Coins And History

Francois I/ King of France 1515-47
During his reign, he was involved in a series of Wars fought over the control of the Italy with German Emperor Karl V. This culminated with HRE Karl's Spanish/ German army crushing the French at Pavia in 1525. Before the disaster at Pavia/ Francois had lost his bid to be elected HRE in 1519. Karl V eventually got that title, and with it, became Emperor over Spain/ Colonies/ Spanish Netherlands/ Germany/ Austria/ Milan/ Naples/ Sicily. He then formed an allegiance with the Ottomam Sultan, Sulieman I, which soured relations even more with the Emperor, Karl V.

 

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Note the difference between the 1963 and 1964 5 cent coins. "Kenya attained independence on 12 December 1963 and was declared a republic on 1 June 1964 with Jomo Kenyatta as Head of State. In 1964 constitutional changes further centralised the government and various state organs were formed."

 

I have to say this "Finders Keepers" attitude to coins discovered in the ground is what rightly has got the archaeologists upset. A coin, and even more a hoard, discovered in the ground should be examined by scholars before it disappears into the coin collecting community. The failure to do so has now led to a gross overreaction by governments with all the new restrictions on exporting coins and having tp prove provenance. The British Portable Antiquities scheme struck a fair balance between the interests of archaeologists and historians on the one hand and metal detectors and coin collectors on the other. It has been very successful. It is a mystery to me why it has not been copied across Europe.

 

Here is a sad looking coin that tells an equally sad story:



This coin was struck under Frederik IV of Denmark and Norway, at the mint in Kongsberg, Norway. The master of the Kongsberg mint at that time was Henrik Christoffer Meyer, son of former mint master Henning Christoffer Meyer (1655-1723). Henrik took over his fathers job in 1719. His initials, HCM, are barely visible under "1727" on the reverse. (12 skilling 1718 added as a more readable example here:
)
In 1727, Meyer was late delivering the books from the mintage that year. Suspicions were raised, and as they started to look into the coinage, they were proven right: The small coinage of that year had a too high component of copper. The mint master had been fiddling with the purity of the coins, and although he tried to put the blame on counterfeiters someplace else but the mint, it didn't hold. The dies from Kongsberg were paired with the coins, and proved that this was the work of the Kongsberg mint. Meyer may have stolen as much as 40 000 daler (thaler/dollar) from the king.
Frederik IV was furious. Meyer got the harshest possible punishment: He was stripped of honour, life and property. The king later regretted the death sentence, and granted Meyer his life, but he was to be whipped, branded with glowing iron and spend the rest of his life in slavery at Akershus fortress. After two years of imprisonment, Meyer died of the harsh prison conditions. He was 40 years old.

The coinage from Kongsberg in 1728 does not have the H C M mintmark, only a single C, for "Comission". What it lacks in letters, it makes up for in weight. The 1727 8 skilling weighs 3.20 grams, while the 1728 issue weighs the correct 3.67 grams.


In 1729, Nicolai Bernhard Fuchs took over at the Kongsberg mint, and the new signature N B F appeared on the coins. Things were back to normal.

 

French coins from the time of the revolution. I think the "L'an 5" or year 5 equals 1796, and the year 7 = 1798. Mint mark A must mean Paris.

 

AV Solidus ND Constantinople Mint
Nicephorus/ son Stauricus 802-12AD
Byzantine Empire

He organized a coup against Irene/ Byzantine Empress with the help of the disgruntled army/ nobles / enuchs....
Now he made himself Emperor, some of the Army generals organized a palace coup against him, but wherearrested and blinded as punishment.
By 803 he made his son Stauricus co-Emperor. He started a new foreign policy of not paying off his enemies. This started a War with Venice which he won. Next up, Harun al-Rashid the Umayyad Caliph mad about not getting his tribute money declared War on the Empire. He won a major victory over the Byzantine army at Krasos in 805. Then, Harun with 135K Arabs invaded the Byzantine Empire, seeing the light, Nicephorus agreed to pay him 50K AV Nomisma to make a truce, and pay the Arabs 30K Nomisma to be nice. In 809, Harun al-Rashid died, leading to a bitter succession struggle in Arabland. Now, he finally had the opportunity, to rid himself of the pesky Bulgars, in the Northwestern Front. In 811 He and his son headed a large Byzantine invasion army into Bulgaria. They defeated the Bulgar Khan "Krum" twice, and moved on to the Capital/ Pliska. Once there they totally sacked/ pillaged/ looted the City, to add insult to injury, also raped/ murdered the inhabitants, including the little kids. Laden down with booty, the victotious Bzyantine army marched back towards Constantinople. Meanwhile, Krum got back to Pliska and saw red, he decided to ambush the Byzantine Army in a mountain pass. They caught Nicephorus and crew with their pants down, wiped them out. Nicephorus was taken captive and sent to Pliska . Krum had his executioner remove his head, later made a "drinking cup" from the skull.

