809,051 1931 .............................................. 11,264,468 1932 ................................................ 4,793,643 1933 .............................................. 10,311,494 1934 ................................................ 2,422,399 1935 ................................................ 7,022,216 1936 ................................................ 7,039,423

F

VF

EF

UNC

£5 £5

£12 £10

£35 £30

£80 £60

— £5 £5 £10 £5 £5 £5 £5 £5 £5

— £8 £8 £40 £8 £8 £8 £8 £8 £8

— £18 £18 £250 £18 £22 £18 £50 £15 £15

£70 £35 £35 £700 £35 £80 £40 £150 £22 £20

— — £5 £5 £5 £5 £5 £5 £5 £5 £5

£6 — £6 £6 £6 £6 £6 £6 £6 £6 £6

£9 — £15 £9 £9 £9 £9 £9 £9 £9 £9

£14 £20 £25 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10

— — — — — — —

£1 £2 £4 £1 £2 £4 £1 £2 £6 £1 £2 £6 £1 £2 £9 £1 £2 £6 — — £9 Only one known

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

— — £1 — — — £1 £1 — — — — — — — — —

GEORGE VI (1936–52)

EDWARD VII (1901–10)

1902 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910

................................................ 1,316,008 “Matt Proof” ................................. 15,123 ................................................... 274,840 ................................................... 709,652 ................................................... 166,008 ................................................ 2,886,206 ................................................ 3,693,930 ................................................ 1,758,889 ................................................ 3,051,592 ................................................ 2,557,685

£10 — £175 £60 £500 £12 £12 £20 £12 £10

£30 £80 £145 — — £160 £525 £1800 £4000 £225 £500 £1500 £1100 £4000 £7000 £45 £200 £800 £45 £200 £800 £75 £375 £900 £50 £300 £600 £40 £100 £400

GEORGE V (1910–36)

1937 ................................................ 9,106,440 1937 Proof .............................................. 26,402 1938 ................................................ 6,426,478 1939 .............................................. 15,478,635 1940 .............................................. 17,948,439 1941 .............................................. 15,773,984 1942 .............................................. 31,220,090 1943 .............................................. 15,462,875 1944 .............................................. 15,255,165 1945 .............................................. 19,849,242 1946 .............................................. 22,724,873 Cupro-nickel 1947 .............................................. 21,911,484 1948 .............................................. 71,164,703 1949 .............................................. 28,272,512 1950 .............................................. 28,335,500 1950 Proof .............................................. 17,513 1951 ................................................ 9,003,520 1951 Proof .............................................. 20,000 1952 ................................................................ ELIZABETH II (1952–

)

George V first issue First issue 1911 ................................................ 2,914,573 1911 Proof ................................................ 6,007 1912 ................................................ 4,700,789 1913 ................................................ 4,090,169 1914 .............................................. 18,333,003 1915 .............................................. 32,433,066 1916 .............................................. 29,530,020 1917 .............................................. 11,172,052 1918 .............................................. 29,079,592 1919 .............................................. 10,266,737 Second issue—debased silver 1920 .............................................. 17,982,077 1921 .............................................. 23,677,889 1922 .............................................. 16,396,724 1923 .............................................. 26,308,526 1924 ................................................ 5,866,294 1925 ................................................ 1,413,461 1926 ................................................ 4,473,516

George V modified effigy

£8 — £7 £8 £5 £5 £5 £6 £5 £8

£25 — £18 £20 £12 £12 £12 £14 £12 £15

£60 — £45 £70 £40 £35 £35 £40 £35 £45

£140 £200 £150 £175 £65 £60 £60 £90 £65 £90

£3 £3 £4 £6 £12 £25 £8

£7 £7 £8 £8 £30 £70 £20

£20 £20 £22 £18 £80 £250 £40

£70 £60 £70 £45 £160 £700 £140

1953 ................................................ 4,333,214 1953 Proof .............................................. 40,000 1954 .............................................. 11,614,953 1955 .............................................. 23,628,726 1956 .............................................. 33,934,909 1957 .............................................. 34,200,563 1958 .............................................. 15,745,668 1959 ................................................ 9,028,844 1960 .............................................. 19,929,191 1961 .............................................. 25,887,897 1961 Polished dies ...........................incl. above 1962 .............................................. 24,013,312 1963 .............................................. 17,625,200 1964 ................................................ 5,973,600 1965 ................................................ 9,778,440 1966 .............................................. 13,375,200 1967 .............................................. 33,058,400

£1 — £5 £1 £1 £1 £5 £8 £1 — £1 — — — — — —

£3 £5 £22 £6 £6 £6 £22 £25 £2 £2 £2 £1 £1 £1 £1 £1 —

The Coin Yearbook 2012 is a comprehensive guide to the coins of England, Scotland, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. To order a copy call 01404 44166, or visit www.tokenpublishing.com

Coming next month: Illustrated Price Guide to Crowns and Double florins October 2011

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Coin news

65

66

Coin News

www.tokenpublishing.com

October 2011

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Coin News

67

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~

1817 1817 1820 1820 1820 1821 1821 1821 1822 1822 1824 1825 1825 1826 1826 1826 1826 1827 1827 1827 1827 1829 1829 1829 1830 1830 1832 1832 1832 1836 1842 1843 1844 1845 1845 1846 1846 1847 1847 1848 1848 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1853 1855 1856 1857 1861 1862 1862 1863 1864 1864 1865 1865 1866 1868 1869 1869 1871 1871 1871 1871 1872 1872 1872 1872 1872 1873 1873 1873 1874 1875 1875 1875

SOVEREIGNS GEORGE 111 AUNC GEORGE 111 GVF GEORGE 111 RGVF GEORGE 111 AVF/VF GEORGE 111 AEF GEORGE IV AEF GEORGE 1V RGVF GEORGE 1V GEF GEORGE IV RGVF GEORGE 1V GEF GEORGE 1V GVF EK GEORGE 1V UNC GEORGE 1V AUNC GEORGE 1V NVF GEORGE 1V EF/GEF GEORGE 1V VF GEORGE 1V AUNC GEORGE 1V GVF GEORGE 1V AVF GEORGE 1V AUNC GEORGE 1V GEF GEORGE 1V GVF GEORGE 1V VF SUPERB UNC GEORGE 1V GVF/VF GEORGE 1V RGVF WILLIAM 1V GVF/AEF WILLIAM 1V RGVF/EF SUPERB AUNC WILLIAM 1V GVF/AEF SHIELD GVF SHIELD VF SHIELD VF SHIELD VF SHIELD VF SUPERB AUNC SHIELD GVF SHIELD VF SHIELD GVF SHIELD GVF SHIELD RGVF SHIELD GEF SHIELD GVF SHIELD GVF SHIELD AUNC SHIELD AUNC SHIELD AUNC 5 OVER 3 V-RARE AEF SHIELD GEF SUPERB AUNC SHIELD AUNC SHIELD AUNC SHIELD GEF/UNC SUPERB UNC SHIELD AUNC SHIELD AUNC SHIELD GEF SHIELD EF/UNC SHIELD AUNC SHIELD AUNC SH SUPERB AUNC SHIELD AUNC SUPERB UNC SYD SHIELD EF/GEF SYD SHIELD AUNC LON SHIELD UNC LON ST G UNC SYD SHIELD AUNC LON SHIELD UNC SYD ST G UNC SYD SHIELD AUNC LON ST G UNC SYD ST G AUNC LON ST G AUNC SYD SHIELD AUNC MEL STG AUNC SYDNEY SH AUNC MEL ST G UNC MEL ST G AUNC

£1,475 £975 £895 £585 £975 £975 £875 £1,295 £825 £1,375 £625 £1,675 £1,475 £525 £1,100 £625 £1,475 £825 £545 £1,475 £1,175 £845 £695 £1,775 £695 £895 £895 £1,025 £1,795 £1,075 £425 £395 £395 £395 £345 £1,075 £375 £345 £385 £395 £425 £875 £475 £475 £495 £475 £475 £675 £445 £795 £495 £485 £450 £695 £475 £495 £450 £450 £525 £495 £745 £475 £795 £425 £625 £525 £495 £675 £495 £695 £675 £450 £975 £445 £875 £525 £685 £625 £475

1876 1876 1877 1877 1877 1878 1878 1879 1879 1880 1880 1880 1881 1881 1881 1882 1882 1883 1883 1884 1884 1884 1884 1885 1885 1885 1885 1885 1885 1886 1886 1886 1886 1887 1887 1887 1887 1888 1888 1888 1889 1889 1889 1890 1890 1890 1891 1891 1891 1891 1892 1892 1893 1893 1893 1894 1894 1894 1895 1895 1895 1896 1896 1896 1897 1897 1898 1898 1898 1899 1899 1899 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1900 1901 1901

MEL ST G SYD ST G SYDNEY SH YH MEL ST G SYDNEY SH SYD SH SYD SH MEL ST G SYD SH MEL ST G SYD ST G SYD SHIELD SY SHIELD SY SHIELD MEL ST G YH MEL ST G SYD SHIELD M ST G 3857 C SY SH CHOICE SYD ST G MEL SHIELD SYDNEY SH M ST G 3857 B MEL ST G SYD ST G LON ST G SYDNEY SH LON ST G M ST G SY SHIELD MEL ST G SYD SHIELD SYD ST G JH MEL LON JH SYD YH MEL ST G MELBOURNE MEL SYDNEY SYDNEY LONDON MELBOURNE LONDON MELBOURNE SYD JH LON JH MELBOURNE LON JH SYD JH MELBOURNE LON JH SYD JH LON OH MEL OLD HD SYDNEY MELBOURNE LONDON LON OH MELBOURNE SYDNEY LONDON MELBOURNE SYDNEY SYDNEY MELBOURNE LONDON MELBOURNE SYDNEY MELBOURNE SYDNEY LONDON SYDNEY MELBOURNE PERTH MELBOURNE SYDNEY LONDON SYDNEY MELBOURNE

UNC AUNC AUNC UNC UNC AUNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC AUNC AUNC UNC UNC UNC AUNC UNC AUNC UNC AUNC AUNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC AUNC AUNC GEF/AUNC AUNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC AUNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC AUNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC UNC

£575 £475 £565 £545 £595 £495 £695 £395 £675 £495 £495 £795 £875 £975 £545 £495 £695 £545 £695 £475 £495 £495 £425 £435 £425 £425 £595 £375 £385 £395 £385 £595 £485 £375 £375 £585 £585 £295 £375 £375 £375 £375 £375 £375 £375 £375 £375 £375 £325 £375 £375 £375 £395 £345 £375 £325 £325 £325 £325 £325 £325 £325 £325 £355 £355 £325 £325 £325 £365 £325 £325 £325 £325 £325 £395 £325 £325 £325 £325 £325

• 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 ~

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October 2011

“Primitive” Monies

DR K. A. RODGERS examines alternative currencies . . .

