constanius

I like the simple division into Ancient(to -500 AD), Medieval(500-1500) & Modern(1500+) for all the world's coinage. For the USA, Colonial, Modern & Current would work, please supply your own date ranges. British coinage could be Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Medieval & Modern. For China ?, ? & ? It is a bit like 'One size fits all' just means 'Does not really fit most people' so the division & subdivision of coinage into categories needs to be adjusted for each country.

I'm with Frank & Homer.

It is a great coin, accept it for what it is & be

My understanding is that a 'blind cobbler's thumb' is large, hard & swollen! From the idea that a blind cobbler would hit his thumb quite often. Here is the Urban Dictionary's LINK

Great coins in this & your following post, may I ask if you were feeling a little sad & 'blue' when you took the pics?

thedeadpoint suggested I post this here, for info click on http://www.coinpeople.com/index.php?showtopic=25989

This one might shock you then. Love token E. I. S. on a counterstamped 1812 Spanish 8 Reales. Silver 41mm. Original weight would be just over 27 grams and this now weighs just 22 grams due partly to wear but mainly because of the depth of the engraved rings. As you can see, it was a brooch also, but the fittings are now mostly missing.

1861 1/2 Dollar. The heyday of engraved love tokens in the USA was 1860's-1890's, most were made from dimes which was the average daily wage for a man. This love token represents a week's wages before the cost of the engraving is factored in. Well engraved tokens were, by and large, engraved by professionals, which added to the cost of the tokens.

The small hole has been filled.

You are confusing Mary Tudor Queen of England(who did sign the death warrant for Lady Jane Gray) who was half-sister to Elizabeth I, with Mary Stuart Queen of the Scots. Mary Stuart could not commit treason against Elizabeth, even though that was what she was charged with, found guilty & executed for by the English. You can only commit treason against your own, or adopted, monarch &/or country. Seeing as Mary Stuart was Scottish and just imprisoned in England, it was an absurd charge! Seeing as she was left fatherless at 6 months Was sent to France at 5 Married at 15 Widowed at 17 Returned to Scotland as Queen, but being a catholic in a fervent protestant country where sermons were preached against her & she had no real power as the protestant scottish lords were hostile to her. Where her second husband murdered her friend, fellow catholic, secretary in front of her when she was 7 months pregnant, etc etc Being imprisoned and suffering a miscarriage of the twins she was expecting, fleeing to England being imprisoned from age 24 until her death 19 years later. I think she deserves a break. I hope you read a little more about Mary Stuart & try to put yourself in her shoes.

Mary was only 6 days old when her father(James V of Scotland) died & she became Queen. At 5 years old she was sent to France. She married Francis the french Dauphin at aged 15, one year later she became Queen of France when Francis II became king, only to be widowed just over a year later. Returning to Scotland(a catholic in a protestant country) she eventually married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley he turned out to have a drinking problem which allied to his mean & violent tendencies & jealousy lead him to butcher to death Mary's private secretary(David Rzzio) in front of Mary who was 7 months pregnant. Henry(who had alienated most of the Scots nobles) himself was murdered and suspicion centred on the Earl of Bothwell & Mary. The Earl is claimed to have raped & abducted her & forced her to marry him. Mary was imprisoned & made to abdicate. After a failed attempt to regain her throne she fled to England & sought sanctuary from Elizabeth I. Elizabeth refused to met her & she was imprisioned from 1568 until her death in 1587. It is true that she was involved in plots against Elizabeth but that was after many years of imprisionment and it was obvious that she would never be released. The catholic/protestant problems in Scotland & England were no help to Mary nor her upbringing in France where she was encouraged to claim the English throne.

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.

Wow, superb

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).

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.

So true.

costanius; JOHN TRUMBULL AMERICAN ART-UNION 1849; Group 9: Exonumia http://www.omnicoin.com/coins/963445.jpg JOHN TRUMBULL AMERICAN ART-UNION 1849. Bronze 65mm by Charles Cushing Wright (1796-1854) modeled from a portrait by Robert Ball Hughes (1806-1868). This was the 3rd & last medal in the First American Medal Series to be struck in America by the U.S. Mint. The medals were designed by Peter Paul Duggan (c1800-1861). Being issued as part of a lottery the anti-lottery laws put an end to this series of medals, which, judging by the artistry of this medal is a shame.