 

I picked up this AN 6 Centime raw and had it graded later.

This coin was minted during the French Revolution in which the people overthrew the Monarchy and gave way for Napoleon to Seize the thrown and later declare himself emperor all while appealing to the people of saving them from themselves.


I picked up this coin to accent a home display of the original decree Napoléon made to the people on 19 Brumaire after he conducted his Coup d'état.

The Translation goes:

19 Brumaire, Eleven pm

Upon my return in Paris, I found division in all authorities, and a consensus established on the sole truth that the Constitution was half destroyed and could not save freedom.

All parties came before me and disclosed their purpose, revealed their secret, and asked for my support. I refused to be an assigned man.

The Council of Elders called upon me, I answered their call. A general restoration plan had been prepared by men who the nation is used to seeing as defenders of freedom, of propriety. This plan called for a calm and free review, untainted from any influence and fear of repercussions. The Council of Elders has made the transference of the Legislature to St. Cloud, I was charged with the organization of the force needed for its independence. I thought owed it to my fellow citizens, to the soldiers perishing in our armies, to the national glory acquired at the cost of their lives, I accept the command (or leadership).

The Councils congregate in St. Cloud; the republican troops ensure our safety on the outside. But assassins create terror on the inside; several Deputies from the Council of Five Hundred, armed with daggers and firearms, are disseminating death threats.

The plans that were to be developed are being consolidated, the majority is disorganized, the most intrepid orators are baffled, and any wise council seems useless.

I am bringing my indignation and my pain to the Council of the Elders; I am asking the Council to ensure the execution of its generous purpose; I am presenting the Council with the woes of the country, for which they were created. They unite with me with new testimonies of their continuous will.

I present myself to the Council of the Five Hundred, alone, unarmed, bareheaded, as I had once been received and applauded by the Elders; I was there to remind the majority of its ambitions and to reassure it on its power.

The daggers threatening the deputies are immediately raised on their liberator; twenty assassins rush towards me and seek out my chest: (or . not sure) the grenadiers of the Legislature that I had left at the doors of the room rush in and stand between the assassins and myself, and I am one of those brave grenadiers. (Thame) is stabbed with a dagger and his clothed are pierced. They take me away.

At the same time, screams of the outlaws against the defender are heard. They were the fierce cries of the assassins, against the force destined to contain them.

They quickly gather around the president, with threats in their mouths, arms in hand; they order him to accuse the outlaw; I am warned; I give the order to wrench him from their fury, and six grenadiers of the Legislature charge into the room and have it evacuated.

The intimidated troublemakers are dispersed and pull away. The majority, cleared from their blows, walk freely and peacefully into the room of its sessions, hears out the proposals that had been made for the public (can’t read the word it might be debate), deliberates, and prepares the salutary resolution that is to become the new and provisional law of the Republic.

People of France, you will undoubtedly recognize, by this conduct, the zeal of a soldier of freedom, of a citizen devoted to the Republic. The conservative, protective, liberal ideas have claimed their rights by dispersing the dissidents that oppress the Councils, dissidents that, after having become the most odious of men, have not ceased to be the most irresponsible.

 

The history is so grisly but the coins are so beautiful and peaceful !

 

Here is a coin with a similar story but with a much less drastic outcome:

Germany MECKLENBURG Albrecht VII The Handsome 2 Schilling 1525 with countermark (1526)



Detail - Bull's head c/m



On 20 June 1523 Albrecht VII made an agreement, confirmed on 21 Jan.1524, with Stendhal mm Martin Fuege to produce 4000 Fl. of silver coins per month. Fuege did not fulfill the contract and around 1526 went to the Mecklenburg mint in Wittenberg and struck underweight false 2 Schilling, Dreiling and 1/4 Gulden. Forced to honour these coins, on 13 Dec. 1526 Albrecht decreed that good 2 Schillings should be countermarked with a bull's head and all others should be forbidden. Fuege appears to have escaped but the Gustrow mm, Moritz Schacht, was implicated in the affair and forced to pay Fl. 32,000 for the costs of redeeming the false coins.

