January 9^th 2012

Next club meeting Monday 6^th February 2012

• Annual Club Auction

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

January Meeting

As usual, our January meeting was dedicated to short talks by club members. This year, we had four members volunteer – outlines below!

Neil – The 17^th Century Tokens of Berkshire

Neil chose one of his favorite subjects for his talk and as such gave us a thorough overview! Tokens began circulating soon after the Civil War when there was a major shortage of small change. Initially farthing tokens were issued, however in the 1660’s, tokens really took off and there were a few halfpennies and pennies struck – though these last were only struck in London. There was a steady stream of tokens up until 1672 when Charles II abolished the use of private enterprise tokens.

Approximately 200 different tokens were issued in Berkshire (as was – ie including most of what is now Oxfordshire!), with a total of 26 towns/villages being represented. Reading had the most issues with 63 different tokens – with Wantage, Wallingford, Wokingham, Newbury, Windsor, Abingdon and Faringdon all issuing between 10 and 20 different tokens.

Neil then showed us a selection of tokens from Newbury, Cookham, Faringdon and Windsor to conclude his talk.

Tony – Para-paranumismatica (or Pot Lids!)

Tony began his talk by listing the similarities between coins and ceramic pot lids… they are both round in shape… as you can see, not a long list!

Pot lids first appeared at the turn of the 19^th Century and were black; the pots contained various pastes and cosmetics. Shopping was slowly becoming more popular as incomes increased. As such, the market for advertisement increased dramatically. In the 1840’s, young man by the name of Felix Pratt found a method of producing lids using colours – a very novel idea, as generally packaging was of the brown paper bag variety.

The coloured designs were instant success, and collected almost immediately – mostly becoming household ornaments. The design on the lid did not directly correlate to the content, but this was shown on a paper label stuck around the edge – this also acted as a seal. Pots could be returned to the shop for a farthing or halfpenny return. The latter half of the century was the hey-day for lids, before tins took over.

The first pots contained bear’s grease (a Victorian version of BrylCreem), and as such there is a wide selection of lids with bear themes. Later, the potted shrimp industry bloomed in Pegwell Bay (Kent) and many lids show scenic views of the bay and surrounding area.

The manufacture of lids was a rather drawn out process, as the lids required two days kilning to set the colour. For each different colour! Later, this was improved so that all colours could be printd at the same time.

A good selection of lids were then shown, and I think everyone was highly impressed with the artistry and range of lids available – mostly for less than £100!

Michael – When did my interest in coins begin?

For Michael, the short answer to this common question is ‘just after Dunkirk’ – the long answer follows!

Michael’s uncle was evacuated from Dunkirk, and returned home with a number of French coins, which were donated to him. Other family members in service also returned with exotic coins from across the world. This sparked the bug, and soon Michael was scouring his change – particularly after 1947 when the Silver content of the ‘silver’ coins was reduced to zero! Cartwheel twopence and pennies as well as double-florins also caught the young collector’s eye. Around the same period the nickel-brass threepence was introduced – much to the chagrin of Michael’s grandmother who refused to accept ‘that foreign looking muck’!

A few years later, Michael’s first pay-packet of £1 9s and 10d was of course received in coins!

Graham – A few coin memories

Graham’s talk related to us a few of his favorite numismatic memories. He began with a picture of himself bent over a dealer’s table enjoying looking at the coins on offer – the picture was old enough to prove that he did at one point have hair!

During his career with Midland Bank, Graham was actually paid to enjoy looking at coins – not something many of us can boast! This ‘work’ even extended to ‘looking after’ the Bank’s touring display which began its travels in August 1963.

Training courses took Graham around the country, including a trip to Bristol which coincided with the introduction of the toll on the Clifton Suspension Bridge. He managed to purchase a roll of paper tokens, and has since collected the metal versions as well. The bridge spans Avon Gorge and was built from 1831 to 1864 – unfortunately IK Brunel died in 1859. Designed for 19^th Century horse-drawn and foot traffic, the bridge now handles up to 12,000 vehicles every day!

We were then treated to a rare glimpse into the depths of Graham’s collection – mostly Greek and Roman, with a selection of Celtic and more modern coins. Additionally, the young train spotter that still resides in Graham’s heart was revealed in a set of Channel Island £5 Proof coins – all featuring different engines from the Rocket to the A4 Pacific ‘Mallard’!

This concluded the talks, and the twenty-three members present were invited to vote for their favourite who would be awarded the Mark Myhill Memorial Shield – this year, the recipient was Graham!

On a personal note, I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to everyone who has put lots forward for the auction in a couple of weeks. You will all know that I have said many times before ‘few or no lots means no auction’, so I was thrilled to see the catalogue growing as people handed me bags (and bags and bags!) of items – and even more so when I totted it all up and came to a total of well over 200 lots! This is the biggest catalogue we’ve had for several years, and an increase of over 30% from last year. The catalogue is attached, so please have a look and bring your bulging wallets on 6^th Feb!

Future Events

• Coins, Stamps and Collectables - Charing Cross Market, London – every Saturday!
• Midland Coin Fair, Birmingham – 12^th February
• Coins and Tokens Auction; Wallis & Wallis – Lewes, Sussex – 15^th February
• Coins, Banknotes and Medals Postal Auction – Kleeford Coins – 25^th February

Past Events

• 1 years ago – Short Talks by Members – Winner was Neil Beaton

· 10 years ago – Club Auction

· 40 years ago – “The Coinage of the Napoleonic Family” – Andre DeClermont

Club Secretary