Since the publication of ‘The Galata Guide to hammered and milled threepenny pieces 1551 – 1663’ in 2016 very few new dies for the coins have come to light. So when a new die is discovered it is worthy of note. Within the Elizabethan series of threepences there are a few that are notably rare, one such is the 1574 initial mark issue, so when a coin from a new pair of dies is discovered it became worthy of recording them as an adjunct to the Galata Guide. A coin purchased at the London coin fair earlier this year came from these new dies and was complemented by a purchase off EBay a month or so later with a second example of the reverse die. The following article records these new dies.
Author: BNS Blog Coordinator
COIN PEDIGREES REVISITED: THE OXFORD CROWN – HUGH PAGAN
A note in vol.17 of the Numismatic Chronicle by John Brodribb Bergne (1800-1873), in which Bergne lists, together with their back histories, the ten or eleven specimens known to him of the famous Oxford crown of 1644, with a view of the city of Oxford under the horse on the obverse, turns out to contain similar information to that in an earlier list of the same character contained in a letter dated 20 December 1805 written by the banker and coin collector Thomas Dimsdale (1758-1823). Dimsdale’s list is one of the earliest to list coin by coin, together with their back histories, examples of a rarity in the early modern series, and is as such of some significance in the history of the methodology of British numismatics.
A Rare Rune Combination on R8 Sceatta by Chris Timms.
I have interpreted the runes on the R8 Sceatta featured in this article as HHL. The runes HH appear to be ligate or bind. The rune graphs are discussed. Many different combination of runes were used on the obverse flans of the R series, EPA, GEPA, EA, EP, ER, RHY and SPI were the most common, ES is quite unusual. I have only observed EAP on one coin, presumably an error by a die cutter. The later Wigraed (R10) and Tilberht (R11) coins had their names in runes. I have only seen the combination of runes HHL on two coins I own and one more registered on the Early Medieval Corpus database at the Fitzwilliam. The symbols outside of the standard on the reverse of the “Angry Face” coins are also discussed.
Further Notes on a False Plantation Token – Adrian Lansen, Koen Helling and Gary Oddie
The die used to strike the Goerach Batoe 1 Dollar Reis 1890 “Proof” plantation token has recently been discussed in a blog article by Gary Oddie. That the die was found along with other dies known to have produced modern fantasy transport tokens casts serious doubt on the authenticity of specimens of this particular plantation token. This note adds further detail to the history of this issue.
A Modern Concoction, a Numismatic Forgery or a Contemporary Private Issue: An Examination of a Cut and Countermarked Coin – Ken Eckardt
Initial examination of a cut and countermarked segment from an 8 Reale raises a number of questions as to the nature of this coin. The piece appears to be on the fringe of a recognised series within the broader series of British Tradesman Countermarked Dollars. A number of possibilities exist and each of these need to be reviewed so as to test the probabilities with the aim of leading to a conclusion that answers the questions raised with a reasonable degree of certainty.Reviewing the physical aspects of the coin and considering past as well as more recent circumstances a process of elimination was used that leads to a logical resolution that potentially identifies the nature of the coin and the reason for its existence.
Unusual Iconography on three R8 Sceatta – C Timms
This Blog article discusses the unusual Iconography of what I have classified as a variant of the R8 Series (R8 Type 16) Sceat. I comment upon the epigraphic content of both the obverse and reverse of the three coins featured. The shape of the head/face and other symbols on the obverse are compared to other R8 types, also the positioning of the runes is observed and compared to other R8 types. The very unusual content of symbols within the standard on the reverse is reviewed. The rarity of these three coins is commented upon.
A Group of Dies for Fantasy Tokens – Gary Oddie
Recently a group of seven dies appeared on the market. Four of the dies form a group that produced fantasy transport tokens sometime between 1967 and 1990. Two dies produced a fantasy transport token sometime between 1990 and 2016. The final die was used to produce a previously unrecognised fantasy tobacco plantation token from the Dutch East Indies. Each die is illustrated (50%) and a separate image of the die face is shown along with a mirrored image and a specimen of the token (100%).
Letters of John Lindsay of Cork Regarding the Scottish Coinage – David Rampling
The inclusion of personal letters in books once owned by notable numismatists can provide insights into former views on a coinage. The four letters reproduced in this article were written by the noted Irish numismatist John Lindsay and inserted in two copies of Lindsay’s A View of the Coinage of Scotland. They are addressed to the books’ original owners, J. H. Burn and J. B. Greenshields respectively. They illustrate the application of our forebears to elucidating aspects of the Scottish coinage.
The First Issue Shilling of Nicholas Briot’s Hammered Coinage of 1638-39 – Bob Thomas
For many years it has been assumed there were only two examples of Briot’s First Hammered Issue shilling (S2862). The first known was the British Museum specimen bought in 1825 although no details of the purchase are known. The second dates back at least to the collection of Grant R Francis in around 1918 and it was recently sold as part of the Hulett collection. In 2010 an unrecognised example appeared in an Auction in USA and later, still unrecognised, in the trays of an American dealer at Coinex 2016 when it was bought by a collector who has since sold it to the author of this note. All three are die duplicates.
JONATHAN RASHLEIGH, 1820-1905 – Hugh Pagan
This note sets out what is known about the life and coin collecting career of Jonathan Rashleigh (1820-1905), and draws attention to the fact that the evidence for his acquisitions of coins in the sale room provided by the 1909 Sotheby auction catalogue of the Rashleigh family collection can be supplemented by the presence of Rashleigh’s own name as a purchaser in marked copies of the catalogues of other coin auction sales dating from the late 1840s onwards.
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