Next club meeting - Monday 2^nd. December 2002.

• The Reducing Machine by Kevin Clancy

Meetings are held at the Abbey Baptist Church, Abbey Square, commencing at 7.00 p.m.

Last months meeting was devoted to members giving short talks competing for the Mark Myhill memorial trophy. There were five entries as follows:

The Hercules, Liberty and Equalité design on French 5 Franc pieces by Tim.

This talk from Tim contained a wealth of information on a French coin design that has spanned 200 years. After the French Revolution the coinage was in chaos. To remedy this situation a 'Directory' was formed in 1795, being known as the Council of Ancients on account of their age. The directory held a competition to find the designs for a new coinage. Many submissions were received, including designs from Dupree, Droz, Tidlier, Bremet and Dinnier. The winner was Dupree with his famous standing figures design of Hercules, Liberty, Equalité and the legend reading 'Unity and Strength'. Tim then gave a 200 year potted history of the power politics in France, covering the various Republics and Emperors to the present day. Along this historical journey Tim showed how the standing figures design kept reappearing, albeit with minor modifications and differing privy marks for the mint and engraver general. Several examples of the actual coins were on display.

Two Commemorative medals by Graham

Graham spoke about two small medals he had recently purchased at the club. The first concerned the Marriage of Queen Victoria, the second Martin Luther. Graham had really done his research and he also delivered lots of facts, which are presented in full attached to this newsletter.

An update on the Wanborough Treasure Trove by Tony

Tony gave a brief overview of the events surrounding the looting of the Wanborough site. Although delivered with much humour, the basic facts make a rather sad story. Back in 1980 the local landowner alerted police to strange noises in the night coming from his fields. Eventually the police caught some individuals digging up an archaeological site. However, the police seemed to be somewhat at a loss to know how to proceed and rather hoped the problem would fade away. However, it was only after two notables contacted the Chief Constable that further action was taken, resulting in the apprehension of other looters. Many of the facts surrounding this affair are still not widely known. Also there are several possible sources for disclosure of the site. However, what is known is that several thousands coins were dug up in a manner that has ensured that the archaeological evidence has been lost forever. Eventually some coins were recovered from the thieves and subjected to Treasure Trove, but many more were dispersed through the trade.

A brief history of collecting by John

John's opening comment was that if you are on the committee leave your phone off the hook, otherwise you may get a call from the chairman asking for a short talk. John related some of his experiences as a coin collector. How his interest in collecting came about from some coins given to him as a child and his first purchase was a 'barmaids ruin' (4/- piece). Later he got involved with coin fairs, sharing a table with Ken Hosmer. They use to give away coins to budding numismatists in order to foster their interest. John closed his talk by making some observations regarding the aged membership of the club and then delivered a stark warning that if our hobby is continue, we must attract some young blood.

All that glitters is not gold by Michael

Several examples of golden coins, tokens, and medallions from the Soho mint were on display. It was explained that they were, in fact, all gilded copper and were issued for a variety of reasons. Some were issued to influence men of authority when Boulton was seeking his first UK coinage contract. Others were issued purely for collectors. The very rare gilded tokens were probably made for the personal use of the issuers. The gilt medallions were for general sale, probably initially through Boulton's showrooms and later for collectors.

The winner of the competition was Tim.

There were 20 members, 5 dealers tables.

The club auction will take place at the 6^th January meeting and lots are required on or before the December meeting. So please bring along your coins, medals, tokens, banknotes and any other numismatic material to the next meeting and hand them to any committee member. If we all put in just a few items we can make this an enjoyable and successful evening.

For those who have not yet renewed their subscription for 2002/2003 please do so as otherwise this will be your final newsletter. The subscription for the season 2002/2003 is £13, coffee £2 per year payable with the membership fee. Please send your subscriptions to Maurice or hand them to a committee member.

This took place on 9th November. Joe Bispham stood down as President and Graham Dyer was elected in his place. The treasurer reported that the association is strong financially. The only outgoings this year were noted as - hire of room for the AGM and secretary's expenses (postage etc.) - a total of some £104-86 whilst income came from - bank interest, sale of publications and miscellaneous - a total of £367-02, giving a net income for the year of £262-16. The current balance overall is £14961-35. Secretarial reports concerning Publications, Museum work and general were all in agreement that it had been a very quiet year.

The Belfast congress was a great success with only one minor problem when an oversleeping session chairman caused Graham Dyer's lecture to start late. The equally successful Autumn meeting attracted 38 people for the weekend. Next years congress will be in Bury St. Edmunds from 4-6 April. Speakers so far include Barrie Cooke, Graham Dyer and Joe Bispham. A visit to lckworth Hall is planned as part of the congress. As a sign of how important the Internet is becoming to the association, there will also be a talk on digital photography of coins.

The regional reports from different societies around the country revealed a mixed story. At least three societies have folded in the last year, though one or two reported increased membership, with even the odd sighting of a 'young member' from time to time. The two awards (Bartlett and Linecar) that are intended for young numismatists were unfortunately unused this year.

Considerable discussion was generated about the BANS website. There is a problem at the moment in that the person who set it up in the first place has gone AWOL. The site has been rescued and it is hoped to improve it in the future. All clubs were asked use it for advertising their presence. At the moment, the site gets around 1000 hits per year.

The possibility of appointing an officer for the website is being considered.

Davidson Monk Coin Fair at the Commonwealth Institute 16^th November & 21^st December

Coin Fair. Sunday 8^th December. National Motorbike Museum, Birmingham

DNW Coin Auction - 11^th December

30 years ago the club auction took place.

20 years ago Colin Narbeth's talk looked at events in hitory portrayed on banknotes.

10 years ago Maurice spoke on the Coronation Medals of England.