constanius

Unfortunately, if you are a seller, the value of this type of exonumia is not too high, great if you are a buyer though. I only paid about $30 for mine over Ebay. Even though it is extremely rare there are not too many collectors, unless 2 people decide that they "must have it" I would expect it to go for only $20-$40. You do have an advantage in that you can supply some info about its rarity etc, the seller of mine posted no info at all. If you do a search for Kettle in this forum you will find lots of info on the Kettle family(Henry & Thomas) of die-sinkers' tokens/medal in my posts.

They are "To Hanover Counters"(Cumberland Jacks colloquially) according to Salic Law a female could not inherit land. The British and Hanoverian thrones separated after the death of King William IV of the United Kingdom and of Hanover in 1837. Hanover practised the Salic law, while Britain did not. King William's niece Victoria ascended to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland, but the throne of Hanover went to William's brother Ernest, Duke of Cumberland.

From http://www.anythinganywhere.com/commerce/coins/coinpics/rom-4ccon.htm ROMAN EMPIRE, Constantine I, 307-337 AD,21mm bronze follis, SRo-3862v2, RIC-301, bust R / Jove standing, IOVI CONSERVATORI, SMKH, some silvering,

Like "every story has two sides" a coin has obverse & reverse sides, with that in mind try this http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=3306&pos=20 for starters. It will at least give you the description of the reverse, just the letter in the field that looks like an R(really the Greek letter Gamma) is wrong, yours is H(Eta). Try posting a picture of the obverse. Constantine I AE Follis 313-315 AD Obv: IMP C FL VAL CONSTANTINVS PF AVG, Laureate head Rt. Rev: IOVI CONSERVATORI, Jupiter standing left holding Victory in a globe & Sceptre. Eagle w/wreath at foot left. Ex; SMK, Gamma to right Cyzicus Mint. RIC VII 3,G

You are correct, her's is quite a fascinating story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Matilda_of_Great_Britain

Obv: Christian VII of Denmark left, around CHRISTIAN VII DEN. REX Rev: WHO/ MADE A VISIT/ TO ENGLAND/ AUG THE 10/ 1768 BHM#131 Brass 25mm by? RR. for very rare. The medal implies he only visited for 1 day, should have been inscribed "Who arrived in England Aug. 10 1768" as he stayed much longer than that. Brown in BHM "Christian VII (1749-1808), acceded to the throne of Denmark 14th January 1766. He arrived at St James' on the 11th August 1768, and made visits to Cambridge, York, Manchester, Windsor, Oxford and Blenheim. On his return to London on 12th September a ball was arranged at Sion House which was attended by the British royal family and the noble and fashionable public. The masked ball and the levee in his apartments at St James's and his leave taking of the royal family are published in the 'Gentleman's Magazine', 1768, pp. 395, 442, 444, 491 and 492. Two years before this visit by Christian VII, he was married to the King's youngest sister, Princess Caroline Matilda, who was only fifteen years old at the time. He was a totally unsatisfactory husband, being dissipated and mentally subnormal and the Queen became involved in intrigue with Struensee, the court physician. As a result she was banished to Celle in Hanover where she died at the age of twenty-four"

Obv: FRANZ. I. KAISER VON. OESTERRICH L below bust Rev: HEIL DEM SIEGER Pax with olive branch in left hand, holding a patera over the flames from an altar adorned with a caduceus. Exe: IETTON Brass 25mm. Another very rare jeton of the Austrian Emperor Francis.

Obv. Victoria & Albert left, around VICTORIA QUEEN OF G:B: &. ALBERT PR: OF SAX:COB: . Rev. Prince of Wales Plumes & Motto, above H.R.H.ALBERT EDWARD PRINCE OF WALES, below BORN NOV.9.1841 BHM#1997 25mm brass by? RRR. An extremely rare medal in great condition. There were only 6 different medals issued for his birth, only 2 in brass, this one(the only 25mm) & a tiny 9mm one. The rest were all WM & of larger size. Here is one of them, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. Born Nov. 9 1841. May He Be Great In The Sight of The Lord And Rule His People In Equity. WM. 48mm by J.Taylor. Birm. BHM#1994. RRR. Extremely Rare.