I

CONFESS I have long been uneasy about the term “primitive money”. Perhaps it is because I am a child of the Pacific and grew-up in a post-colonial world well removed from Mother England, let alone continental Europe. But it is a term that at some point most numismatists come across. It might be in an auction catalogue, or at club night, or perhaps in a book. It is something newcomers need to be aware of. Early in my numismatic career I Cowry shell money found not all pundits in this field agreed on what was and wasn’t “primitive money.” My interest was sparked by references in several numismatic books to the use of polished teeth of sperm whales, known as tabua, as currency in Fiji prior to British rule. Paul Einzig cleaves to this view in Primitive Money In its Ethnological, Historical and Economic Aspects. What such opinions ignore is that pre-European Fiji was exclusively a barter economy. They had no need of money. In her Survey of Primitive Money, Alison Hinston Quiggin is adamant that, while tabua had a potent social and spiritual role in Fiji, they were never used as money. Certainly, they might be obtained though trade but so were women and muskets. To avoid such confusion I found it helpful to get a handle on what money is—and what it is not. Essentially, money is a medium of exchange. It can be used as an intermediary in trade to avoid the inconveniences of a barter system. In barter exchange of goods can occur only where two people have different needs and each can supply the need of the other. Money allows for an intermediate procedure. Trader A buys goods from B using money that B can use to purchase other goods from C. Alison Hinston Quiggin regards money as having three attributes: it is a recognised medium of exchange, it has a standard value, and it can be a symbol of wealth. In her opinion, if any of these are absent then it ain’t money. I bought this bill of goods and use these criteria as a test of items cited as “primitive money”. For example, in western Africa cowry shells were commonly used as a medium of exchange up until the mid 19th century. They were often strung on strings of 40 (or 100) with 50 (or 20) strings equal to the dollar and used to pay taxes and purchase slaves. But also from Africa come armlets in bronze or copper called manillas. They too were common in the slave trade. Europeans did not introduce them but certainly managed their subsequent widespread supply. October 2011

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Cowry shells clearly fit Hinston Quiggin’s requirements of money just as tabua do not. As for manilla, they may have become a medium of exchange under European influence, but their values varied and some writers regard them as little more than bartered goods. I have yet to be fully convinced as to their merits as currency. On a personal note my real unease with “primitive money” lies in the descriptor “primitive”. To me it smacks of some patronising slight voiced by members of a self-anointed superior race. It dates from a day and age when many Europeans arriving in a new land expected to find cultural precursors of their own civilization. Any such precursors were by definition: (a) inferior and (b) primitive. That said, anyone wishing to add some “primitive currency” to their collection would be well advised to read Alison Hinston Quiggin’s excellent book. You can do so for free on-line. Do so with a critical eye and ear. You might then like to decide whether tea bricks were a form of edible currency—or were not (cf. Wikipedia). They do, however, make an excellent cuppa. And, of course, many designs on modern coins show examples of alternative currencies. They make a great thematic collecting topic. Right: Manilla from southeastern Nigeria and Consumable money? Tea brick presented to “His Imperial Highness, Lord Heir Czesarevich” c. 1891. Images Wikimedia Commons. Below: Not “primitive currency”: Tabua, K.A. Rodgers collection. © K.A. Rodgers 2011

Coin news

69

70

Coin news

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October 2011

BANKNOTE News

THE SPECIALIST BANKNOTE SECTION INCLUDED FREE WITH COIN NEWS

Polymer notes for UK? I

T has been reported in the national press that the Bank of England is considering replacing the current £5 and £50 notes with polymer ones. The £5 and £50 are being considered due to the £5 being quickly passed from person to person and therefore wearing out sooner, while the £50 note, although used less often, costs the UK economy more if it is counterfeited. For this reason, added security features are being considered for the £50 such as a clear plastic window within the note. A source close to the Bank was reported as saying: “This is at the evaluation stage. A decision won’t be made for the next year or two and production a little while after that, but a plastic £5 note is a possibility even though it won’t provide as much security as other options.” If the BOE do adopt the polymer note, the UK will join the growing number of countries that have done so since Australia began issuing a full set of notes for general circulation in 1992.

Pictures courtesy of Bank of Canada.

Are polymer notes like these Australian notes headed for the wallets and purses of the UK?

Canada unveils first two notes in new polymer series

A

FTER the Bank of Canada’s announcement last year that they would be issuing a new series of banknotes in polymer, two of the notes have been unveiled. The two notes carry the same colours and portraits on the face of the notes as the previous “Canadian Journey” series in order to help the public identify the notes easily however, they have been revamped. The first note to be issued will be the $100 dollars which is released in November while the second note to be issued, the $50 will get its turn in March of next year. The theme for the notes have been chosen to reflect Canada’s spirit of innovation, celebrating achievements at home, around the world and in space. The $100 note features images that focus on Canadian innovations in the field of medicine: from pioneering the discovery of insulin to treat diabetes, to the invention of the pacemaker and to the role Canadian researchers have played in mapping the human genetic code. Sir Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada between 1911 and 1920, in an updated portrait, remains on the front of the note. The $50 note features images of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Amundsen, reflecting Canada’s leading role in Arctic research. An updated portrait of William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Canadian Prime Minister between 1921 and 1930 and again from 1935 to 1948, is on the front of the note. Starting with the $20 note in 2012, the remaining bank notes in the polymer series will be issued by the end of 2013. The themes of the other denominations will be: $20—The Canadian National Vimy Memorial which evokes the contributions and sacrifices of Canadians in conflicts past. (Portrait is of HM Queen Elizabeth II); $10—The Canadian train which represents Canada’s great technical feat of linking its eastern and western frontiers by what was, at the time, the longest railway ever built. (Portrait: Sir John A. Macdonald); $5—Canadarm2 and Dextre which symbolises Canada’s continuing contribution to the international space program through robotics innovation. (Portrait: Sir Wilfrid Laurier). These designs have yet to be unveiled but are expected to be nearer their release date. To find out more visit www.bankofcanada.ca.

Banking on holograms

C

ANADA and Brazil’s decision to introduce new banknotes featuring anti-counterfeiting holograms has been welcomed by the trade body representing the global hologram industry. The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) says the move once again reaffirms the hologram’s position as a pre-eminent security feature for banknotes. Brazil has issued its new 50 and 100 Real notes with a 12mm wide stripe of holographic demetallised foil while Canada has announced its new $100 and $50 notes will feature clear windows incorporating holograms. The new issues show continuing commitment to the use of holograms for banknote protection says the IHMA. More information on the IHMA and latest technologies can be found at www.ihma.org. October 2011

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Banknote newsround

CHINA: A commemorative banknote commissioned by the Central Bank of China was snapped up by local collectors in a matter of hours. The 500,000 “Collector’s Version of the Republic of China Founding Centenary NT$100 Banknotes” set included three NT$100 bills and retailed at NT$500. Sets were resold almost immediately for as much as NT$2,000. BANKNOTE specialists Colin Narbeth & Son have a new email for customers to contact them—narbeth@btconnect.com. SOUTH SUDAN: The newly independent nation will issue its own currency rather than continue to use that of Sudan. In a special ceremony in July at the Central Bank of South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit exchanged his Sudanese money for the new, all banknote, South Sudan currency. The denominations of the new notes are 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 pounds.

Coin news

71

What’s it WORTH

?

Did you know that certain 2008 20p pieces are worth £50 each? Did you know that some 1983 2 pence coins are worth almost £1000?

Did you know that a 1932 penny is worth about 10p but if you had a 1933 penny you could sell it for tens of thousands of pounds?

£9.95

+£2 p&p

If you didn’t then you need the COIN YEARBOOK 2012— a complete collectors handbook and price guide to all English, Scottish, Irish and Islands coins from Roman and Celtic times right up to the present day. And all for just £9.95 (plus £2 p&p) The BRAND NEW 2012 edition is on SALE NOW—order your copy today.

