Polling Day on Coins

Top photograph Illustration by kind permission of Noonan’s Mayfair

P. Nerva, Denarius, c. 113-112, helmeted head of Roma left, spear over shoulder, rev. voting scene within the comitium, 3.27g (Craw. 292/1; BMCRR Italy 526-8; RSC Licinia 7; RCV 169). Light scratch in field before face, otherwise very fine LOT 345 AUCTION 13 OCTOBER 2022 HAMMER PRICE £100

Great excitement! Britain had a General Election  on 4th July. Electors choose their representative and the leader of the party that can command a majority in the House of Commons is invited by the King to form a government. All very polite and businesslike. When the next election will be held, no-one knows as the length of parliaments are not fixed. Perhaps an essential difference is in Britain candidates stand for election and in America they run for office. Whatever the similarities and differences, democracy is a right and a privilege that people given their lives for.

The election made me think of numismatics (and why not?). This denarius features a voting scene. Not much technology here and the electorate in Ancient Rome was small, limited to wealthy men, but this coin celebrates voting. Two figures on a bridge or perhaps the same individual before and after an attendant handing the voter a ballot or token to indicate his choice.

The Comitium was the original open-air public meeting space in Rome. The name comes from the Latin word for "assembly". The Comitium was at the northwest corner of the Forum. It was the location for much of the political and judicial activity of Rome and the meeting place of the Curiate , the earliest assembly of organised voting divisions of the Republic. During the Roman Republic, the Tribal Assembly and Plebeian Assembly met there. The Comitium was in front of the meeting house of the Roman Senate. The voting figures are set on a pons, (bridge) leading to the voting area. The bridge was placed there to isolate voters, I am not sure from the public or themselves.

This silver coin was minted in Rome, probably by Publius Licinius Nerva, in either 113 or 112 BC. Above the voting scene, is the inscription 'P. NERVA' referring to the moneyer. Above that is a bar on which stands a tablet bearing the letter P (too worn to see on this coin). Perhaps the letter P is a reminder who to vote for.

The obverse has ROMA, helmeted bust of Roma facing left, holding spear and shield, mark of value to left.

 Other coins that refer to elections include the pennies stamped with the words VOTES FOR WOMEN in the 1910s supporting the Suffragette movement.

second photograph

The 2003 50 pence coin commemorated the same campaign and in 2018 The Royal Mint released a 50p to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of The Representation of the People Act being passed. This legislation granted the vote to servicemen over the age of 19, to all men over the age of 21, and to women over the age of 30.

Some elections have been decided on the toss of a coin when the counting was too close to call.

I am sure there are other democracy and voting themed coins.

There are certainly tokens and medals issued by candidates and political parties. I'd be curious myself to learn of numismatic items related to voting itself. -Editor

Sources

• Wikipedia

• Foss. C., (1990). Roman Historical Coins, Seaby, London

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:

EXHIBIT: DEFACED! MONEY, CONFLICT, PROTEST (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n41a12.html)

BALLOT BOX ON ROMAN COIN (https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n12a23.html)

LOOSE CHANGE: JUNE 23, 2024 : Biden-Trump Debate Format Settled by Coin Flip (https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n25a24.html)

This article appeared in the E-Sylum on 1st July 2024

 Summer Time sports on coins

featuring golf, rugby and cycling from Isle of Man

weight lifting and basketball from Greece

Olympics from Russia

Football from Spain

Cricket from Isle of Man and Sri lanka

Sailing from USA

disabled sports from Vatican City. 

 

The Storming of the Bastille 14th July 

Paris was in a state of high agitation in the early months of the French revolution. In Spring 1789, the Estates-General refused to dissolve, transforming itself instead into a constituent National Assembly. In July, King Louis XVI called in fresh troops and dismissed his popular Minister, Jacques Necker. On the morning of July 14, the people of Paris seized weapons from the armoury at the Invalides and marched in the direction of an ancient Royal fortress, the Bastille. After a bloody round of firing, the crowd broke into the Bastille and released the handful of prisoners held there.

