Quarantine Diary

Day 118: Jersey, 1/12 Shilling, 1945 Liberation Commemorative

Though these commemorate the 1945 liberation of the Island of Jersey from the
Nazi occupation, I believe these were actually minted in 1949 and 1950. A 1952
version with Queen Elizabeth II was also made, again with no date mentioned
except 1945.

The Channel Islands were essentially indefensible after the fall of France, so the UK
made no plans to put up a fight for them. They were occupied from 1940-1945.
The Channel Islands were some of the only British Crown possessions successfully
occupied by the Axis Powers during the war.

 

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Day 119: Japan, 1 Mon, Osaka mint, series started 1741

I believe this is Hartill 4.197, with the crown of "hou" 寶　sloping slightly up to the
left. The "gen" on the reverse refers to the Genbun (元文) Era (1736-41) of the
Tokugawa Period. However, according to Hartill, this series didn't start until 1741,
when the Genbun Period was already ending. They were minted for several years
into the next Imperial Period with the end date unknown. According to Krause,
these were made of copper, bronze or brass. Iron coins exist too, but not of this
particular series.

 

Day 120: Well, 120 days is a triple quarantine, which is rather a long time. When I started this diary, the initial shutdowns were described as likely to last a few weeks,
to slow down the rate of infection growth and give hospitals a chance to stock up on
things like masks, gloves and ventilators so as not to be overwhelmed. A good
thing--I'm not complaining! But it looks like quarantine is not going to end in a
definite way, but to slowly phase out, varying by region.

Coin stores were closed, along with most other retail businesses. As a hopeless coin
addict, I hoped to provide some entertainment to those missing coins by posting
some of my old, previously unsorted coins and researching a bit about them. I've
certainly learned quite a few things I hadn't known along the way. Thanks to all for
reading, and for the thoughtful comments along the way. I'll continue to post coins
in other threads as appropriate, such as the Newest Acquisitions thread. But for the
diary portion, at least, I'm wrapping it up as of today. It's been fun!

France, 25 Centimes, 1903

Not an especially rare type, but only made for 2 years from 1903-4. I thought this
one was in attractive condition and very modestly priced, and I didn't have an
example of this type previously.

 

Enjoyable thread. You've kept me entertained, at least.