DOCSLIB.ORG

The Bawbee Issues of James V and Mary

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Bawbee Issues of James V and Mary THE BAWBEE ISSUES OF JAMES V AND MARY ROBERT B. K. STEVENSON Introduction THE intermittent coinages of the Scottish mint in the first half of the sixteenth century into the 1550s have attracted little new study for a long time with the exception of some rare gold.1 Silver was virtually only struck between 1526 and 1538, supposedly at 10 deniers fine (83.3 per cent). The groat at eighteen pence Scots weighing 42.8 gr. (like Henry VIII's 1540 fourpenny groat) was thus intrinsically c.83 per cent of Henry's 1526 groat at 11.1 deniers which weighed 48 gr. It was billon that provided the bulk of the coins in circulation, in the form of placks, fourpence Scots, minted up to about 1515, and of sixpenny bawbees from 1538 or 1539 under James, and 1543 into 1554 under Mary. The bawbee at 3 deniers fine (75 per cent alloy) seems to have remained unchanged in quality or weight throughout,2 while the successive debasements of Henry and Edward VI brought the English silver down, very briefly in 1551, to a base shilling of that same standard, described by George Brooke as the worst silver England ever saw. Edward's post-recovery base pennies at 4 deniers were comparable in size to the half-bawbee, but were supported by a range of good quality higher denominations not paralleled in Scotland till after the issue of bawbees had ceased. Intensive collecting and study of billon has been discouraged by more than its low value, liability to corrosion and relative quantity. Good clear specimens have been difficult to find. Deficiencies in striking are common to thin base-metal coins, and have often been compounded by the long periods during which the placks and bawbees circulated. Thus a rural hoard buried c. 1587 had still respectively 12 and 32 of these out of 94 coins (Noranside, Angus, 1962).3 In contrast to that find, two hoards hidden about 1530 (Linlithgow) and 1555 (Rigghead, Collin, Dumfriesshire) gave in 1963 considerable new opportunities for study.4 In particular they included the largest recorded numbers, in the first of James IV and James V placks (324) and in the second of James V bawbees (132). The latter were in particularly good condition. So were the accompanying bawbees of Mary (214), which were mostly of Acknowledgements. The late Robert Kerr made the initial Museums of Scotland copyright. I am much indebted for card-index of the Rigghead coins acquired for the National them to Mr I. F. Larner and Miss H. Jackson respectively, Museum. Dr I. H. Stewart has read the typescript critically at and to the Director Dr R. G. W. Anderson and other present various stages; this and the prolonged loan of his bawbees members of staff for support and assistance. have been invaluable to the study. Mrs J. E. L. Murray has read some parts. I am grateful for the opportunity of 1 I. H. Stewart, Scottish Coinage second edition (London. examining an unpublished hoard found in Linlithgow c.1935 1967), pp. 200-3; Lt Col and Mrs Murray, see notes 23-24. presently on loan to the National Museums. Photographs for 2 Burns, p. 294, note 7. There is a very great variation in comparison were made available by the Ashmolean and the present appearance of bawbees, from bright silvery Hunterian Museums' cabinets, and some from the British through almost pewter to patinated dark brown as if entirely Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum (Edinburgh whole copper. Hoards show that this is due to differing circum- bawbees omitted in particular), for which Mr N. J. Mayhew, stances in which each has been buried or hidden. Dr J. D. Bateson, Miss M. M. Archibald and Mr M. A. S. 3 Noranside: 1. D. Brown and M. Dolley, Bibliography of Blackburn are especially thanked. Photographs of the rel- Coin Hoards of Great Britain and Ireland, 1500-1967 evant parts of the late Dr James Davidson's collection and of (London, 1971), SO 20; Appendix here. See Braeside, the Lockett collection have been used. Dumfries Museum Greenock (1955) buried c.1573, SO 2 and PSAS 89 (Mr D. Lockwood) and Dundee Museum (Mr A. Zealand) (1955-56), 109-12. have also been helpful. 