On reading Michael Marsh’s books on the Gold Half Sovereign. I decided some years ago tocommence an exercise to see what die numbers still existed and to see if the reason for theiradoption could be ascertained. The gold half sovereign denomination is an excellentdenomination to look at as the use of die numbers on half sovereigns occurred over thelongest period, that is 1863-1880 inclusive.
Author: BNS Blog Coordinator
The missing denomination “Farthing” from Henry VI Restoration Issue – Simon Hall
Is this tiny coin really a newly discovered denomination for the London mint during the short restoration of Henry VI from October 1470 to April 1471?
An Unusual Thistle Bank 5/: – Tom Ward and Eric C. Hodge
Recently an unusual UK merchant countermarked dollar has been auctioned.What can we glean from its oddities?
A Possible Coin from the Collection of the Notorious Forger John White – Timothy Cook
In the eighteenth century, John White was a notorious figure known for making and dealing in forgeries of coins, antiquities, and genuine items. Some of these forgeries have survived to this day, as has his reputation for making them.
The ‘Sizewell C’ or ‘Near Leiston’ hoard: a summary – Alex Bliss, Richard Ambrose, Dr Adrian Marsden and Hugh Pagan
Excavation by Oxford Cotswold Archaeology near Leiston (Suffolk) in April 2023 resulted in the discovery of a small package manufactured from lead sheet. This had been buried at the junction of two field boundary ditches. Unwrapping of this material revealed that it enclosed a coin hoard of 321 coins buried in the early 1040’s, comprising 319 pennies and 2 cut halfpennies. The coins correspond to the reigns of Harold I, Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor. This note provides an initial summary record of the find.
The 1861 Lower Dunsforth Hoard – Hugh Pagan
This note discusses the evidence for the Lower Dunsforth hoard, 1861, and suggests that we should be cautious about supposing that it contained a coin or coins of Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874-c.879).
AN APPARENT BUT IMPROBABLE NEW MONEYER FOR HAROLD II – HUGH PAGAN AND PHILIP SHAW
The present note discusses a puzzling coin of Harold II ostensibly struck by a Lincoln moneyer ‘Riesennold’.
Presentation and Analysis of a Henry I Overstrike Penny – Lyle Curtis Molina
The purpose of this research note is to present a description and analysis of a Norman penny from the reign of Henry I, which exhibits a Type V overstruck upon a Type IV. While this overstrike does not challenge the currently accepted order of coins of Henry I’s reign, it may present unrecorded examples of Mint/Moneyer combinations for both the Type IV and Type V strikes.
O’Neill Money: The Irish “Rebel Money” of the 1640s, the battle flag of the Confederated Catholics, and Eoghan Ruadh Ua Néill – Oisín Mac Conamhna
Irish “Rebel Money” has long been a numismatic enigma, as no record of its production survives. This note highlights that the encircled cross potent on the obverse of the coinage was the emblem on the battle flag of the Confederated Catholics, and attributes the production of the coinage to Eoghan Ruadh Ua Néill, the only Irish general since the advent of firearms to defeat a regular British army on an open battlefield; and dates the coinage to the immediate aftermath of the battle of Binn Bhorb (Benburb) in June 1646, two months after Ua Néill received approximately £10,000 in silver from Rome.
Revisiting Some Unusual Edward I Class 1c Pennies – Gary Oddie
A few years ago Dave Greenhalgh published a blog about some unusual reverse dies of Edward I Class 1c pennies. Three examples of reverse dies were presented where the beaded inner circle was misaligned relative to the die sinker’s circular guideline. It was hypothesized that this could be an error or a privy mark of a particular die sinker. These suggestions just didn’t “feel right”. In this note I would like to suggest an alternative and simpler hypothesis – that a single curved punch bearing the beaded quarter circle was used to create the sections of the beaded inner circle. When entered incorrectly, the beaded inner circle is misaligned relative to the guideline. A further example from Berwick-upon-Tweed will be presented to support this hypothesis. The hypothesis is also testable on other reverse dies.
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