Friday 23 December 2022

                                                  A  Brilliant Christmas 
                                         And an Uncirculated New Year
                                                               From 
                                        Oxford Numismatic Society 2022





Saturday 10 December 2022

The theme of this month's meeting was a seasonal one. here is a photograph of some Christmas Club tokens. people would pay a few pence a week to save up for Christmas. Between the wars and later most people did not have bank accounts and this was the only way of saving. however the customer could only buy goods from the shop and they sometimes charged a fee and there were penalties for leaving the scheme early. They were popular in the USA and this country.

Have a cheerful collecting Christmas 


Saturday 12 November 2022

 The them for this month was coins and medallions relating to remembrance. here are some items

Great Britain 1919 peace souvenir

Russia 5 rouble commemorative of 1941-1945 war.      Italy: unknown warrior

South Africa 1945 peace commemorative.   Tsarist Russia 1915



Tuesday 4 October 2022

New coins 

The new portrait design has been published. It is not clear when they will be used on day to day coinage. what will the King's portrait look like on the Commonwealth coins?

It is interesting the legend has the English version of his name Charles. The name Elizabeth was used on her coins but George V, VI and Edward VIII all used the Latin versions. Victoria is the same in both languages. Both kings Charles I and Charles II used Carolus.


Saturday 10 September 2022

 


Elizabeth the Great

The lives of kings and queens is an essential part of numismatics. The passing of Her Majesty on Thursday is the end of an era.  Most of us have never known a different monarch.  Numismatically her reign started with the new issues bearing the Gillick portrait. That image was controversial at the time but it is now regarded as youthful and full of grace. The royal titles on the 1953 coins have BRITT OMN but this was only used for that year

Her portraits changed over the years, beginning with portrait designed by Arnold Machin for the new decimal coins from 1968 although D Day was not until 1971. “New pence” quickly became just “pence”.    The third portrait of the Queen was designed in 1985 by Raphael Maclouf. The fourth portrait of the Queen was designed by Ian Rank-Broadley. The last portrait was designed by Jody Clark in 2015 and shows the Queen with the Royal Diamond Diadem Crown, which she wore for her Coronation in 1953. Many coins were issued to mark Royal and national events over her seventy year reign. She appears on the coins of many commonwealth countries.

Her Majesty offered continuity in a world that changes too quickly. Rulers come and go but not many could justly claim the title “The Great”. She is entitled to that because of her many years of service and devotion to duty. She was not only the Queen of the United Kingdom but also of fifteen countries in every country. She was a vital link to many other nations and people across the world which we value so much.   By tradition the portrait of the new king on his coins will face the opposite direction to the predecessor. It will be interesting to see what royal titles will be used on his coins.

We look back on her long reign with pride and gratitude and look forward to the reign of Charles III

God save the King

 

Sunday 14 August 2022

 Lets be Franc!


We were in a holiday mood for our August meeting on a very hot day.

The most visited countries from the UK include

Spain     15.62 Million

France  8.56 Million

Italy       4.16 Million

USA       3.47 Million

And the most popular destinations in the world include

Cancún, Mexico.

Bali, Indonesia.

•Crete, Greece.

Rome, Italy.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Istanbul, Turkey.

Paris, France.

Hurghada, Egypt.

These details are all pre covid. I wonder how things have changed.

 

The collector on holiday will look at the coins the get and save some commemoratives. They will also find out about the history of the currency and visit museums. Why not look out for some local street markets or dealers. Your family will love waiting around while you look for bargains. Much better than time on the beach!

A visit abroad might inspire you to collect coins of that country. Members brought displays from France, Isle of Man, Lundy and Spain.


Wednesday 20 July 2022

 

Get Real! The coins of Brazil


This month the theme for the meeting was the coins of South America. Judging by the response it is not a popular theme for collectors. I am not sure why not. the modern coins of the continent are have an interesting history reflecting the social and political history of the various countries that make up that area. Perhaps South America feels a bit too far away. we did however have tropical weather on the day.

here is something about Brazil.