4 Rigghead (cited below as Rigg., full summary in App- The photographs and diagrammatic drawings are National endix) and Linlithgow 1963, Brown SM 6 and SN 1. THE BAWBEE ISSUES OF JAMES V AND MARY 121 early varieties that are less well represented elsewhere, but tapered sharply to the latest. In both finds there were groats of James V which are rare in hoards. Under Scots law the coins of whatever metal could be claimed for the Crown, and the preliminary study was made to provide a basis for selection for the National Museum of Antiquities (NMAS) and other public collections, for rewards to the finders, and for the return to them of the remainder. Unfortunately it was not feasible at that time to make a photographic record as a permanent check on the initial catalogue. Further comparative review at intervals since has concentrated on the collections of the NMS.5 A limited amount of comparison beyond them has now been included, most recently from the illustrations of the Oxford and Glasgow Sylloge.6 It is planned to publish the resulting numismatic details in this Journal, beginning now with the bawbees and their halves, to be followed by James V's groats and one-third groats, and then by his placks with those of James IV. Further aspects of these and other hoards of the period may be covered by a later paper elsewhere. James V's bawbees, 1538-42 The sixpenny bawbee was a newly devised denomination (pl. 12, 1). Together with the 3-merk 'bonnet-piece' ducat, dated 1539 and less rarely 1540, it broke away from earlier designs and the broader flans of placks and crowns. A new coin issued perhaps for several years before 1539 had been the one-third groat, also valued at sixpence, which contained 63 per cent more silver; it was no doubt inconveniently small, being similar in size and weight to the half-bawbee. The history, contemporary name and typology of the bawbee were established by Edward Burns;7 previous numismatists had reckoned them as placks. He based his detailed classification on Thomas Coats' Scottish collection, now part of the national collections. His published sample of James's bawbees was, however, only seven with four halves, of which three were in other collections. Two of these were in the NMAS which Richardson's catalogue of 1901 shows as having five of the bawbees and three halves;8 one more was added before 1962. The most accessible account with illustrations has been by I. H. Stewart.9 From the Rigghead hoard's 132 bawbees of James and 6 halves the NMAS received 53 and 4 halves, the Hunterian Museum 15 and one half, and Dumfries Museum 23 (including 4 from a stray parcel) and one half. Forty were returned to the finders and so ultimately became available to collectors. The number of obverse dies represented was not firmly ascertained for the bawbees, but the maximum number of dies represented by a single coin is 93 with 13 noted more than once. Of the singles 7 have been duplicated in other samples examined, some photographically. Relations to the gold issues (pl. 12, A-G)8 Bawbees were certainly projected in 1538, but the historical records (p. 125-7 below) do not make clear when their actual issue began. They covered at any rate less than five years during which a small amount of gold was struck from a very few dies. James V died in 5 The National Museums of Scotland, since the NMAS and 292-307; III. pl. lvii, lx-lxii. Cited as Burns or B. The was amalgamated with the Royal Scottish Museum (RSM) present paper is dedicated to Burns' memory following the under a new Board of Trustees in 1985. centenary of the posthumous publication of his great work. 6 See also Note to Catalogue below. I. D. Bateson and N. See I. H. Stewart. 'Edward Burns'. BNJ 57 (1987), 89-98. 11 J. Mayhew, SCBI 35: Scottish Coins in the Ashmolean A. B. Richardson. Catalogue of Scottish Coins in the Museum, Oxford and the Hunterian Museum. Glasgow National Museum, Edinburgh (Edinburgh. 1901). Cited as (London, 1987); numerous Rigghead bawbees are there Richardson or Rich. The gold in pl.2.A-G here arc Rich. illustrated. Cited as AS and HS. James V 36. 37. B.4. Rich.39-40. 7 The Coinage of Scotland (Edinburgh. 