constanius

Thanks for the info Bob, I was totally unaware of it. My initial reaction is that the attribution to Kempson is a mistake and it must be by Kettle. I will resist the temptation to jump to a hasty conclusion and when I can will do some research, which you know I hate doing and hopefully come to the right conclusion. Thanks again!

Is that covered by Medicare?

My usual haunt, eBay.uk I used to attend shows and dealers, which I do miss, but circumstances limit me to on-line. A plus though is that I can buy from Portugal, Spain, Germany or like one of my last, the Czech Republic(no prize for guessing which one) and find the most obscure items.

I had not heard the term before. Apparently the term is often used in regards to uniform buttons. It was supposed to denote a higher standard of gilding than usual. Mercury with three times the weight of gold compared to a standard gilt was used in the gilding process.

After much research I have pieced together the story of the Kettle Family business in Suffolk st. Birmingham, from its founding to its demise, this is something that appears not to have been done before. I have omitted some of what I discovered as it would be irrelevant to most. I do give the maiden name of Thomas Kettle's wife, Twist, as there is an interesting aside to the story, if anyone is curious about this I will add the info in a later post. The Kettle Family of Die Sinkers. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes(1685) a French Huguenot glass stainer from Meaux emigrated and settled in Birmingham, England. His name was Henri Quitel, which at some point was anglicized to Kettle. Henry Kettle took over the family business in the late 1780's and expanded it into the manufacturing of counters & medals. Henry started making imitation spade guineas in 1793. His two sons, Thomas & William join the firm early 1800's & in 1812 Thomas took over the company. An advert in a book dated 1800 uses Kettle & Son. A document relating to Thomas perhaps helping to expand the company 1802. Indenture of mortgage by way of demise from Thomas Kettle of Birmingham, button maker, to Henry Hill of Birmingham, painter, of a messuage, land and appurtenances in Suffolk Street, Birmingham. Parchment. Reference: MS 3388/Acc 1933-008/45 Date: 25 May 1802 A couple of documents relating to Thomas Kettle financial dealings re his acquisition of his father's company in 1811. Bond from Thomas Kettle of Birmingham, button maker, to William Ashbee, brassfounder, and Eleazar Ashbee, gilt toymaker, both of Birmingham to secure the sum of £300. Paper. Reference: MS 3388/Acc 1933-008/48 Date: 24 June 1811 Assignment of mortgage from Henry Hill of Birmingham, painter, by the direction of Thomas kettle of Birmingham, button maker, to William Ashbee, brass founder, and Eleazar Ashbee, gilt toymaker, both of Birmingham, of a messuage, land and appurtenances in Suffolk Street, Birmingham. Parchment. Reference: MS 3388/Acc 1933-008/47 Date: 24 June 1811. One for a property expansion(or relocation) in 1817, Assignment from Thomas Kettle of Birmingham, gilt toymaker, to Thomas Willmare of Birmingham, dealer in metals, of a messuage, manufactory and appurtenances in Suffolk Street, Birmingham, Subject to a mortgage from the said Thomas Kettle to William Ashbee and Eleazar Ashbee. Paper. Reference: MS 3388/Acc 1933-008/50 Date: 15 July 1817. In 1818 his address is, Kettle Thomas, 22 Suffolk-street Another for a property expansion(or relocation) in 1825, Assignment of mortgage from Eleazar Ashbee of Birmingham, gilt toy maker, by the direction of Thomas Kettle of Birmingham, button maker, to John Birch of Aston, gent., of a messuage, land and appurtenances in Suffolk Street, Birmingham. Parchment. Reference: MS 3388/Acc 1933-008/51 Date: 28 June 1825 And one in 1826 Lease for a year from Thomas Kettle of Birmingham, button maker and jeweller, and Samuel Twist of Birmingham, victualler, to Patience Robinson of Kidderminster, co. Worc., widow, of a messuage, manufactory and land with appurtenances in Suffolk Street, Birmingham. Parchment. Reference: MS 3388/Acc 1933-008/57 Date: 29 August 1826 Thomas died in 1929 and his wife Mary became owner, her eldest son, Francis Thomas(or Thomas Francis as both are used) remained with her. This 1838 advert shows the previous expansions to adjoining properties 97,98 and 99 Suffolk street and Mary as owner. The 1851 Census had Mary Kettle(she died 1852) as fundholder, son Francis Thomas a Gentleman. In 1858 Francis is listed as 98 and 99 Suffolk street. So Francis owned the business from 1852 till selling it to Hobson c. 1860 who is listed in 1861 as only 99 Suffolk street. Sir Rupert Alfred Kettle (9 January 1817 6 October 1894) was an English barrister and county court judge, involved in arbitration of trade disputes he was Thomas and Mary's youngest child(born 1817). He was the sole executor for his brother Francis, the last owner of the Kettle family business, which had been founded by Henri Quitel the French Huguenot emigre soon after 1685 and remained in the family until c. 1860, leaving a legacy of interesting tokens as a lasting memorial to almost 200 years of existence. Thomas' son, Sir Rupert Alfred Kettle who had been knighted in 1879, acquired a coat of arms showing a beehive surrounded by a laurel wreath with the motto "Qui Tel", showing the family had not forgotten their roots. It can be translated as "Who is such a man as this?"