Obv. George IV bareheaded left, around GEORGE IV . KING OF GREAT BRITAIN . Rev. Willow branch resting on an urn on a plinth inscribed BORN 1762/DIED JUNE 26/1830, around OF BLESSED MEMORY 24mm brass by Kettle BHM#1387 RRR. Fauver Geo IV 1830-5b, R-8 for 5 to 10 known. Holed & grubby but seeing as it is extremely rare, happy to have acquired it.

Almost full-time, except when I am searching for medals. Glad that you enjoyed the post Frank, even though it was about a Spaniard in Italy and not Gallic Really enjoyed the research, I always thought that the mix of politics & religion in France during the 16th & 17th centuries was complex but compared to Italy; the Papal states, city states, French, Spanish & Holy Roman Empire involvement plus the threat from the Turks. One example, Venice though being Catholic was at the time of the medal anti pope & Spain and sought alliances with protestant England & the Dutch & reached an understanding with the Ottoman Turks, strange bedfellows comes to mind. Also to find the "Entry into Naples" illustration for my post made my day! Luckily I am retired(the only drawback, less money) and can please myself, as longer as I keep the wife happy. I do spend a lot of time in my garden, it is very large & full of flowering bushes, flowers & trees, so that helps keep me in better shape than I would otherwise be. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it on this forum but I had a heart transplant almost 9 years ago, so exercise is the best medicine. On that note, if you are interested in being an organ donor, please discuss with your family & take steps to be registered as a donor.

Did some more research on Renaissance cast medals re their metallic composition. Bronzes; alloys of copper, tin, zinc and lead, with impurities such as iron, nickel, silver, antimony and arsenic. Bronze types; tin bronze, leaded bronze, quaternary bronze(also known as leaded gun metal) Brass types; medium-zinc, low-zinc. Lead added to an alloy for casting enables it to be more fluid & flow easier into a mold. Antimony; Expands on cooling, this unique charateristic allows the finest details of the mold to be preserved, it imparts hardness & a smooth finish to alloys containing lead. Arsenic; adds hardness to the lead in leaded bronze(which typically contain 6% to over 10% lead) Most descriptions of the medals(in literature or auction catalogs) just state bronze or lead, so the ones described as lead must in fact be leaded bronze or leaded gun metal. Hence unlike the 19th century trial strikes using just very soft lead(which is highly purified) so as to not damage an unhardened die, the lead renaissance medals are hard & not easily damaged. Makes sense really as why use lead as a trial for a sand molded cast medal as there is no pressure from a minting machine or hammering. The high lead content was not just for reducing the expense of the materials used in producing the medals the lead added to an alloy for casting enables it to be more fluid & flow easier into a mold. . That might be partly because of less purification steps to produce the alloy &/or lead being cheaper than copper or tin.

Nice, very nice

Obverse: Bust to the right of Pedro Téllez-Girón wearing decorative armour and the Order of the Golden Fleece, pearled border, inscribed: PETRVS GYRON OSS. DVX & VRENIAE COM. X. Reverse: Horse, barebacked, rearing to the left on rough ground, inscribed PRIMVS ET IRE VIAM(The first to lead the way, the first to dare) dated 1618 behind the horse's tail at the right, pearled border signed Ju. Gra for Giulio De Grazia(active 1610-1634) a sculptor, wax modeler and medalist, worked primarily for the Spanish viceroys in Naples. Forrer gives the signature as for JU. GYR DE(Dutch) but I believe he misread the as Y and the a for r. High relief cast & gilded bronze 47mm, 37 grams rarity R. This medal is of interest as an example of the cast medals that were in circulation at Rome and Naples immediately before the fully Baroque medals produced by Bernini. Pedro Téllez-Girón, 3rd Duke of Osuna (17 February 1574 – 20 September 1624) was a Spanish nobleman and politician. He was the 2nd Marquis of Peñafiel, 7th Count of Ureña, Spanish Viceroy of Sicily (1611–1616), Viceroy of Naples (1616–1620), a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1608, Grandee of Spain, member of the Spanish Supreme Council of War. He became Viceroy of Naples in 1616, during a war between Spain and Savoy over Milan. The Venetians were aiding the Savoyards, which meant that there was a declared hostility between Spain and Venice. In May 1618 a "conspiracy" to sack Venice and burn its arsenal was uncovered by the Venetian authorities and blamed on the Spanish Ambassador to Venice and the Spanish Viceroy of Naples, Tellez-Giron. He was replaced as Viceroy by Cardinal Gaspar Borgia in 1620 and on his return to Spain fell out of royal favour and was placed under house arrest until his death in 1624. The so called "Conspiracy of the Spaniards against Venice of 1618" has been a question open to discussion among historians for the last four centuries. Spanish and German historians have a tendency to deny that the conspiracy was real or was serious enough; French and Italian historians have the opposite view. I think that though there was a conspiracy it's size was exaggerated and it was just politic to place the blame on Bedmar(ambassador) & Osuna, and most experts that have studied resource material from third parties feel most of the so called evidence against them was mainly invention, Venetian propaganda against Spanish ambitions. The Horse "Horse of Virgil." An explicit link between the traditional iconography of the horse and the great poet is confirmed in a Neapolitan medal in 1618, a tribute to the Viceroy the Duke of Osuna. On the flip side of this splendid fusion there is a prancing horse and the phrase of Latin PRIMUS ET IRE VIAM extrapolated from a work written by Virgil in Naples between 36 and 29 BC, the Georgics (Book III, verse 77). One of the first scholars to highlight a link between the coin and the esoteric Neapolitan, was Tommaso Siciliano." The horse could also be seen to represent Osuna himself as "First to lead the way", a real go-getter. Girón's Vice-Royal Entry into Naples under a Canopy of Estate, 1616. Naples: Spanish Viceroy Period, Improved fortifications, City enlarged population increased & the port area developed.

