January 29th 2019.
Next
club meeting Monday 4th February
2019.
·
Subject - Frank Bowcher-
the man behind the medals By Phillip Attwood.
Monday 4th March 2019
·
Club Auction - for members only
Monday 1st April 2019.
·
Edward Stanley Robinson -
Knighted for Services to Numismatics By Peter Preston-Morley
Meetings are held at the Abbey Baptist Church,
Abbey Square, commencing at 7.00 p.m.
Notices
We will be meeting
in the main church area on the ground floor of the church for the next two
meetings as the church has need of the basement area. Unfortunately we are not
able to provide teas or coffees. The basement area is to be considered ‘out of
bounds’. Please bear in mind that this
is the main area for religious activities and treat it accordingly.
Please bring your
Auction lots for March along to the next meeting and give them to Ian, together
with a list of the items,
·
any reserves and –
most importantly – some form of identification and an e-mail address if you’ve
got one, so Ian knows who the lots belong to. Close of play at the February meeting is the deadline for entering lots
into the auction, they must be handed to Ian by then.
·
There will be a maximum of 200 lots. Poor specimen, junk
lots and lots with unrealistic reserves will be reviewed by committee to decide
if there is a realistic chance of their sale so be aware such lots may not make
it into the auction. Reserves will be shown. Lots will not be graded – it is up
to the buyer to determine the grade. It is ‘buyer beware’ when bidding for the auction lots and no responsibility is
accepted by the club or auctioneer.
BANS Spring Meeting
This year’s
conference will take place in the Isla of Man, from 7th to 9th
April. Some talks specific to the Isle of Man are included. The cost, including
en-suite accommodation, all meals – and the lectures is £265 for a single and
£390 for a double. Please ask John if you require details.
January Meeting
At January’s meeting, four
members volunteered to give short talks.
Neil
Neil’s talk was on medals
relating to Sir Francis Drake, the sixteenth century explorer and some would
say pirate. One inspiration for the talk was that Neil had fund a pamphlet
issued at the time that a statue of Drake was put up on the Hoe in Plymouth
commemorating the three hundredth anniversary of Drake’s voyage around the
World. The idea for the statue came about in 1880, the actual three hundredth
anniversary, but it was February 1884 before it was completed. Neil had an
example of a base metal medal, issued at the time. The unveiling ceremony was a
big occasion, with lots of dignitaries attending and a Military Brass Band.
Some spectators were crushed trying to get into the VIP area. Afterwards, 400
of the VIPs retired to the Guildhall for lunch, followed by an evening concert
including a 250 strong children’s choir. Part of the reason for this largesse
was that Plymouth had been upstaged by Tavistock, who
had already built their own monument and issued commemorative medals in 1883.
Drake was born in Tavistock, the son of a weaver. One of twelve, he was
shipped off to sea as an apprentice, where he learned about ships and
navigation. The Tavistock medal, in base medal has a
picture of the Tavistock statue and was presented by
Hastings, ninth Duke of Bedford. There were also medals issued for the four
hundredth anniversary, which have a common reverse and four different obverses
to the ‘value’ of 50 Drake Nobles. Neil also knew of a copper medallion and had
brought along a miniature statuette of Drake nonchalantly holding a World globe
in his hand. Drake’s statue was the first to be erected on the Hoe but there
are now four or five others, in a row, commemorating events such as the Boer
war.
Neil had also brought along four postcards, including
one which had a view of St. Nicholas island, now
renamed Drake’s Island. He also had a copy of Drake’s book detailing his voyage
around the World and including an account of the politics of the time, which
had amazing similarities to the current goings on in Parliament! Some of it was
to do with Spanish claims to the silver in South America, including a Spanish
plot that led to the death of many English sailors. One of the few to escape
was Drake and the event coloured his future interactions with the Spanish. On
his trips he would attack Spanish settlements and on sailing back through the
East Indies would arrive back in England with incredibly valuable cargoes,
giving returns of up to 4000% to investors, including the Queen.
Drake ended up building a
house for himself, Buckland Abbey, where he lived as a very rich man.
