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How Far Back Can We Go??


tommyd

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Wonderful coins. Someone please provide some info on the manufacturing processes in use in the 1500-1600 timeframe. Most of the GB coins seem to be hammered but Ian's 1583 piece is obviously milled. So who was doing what at what time? (and why would be nice to know too).

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A jeton dated 1581 and struck at Paris for the `Cour Des Monnaies', the body which administered the French mints in the name of the king. Jetons at this time served a dual role. That of being a `counter', and also as being a form of honorarium / re-imbursement for services rendered. Jetons were minted for the various royal administrations, mostly on a yearly basis and distributed in purses at the New Year to the individuals concerned. In other words, a form of money minted specifically for the role(s). The numbers involved are very small in relation to normal currency. Quite an underdeveloped collecting area, but one which is seeing far more activity in the past few years than it did in the preceeding decade. The one I posted dated 1583 is from the same series `Cour des Monnaies'.

 

920386.jpg

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Wonderful coins. Someone please provide some info on the manufacturing processes in use in the 1500-1600 timeframe. Most of the GB coins seem to be hammered but Ian's 1583 piece is obviously milled. So who was doing what at what time? (and why would be nice to know too).

 

 

This LINK explains it quite well.

 

The additional info below is helpful as the link above, being written mainly from an english perspective, does not fully address the german & french history of milled coinage.

 

Around 1550 the German silversmith Marx Schwab invented coining with the screw press. Henry II of France (reign 1547-1559) imported the new machines: rolling mill, punch and screw press. He came up against hostility on the part of the coin makers, so the process was only to be used for coins of small value, medals and tokens. In 1645 it came into general use for minting coins.

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From; The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 40, October 3, 2004, Article 3

 

Leonardo da Vinci drew a press for striking coins, medals and seals in his notebooks in 1500. Da Vinci recognized you need a blank to strike so he put two presses back-to-back - one to blank, one to strike the design (with the same blow!). But da Vinci?s press was never built (until 20th century - IBM had one build from da Vinci's drawings, it is now in the Smithsonian Institution).

 

In 1506 an Italian, Donato Bramante (inspired by a fruit press) built a screw press but only did blanking on it. In 1550 Max Schwab of Augusburg built a workable screw press which could both blank and strike, and made other equipment (as rolling mills to roll metal strips for blanking). He tried but failed to sell this equipment to mints in Germany and Italy. He succeeded, however, with the French who imported his equipment but met with resistance from French moneyers (who still made hammered coins).

 

By 1641 the screw press was finally in use at the Paris Mint but the same thing happened in England, where the first screw press arrived but was prevented to strike coins. England overruled the moneyers and had a screw press in use at the Royal Mint by 1652. [America obtained its first screw press for the 1652 Pine Tree Coinage]. The screw press was in universal use (and remained so until 1892 when it was entirely replaced by hydraulic presses).

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This LINK explains it quite well.

 

The additional info below is helpful as the link above, being written mainly from an english perspective, does not fully address the german & french history of milled coinage.

 

Around 1550 the German silversmith Marx Schwab invented coining with the screw press. Henry II of France (reign 1547-1559) imported the new machines: rolling mill, punch and screw press. He came up against hostility on the part of the coin makers, so the process was only to be used for coins of small value, medals and tokens. In 1645 it came into general use for minting coins.

 

 

Thank you. Very interesting read.

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I've got plenty of 70s and 60s, just no 1579... :ninja:

 

Well let's solve 1579 for you then...........

 

Here's a rather rare silver jeton issued for Mary Queen of Scots. When she was executed at the Tower of London the inventory of her goods showed that she had a purse containing silver jetons. While I suspect this one was probably not one of them, there wouldn't have been many others around even at that time.

 

919570.jpg

 

The other of the same date is the one and only example i've ever seen of a silver and base metal `bi-metallic' jeton. It's pretty worn byt still very collectable.

 

916614.jpg

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Here's a rather rare silver jeton issued for Mary Queen of Scots. When she was executed at the Tower of London the inventory of her goods showed that she had a purse containing silver jetons. While I suspect this one was probably not one of them, there wouldn't have been many others around even at that time.

 

Well Ian, if it was one from her purse, I am sure she would not mind you having it as she had no further use for it & at least it is back in Scotland. Poor Mary, she had a pretty rotten life & death.

 

Both very interesting coins.

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Well Ian, if it was one from her purse, I am sure she would not mind you having it as she had no further use for it & at least it is back in Scotland. Poor Mary, she had a pretty rotten life & death.

 

Both very interesting coins.

 

I too always felt a great deal of sympathy for this princess,but the more i read ..she really wasnt a nice person at all by most accounts.Some might say she got what was coming even.

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