Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 7 i Coin Collector

There’s nothing quite like holding a collectable coin in your hand or seeing a rare numismatic treasure close up. As Sebastian Wieschowski writes in his column (page 22), a visit to a numismatic museum gives us a valuable opportunity to press pause on our busy lives and focus on the true qualities of our hobby. There are many coin fairs, auctions, and valuation days taking place up and down the country in the coming months (see our events guide on page 64 and on the website), so we’re making a resolution to get out and about to more numismatic events this year and add a few treasures to our collection, we hope to see you during our travels! With this in mind we recently spoke to Philip Attwood, the Keeper…

One of only two known surviving 1945 silver threepence coins has been discovered and certified as genuine by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). The silver coin, the ‘rarest British circulating coin in 200 years’, was one of 371,000 minted that year, all of which were supposed to have been destroyed. The tiny silver coin was found in an ordinary Whitman folder, the type of cardboard booklet that young coin enthusiasts have filled with coin collections since the 1930s. The coin had been removed from the folder and placed in a plastic envelope, when it was brought to London auction house Baldwin’s of St. James’s. Managing director Stephen Fenton said: ‘It was a coin I’d looked for for fifty years. I regard this as the rarest British circulating coin for 200 years.…

Pobjoy Mint have announced the new release of the world’s very first Pearl Black 50p coin to celebrate the 180th Anniversary of the Penny Black stamp. Back in 1990, Pobjoy Mint issued a similar coin which was awarded Best Crown, Most Innovative Coinage and overall Coin of the Year. The coin was produced to mark the anniversary of the world’s first adhesive stamp, introduced in Britain in 1840. Now, the 50 pence coin has been reproduced using the same design showing the image from the stamp but with a change of anniversary and denomination. A spokesperson for Pobjoy Mint said: ‘All versions will have the lustrous “Pearl Black” finish which is a special technique adopted by Pobjoy Mint in order to create the beautiful effect complemented by the incused rim…

Make a plan Collecting medals as and when you find them is all very well if you have only a passing interest. But if you want to create a structured collection it’s good to plan your particular niche, then you can begin filling in the gaps as you go along. Military medals can be split into particular regiments or campaigns, or you could just focus on a medal type. Whilst planning, a little research on the websites of medal dealers and auctioneers will give you an idea of the material available and, perhaps most importantly when embarking on a new collection, the prices being paid. Do your research As ever when collecting just about anything, knowledge is power. The more you can find out about a particular battle or campaign,…

I have always had a fondness for medals to the Volunteer Force – Britain’s part-time soldiers in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, writes Will Bennett. So when a Volunteer Long Service Medal privately named to Bandmaster Henry Millington of the 1st Wiltshire Volunteer Rifle Corps came up at auction, I bought it because it was an unusual rank. My first task was to prove that Bandmaster Millington, which is how his medal was named, and Sergeant Millington, which is how he was listed in official records, were the same man. This took some detective work but I succeeded and in the process discovered much about the sometimes chaotic state and entirely unofficial status of 19th-century Volunteer Force bands. I then delved into the life of Henry Millington, who turned out…

See more dates at www.allaboutcoins.co.uk COIN & BANKNOTE FAIRS JANUARY 12 JANUARY BIRMINGHAM Midland Coin Fair National Motorcycle Museum Coventry Rd, Solihull, B92 0EJ 17 & 18 JANUARY YORK York Stamp & Coin Fair The Racecourse, YO23 1EX 31 JANUARY - 2 FEBRUARY BERLIN World Money Fair Estrel Congress Center, Sonnenallee 225, 12057 Berlin FEBRUARY 1 FEBRUARY LONDON London Coin Fair Holiday Inn, Coram Street, London, WC1N 1HT 9 FEBRUARY BIRMINGHAM Midland Coin Fair National Motorcycle Museum Coventry Rd, Solihull, B92 0EJ MARCH 7 MARCH LONDON Bloomsbury Coin Fair Royal National Hotel, 38-51 Bedford Way, Bloomsbury, London, WC1H 0DG 8 MARCH BIRMINGHAM Midland Coin Fair National Motorcycle Museum Coventry Rd, Solihull, B92 0EJ APRIL 4 APRIL LONDON Bloomsbury Coin Fair Royal National Hotel, 38-51 Bedford Way, Bloomsbury, London, WC1H 0DG…

