Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 25 i Coin Collector

Welcome to the May edition of Coin Collector, which has undergone some major developments since the last issue. The biggest change is that the magazine is now being published within Stamp Collector, meaning that there will now be 12 issues per year. By publishing the magazines together, resources, expertise and insights can be combined to deliver a unified platform that offers unparalleled coverage, expertise and community engagement for collectors of coin and stamps alike. Both parts will continue to bring you all the information and inspiration you need to build your collections. The two hobbies have always had a close connection, which can be seen in articles in each of the two magazines. ‘Encased Stamps as Coins’ in Coin Collector reveals how during the American Civil War a shortage of…

A collection of over 200 coins from over two centuries of Celtic British history is now available to view online. Thanks to a group of student volunteers studying at Glasgow University’s College of Art & Humanities, coins from different British tribes featuring a range of designs held in The Hunterian, the museum of the University of Glasgow, have been digitally catalogued. The last time the coins held in the collection were catalogued in any form was nearly 120 years ago. The newly digitised records for the Celtic British coinage are now available on the University of Glasgow’s Collections database (www.gla.ac.uk/collections). The American Numismatic Society (ANS) have named Dr Ruth Pliego as the recipient of the 2023 Archer M Huntington Medal Award for Excellence in Numismatic Scholarship. After it is presented…

In post-World War II Germany, new coins for currency had to be minted for the two countries that emerged from the divided state – the German Federal Republic in the west and the German Democratic Republic in the eastern part. For the territory of West Germany, the Bank deutscher Länder (Bank of German States or BdL) was founded on 1 March 1948. It became the first central bank for the new established Deutsche mark currency and was renamed in 1957 as the Deutsche Bundesbank. The first major operation of the bank was to coordinate currency policy in the American and British occupation zones (Bizone). On 21 June 1948, the Bank deutscher Länder introduced the Deutsche mark currency in the three western zones of occupation. On 1 November 1948, state central…

PATTERN FLORIN OF GEORGE V Kevin Clancy, Director, The Royal Mint Museum The Royal Mint collection is renowned for its patterns and proofs, unusual items that may seldom surface in the sale rooms and that few collectors will, therefore, have a chance of seeing. Included in this fabulous array is an excessively rare uniface pattern florin of George V dated 1926 and which, being uniface, is not to be found in ESC. The coin owes its origins to the search in the mid-1920s for new reverse designs for the silver coins of George V. As well as the traditional heraldic approach, serious consideration was also given to a series of designs showing floral emblems. The strong and beautifully composed rendering of the rose on the florin of this series was…

Aldfrith (685–705) – Aldfrith was the first king of Northumbria to issue coins and also one of the earliest English rulers known to display his name on a coin itself (Figure 1). A well-educated churchman who became king on the death of his older brother Ecgfrith, under his rule Northumbria entered its so-called ‘golden age’. He was a direct contemporary of both Bede and Alcuin, both of whom write favourably about him. Eadberht (737–58) – another individual ruling during Northumbria’s ‘golden age’, Eadberht is notable for his reforms to the kingdom’s coinage – instituting a high-quality sceatta issue depicting the so-called ‘fantastic beast’ on its reverse (Figure 2). His coins are relatively common, this reflecting the high output during his reign that reflects a burgeoning economy. Energetically ruling for over two…

Jonathan Callaway is a Director of the International Bank Note Society Lawrence Chard Founder and Expert Numismatist, Speciality Sovereigns Jeff Garrett US coin dealer and board member of the Smithsonian Museum of American History Richard Kelleher Senior Curator, Medieval and Modern Money, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Jonathan Mann Numismatist and coin expert, British coinage specialist Rory Naismith Professor of Early Medieval English History, University of Cambridge Ema Šikić Archaeologist, art historian, coin specialist at Baldwin’s, London Gareth Williams Curator of Early Medieval Coins and Viking Collections at the British Museum…

ENTRY OPEN FOR THE BNS’S SHORT ARTICLE COMPETITION In November 2022, the BNS launched a new online database, Medieval Coin Hoards of the British Isles (MCHBI). The database (www.britnumsoc.org/mchbi) allows users to map and research coin hoards from c.500–1500. To encourage use of this resource, the BNS is offering a £250 prize for the best short article (c.1,500–2,500 words) making use of MCHBI data. Entry to the competition is open to all. Entries should include at least one map taken from the database and contribute to the understanding or interpretation of a hoard or group of hoards. The winning contribution will be published on the BNS’s blog. The closing date for entries is 1 October 2024. Full terms and conditions are on the BNS website (www.britnumsoc.org). Happy research and writing!…

