Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 35 i Coin Collector

Welcome to Coin Collector

This edition has news of the first coins to be struck in 2025. Unsurprisingly, these were produced at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Prior to its opening in 1965, coins had been struck in the country at branch mints of The Royal Mint in London. These mints were established from the mid-19th century onwards to produce sovereigns from the new sources of gold that had been discovered. Minting the coins near the gold reduced the transport and insurance costs of bringing the material back to The Royal Mint’s headquarters in Tower Hill, London. In total, three branch mints were established in Australia – Sydney in 1855, Melbourne in 1872 and Perth in 1899. Additional overseas branch mints were also established in…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Worcestershire Conquest Hoard, one of the largest early Roman coin hoards ever found in Britain, is now on temporary display at the Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum until 30 March 2025. Anyone wishing to donate to help keep the hoard in Worcestershire, can do so online at www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk or via the donation station in the exhibition. To coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Winston Churchill, there is a free display in the Money Gallery at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Featuring highlights from the J Eric Engstrom Churchill medal collection, the display includes a rare proof of a commemorative anniversary £2 coin produced by the Royal Mint. The display runs until 30 November. For more details, see the museum’s website (www.ashmolean.org). On 16 January,…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

‘Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish’

The numismatic community didn’t use the quiet days between Christmas and New Year to just admire the latest additions to their collections under the Christmas tree, browse through numismatic reference books or place bids at numismatic auctions. Once again, discussions flared up in Facebook groups, online forums and discord servers. A popular topic was the World Money Fair. For many collectors and dealers, the world’s largest coin fair has become the true New Year’s celebration because Berlin sets the tone for the year ahead in numismatics. New coins are unveiled, new deals are made and new contacts are established – and this year would be no exception. However, 2025 is set to bring some changes. For the first time, the new fair management has introduced the so-called ‘Minting Experience Centre’,…

3 min

Coin Collector|Issue 35

Divine Faces of Power

In ancient Greece and Rome, coinage was far more than a medium of trade; it was a canvas for the projection of religious, civic and political identities. Gods were not merely distant divine figures but potent symbols of protection, prosperity and authority. The ancients viewed divinity as ever-present, with gods permeating all aspects of life. Coins became a medium through which the relevance and power of specific deities were communicated to reinforce the ideologies of cities and empires. The Greeks and Romans worshipped a diverse pantheon of gods, heroes and personifications of virtues. Roman deities often corresponded to Greek counterparts, distinguished by specific attire, symbolic items or other attributes that reflected their roles. From the classical city-states of Greece to the Hellenistic kingdoms and the vast Roman Empire, the portrayal…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

Researching a Medal Group to a Red Cross Member

I purchased the group of three medals to Mrs Joan L Bodenham at a fair over 20 years ago (Figures 1–2). It was interesting because it contained three different types of medals, a campaign medal (the World War II Defence Medal), a coronation medal (the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation of 1953) and a long service award (the Voluntary Medical Service Medal with three Long Service Bars), which was the only named medal. The group came with no information, but the bars on the VMSM were the Geneva Cross type, which indicates that Joan Bodenham was in the Red Cross. The Defence Medal could be awarded for three years service in a number of civilian units in the UK during World War II. It was probably in some role connected with…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

coin update

Auctions at NYINC The New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) was held 17–19 January and featured seven days of auction sessions that ran from 13 January until 19 January. A highlight from the auctions held at the NYINC was the sole example of a gold ‘9’ pond of 1898 from the South Africa Republic, which is regarded as the most prestigious piece in South African numismatics (lot 31069). Offered in the platinum session of the world and ancient coins signature auction held by Heritage on 13 January, it sold for $1,800,000 (£1,448,220), excluding buyer’s premium. Overstruck with a ‘9’ punch at the Pretoria mint when the expected reverse dies for 1899 were held up by British forces, the fact the ‘9’ intersected with the truncation of President Kruger’s effigy means…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

auction update

CNG held a sale of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, world and British coins on 22–23 January. One of the highlights was a silver crown from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603) (lot 6627). From the seventh issue of her reign, the coin was stuck 1601–2 at the Tower mint in London. On the obverse, it featured a crowned and draped bust of Queen Elizabeth facing left and wearing a ruff, while holding a lis-tipped sceptre. The toned reverse had a coat of arms over long cross fourchée, with some flan flaws, tiny edge ding and a slight double strike. Described as in a very fine condition, it achieved $8,000 from a $1,500 estimate. SOLD FOR £6,394 A spotlight auction of shipwreck and treasure coins was held by Heritage on 20…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