Generally collectors have had to rely upon mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins. Buttheyonlytellpartofthestory. Trying to find a good quality coin from fifteen to twenty years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation. Additionally, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – the poignant First World War £2 Coin series being an example. Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue. That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information. • How many of each design are listed as ‘collected’…

The annual Change Checker Awards, which aim to find the country’s best coin collectors and decide on the most popular coins issued during the year, have closed, with two enthusiasts scooping the top prizes. Organised by Change Checker, in association with our very own allaboutcoins.co.uk website, the awards invite nominations before being judged by members of the allaboutcoins.co.uk team. The Change Checker of the Year award was won by Lisa Strange, for ‘always going above and beyond in the Change Checker community. She’s helped many people complete their collections whilst also giving helpful advice and tips on coin collecting.’ The Junior Change Checker of the Year winner is Oliver Cross for his dedication and passion in finding commemorative coins in his change and inspiring others to start coin collecting. Matt…

Nine rare 1856 ‘Seated Liberty’ quarter dollars, featuring the large S over small s mint mark, which were discovered in the shipwreck of the S.S. Central America, are set to go under the hammer in February at Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc, in the USA. The rare coins were discovered amongst the ruins of what has become known as the ‘Ship of Gold’ that sank in 1857 carrying tons of California Gold Rush-era treasure. The wreck was first discovered in the 1980s, before further coins were recovered in 2014. The California Gold Marketing Group acquired all the treasure recovered in the 2014 operation in November 2019, and now the coins are set to be sold. The S.S. Central America was carrying tons of California gold that had…

The winner of the competition to design the new quarter dollar was Hermon Atkins MacNeil. Like Weinman, he was at the height of his career with many notable examples of architectural sculpture to his name. Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1866, he trained as an industrial artist and lectured on the subject at Cornell University from 1886 to 1889 before going to Paris to study sculpture under Henri Chapu and Alexandre Falguiere. On his return, he was commissioned to prepare models for the sculpture at the Columbian Exposition of 1893. He won a Rinehart scholarship which enabled him to continue his studies in Rome for four years (1896-1900). He was elected to the National Academy in 1906, by which time he had gained a reputation for his statues of Native…

Tony Abramson President of Yorkshire Numismatics Society Jonathan Callaway is a Director of the International Bank Note Society. Lawrence Chard Founder and Expert Numismatist, Speciality Sovereigns Elizabeth Cottam Specialist in Celtic coins and Director of Chris Rudd Ltd Jeff Garrett US coin dealer and board member of the Smithsonian Museum of American History Richard Kelleher Assistant Keeper, Department of Coins and Medals, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Jonathan Mann Numismatist and coin dealer, British coinage specialist Rory Naismith Lecturer in Medieval British History, King’s College London Anglo-Saxon and Viking coinage: Gareth Williams Curator of Early Medieval Coins and Viking Collections at the British Museum…

The US Mint recently launched a new educational game entitled ‘Map Mania’, which teaches US geography, helping students to learn the fifty states, state capitals, and state trivia based on the America the Beautiful Quarters. The game is one of twelve free online educational games on the Mint’s Kids Site (www.usmint.gov/learn/kids), which was recently named a finalist for the Best Public Education Website in the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) Excellence in Currency 2019 Coin Awards. Despite the Reserve Bank of India assuring the public that the 10 rupee coin is legal tender, the coin continues to be treated with suspicion, according to reports. The value of the coin has been questioned and many traders are refusing to accept it, following rumours that the coins had been banned. Numismatic…