It has been over 5 years since I purchased one of these, this is my latest one. It has a plain edge and is brass.

Nice acquisitions for your collection Clive, the one without a loop, though it is not at either end of the date range, is struck from different dies and is unsigned? The wreaths on the reverses are very different. I wonder what the story is about the change & then the change back?

Managed to acquire another in the series Obv. . S . THOMAS . . APOSTOLVS . Rev. DESCEDIT AD INFER. TERTIA . DIE RESURREX . A MORTVIS

When I am searching(I always use google) I find often that the whole legend is a detriment to a search, as often only some of the legend is on any particular page, so I tend to use small segments as you said, I just used "Civitas Riponensis" and it popped up. Found it listed in BHM#2957 AE R. WM R.

I will look further but found this, "A commemoration medal was struck on the occasion, which was designed by Mr. Alderman Collinson, and so highly was the idea appreciated that the whole were disposed of immediately on their arrival, so that a second issue became necessary. The medal on the one side contained the arms of the house of Studley, with the words, "In commemoration of Frederick Oliver Earl de Grey attaining his majority, January 29, 1873." On the other side were the arms of Ripon, surmounted by the spurs and the words "Civitas Riponensis." A number of these were struck in silver, and six in silver, treble-gilt, were presented by the Mayor of Ripon to the Marquess, Marchioness, Earl de Grey, Lady Mary Vyner, Mr. H. F. C. Vyner, and Captain R. Vyner"

Cernin was the Plenipotentiary of Leopold I in Vienna, and like Cernin Leopold I used alchemists. One of these was the Augustinian monk Wenzel Seyler(or Wenceslaus), the comrade of Cernin's Matthew M. Bohem, in 1677 he changed a silver medal into gold in the presence of the Emperor, by dipping it into a liquid the upper part of the medal not being immersed remained silver. A clever trick! This is the medal Leopold and Wife surrounded by his ancestors. To the Holiest, mightiest and most invincible Roman Emperor Leopold I, the thorough investigator of the secrets of nature, dedicates and offers this genuine sample of real and complete metallic transmutation, as a humble memorial sign of the annual feast day accompanied by the wish of blessings of any kind, a most humble servant of His Dignity, Highness and Majesty, most loyal John Wenceslas of Reinburg in the year of Christ 1677, on Saint Leopold's day, the surname of the former pious margrave of Austria, now the most gracious patron of the highest Austrian house

In the numismatic collection of the National Museum in Prague is a cast gold 39 mm. medal with following inscription on the obverse EXC:mo. D: HVMBERTO. COMITI. CERNIN. D: BATRONO. 1.6.6.4. The Reverse: OFFERT. MATTHEo. M. BOHEM. CLIENS. - AVRVM HOC. CHIMICVM. This roughly translates as, either 1) Excellency, Lord Humbert Count Cernin, Master, this was struck in 1664 by Matthew M. Bohem, your servant, his offering of Chemical(Alchemy) Gold. or 2) Excellency, Lord Humbert Count Cernin, Master and Patron 1664. Matthew M. Bohem, your servant, offers this Chemical(Alchemy) Gold. Batrono is the problem word, if Patron is intended it should be Patrono, if struck it should be Battono. This cast medal has been shown to consist overall of 31% gold and 69% silver but the surface is 62.5% gold. Humprecht Czernin's Alchemist was Matthew M. Bohem he called himself, a comrade of the Augustinian monk Wenzel Seyler(another alchemist) who pretended to be able to turn tin into gold and undertook his transmutation before Leopold I. I have this unifaced cast medal of the obverse, which might be contemporary to the original or have been made at a later date( I would think no later than early 1800's). The reverse, which I first thought was machined flat, appears on closer examination to be ground flat by hand, which points to the earlier date of c.1664, as does the patina, but I am not sure. No references that I have found ascribe an engraver for the medal but the reverse of the gold medal is signed CM, the only two candidates for those initials and date are MAIER, CONRAD (Germ.). Mint-engraver and Medallist at Ulm, circ. 1663-1682. His issues are signed CM and CASPARO MOLO. Mint-engraver and Medallist at Rome, circ. 1625-1669. I believe that Conrad Maier is the most likely, being German. As for the Bohemian Count, this image will suffice for his titles. Jan Humprecht Czernin, visited Venice several times and was a patron and client there, too. Plenipotentiary of Leopold i, in 1663 he already owned 300 paintings and bought more; he lived on the Grand Canal for three years. In 1661 he had 19 works by Pietro Della Vecchia; 21 painters from the city worked for him, among whom were Liberi, Sebastiano Mazzoni, Loth, Girolamo Forabosco and Giovanni Battista Langetti. But apart from contemporary artists, Czernin also collected Giorgione, Titian and the Bassanos for his grandiose noble palace in Prague.

