Icons of note

Something relatively different this month.  Every so often I receive e-mails from the Royal Mint with special commemorative medallions, coins etc.  Often I ignore them because to be quite frank they are usually out of my price range.  Sometimes though they send simple offers of a special commemorative (usually made from pure copper) for free with just the nominal cost of postage and packaging.

Over the years have taken up some of these offers, the most notable being the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, and the 950th anniversary of the battle of Hastings.  Recently I decided to buy their offer of the solid copper replica of the Isaac Newton £1 bank note for the princely sum of £2.50 to cover the postage.  Now usually these items form part of a larger set, often comprised of solid gold items.  Which as I mention, is way out of my price range.  This time however I, for once, decided to complete it.  Mainly because I was able to afford the price of each banknote to complete the set.

The theme of the set was Great British Icons, with icons all designed by the artist Henry Eccleston.  Apart from Newton, other figures featured are Wellington (on the £5), infamous for this campaign against Napoleon.  Florence Nightingale, famous for the reforming and founding the principles of modern nursing is on the £10.  Shakespeare graces the £20, and Christopher Wren, architect, takes position on the £50.

I won’t go into detail about the lives of these characters, as like last month, there is too much to talk about.  I would however like to discuss my thoughts on items such as this.

For a collector these little sets are fun, and can be seen as a present to oneself due to the limited nature of them.  Which immediately brings me to their major downside.  They can be expensive.  Not only constrained by the actual material of the product, the limited nature of them also seems to call for a premium price.  Which often leads to me just getting the introductory piece rather than the full set.  In a way these are marketed to those who have the money to spend on such a premium product rather than the general collector.  Do I recommend these for people?  Overall, not really.  Unless the theme of the collection is something you are particularly interested with, or you are taken by the sheer novelty of it (like I was with this set), I suggest you direct your efforts elsewhere.  Their immediate value is not comparable to the cost you pay for it, and it is a very long stretch you will match the amount you invested in it.

In short, only go out of your way for these if it something truly close to your heart, and you have the spare money floating around to meet the premium price.

Meeting the greats

Ave readers!

Today I will be talking abut one of the more famous Roman emperors.  His fame (or infamy) is on par with other emperors such as Augustus, Nero, Caligula, Aurelian, Hadrian, and Claudius.  He is well known as legitimising Christianity throughout the Roman empire, as well as founding the city of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul).  He reformed the Roman Empire, and reigned it as sole emperor after the dismantling of the Tetrarchy created by Diocletian to end the Third Century Crisis.

You have by now guessed the emperor I am talking about, so I guess I should get on with this months blog post about Constantine I, also known as the ‘Great’.

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The coin I have added to my collection this month is a bronze Follis of Constantine I.  Dating from around 307 (when he became emperor of the Western Roman Empire) to 337 (when he died as emperor of the whole Roman Empire).  The mint mark on the reverse tells me it was minted in Siscia, which is now modern day Sisak in Croatia.  From the pictures you can see the coin itself is not very large, and due to the passage of time it about 1mm thick.

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The life of Constantine the Great is too detailed and would require many blog posts to do it any justice.  So I will just have to suffice with a summary of the more notable events which occurred during his life.

Constantine was born in Naissus (which is the modern day city of Niš in Serbia) and would grow up in a military lifestyle.  He would rise up through the ranks during many campaigns in the Eastern empire, eventually reaching the title of Tribune.  The Emperor Galerius would bestow the title of ‘Augustus’ on him, and he would be sent to Britannia to campaign under his father, Flavius.  After his father’s death in 306, Constantine was proclaimed emperor by the army at Eboracum (York).  He would march south to claim his title, and after his victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, Constantine was proclaimed emperor of the Western Roman Empire.  Several years later he would wage campaigns against Licinius, who was the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.  Constantine would emerge victorious in 324 after the Battle of Chrysopolis, and would become the sole emperor of the whole Roman Empire.