Stuart
Stuart gave a talk on the
mints at Bedwyn and Marlborough. He began with some
background to the history, including the epic battles between Alfred and the
raiding Vikings, which led to the battle of Edington
in 878, which Alfred won. He also laid out the geography of the area. Bedwyn and Chisbury fort, one of
the Burhs or fortifications set up by Alfred to act
as central areas for organising the people are about 30 miles from Reading.
There is now a farm at Chisbury fort,
ran by two ladies, ironically from Eastern Europe. There is also a small chapel,
which is currently used as a barn. Stuart showed images of the chapel/barn as
it is today, still prominently visible from the train.
Bedwyn was and is very near the Savernake forest, which
meant is has had building restrictions placed on it, so it is still the same
size now as back in the Viking times. It is believed that Henry VIII went
hunting in the forest and may have met Anne Boleyn there as it is close to
Wolfe Hall. The forest separates Bedwyn from
Marlborough.
Coins were first minted in Bedwyn
for Edward the Confessor by a single moneyer Cilda, who later went to Marlborough when the mint
transferred there in the reign of William I, where he continued working till
1087. The first coin Stuart showed was from the Marlborough Mint and actually forms
part of the Swedish National collection of coins. It was found amongst a
collection of 250 coins, discovered in the 19th Century in Sweden.
It is believed that the coins belonged to mercenaries and their passage through
England can be inferred from the specimens present. He showed us one of his own
halfpenny coins from Edward the Confessor and then a succession of different
types. He pointed out that the moneyer would have had
to go to London for a new die for each type, incurring considerable expense to
himself. The use of coinage was proscribed in these times, with coins only
allowed to be used within 20 miles of where they were made, all part of the
state keeping control. The last type minted at Bedwyn
was the profile cross. Only a few dozen of coins from Bedwyn
and Marlborough mint survive, a small number in the
BM.
Mick
Mick’s talk was entitled ‘The Phantom Token’. He began
with an image of an East India Company token. However the legend read ‘Island
of Sultana’ a non-existent country! How to explain? Mick began by explaining
the background, which was to do with the fight for trading rights in the Far
East, between Spain, France, the Dutch and England, in the main because of the
huge profits to be made. He pointed out that at first there was no company,
just consortiums of interested businesses, involving spices, silks and tea etc. . The East India Company became unified and was able to
start monopolising trade, at first in India but then moving further East.
Eventually the company became so strong it ruled the countries it traded in.
The distances from the headquarters of the Company in London to the outposts in
the Far East meant that the outposts became essentially self governing, it
would take too long (voyages to India could take two years) to refer decisions
back to London. Large payments tended to be completed by barter, English goods
being traded for those from the Far East. Where specie was required it would
mainly be the 8 Reales. The demand for bullion
rocketed as a result of this trade and in part, this explains why there are so
few coins of George III from 1760 to 1816. For small transactions local
currency was used, if there was any, or EIC styled local currency and later on
the distinctive EIC currency. This latter currency was made in the UK and would
have the EIC Bale mark on one side and a native design on the other side. One
coin of particular note was the 1/48 Rupee, the first to bear the company arms.
From the beginning of the 19th century the standard issue of coinage
had the arms on one side with the legend East India Company and the native
design on the other.
Despite controlling India,
the company did not have total control of the East Indies. The Dutch were very
active in Sumatra and there were lots of merchants operating out of Singapore.
They issued their own coinage, very similar to the standard EIC coinage as a
challenge to the company. The similarity to the EIC issue meant that these
coins could be more easily accepted. This explains what Mick’s coin is.
Michael
Michael’s talk was entitled
‘In Remembrance of The Great War’. He began by showing a gold medal presented
for being the first to shoot down the L15 Zeppelin. Michael explained that the
role of Zeppelins in the Great War is not mentioned much because people regard
it as a War fought in Europe. But there was a War in England too, a Home Front.
Michael outlined the properties of the Zeppelin airships which were huge,
between 520 and 685 feet, more than Buckingham Palace (354 feet). The original
Zeppelins were made of duralumin, (later wooden framed) with gasbags to hold
the Hydrogen to give it lift, with gondolas strung below for crew, controls,
engines and bomb racks. The first raid was on East Anglia, on 19th
January 1915, killing four and injuring 16. The shock that it produced was very
pronounced as it was so unexpected. Four months later, London was attacked on
the 31st May, killing 7 civilians and injuring 35 and causing large
amounts of damage. Airplanes were sent to shoot down the Zeppelin, but it flew
too high for them to reach. Zeppelins only attacked at night are were difficult
to spot and unless a searchlight could catch one then there was very little
chance of shooting it down. In addition the Zeppelins were quiet and could
drift in before anyone noticed them. Michael had found a photograph of World
War I ace Billie Bishop who was awarded the VC for a lot of his work to do with
shooting down Zeppelins. The bomb load was 3410 lbs.