None really, but if my arm was twisted I would hazard a guess.......1920's- 1930's......but designer/maker??????

I am very jealous re your visits but not so much re your observational skills Once I had finally identified my medal I googled images of Montserrat medals but could find none remotely like it. Are any of your Montserrat medals similar to mine?

I have no problems with Canada Post, I find them very good also UK & France, just my personal experience I know but based on many items(both incoming & out) over the last 5 years.

Perhaps an Athens Tetradrachm, 449 - 413 B.C. with The head of Athena on the obverse & an Owl on the reverse. Picture courtesy of Forvm Ancient Coins.

Silver denarius. C. VIBIVS. C.F. PANSA Denarius. 90 BC. PANSA, laureate head of Apollo right/ Minerva in quadriga right, C. VIBIVS. C.F. Sears# 242. 18mm

The king was in his counting house, Counting out his money; The queen was in the parlor, Eating bread and honey. From "Sing a Song of Sixpence"

Well I finally cracked it. She is the Black Maddona or The Virgin of Montserrat(Montserrat is a Catalan word which means "serrated mountain" or cut by a saw) the building is the Santa Maria de Montserrat a Benedictine Monastery in Catalonia, Spain. On September 11, 1881, Pope Leo XIII declared the virgin of Montserrat patroness of Catalonia.

Look at all the European countries that use the Euro instead of their old currencies and the horrendous problems it created because they had no flexibility to revalue their currency against stronger economies. Tying your currency to another or to a standard almost guarantees that during a depression or recession that inflexibility will cause greater harm to you than the countries that have fiat money. Why worry about inflation, devaluation of the money in your pocket or bank account when it should be invested in something as soon as possible. So fiat money loses value, well over time wages increase, are we generally any worse off now than when people were living under the gold standard? I don't think so.

All points that I covered in my post; the only real problem with fiat money is the over printing of currency, which is also a political & economic problem. Not that I would recommend to hold cash as it loses its value, is far better to invest in property, land, stocks, shares, bonds etc. For some points against the inflexibility of the Gold Standard http://www.j-bradfor...ldstandard.html and the countries that suffered more from recessions & depressions because of it. The inflexibility being the cause. If there is any merit in a global economy of having a gold based currency why is it there no country in the world that uses it? Without inflation there would be no interest paid on deposits, most economists fear deflation more than inflation.

Thanks Steve, a great resource.

Obv. Alexander facing left. ALEXANDER KAISER VON RUSSLAND Rev. 2 cornucopias crossed with an olive branch between them. FREIDE UND GLUCK (Peace and Happiness) Exe. IETTON 24mm. Not dated but commemorates the 1814 victory over Napoleon and the subsequent peace, though it turned out to be short lived! A very rare variant of the more often seen jeton (which has the spelling 'GLUK' and is signed 'L' for Lauer) this is unsigned & the portrait of Alexander is very different too, in fact it is far superior to any of the various portraits of Alexander on the other jetons from 1814.

Good hunting