Author: BNS Blog Coordinator

Revisiting the Case of Joseph Hunton – Silver Token Issuer and Last Man Hanged for Forgery – Gary Oddie

When originally conceived, this note had a very different title and form, but as the story of Joseph Hunton was uncovered in contemporary newspapers, it took a more serious turn and so is being given a separate article. This note presents the life, career and ultimate downfall of Joseph Hunton, a Quaker and very successful businessman. The original act of forgery of a bill of exchange, his attempt to escape, foiled by the weather and the police chase, his capture and high-profile trial and execution were all laid bare in the newspapers of the time. Though he had started with significant wealth, all of his properties and possessions were taken to pay his debts. Just over three years later an Act of Parliament would repeal the death penalty for such counterfeiting.

F.W. Wilkes, Great Colmore St., Birmingham – Gary Oddie

Many modern trade tokens are purely functional in nature and give insufficient details to allow conclusive attribution. Those with just names or initials can be challenging to research and require other corroborating information such as personal knowledge, a documented find or links with other tokens that include more details of the issuer, the use or the series. However, some tokens include more information that allows the issuer and his business to be traced more easily. This note presents one example of such a token.

Discovery of Nine Examples of UK Merchant Countermarked Dollars from an Old Collection Held in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy – Eric C. Hodge

In most series in numismatics, provenance is of vital importance. The series of UK merchant countermarked dollars is no different. So when early records, and photographs to support them, are found, then these can prove to be an invaluable resource for future research. This note is a record of such a find.

A Die Study of James I Shillings – Third Issue, Sixth Bust, mm Thistle – Gary Oddie

This note presents the next die study of the third issue James I shillings. Once again online archives and private collectors are thanked for their images. Just seven die-pair duplicates have been found amongst the 37 specimens and 23 obverse and 27 reverse dies have been identified. There are just two obverse legend variations (HI and HIB) and only one of these (HIB) is found with the plume reverse. The relatively small number of die duplicates in the sample suggests that there will likely be over 50 obverse dies and more than 80 reverse dies to be found. ……… or click here for the previous article in this series (A Die Study of James I Shillings – Third Issue, Sixth Bust, mm Lis)

John Bluett of Taunton – Token Issuer and Collector – Gary Oddie

John Bluett was a grocer in Taunton and the issuer of a shilling token in 1811. As a recipient of a copy of Sharp’s catalogue of the Chetwynd collection (Link) it was suspected that he was more than just a token issuer.  This note traces his family, business and personal connections and presents details of the five-day sale of his collections and properties in 1852. He had a good collection of coins: Roman, Anglo-Saxon, English hammered and milled, Scottish, medals, tokens, but what must have been an outstanding collection of provincial tokens, including many proofs and off-metal strikes were poorly catalogued and sold in large lots for about twice face value! A near-contemporary reference to his own silver token (1822) which had input from Bluett himself confirms that the tokens were not issued. Thus far, just two specimens have been traced with certainty.

MInts and Moneyers of the Pointed Helmet type of Edward the Confessor – Hugh Pagan

The primary function of this article is to provide for the benefit of the wider numismatic community a provisional listing of the moneyers and mints for Edward the Confessor’s Pointed Helmet type, but the provisional nature of the note should be stressed, and the writer would be glad to know of any coins of the type known to them which have not been recorded either in obvious published sources (books, articles, illustrated auction catalogues, and so on) or on currently viewable sites on the internet.

A Die Study of James I Shillings – Third Issue, Sixth Bust, mm Lis – Gary Oddie

This is one of the commoner issues of James I shillings, though most private and institutional collections have at most a few specimens arranged by the types first noted by Hawkins in 1841 – Plain reverse, plumes reverse, maybe a contracted IACOB legend and the other abbreviations in MAG BRIT FRA and HIB.   This note presents a die study of these shillings showing the potential for mining on-line auction catalogue archives, for which Noonans (formerly Dix Noonan Webb), London Coins and Noble Numismatics (Australia) are thanked. Images of 84 specimens have been found and have revealed 50 different obverse dies and 63 reverse dies. The relatively small number of die duplicates in the sample suggests that there will be over 100 obverse dies and even more reverse dies to be found. Comparison with the previous note looking at mintmark Rose shillings (link) and the amount of silver presented at the respective Pyx trials suggests that it might be possible to

read more A Die Study of James I Shillings – Third Issue, Sixth Bust, mm Lis – Gary Oddie

Revisiting Some Lead Tokens from Huntingdon – Gary Oddie

In 1823 a small hoard of early 16th-century lead tokens was “found behind the Parlour Chimney piece in Mr. Godbys Old House” in Huntingdon. They were examined by the British Museum in 1963 and a note published in Spinks Numismatic Circular in the same year. A metallurgical analysis of two further pieces was published in 1984. A more detailed analysis of six pieces from the same issue is presented here and confirms that they were all produced from a single mould and that there were two batches produced with different alloys: roughly 97% lead and 3% tin and 90% lead and 10% tin.