Author: BNS Blog Coordinator

Numismatic Graffiti – End the BBC Monopoly – Fight for Free Radio – Gary Oddie

The chance find of two bronze pennies with political graffiti added in white tipp-ex brought back vague memories of pirate radio in the North Sea. I was too young for the original story to register properly, but I do recall the navy raids on the transmitter ships in 1989. Ironically, the subsequent litigation confirmed that pirate radio had been ended by government piracy. The graffiti can be dated to sometime after 19 February 1967 with the formation of the Free Radio Association and its headline message ‘FIGHT FOR FREE RADIO’.

A New Coin from the Collection of Sir Hans Sloane – Andrew Burnett

A recently discovered book annotation allows a unique and spectacular coin of the Roman emperor Severus Alexander, minted by the city of Cyzicus in Asia Minor, to recover its provenance. It belonged to the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, which was to become the founding collection of the British Museum, where the coin can still be found. The MS catalogue of the Sloane collection was lost in the Second World War, so we depend on chance finds such as this for its reconstruction.

The Limerick Soviet Shilling Notes – 1919 and 2019 – Gary Oddie

Shortly after the Irish war of Independence began in January 1919, several areas declared themselves as self-governing Soviets. When Limerick was declared a Special Military area by the British army on 9 April, a general strike was called to start on the 14th and the Limerick Soviet began. Negotiations brought an end to the strike on 27 April. From 15-27 April a series of 1, 5 and 10 shilling notes were issued, and these are well-known to collectors.  Less well known are the 1, 5 and 10 shilling notes that were issued in Limerick for the centenary celebrations. The notes circulated in several Limerick shops and businesses, exchanging at 1 shilling = 1 euro, and ceased circulation at midnight on 1 May 2019. There are similarities with the British Transition Town notes such as the Bristol, Lewes or Totnes Pounds.

The annotations of Robert Kerr in a copy of The Coinage of Scotland by Edward Burns – David Rampling

An annotated book provides access to the informal discernments of one who has shared thesame interests as the reader. The annotations are of particular value if their author wasknowledgeable in the subject under review. Robert Kerr was one such person, having had aworking relationship over an extended period with the National collection of Scottish coins.His annotations in the seminal text on Scottish numismatics may therefore be of interest tostudents of the series.I have endeavoured to organise Kerr’s jottings in a compact and accessible format. Quiteapart from their value as commentary and expansion of the text, they are evidence of thecuratorial oversights of a former age.

Columbia Market and its Tokens – Bob Williams† and Gary Oddie

This note provides an update to the 1993 booklet ‘Columbia Market’ published by the late Bob Williams. The original introductory text is repeated, followed by a group of new illustrations relating to the market. The new catalogue expands the number of known types from 13 to 27, with most fully illustrated. Brief notes from trade directories, newspapers and genealogical searches are added to the catalogue entries. An early advertisement for the market is presented along with transcripts of relevant directories, confirming the presence of many of the names and will allow newly discovered tokens to be quickly identified and dated.

Henry III Long Cross Pennies – Class 2bi – The Coinage of the Lincoln Mint – Ian M. Heavisides & Rob Page

There were three provincial mints that issued pennies of Class 2bi; Lincoln, Northampton and Winchester.It appears that the class was short-lived, and that the issue of dies was limited. We have taken each mint in turn and examined the dies known to exist, identifying these along with the corresponding reverse dies used with them.There appear to be four obverse dies of Lincoln for Class 2bi and two further dies that are contemporary forgeries. Included here are copious illustrations and some suggested means of die identification in order to avoid any confusion caused by wear and in some cases re-cutting.

The Checks of George Prier, Borough Market – Gary Oddie

The recent find of a small wooden box containing 332 checks issued by G. Prier at Borough Market, London is presented. Background research on the issuer suggests that George Prier (1835-1902) started trading at Boro in a partnership (dissolved 1867) and then as a sole trader 1869-94. For a late nineteenth century token box to survive, complete with contents, is extremely unusual.

The R.C Lockett Collection – A New Resource on the BNS Website

Cyril Richard Lockett (1873-1950) was the Chairman of William & John Lockett Ltd., shipowners in Liverpool. He commenced collecting c.1906, focussing on the English series, purchasing heavily in the Rashleigh (1909), Carlyon-Britton (1913-18), Walters (1913), Roth (1917-18), Bruun (1925), Huth (1927), Morrieson (1933), Lord Grantley (1943-45) and other collections. From the 1920s his numismatic collecting interests expanded to Greek coins and then continental, Roman and Byzantine coins, building one of the largest and most important numismatic collections in the United Kingdom. His collection of English Milled (Cromwell to Victoria) was sold at Sotheby’s (28 April 1927) and after his death his vast collection was sold by Glendining’s in 14 sales over a seven-year period (1955-1961) to avoid flooding the market. The British Numismatic Society holds Lockett’s own 58 volume manuscript catalogue of his collection. These volumes provide a unique insight into Lockett as a discerning numismatic connoisseur, while documenting provenances of his purchases and his hand-written observations about the coins

read more The R.C Lockett Collection – A New Resource on the BNS Website