I've been quiet lately, so I wanted to share this neat piece I picked up a little while back. I got it from the spring Classical Numismatic Review, for which I did almost all of the cataloging. If you get the chance, check it out! There's a bunch of nice coins, an article, an editorial by yours truly, and even a numismatic themed comic. I've been looking forward to sharing the CNR with you all for some time, but I didn't want to come across as advertising. It was a major project for me and I'm glad to have this coin as a souvenir. BRITISH TOKENS, Tudor. temp. Mary–Edward VI.1553-1558. PB Token (27mm, 5.29 g). St. Nicholas (‘Boy Bishop’) type. Cast in East Anglia (Bury St. Edmund’s?) Mitre, croizer to right; all within border Long cross pattée with trefoils in angles; scrollwork border Rigold, Tokens class X.B, 1; Mitchiner & Skinner group Ra, 1 Ex Classical Numismatic Review XXXIX.1 (Spring 2014), no. 973330 Britain in the late middle ages played host to a popular regional variant of the ‘Feast of Fools’ festival. Every year on the feast of St. Nicholas, a boy was elected from among the local choristers to serve as ‘bishop.’ Dressed in mitre and bearing the croizer of his office, the young boy paraded through the city accompanied by his equally youthful ‘priest’ attendants. The ‘bishop’ performed all the ceremonies and offices of the real bishop, save for the actual conducting of mass. Though this practice was extinguished with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, it was briefly revived under Queen Mary, who took particular interest in the festival, when the lucky boy was referred to as ‘Queen Mary’s Child.’ The celebration of the boy bishop died out completely early in the reign of Elizabeth. Evidence of this custom is particularly prevalent in East Anglia, specifically at Bury St. Edmunds. Beginning in the late 15th century, the region produced numerous lead tokens bearing the likeness of a bishop, often bearing legends relating to the festival of St. Nicholas. Issued in sizes roughly corresponding to groats, half groats, and pennies, these pieces were undoubtedly distributed by the boy bishop himself, and were likely redeemable at the local abbey or guild for treats and sweetmeats. Considering the endemic paucity of small change in Britain at the time, it is likely that, at least in parts of East Anglia, these tokens entered circulation along with the other private lead issues that were becoming common.
I had a feeling you were up to something brilliant. The CNR is fabulous! And congratulations on an outstanding token.
The tokens from that early era, especially those in lead, are quite scarcer than the coins from that era. They tended to get scooped up by the church and destroyed or they were lost and lead doesn't do to well in even British soil.
Wow Ardy, that's awesome work ... congrats on being an ancient coin super-hero!! (in my mind, your role as "Leadman" is huge!! ... yah, only dougsmit, "The Coin Brain", is more powerful in the ancient coin Justice League) ... you rock, my CNG friend (very cool)
Very cool and congrats. Beautiful coins in that thing that are beyond my reach. You've seen the stuff I bottom feed. Token is cool too. Seen that comic on tumblr, which I think its from, lol.
But if things go the way the Scots want them to, there may not always be a United Kingdom - Scottish independence is up for the vote on 18th September.