The easiest way to post pictures is to use one of the free sites like "Photobucket" etc, then you just click on the blue header in your post, just below the orange "A" and the yellow "Smiley face" on the picture frame and post the direct link. Please do not hesitate to ask for more advice if you need more help.

16-17TH CENTURY 5 MOSES MEDALS JEWISH JUDAICA RENAISSANCE HEBREW MEDALLIONS On eBay http://www.ebay.ca/itm/16-17TH-CENTURY-5-MOSES-MEDALS-JEWISH-JUDAICA-RENAISSANCE-HEBREW-MEDALLIONS-/351704796623?hash=item51e33d4dcf:g:lDIAAOSwcBhWUzdP They obviously copied the Zeus Ammon Ram's Horn type. משה רבנו is Hebrew for Moses and is written on his collar.

Nice piece & the ones on the linked site show the begins of the die-crack, which on yours is more developed, very special.

The head facing left appears to be Zeus Ammon with ram's horn, as in this unrelated coin http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/roma-numismatics-ltd/catalogue-id-srro10003/lot-73da9a99-2921-426d-a0a6-a5bc00ff8037 The inscription is Aramaic, Semitic, etc. Sorry that is as much as I know, hope it helps.

From the larger picture, which shows many more letters affected(especially the M) it does look more like excessive die wear and/or improper die annealing causing the lettering to be thick and mushy, making some letters appear to be doubled, others as if over struck.

4 of the A's appear to be struck over O's, also the R. Almost like a faulty punch was used, do they still use punches somewhere in the die making process? Seems weird but what other explanation could there be?

Been to many pubs, perhaps too many, but a M. of G. never had the pleasure Building is still there, private accommodation I think. https://www.google.com/maps/@52.6479566,-0.4768345,3a,75y,247.82h,95.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjDAHT2XGTOpaj8PrMBUDNQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Thanks for your interest TDP.

Great idea, nice item!

A later Marquis of Granby was MP for Stamford, 1837-1852 and in the Highstreet St. Martin's Stamford was a "Marquis of Granby" pub dating from early 18th century. The name of the Inn had been changed to "The Waggon and Horses" circa 1800 but had been changed back to "Marquis of Granby" in 1846 by John Gardner but records show that the landlord in 1855 was a G. Bleet. Could this be who the initials G. B. under the bust are for? If so that gives a date for the tokens, circa 1850, here is an image of the old pub.

A later Marquis of Granby was MP for Stamford, 1837-1852 and in the Highstreet St. Martin's Stamford was a "Marquis of Granby" pub dating from early 18th century. The name of the Inn had been changed to "The Waggon and Horses" circa 1800 but had been changed back to "Marquis of Granby" in 1846 by John Gardner but records show that the landlord in 1855 was a G. Bleet. Could this be who the initials G. B. under the bust are for? If so that gives a date for the tokens, circa 1850, here is an image of the old pub.

Apparently the Arms in the lozenge are Isabel's, single women had there family arms in a lozenge. Though Philip & Isabel married in 1559, her personal arms, still in a lozenge, were used on this token.

Perhaps to frame and hang on the wall, or to incorporate in a paper-weight etc. Hence the reverse would not be seen.

1875 Manchester Exhibition http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1875_Manchester_Exhibition The exhibition was held in a large temporary building erected on the Cheetham-hill-road, in one of the suburbs of Manchester. [1]. Opened on Friday 14th May REPORT from the Manchester Evening News :- 'THE CHEETHAM HILL EXHIBITION. 'The following report of the Jurors has been published. In presenting this report to the Council of the Society for the Promotion of Scientific Industry the Jurors have to state that the medals and certificates of merit have been awarded after careful investigation for one or all of the following qualties—novelty, design, workmanship, and utility. As the Society's medals and certificates were limited to certain distinct classes, the Jurors have not been able to make awards, in all cases where they recognised merit. In the exhibits of Messrs. M'Naught andMessrs. Petrie of wool-scouring machinery, the Jurors desire to express their appreciation of the excellence of design and workmanship displayed in these machines. In the exhibit of Sir Joseph Whitworth and Co. the Jurors were not able to make any award, but they desire to express their appreciation of the value of the compressed steel shown in this exhibit. 'The Jurors recommend that the following awards be made by the Council of the Society:— http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1875_Manchester_Exhibition MEDALS AWARDED. GOLD 'Dodge and Co. file-cutting machine; Smith and Coventry, collection of screwing machines, bolt chasing machines, and lathes; Pooley and Son, collection of weighing machines; W. Furness and Co. collection of wood working machines, planing and moulding machines. Charles Harris, paper bag making machine; Leoni and Co. collection of atmospheric gas cooking stoves; Mirrlees, Tait and Watson (Weston's patent), self-balancing centrifugal hydro-extractor.