Following the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, Brazil was claimed for the Portuguese Empire on 22 April 1500. The then largest colony in the world relied on sugar cane and slavery. The first coins were Portuguese followed by Spanish. Coins were counterstamped in 1643 with local denominations.

By the end of the 17th century, sugarcane exports began to decline but the discovery of gold and the Brazilian Gold Rush attracted thousands of new settlers to Brazil from Portugal. Brazil became a major producer of coins. The earliest colonial copper coinage was minted in Portugal in 1693.

In late 1807, Spanish and Napoleonic forces threatened the security of Portugal, causing Prince Regent João, in the name of Queen Maria I, to move the royal court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro.

With the end of the Peninsular War in 1814 Queen Maria I and Prince Regent João were pressed to return to Portugal. In 1815, to justify continuing to live in Brazil, where the royal court had thrived for six years, the Crown established the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.

Coins especially copper ones were frequently counterstamped in the early Nineteenth Century.

The Brazilians declared the country's independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822. A month later, Prince Pedro was declared the first Emperor of Brazil, with the title of Dom Pedro I, resulting in the foundation of the Empire of Brazil. Portugal recognized Brazil on 29 August 1825.


On 15 November 1889, the monarchy was overthrown by a military coup. A few days later, the national flag was replaced with a new design that included the national motto "Ordem e Progresso". The country was known as the United States of Brazil.  

In half of the first 100 years of republic, the Army ruled directly or through intermediaries.  There was another period of counterstamping in the 1930s.

Civilians returned to power in 1985

In the fiercely disputed 2018 elections, the controversial conservative candidate Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party was elected president. In the early 2020s, Brazil became one of the hardest hit countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving the second-highest death toll worldwide after the United States. Experts have largely blamed the situation on the leadership of President Bolsonaro, who throughout the pandemic has repeatedly downplayed the threat of COVID-19 and dissuaded states and cities from enforcing quarantine measures, prioritising the nation's economy.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 31 May 2022

 to mark the Royal Jubilee here are some Royal Medallions courtesy of Charles 

www.charlesriley.co.uk












Friday 1 April 2022

 

special announcement for April 1st 

Archaeologists have discovered a hoard of countermarks which are not with the coins. This is unusual as countermarks are usually on coins. It is believed that these were either trial strikes, the ancient countermarker could not obtain host coins to stamp, or simply the person missed the coin when stamping.

 

In ancient times coins were sometimes countermarked for use by Legions or to refer to a new emperor. In these cases where only the countermark is left and not the coin – probably the ancient coin maker ran out of coins.


 

 


Friday 18 February 2022




 

The theme this month was travelling mints. (Not travel sweets)

An army on the march would need vast quantities of coin and the technology for minting coins was quite portable. Roman armies may have had mobile mints. Some coins are common in some areas where there was campaigning for example this coin featuring Britannia.

Roman Denarius issued by T. Carisius (46BCE) showing the moneyer's die, anvil, hammer and tongs

By Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=524450

 

This bronze as (top coin) , dated to AD 155, was common in Britain but rare in other parts of the Roman Empire. It may well have formed part of a special shipment of coin to the island or produced at a travelling mint.

© The Trustees of the British Museum

Saturday 15 January 2022

Happy New Year  


The theme for the meeting was “one of a kind” which refers to the things in your collection which do not fit with anything. These could coins you got to begin a new series of collecting or simply you saw something interesting or unusual.
These are some random coins and medallions which were acquired for the interest 

Obscure collecting themes :-
Card counter (chevalier or esquire),
Birmingham Cathedral bazaar 6d. 1920s
Israeli telephone token
Oxford balloon token
Sheffield coal check
Souvenir of bombardment of Scarborough 1914 
Centenary of Bournemouth 1910