General

Women in British Numismatics – Gary Oddie

It has long been recognised that numismatics is predominantly a male pursuit. This note presents data from several sources (British Numismatic Society, Token Corresponding Society, Museums and academia etc) regarding the gender balance within each sector. It is clear that there is a significant difference between the hobby/amateur/collector/society/voluntary side of the subject (5-10% women) and the larger scale professional/academic/museum/university side of numismatics (30-50% women). There is no discussion as to how these differences have arisen or indeed how they may be addressed, but it is hoped the data will be of use for those suggesting future directions in the subject.

A Day at The Fitzwilliam Museum – Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest – Gary Oddie

This brief note gives details of a visit made to the new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum with the title “Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest”. The exhibition is the largest numismatic exhibition to have been created in the UK, filling three rooms of the top floor of the museum. The exhibits cover the period 1750 to 2022 and there is something for everyone interested in coins, tokens, paranumismatica and paper money. Topics of protest and dissent are covered from many countries. There is even a credit card in there!The curator, Richard Kelleher, has put together something quite original, modern and far reaching and it is definitely worth making a visit or two before it closes in early January.

Revisiting the Case of Joseph Hunton – Silver Token Issuer and Last Man Hanged for Forgery – Gary Oddie

When originally conceived, this note had a very different title and form, but as the story of Joseph Hunton was uncovered in contemporary newspapers, it took a more serious turn and so is being given a separate article. This note presents the life, career and ultimate downfall of Joseph Hunton, a Quaker and very successful businessman. The original act of forgery of a bill of exchange, his attempt to escape, foiled by the weather and the police chase, his capture and high-profile trial and execution were all laid bare in the newspapers of the time. Though he had started with significant wealth, all of his properties and possessions were taken to pay his debts. Just over three years later an Act of Parliament would repeal the death penalty for such counterfeiting.

XRF Analysis of Coins in Slabs etc – Gary Oddie

Measuring the metal composition of a coin using X-ray Fluorescence can be useful in identifying counterfeits. This note presents data testing a portable XRF machine on coins in various plastic holders, including a slab. Using the machine’s built-in interpretation shows that very thin plastic films lead to good results, but anything thicker than about 0.1mm produces questionable results and a 1.66mm slab wall is likely to be incorrect.

Numismatic Graffiti – End the BBC Monopoly – Fight for Free Radio – Gary Oddie

The chance find of two bronze pennies with political graffiti added in white tipp-ex brought back vague memories of pirate radio in the North Sea. I was too young for the original story to register properly, but I do recall the navy raids on the transmitter ships in 1989. Ironically, the subsequent litigation confirmed that pirate radio had been ended by government piracy. The graffiti can be dated to sometime after 19 February 1967 with the formation of the Free Radio Association and its headline message ‘FIGHT FOR FREE RADIO’.

A New Coin from the Collection of Sir Hans Sloane – Andrew Burnett

A recently discovered book annotation allows a unique and spectacular coin of the Roman emperor Severus Alexander, minted by the city of Cyzicus in Asia Minor, to recover its provenance. It belonged to the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, which was to become the founding collection of the British Museum, where the coin can still be found. The MS catalogue of the Sloane collection was lost in the Second World War, so we depend on chance finds such as this for its reconstruction.