As emperor, Constantine reorganised much of the empire.  He enacted administrative, financial, social, and military reforms in attempts to strengthen the empire.  Restructuring the government by separating civil and military authorities.  To reduce inflation, which was endemic at the time, he introduced a new gold coin called the Solidus.  The coin itself would become a standard for Byzantine and European coinage for the next thousand years.

More famously though, Constantine was known as the emperor who legitimised the Christian faith throughout the Empire.  He is known as the first Christian emperor, converting on his deathbed to the religion.  During his reign he made life in the empire more palatable to Christians.  He was highly influential in the declaration of the Edict of Milan in 313 which declared religious tolerance for Christians and Christianity, and in 325 he called the First Council of Nicaea which produced the Nicene Creed.  Finally, upon his orders, he had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built in Jerusalem upon the supposed resting place of Jesus Christ.

He reigned for 31 years, dying of illness in 337 in Nicomedia.  Combining his years as both co-ruler and sole ruler, Constantine was the second longest reigning ruler of the Roman Empire after Augustus.  His body was interred in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.

The Octopus man cometh…

Well… Not actually an octopus man, but the design of this months coin certainly does fit the bill.  SDC13233

This small copper coin, dating from around the beginning of the 11th century, hails from the Chola empire which dominated the southern part of the Indian sub-continent for centuries.  The Chola dynasty is known as the longest recorded dynasty in history, with written records dating as far back to the 3rd century BC.  It survived and thrived until it’s eventual decline and collapse in the 13th century.

The chola empire had much influence within SE Asia, with the majority centred around what is now modern day Malaysia.  It was further extended north, when strong trade links were established with China.

The Cholas left a lasting legacy after their long rule. Their patronage of literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity. They pioneered a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy. The Chola school of art spread to SE Asia and influenced the architecture and art of the region.

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The image on the coin itself shows the king Raja Raja I standing with the traditional garment called a ‘dhoti’.  The garment depicted is when gives the design it’s unique look and the apparent appearance of extra appendages.  The other side of the coin shows the king sat upon his throne surrounded by dancers.

After the empires decline, there is an oral tradition that a rebel branch of the dynasty fled and thrived in the Philippines until the 16th century.  It created a small ‘Indianised’ kingdom in the region until Spanish conquistadors under the command of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi conquered the region after sailing from Mexico.

Of Greeks and Dolphins.

We are heading back to ancient civilisations this month, but rather than greeting the Romans, we are heading a bit further east to their Greek neighbours.

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The coins I have gained this month fall into the weird shaped and unusual category which I am so fond of.  In the picture above you can see two bronze ‘Dolphin’ coins from the city state of Olbia, which was part of the Greek Sarmatian area of the Black Sea.

Olbia is located in what is now known as Parutyne, in Ukraine on the northern shore of the Black sea.  The Black sea is known for it’s large population of bottle-nose dolphins.  This may be why the Greek city state decided to cast their coins in the distinctive shape of the creature.

The coins are unusual in that most Greek city states would often mint their coins in the distinctive round shape many of us are familiar with today, whereas Olbia would instead cast these dolphin shaped coins.  Archaeologists are led to believe that the coins originated as sacrificial tokens used in the temple of Apollo Delphinios.  The dolphin itself is known as a divine creature in Greek mythology, and with a large presence of the creatures in the Black sea, it doesn’t take a far leap of the imagination to make a possible connection.

The coins themselves date from around the 5th-4th century BC, and were made using a casting method often used by the ancient Celts in France and which originated in this area.  Many of the dolphins themselves had their tails removed during the process of removing the coins from the ‘trees’ they were attached to during the casting process.  Probably due to speed over efficiency to move onto the next batch.  Quality of the coins varied wildly, as can be seen in the photo, and variations of the coins do exist.  Some have the dolphins distinctive fin, and some will also have the eye moulded onto them.  In some very rare cases, there are known examples of the coins to feature words or inscriptions.

Revolution is in the air…

Bonjour mes amis.

This month for my collection update we travel to revolutionary France of the late 18th century.  Dating from 1793, the piece I have recently acquired is a 2 Sol coin.  Made out of bronze, and highly worn.

