Next club meeting Monday 1^st September 2014.

· Mediaeval Jetons By Gerry Buddle.

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

July Meeting

The July meeting was a talk on Coins & Christianity by our own Graham. Graham started by pointing out that the earliest references to gold and silver were to the raw metals, coins occurred between the times of the prophets Micah and Jeremiah. Some of the terms used for a weight of metal later came to be used for coins e.g. talents and shekels.

The talk began in pre-Christian times when coins such as the denarius from the Roman Republic circulated. A great deal of loot and slaves were brought back from Roman conquests to Rome and some coins were issued to celebrate this fact. Also coins were issued to praise the Gods and some of these have images of temples.

The roots of Christianity lie in the World of the Old Testament and many of the coins from then were developed from the system of weights and measures in place. While the Jews shunned representations of biblical subjects, Greco-Roman art knew no such boundaries and examples exist of coins with images of God, depictions of the Great Flood and other Bible stories. Graham illustrated many of these with his own coins. He also explained what the likely ‘thirty pieces of silver’ might actually be - a Silver Tetradrachm ‘Shekel’ of Tyre.

In other areas as Christianity spread we find hints in the coinage, with, for example in Turkey, some having a chi-rho scratched about AD215, perhaps a secret pass or identification ticket. Also we find a coin commemorating the death of Constantine in AD337 showing Constantine ascending to Heaven in a chariot. After Constantine most of the Emporers were Christian and the Chi-Rho symbol occurs often.

Further examples followed from the Crusades and English coins from the Saxon period, when God’s help was sought in dealing with the Danes. Later Edward IV issued the Angel, which later became the coin of choice when used by the King in the ceremony of healing by touch. Coins were also issued in England by ecclesiastical mints until their dissolution by Henry VIII.

Moving on to history nearer our time, Graham reminded us of the many references to the Bible in coins and also such incidents as the ‘Godless Florin’ and the plethora of items such as Communion Tokens. Pieces were sometimes altered, so that, for example a Bun Head penny could be engraved with a Salvation Army Bonnet and various other items of ‘Trench Art’. Recently we have also had a view of St Pauls Cathedral on a commemorative £2 piece.

Graham finished by pointing out that Christianities influence on coins has not ended yet and reminded us to let him know of any other pieces we come across.

BNS/RNS Summer Meeting

This was entitled “Thames Valley Numismatics in the National Context” and attracted 38 attendees, including 13 of our own members. Aside from the six talks, attendees were treated to a display of Thames Valley related numismatic items provided by club members and a superb buffet lunch. In a series of talks that ranged from Roman times to the 20^th Century the speakers illustrated the role that the Thames Valley had played in archaeological History as evidenced by various numismatic items, including coins, tokens and banknotes.

Dr. Sam Moorhead put forward the view that Britain was an important source of food for the Roman Empire and that rather than the Romans being attacked by barbarians for traditional plunder eg. gold, silver and jewels it was likely the barbarians were more interested in food or the land to be able to produce it. Distributions of archaeological finds were used to support this view.

Next came Dr. John Naylor who moved us on to the Medieval period. Using finds data he was able to show that the importance of the Upper Thames Valley lies in the communication routes which cross it. Some of these routes go back to the saltways that were used to bring salt from the Midlands. In this era where archaeological data is scarce, Dr. Naylor pointed out that the examination of the numismatic evidence within the remits of a broader archaeological approach is important.

After this Robert Thompson gave a talk entitled “Tradesmen and courtiers: the testimony of Berkshire tokens” Starting with the story of a token whose design was an unknown feature, which eventually was found to be a buckle for pantaloons, fashionably modelled by King Charles. From the court we moved to tradesmen in Abingdon where more recognisable devices such as the three wheatsheaves were used on tokens, partly acting as advertisements. Robert also talked about illegal aspects that token issuers could be involved with, some of which ended with mass hangings of the participants.

After an excellent lunch, Maurice Bull kicked us off with a talk on the Oxford Mint during the Civil War. Maurice showed the various issues from the Mint and linked it to the chronology. At the back of all this was the constant battle between the Royalists and Parliament.

Paul Withers treated us to an alphabetical tour of Berkshire, taking in Blewbury, East Ilsley, Newbury and Reading, thus leaving scope for a part two to take in east Berkshire at a later date. Each token, or set of tokens was accompanied by pictures of the area. In an amusing talk, Paul recounted stories relating to both the areas and the token issuers.

Lastly, Peter Preston-Morley gave a talk about the private banks along the Thames that issued their own notes. As with the last talk, Berkshire is too big to fit into one talk so we went from Farringdon to Reading. Each bank was listed and its history given. A surprising number went to the wall and many of the rest were subsumed into our modern day giants.

Finally Dr. Andrew Burnett closed the meeting by thanking all the speakers and also Reading Coin Club for having put on such good conference in an excellent venue. It just remained to retire for tea and biscuits, before it was time to go home.

Summer Social

This year’s summer social was a guided tour of two markets: Charing Cross Collector's Fair (the Arches) and Portobello Road, the world’s largest antiques market with over 1,000 dealers selling every kind of antique and collectible. Most Club members will be familiar with the bustling stalls in the Arches but on Saturday, 9 August, it was relatively quiet because the Prudential RideLondon had effectively marooned Charing Cross. Old friendships were renewed, for example it is 30 years since the Club Treasurer was last there. Some buying and selling took place, in particular, three pre-war cycling medals from the Marlborough Cycle Club.

Portobello Road was a different matter, with large crowds and much to look at – including coins and tokens, and the legendary Captain Bob in The Red Lion arcade. It was a weary group of members that finished the tour in the late afternoon.

No visit to Notting Hill is complete without paying respects to the site of Michael Coins, now sadly closed, with a Planning Notice to transform it into a gentleman’s residence.

Thanks go to Henry for making the visit possible.

Subscriptions

Be reminded that subscriptions are now due. It would be most appreciated if members yet to renew their subscription would please do so at the next meeting. Please see our treasurer Peter.

Future Events.

• London Coin Fair – Bloomsbury, London – 6^th September
• Birmingham Coin Fair - National Motorcycle museum – 14^th September
• Spinks Auction, 69 Southampton Row – 22-23^rd September
• DNW, Mayfair – 17-22^nd September
• Baldwins Coin Auction, 11 Adelphi Terrace – 24-25^th September
• COINEX, Grosvenor Square – 26-27^th September

Past Events

Ten years ago in 2004, Michael Naxton gave a talk on “The Story of a Lost Medal Collection”.

Club Secretary.