January 31st 2022.
Next club meeting Monday 7th February 2022.
·
Subject – Short Talks By Club Members.
Monday 7th March 2022
·
Club Auction - for members only
Monday 4th April 2022.
·
A London Bestiary By Gerry Buddle
Meetings are held at the Abbey Baptist Church,
Abbey Square, commencing at 7.00 p.m.
Notices
Please bring your
Auction lots for March along to the next meeting and give them to Ian, together
with a list of the items,
·
any reserves and – most importantly – some form of
identification and an e-mail address if you’ve got one, so Ian knows who the
lots belong to. Close of play at the February
meeting is the deadline for entering lots into the auction, they must be handed
to Ian by then.
·
There will be a maximum of 200 lots. Poor specimen, junk
lots and lots with unrealistic reserves will be reviewed by committee to decide
if there is a realistic chance of their sale so be aware such lots may not make
it into the auction. Reserves will be shown. Lots will not be graded – it is up
to the buyer to determine the grade. It is ‘buyer beware’ when bidding for the auction lots and no responsibility is
accepted by the club or auctioneer.
January Meeting
As a precaution, due to the
high level of COVID infection and having been notified of several people who
would NOT be attending the January meeting, the committee took the decision to
cancel the meeting.
Interestingly, of the people
who were consulted, several were happy to go ahead with the meeting
but it seemed to us that we were at the highest point of the current wave and
that the audience for the member’s short talks would have been much smaller than
normal, which would have been a great shame.
We apologise for any
inconvenience caused and fully expect the February meeting to go ahead, hopefully
with a full audience for the talks.
Mick’s proposed talk for February
has been postponed till July.
We have been fortunate to find
some short articles, both on Ancients, to add to the newsletter in place of the
normal meeting report, starting with one from Graham.
Terra cotta
lamps start to carry the inscription “Happy New Year to you and me” appearing
in an abbreviated form. The lamps are New Year’s gifts, and the goddess of
victory and the emperor’s shield have become the bearers of personal greetings
and private aspirations. Coins scattered in the picture field leave no doubt
that the wishes are meant in a quite material sense. No wonder the same motif
also appears on the Roman equivalent of piggy banks!
The Power of Images in the Age of
Augustus by Paul Zanker The
University of Michigan Press 1990 P274/5
And
then a follow up to Peter’s talk from a couple of months ago.
Birds on Imperial Roman
coins (Part 2)
In the July 2021 Newsletter,
I explained the popularity of eagles and peacocks in the Roman Imperial series,
and probably gave the impression that that was that. It’s certainly true that
animals were more popular with bears, antelopes, famously the wolf who
protected Romulus and Remus, and so on.
|
However, the Emperor
Domitian had a Semis (half an As)
minted in Rome in AD85 with the reverse depicting a Raven standing on branch.
Semis were not common and rarely survive. The Reverse inscription is S C
(Senatus Consultum – decree of the
Senate). |
|
|
Between the rule of
Domitian to Antoninus Pius (ca. AD80-160) there were issues of anonymous Quadrantes
(quarter of an As), especially portraying Owls. But the most common ‘bird’ representation was that
of the phoenix, especially in the years AD348-350. At that time two new
coins, called Centenionales, were minted
with the inscription on the reverse: FEL TEMP REPARATIO. |
|
The larger coin shows a Roman
soldier spearing a fallen barbarian horseman. These are very common. The
smaller coin (below) had a phoenix mounted on a globe. The most common
translation of the reverse legend is ‘Happy days are here again’ –
making the phoenix version a slightly less bloodthirsty representation. Neither
the coin series, nor the ‘happy days’, lasted very long, with Constantius II quickly disposing of co-rulers. He was
succeeded by his cousin, Julian II in AD361, who died in battle with the
Persians in AD363.
Constantius II ½ Centenionalis.
Mint of Cyzicus
Answers
to Gavin’s Quiz
1.
When
was BRITT.OMN dropped from British coins? 1954
2.
What is a Bawbee? Scottish
billon 6d.
3. Give
the English translation of S.R.I.A. T ET E. Clue: It is the abbreviation
in Latin of one of George III’s titles High Treasurer and Elector
of the Holy Roman Empire.
4.
Which Country uses Laris? Maldives.
5.
What was the first country to own plant for coining by steam? Russia 1799 (Boulton)
6. What
is the connection between the 18th Century surgeon William Hunter
and Numismatics? His coin collection
was acquired by Glasgow University in 1783 and subsequently by the Hunterian
Museum.
7.
When did New Zealand start to issue its own 1d and 2d? 1940 (George VI).
8.
What is the French equivalent of Pfennig and Penny? Denier.
9.
Until what year were French titles and arms retained on English
coins? 1800.
10. Who
modelled for St George on Pistrucci’s crowns
of George III? An Italian servant at
Brunel’s Hotel, Leicester Square.
11. Which
British Monarch issued coins in 1510?
Henry VIII.
12. Which
modern English coins have a George and Dragon facing left on the reverse? 1935 Silver Jubilee Crown.
13. What
change was made to the florin after 1867? BRIT to BRITT (correct plural
abbreviation).
14. Name
three towns issuing Civil War Siege Pieces in England. Three from: Carlisle, Colchester, Newark,
Pontefract, Scarborough
15. Which town
used the mintmark D on French coins?
Lyon.
16. A bust
of a bare headed man appears on which modern British coins? Churchill crown 1965.
17. When
and where were “Hard Times Tokens” issued as temporary currency or political
cartoons? USA 1832 – 44.
18. Where
have cents been used other than in USA and British colonies or former
colonies? For example, any one of
China, Philippines, Cuba, Liberia.
19. Which
modern coin has a thrift plant on the reverse? George VI brass 3d.
20. Who
issued coins with a VOC monogram?
Dutch East India Company.
Future Events.
- London Coin Fair, Holiday Inn – 5th
February
- Midland Coin Fair - National Motorcycle
museum – 13th February
Past Events
·
10 years ago –
Short Talks by members.
·
20 years ago – Club Auction
·
50 years ago –
“The Coinage of the Napoleonic Family” – Andre DeClermont
Club Secretary.