 

Hey, thanks for the follow-up, @talerman ! Nice coin and good story

 

Learning some excellent history, with beautifull coins to boot/ who could ask for more then that Love that "Bull's Head" mm. Looks more like a Rottweiler Head though....

 

And Albrecht appears to be smoking a cigar !

 

I remember seeing Pope Alexander VI having a cigar on that Borgias mini series. His son brought back tobacco from the New World.

 

Wow, this thread sure has a lot of eye candy. Thanks to all.

 

Mouton d'or ND
Jean II Le Bon 1350-64
France
Jean II became King of France at a bad time. English armies occupied most of France. The "Black Death" had killed off fifty percent of the French population. To add insult to injury, marauding bands of rabble named Jacqueries where pillaging and causing havoc all over France. In 1356, he got crushed at the Battle of Poitiers, English longbowmen decimating the French heavy horsemen. He was taken prisoner to London, by 1360 his son (future Charles V) concluded the Treaty of Bretigy/ upon which France ceded Territory to the English, plus 3 million gold crowns. He died a broken man in 1364.

 

I have lived here in Thailand for many years and have accumulated a small collection of Buddhist religious amulets. Some look like coins, many look like these pendants. Most are bronze, brass or copper, some are ceramic. Here are 2 depicting Luang Phor Koon. He was quite famous and I figured he was the top monk in this province, and his wat (Buddhist temple) was the #1 wat in Nakhon Ratchisima province. I only ever saw him once, and never spoke with him. He was famous for enjoying the smoking of his hand rolled cigars. Here is part of a eulogy to him printed in the Bangkok Post:

Luang Phor Koon was born on Oct 4, 1923, to a poor family in Ban Rai, tambon Kud Phiman in Dan Khun Thod district, Nakhon Ratchasima. After his mother died when he was 11 years old, his father took him to become a temple assistant at Wat Ban Rai in Dan Khun Thod, where he learned the Thai and Khmer languages from senior monks.
He entered the monkhood at the age of 21 and vowed to remain a monk for life to help develop the quality of life of the poor residents of Dan Khun Thod district.

Luang Phor Koon learned Buddhism and meditation from revered monks in Nakhon Ratchasima. He made years-long pilgrimages to Laos and Cambodia to further practice meditation and promote Buddhism. He reportedly learned magic spells from one of his senior monks and mentors to protect him during his
pilgrimages.

Luang Phor Koon gradually became famous, with many believing that the amulets and talismans he produced and the objects he used gave magical powers and could miraculously protect wearers from gunshots.

His popularity led to considerable revenues from amulets and donations, which he
spent on the construction of schools, police stations, hospitals and temples. Media
reported that the overall expenditure exceeded 4 billion baht.
Luang Phor Koon once said that the money was not his, but came from donors
who wanted him to spend it in the public interest. He also told his followers not to
be obsessed with magical powers but to perform good deeds to enhance their
protection. His development projects brought the monk many royally-presented
honorary titles.

 

One of my personal favorites. A really hard coin to properly photograph but a Lion D'or Minted under the rule of the Count Louis (Lodewijk) de Maele. Count de Maele’s rule was one of the longest and moststable of the times (1346-1384), which set the stage for prosperity and creativity in the Low Countries for the next 300 years. This coin was struck between February 10, 1365 and August 5, 1370

 

Second GDJSMP. Lovely Mouton D'Or. Probably one of the nicest if not the nicest I've seen

 

Gordian III became Emperor in 238AD after the co-Emperors Balbinus and Pupienus where murdered by the Praetorian Guard. However, due to his young age, the newly appointed Prefect of the Praetorians was defacto Emperor. Timesitheus, was also Gordian's Father in Law. In 243AD the Roman Empire was fighting a two front War. In the Western Front, the Germans where on the march, taking territories. In the Eastern Front, the Sasanian, "King of Kings" Shapur I launched an invasion of Syria. Gordian marched East to meet the threat. At the Battle of Raseina in 243AD the Sasanians where defeated and forced into a retreat. At the same time Timesitheus died mysteriously, and Marcus Junius Philippus became the new prefect. Meanwhile near Ctesiphon, the Persians mounted a counterattack on the Romans. At Misiche, the Persians (Sasanians) won a decisive victory, resulting in huge losses, and death of Gordian. It is thought that Philippus (later Emperor) had a hand in it.