Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 24670609, member: 112&quot;]What you have to understand Randy is that when a coin is referred to as a &quot;plague&quot; coin there is a bit more to it than just the fact that it was minted during the plague. The time period/s during the plague were times of great difficulty that affected all aspects of life - including any and all of those that had anything to do with the minting of coins. From the mines where the silver originated resulting in shortages, to those who transported it to the mints, to the smelters, to the die engravers, to literally anyone and everyone that had anything to do with minting coins. A large percentage of the population was dead or dying so there simply weren&#039;t people to perform those task during these periods.</p><p><br /></p><p>And example of this would be the very design of the coin itself - notice its simplicity. Normally coins of this time period have very elaborate and complicated designs. But not this one, and that&#039;s probably because there was a shortage or even a complete lack of die engravers. So it&#039;s likely that an apprentice performed the work you see on the coin because that&#039;s all he or they were capable of.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are also many other examples of coins from throughout Europe that are referred to as siege coins, because the period during a siege is also a time of great difficulty. So there are usually several specifics that make siege coins different from those struck during ordinary times much as the one you&#039;re referring to is different from those struck during ordinary times. </p><p><br /></p><p>So while &quot;plague&quot; is a negative reference in many ways its primary intent here is to refer to a time of great difficulty.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in