Author: BNS Blog Coordinator

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.

The Numismatic Value Double Struck Coins can Provide (A Reattribution and an Attribution of two Norman Coins) – Lyle Curtis Molina

This research note follows upon the author’s first research note published December 18, 2024, on the BNS blog, and its purpose is to demonstrate that even coins with some form of double striking error can still provide valuable information.  This research note will examine two coins which exhibit a form of strike error associated with double striking and will add additional Moneyer and mint combinations to the corpus of the “Mints and Moneyers of England, 1066 – 1158.”

Some Unusual New York Hotel Tokens – Gary Oddie

This Blog is presented in four parts, reproducing (with minor edits) previously published notes from the past decade. It begins with a query as to why a small group of New York Restaurant tokens have denominations in shillings and pence. A few years later, with no progress having been made, the request was repeated. A catalogue of the known issuing establishments and the denominations issued is then given. And finally, thanks to a reply to one of the earlier requests, a possible explanation is found as to why tokens denominated in shillings and pence appeared in New York restaurants in the middle of the nineteenth century.

An Analysis of Strike Error Coins – Lyle Curtis Molina

The purpose of this research note is to provide some guidance and structure for beginning numismatists of British hammered coinage who find an interest with some form of striking error within the Anglo-Saxon and Noman series.  The scope of this research note is to: 1) provide examples of strike errors to illustrate aspects to keep an eye out for when examining a coin; 2) provide a framework to help analyse strike errors; and 3) demonstrate practical application of this framework.

The Langford, Bedfordshire, Hoard 2016, and the Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, Hoard 1892 – Hugh Pagan

This records two very similar hoards of Anglo-Saxon coins containing coins of Alfred of Wessex and of Archbishop Plegmund of Canterbury, one found at Langford, Bedfordshire, in 2016, and the other at Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in 1892, and discusses the evidence for their dates of deposit. The content of the Langford hoard has not as yet been formally published, and the summary listing of it offered here will be helpful for the wider numismatic community.

A Millenium of Numismatics at Hexham Church – Gary Oddie

This Blog began as a simple description of three skilfully engraved silver coins, each showing a view of Hexham church and dated 1830 and 1833. Each of the pieces has an engraved name, but with too many local possibilities, they are unlikely to be identified with certainty. Whilst searching for events at the church during this period, a completely unexpected numismatic connection was made. On Monday 15 October 1832 the Hexham hoard of about 8,000 Northumbrian Stycas was discovered. The hoard had been deposited c.865. At the time the discovery was reported in local newspapers across the country. The discovery and contents of the hoard were published in 1833. The first specific appearance of the hoard in numismatic literature was in J.D.A. Thompson’s Inventory of British Coin Hoards of 1956. The dates on the engraved coins may be just the result of a local engraver creating mementos or may have some significance relating to the closure of the church for

read more A Millenium of Numismatics at Hexham Church – Gary Oddie

Countermarked 1811-12 Silver Shilling Tokens – Gary Oddie

The Mint had issued no sensible quantities of silver coin since the late 1750s. In 1811-12 many tradesmen and bankers issued silver tokens, sufficiently light to avoid the melting pot, and these worked hard and went, in a small way, to satisfy the needs of the issuers and their customers. Some of these silver tokens received countermarks. The survival of three worn tokens from three different issuers, but all bearing the same countermark, gives insight into the state of the circulating silver tokens  around the time of the silver Recoinage of 1816-17. If anyone has any silver coins, tokens, slap tokens or foreign silver bearing this exact countermark, the author would be pleased to hear.