Also available the MEDAL YEARBOOK and the BANKNOTE YEARBOOK. Please order your copy from Token Publishing Ltd, Orchard House, Duchy Road, Heathpark, Honiton, Devon. EX14 1YD Tel: 01404 44166 E-mail: info@tokenpublishing.com

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Coin News

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October 2011

Banknote feature JONATHAN CALLAWAY

THE CLYDESDALE BANK’S “FAMOUS SCOTS” SERIES 1971–2007

I

N 1969 there were five Scottish banknote issuers but a year later this had fallen to three, the current total. While the Clydesdale Bank had been a spectator as these mergers took place, it decided to follow suit with its rivals, the Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland, and prepare a new series of banknotes. In the case of the Clydesdale, the theme of Famous Scots was chosen. This gave rise to a long lasting and much collected series which has only recently been replaced. The series started with five notes but later a sixth was added. The first to appear were £1 notes with a portrait of Robert the Bruce and £5 notes with a portrait of Robert Burns. Both these notes were dated March 1, 1971 and were signed by Sir Robert Duncan Fairbairn, a famous sportsman in his day who played cricket, football and golf to a high standard. As well as footballing stints with St Johnstone and Partick Thistle (a claim few top bankers could make!) he appeared for both Cheshire and Yorkshire cricket clubs, as well as the Scottish national cricket team, before turning to golf. As captain of Troon Golf Club he had the honour of presenting the Open Championship trophy to the winner Tom Watson when the competition was held there in 1982. By the time the first £10, £20 and £100 notes appeared, all dated March 1, 1972, Fairbairn, who had started his long career with the Clydesdale in 1927, had retired and the new notes were signed by Alexander Ross Macmillan. He too had had a long career in banking, joining the North of Scotland Bank in 1938 in Tain, a town which granted him Freedom of the Royal Burgh in 1975. The £10 note featured the explorer David Livingstone while both the £20 and £100 notes featured Lord Kelvin, the mathematician and physicist born William Thomson in Belfast in 1824. He was Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University for a remarkable 53 years and made major contributions to submarine telegraphy and thermodynamics. The Kelvin temperature scale is named after him. Macmillan inherited Fairbairn’s post as General Manager but he was further elevated to Chief General Manager in 1974 necessitating a minor change to the notes. In 1981 a £50 note was added to the series, featuring Adam Smith, the political economist and author of the seminal and still influential work

The Wealth of Nations which was published in 1776. Smith became the first man to be honoured on banknotes north and south of the border when he was chosen to appear on the current Bank of England £20 note. It is not expected that a Scottish bank will be quick to reciprocate and honour an Englishman, though! In 1982 the Limited in the bank’s title was amended to PLC on all the notes. The opportunity was also taken to add the word STERLING to the denomination text and to add the £ symbol to the value panels on the front and reverse of the notes. Macmillan’s signature continued to appear on the notes but he retired a year later in 1983 and was replaced by Arthur Richard Cole-Hamilton, an accountant who switched from the family accounting firm to banking in 1967. Another keen golfer, he is a member of several clubs and was Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews for the year 2004/2005. Smaller changes now appeared: on the £1 and £5 notes the magnetic sorting codes were dropped from the reverse of the notes in 1985. These codes had first been used in 1967 but new technology had rendered them superfluous and so they were removed; they had never appeared on the higher denominations whose much lower circulation volumes did not warrant their use. The same year, Thomas De La Rue, the engravers and printers of all the notes in this series, decided to introduce their special prefix system for identifying replacement notes. These had first appeared in Scotland in 1970 on Bank of Scotland notes but for some reason it took another fifteen years for them to be used on the Clydesdale’s. For the Clydesdale, the identifying prefix was D/ZZ and this has been recorded on the £1, £5, £10 and £20 notes. Only those on the £1 note are at all easy to find and the others can command high prices when they come on to the market.

Despite the prefix this note is not a replacement. Macmillan signs as Chief General Manager.

The first £1 note was signed by Sir Robert Duncan Fairbairn.

October 2011

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The first replacement note was signed by Cole-Hamilton.

Coin news

73

Banknote feature Far left: This £5 note was signed by Macmillan as General Manager. The first reduced size £5 note sees the Burns portrait reworked but the design otherwise largely unchanged.

The first replacement notes appeared right at the end of the original £10 design. Far right: The revised portrait of Livingstone appears to show a younger man.

In 1987 Cole-Hamilton’s title was changed to Chief Executive requiring another small amendment to the notes, but the first major change was to appear in 1988 when the £10 was redesigned. David Livingstone continued to feature but the reverse design of an African slave scene was replaced with a view of his birthplace in Blantyre, east of Glasgow. The same year saw the last of the £1 notes issued by the Clydesdale when this denomination was discontinued. While not reflected in any changes to the note issues, the Clydesdale Bank itself changed hands in 1987, the long time owners Midland Bank selling out to the National Australia Bank (NAB). The news was greeted positively in Scotland given the guarantee of greater autonomy for the bank. Cole-Hamilton oversaw the transition and remained Chief Executive until his retirement in 1992. Meanwhile, a further major change to the note issues had taken place in 1990. The size of the £5, £10 and £20 notes was reduced to conform to size changes to Bank of England notes. While the £5 and £10 note designs remained largely unchanged, and the £50 and £100 notes continued to be issued in the old dimensions, the £20 note enjoyed a complete makeover. Robert the Bruce was promoted from his place on the defunct £1 note and a new, bolder, portrait of him dominates the front of the new £20 note. On the reverse, he is depicted on horseback with Stirling Castle in the background and, for the sharper-eyed, a distant view of the Wallace Monument. The patriotic symbolism could not be clearer! In 1996 the £50 note was also reduced in size, with only superficial changes to the original design. The same year the £100 note was redesigned while keeping the same dimensions: Lord Kelvin stayed on the front but his lecture theatre on the reverse was replaced by a fine depiction of the main Glasgow University buildings. Logically, the prefixes of the £5, £20 started afresh with the size change, at E/AA (and replacements now used the prefix E/ZZ) but illogically the £10 prefixes continued the unbroken sequence that started with D/A in 1971, switching to A/AA only in 1997 when a new design was introduced and the Presbyterian missionary Mary Slessor replaced David

Livingstone (incidentally becoming the first woman to feature on a Scottish banknote). Along the way the £10 note prefixes had reached D/ZY (the last one) and moved on to E/AA, halfway through 1990. The final prefix before the Mary Slessor notes came in was E/WX. It is interesting to note that the bank’s numbering system was not based on 1,000,000 notes per prefix, rather it was £1,000,000 worth of notes. This system had been adopted in 1950 at the time the Clydesdale and the North of Scotland banks merged and in fact was first used by the North Bank in 1938. By the 1980s the previously unpopular £10 notes were being issued in ever larger numbers and hence prefix usage escalated. Somewhere around 1996 the bank eventually decided to switch to 1,000,000 notes per prefix, except for the £50 and £100 notes which stayed with the old system, i.e. 20,000 and 10,000 per prefix respectively although the final prefix of the £50 note, A/ CC, ran to 750,000 over two signatories. In 1992, Cole-Hamilton was succeeded by Charles Love who died suddenly and prematurely at the age of 48 after little more than a year in office. He had spent only a year at the Clydesdale having been headhunted from the Trustees Savings Bank. His death ushered in an era of ever briefer reigns by a number of Chief Executives as the Australian owners struggled to maintain stability at their Scottish subsidiary. From ColeHamilton’s retirement through to 2004 there were no fewer than eight note signatories as Chief Executive. Two of these, John Wright and Grahame Savage, had been drafted in from the Northern Bank in Belfast, also owned by NAB. Had a ninth followed then the Clydesdale would have won the accolade of being the first Scottish bank to have its notes signed by a female Chief Executive. This was Lynne Peacock, who had eight years in the top job until March 2011 when she decided to step down. The current note signatory, David Thorburn, has been signing the notes as Chief Operating Officer since 2004 but has now assumed the title of Chief Executive UK Banking. The introduction of the reduced sized notes also saw a further innovation; the issue of commemorative notes. The first of these was a series of four £5 notes, each with a different

Left: The portrait of Mary Slessor cannot be said to be very flattering. Right: An early £20 note with Lord Kelvin’s portrait, identical to that used on the £100 note.

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Coin news

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October 2011

Banknote feature extract of verses of Robert Burns. These appeared in 1996 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Scotland’s national poet on July 21, 1796 at the age of 38. The bank initially sold sets of the notes with matching serial numbers (at £40 a set) although later the many unsold sets were put into circulation. In total 1,000,000 sets were produced. The notes were signed by Fred Goodwin, a chartered accountant who had joined the Clydesdale in 1995 before moving on to the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1998 and more recently of course to considerable

notoriety as a result of that bank’s collapse during the 2008 banking crisis. The Clydesdale Bank, let it be said, had a “good crisis” in that both it and its parent bank emerged unscathed and in strong competitive shape. Further commemorative notes followed and these will be the subject of a future article on modern Scottish commemoratives. The summaries below break the series down by signatories and dates so commemorative issues are not separately identified unless they had a separate date.