1887), II, 262-8 '' Stewart. 122 THE BAWBEE ISSUES OF JAMES V AND MARY December 1542. The design on the reverse of the bawbees with its novel crown-girt saltire is too close to that of the unique pattern ducat dated 1539 (pi. 12, A-B, B.la fig. 750) to have been used before this was abandoned; the designs for billon had hitherto been kept distinct from those for gold or silver. A crowned shield like that on the pattern's obverse was then placed on the reverse of the ducat's striking portrait of the king wearing a bonnet (a low cap embroidered with jewels to resemble a crown)"' and a heavy gold collar of thistle-heads like that which had surrounded the pattern's shield." This ducat is still dated 1539, from a single obverse die both with and without a pellet to the left of the field (B. figs. 751 and 752).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cochran-Patrick, RW, Notes on the Scottish
    PROCEEDINGS of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Our full archive of freely accessible articles covering Scottish archaeology and history is available at http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/psas/volumes.cfm National Museums Scotland Chambers Street, Edinburgh www.socantscot.org Charity No SC 010440 5 SCOTTISE NOTE22 TH N SO H MINTS. IV. E SCOTTISNOTETH N SO H MINTS. WR . Y COCHRAB . N PATRICK, ESQ., B.A., LL.B., F.S.A. SCOT. Any account which can now be given of the ancient Scottish mints must necessarily he very incomplete. The early records and registers are no longe scantw fe existencen ri ye th notice d an , s gatheree which n hca d fro Acte m th Parliamentf so othed an , r original sources, only serv shoo et w how imperfect our knowledge is. It may not, however, he altogether without interest to hring together something of what is still available, in the hope that other sources of information may yet be discovered. The history of the Scottish mints may be conveniently divided into two periods,—the first extendinge fro th earliese f mo th d ten timee th o st thirteenth century; the second beginning with the fourteenth century, and coming down to the close of the Scottish coinage at the Union. It must he remembered that there is little or no historical evidence availabl firse th tr perioefo d beyond wha s afforde i tcoine th y s b dthem - selvesconclusiony An . scome whicb regardino y et hma o t musgt i e b t a certain extent conjectures e liablmodified authentiy h ,an an o t e y b d c information whic stily e discoveredb lhma t I present.
    [Show full text]
  • Guide to the Collection of Irish Antiquities
    NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND ART, DUBLIN. GUIDE TO THE COLLECTION OF IRISH ANTIQUITIES. (ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY COLLECTION). ANGLO IRISH COINS. BY G COFFEY, B.A.X., M.R.I.A. " dtm; i, in : printed for his majesty's stationery office By CAHILL & CO., LTD., 40 Lower Ormond Quay. 1911 Price One Shilling. cj 35X5*. I CATALOGUE OF \ IRISH COINS In the Collection of the Royal Irish Academy. (National Museum, Dublin.) PART II. ANGLO-IRISH. JOHN DE CURCY.—Farthings struck by John De Curcy (Earl of Ulster, 1181) at Downpatrick and Carrickfergus. (See Dr. A. Smith's paper in the Numismatic Chronicle, N.S., Vol. III., p. 149). £ OBVERSE. REVERSE. 17. Staff between JiCRAGF, with mark of R and I. abbreviation. In inner circle a double cross pommee, with pellet in centre. Smith No. 10. 18. (Duplicate). Do. 19. Smith No. 11. 20. Smith No. 12. 21. (Duplicate). Type with name Goan D'Qurci on reverse. Obverse—PATRIC or PATRICII, a small cross before and at end of word. In inner circle a cross without staff. Reverse—GOAN D QVRCI. In inner circle a short double cross. (Legend collected from several coins). 1. ^PIT .... GOANDQU . (Irish or Saxon T.) Smith No. 13. 2. ^PATRIC . „ J<. ANDQURCI. Smith No. 14. 3. ^PATRIGV^ QURCI. Smith No. 15. 4. ^PA . IOJ< ^GOA . URCI. Smith No. 16. 5. Duplicate (?) of S. No. 6. ,, (broken). 7. Similar in type of ob- Legend unintelligible. In single verse. Legend unin- inner circle a cross ; telligible. resembles the type of the mascle farthings of John. Weight 2.7 grains ; probably a forgery of the time.
