Fun by foraging; the thrill of the chase
through the junk box, coin fairs, antiques fairs, auctions, coin clubs, eBay
and so forth. Fun in finding by discovery, to obtain for the collection and in
researching and writing up.
Fun in the mirror – reflecting on our
hobby through meeting with other hobbyists; listening to others talk about
their finds and collections, and reading up about your
own areas of interest and other aspects of the hobby. Reflection can change
your collecting habits.
Graham mentioned his latest acquisitions.
One was an HMS Victory centenary souvenir of 1905 – displayed in the centre of
the picture above. A second find was an undated double headed Victorian
shilling – a mis-strike called a Brockage.
Tony’s display was of the changing
Britannia on our coinage, and in particular the good number of interpretations
that have emerged in the last quarter century. The concept of Britannia as a
personification of our country has been around for nearly 2000 years, first
appearing on a coin of Antoninus Pius in the early 2nd century AD.
The seated Britannia with her shield and
trident has featured on our modern coinage for many years, and examples from
1673, 1797, 1858 and 1967 were displayed with only the delightful florin
reverse of 1907 being an outlier with the depiction of a standing figure.
More recently, from the late 20th
century the Britannia series of bullion and coins has showed the national
emblem in a variety of standing and seated poses, with a background of waves
varying from dead calm, to tempestuous. Sometimes she is depicted as a
Corinthian helmeted head, or head and shoulders; and
on others full length. It is clear that there is a
wealth of interpretations here by some very talented artists and engravers.
Particularly pointed out were Philip
Nathan’s head only with Corinthian helmet, and David Gentleman’s design of
entwined Britannia and Marianne on the £5 coin celebrating the centenary of the
Entente Cordiale. Other coins in the series also depict Britannia with a lion
couchant as well her usual accoutrements. Also mentioned were Louis Tamlyns
helmeted outline of Britain (2017), the three ages of Britannia on 2022 design
by Dandra Deiana and the stunning 2025 reverse by Bradley Morgan Johnson with
Britannia stood before waves and a radiant sunrise.
Last up was Stuart with his display of hammered
James I shillings, of which there was an example of every year of his reign
1603-1625. The shilling of each year is identified by a combination of the bust
portrayed and the mint mark exhibited. Six busts were used during James’s
reign, and a wide range of mint marks that were applied. In chronological order
the mint marks were Thistle, Lis, Rose, Escallop, Grapes, Coronet, Key, Bell,
Mullet, Trefoil, Tun, Spur Rowel, Rose again, Thistle again, Trefoil again, and
the Welsh Plume over a Shield.
Thus, there was a history of a complete
reign in hammered shillings, together with a personal story behind each coin
collected.