SUMMARY OF “FAMOUS SCOTS” SERIES 1971-1990

(issue totals are estimates)

£1 notes Dates Issued (mn) Fairbairn (GM) 1971 1 6.0 Macmillan (GM) 1972–73 2 9.0 Macmillan (CGM) Ltd 1974–81 8 51.0 Macmillan (CGM) PLC 1982 1 10.0 Cole Hamilton (CGM) codes 1983 1 12.0 Cole Hamilton (CGM) no codes 1985 2 18.0 Cole Hamilton (CE) 1987–90 2 11.0 TOTALS 17 117.0

£5 notes Dates Issued (mn) 1 2.0 2 3.0

£10 notes Dates Issued (mn) 2 0.6

£20 notes Dates Issued (mn) 2 0.3

£50 notes Dates Issued (mn) -

£100 notes Dates Issued (thous) 1 30.0

6

18.0

8

11.4

6

1.9

1

0.3

2

40.0

1

8.0

1

6.8

1

1.0

-

-

-

-

1

9.0

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1

4.0

3

17.2

2

1.5

-

-

1

50.0

3 15

12.0 56.0

5 19

40.0 76.0

2 13

2.0 6.7

2 3

0.54 0.84

1 5

70.0 190.0

SUMMARY OF “FAMOUS SCOTS” SERIES 1990-2007 (reduced size except for £100)

(issue totals are estimates)

Cole Hamilton (CE) 1990-92 Love (CE) 1993 Cicutto (CE) 1994 Goodwin (CE) 1996-7 Wright (CE) 1998-2000 Grimshaw (CE) 2001 Savage (CE) 2002 Targett (CE) 2003 Pinney (CE) 2003 Thorburn (COO) 2004-07 TOTALS

£5 notes £10 notes Dates Issued Dates Issued

£20 notes £50 notes £100 notes Dates Issued Dates Issued Dates Issued

1 1 2

12.0 5.0 14.0

1 1 3

40.0 20.0 19.6

3 1 1 3

15.0 5.1 9.7 20.0

1

1.0

1

250.0

1 -

5.0 -

3 1 1

39.5 10.0 13.0

3 1 1 1

24.5 3.5 6.5 20.0

1 1

0.1 0.5

1 -

50.0 -

5

36.0

4 14

68.0 209.1

4 18

55.0 159.3

1 4

0.25 1.85

2

300.0

(mn)

(mn)

(mn)

(mn)

(thous)

Robert the Bruce seems to have aged during his move from the £1 note. Far right: Stuart Grimshaw’s signature appears only on the £50 and £100 Glasgow University commemorative notes. Below: This beautiful view of Glasgow University is found on the reverse of the 2001 £100 note.

October 2011

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Coin news

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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

Fax: 845-691-4974

BUYING—ANY QUANTITY

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76

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October 2011

Papermoney

DR K. A. RODGERS

MANUSCRIPT-SIGNED MAWSON $100 LAUNCHED DOWN UNDER

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ARLIER last year an uncirculated $100 Australian bank note, featuring Antarctic geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson on its back, sold at auction for A$19,000. The current catalog value of this note, P#48d, is a little over A$500. The enhancement in value came from the addition of the manuscript signatures of its two (printed) signatories, former Reserve Bank Governor Bernie Fraser and former Secretary of the Federal Treasury Anthony Cole. The note was one of a batch of 50 that had been so countersigned, mounted and framed in 1997 to mark the launch of the Mawson’s Huts’ Foundation established to conserve historic huts at Cape Denison built and used by the 1911–13 Australasian Antarctic Expedition that had been led by Mawson. The mount itself had been individually signed by the then Governor General of Australia Sir William Deane, the then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, the then Treasurer Peter Costello, plus the conqueror of Mt Everest, Sir Ed Hillary. To mark the centenary of Mawson’s departure for the ice on December 2, 1911, the Foundation has now launched a second series of manuscript-signed Mawson $100 notes. These come with added spice. The mount that contains each note, also bears the signatures of nine individuals who helped launch the Foundation 14 years ago. These include Mawson’s two daughters, Patricia Thomas and Jessica McEwin, Sir Edmund Hillary, five Australian Prime Ministers and the last surviving member of Mawson’s 1929–31 expedition, Dr Alf Howard. Several of these folk are now deceased and their signatures had been obtained on specially printed sheets of acid-free stickers at the time of the 1997 launch with the intention of using them in this centenary year to raise further badly-needed funds. The Foundation is now offering these numbered and mounted notes at A$5,250 each plus p&p. Just 50 such numbered notes are available. Once sold there are no more. Australasia’s first Antarctic Expedition The 1911–13 Antarctic Expedition proved to be one of Australia’s (and the Empire’s) great heroic epics. It is a tale of extraordinary survival. Mawson had been a member of Ernest Shackleton’s British Antarctic Expedition. In January 1909 he had become the first to reach the South Magnetic Pole along with Edgeworth David and Alexander Mackay. He took over as leader on the way home when 50-year-old David was overcome by exhaustion and lack of food. David credits Mawson with their survival. In 1910 Mawson was invited but declined to join Robert Scott’s South Pole sledging party. The 28 year old was no longer interested in such exploits. He wanted to undertake

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scientific exploration. He managed to secure substantial private and government backing for what would be the last great adventure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration and, more importantly, the first dedicated scientific programme undertaken on the frozen continent. The expedition sailed from Hobart in December 1911 on the SY Aurora. Main Base was established at Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay. It proved most inhospitable. The average wind speed was about 80km/h with gusts peaking at 320km/h. But by February the huts essential to their survival had been erected and some good science undertaken before the superblizzards of winter came with a vengeance. The team wintered through, seldom able to go outside.

Sir Douglas Mawson OBE, FRS, FAA: 1882–1958.

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Papermoney

Above: Sir Douglas Mawson’s medals. Can any reader name them all? Left: Erecting tents in a blizzard. Painting by Charles Harrisson presented to Douglas and Paquita at their wedding.

Survival Mawson was also seriously debilitated. He discarded everything not essential for survival—except his geological specimens, field note books and the records. He cut his sledge in half with a pocket saw and dragged it unaided for the last 160km to Main Base. Less than 2km into the trip the soles of his feet came away and the tips of his toes turned black. At one point he fell through a crevasse but was saved when his sledge wedged itself in the ice above. By January 29, the skin of his hands started to detach. His face was covered with boils. His hair, including his beard, fell out in lumps. Blessedly, just 20km from safety, he stumbled over a food cache left just six hours before by searchers.

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Coin news

Even now Antarctica had a final trick to play. The snow turned to blue ice. Mawson had no crampons and famously improvised some from his theodolite box. As he approached Base he saw the Aurora disappearing over the horizon. On the afternoon of February 8, he staggered into the huts. He had survived alone in a frozen hell for 32 days. A small party had waited in hope of a return. Unfortunately, the ship could not come back due to deteriorating conditions and the group had to sit out a second bitter winter. They finally departed Main Base in mid December 1913. Waiting throughout for Mawson’s return was Paquita Delprat. They married on March 31, 1914. That same year Mawson was knighted by King George V. Readers wanting to consider purchasing one of these historic notes can contact the CEO of the Mawson’s Huts’ Foundation, David Jensen, at www,mawsons-huts.org.au or email: david. jensen@mawsons-huts.org.au, or snail mail: Mawson’s Huts’ Foundation, GPO Box 3850 Sydney 2001, Australia.

One of the manuscript-signed $100 notes from the 1997 batch showing Mawson dressed for the blizzard.

All images courtesy Mawson’s Huts’ Foundation.

Summertime sledging As soon as the weather warmed summer field parties headed out. Mawson’s Eastern Sledging Party consisted of Xavier Mertz and Lieutenant Belgrave Ninnis. Their task was to survey King George V Land. After five weeks they had made excellent progress mapping the coastline and collecting geological samples. On December 14, they were crossing the Ninnis Glacier 499km east of Main Base. Mertz was skiing, Mawson was on his sled, and Ninnis jogging behind with the second sled. Suddenly Ninnis broke through a large crevasse. He disappeared along with the six best dogs, their main tent, most of the food supplies, and much equipment. There was no hope of recovery. Mawson and Mertz had fuel and a primus but just one week’s provisions and no dog food. They sledged for 27 hours without a break to recover an abandoned tent cover to improvise shelter. They now began to kill the remaining dogs to feed themselves and the other dogs. The meat was tough and stringy, with no fat. It failed to satisfy their appetites. Their health deteriorated accompanied by dizziness, nausea, stomach pain, irrationality, anal fissuring, skin, hair, and nail loss, and yellowing of the eyes. Mertz experienced episodes of severe diarrhoea and madness. He lost his will to move. Mawson had to sit on him during rages and seizures. On January 8, 1913 he fell into a coma and died.