    [Show full text]
  • Salvum Fac, and from Their Neatness and Extreme Rarity, Possibly As Patterns
    This is a reproduction of a book from the McGill University Library collection. Title: A view of the coinage of Scotland : with copious tables, lists, descriptions, and extracts from acts of Parliament : and an account of numerous hoards or parcels of coins discovered in Scotland : and of Scottish coins found in Ireland : illustrated with upwards of 350 engravings of Scottish coins, a large number of them unpublished Author: Lindsay, John, 1789-1870 Publisher, year: Cork : Printed by Messrs. Bolster; sold, also, by Black, Edinburgh [etc.], 1845 The pages were digitized as they were. The original book may have contained pages with poor print. Marks, notations, and other marginalia present in the original volume may also appear. For wider or heavier books, a slight curvature to the text on the inside of pages may be noticeable. ISBN of reproduction: 978-1-926748-98-6 This reproduction is intended for personal use only, and may not be reproduced, re-published, or re-distributed commercially. For further information on permission regarding the use of this reproduction contact McGill University Library. McGill University Library www.mcgill.ca/library A VIEW OF THE COINAGE OF SCOTLAND, WITH COPIOUS TABLES, LISTS, DESCRIPTIONS, AND EXTRACTS FROM ACTS OF PARLIAMENT ; AND AN ACCOUNT OF NUMEROUS HOARDS OR PARCELS OF COINS DISCOVERED IN SCOTLAND, AND OF SCOTTISH COINS FOtJND IN IRELAND. ILLUSTRATED WITH UPWARDS OF 350 ENGRAVINGS OF SCOTTISH COINS, A LARGE NUMBER OF THEM UNPUBLISHED. BY JOHN LINDSAY, ESQ., BARRISTER AT LAW. Member of the British Archceological Association, Member of the Irish Archaeological Society, Corresponding Member of the Syro Egyptian Society of London, and Author of "A View of the Coinage of Ireland,*7 and of " A View of the Coinage of the Heptarchy." CORK: PRINTED BY MESSRS.
    [Show full text]
  • Grace Notes Newsletter of the Memphis Scottish Society, Inc
    GRACE NOTES Newsletter of the Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. Vol. 35 No. 3 • March 2019 President’s Letter From President John Schultz: The board has decided to have next year’s Burns Nicht at Woodland Hills on Burns’s birthday, January 25, 2020. The finan- cial results of the last few Burns Nichts has taken a toll on the Memphis Scottish Society’s finances. There appears to be enough Memphis in the treasury to allow one more try. Today social media is a Scottish great way to get the word out, but the Memphis Scottish Society’s web site (memphisscots.com) and Facebook page only reach people Society, Inc. looking for it. The key is for members on Facebook to share the Buns Nicht post when it becomes available. If you have connec- Board tions to traditional media let the Board know so those avenues can also be explored. President John Schultz 901-754-2419 [email protected] Vice President Sammy Rich 901-496-2193 [email protected] April 6th Is Tartan Day! Treasurer Debbie Sellmansberger National Tartan Day comes but once a year, so let’s have some 901-465-4739 fun with it. The Irish have had their St. Patrick’s Day, and now [email protected] it’s time for the Scots to have ourr day. Let’s all dress out and Secretary show off your tartan with pride! Just don’t walk over a sidewalk Mary Clausi grate like I accidentally did a few years ago (the cops roared with laughter!). 901-831-3844 [email protected] Members at Large Marcia Hayes 901-871-7565 [email protected] Kathy Schultz 901-754-2419 [email protected] March Meeting Program: Holly Staggs Presented by Sammy Rich and Friends 901-215-4839 [email protected] “The Kelpies” See page 2 for further information Tennessee Tartan.
    [Show full text]
  • A Handbook to the Coinage of Scotland
    Gift of the for In ^ Nflmisutadcs Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/handbooktocoinagOOrobe A HANDBOOK TO THE COINAGE OF SCOTLAND. Interior of a Mint. From a French engraving of the reign of Louis XII. A HANDBOOK TO THE COINAGE OF SCOTLAND, GIVING A DESCRIPTION OF EVERY VARIETY ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH MINT IN GOLD, SILVER, BILLON, AND COPPER, FROM ALEXANDER I. TO ANNE, With an Introductory Chapter on the Implements and Processes Employed. BY J. D. ROBERTSON, MEMBER OF THE NUMISMATIC SOCIETY OF LONDON. LONDON: GEORGE BELL ANI) SONS, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1878. CHISWICK PRESS C. WHITTINGHAM, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE. TO C. W. KING, M.A., SENIOR FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, THIS LITTLE BOOK IS GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. CONTENTS. PAGE Preface vii Introductory Chapter xi Table of Sovereigns, with dates, showing the metals in which each coined xxix Gold Coins I Silver Coins 33 Billon Coins 107 Copper Coins 123 Appendix 133 Mottoes on Scottish Coins translated 135 List of Mint Towns, with their principal forms of spelling . 138 Index 141 PREFACE. The following pages were originally designed for my own use alone, but the consideration that there must be many collectors and owners of coins who would gladly give more attention to this very interesting but somewhat involved branch of numismatics—were they not deterred by having no easily accessible information on the subject—has in- duced me to offer them to the public. My aim has been to provide a description of every coin issued by the Scottish Mint, with particulars as to weight, fineness, rarity, mint-marks, &c., gathered from the best authorities, whom many collectors would probably not have the opportunity of consulting, except in our large public libraries ; at the same time I trust that the information thus brought together may prove sufficient to refresh the memory of the practised numismatist on points of detail.