The Finance Ministry of Japan has revealed the designs of the final set of Olympic coins, to be released later this year. The twelve new coins, which bring the total of Japan’s Olympic and Paralympic Games coins to 37, include a 10,000-yen premium-grade gold coin (showing Torchbearers and the National Stadium), two 1,000-yen premium-grade silver coins (depicting boxing and wrestling), two 500-yen bi-colour clad coins (Thunder God and Wind God), and seven types of 100-yen clad coins (football, tennis, volleyball, mascot Miraitowa, cycling, wheelchair rugby, and mascot Someity). The reverse design of the 100-yen coins features the official emblem of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the reverse of the 500-yen coins also shows sport pictograms (modern pentathlon, golf, basketball, equestrian, handball, rowing, hockey, rugby, sailing, shooting, taekwondo, and triathlon) around the…

This year looks set to be another busy one for collectors of modern British coins, with The Royal Mint set to issue commemorative pieces on a range of different subjects. With the Tokyo Olympic Games set to take place in July and August, a special Team GB 50p is being planned, adding to the wide selection of Olympics 50p coins issued leading up to and after the hugely successful London 2012 Olympics. According to Change Checker more than 75% of the original London 2012 50p coins have now been removed from circulation by collectors. Collectors of 50p coins will also be setting their sights on a new series of dinosaur coins. So far, three designs have been announced, depicting the Megalosaurus, Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus, respectively. The coins will also feature…

Every time a new design is assigned to me at work, I get that excited nervous feeling in my stomach. The same way I felt as a child on Christmas morning. I want to tear into the new project the same way I tore into those presents on Christmas mornings. I am an engraver at the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM), and by using a sculpting software, some very sophisticated machines, and a host of dedicated colleagues, we produce the master tooling for the coins Canadians carry in their pockets. That’s not all, though, the engraving team also produces master tooling for all Canadian numismatic coins, Investment bullion coins and bars, Medals for the Canadian Parliament, Armed Forces and Canadian organisations. Also master tooling for countries overseas are produced in our…

The high end of the American market is currently dominated by collectors who compete with each other in the various set-registry programs of NGC and PCGS. These collectors build sets and post them online with the goal of moving up in rank. The set-registry programs also include coin issues from around the world. British coins are particularly popular with American collectors. This is one reason that ultra-high grade coins from around the world have surged in prices in recent years. The difference these collectors will pay for that one extra point to move up can be incredible. Sometimes one point does not make much difference. Your credit score might be 720 or 721, but the one point difference really does not matter. On the other hand, if the Super Bowl…

Forgeries are of considerable interest to the researcher and would also make a good area for a collector to concentrate on although, as far as the author is aware, there are few collectors pursuing them at the moment. This seeming lack of interest stands in stark contrast to the number of collectors of forgeries of other periods, for example those collecting imitations of the Roman Imperial coinage. As we have seen in our recent series of articles on the Roman period, where there is coinage, copies will be made of it. This is no less true of the Medieval period although there were differences between the Roman Empire and Medieval England. For a start England’s coinage was all of silver with some gold and with none of the bronze that…

The Ancient Egyptians gave golden amulets to their greatest warriors. The Celts also valued precious metals and rewarded their bards and brawlers with tightly-twisted collars of gold and silver, known as torcs. The Greeks were less showy and decorated their soldiers, athletes, poets and musicians with simple wreathes made from the branches of the olive tree. Medals as we know them, however, were first produced in Italy in the 1430s. These early examples were very much commemorative pieces, made in small numbers to celebrate specific events, people and places. London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has a stunning collection of medals and plaquettes which date from this period and what’s immediately clear is that, while these medals were the height of Late Medieval fashion, they took their inspiration from antiquity. The…

