Author: BNS Blog Coordinator

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.

The Tokens of Brentford and Kew Markets – Bob† and Pam Williams and Gary Oddie

A previous note presented a history and catalogue of the tokens issued at Columbia Market, based on the collection of the late Bob Williams (Link). This note follows this up with a history and catalogues of the tokens issued at Brentford and Kew Markets. Again the main catalogue is based on Bob Williams’ collection, but augmented by pieces from several other collections. The history of the markets also includes interviews with several market traders from the last 50 years. Details of any pieces not listed will be gratefully received via the BNS blog.

Charles I Counterfeit Shillings – Connecting the York, Oxford and one of the Tower Types – Gary Oddie

A previous note presented a few contemporary counterfeit shillings of Charles I. (Link). These either displayed the EBOR mint signature or showed a declaration type similar to the official Oxford Issues. Punch links suggested connections between the different types. Recently the British Museum has photographed and uploaded its Charles I counterfeit shillings. This note presents eight of the BM pieces and fits them into the previous scheme and also adds a counterfeit Tower issue shilling mm tun. Punch links now allow all of the counterfeits described in the two notes to be divided into two groups suggesting just one or two workshops produced them all.

Revisiting an Enigmatic Charles I Pattern Shilling – Gary Oddie

In the British Museum trays is a coin that was initially considered to be a medal relating to the erection of the Royal Standard in 1642. This note presents in detail the contemporary references confirming that the piece is actually a pattern for a proposed debasement of the coinage in late July and early August 1640. One reference describes the design in sufficient detail to leave no doubt about the attribution and dating. Though Mint buildings had been prepared for the production of a debased coinage, none were ever issued. For his part in the project the Earl of Strafford was found guilty of treason and executed on 12 May 1641.