    [Show full text]
  • A REVIE\I\T of the COINAGE of CHARLE II
    A REVIE\i\T OF THE COINAGE OF CHARLE II. By LIEUT.-COLONEL H. W. MORRIESON, F.s.A. PART I.--THE HAMMERED COINAGE . HARLES II ascended the throne on Maj 29th, I660, although his regnal years are reckoned from the death of • his father on January 30th, r648-9. On June 27th, r660, an' order was issued for the preparation of dies, puncheons, etc., for the making of gold and" silver coins, and on July 20th an indenture was entered into with Sir Ralph Freeman, Master of the Mint, which provided for the coinage of the same pieces and of the same value as those which had been coined in the time of his father. 1 The mint authorities were slow in getting to work, and on August roth an order was sent to the vVardens of the Mint directing the engraver, Thomas Simon, to prepare the dies. The King was in a hurry to get the money bearing his effigy issued, and reminders were sent to the Wardens on August r8th and September 2rst directing them to hasten the issue. This must have taken place before the end of the year, because the mint returns between July 20th and December 31st, r660,2 showed that 543 lbs. of silver, £r683 6s. in value, had been coined. These coins were considered by many to be amongst the finest of the English series. They fittingly represent the swan song of the Hammered Coinage, as the hammer was finally superseded by the mill and screw a short two years later. The denominations coined were the unite of twenty shillings, the double crown of ten shillings, and the crown of five shillings, in gold; and the half-crown, shilling, sixpence, half-groat, penny, 1 Ruding, II, p" 2.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SCOTTISH SALE Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 April 2016 Edinburgh
    THE SCOTTISH SALE Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 April 2016 Edinburgh THE SCOTTISH SALE PICTURES Tuesday 12 April 2016 at 2pm ANTIQUES AND INTERIORS Wednesday 13 April 2016 at 11am 22 Queen Street, Edinburgh BONHAMS Enquiries Gordon Mcfarlan Sale Number 22 Queen Street Pictures +44 (0) 141 223 8866 23492 Edinburgh EH2 1JX Chris Brickley [email protected] +44 (0) 131 225 2266 +44 (0) 131 240 2297 Catalogue +44 (0) 131 220 2547 fax [email protected] Fiona Hamilton £10 www.bonhams.com/edinburgh +44 (0) 131 240 2631 customer services Colleen Bowen [email protected] Monday to Friday 8.30 to 18.00 VIEWING +44 (0) 131 240 2292 +44 (0) 20 7447 7447 Friday 8 April 10am-4pm [email protected] Arms & Armour Saturday 9 April 1pm-4pm Kenneth Naples Please see back of catalogue Sunday 10 April 1pm-4pm Iain Byatt-Smith +44 (0) 131 240 0912 for important notice to Monday 11 April 10am-4pm +44 (0) 131 240 0913 [email protected] bidders Tuesday 12 April 10am-4pm [email protected] Wednesday 13 April 9am-11am Ceramics & Glass Illustrations Areti Chavale Katherine Wright Bids Front cover: Lot 62 (detail) +44 (0) 131 240 2632 +44 (0) 131 240 0911 +44 (0) 20 7447 7447 Back cover: Lot 66 (detail) [email protected] [email protected] +44 (0) 20 7447 7401 fax Inside front cover: Lot 183 To bid via the internet please Inside back left: Lot 306 London Books, Maps & Manuscripts visit bonhams.com Facing page: Lot 20 Chris Dawson Henry Baggott +44 (0) 131 240 0916 +44 (0) 20 7468 8296 IMPORTANT INFORMATION Telephone Bidding [email protected] Bidding by telephone will only be [email protected] The United States Government has banned the accepted on lots with a low Works of Art, Textiles, Clocks Jewellery import of ivory into the USA.
