Author: BNS Blog Coordinator

West Caicos Sisal Company Tokens – Gary Oddie

This note begins with a brief history and description of industries that have taken place on the Turks and Caicos Islands and in particular sisal growing. This is followed by a description of the West Caicos Sisal Company and a group of tokens issued to pay the workforce and redeemable in the Company Store.The style of the dies is quite unusual, with just a simple incuse legend. Thus when two specimens appeared of British half-pennies overstruck with the reverse die of the shilling token and more recently a British penny overstruck with the reverse die of the two shilling token, they were really quite obvious.The three new pieces all appeared in the USA and were sold without any reference to the original use of the dies. This and other features of the pieces leads to the suggestion that they were struck using the original reverse dies, but many decades after the original token issues, possibly even as late as 2010.

Henry III Long Cross Pennies – An Analysis of Class 2a and the Identification of Two Previously Unidentified Subgroups – Ian Heavisides

Coins of Class 2a, are relatively scarce yet the varieties that exist suggest that there was some degree of experimentation before the more consistent forms of 2bi and 2bii were arrived at. This has made any form of analysis or breakdown into sub-groups extremely difficult. This article suggests a means of dividing class 2a into two parts and identifies two further sub-groups 2ab1 & 2ab2, which could be confused with the coins of class 2b but which may well predate the issue. The article concludes with a brief table of the details of the four types identified.

Contemporary Counterfeit Shillings of the Commonwealth 1649-1660 – Gary Oddie

This short note presents some counterfeits of the shillings issued during the Commonwealth. A brief summary of the official coinage is followed by images and analysis of 44 counterfeit shillings from two accumulations – the Baldwin black museum and the author’s collection. Though a relatively small sample, that there are very few die duplicates between and within the two collections suggests there are many more yet to be found. However, considering the present-day scarcity of the official issues, counterfeit shillings with the anchor initial mark make up 25% of the specimens. This may be attributed to the short period around the beginning of the reign of Charles II where there is a documented increase in counterfeiting activity attributed to the uncertainty of the future acceptability of the Commonwealth coins. XRF analysis of one group reveals that one piece is likely a genuine coin (but very damaged) and another is a 20th century fabrication as the alloy contains Hafnium, a metal

read more Contemporary Counterfeit Shillings of the Commonwealth 1649-1660 – Gary Oddie

Die Sinkers Signatures on the Long Cross Coinage of Henry III (Update)

Almost immediately after publication of the original article on the use of a unique style of letter R by a die sinker to identify his work, two rare examples came up for sale on Ebay; one for Robert on Canterbury and one for Ricard L’Espec (le Specer, le Spicer) at the same mint. The coins of Richard L’Espec are all very scarce and he is one of the few moneyers for whom we have specific dates. His appointment was recorded in April 1268 and he was recorded as “Late” by 23rd September 1271 1 , giving us an approximate period over which R 2 coins were produced. As to Robert, there is some confusion over who he actually was as there were a number of Roberts who could have held the dies at the time 2 . However, thanks to the coin of Richard, it appears that the use of the unique R 2 to identify the moneyer’s work took

read more Die Sinkers Signatures on the Long Cross Coinage of Henry III (Update)

Numismatics and the Fortsas Library Sale of 1840 – Gary Oddie

Few library sales catalogues have generated as much interest at the time or subsequently as that printed for the sale of the library of Mr le Comte J.-N.-A. de Fortsas on the 10 August 1840. The auction report appeared in a local newspaper, describing the strong bidding, along with some of the prices realised and names of the buyers. Original copies of the catalogue were selling at a significant premium shortly after the date of the sale and it has been reprinted and translated several times. Chapters of books have also been written describing the build-up to the sale, the day of the sale and its aftermath. This note will describe details of the sale and then three numismatic and bibliophilic connections that came to light whilst looking into the related literature, though all is not as it initially appears.

New and Unusual Hairdressers’ Tokens – Gary Oddie

This note describes some of the more usual hairdressers’ and barbers’ tokens, often found in the UK and Australia and presents one new and several unusual types. Interestingly, close inspection of some of the pieces known to be from Australian establishments: L&S, RGT&S, Wigzell’s, Craig & Aitken and Sharp & Co are all linked to English issues either by dies or punches, suggesting manufacture in England followed by export to the user. The P&O, PS&Co, OG&Co, Ogee and RH & Sons tickets are generic issues, bought straight from the wholesalers’ catalogues whereas, others have had customised tokens manufactured for use in their own shop or chain of shops, possibly ordered via their wholesaler. A reverse type with a characteristically Australian font has yet to be identified and though generic in nature, might yet be attributed to a particular manufacturer or wholesaler.