December
24th 2020.
Upcoming club
meetings:
Monday 4th January 8pm.
·
Subject - This
will be another Zoom meeting, open to all members. We will be having a talk from Peter as well as
bringing members up to date with any developments.
November Meeting
The electronic Zoom meeting was attended by nine members.
John informed everyone that being in tiers meant that there have been no
changes and that future meetings will still be electronic till we get out the
other side. Graham has had some interesting books in, including one on the
Iconography of Early Anglo Saxon Coinage. Its for sale if anyone is interested. There followed a
discussion about the days of collecting when you needed a licence
for gold coins. John then informed the members of the one piece of good news we
have had, namely that the Abbey Baptist Church will not be putting up the rent
next year! We have also had the latest copy of the BNJ and if anyone wants to
get hold of it, let me know and well arrange something.
If you have not joined in our Zoom sessions before, please do have a go.
Its not difficult (ask any grandchild to help you) 😊. We believe it is important to
keep the members of the club in touch with one another and this is a good way to
do it. Meetings are currently limited to 40 minutes and only once a month so
they shouldnt take up too much of anyones time.
We were now treated to Gavins Christmas Quiz. The questions are below
and in the PDF attachment, the answers will be in Januarys newsletter. The
winner of the quiz was Michael with eleven out of twenty, Graham was second
with 9 and there was a tie for third place (John and Alastair) with eight. Well
done Michael and thank you very much to Gavin (and Ann) for all the hard work
they put into the quiz.
1)
Whose portrait is this?
2)
Which country introduced the hippopotamus to modern numismatics?
3)
The first silver crown-sized silver coin in the world was struck in
1486. Who issued it?
4)
When were Lundy Puffins originally struck?
5)
Which country issued this coin?
6)
In which year was the first English gold sovereign struck?
7)
What do the initials IBSCC stand for?
8)
What was one of the main reasons for the introduction of the window tax
on dwelling houses?
9)
A horn of plenty and a beehive appear at Britannias feet on what English
coin?
10)
What is missing from this coin?
11)
Of what country could one say that coin collecting is FUN?
12)
What main civilisation never used coins?
13)
Whose portrait is this?
14)
What is the name of the horse on the 1953 crown?
15)
When was Pistrucci appointed Chief Engraver at
the Royal Mint?
16)
What derisive name was given to the reverse design of the 1953 sixpence?
17)
Whose portrait is this?
18)
Which British milled coin was only issued for four years?
19)
In what part of the world did tin ingots circulate as money?
20)
Whose portrait is this and on what coins does it appear?
The meeting the turned into a discussion amongst the members covering
such areas as how the price of silver has varied over the years, from 4 times
face to 28 times face and how gas meters were a good place to find older
shillings. Sovereigns were available at £3 15/- and Michael recalled how his
first Krugerrand cost £16.
I am looking for contributions for the newsletter, along the line of the one
below, to go in the January and later newsletters. These are only meant to be
short articles and Ill be grateful for any help
received.
You will also find the latest communications from the BNS along with this
newsletter, there are three in total. Sadly it is
impractical to print them out for our non e-mail
members.
In this issue of the newsletter we have another article from Graham about
an interesting medal he obtained recently.
NOT ALL MEDALS ARE ROUND
This silver medallion weighs in at a hefty 113 g with vital statistics of
80mm X 50mm X 4mm.
It is from the Durham School and dated 1882. The School, founded in 1414
by a Thomas Langley, is now an independent boarding and day school. In 1541 it
was re-founded by Henry VIII, and in 1844 the school moved from its site on
Palace Green to its current location across the river. It was an all-boys
institution until 1985 when girls were admitted to the sixth form, becoming
fully co-educational in 1998.
The Schools fine coat of arms features in bold relief. Mr. Holden had
been the schools headmaster since 1853 and introduced the three-term system
used today. He also arranged for the enlarging the playing fields and the
building an open-air swimming pool.
It came into my possession with a good fitted
case together with a battered silver frame containing the recipients photo,
HGS Burkitt. The back of the photo was marked 17 Dogras.
The infantry- regiment became part of
the British India Army in 1922 after the Indian government decided to reform
the army moving away from single battalion regiments to multi battalion
regiments. After the partition of India in 1947 it was allocated to the new
Indian Army and renamed the Dogra regiment. No other details of Mr Burkitt have been traced.
IN HONOREM HENRICI HOLDEN S.T.P.
ANNO XXIX ARCHIDIIDASC. ALVMINI MEMORES A.S. MDCCCLXXXII
Engraved: MERUIT HGS BURKITT MCMXXXII
Past Events
Finally a Merry Christmas and a
Prosperous New Year to All Our Members.
Club Secretary.