Next club meeting Wednesday 25^th July 2001.

• This is the trip to the British and Bank of England Museums

Meetings are held at the Abbey Baptist Church. Entrance off Abbey Square.

Meeting commences at 7.00pm.

• Due to an oversight, we had neglected to vote for Dave as Vice president at the AGM. This oversight was corrected by unanimous decision.
• Val wife of Michael, has received the MBE in recognition of her charity work.
• The club has received the sad news of the death of Noel Booth, known for his publication on touch pieces.
• Felix has donated a video on the Carson city mint to the library.
• The Christie group have put Spinks up for sale
• Michael had a Victorian farthing on show, the reverse of which had a painting of Salisbury cathedral on!

On the 2nd July, 21 members heard an excellent talk given by Maurice on the varieties of Horsemen on Charles 1st half crowns.

In the general introduction the audience was informed that some 95 varieties of horseman had been identified. Coupled with the differing mintmarks, and variations in style and position of other privy marks, all told there are hundreds of die varieties. Many are identified in the best book on the subject (JJ North), although for many pieces the published rarity does not truly reflect the current availability. It was explained that many of the pieces are not that well struck and therefore grading can be difficult. The introduction closed with a brief description of the rocker and roller presses used to strike the pieces, and in particular the screw press used by Briot to produce a series of exceptional quality.

Illustrated by some excellent slides Maurice explained the principal differences of the various types. There are differing styles of horse, variations in the figures of Charles, with and without ground line and differences in the style and position of the plumes. In addition there are many different mintmarks, the over striking of which can be very useful in determining the sequence of striking. Likewise repeated use of punches can also be useful to the researcher.

The final part of the talk covered the numerous provincial mints. Silver from the Welsh mines of Thomas Bushel was used to establish a mint at Aberyswith, the coins of which have plumes in the field. As the Royalist fortunes of the civil war waxed and waned so mints were established a several locations. Bushel first moved to Shrewsbury and then to Oxford. Other mints were at Bristol, York, Truro, Exeter, Chester and Worcester. By the time of Worcester the quality of coin had deteriorated considerably.

The talk concluded with much debate concerning a copy or forgery of a struck(?) piece supposedly from York.

Overall an excellent well illustrated talk on one of the most fascinating periods of history for numismatists.

Twenty one members attended the meeting and there were four dealer tables.

Summer Social - Wednesday 25 July

The summer social this year is a trip to the British Museum and Bank of England Museum. We should meet in the HSBC gallery of the British Museum at 10-30, which will give us an hour to look at the Gallery and also the Exhibition in room 69a. The handling session will be at 11-30 and we will all be attending as a single unit. If you are not there by 11-30 then you may miss the session. I have been told it may not be possible to see specific individual items but I'm sure that a variety of interesting pieces will be on show. We will aim for lunch at 1pm. There are sandwiches and suchlike in the Great Hall of the BM and many pubs and eateries in the vicinity. We will then set off for the Bank of England Museum, probably by tube, aiming to arrive at 2-30. I have been informed that Ron Hughes, who works as an engraver for the Bank, will be giving a demonstration. I expect to start making our way home at about 4pm.

Short Talks

The next club meeting will be on the 3rd September when the evening will be devoted to member's short talks. Volunteers are required. Will those members willing to give a talk please call any committee members no later than mid August and advise the subject of their talk.

For those who have not yet renewed their subscription for 2001/2002 these are now due and remain at the same rate as last year - £12. Please send your subscriptions to Maurice or hand them to a committee member.

Future Events.

Coin Fair. Sunday 12^th August. National Motorbike Museum, Birmingham.

20 years ago members heard a short talk from Frank on the Roman town of Silchester, near Basingstoke. Frank covered the history from the Atrebates township through to the roman occupation and discussed the findings from archaeological digs.

30 years ago Mrs M Bushel expounded her expert knowledge on the English Copper Coinage and ably answered many questions from members. There was much interest in the fine specimens she bought along, particularly some of the rarer proofs of the series. (Monica Bushel is of course the co-author of that fine little Seaby publication on English Copper Coins)