8–21 April – Hosker Haynes PO Box 431, Leeds LS19 9NF auctions.hoskerhaynes.com 16–17 April – Noonans 16 Bolton Street, Mayfair London W1J 8B www.noonans.co.uk 17 April – Toovey’s Spring Gardens, Washington, West Sussex RH20 3BS www.tooveys.com 17 April – Warwick & Warwick Chalon House, Scar Bank, Millers Road, Warwick CV34 5DB. www.warwickandwarwick.com 18 April – St James’s 10 Charles II Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 4AA stjauctions.com 19–20 April – Harrogate Coin Fair Old Swan Hotel, Swan Road, Harrogate, Yorkshire HG1 2SR www.harrogatecoinfair.co.uk 26 April – Morton & Eden Nash House, 13a St. George Street, London W1S 2FQ www.mortonandeden.com 1 May – McTear’s Meiklewood Gate, 31 Meiklewood Road, Glasgow G51 4GB www.mctears.co.uk 8 May – Noonans 16 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8B www.noonans.co.uk 8 May – Tennants The Auction…

When I popped round to see my grandmother many years ago, I couldn’t help but notice her shiny new TV screen. ‘Where did you snag that, then?’ I asked my father shortly thereafter. ‘From the specialist dealer in town,’ he replied. ‘And what did it set you back?’ I probed further. ‘Oh, 499 euros,’ he disclosed. I furrowed my brow. ‘Surely this dinky telly doesn’t warrant such a hefty price tag,’ I mused silently, and a little later, I unearthed the same model online for a mere €329. ‘Dad, why shell out the extra dosh here in town when it’s nearly twice the price?’ I challenged. ‘Because we’ve been patrons of our local specialist dealer for donkey’s years. He looks after us properly, offers sound advice and sorts out any…

Archbishop Ecgberht – notable reformer of the English church and proponent of Bede’s teachings, as well as correspondent and personal friend of the Northumbrian scholar Alcuin. Ecgberht issued coins jointly with his brother King Eadberht, these uniquely depicting him standing between two crosses or croziers (Figure 12). An excellent in-depth die and metallurgical study of these coins has been recently undertaken by Dr Ronald Bude, published in the British Numismatic Journal. Archbishop Eanbald I – who presided over the Synod of Whitby (which laid down rules for clergy) and oversaw the rebuilding of York Minster. Eanbald co-issued coins with Æthelred I (Figure 13). Archbishop Eanbald II – successor of Eanbald I and also a friend of Alcuin, who laid down further rules for clergy and was ultimately ostracised by King Eardwulf for…

Experts disagree on exactly when the first coins began to appear on the Indian sub-continent, but silver currency certainly existed by 6th century BC. These coins weren’t always ‘coin-shaped’. The most common shape was rectangular bars of silver, with symbols punched into the metal, using a separate punch used for each design (Figure 1). These are known as punched-marked coins. It’s assumed these bars were issued by trade guilds, rather than local rulers, and cut to specific weights, as those that survive are irregular shapes and sizes. Due to the fact that India wasn’t a single, unified country at this point, tracing the history of ‘Indian’ coinage is difficult. Different rulers and regions had different traditions. But the earliest dynastic coins produced by these Indian kingdoms were made by the…

The last issue in CIT’s Real Heroes Series for the Cook Islands features has been released and features an astronaut. Whether you refer to them as astronauts, cosmonauts or taikonauts, a special kind of courage is required to leave the earth’s atmosphere. This was never truer than with the first men who set foot on the moon with the Apollo 11 spacecraft. The first lunar landing from 16 July to 24 July 1969 sparked a fascination with space, with launch and landing broadcast live around the world. Minted in ultra-high relief, the reverse of the $20 silver coin recreates an image from the centre of the astronaut’s visor of the Earth rising above the lunar horizon – one of the iconic images from Apollo 11. The moon’s surface is reflected…

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) has announced that Dr Gilles Bransbourg will be stepping down from his position as executive director in September 2024. Bransbourg has received an eight-month fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, where he will be working on his book, Roman Imperial Economics. Upon his return to the ANS in April of 2025, Bransbourg will become a Research Curator. Dr Ute Wartenberg Kagan, currently president of the ANS, has agreed to take over the position of executive director, which she previously held from 1999 to 2019.…

