What is the most interesting history lesson you have learn from coins?

Numismatics and history are inextricably intertwined. There are many lessons to be learned. But what is the most interesting fact you have learned which you would not have do so had you not be a coin collector?

My interest is in German coins and I was amazed to find just how fragmented the area now know as Germany has been throughout most of its history. Today it is a unified country. Even through most of my life it was only two: east and west. To find that there have been many hundreds of coin issuing entities over the last 500 years was quite a shock. I would watch Wagner operas and they had references to officials whom I thought were just minor local officials. Coin collecting has shown be that they actually had power!

Of course, I also learned that there is no way I will ever acquire even a small percentage of the total available number of coins.

 

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Great idea for a thread!

Unfortunately, I've learned so many things I'm not sure where to start. So I'll just start throwing things out:

• Kings and Queens of England - their names and the general order of their reigns
  
• Emperors of Japan - their names and the general order of their reigns
• Numerous French Kings and Queens and Revolutions
• Roman Emperors and the general order of their reigns
  
• General Mexican history -especially Padre Hidalgo, Jose Morelos and Maximillian
  
• The order the states ratified the US Constitution (from State Quarters)
• The existence of numerous State Parks (from ATB series)
• The order of the 19th century US Presidents (from presidential dollars)
• The fact that Queen Elizabeth II has some relation to Canada and Australia
• From many British coins - the fact that Latin is not nearly as dead as people say it is
• The fact that people used to actually divide money into bits, which originated the phrases "pieces of eight" and "two bits"
  
• The fact that no portrait actually exists of Sacajawea
  
• The fact that coinage used to have inherent value
• The fact that coinage no longer has inherent value

 

That there is a bar in Montana devoted to Morgan dollars.....

Chris

 

Not sure if true but it involves the Liberty Nickel "No Cents". A guy named Josh Tatum would use a gold plated nickel seeking mislead it as a $5 gold piece to get $4.95 in change. If someone noticed he'd say, "I'm just joshing you" giving rise to the famous phrase.

 

I believe that was one of the folk tales that arose that had no basis in fact.

Chris

 

I learned just how influential Ancient Greek civilization really was. It's one thing to read in a history book about the ancient Greek City States or Alexander the Great's short lived Empire.

It's quite a different thing to hold an ancient Greek coin minted in what is today modern day Iraq. It makes the accounts in the history books about the Ancient Greeks' greatness really sink in.



And it's even more amazing to hold an ancient Indian coin from 200-300 years after Alexander the Great with Ancient Greek writing on them alongside the native dialect, and Ancient Greek ruler titles being used by Eastern rulers 2,000 miles away from Greece.

That makes you realize just how much of an impact Ancient Greek civilization had on the ancient world.

 

I was 13 when the Tet offensive began in 1968. It was on the news every night and I had always thought we lost. When I stated collecting military tokens I started reading books about the Vietnam war and was pretty shocked to read we not only won Tet but pretty much destroyed all the Vietcong forces in all the major centers of Vietnam.

 

I've always been interested in the early days of the U.S. Mint. The 1793 Large Cent for instance, had 3 different designs. The public hated the first two choices and settled for the third. They said the Chain Cent looked like a wild Indian.

 

I learn much American history.
- why 3 cent silver pieces were minted
- how coins were struck and how it evolved during the industrial revolution
- why Charles Barber was a entitled brown noser
- why Theodore Roosevelt was a great president
- rationale for commemorative coins
- Augustus St. Gaudens and how his architecture and sculpture influenced Chicago
- why Mints were located at various cities

 

I was referring specifically to Germany and it did not have a king or, until much later, an emperor. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire, but I was still shocked at how many different issuing entities there were. Having read up on it I understand why, but I had no idea beforehand.

 

I wasn't born in Nevada, but my heart has never left. My grandfather used to farm ice out of the Truckee river before and after WW1, and the Comstock has always held a home for me. He eventually managed payroll which actually came on Wells Fargo coaches or by train. He handled real coin and cash for payments - and had to rely on "old west" style protection on more than one occasion.

Remember all that you may be throwing away to find the gold - may just be the silver lining.

From a bar in Virginia City that was around even before my grandfather - the Silver Kings.

 

I never knew Bugs Bunny had a coin.

 

That we humans are ephemeral and transitory, but coins have many, many lives.

 

ephemeral...excellent word!

 

I would sure like to see the reverse of that 1893

 

I ran across this medal fairly early in my collecting-- a Princess Charlotte death medal. I've posted variations of this write-up before, but I'll post it here too--a lesson how one action (or lack of action) literally changed history.



Princess Charlotte's obstetrician was from the 'low intervention' school. After a long pregnancy where she gained too much weight early (and was put on a diet and underwent 'bleedings') she entered labor in poor shape and carrying a large baby.

Her water broke and she labored for 50 hours, apparently crowning for 24 of the hours with the baby in a malpresentation--most likely 'occiput' transverse' (head down but looking sideways instead of up or down...not generally favorable for a delivery) depending on the historical descriptions given.

Signs of fetal stress were seen (meconium/passing of fetal stool) and indeed, once delivered, the baby was stillborn (and weighed 9#).

Princess Charlotte herself passed away about 6 hours later after heavy bleeding. Her death could have been due solely to the post delivery bleeding (at risk given her length of labor and large baby) or possibly complicated by infection and/or DIC (clotting problems).

Her doctor was heavily criticized for declining advice to use forceps (even barring an expert consultant from attending to the Princess according to some sources). Forceps may or may not have saved either of them, but would have improved the odds. The doctor later killed himself, and thus the delivery is known as the 'triple obstetric tragedy'.

The Prince-Regent George and his wife Caroline pretty much hated each other and no attempt was made for another child after the birth of Charlotte. After Caroline's death (and after a failed attempt at divorce or annulment) the future King made no attempt at re-marriage or fathering another heir.

Subsequently the race was on with his siblings to produce an heir, with success by the Duke of Kent who was able to marry, and eventually the future Queen Victoria was born.

Queen Victoria was quite prolific and from Victoria's offspring the hemophilia B gene (suspected to be a spontaneous mutation in Victoria's mother) was introduced into ruling houses of Spain, Germany and Russia.

Interestingly Queen Victoria married Albert, the nephew of Princess Charlotte's husband (who, after Charlotte's death, became the King of Belgium. He had turned down the offer to become the King of Greece so he progressed rather far from being the broke dude who married a Princess, but I digress).

One could argue that obstetrical choices led to rather dramatic historical outcomes. Different choices might have at the very least, saved the Princess, who may have had a second child which would have likely resulted in a drastically different future. And, without Victoria, the hemophilia gene would not have entered all those royal houses.

In addition, the idea of interventions in the labor process gained traction including increased use of forceps, uterotonics (medications resulting in stronger and increased contractions in labor and more importantly, for reducing bleeding after delivery), and the idea of using pain medications. Queen Victoria herself was a very early adopter by using chloroform for the birth of her last child, subsequently singing the praises and paving the way to modern pain management for labor.

So, the inaction (and outright prevention by some records) of the attending physician led to the death of the Princess, and the birth of Queen Victoria and all the subsequent history that followed.

 

I learned many interesting historic information, but my favorite is how populations developed through the centuries. Learning about different cultures makes coin collecting from them so much more interesting.

 

Some old coins can be hundreds or thousands of years old.

It is interesting to handle old coins and wonder who handled them before.


Athens Classical Owl Tetradrachm
Silver, 23mm, 17.18gm, struck around BC 430