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Now the more historically knowledgeable of you are asking “Wait, why is Louis’ portrait on the coin when he was executed in 1793?”  And that is a very good question.  Although Louis was beheaded in January 1793, the revolutionary government would still issue coins with the king’s portrait on them.  Along with keeping the same weight and value of the coins.  They would also keep Louis’ titles such as ‘king of the French’ but they would be featured alongside revolutionary mottos on the reverse.
Towards the end of 1793, there would be a continuation of the monetary system of the old regime but the portrait of Louis would be removed, along with his titles, and be replaced by a stylised figure along with the value of the coin.

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Eventually by 1795 the Republican authorities replaced the old monetary units that were in use (which were almost identical to the pounds, shilling, and pence of the UK) with a more rationalised decimal system.  Gone were the livres, sols, and deniers.  They were succeeded by centimes, decimes, and francs.  The original franc in 1795 was set as 5g of 90% silver, which was similar to the old livre.  However, the struggling republic was unable to ensure such a quality for it’s coinage, and instead was reduced to issuing paper ‘Assignats’ at a much depreciated value.

Assignats were a sort of paper bond issued by the revolutionary government backed by precious metals they had in the treasury.  It was an effort to reduce cost and keep the economy going during the subsequent crises which befell France in the following years.

Assignats themselves were issued during 1791-97 when Revolutionary France found itself attacked on all sides by the other European powers.  Forced to use what precious metal it had to fund the ongoing wars, the reliance on the paper assignats increased where eventually they became compulsory paper money.  By 1796, the number of assignats were twenty times that of the current value of precious metals the government had to back up the value of the issues.  This led to an increase in prices, with many items seeing a 500% price rise compared to what they were in 1790.

The financial situation would not stabilise until Napoleon would start winning conquests in neighbouring countries and send the captured loot back to France.

Collection Update Apr’ 2019

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We are heading out West this month to the US.  From the picture above it can be clearly seen that I have managed to get a hold for myself two US one dollar coins.  Dating 1921 and 1922 respectively.

Dollars in the US date back to just after the Revolutionary War with their basis on the then silver Spanish Dollar which was freely accepted as circulating currency in the US until 1857.  The dollar on the left in the picture is an example of the infamous ‘Morgan’ dollar, so named after the engraver who created the design for the coin George T. Morgan.    The Morgan dollar would start life in 1878 and initially end in 1904.  However, in 1921, there was a need to melt and re-mint new silver dollar coins to be put into general circulation.  New die designs had not been completed by this point, so it was decided to resurrect the old ‘Morgan’ design until the new one could be finished.  Thus there was one further striking of the design in 1921.

On 26 December that year the new design dies were completed, and became to be known as the ‘Peace dollar’ (an example of which is on the right of the picture).  The design itself was to commemorate the “lasting” peace after WWI and originally had a sword being broken by the eagle on the reverse of the coin.  It was however interpreted than the broken sword could symbolise defeat, so an olive branch instead was quickly swapped in to be a better representation.  The design would continue to be used until 1928 when silver in domestic mines would run out.  The following year, the Great Depression would strike and production would be halted until 1934.  It would last for a further two more years until being stopped completely in 1936.  New dollar coins would not be minted in the US again until 1971 with the arrival of the Eisenhower dollar.

Collection Update Mar’ 2019

Ave Imperator!  Another ancient coin added to my collection this month, this time of the Roman variety.

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The coin showcased this month is a billon antoninianus from the Roman emperor Gallienus, who reigned as Roman Emperor from 253-268AD.  For the first seven years of his reign he ruled jointly with his father Valerian, who split the empire in half.  With Valerian ruling in the east, and his son Gallienus ruling in the West.  Gallienus would become sole ruler in 260 when his father was defeated and captured by the Sasanian Empire at the battle of Edessa (Now known as Urfa in the South-eastern part of Turkey).  After Valerian’s capture several usurpers to the imperial throne would rise up and declare themselves independent from Rome.  Civil war soon broke out.