    [Show full text]
  • MEDALS and MILITARIA COINS, BANKNOTES, TOKENS And
    COIN S, BANKNOTES, TOKENS and COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS Christopher Webb Director 020 7016 1801 [email protected] Peter Preston-Morley 020 7016 1802 [email protected] Jim Brown 020 7016 1803 [email protected] CONSULTANTS Nigel Mills Artefacts and Antiquities [email protected] Peter Mitchell British Hammered Coins [email protected] Michael O’Grady Paper Money [email protected] Douglas Saville Numismatic Literature [email protected] Italo Vecchi Greek and Roman Coins [email protected] Tim Wilkes Medieval, Indian and Islamic Coins [email protected] MEDALS and MILITARIA Nimrod Dix Dire ctor 020 7016 1820 [email protected] David Erskine-Hill 020 7016 1817 [email protected] Pierce Noonan Director 020 7016 1818 [email protected] Brian Simpkin 020 7016 1816 [email protected] CONSULTANTS Dixon Pickup Militaria [email protected] Brian Turner Arms and Armour [email protected] CLIENT LIAISON Christopher Hill 020 7016 1771 [email protected] UK REPRESENTATIVES Rich ard Gladdle East Midlands [email protected] Gary Charman West Midlands [email protected] Michael Trenerry West Country [email protected] Jim Stewart Scotland [email protected] OVERSEAS REPRESENTATIVES John Burridge Australia WA (61) 89 384 1218 [email protected] Tanya Ursual Canada Ontario (1) 613 258 5999 [email protected] Eiichi Ishii Japan Tokyo (81) 3 5777 0351 [email protected] Alex Kilman Russia [email protected] Natalie Jaffe South Africa Cape Town (27) 21 425 2639 [email protected] Dr Andy Singer USA Maryland (1) 301 805 7085 [email protected]
    [Show full text]
  • Short Articles and Notes
    SHORT ARTICLES AND NOTES A TR EM IS SIS OF JUSTIN II FOUND AT SOUTHWOLD, SUFFOLK DAVID SORENSON A GOLD tremissis of Justin II (565-78), which in March 1984 passed through the hands of a Cam- bridge coin dealer, is said to have been found by a metal-detector user on what was claimed to be a 'Saxon site near Southwold'. The coin appears to be a tremissis of Constantinople similar to Dumbarton Oaks catalogue nos. 13-141 and two 2 Of the twenty Byzantine coins or close derivatives specimens in the Bibliotheque Nationale. The of the sixth and seventh centuries found in England legends on the coin read: and listed by Rigold,3 one is a tremissis of Justin II Obv. ///I VST I NVSPPAV1 found at Canterbury and one is a solidus of Justin I Rev. VI//////AVGVSTORV1 and in ex. COHOB or II found at Richborough. The majority of coins of this period in this country are barbarous imita- It weighs 1.49 g and has a die axis of 180°. tions of imperial coins, many of them Merovingian. 1 A. R. Bellinger, Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins 3 S. E. Rigold, 'The Sutton-Hoo coins in the light of in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection 1 (Washington, 1966), the contemporary background of coinage in England', in p. 202, nos. 13-14. The Sutton Hoo Ship-Burial 1, edited by R. L. S. Bruce- 2 C. Morrisson, Catalogue des monnaies byzantines de laMitfor d (London, 1975), pp. 653-77, at 665. Bibliotheque Nationale 1 (Paris, 1970), p.