Framed and mounted centenary manuscript-signed $100 Mawson note with the nine historic signatures. www.tokenpublishing.com

October 2011

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

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Coin News

79

Banknote prices

Price guide to:

The British Linen Bank

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

SC201a SC201b SC201c SC201d SC202a SC202b

VF

ONE POUND Signatories: F. Gordon Brown (p. Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix T dated 15.1.1907 and prefix U dated 26.12.1907 .............. Rare Signatories: A. S. Aikman (p. Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix V dated 2.11.1908 ................. Rare Signatories: E. G. Galletley (p. Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix W dated 15.7.1910 and prefix X dated 11.8.1911 ........ £450 £800 Signatories: E. G. Galletley (p. General Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix Y dated 29.10.1912 and prefix Z dated 17.9.1913 ....... £400 £800 Signatories: E. G. Galletley (p. General Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix A dated 23.9.1914 to prefix G dated 5.11.1918............ £220 £450 Signatories: C.J.Grant (p. General Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix H dated 19.8.1919 to prefix L dated 31.7.1924............ £220 £450

VF

SC203

Signatory: J. Waugh (Cashier) Prefix N dated 1.6.1926 to prefix Z dated 26.1.1933, ............. £95 and Prefix A dated 3.4.1933 to prefix G dated 2.8.1934.......... £90 SC204 Signatory: J. Waugh (Cashier)Prefix H dated 18. 1.1935 to prefix R dated 26.4.1937 £65 SC205a Signatory: J. Waugh (Cashier) Prefix S dated 4.7.1937 to prefix Z dated 8.11.1938,................ £55 and Prefix A dated 12.6.1939 to prefix D dated 13.11.1939, .. £55 and Prefix E/1 dated 7.3.1940 to prefix U/1 dated 7.4.1944 . £50 SC205b Signatory: G.Mackenzie (General Manager) Prefix V/1 dated 4.1.1946 to prefix R/2 dated 5.8.1950 ......... £32 SC205c Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager) Prefix S/2 dated 4.6.1951 to prefix L/3 dated 12.5.1959 ........ £20 SC206 Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager) Prefix M/3 to prefix P/3 dated 15.4.1960. ............................... £22 SC207 Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager) Prefix Q/3 to prefix T/3 dated 30.9.1961 ................................. £22

EF £180 £170

£85 £85 £80 £50 £35 £40 £40

EF UNC

£40

F

VF

VF

SC213a Signatories: A. Dempster (General Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix X/5 dated 16.9.1935 to prefix P/6 dated 30.12.1940 . £220 SC213b Signatories: G. Mackenzie (General Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix Q/6 dated 16.7.1941 to prefix B/7 dated 12.1.1943 ... £220 SC213c Signatories: J. Waugh (Accountant and Cashier) and G. Mackenzie (General Manager) Prefix C/7 dated 11.2.1943 to prefix O/7 dated 28.1.1944... £200 SC214a Signatories: J. Waugh (Accountant & Cashier) and G. Mackenzie (General Manager) Prefix P/7 dated 29.5.1944 to prefix U/7 dated 3.11.1944 ... £140

£50 £40 £50

Rare £800 £450

EF £450 £450 £400 £250

EF

SC214b Signatory: G. Mackenzie (General Manager) Prefix V/7 dated 10.9.1946 to prefix Z/8 dated 2.8.1950 ...... £70 £140 SC214c Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager) Prefix A/9 dated 5.12.1950 to prefix Y/11 dated 4.8.1959 .... £55 £110 SC215 Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager) Prefix Z/11 dated 2.1.1961 and prefix A/12 dated 3.2.1961 £130 £250

EF UNC

SC216a Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager)................................. Prefix D/12 dated 21.9.1962 to prefix F/12 dated 19.11.1962 £30 SC216b Signatory: T. W. Walker (General Manager) Prefix G/12 dated 16.6.1964 to prefix I/12 dated 18.8.1964 .. £30 SC217 Signatory: T. W. Walker (General Manager) Prefix K/12 dated 22.3.1968 to prefix M/12 dated 24.5.1968 £45

£70

F

VF

SC221 SC222

£120

SC208a Signatory: A. P .Anderson (General Manager) Prefix U/3 to prefix Y/3 dated 31.3.1962 ................................. £35 SC208b Signatory: T. W. Walker (General Manager) Prefix Z/3 dated 1.7.1963 to prefix P/4 dated 13.6.1967. ...... £25 SC209 Signatory: T. W. Walker (General Manager) Prefix Q/4 to prefix T/4 dated 13.6.1967. ................................ £35 SC210 Signatory: T. W. Walker (General Manager) Prefix U/4 dated 29.2.1968 to prefix D/5 dated 20.7.1970. ... £28 FIVE POUNDS SC211a Signatories: handsigned p. Manager and p. Accountant. Prefix A/3 dated 3.9.1907 to prefix H/3 dated 4.12.1911................................................................................... SC211b Signatories: handsigned p. General Manager and p. Accountant Prefix I/3 dated 30.10.1912 to prefix M/3 dated 12.9.1915 . £450 SC212 Signatories: Handsigned p. General Manager and p. Accountant. Prefix N/3 dated 1.2.1916 to prefix W/5 dated 3.8.193 ....................................................................from £200

VF

SC231 SC232 SC233

£55 £55

TEN POUNDS Signatories: handsigned p. Manager and p. Accountant Prefix S/1 dated 30.1.1907................................................................ Rare Signatories: Handsigned p. General Manager and p. Accountant. Prefix T/1 dated 15.2.1916 to prefix V/1 dated 15.3.1920 from £650 TWENTY POUNDS Signatories: handsigned p. Manager and p. Accountant Prefix X/2 dated 2.1.1907 to prefix B/3 dated 31.3.1911................................................................................... Rare Signatories: handsigned p. General Manager and p. Accountant. Prefix C/3 dated 20.10.1912 and prefix D/3 dated 18.11.1912 ... Rare Signatories: Handsigned p. General Manager and p. Accountant Prefix E/3 dated 3.5.1916 to prefix X/3 dated 4.9.1933from £300 £600

VF

SC234a Signatories: A. Dempster (General Manager) and handsigned p.Accountant (Printed on plain paper without silk threads) Prefix Y/3 dated 6.8.1935 to prefix Z/3 dated 3.10.1935 .... £480 SC234a Signatories: A. Dempster (General Manager) and handsigned p.Accountant (Printed on granite paper with silk threads) Prefix A/4 dated 21.7.1939 to prefix D/4 dated 2.8.1940 .... £320 SC234b Signatories: G. Mackenzie (General Manager) and handsigned p. Accountant Prefix E/4 dated 25.5.1942 to prefix K/4 dated 24.2.1945 ... £220 SC235a Signatory: G. Mackenzie (General Manager) Prefix L/4 dated 2.9.1946 to prefix Q/4 dated 4.8.1949 ....... £220 SC235b Signatory: A. P.Anderson (General Manager) Prefix R/4 dated 12.5.1952 to prefix F/5 dated 11.12.1957......................................................................... £180 SC236 Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager) Prefix G/5 dated 14.2.1962 to prefix I/5 dated 4.4.1962 ...... £200

EF

£800

£550 £450 £400 £350 £360

F

ONE HUNDRED POUNDS SC241 Signatories: handsigned p. Manager and p. Accountant. Prefix E/3 dated 3.1.1906 to prefix H/3 dated 15.5.1912............. SC242 Signatories: Handsigned p. General Manager and p. Accountant Prefix I/3 dated 7.1.1916 to prefix N/3 dated 18.7.1933 .............. SC243a Signatories: A. Dempster (General Manager) and handsigned p.Accountant Prefix O/3 dated 24.6.1935............................................................... SC243b Signatories: G. Mackenzie (General Manager) and handsigned p.Accountant Prefix P/3 dated 4.2.1942 and prefix Q/3 dated 3.3.1943............ SC244 SC245

VF Rare Rare Rare Rare

VF

EF

Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager) Prefix R/3 dated 6.4.1951 to prefix T/3 dated 27.11.1957 ..£1100 £1800 Signatory: A. P. Anderson (General Manager) Prefix U/3 dated 9.5.1962 and V/3 dated 1.6.1962 .............£1100 £1800

Coming next month: Price guide to The Clydesdale Bank Ltd, The Clydesdale and North of Scotland Bank Ltd and Clydesdale Bank Ltd 80

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October 2011

DORSET COIN CO LTD 193 ASHLEY ROAD PARKSTONE POOLE - DORSET BH14 9DL

Tel: (01202) 739606 Fax: (01202) 739230 Website: www.dorsetcoincompany.co.uk E-Mail: sales@dorsetcoincompany.co.uk

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We issue regular sales lists of:

• British Coins • Gold Coins • Foreign Coins • Banknotes PLEASE TELEPHONE OR WRITE FOR A COPY

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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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Coin News

81

LATEST ISSUES By our banknote correspondent, TREVOR WILKIN

KYRGYZSTAN

On December 1, 2010 the National Bank of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan (NBRK) issued redesigned 200, 500 and 1000 Som notes. These followed a 5000 S (Kyrgyzstan’s first) in 2009 and new 20, 50 and 100 S in the intervening period. Personalities from Kyrgyzstan’s past feature on the front and items of cultural significance against a country landscape are on the back. Indeed the historical characters on these notes appear on the larger sized but same value notes of previous series however their positioning has changed from the right to the left. Their backs feature quite different scenes. Soviet era poet Alikul Osmonov (1915 to 1950) is on the yellow 200 S. Whilst having only a short life, he made his mark on Kyrgyz culture; an extract from one of his poems features on the back. Issky Kul Lake or hot lake is also on the back. It has several claims to fame being the world’s second largest saline lake (ranking behind the Caspian Sea), the world’s second largest mountain lake (behind Lake Titicaca) and whilst at over 5,000 feet in elevation and surrounded by snow capped mountains, it never freezes over. Located in north east Kyrgyzstan, it was on the Silk Road and is the site of an ancient city. There are many archaeological digs going on around its shores and it is a popular adventure travel destination. Kyrgyz author Sayak bey Karalyev (1894–1973) is on the violet 500 S. The mausoleum of Kyrgyz folk hero Manus is shown nestling at the foot of the Ala Too mountains in the north west. Manus is believed to have lived around the turn of the first Millennium. An epic, thought to be one of the longest of poems ever composed, devoted to his exploits has been handed down over the centuries; it was documented around the 17th century but even the exact date is uncertain. Amongst other literary activities, Karalyev wrote of various aspects of the epic. Yusup Balasagin retains his place on the front of the grey 1000 S. His image is not unlike that of Togolok Moldo who appears on the 20 S. Yusup or Jusup was born in the ancient city of Balasagin from which he takes his name and wrote “The Theory of Knowledge” in the Uighur language around AD 1100. It appears Yusup was very well educated in the arts and sciences of the time. It is unsure if he was Kyrgyz but he was certainly of Turkic origins and has been claimed by the Kyrgs. Sulayman Rock or Sulayman Throne is a mountain peak in the south. Named after the prophet Sulayman (Sulieman) it was once a place of Islamic pilgrimage. A so far unidentified monument apparently of some vintage also appears on the back. Security includes the traditional watermark of the person featured in the design as is the case for earlier values in the series accompanied by what is now almost obligatory, an electrotype of the denomination numeral. Euro constellation dots appear on the front and back for each and a circular patch with an embossed design which varies with the value is found at right of centre on the front of each of these new notes. A sophisticated silver metallic security strip to the left of each note contains multiple images including the denomination numeral in reflective ink which change colour when the note is tilted. The 200 S has a quill, the 500 S a falcon in flight and a portrait of Karalayev and the 1000 S an unidentified emblem. Each note also has a smaller interrupted security thread containing repetitions of the value in words and numbers and a broad iridescent band blending into the overall design is on the back. These notes apparently were well telegraphed and they are mentioned in recent editions of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money with assigned catalogue numbers, a highly unusual occurrence. This source suggests that the four earlier issues are printed by Francois Charles Oberthur whereas the notes under discussion are printed by De La Rue. All are signed by the Governor of NBRK and are dated 2010.