Gallienus would have some success in defeating the usurpers, most notably the ones who arose in the eastern parts of the Empire.  He would fail however to put down those in the West, which would later form the Gallic empire under the Roman general Postumus.  Gallienus would die in 268 whilst being besieged in Mediolanum (modern day Milan) when one of his soldiers would stab him to death as part of a conspiracy.

Gallienus reigned during what is known as the ‘Crisis of the Third Century’ when barbarian migrations, political turmoil, civil wars, and peasant revolts would almost cause the collapse of the Roman empire.  The period would start in 235 with the assassination of the emperor Severus Alexander by his own troops.  With many claimants to the title of Emperor (around 26) during the next half century, many of whom were Roman army generals.  The Crisis would culminate in the Empire splitting into three distinct competing provinces.  With the Gallic Empire in the west, the Roman Empire centred on Rome in the centre, and the Palmyrene Empire in the east.

The emperor Aurelian would unite the fractured empire in the early 270’s, and the crisis would end under the rule of Diocletian in 284 with many much needed political, social and economic reforms.

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During this period, due to the increased military activity, the coinage of the Empire grew more and more debased.  As can be clearly seen with the acquisition I got this month.  The antoninianus is thought to have the nominal value of two denarii and was initially silver.  But over time more and more copper would find itself into the coin (which of course caused hording of the older and more pure denarii and inflation in line with the decreased perceived value of the new issues) leading to an almost doubling in size of the coin during the reign of emperor Aurelian in an attempt to arrest inflation.  The debasement would continue till the coin itself would be wholly copper.  The coin I have seems to be towards the end of this transition as it still has a very faint silvery sheen to it, unfortunately not seen clearly in the photo’s.  The term to describe coins with this type of debasement are known as ‘billon’, and would not be limited to the Romans.  Examples of billon coins can be found starting from the ancient Greeks right through to the Middles Ages.

German Bundesbank Money Museum

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At the start of this month I recently went to Germany to visit some friends for my birthday.  Whilst there I finally had a chance to visit the Bundesbank Money museum in Frankfurt.

I should start off by saying how great this museum actually is.  It is far larger than any other money museum I have visited so far, although I will admit that the number of items on display are far fewer than others I have been to, in terms of actual historical items.

The museum is split into 4 general areas.  Two of which actually showcase the variety of coins and banknotes globally and within Germany itself, drawing examples out from monetary history.  The other two sections of the museum deal with finance itself and the role money has in society as well as how the banking sector works.

 

These last two sections were completely new to me.  Well, to be more honest, new in the sense that the information presented was a lot more wide-ranging and complete compared to other museums.  Often monetary policy and economic theory is just a small afterthought in most money museums.  The sections start by showing how money had evolved from the simple exchange of goods to precious metals, to the more modern equivalents of balance transfers and electronic accounts.  It goes through the history of banks, and how many ideas still used today in modern financial institutions were started back in medieval Italy and Venice.

Once through this section, visitors then get to come to grips to the more heady topics of inflation, printing of money, price exchanges between different currencies etc.  Quite heavy topics to the uninitiated, and to most quite boring (one of the main complaints from a friend who visited the museum with me).  I will admit, although have some interest in the area of economics, I did gloss over a lot of it (But to those with a keen interest, I do wholly recommend a visit).

Of course, sprinkled throughout the museum, including the economic sections on monetary policy, Germany’s financial history is explored.  With the hyperinflation of the early 20th century being a great showcase into understanding some of the more heavier topics discussed in the later sections.

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Overall, I fully enjoyed the museum.  There was a dearth of information (written in both English and German) explaining a wide range of topics within the hobby itself.  Of course most relating to Germany and the Eurozone.  A definite must see if you happen to be in the Frankfurt area, with the added incentive being that it is completely free to enter!

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Collection Update Feb ’19

We are heading back to Asia this month for my latest addition to my collection.  China more specifically.

The piece I got this month is something I have only ever managed to see in museums or in books.  However, I got lucky and through some of my contacts found someone willing to sell on an example from their own collection.