After this attack, Sir Charles Wakefield, Lord Mayor
of London, offered a reward of £500 for the first gun crew to shoot down a
Zeppelin. Also Admiral Sir Percy Scott was placed in charge of London’s guns.
He went directly to France and came back with a 75mm anti-aircraft gun, our
first effective defence against the Zeppelin, many more were to follow. Michael
had a picture of one. The first Zeppelin to be shot down was the L15. However
shooting down a Zeppelin is not a one hit wonder. L15 was first hit at Purfleet, but didn’t come down till she was nearer Margate.
She was also hit by 2nd Lt Alfred de Bathe Brandon RFC, who climbed
above the, by now sinking, L15. Consequently, several groups could claim to
have brought down the Zeppelin and the Lord Mayor had a list made of all the
people involved (353) and presented each with a 9ct gold medal, instead of
handing out the £500 prize. Pictures survive of the L15 in the water and 16 of
her crew (out of 18) were rescued by trawlers. The shooting down of the
Zeppelin was a huge event and was even commemorated in paintings of the event.
In total, Zeppelins made 51 bombing raids on England during the war, 557 people were killed and
1,358
people were injured. More than 5,000 bombs were dropped on towns across
Britain,
causing £1.5 million in damage. 84 airships took part, of which 30
were either shot down or lost in accidents.
William
Leefe Robinson was awarded the VC for shooting down
the SL11 on 3rd September 1916. The Zeppelin crashed in Cuffley, killing all 16 crew. The last raid was on 5th
August 1918 but the five Zeppelins were turned back after the newly formed RAF
attacked them.
Michael reported that 39 of
the medals are known.
After five excellent
presentations, the Marc Myhill memorial shield was
awarded to Michael.
Answers
to Gavin’s Quiz
3.
Which British monarch issued coins in 1624? James I
4.
What is depicted on the reverse of the 1953 British crown? Elizabeth II on
horseback
5.
Which modern coins depict three acorns and oak leaves on the
reverse? 3d
1927-36
6.
Silver half-crowns were issued by Philip and Mary – true or false? False
7.
What does E below the bust denote on coins of Queen Anne? Edinburgh Mint
8.
What are Doits Small copper
coins of the Netherlands and Dutch provinces circulating 16th - 19th
centuries
9.
What does “Decus and Tutamen”
mean on the edge of large milled gold and silver coins? An ornament and a
safeguard (anti forgery)
10. What
was the contemporary name for the Irish halfpennies of 1766? “Silly Heads”
11. When
did the Gold Standard apply in the UK? 1816 - 1931
12. When
did a leek first appear on the UK coinage? 1953 6d and 2/-
13. In
whose reign were the first official Maundy coins issued? Charles II
14. Name
two members of the Latin Monetary Union founded in 1865 France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Greece (from 1868)
15. What
coins were known as “Napoleons”? French 20 franc gold coins
16. Reading
issued Town halfpennies and farthings in the 17th century – true or
false? False – only
Newbury issued Town pieces in Berkshire
17. Which
English monarch issued coins in 1250? Henry III
18. What
20th century British coin features St George and the Dragon facing
left? Silver Jubilee
Crown 1935
19. Reading
issued no 18th century trade tokens – true or false? True
20. Reading
issued a silver shilling token dated 1811 – true or false? False – silver
half-crown and eighteen pence 1811, gold forty shilling, 1812
Future
Events.
Past Events
·
In January 1979
Peter Seaby gave a talk on Norman Coinage.
·
In January 1989
Barry Greenaway spoke on An Introduction to Evasion Halfpence of the 18th
Century
·
In 1999 the
January meeting was on Genuine Forgeries by Thomas Curtis.
·
In 2009 the
meeting was given over to Short Talks by members.
Club Secretary.