Trevor Wilkin can be contacted at: PO Box 182 | Cammeray | NSW 2062 | Australia | Telephone/Fax ++61-2-9438-5040. Email: trevorsnotes@bigpond.com | website www.polymernotes.com

Please see Trevor Wilkin’s advert on page 79

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83

Letters to the Editor Write in and tell us your views on numismatically-related topics

Dyslexic worker?

Whilst we endeavour to reply as quickly as possible this can take some time. Please send your letters to: Token Publishing Ltd., Orchard House, Duchy Road, Heathpark, Honiton, Devon, EX14 1YD, or to info@tokenpublishing.com If a reply is required, please enclose an SAE. Here we publish a selection from the postbag.

Two-way request

Dear Editor As a dealer who attends many coin shows, carrying my stock to tempt collectors who pass by my table, may I suggest that it would be most helpful for both sides if anyone visiting a fair were to make a quick phone call or email detailing their collecting interests. I could then advise other dealers and in addition ensure that I had the type of material they are looking for. I do this with postcard clients and it has many times proven most successful. Rodney Bolwell Charing Cross Market

Correct location

Dear Editor I would be grateful if you could help identify this apparently French silver 5 francs coin which is rather strange to say the least. It appears to be correct in every way except for the lettering. It is .900 silver and weighs .7235oz and is 40mm in diameter. Roger Irving Little This is certainly odd. My suggestion is that it could be a trial piece made up by a junior at the French mint or perhaps a dyslexic mintmaster? Can anyone shed more light on this fascinating curio?—ED.

Dear Editor In response to John Turner’s letter that appeared in the June 2011 edition, I would like to point out that his medal is not from Grimsby but from Derby. I have a similar piece in my own collection with the note “R. Hilliard was born into poverty in 1835. He was a self-made man who worked at the Midland Railway Company then rose to become President and Manager of the Derby Cooperative Society, as well as President of the Derby Temperance Society. He was the driving force in founding both the Junction Street Baptist Chapel in the Parcel Terrace (“Little Sodom”) area and the accompanying Sunday School, which counted just five pupils on its first day. By the time of his death in 1905 membership was in excess of 1,000. There is a detailed obituary in the 1906 Derby Red Book (annual review of significant events).” Michael Shaw

That £5 coin

Dear Editor Although issued by Alderney as a 2010 £5.00 legal tender gold coin, as it is one of a kind it should not be termed as a coin issue but as an Alderney issued coin. A coin issue would need to be a number or numbers of coins made available for a number or numbers of collectors. As this coin is a one-off issue it can only ever be owned by an individual collector or organisation. And as the initial auction valuation has now been set at £60,000 + Premium, totalling £74,000, realistically it can only increase in value, should it ever come to auction again, at a later date. That the one-off coin was struck expressly at the wish of Yoko Ono to commemorate her late husband, John Lennon, indicates that to her John was also a one-off who can never be replaced. As there cannot be another John Lennon, there cannot be another Alderney £5.00 gold coin. Therefore the issued coin will always represent the uniqueness of John himself. It is also fitting that the Alder Hey “Imagine” children’s hospital appeal, in John’s home city, has benefited from the generosity of Yoko Ono herself, and also that of the purchaser of the coin. But, in general, one-off issues that are later sold for exorbitant sums are not what coin collecting is about. It is the thousands of collectors and the vast variety of coins they pursue, which are, and remain, the heart and soul of numismatics as a hobby for all. E. J. Williams If you have a coin that is baffling you send us an image and we will do our best to identify it.

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. Alnwick British and Colonial Coins and Tokens P. O. Box 52, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1YE, United Kingdom Website: www.abccoinsandtokens.com E-mail: d-stuart@d-stuart.demon.co.uk Telephone David at: 01665 603851

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October 2011

?- ):- )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 James’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 October 2011

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Fair feature

Coinex cometh I

F you are in any way serious about collecting coins, chances are you will already have Friday, September 30 and Saturday October 1 circled in red in your diary. For two days the Ballroom of The Millennium Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London, opens its doors to some of the most respected UK and overseas coin and collectables dealers, who will be offering their wares at the 33rd Coinex Show—the UK’s premier numismatic fair. Those hoping to beat the crowds can purchase an “Early Bird” ticket for £50, entitling them to exclusive access to the dealers on Friday between 11am and 2.30pm. Access between 2.30 and 6pm, when the fair closes, will cost £25. For those looking for last minute bargains and hidden gems, admittance is free on Saturday, from 10am until the fair closes at 4pm. Don’t leave it too late though, last admittance is 3.30pm. If you’ve been to Coinex Shows before, you’ll know how much fun they can be, but don’t worry if you’re a novice. There’s never been a better time to get into coin collecting, and there’s no better place to start than Coinex. Below are a list of dealers confirmed as attending at the time of going to press and of course the Token Team will be there too to discuss all of your collecting needs and to launch the 2012 edition of the COIN YEARBOOK. For further details of Coinex 2011 contact the Secretary of the BNTA on 01797 229988 or email: bnta@lineone.net. Also in London that very same weekend is the World Paper Money Fair organised by the London branch of the IBNS. There is a new venue for this year’s event, The Bloomsbury Hotel at 16–22 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3NN. Entry on the Friday is £25 (£15 IBNS members) until noon and then £5 (IBNS £3) until the fair closes at 6pm. The show reopens on Saturday from 10am until 4pm and is just £3 all day (free to IBNS members). Many of the world’s leading banknote dealers will be attendance so if you collect paper money as well as coins make sure you allow time to visit both events. For further details of the paper money fair email enquiries@wpmf.info.

dealers attending coinex 2011 American Heritage Minting Artemide Aste s.r.l. ATS Bullion Ltd A H Baldwin & Son Ltd Beaver Coin Room Lloyd Bennett British Numismatic Society Bonhams inc Glendining’s BucksCoins Ltd Classical Numismatic Group Inc/ Seaby Coins Andre de Clermont Colonial Collectables Co Damron Numismatics Paul Davies Ltd Den of Antiquity International Ltd Martina Dieterle - Coins & Ancient Art DRG Coins and Antiquities Christopher Eimer Daniel Fearon G. K. Coins Ltd

86

Coin News

Heritage Auctions K. B. Coins Knightsbridge Coins Lockdale Coins Ltd David Miller Nigel Mills Simon Monks Peter Morris Morton & Eden Ltd Munthandel Verschoor Northeast Numismatics Numismatic Guaranty Corporation Numisor SA Ormonde Coins Pavlos S. Pavlou Ponterio & Associates PCGS Mark Rasmussen Roderick Richardson Charles Riley Roma Numismatics Ltd

Royal Mint Saltford Coins Douglas Saville - Numismatic Books J. L. van der Schueren Scoin Trading Pty Ltd Silbury Coins Ltd Simmons Gallery Spink & Son Ltd John Spring Stack’s Bowers Galleries St James’s Auctions Studio Coins M Louis Teller Numismatic Co TimeLine Originals Farokh S Todywalla C. J. Martin Coins Ltd Mike Vosper Coins . . . and the Token Publishing Team will be there too to launch the COIN YEARBOOK 2012—be sure to secure your copy at our stand. www.tokenpublishing.com

October 2011

October 2011

www.tokenpublishing.com

Coin News

87

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October 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, P O B ox 5 3 9 0 , Bournemouth, BH7 6XR. July/August list No. 268—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, SheďŹƒeld S35 4QA. Hammered and milled . CAMBRIDGESHIRE COINS, 355 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 Phoenixâ€?. Large newspaperstyle list containing 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. 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. Autumn List—12 pp of English, foreign coins and tokens. MUNTHANDEL.G.HENZEN, Postbus 42, NL3958 ZT Amerongen. Tel: +31 (0) 343-430564. Email: info@henzen.org. List 227 , 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 91: Hammered, milled and 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 COINS PO Box 3662, Wolverhampton WV10 6ZW, or 07971 950246. British and World coins and tokens. Please email: for details: mickbagguley@hotmail.co.uk. KLEEFORD COINS, 42b Shop Lane, Nether Heage, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 2AR. List available, email: kleeford@btinternet.com. FRITZ RUDOLF KßNKER, Mßnzenhandlung Gutenbergstrasse 23, 49076 Osnabrßck. 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. September list 119: 20pp of Celtic coins. Liz’s List No. 54 : 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. THE LONDON COIN COMPANY 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 M onmouth 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.