Is that 3 lions claws hanging down Hercules thigh or just 2? Click to enlarge.......

Very nice.

Wow, that is nice.

Awesome thread guys

Here is one of Hedlinger's medals From Medailles et Jetons Des Numismates by Anthony Durand 1865: 1. NICOLAUS. KEDERUS. HOLMIENSIS. Buste à dr. Dessous : J. C. HEDLINGER. 1725. R. PROFERT. ANTIQUA. IN. APRICUM. Saturne déterrant un vase rempli de médailles antiques. Ex. : S. D. G. (Soli Deo Gloria). * AE 43mm Mazzuchelli, PI. 165, n° 3. Mechel, PI. 16, n° 1. NICOLAUS. KEDERUS = Niklas Keder. HOLMIENSIS = Stockholm. PROFERT. ANTIQUA. IN. APRICUM. = to bring forth the ancients/antiquities into the light. S.D.G. = Soli Deo Gloria = Sole Glory to God. Saturn unearths a vase filled with ancient medals, amongst some ruins. By Johann Karl(Carl) Hedlinger. Swiss medal & seal engraver who was much sought after across Europe for his skills. Keder, Niklas, Numismatist, scholar. Born Stockholm Sweden March 20th 1659. Student Uppsala, travelled to Estonia, Russia, Denmark, Germany, Bohemia, Italy and others. Organized a collection of old coins at Kungl Library and was appointed 1697 to the assessor in Antiquities archives. 1719 Knighted 1725 became secretary and antiquarian in the archive. This medal commemorates this event. 1727 elected member of the Science Society in Uppsala Died Stockholm april 16th 1735 Labelled the most astute numismatist in Sweden Wrote books on numismatics & antiquities Here he wears a wig. P.S. The god Saturn later morphs into Father Time with the addition of an hour glass. Here, on this medal he is depicted just with his scythe.

Medal, temperance, white metal 46mm. Obv. Banner: PEACE ON EARTH GOODWILL TO MEN. Lamb of God on bible, below a Banner: RELIGION. Man L. with banner: SOBRIETY; female R. with banner: DOMESTIC COMFORT. On shield compartments: Scarecrow (looks more like a morris dancer), cornucopia, man in sun, hive & bees, snake. On scroll beneath feet: BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH. TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. OTTLEY Rev. TEMPERANCE DECLARATION INSTITUTED A. D. 1833. In garland below handshake: WE AGREE TO ABSTAIN FROM ALL INTOXICATING LIQUORS EXCEPT FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES AND RELIGIOUS ORDINANCES. I personally claim the medical exemption for my occasional tipple

LINK for more of the tokens he made so yes he was the maker of your token. Walter J. Smith Bexhill 12 bushels Hop Token ~ A brass hop token for 12 Bushels. Issued in the mid 19th century by Walter J Smith at Great Worsham Farm in Bexhill. Hop tokens were used to ‘pay’ workers for picking hops. It was a form of truck payment as the tokens could often only be spent in the company store. During the first few decades of the 20th century many poor London families would decamp to Kent or Sussex to pick hops, it was their summer holiday.

Welcome Alex, it is a genuine souvenir of Napoleon IV. He would not have handled it & it is probably worth between $10-$20 in my humble opinion. It has previously been mounted to hang from a ribbon etc, note flattened area above the head, and probably worn to the communion service. See my previous post below. Napoleon IV. Baptism Medal: Obv. NAPOLEON EUG.L.J.JOS. PRINCE IMPERIAL. Rev. Baptism scene. 14 JUIN 1856. by Borrel 24mm copper. Napoleon IV. Birth Medal: Obv. NAPOLEON EUG.L.J.JOS. PRINCE IMPERIAL. Rev. NE A PARIS 16 MARS 1856. by Borrel 24mm bronze. Napoleon IV. Baptism Medal: Obv. NAPOLEON EUG.L.J.JOS. PRINCE IMPERIAL. Rev. NE LE 16 MARS ET BAPTISE A NOTRE DAME LE 14 JUIN. 1856. Gilded bronze 34mm this size is rare.