    [Show full text]
  • 2734 VOL. VIII, No. 10 NEWSLETTER the JOURNAL of the LONDON NUMISMATIC CLUB HONORARY EDITOR Peter A
    ISSN 0950 - 2734 VOL. VIII, No. 10 NEWSLETTER THE JOURNAL OF THE LONDON NUMISMATIC CLUB HONORARY EDITOR Peter A. Clayton EDITORIAL 3 CLUB TALKS From Gothic to Roman: Letter Forms on the Tudor Coinage, by Toni Sawyer 5 Scottish Mints, by Michael Anderson 23 Members' Own Evening 45 Mudlarking on the Thames, by Nigel Mills 50 Patriotics and Store Cards: The Tokens of the American 1 Civil War, by David Powell 64 London Coffee-house Tokens, by Robert Thompson 79 Some Thoughts on the Copies of the Coinage of Carausius and Allectus, by Hugh Williamson 86 Roman Coins: A Window on the Past, by Ian Franklin 93 AUCTION RESULTS, by Anthony Gilbert 102 BOOK REVIEWS 104 Coinage and Currency in London John Kent The Token Collectors Companion John Whitmore 2 EDITORIAL The Club, once again, has been fortunate in having a series of excellent speakers this past year, many of whom kindly supplied scripts for publication in the Club's Newsletter. This is not as straightforward as it may seems for the Editor still has to edit those scripts from the spoken to the written word, and then to type them all into the computer (unless, occasionally, a disc and a hard copy printout is supplied by the speaker). If contributors of reviews, notes, etc, could also supply their material on disc, it would be much appreciated and, not least, probably save a lot of errors in transmission. David Berry, our Speaker Finder, has provided a very varied menu for our ten meetings in the year (January and August being the months when there is no meeting).
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Coins
    ANCIENT COINS GREEK COINS 1001 Sicily, Akgragas (495-480 BC), silver didrachm, sea eagle standing r., rev. crab within shallow incuse, certified and graded by NGC as Very Good £100-150 1002 Sicily, Syracuse, gold dilitron, Emergency issue of the Second Democracy, winter 406-5 BC, head of Athena l., wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with serpent, palmette and elaborate spiral tendrils, legend before, signed IM below neck, rev. Aegius with gorgoneion centre, wt. 1.80 gms. (Boeh., Essays Thompson pl.38, 12), a few surface marks, very fine, extremely rare - only a few specimens known £1500-2000 1003 Attica, Athens (c. 510-500 BC), silver tetradrachm, head of Athena r., in archaic style, full plume visible, rev. AΘE, owl stg. r., olive leaf to left, crescent to right, wt. 17.1gms. (HGC.4; Seltman Group H), very fine, rare £10,000-12,000 A very fine example of an early Athenian tetradrachm of superb archaic style. A well-centred strike, with the full plume of Athena’s helmet visible. This impressive archaic tetradrachm was issued a decade before the first Persian war. Athens provided the Ionian Greeks with assistance in their rebellion against the Persians, but aside from the sack of Sardes, the campaign was unsuccessful. Nonetheless, the Persian King Darius, aiming to punish Athens for their support of the Ionian rebellion, launched an invasion of Greece, landing at Marathon in 490 BC. Only twenty five miles from the city of Athens, the vastly outnumbered Athenian hoplite force crushed the invading Persian army, who turned and fled after suffering horrendous casualties.
    [Show full text]
  • The Scottish Copper Coinages, 1642-1697
    THE SCOTTISH COPPER COINAGES, 1642-1697 J. K. R. MURRAY AND B. H. I. H. STEWART ALONE SO early in northern Europe, issues of copper coins were made in Scotland (and Ireland) during the second half of the fifteenth century. In Scotland, after these early coinages of copper farthings and pennies, the smaller denominations, up to the end of the sixteenth century, were of silver or billon. The billon was often extremely base, some- times falling as low as one part of silver to twenty-three parts of copper, as in the case of some of the hardheads of Mary and James VI. The last Scottish billon coins were the saltire placks, issued in 1594. After this, pure copper only was used for coins of very small value, commencing with an issue of 100 stone of twopenny and penny pieces in 1597. Further issues of coins of these values, each of 500 stone, were made in 1614,1623, and 1629. The penny and twopence of 1597 have a bust of James on the obverse which is the same as that on the twelve-penny and thirty-penny pieces issued during 1594— 1601.1 The other issues are without a bust and have relatively little variety. The issue of about 4,000 stone of pennies and twopences of very light weight during 1632-9 has been comprehensively reviewed by Mr. R. B. K. Stevenson.2 The various series covered by the present paper, which comprise the remainder of the Scottish copper coinage, have been dealt with as follows: {a) 1642-68 by Murray.
    [Show full text]