December 21st  2017.

Next club meeting Monday 8th January 2018.

 

Notices

·         Please let me or another committee member know if you wish to give a short talk.

·         Please continue thinking about Auction lots for March. All lots should be given to Ian, preferably at the January meeting or the February meeting at the very latest.

 

December Meeting

The December meeting was given over to our Xmas bash, thanks go out to Mick and Henry  for the buffet as well as members who donated food . It was a very good turnout, and with many members having selling tables there were a lots of coins to see and purchase. Also with no speaker this month there was ample opportunity for members to chat to each other and seek advice on various coins that were a bit of a puzzle.

 

Two members bought along items of interest, which mid way through the evening they spoke about for a few minutes:

Gavin showed 4 coins with counter marks which are normally found on other coins but not on these 4 coins. The first countermark was BRADFORD WORKHOUSE, usually found on Birmingham Union Copper company penny tokens.  This (unpublished) is on a Birmingham and Neath penny token. Secondly we had PEARS SOAP, usually found on French 10 and 5 centimes coins, mainly of Napoleon III. This is on an Italy 10 centesimi 1866 T. Thirdly we had S.A.D. CO L, usually found on French, Italian or Spanish 10c-sized coins.  This is on an Argentinia 2 centavos 1894. Lastly we had LE PICOTIN APERITIF, usually found on Great Britain bronze pennies of Queen Victoria. This is on a Luxemborg 10 centimes 1870.

 

In a talk called ‘Little and Large’ Graham showed two very different coins he had purchased during the year. The first being a Lesbos electrum from Mytilene, the most important city on the island. It was minted somewhere between 375 and 326 BC. A tiny coin coming in at only 10 mm wide.

 

In contrast we had a crown of Charles I with a first horseman type. With mintmark Lis for the Tower mint this was 43mm wide. The horse had a ‘crupper’ which had Graham scratching his head until he found a meaning for it in his dictionary (just under crumpet) which was ‘a strap buckled to the back of a saddle and looped under the horse’s tail to hold the harness back.

 

 

Thanks to both members for sharing their interesting finds with us.

 

Gavin had produced a slightly easier version of his Devilish quiz with just a fewer hard questions than  other years. This year’s winner with 19 out of 20 was Neil.

 

Overall it was a very pleasant and convivial evening.

 

Xmas Dinner

 

The December dinner was a return to the Cunning Man where 19 members and partners enjoyed a sumptuous meal, accompanied by fine wines and plenty of entertaining conversation, though eagle eyed members and partners spotted the missing vegetables. Well done to Peter for organizing such an excellent event and who would bet against us going back there next year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gavin’s Quiz (answers in the next issue)

1.      What is Brass?

2.      What is Bronze?

3.      What do Berlin and Paris have in common as a mintmark?

4.      Which country uses the Cruzeiro?

5.      Which country uses the Kurus?

6.      Ceylon used coins worth 1/3840 of a pound, True or False?

7.      Where were coins worth 1/52 of a shilling used?

8.      What coins or tokens have the reverse legend “in memory of the good old days”?

9.      Which British base metal coin has a face value of 1/960 of a pound?

10.  What was the date of the first British silver florin?

11.  Who designed the obverse of Edward VII coins?

12.  In whose reign did some coins have VIGO below the bust?

13.  What is the date of the “Northumberland shilling”?

14.  No gold Third Guineas were issued after 1813, True or False?

15.  What is the scarcest date of the George VI nickel brass Threepence coins?

16.  When was the British farthing demonetised?

17.  Which coin designer’s initials were B.P.?

18.  When did English coins have LIMA below the bust?

19.  Copper farthings were issued dated 1860 – True or False?

20.  What motto appears on the decimal 2p and what does it mean?

 

Future Events.

Past Events

Finally a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to All Our Members.

 

Club Secretary.