thedeadpoint Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 http://www.coinnews.net/2010/07/07/pcgs-eu...-center-praised Is it just me or is this obverse reminiscent of the Panama Exposition $50 coins? Compared to: http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article3133.chtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikaros Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 http://www.coinnews.net/2010/07/07/pcgs-eu...-center-praised Is it just me or is this obverse reminiscent of the Panama Exposition $50 coins? Compared to: http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article3133.chtml Yeah, I can see a bit of similarity. What's the historical basis for the Britannia design anyway? I always thought the traditional seated Britannia on the predecimal 1p and older 1/2p reminded me of the seated Liberty coins of the mid 1800s. Well, actually, I guess it ought to be the other way around, chronologically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 A lot of the design elements moved from series to series and certainly influenced designers from other countries. Britannia certainly had major influences on the designs of the US and France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Is it just me or is this obverse reminiscent of the Panama Exposition $50 coins? I cannot see any similarity myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted July 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 A lot of the design elements moved from series to series and certainly influenced designers from other countries. Britannia certainly had major influences on the designs of the US and France. Art, I'd love if you or someone expounded on that. I know what you mean but maybe others could give good examples. Thanks for the suggestioN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Art, I'd love if you or someone expounded on that. I know what you mean but maybe others could give good examples. Thanks for the suggestioN! I'd like to but frankly I'm too tired to do that research and find images right now. But Brittania has been appearing on British coinage since somewhere around 742. The sestertius of 742, 743, 744 and 745 contained Britannia seated on a rock holding a shield (Spink 2004 pg 73). Much the same as the design later used on the halfpenny and farthing of 1695 (Spink 2004 pg 345-346). The design reappears on the 1714 farthing of Queen Anne and then the 1717-1724 halfpenny and farthing or George I. So how did the design migrate to the US. The Wood's Hibernia coinage of the 1722, 1723, 1724 were struck for use in Ireland but were unpopular there and thus found their way to America for use in the Colonies. Britannia seated with the shield is the predominent design on these. In the 1760s more Hibernian coins with the Britannia design were struck in Dublin and again made their way to the Colonies for use. A fair number of counterfeits are also thought to have circulated as well. There are many examples of Britannia seated with shield on the tokens of various Colonies, for example the 1785-1787 Connecticut and Vermont issues. Time marches on and in 1837 we find the Liberty Seated series. Instead of Britannia it's now Liberty seated with a shield. US design on the shield, Phrygian cap on the staff. Liberty is even seated on a rock. Pictures of all of the above can be found in the Red Book or on many websites. Liberty and French coinage. Take the Sower and the Liberty Walking Half. There's also a French design from the early 1800s that could have well served as the inspiration for the Indian Head coins -- gold pieces and cent. I'll leave that one up to someone else. Hope this helps or at least gets someone interested in checking to see if I'm accurate on this or full of bunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 But Brittania has been appearing on British coinage since somewhere around 742. The sestertius of 742, 743, 744 and 745 contained Britannia seated on a rock holding a shield (Spink 2004 pg 73). Those are the RIC#s Art, not dates, RIC 742: Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius. 143-144 AD. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right / BRITANNIA, S C in ex, Britannia seated left on heap of rocks, holding military standard in right hand & cradling spear in left arm leaning on round shield set on rock. She first appeared circa 120 AD. on an as of Hadrians. LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Those are the RIC#s Art, not dates, RIC 742: Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius. 143-144 AD. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right / BRITANNIA, S C in ex, Britannia seated left on heap of rocks, holding military standard in right hand & cradling spear in left arm leaning on round shield set on rock. She first appeared circa 120 AD. on an as of Hadrians. LINK Good info. Thanks. I'm not much into coins from those times but I remembered the Britannia Sestertius and was able to find it in Spink's 2004. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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