Illustrated is the Army of India medal to Richard Hunt, with a ‘Nepaul’ clasp for the war against the Gurkhas in 1814-16, a conflict that initiated their close bond with the British Army that has existed for over 200 years, writes Dr Robin Thomas, the President of the OMRS. Richard is the only soldier represented in my collection who saw active service in the 18th century, having taken part in the Helder Expedition of 1799 under the command of the Duke of York. Born in 1780, he was a labourer from Lavenham in Suffolk and was serving in the East Essex Militia when, with many of his comrades, he joined the Regular Army in the 17th Foot. Although his only medal represents one relatively brief campaign, Richard saw extensive service…

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AUSTRALIA Lunar Year of the Rat Denomination: $1 Diameter: 40.6 mm Weight: 31.107 grams Metal: 99.99% Fine Silver Mintage: 7,500 Mint: Perth Mint Website: www.perthmint.com Lunar Year of the Rat Denomination: $5 Diameter: 39.62 mm Weight: 31.1 grams Metal: 99.9% Fine Silver Mintage: 7,500 Mint: Royal Australian Mint Website: www.ramint.gov.au Kangaroos at Dawn Denomination: $1 Diameter: 28.52 mm Metal: Fine Silver Proof Mintage: 2,500 Mint: Royal Australian Mint Website: www.ramint.gov.au Notes: see page 78 for an interview with the designer of the coin FRANCE Paris Treasures: Eiffel Tower Denomination: €10 Diameter: 37 mm Weight: 22.2 grams Metal: 90% Silver Mintage: 1,000 Mint: Monnaie de Paris Website: www.monnaiedeparis.fr Fall of the Berlin Wall Denomination: €2 Diameter: 25.75 mm Weight: 8.5 grams Metal: Base Metal Mintage: 10,000 Mint: Monnaie de Paris Website:…

Produced by the Rand Refinery in South Africa, the Krugerrand was a brilliant way to utilise the huge amounts of gold the nation’s mines were producing by bringing investment gold bullion in the form of coins to the average man in the street. Suddenly, everyone could be a gold investor. The South African Chamber of Mines had an inspired idea to help market South African gold. It was to issue a one ounce bullion coin, to be sold at a very low premium over the intrinsic gold value. They are still considered to be a good investment and carry a low premium over gold of about 1.5 to 3% on the secondary market. Originally only one size was issued, which contained one full troy ounce (31.1035 grams) of fine gold.…

Tell us little about yourself? I was born in Serbia where I received a degree in Applied Sculpting within the University of Belgrade. In addition to studying monument and gallery sculptures, I also studied medals and jewellery, which was my first contact with bas-relief and precious metals. In 2005, I went to the School of Medallic Arts in Rome where I spent three years learning about traditional coin and medal-making techniques. At the end of my studies, I accepted a scholarship to work for the Italian Mint for additional three years before becoming part of the coin design team at the Royal Australian Mint. What inspired you to become involved in the world of coin design? My first memory of coins, as not only currency, but as something to admire,…

COIN GLOSSARY Numismatic terms you need to know Trial of the Pyx – an annual ceremony which has taken place since 1282. The special ceremony involves the Chancellor of the Exchequer (or a nominated representative), financial leaders, representatives of The Royal Mint and freemen of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as The Goldsmiths’ Company. The term ‘pyx’ or ‘pyxis’ is Latin for small box and refers to the chests used to transport the coins. Throughout the year, in a procedure that has barely changed since the reign of Henry III, coins are randomly selected from every batch of each denomination struck, sealed in bags of fifty and locked away in the Pyx boxes for testing at the Trial. Find out more and watch a video on the Trial…

1950 India became a sovereign republic and the saw the introduction of the first coins of the Republic of India. Portraits of the British monarch on previous coins were replaced with Lion Capital of Ashoka. 1920 The Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar was issued in the USA, to mark the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims in North America, on the Mayflower. The coin features a depiction of William Bradford Governor of the Plymouth Colony, with Bible under his arm and, on the obverse, an image of The Mayflower ship. According to reports, thousands of examples of the coin were returned to the Philadelphia Mint to be melted down, due to poor sales.…