October
28th. 2020.
Upcoming club
meetings:
Monday 2nd November – 8pm.
·
Subject - This
will be another ‘Zoom’ meeting, open to all members. We will include a short
talk courtesy of James about trading on EBAY in the 40 minutes available as
well as bringing members up to date with any developments.
September Meeting
The electronic ‘Zoom’ meeting was attended by eleven members.
John was able to tell everyone that we have now contacted John and he is
safe and well. John has also contacted previous club members (Jean , Jean and Maurice) and all are well.
I have had an e-mail from ‘Dan’ who volunteers in one of the Oxfams in Reading (not sure which), pointing out that they
now have some coins in their shop.
I have had an e-mail notifying me of a new book out, the ‘Standard
Catalog of Ecuadorian Coins A Checklist and Compendium’ By Dale Seppa and Michael J. Anderson. Please contact me if you
need details.
For the time being we will continue with Zoom meetings once a month. If you
have not joined in these 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 shouldn’t take up too much of anyone’s time.
Having brought everyone up to date, we were then treated to a short talk
by Neil entitled ‘Four Kings and Four Castles’
The talk concerned Devonshire 17th C tokens from Plymouth. A
lot of 17th C tokens were made by Tower mint engravers and there was
a great demand for them because of the paucity of regal small change. Tokens
started out in London from 1649 but then spread throughout the land, finally
being abolished by Royal decree in 1672. Farthing tokens were 15.5mm and
halfpenny tokens 22mm, similar to other small coins in
France and Scotland. They were available in different shapes and there was an
innovative use of English for legends.
In Devon, there are approximately 425 tokens from 380 issuers, such as
merchants, innkeepers etc. They are all round and both farthings and
halfpennies were issued. They usually have a date and most were issued in Exeter(96) then Plymouth(44) and Tiverton(25) accounting for
39%. Several towns issued their own tokens, which were issued by churches and
the like for the poor, an early Social Security system. In the country as a whole 3% of issuers were female, in Plymouth 13.6%.
Before discussing the tokens, Neil explained some of the History. Henry
VIII built a castle with four towers (hence the title of the talk), to form a
sea defence. During the Reformation there was a lot
of infighting between the land owners and the
merchants. In Plymouth the merchants held sway and
although Plymouth was besieged by Royalists in the Civil War, it was never
taken. Tokens started being made in the Commonwealth period. Neil showed a map
of Plymouth from the period and explained where the castle lay in relation to
the town and the surrounding approaches.
Turning now to the tokens, starting with the 1650s, the first Devonian
ones were issued in 1651 and we saw an example from the Sun inn in Plymouth. On
the reverse of the token were often three initials, the top one from the
surname, the lower left the first name, the third, generally a wife. The next
token shown was issued by Samuell Northcott in 1653
when he was a postmaster. Another was from John Payne, featuring an interesting
design with a pelican feeding its chicks. Neil explained that many varieties
existed amongst the tokens, often arising when the issuer went back for a
second lot of tokens and the maker didn’t quite do things
the same as last time. We saw a token from Ioachim Gevers which featured a Castle Gateway for which there are more
than one type. Another feature of the reverses was the use of a five pointed star in the Commonwealth period. After that we
had a token issued by William Warren, a well to do publican, who donated the land
where stands the remains of Charles Church in Plymouth (named after Charles I).
Another of his tokens showed an unlisted variety where a completely different
version of the Obverse design (a fleece) is present. A fouled anchor featured
on a 1657 token from Iosias Pickes,
though we can only guess at Mr Pickes
occupation. Next we had a token with the historical
arms of Plymouth, which show a St. Andrew’s saltire in between four castles. In
fact the design was chosen because the issuer’s inn
was called the Four Castles. Yet another pub landlord who issued tokens was Richard
Hatch in 1659 at the ‘Bunch of Grapes’, the obverse featuring just such a
bunch.
About 20% of the tokens are not dated, though most are probably from the
1650s, during the Commonwealth period. Neil showed one issued by John Cooke
with the design being ‘Family Arms’ (three pears separated by a reverse chevron).