The storming of the Bastille signalled the first victory of the people of Paris against a symbol of the "Ancien Régime"

The Fête de la Fédération held on July 14, 1790, celebrated with great pomp the first Anniversary of the insurrection. Celebration of the anniversary was revived at the end of the Nineteenth Century after years of neglect.

Today, the festivities of July 14 are as popular as ever. In Paris, the traditional military parade on the Champs-Elysées is a meticulously planned spectacle, and

 

An interesting silver medal celebrating the 100^TH Anniversary but struck in Lima, South America. What was the link between France and Peru? Were there ex pats or immigrants or perhaps it was a political movement 

 

 

 

Smoke Farthings at Whitsun (Pentecost)

In mediaeval times there was an annual farthing tax on households which had a chimney, which was paid towards the upkeep of the local cathedral. On Whit Monday people walked in a procession to the local cathedral, or if that was far away to the main church in the vicinity, and they paid what was known as the Whitsun Farthing. Amersham in Buckinghamshire was one of the designated local churches for people to process to, but the inhabitants in nearby Chesham resented going all the way to Amersham. In 1454 they petitioned the Bishop of Lincoln to allow them to hold their procession to the parish church in Chesham instead. This was agreed provided they contributed 16 pence annually to the upkeep of the cathedral. After the Reformation the tradition was to collect farthing donations at a special Whitsun service for the upkeep of church buildings generally. This ancient tradition continued in Amersham and Chesham until 1960. In 1957 Christ Church Waterside in Chesham, collected 14,640 farthings; and Amersham parish collected 15,092 farthings. After 1961 when farthings were no longer legal tender the tradition died with it.

There are also references to Whit Farthings for Worcester Cathedral in 1656 and Southwell Cathedral in London in 1906.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 Happy New Year

 

Three wise men of Cologne

On June 9, 1164, Frederick I issued a certificate conferring the ownership of the relics of the Three Magi to the Archbishop of Cologne which were transferred to the Cologne Cathedral on July 23, 1164. In medieval times, the possession of such a relic was a strong argument for the German king to be the only true emperor and thus of higher rank than all the other European rulers. The fact that Frederick I owned their relics underlined heaven’s appreciation for him. The possession of those relics brought lots of pilgrims to Cologne.

  

City of Cologne. Gold strike at 4 gold florins from the dies of the Dreikönigstaler [Three Magi taler], no year (around 1620). Extremely rare. Very fine. Estimate: 50,000 euros. From Künker auction 313 (October 9, 2018), No. 3724.

 

The coin shows the key scene of Saint Ursula’s legend, as it has been established since the 13th century. In the centre of a boat going up the river Rhine towards Cologne, we see Saint Ursula, wearing a crown. To her left, elaborately dressed, is Prince Aetherius. He had promised to get baptized after the three years’ waiting period. Together with his bride-to-be, he had gone on a pilgrimage to Rome, where the two of them were joined by Pope Cyriacus. We see him with a tiara and a processional cross to Saint Ursula’s right. The coin depicts the moment of the attack by the pagan besiegers of Cologne: While the prince protectively covers his body with his arms, the holy virgin is praying to God, supported by the brave pope who brings the Christian message to the land of the unbelievers.

Diocese of

Cologne. 1688 Vacancy of the See. Reichstaler 1688. Very rare. Extremely fine. 4,000 euros. From Künker auction 313 (October 9, 2018), no. 3634.

During the French occupation, the relics of the Three Magi were evacuated to the free town of Deutz. Only after Napoleon’s Concordat with the Catholic Church, they returned to their usual place on January 6, 1804.

Source

https://www.kuenker.de/en/information/presseinformationen/aktuelle-mitteilungen/206

Accessed 02 01 2024

 

images by kind permission of Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Osnabrück“. Lübke & Wiedemann KG, Leonberg“  owner of the coin images

http://www.kuenker.com