A Busy Month

For years, the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) and Florida United Numismatic Convention (FUN) annual events were conducted during the same week of January. This prevented most US coin dealers from attending the NYC show. The FUN show has grown to be one of the largest coin shows in the world and cannot be missed. Even some world and ancient dealers choose the larger FUN show instead of the more boutique NYC affair. Luckily, the two coin shows now coordinate, and they are held over the first two weeks of January each year. As mentioned above, the 2025 FUN convention was gigantic in every way. There were more than 650 individual tables and about 10,000 attendees. Our company was in Orlando, FL, for nearly eight days and were busy…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

R is for Roman Rulers

Julius Caesar’s caused outrage, Augustus’ became ubiquitous, while those of Licinius are widely considered to be some of the most unflattering coin portraits in the ancient world (Figure 1). The first identifiable person to appear on a coin was the Persian statesman, Tissaphernes, whose face and name (ΤΙΣΣΑ) adorned coinage from around 400 BC. It took another two centuries for the politician Titus Quinctius Flamininus (229–174 BC) to become the first living person to appear on a Roman coin, in 191 BC. Julius Caesar was the first living Roman ruler to have his image embossed on a coin. The act – which may have helped precipitate his assassination – ironically became the norm under his successor, Augustus. Indeed, during Augustus’ 41-year reign, his face became ‘The Face’ of the Empire,…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

new coins

First 2025 coins revealed by The Royal Mint Five new coin designs for the 2025 annual set have been revealed by The Royal Mint to commemorate upcoming national milestones and anniversaries in 2025. These coins celebrate some of the most notable places, figures and institutions in British history. Available from early January, the coins in the set comprise three different values. Two 50p coins were included, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first Red Arrows display, and commemorating those who played a pivotal role of World War II. Two £2 coins celebrate 200 years of the modern railway and the founding of Britain’s first state-funded scientific ific institution, the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. A £5 coin captures the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Queen Elizabeth The Queen…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

11 February – Spink 67–69 Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 4ET www.spink.com 12 February – Tennants Harmby Road, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 5SG www.tennants.co.uk 17–21 February – Christoph Gärtner Steinbeisstraße 6+8, 74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany www.auktionen-gaertner.de 18–19 February – Noonans 16–17 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ www.noonans.co.uk 19 February – Warwick & Warwick Chalon House, Scar Bank, Millers Road, Warwick CV34 5DB www.warwickandwarwick.com 22 February – Martello 4b Prospect Road, Hythe, Kent CT21 5NN www.martelloauctions.com 26 February – Noonans 16–17 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ www.noonans.co.uk 1–2 March – London Coins 4–6 Upper Street South, New Ash Green, Kent DA3 8JJ www.londoncoins.co.uk 6 March – Noonans 16–17 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8BQ www.noonans.co.uk 7 March – St James’s 10 Charles II Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 4AA stjauctions.com…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

price £ watch

BUY AND SELL ON DECAMPE, MORE THAN 80 MILLION COLLECTABLES ARE WAITING FOR YOU!…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

Check the Czechs!

The first currency for the coins of the First Republic of Czechoslovakia in 1921 was the crown (koruna). These nominals had already been in circulation in the preceding decades during the time of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The values with the corresponding meaning of the German ‘krone’ had been introduced as the first modern gold-based currency in the area from 11 September 1892. With the currency reform of April 1919 in Czechoslovakia, the government tied the equivalent value to that in the First Austrian Republic. The first standard circulation coins of 1 koruna were issued on 1 June 1922. They were produced by the Kremnica Mint in Slovakia in copper-nickel with a weight of 6.66g, a diameter of 25mm and a thickness 1.9mm. Until 31 December 1924, they circulated in parallel…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

Chi-rhos and Christograms

The copper alloy nummi or folles of the late Roman empire are generally quite standardised in their appearance, with laureate or diademed busts, portraits that are increasingly less idiosyncratic and a range of stock reverse types often struck at many mints across the Empire. The coins themselves are usually quite small, few after circa AD 320 being bigger than a modern one-pence piece. They often depict figures such as emperors, soldiers or Victories that constantly proclaim Rome’s military invincibility in an age where Rome’s armies in the field were, in fact, becoming far from invincible. The legends, too, endlessly hark back to the same theme, with phrases that translate as ‘The Glory of the Army’, ‘The Glory of Rome’, ‘The Safety of the Republic’ and ‘The Return of Happy Times’.…

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Coin Collector|Issue 35

IN BRIEF

The five-year (2021–25) First Amendment to the United States Constitution platinum proof series of American Eagle coins features a new obverse design each year of issuance. These coins reflect the five freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment, with previous issuances on the theme of: freedom of religion (2021); freedom of speech (2022); freedom of the press (2023); and right to assemble (2024). Struck at the West Point mint, the fifth and final coin in the series is on the theme of the right to petition. This series has used the lifecycle of the oak tree from seedling to a mighty oak as a metaphor for the country’s growth as a nation that values freedom, with each of the freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment contributing to the growth and development…

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