This note describes a visit to Stockwood Discovery Centre (The Culture Trust, Luton Museum) by members of the Bedford Numismatic Society. The motive for the visit was to help with the safe removal of the hoard of gold aurei that had been found at Shillington, Bedfordshire, found 1998-1999, along with another hoard of denarii and a bronze mirror found nearby. It was a privilege to be asked and a pleasure to help with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look at 127 gold aurei dating from AD 14 – AD 79, one of the largest hoards of Roman gold coins found in Britain.
General
BNS Museum Student Placement 2023 – Jennifer Webster
Each year the BNS offers bursaries for Museum placements. All undergraduate and postgraduate students currently studying at a UK university are eligible to apply. The 2023 bursary was hosted by the British Museum, and the attached article describes the succesful applicant’s experience.
A Day at the Museum – Part (i) The Search for the Lesser Elongated Squirrel
On 25 July 2023, the author and two members of the Bedford Numismatic Society visited Wardown House Museum and Gallery, in Luton. The “behind the scenes” visit had two main motives. Firstly, inspection and photography of the Museum’s collection of Bedfordshire tokens and also to work through the museum’s holdings of Anglo-Saxon and Norman pennies struck at the Bedford Mint.A follow-up visit to the Stockwood Discovery Centre on 15 August was arranged to view the Bedford Mint pennies, on permanent display there, and also to help the museum with the safe relocation of the Shillington hoard of 127 gold aurei found in 1998 and 1999. This will be written up in a separate Blog. Whilst on site the opportunity was taken to make an elongated penny using a machine in the visitor centre to be described here.
On Collectors and Museums Part 1. Some Historical Opinions and Correspondence – Gary Oddie
In the February 1947 issue of Seaby’s Coin and Medal Bulletin, H.A. (Bert) Seaby wrote a provocative editorial with the title “The Collector vs the Museum – or – Can Museums be Too Greedy?” The main theme was the accumulation of duplicates by acquisition or bequest and the loss of material from the collector market. At that time the coins in question were the classical Greek, Roman, and typically precious metal pieces. The subsequent 75 years has seen much change in the coin world, with the interested population increasing at least twenty fold and almost everything small, round and metallic being collected and studied somewhere. Another factor in expanding interest in British numismatics was the invention of the metal detector and its effect on hardening and polarising the positions of members of some groups. On my mind when I first noticed the Seaby editorial were the recent increased scope of the Treasure Act and the trial and conviction of two
read more On Collectors and Museums Part 1. Some Historical Opinions and Correspondence – Gary Oddie
Boxed Coins Issued for Jubilees and Coronations – Gary Oddie
The finishing touches are just being made to a new book on Bedfordshire tokens etc. The net has been cast widely and a small group of boxed coins has been found issued by local councils and companies to celebrate Coronations and Jubilees. These are just ordinary coins in specially printed boxes. They were given to anyone aged 70 or over on the day of the event. Once separated from the box, this is just an ordinary coin and would be spent and the box discarded.This note will list those boxes known to the author, with the expectation that many more once existed.
The Chronology of The Preparation of Plates For Martin Folkes’s Writings on English Gold and Silver Coins – Hugh Pagan
Conference: Coin Hoards – Discovery and Interpretation, Oxford, 15th July.
The BNS invites you to a day out in Oxford on Saturday, July 15th, for only £10. Includes lunch.
A Die Study of Victorian Shillings Dated 1865. Part 1 – Validating the Statistical Methods – Gary Oddie
For some years the equations proposed by Warren Esty have been used to estimate the number of dies used to strike a particular issue or coinage. The equations are used to give point estimates of the number of dies and the coverage and also 95% confidence limits on these numbers. However, the equations are based on assumptions, and as reasonable as they are, it is still only a model, and therefore the question has often been asked “do you believe the results?”The acquisition of an 1865 shilling with the die number 102 (a rarity according to specialist collectors) led to the realisation that a study of the die numbered coinage can be used to test the statistical models. This is simply because we know what the answer is, as the dies are all numbered.A virtual collection of 184 shillings dated 1865 was gathered and used to systematically test the statistical methods with increasing sample size. This confirms that the equations
The Winchester Cabinet – Lucy Moore
The British Numismatic Society awarded a grant of £475 to the University of Leeds to support an experimental interpretation project based on the Winchester Cabinet held there. This blog reveals details about the project and why the approach taken was chosen.
Determining the Density of a Coin using Archimedes’ Principle – Gary Oddie
This note presents a simple method for determining the density of a coin using Archimedes principle. The Charles I counterfeit shilling mm Heart, presented in the previous blog, is used as an example. Once the density of the alloy is known it is possible to estimate the fineness of the silver and three methods are presented: mathematical, graphical and look-up table.
BNS Research Blog 