Thomas Violet was a goldsmith and writer on trade. He published several books and tracts, especially during the Commonwealth. One of his works “The Mysteries of the Mint” (1653) provides the earliest printed reference to the coinage trials of 1651 between David Ramage and Peter Blondeau. The recent publication by Amos Tubbs “Thomas Violet, A sly and dangerous fellow” revealed a colourful story of an interesting character and cited 15 works authored by Violet. This note provides a brief introduction to Violet and tracks down a further 9 tracts and provides links to where almost all of them can be found online either as pdf or plain text copies. The British Library catalogue gives Thomas Violet as the author of “The Great Trappaner”, which was certainly not the case as it is a stinging attack on the man himself and his activities! It is hoped this bibliography will be of use to others working in this interesting period of numismatics and
Author: BNS Blog Coordinator
Edward III 4th Coinage Pre-Treaty Period Series Gb / Gf Mule Penny, London Mint – Duncan Russell
During an extensive re-listing of my collection I came across this Mule Penny which is described here. Effectively the current Corpus of Series G Pennies from London are only recognised as starting with Gc Obverses but this coin is clearly a Gb Obverse (Annulet Stops not Saltires) matched to a Gf reverse.
An Unlisted ‘Irish’ Medieval Jetton – A. G. Bliss
In 2017, the author was given an unusual jetton for recording on PAS. This jetton was particularly interesting, as its obverse face depicted a harp – a design unlisted in Mitchiner’s standard catalogue. Only one other parallel for this piece could be found, also recorded on the PAS. A third example appeared recently, offered for sale via an online auction site and reportedly found in Norfolk. This note serves to catalogue and discuss these interesting pieces, with the hope that more may emerge in the future.
A Guide for Identifying Some Variants of the Crux Penny of Æthelred II – W.M.D. Castle
In this article I bring together some of the distinguishing features of some Crux variants of Æthelred II. Some of these variants are hard to distinguish, so I have created a flow diagram that groups the coins by features that are shared in common. The article focuses on Crux, Early Transitional Crux, Late Transitional Crux, Small Crux and Intermediate Small Cross-Crux mules. This guide should aid people in identifying some of these coins. The descriptions of each coin type is not exhaustive, and variations will likely crop up that don’t always fit into these neat categories, but the key distinguishing features have been listed.
Counterfeit Round Pound Coins (v) Loose Ends – Gary Oddie
In this fifth and final instalment some peripheral topics will be covered. Ranging from the mentions of counterfeit pound coins in the media, to publications, to the response of the establishment, to prosecutions, to counterfeits of the new dodecagonal pound. New data has been added to the table of known counterfeit designs, bringing the total to 122 muled designs and 30 counterfeits with the correct obverse for the reverse. This will not be comprehensive, and is not in any particular order, but hopefully will provide a good starting point should anyone wish to take the topic further.
Some Observations on the Class 6a2 Pennies of Edward I – Denis Martin
For many years it seemed that there was only one obverse die for the 6a2 sub-class of Edward I pennies. Few coins were known and, of these, one was a mule with a class 5 reverse. The author has kept track of new coins which have emerged in the last 25 years or so and has been able to notice another obverse die making two in all. The total number of coins that have been noted for this sub-class now stands at a minimum of twelve. Most of these are in private hands hopefully recognised for what they are.
A New Henry III Long Cross Coin of Robert from the London Mint – M. Shott
A fifth specimen has turned up of the very rare class 5g of London by the moneyer Robert. It is documented and discussed in the attached article.
The Banknotes issued by J. Wilkinson of Ipswich in 1796-7 – Gary Oddie
In the British Isles small denomination banknotes are quite unusual, a likely result of denominations of less than 20/- having been banned by Act of Parliament in 1775. The next 40 years did see a few provincial issues by banks and businesses with denominations ranging from 2d to 15/-. Based on Roger Outing’s catalogue (England and Wales, not counting skit notes) there are just 26 notes issued for 5/- or less and the number increases to 51 when notes for less than 20/- are added. This article was prompted by the acquisition of a One Shilling note issued by J. Wilkinson of St Clement St. in Ipswich in 1797 and brings together what I have found that has already been published. The conclusion is that the name John Wilkinson is a very challenging name to research and his address was in one of the poorest areas of the town.
Some Insights into Medieval Die Production and Die Life – Part 2 – Die cutting – Dave Greenhalgh
This is the second installment of a series of articles detailing insights into medieval die production based on my own work.
Counterfeit Round Pound Coins (iv) More Unusual Issues – Gary Oddie
In this fourth instalment several more unusual issues are presented, essentially a postscript to the second note. The first three pieces follow on the theme of materials and the final three look at unusual die/mould manufacturing techniques used particularly for brass counterfeits that were not covered previously. Earlier articles….