As stipulated by his will, LE Bruun’s collection of coins, described as the most valuable collection of world coins to ever come to market, will be sold at public auction a century after his death in 1923 The extraordinary coin, medal, banknote and book collection of Danish industrialist Lars Emil Bruun (1852–1923) is finally set to be sold in a series of auctions spanning several years. Commencing in the autumn, Stack’s Bowers Galleries will auction this prized collection of Scandinavian coinage. The collection, begun when the prosperous Danish butter merchant was a boy in the 1850s has been safeguarded for a century by the Royal Danish Coin and Medal Collection. It was first held within the walls of Frederiksborg Castle, formerly a royal residence, before finding its way to the…

PRICES EXCLUDE BUYER’S PREMIUM UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED A sale of coin and medals of the Popes at Künker on 18 March included items ranging from the ninth century up to Pope Paul VI, who became pope in 1963. A highlight from the auction was a 1676–77 gold quadruple from the reign of Pope Innocent XI (1676–89). Struck at the Rome mint, the coin featured a capped bust of the pope in spiritual regalia facing right on the obverse (lot 1403). The die cutter’s signature of ‘H’, with decoration, for Giovanni Hamerani featured below. The reverse depicted an enthroned Madonna with the child on her left arm, while to her right was Saint Lawrence holding a gridiron, and to her left was Saint Stephen with a martyr’s palm branch. Saint Augustine…

The United States will soon be gearing up to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. The event will be known as the semiquincentennial – quite a mouthful! 4 July 2026 will be one to remember as events are planned around the country to mark the occasion. America 250 is the national commission tasked with organising events to commemorate the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence. There is great anticipation in the collecting community for the numismatic celebrations commemorating this important milestone. The US Mint has been working on plans for many months to strike coins for the semiquincentennial. Reportedly, there are plans to change the design for all circulating coinage for one year to celebrate the 250th anniversary. There will also probably be other commemorative medals and bullion issues, including…

Northumbria was formed in the late-7th century from the bloody merger of two separate, ancestral kingdoms – Deira and Bernicia. At its peak, it controlled a vast swathe of territory in northern England and the Scottish Lowlands, running from the Humber to Edinburgh, making it the largest of the seven ‘traditional’ kingdoms by area alone. Although ruled by kings, Northumbria’s political system was influenced by a high degree of political power wielded by the church, with this power largely centred on the Archbishopric of York. Not only did religious institutions control many aspects of trade and the economy, but they were also major landowners in their own right, and they appear to have acted as ‘kingmakers’ at several key moments, both aiding and impeding prospective rulers in their efforts to…

A new €5 proof silver coin from Italy celebrates the 2023–25 round the world tour of the sail training ship Amerigo Vespucci, which is part of the Italian Navy. Built in 1931, this square-rigged ship is 82m long, carries 24 sails made of canvas and is fitted with an auxiliary engine. There is a permanent crew of 270, plus up to 150 cadets. Although built to resemble a wooden warship of the early 19th century, with the two white stripes on the black hull recalling the two lines of guns, the hull is made of steel riveted plates, along with the two lowest thirds and the three lowest yards of each mast. A second ship of a class of two, Cristoforo Colombo, was surrendered to the Soviet Union as war…

ON SALE 10 MAY (subsribers get it sooner… and cheaper!) The Mail from Montevideo DISCOVER URUGUAY’S INTRIGUING STAMP STORY Pre-cancelled Stamps Explained YOUR IN-DEPTH COLLECTING GUIDE 100 Years of Commemorative Stamps WE REFLECT ON A CENTURY OF SPECIAL STAMPS Two Sultans, 11 States, and a Classic Stamp Set THE INTRIGUING PHILATELIC STORY OF KEDAH, MALAYSIA The ‘Beata Tranqvillitas’ Altar Coinage of Constantine I and his Sons THE COLLECTING OPTIONS OFFERED BY THE ‘BEATA TRANQVILLITAS’ ALTAR COINAGE Taking the King’s Shilling EXPLORE THE WIDE RANGE OF MILITARY COINS AVAILABLE IN ALL GOOD NEWSAGENTS OR DIRECT FROM WWW.ALLABOUTSTAMPS.CO.UK…