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From the picture above you can see a Huo Bu (money spade) from the reign of the emperor Wang Mang (9-23AD).  Now, this is not the first time I have acquired a coin from this Chinese emperor, and I have written briefly about his reign in a previous blog post back in January last year (Here).  So I won’t regurgitate anything in this post.  So I would like to explore spade coins in general.

Chinese spade coins were first made during the Zhou dynasty (~1045 – 256 BC) and resembled a small spade or weeding tool often used by the people as an alternative form of currency.  The original spade coins would have a hollow handle at the top of the coin, representative of the wooden handle you would insert.

Towards the later period of the Zhou dynasty, the legs would be less pointed and early forms of Chinese characters would start to appear on the coins.  Further changes would happen during the warring states period (475- 221 BC).  Each of the individual states would start producing their own spade coins, and they would become much smaller and would no longer have the hollow handle at the top.  Different shapes would also begin to be produced, with examples known to exist including arched feet, rounded feet, and coins with three holes (Pictures and examples of which cane be found here).

After Emperor Qin Shi Huang has conquered the warring states in 221 BC he replaced spade coins with the titular round coins with square holes many of us are familiar with and associate with in regards to ancient Chinese coins.  This would continue until we reach our reoccurring blog favourite, Wang Mang.  When he became emperor he reissued spade coins, in an attempt to impose some legitimacy to his dynasty after he usurped the throne and forge a link with previous dynasties.  The spade coins by this time had proven to be unpopular however despite several different types being cast and issued.  Round coins were ultimately reintroduced shortly afterwards, and the spade coin was resigned to it’s place in Chinese numismatic history.

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A New Year and a Collection Update

So it is now the end of January 2019, and I honestly can’t believe I have still managed to keep updating with this blog (I thought I would get bored after the first year).  I am now entering my third year of writing, and despite missing a few months, I feel I can keep going for many years more.

So what did I learn last year in regards to numismatics?  Honestly, I feel I learnt more about different country’s histories more than the hobby itself.  But the one major thing which has stuck with me was during my trip to Japan early in 2018.  Discovering Hansatsu notes was a novelty in itself and I felt an instant interest due to my love of unusual forms of currency (as can be seen about my post a few years ago in regards to German Notgeld).  Furthermore, as was seen in the series of posts I made about that trip, I was actually able to procure one for my collection.  Which I will happily admit is now sitting pride of place amongst other unusual items from my collection in a glass cabinet.  Hopefully this year I will be able to match it with something equally unusual and interesting.

Now despite not updating the blog at the end of December (Christmas got all my budgetary attention), I decided to get something a little more expensive than I usually go for to make up for it.

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So in the picture above, and the one below, we have a silver sixpence from the reign of the well known Elizabeth I.  Measuring 19mm diameter at it’s widest point and only 1mm thick, it is not a particularly large coin.  Minted in 1575, it has the rose mint mark to the right of the portrait which denotes it was struck at the Tower of London.
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Elizabeth’s reign has commanded libraries worth of literature.  With many Tudor historians writing reams about her.  Along with her father Henry VIII, she has typified the Tudor dynasty, especially after the short and brutal reign of her sister Mary I.

Her 44 year reign added much needed stability after the two short reigns of her brother and sister, and the political chaos surrounding the reformation in England put into motion by her father.  I could go into much detail about her reign, but the amount of information out there is too much for such a small blog post as this one.  But in short, her reign was one of precarious balance.  Defending England against the Catholic powers on the continent, whilst balancing society back at home.  The upheaval caused by the protestant reformation would cause no end of headaches for Elizabeth, with the threat of the Spanish armada in 1588 (and the equally catastrophic English armada the following year) and the Nine Years War from 1594-1603 in Ireland to name just a few.

She would survive these problems until her death in 1603, when the crown would pass to her cousin, James VI, King of Scotland (ironically the son of Mary Queen of Scots who Elizabeth had executed in 1587).  Thus ending the Tudor dynasty, and starting the Stuart one.