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October 2011

www.tokenpublishing.com

Coin news

89

FAIRS/EVENTS

Diary dates DATE Sept 30–Oct 1

EVENT World Paper Money Fair

VENUE Bloomsbury Hotel, 16-22 Great Russell Street, London

Sept 30–Oct 1

Coinex International Numismatic Show

Millennium Hotel, The Ballroom, 44 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London

( 01797 229988 : www.bnta.net

1 Embankment Place, London (opposite Embankment Tube Station)

( 01483 281 771

Cresta Court Hotel, Church Street, Altrincham

NATIONWIDE COLLECTORS FAIRS ( 01484 866777

October Charing Cross Market—Coins, Stamps (every Saturday) and Collectables Collectors Fair

Oct 2

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)

Cheltenham Fair

The Regency Hotel, Gloucester Road, Cheltenham

( 01452 501098

Oct 5

Coin and Collectables Fair

Stowmarket Football Club, Bury Road, Stowmarket

CLICKCOLLECT ( 01485 578118 (David James)

Oct 8

Coin and Collectables Fair

Large Parish Hall, De La Warr Road, East Grinstead

( 01342 326317

Cardiff Fair

City Hall, Cardiff

( 01792 415293

Oct 9

Midland Coin Fair

National Motorcycle Museum, Bickenhill, Birmingham

( 01694 731781 (Mike Veissid)

Oct 14–15

Vicenza Numismatica Coin Fair

Fiera di Vicenza, Via dell Oreficieria 16, 36100 Vicenza, Italy

( +39 0444 969111 : www.vicenzanumismatica.it

Oct 15

Little Clacton Coin & Stamp Fair

Youth & Community Centre, Parish Fields, Plough Corner, Harwich Road, Clacton

( 01255 862087

Oct 16

Collectors Fair

Cresta Court Hotel, Church Street, Altrincham

NATIONWIDE COLLECTORS FAIRS ( 01484 866777

Oct 19

Coins and Collectables Fair

Stanway Football Club, New Farm Road, Colchester

CLICKCOLLECT ( 01485 578118 (David James)

Oct 21–23

Dublin Coin Fair

Serpentine Hall, RDS Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland

( +00 353 86 87 14 880 (Mike Kelly)

Oct 29

Copenhagen Coin Fair

Hotel Radisson Blu Falconer, Falkoner Alle 9, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen

( +45 43 52 19 18 : www.cphcoinfair.dk

Collectors Fair

United Church, Charles Street, Dorchester

( 01761 414304

Oct 30

Wakefield Coin, Medal and Banknote Fair

Cedar Court Hotel, Denby Dale Road, Calder Grove, Wakefield

( 01522 684681 (Eddie Smith)

Collectors Fair

Royal Clifton Hotel, The Promenade, Southport

NATIONWIDE COLLECTORS FAIRS ( 01484 866777

DATE

AUCTIONS

CONTACT : www.wpmf.info

AUCTION

LOCATION

CONTACT

Oct 1

Modern and Ancient Coins

Monaco

EDITIONS V GADOURY ( +00 377 93 25 12 96 : contact@gadoury.com,

Oct 2

Coins, Medals and Banknotes

London

SOVEREIGN AUCTIONS ( 07890 764452/07854547371 : r99cc@yahoo.com, or g.miller4@btinternet.com

Numismatic Auction No. 2

Norwich

WESTMINSTER AUCTIONS ( 01362 638045 : www.westminster auctions.com

Oct 3

Auction 19: British and World Coins

London

ST JAMES’S ( 020 7930 7997 : www.the-saleroom.com

Oct 4

London Coinex Auction 72: English and Australasian Tokens and Rare South African Banknotes London

BALDWINS ( 020 7930 9808 : www.baldwin.co.uk

Oct 5

18th Century British Trade Tokens, Passes and Numismatic Books

London

DNW ( 020 7016 1700 : www.dnw.co.uk

Oct 5–6

Auction 61: The RBW Collection of Roman Republican Coins—Part I (Oct 5 & 6) Auction 62: The S. C. Markoff Collection of Roman Coins (Oct 6)

Zurich

NUMISMATICA ARS CLASSICA ( + 41 44 261 1703 : www.arsclassicacoins.comminster auc

Munich

GORNY & MOSCH ( +00 49 89 2422 64313 : www.gmcoinart.de

Oct 10–14 Auction 199/200: Ancient Coins (Oct 10–11) Auction 201: Medieval to Modern Coins (Oct 12–14) Oct 12

Bonds, Banknotes and Coins

London

BONHAMS ( 020 7393 3914 : www.bonhams.com

Oct 19

Coins and Numismatic Books

Leominster

BSA Auctions ( 01568 610620 : www.birmauctions.co.uk

Coins, Banknotes and Tokens

Malton, N. Yorkshire

BOULTON & COOPER ( 01653 696151 : www.boultoncooper.co.uk

British and Foreign Coins and Banknotes

Warwick

WARWICK & WARWICK (01926 499031 :www.warwickandwarwick.com

Oct 24–25 Important Greek Coins (Oct 24) Coins, Medals and Banknotes (Oct 25)

London

MORTON & EDEN ( 020 7493 5344 : www.mortonandeden.com

Oct 25–27 Auction 302: World Coins

Melbourne

DOWNIES ( + 61 3 8456 8432 : www.downies.com

Oct 29

Dublin

DUBLIN COIN AUCTIONS ( +00 353 86 87 14 880

Dublin Coin Auction

FURTHER INFORMATION— As details can change after we have gone to press, please check times etc. with organisers before setting off on your journey.

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Coin News

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October 2011

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

December 3rd 2011 (9.30 am - 2.00 pm)

NEXT FAIR: JANUARY 7TH 2012

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Enquiries: Tel: 01694 731781

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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!!

October 9th November 13th

All enquiries to Mike Veissid

Midland Coin Fair Hobsley House, Frodesley Shrewsbury, SY5 7HD Tel: 01694 731781

www.coinfairs.co.uk October 2011

www.tokenpublishing.com

Coin News

91

SOCIETIES

Diary dates DATE Oct 1 Oct 3

VENUE Swarthmore College, Woodhouse Square, Leeds Nursery Inn, 258 Green Lane, Heaton Norris, Stockport Please call for venue details Please call for details

Oct 4

Oct 6

Oct 10 Oct 11

The Albert Hotel, Victoria Lane, Huddersfield St Martin’s Church Hall, Erith Road, Barnehurst, Bexleyheath, Kent Fairkytes Arts Centre, Billet Lane, Hornchurch The Edward Wright Room, Beaufort Community Centre, Beaufort Road, Southbourne, Bournemouth The Eagle & Child, Maltkiln Lane, Bispham Green, Ormskirk Wallace Humphrey Room, Shelthorpe Community Centre, Loughborough

SUBJECT/EVENT “Keeping Them in The Family” by Dr D. Martin “The Wolsey Reform Coinage of 1526 to the Final Coinage of Edward VI in 1553” by Joe Bispham Society Auction

Members Evening

Annual General Meeting and Mini Auction “Heraldry Used By Prominent Families and Landowners of Leicestershire” by Brian Williams The Scout Building, off Walton Road, “My Coins and Stamps” by Ken Gordon Wealdstone, Harrow Crewe Memorial Hall, Church Lane, Autumn Coin Fair Wistaston, Crewe Auction of Duplicates

Oct 13

Fry Social Club, Keynsham

Society Quiz

Oct 17

Please call for venue details Monthly Meeting The Raven Inn, Poulshot, near Devizes, Autumn Coin Auction Wiltshire

Oct 20

Oct 24 Oct 25 Oct 27 Oct 28

South Manchester NS ( 0161 432 2044 South Wales & Monmouthshire NS ( 02920 561564 Reading Coin Club ( 01753 516390 : www.readingcoinclub.co.uk HUDDERSFIELD NS ( 01484 866814 BEXLEY COIN CLUB ( 020 8303 0510

Society Meeting

Wessex NS ( 020 7731 1702 ORMSKIRK & WEST LANCS NS ( 01704 531266 LOUGHBOROUGH COIN & SEARCH SOCIETY ( 01509 261352 : www.norwichcoinandmedalsociety.co.uk Harrow Coin Club ( 020 8952 8765 Crewe & District Coin & Medal Society ( 01270 569836 NS OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ( 0115 9257674 TYNESIDE NS ( 01661 825824 : www.tynesidecoinclub.info Bath and Bristol NS ( 07793 905035 Bedfordshire NS ( 01234 870645 Wiltshire NS ( 01380 828453

NORWICH COINS & MEDALS SOCIETY ( 01603 617127 : www.norwichcoinandmedalsociety.co.uk Nursery Inn, 258 Green Lane, Heaton Norris, “Powerpoint for Dummies” South Manchester NS Stockport by Geoff Thomason ( 0161 432 2044 The St James Centre, Stadium Way, Pinhoe, A talk by Gary Oddie­—subject to be Devon & Exeter NS ( 01395 5688830 Exeter announced The White Horse, Trowse

Oct 19

YORKSHIRE NS ( 01977 682263

“Coins of the British Empire” by C. Moore “Coin Grading”—examples by members for discussion “An Introduction to the Viking Coinage of York” by Megan Gooch “Coin Photography” by Brian Berrisford HAVERING NS ( 07910 124549

The Cecil Roberts Room, Central Library, Angel Row, Nottingham RAF Assoc. Eric Nelson House, 16 Bewick Road, Gateshead