Next came an unrecorded pub token issued by William Geffrie,
a one time Mayor of Plymouth, for the Ironmongers
Arms. A token issued by Edward Pateson, himself a
draper, shows the Drapers Arms from the Livery Company in London. Pateson supplied cloth to the Garrison while Plymouth was under
siege from the Royalists.
Moving on to the 1660s, when Charles II was returned to the Throne the
King built ‘The Citadel’ on the corner of the Hoe to guard against Plymouthians defying him as they had his father. In addition
to the sheer size of the Citadel, its position meant that Plymouth could no
longer be supplied by sea if it were under siege. Tokens tended to be bigger
and bolder, though still the same denominations.
First off was a farthing token from Abraham Appelbee
a trader who also ran a pub called The Ship, hence the design on the token. A
second token with nautical connections was issued by John Parett
and had a picture of a navigational instrument, the Backstaff. Unusually this
token had a monogram of letters on the reverse. Another unrecorded token was of
the ‘Family Arms’ type, issued by a rich grocer William Toms. Another publican,
Nicholas Cole issued a token in 1665 with a Rose design. Benjamin Dunning’s
token had a castle design, almost certainly not the new Citadel, most likely he
ran a pub called The Castle. From 1667 we had a token issued by Henry Clarke,
featuring a lion design. Possibly another pub had tokens issued by Elizabeth
Byland with the Cooper’s Arms design. Another lady issuer, Judith Ford had a very simple design, date on obverse and initials on
reverse, probably the cheap and cheerful end of the token market.
Turning now to halfpennies we saw a token issued by Michael Hooke a well
to do grocer in Plymouth, followed by a halfpenny token issued by Henry Davis,
which showed a common design, made of his initials entwined with flowers. Mr.
Davis died the same year he issued the token (1669) but left his son who was
living in Barbados £1000, however, if his son had sold the goods he went out
with, meaning he had survived the trip, then he would leave him £2000. Life
expectancy on such trips was not high. Next was a token found in the mud
further up the Tamar from Plymouth. It is from Oreston
and is the only known token from there, issued by two merchants, William and Arthur Collings.
A very interesting
talk, linking together the history of the period, with the history of the
people who lived in those times. Many thanks to Neil.
And, last, but not least, a continuation from Peter’s earlier talk on
Fallen Arches
More Arches, now fallen: Roma Numismatics’
forthcoming sale includes coins portrayed in the talk Claudius’ Fallen
Arches. But, watch the estimates before
deciding to buy!
Augustus
Estimate £15,000
Augustus AV Aureus. Spanish
mint (Colonia Patricia (Cordova)?), 18-17 BC. bare head right / triple
triumphal arch, central arch surmounted by statue of Augustus driving a
quadriga; figure on left arch holding a standard, figure on right arch holding
an aquila and bow. This coin depicts the now ruined arch of Augustus which
originally stood in the Forum Romanorum, probably constructed in 19 BC to
celebrate the return the legionary standards lost by Crassus to the Parthians
in 53 BC. The appearance of this arch is preserved solely through the numismatic
record.
ooOOoo
Claudius
Estimate
£25,000
Claudius AV Aureus. Rome or Lugdunum (Lyons), AD 46-47 laureate head right / triumphal
arch surmounted by equestrian statue to left flanked by two trophies. Aulius Plautius halted the
invasion of Britain at the River Thames, to which the Britons had withdrawn as
their next line of defence, and sent for the emperor
Claudius. He brought with him reinforcements, including a contingent of
elephants to overawe the natives. For the victories won in Britannia, the
Senate voted two triumphal arches, erected - in Rome, and in Gaul. As
previously noted, this denarius depicts the anticipated triumphal Arch of
Claudius, commissioned in AD 43, but which would not be dedicated until AD 51. It
was a conversion of one of the arches of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct where it
crossed the Via Flaminia, the main road to the north of
Rome.
ooOOoo
Peter,
September 2020
Past Events
·
10 years ago – “The Coinage of the
Knights of Malta” - Tony Holmes
·
20 years ago – “The Numismatics of Three Great Naval Battles” - Peter Clayton
·
40 years ago –
“Medals of the Royal Berks” - Albert
Club Secretary.