A Mars a Day

The theme of the meeting today was Mars, which is suitable for the month which is named after the Roman God. Many of us of a certain age in England associate the word with the delicious chocolate bars. It was first manufactured in 1932 in Slough. It is not named after the planet or the god but a man called Forrest Mars, Sr.

The advertising jingle, “A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play" jingle was associated with the confectionary from the late 1950s through to the mid-1990s. It was reintroduced a few years ago.During the football World Cup in 2006 Mars rebranded its bars with the word "Believe" in support of the England team.

The god Mars features on many ancient coins. In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Mars was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He is the son of Jupiter and Juno, and was pre-eminent among the Roman army's military gods. Most of his festivals were held in March and in October, the months which traditionally began and ended the season for both military campaigning and farming.

The union of Venus and Mars held greater appeal for poets and philosophers, and the couple were a frequent subject of art. The wild animals most sacred to Mars were the woodpecker and the wolf, which in the natural lore of the Romans were said always to inhabit the same foothills and woodlands. A stylised "spear and shield of Mars" is also the symbol for the planet Mars and male gender.

 

Do Coins have a Future?

Centuries ago, probably more than two thousand years ago, an invention was changing the way people did everyday business. If you wanted to buy some wine and food that cost a sheep and you did not have the right payment on you, perhaps you would hand over a cow and apologise you had nothing smaller. The dealer would offer you nine chickens in change and count them laboriously in front of you.

The invention was money which was pieces of metal which had an agreed value. Someone must have thought they needed a special to show they were genuine and the value. Coins were easier to carry than goods for barter and you do not have to keep them alive.

Nowadays the reverse is happening. Most transactions are done with a plastic card or tapping your telephone. Coins are disappearing along with high street banks and ATMs to get cash. However over a million people in the UK do not have a bank account and then add those who have an account but prefer cash and the people who temporarily are not able to access their accounts which equals a lot more.

Will this mean the end of coins and more worryingly the end of coin collectors? Probably not as old coins will still be collected and collectors want commemorative coins.