Oct 12

CONTACT

Members’ Coin and Medal Books and Display of Coins

St Paul’s Centre, Chapel Road, Worthing

“The Great Re-Coinage of William III” Worthing & District NS by Brian Arthur ( 01634 260114 Surbiton Library (Small Hall), Ewell Road, “Sikh Coins” by Paramdip Khera KINGSTON NS Surbiton ( 020 8397 6944 The Scout Building, off Walton Road, “History of Wembley Town” Harrow Coin Club ( 020 8952 8765 Wealdstone, Harrow by Malcolm Barass-Baker The Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, “Balancing Security and Aesthetics: British NS ( 020 7563 4045 London, WC1H 0AB the Evolution of Modern Banknote Design” by Dr Andrew Bailey Room 301, Sylvia Young Theatre School, The Bank Job—DVD IBNS (London Branch) 1 Nutford Place, London ( 020 8641 3224 Chelmsford Museum, Moulsham Street, “Pieces of Eight c. 1536–1825: History Essex NS ( 01277 656627 Chelmsford & Identification” by Stephen Trinder

Please check details with Secretaries before setting off on your journey as venues and subjects can change 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 92

Coin News

www.tokenpublishing.com

October 2011

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Enquiries 01483 281771 E-Mail: rodney@rodneybolwell.wanadoo.co.uk

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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

October 30th November 27th Approximately 35 dealers

WE ARE NOW IN THE CEDAR SUITE ENQUIRIES: Eddie Smith 01522 684681

&+$5,1*

In addition to the Coin Dealers present, there are also stamps and postcards on show. Open 07:30 to 14:30.

October 2011

COINS, MEDALS, BANKNOTES AND MILITARIA

Admission: ยฃ1 Adults Children under 14 free Free car parking (Park in the main car park at reception) 9.30-14.30

8IPITLSRI 1MOI /IPP] JSV JYVXLIV HIXEMPW

Open EVERY Saturday at 1 Embankment Place, London

WAKEFIELD FAIR

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 ยฃ5 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

93

Semi-display advertising Raise the profile of your business with an entry in this section— generous discounts available (see page 99 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. List 2 out soon: Hurr y to get your name on the list and snap up the bargains

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 . . . 94

Coin news

www.tokenpublishing.com

October 2011

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

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

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

Numismatic Auctioneers (Est 1983)

Our next sale (No. 84) will be on 12 November in Newcastle upon Tyne. You can bid live on the internet OR we will send you a FREE catalogue, OR watch our website. B. FRANK & SON, 3 South Ave.,Ryton, NE40 3LD 0191 413 8749 Email: bfrankandson@aol.com www.b-frank-and-son.co.uk

A list of forthcoming auctions can be found on page 90 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 www.cambridgeshirecoins.com

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. info@cambridgeshirecoins.com

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.

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 October 2011

An invitation to view our website

www.pdmedallions.co.uk

www.tokenpublishing.com

Advertise on this page from as little as £10 per issue Call Celia on o1404 44167, or email: celia@tokenpublishing.com Coin news

95

Web directory Increase the traďŹƒc 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 99 for details.

www.HistoryInCoins.com Š Hammered to Milled: English, Irish & Scottish Š Catering for beginners right through to serious collectors Š Established February 2001. Fresh additions EVERY Tuesday Š 3,000+ ITEMS FOR SALE (all with obverse & reverse images) RYHU -DPHV ,, 6LOYHU 48$572 &URZQ²,ULVK /RYH 7RNHQ Âł0(5&< %251 $8*867 UG ´ /LVWHG DW Â…

Mention this advert and buy the coin for ÂŁ385. 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 certified coins

www.coinsofbritain.com

Lloyd Bennett. A good selection of British coins from Saxon times to the present day. English hammered coinage, occasionally Celtic, Roman and Anitquities. All items illustrated and updated weekly.

www.davidseamancoins.co.uk

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:

www.petitioncrown.com

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

96

Coin news

www.tokenpublishing.com

October 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 www.danielfearon.com

British and World Historical Medals and Medallions, Art Medals and all related pieces. Changing stock listed for sale

October 2011

www.tokenpublishing.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

A wide range of Numismatic accessories are available online from www.tokenpublishing.com Coin news

97

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 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. (012/11/03T) 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. Tel: 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 741358. (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) 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) ONE GOLD ROMAN COIN for sale, good condition. Tel: 07790 914877. (12/11)

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Coin news

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, please email: info@ ringramcoins.com. www. ringramcoins.com. (10/11/12/A) ringramcoins.com US COINS National Park quarters, State quarters, Presidential dollars, NAD dollars, Kennedy halves, Lincoln cents, Proof sets etc. Mark— 01924 255738. Email: mbrook218@ aol.com. (10/11)

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—1865,1922. 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. (03/12/06T) 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) PRIVATE COLLECTOR SEEKS BULLION SOVEREIGNS. I am a private collector looking to buy small quantities of bullion sovereigns as a hedge against coming bad times. I will pay the spot price for gold. Email: davidgoldstone@btinternet. com (12/11)

Tokens SOUTHWOLD TOKEN 1668 halfpenny, good condition, £30. Tel: 01359 250012. (09/11) TOKENS AND MEDALLIONS for sale. Individual items and collections purchased. New list available on request. Email: coinsandco@btinternet.com, tel: 07907 752551. (10/11/(01)P)

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 NZ AND AUSTRALIAN postcards wanted to buy. Tel: 0794 1919686. (03/12/06T) 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) EXCHANGE ALL kinds of collectables. References available. Free numismatic literature to numismatic students. Send details to Antonis Filippou, 24 Tsalduhidi Str., 54248 Thessaloniki, Greece. (11/11) COLLECT@HOME, Copy of Collect@home, mine is damaged and cannot install on new computer, please help. Tel: Terry, 01264 400493. (12/11)

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October 2011

Directory section Advertisers Index ABC Coins and Tokens.................................... 84 Airedale................................................................ 40 Argentum............................................................ 62 ATS Bullion Ltd................................................... 62 Allgold Coins ..................................................... 16 Baldwins Auctions......................................19, 23 R. P. & P. J. Beckett............................................. 68 Birchin Lane Gold Coin Company.............. 60 Bloomsbury Coin Fair...................................... 91 Yves Blot............................................................... 62 BNTA...................................................................... 88 Bonhams.............................................................IBC Barry Boswell...................................................... 79 Boulton & Cooper............................................. 54 B. S. A. Auctions................................................. 50 Maurice Bull........................................................ 83 Cambridge Coins & Jewellery...................... 56 Cambridgeshire Coins.................................... 60 Cathedral Court Medals................................. 62 Chards................................................................... 27 Charing Cross Market...................................... 93 The Celator.......................................................... 72 CNG........................................................................ 50 Coincraft......................................... IFC, 55, 61, 79

Coinex................................................................... 87 Coin Shop UK...................................................... 50 Colin Cooke............................................................5 Croydon Coin Auctions.................................. 90 Paul Davies Ltd.................................................. 20 Paul Davis Birmingham Ltd........................... 89 Clive Dennett..................................................... 79 DNW..........................................................30, 51, 70 Dorset Coins....................................................... 81 Dublin Coin Fair................................................. 93 Roger Dudley..................................................... 68 The Duncannon Partnership........................ 45 Educational Coin Company.......................... 76 Christopher Eimer.............................................15 Format................................................................... 39 GB Gold Coins.................................................... 54 G K Coins.............................................................. 25 Gorny & Mosch.................................................. 40 Goulborn.............................................................. 46 Ian Gradon........................................................... 81 A. D. Hamilton.................................................... 76 History in coins.................................................. 96 IAPN........................................................................ 18 inAsta.................................................................... 33

R. Ingram Coins........................................... 34, 35 Richard Jeffery................................................... 68 K. B. Coins............................................................. 56 Kate’s Paper Money......................................... 81 Kleeford Coins.................................................... 93 Knightsbridge Coins........................................ 85 Lindner/Prinz Publications........................... 56 The London Coin Company................... 22, 96 The London Coin Fair...................................... 91 M A Shops............................................................ 67 M & H Coins......................................................... 48 Midland Coin Fair.............................................. 91 Morton & Eden......................................................8 Peter Morris......................................................... 67 Colin Narbeth & Son Ltd................................ 81 NGC.........................................................................17 Peter Nicholls..................................................... 48 Notability............................................................. 76 Numismatica Ars Classica.............................. 66 Orpington Coins & Medals............................ 39 David Pratchett.................................................. 89 Professional Coin Grading Service............ 21 Mark Rasmussen Numismatist.......................3 Roderick Richardson..........................................4

Royal Australian Mint.........................................6 Royal Mint................................................. 29, OBC Chris Rudd..............................................................2 Saltford Coins..................................................... 62 Douglas Saville ................................................. 89 Scoin Shop........................................................... 61 Silbury Coins....................................................... 58 Simmons Gallery............................................... 25 Sovereign Auctions.......................................... 93 Stack’s, Bowers & Ponterio............................ 84 Stamp & Coin Mart........................................... 72 St James’s Auctions................................9, 11, 13 Thomson, Roddick & Medcalf...................... 54 Treasure Hunting.............................................. 76 Michael Trenerry Ltd....................................... 67 Wakefield Fair..................................................... 93 Warwick & Warwick................................... 10, 36 Weighton Coin Wonders............................... 60 West Essex Coin Investments.......................12 Westminster Auctions.......................................7 Tim Wilkes............................................................ 48 Trevor Wilkin....................................................... 79 York Coins............................................................ 84

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