Next club meeting - Monday 7^th. October 2001.

• Numismatic Brains Trust Quizmaster - Michael

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

In a rearranged meeting 4 members entertained 21 attendees. Firstly Graham recited a Yorkshire poem made famous by Stanley Holloway entitled the 'Jubilee Sovereign', the somewhat dry tale of the poor lad who swallowed a gifted gold sovereign.

Next Tim Hayward showed some slides of coins from his collection of German coins. Some of the coins Tim talked about were:

• A piece of 3 marks depicting a crowned Charlemagne sitting on the throne, issued from Aachen which is where Charlemagne is buried
• A 6 Thaler of Leopold with the effigy of a walking bear
• Two Thalers of Maximillian, the first superbly executed, the second a much more basic issued he was on hard times
• A 24 Groschen of Brunswick that depicts a man holding a tree. If the tree is to the left then the mint is Luneburg, if to the right then the issue is from Wolfenbuttel
• A 16 Groschen from Hanover depicting the prancing horse
• A 1 Denier (derived from Denarius) struck to pay the troops engaged in the 7 years war, circa 1756-1763
• Two 4 pfennig pieces from Brunswick with the same date and yet with different reverses
• A 16 shillings from Hamburg followed by a later cruder specimen of the same size and design but valued at 32 shillings
• A 5 Sol struck by the French during the siege of Meintz
• A 1 Kreuzer of Nurnburg with a superbly executed view of the city, and yet the coins is only the size of a 1/2p
• A 2/3 Thaler from the mining area of Stolburg that praises the silver mines
• A nice portrait coin of Frederick the Great who styled himself as king because his lands were outside the Holy Roman Empire
• A 5 cent piece from Westphalia, the state set up by Napoleon for his brother Jerome. The piece has an incused lettering similar to that of a cartwheel 1d
• A coin with 2 values (3.5 Guilder and 2 Thalers) in order to accomadate the different monetary systems in north and south Germany

David Pottinger showed some slides and actual specimens with the theme of transport tokens. David explained very few transport tokens were issued in the 18th century. There was the one for the Walcot turnpike near Bath that depicts a view of the tollhouse and tollgate. Another was the London Mail coach 1/2d inscribed to J Palmer from JF. Who was JF? Palmer started his mail coach business in 1784 and secured a contract for the caring of mail.

A 19th century token again depicts a mail coach, payable in London by William Waterhouse. The reverse depicts a 2 headed swan, which is a pun for 2 necks =2 nicks.

The next token shown was a Liverpool ferry ticket inscribed ETNA, the name of one of the first steam ships on the river Mersey.

Two tokens depicting horse drawn trams were shown. The first a 3d of 1852 issued by J Shortridge for Sheffield & Healey. The second, for Glasgow city, issued circa 1850 with a value of 2d. Another tram token depicting Marble Arch was issued in several places in the UK by George Trains. Mr Trains trams ran on rails that were proud of the road surface. This was not popular and lead to the early demise of this particular system.

Next David showed 2 tokens depicting early styles steam locomotives; the first from the Dublin & Kingsdown railway, the second in fact being a pub check for the Railway Inn at Cirencester.

Tony Merson closed the evenings proceedings by showing a charm for warding off the evil spirits and to ensure success of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games!

There were 6 dealer tables and 21 members attended.

For those who have not yet renewed their subscription for 2001/2002 these are now due. As previously reported the new annual subscription is £13 + £2 for coffee if required. Please send your subscriptions to Maurice Bull or hand them to a committee member.

The November meeting will be devoted to member's short talks competing for the Mark Myhill memorial trophy. So now is the time to start thinking and planning your short talk. The more entries we have the better.

Davidson Monk Coin Fair at the Commonwealth Institute 14^th September & 10^nd October

Baldwins Coin Auctions - 2/3^th October

DNW Auction - 8^th October

Spink Coin Auction - 9^th October

Coin Fair (Coinex) at the Marriot Hotel - 11/12^th October

Coin Fair. Sunday 13^th October. National Motorbike Museum, Birmingham

30 years ago the guest speaker was the renowned expert on Anglo Saxon coins, Mr C Blunt.

20 years ago Ian Murray spoke on his collection of English milled coins and displayed some exceptional quality pieces.

In 1992 Gavin Scott gave a talk on "Cortini", a German illusionist who pefformed before World War II, supporting his act with his own manufactured coins.