I’ve already posted a Top Ten Ancients of 2020, but I’ve also collected a few younger coins – where 1561 counts as younger! Other members’ lists have been inspiring me for 2021, so here’s my ‘modern’ contribution. In chronological order: 1. Elizabeth I Three Halfpence, 1561 Tower mint (London, England). Silver, 0.71g. Third issue, bust 3G, medium flan, large rose, small shield. Mintmark pheon. E · D · G · ROSA · SINE · SPINA. CIVI TAS LON DON (S 2569). It’s been surprisingly difficult to find a coin of Elizabeth I with a bust that isn’t mangled. This was the best I could do, even if it is small and mushy. It’s also one of her more interesting denominations. The three halfpence (along with the three farthings) was minted to allow sellers to provide change in the absence of farthings or halfpennies. The Royal Mint wouldn’t stoop to copper, and silver farthings and halfpennies were too small. The only other three halfpennies produced were for use in Ceylon and the West Indies in the 1800s. 2. Shah Jahan Rupee, 1628 Delhi, India. Silver, AH1037. 11.21g. Kalima Shahada (There is no God but Allah). Sahib-e-qiran-i Sani Shahjahan Badshah Ghazi (The Second Lord of Auspicious Conjunction Shah Jahan the Emperor) (KM 222.7). The ‘First Lord of Conjunction’ is assumed to have been both Alexander the Great and Timur. Perhaps not his most beautiful creation – he built one or two attractive buildings in India too – but this is a handsome, sturdy coin from a ruler who was at the peak of the Mughal Empire. It wasn’t expensive either, although with lockdown restrictions it took 4 months to arrive. Shah Jahan didn’t have an entirely positive impact on numismatics. He banned and melted down the Zodiac coins issued by one of his predecessors for being un-Islamic, as they featured human figures. The death penalty was imposed on anyone found using them. Instead, he reintroduced the Kalima on his coins, as on the obverse above. 3. Charles I Ninepence, 1645 Newark, England. Silver klippe, siege coinage. 4.43g. Royal cypher, C R IX (King Charles 9 pence). OBS Newark (Siege of Newark) 1645 (S 3144). Charles I had to flee northwards when parliament finally turned on him. The people of Newark supported him, but for their trouble ended up having to eat dogs and strike coins out of their finest silver. I went on at length about the Stuarts and their coinage here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-stuarts-remember-the-5th-of-november.369495/ 4. Commonwealth Shilling, 1651 London, England. Silver. 32mm, 5.8g. THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND, sun mintmark. English and Irish shields, value XII (shilling), GOD WITH VS (S 3217). From one side of the English Civil War to the other. Who doesn’t find Civil Wars interesting? And we can own souvenirs! The sun mintmark on this shilling shows it was struck under Oliver Cromwell. (Richard Cromwell’s – with an anchor mintmark – cost five times as much as these already-expensive coins). These were the first and last English coins to feature legends entirely in English, since Latin was seen as Roman Catholic. They are big and impressive as well as full of history. 5. Charles II Eight Reales, 1676 Potosí, Peru (now Bolivia). Silver, 40mm, 17.93g. Assayer E (Antonio de Ergueta). Pillars and waves, PLV·SVL·TRA, POTOSI ANO 1676 EL PERV, mintmark P. Quarterly of Lions and Castles, CAROLUS II D G HISPAN (KM 26). The 8 reales is such a big part of world folklore that it has several names (cob, Spanish dollar, piece of eight...) It was the first international currency. The US and Canadian dollars, Japanese yen and Chinese yuan were based on versions of it. It was also the prevalent currency during the Golden Age of Piracy (c1650 to 1720), which has given it something of an aura, even if no pirate ever did bury one under an X. This cob was recovered from the Santa Maria de la Consolación, a Spanish South Sea Armada galleon, lost in 1681. There was a delay in getting their 100,000-dollar cargo to them at Callao, Chile (which came from central Bolivia by llama and mule) so the rest of the Armada went on without them. They knew pirates were in the area, under the command of the notorious buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp, which may be why they decided to hastily ground on Santa Clara Island, Ecuador, nicknamed ‘Island of the Dead’. They hit a reef in the process. They set the ship on fire to prevent it being plundered. 6. William III Shilling, 1700 London, England. Silver, type V shilling. 26.00mm, 6.20g. Edge milled diagonally. GVLIELMVS III DEI GRATIA. MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX (S 3516). I tend to avoid milled coins because of the market’s eagerness for grading. For me, that puts too much focus on minute degrees of wear. Grading companies have zero tolerance for environmental damage or cleaning regardless of the impact, and values fluctuate wildly on whatever rim dents or scratches they deem acceptable or not. It’s just stressful thinking about it. Even so, I do like good-looking historical coins. William III of Orange wasn’t a good-looking man, which must knock a few points off this coin’s grade. But his flowing locks and distinctive nose make for a unique, eye-catching portrait, particularly on a larger coin. For me, it’s MS-70 with a green sticker. Except I can hold it in my hand. 7. Peter I the Great Five Kopeks, 1725 Kadashevsky Mint, Moscow, Russia. Copper, date upwards, МД R. 19.8g. Netted edge (Bit 3719 R). I have a fair collection of Russian coins and Peter the Great is, for me, the most important Tsar, both historically and numismatically. He westernised Russia and reformed the coinage, replacing scrappy wire kopeks with huge, beautiful coins like this. This coin was continued in identical form under Katherine I, Peter II and Anna, which helps if you want an attractive one for a good price. 8. George III Emergency Issue Half Dollar, 1797 on a Charles IIII Four Reales, 1791 Madrid, Spain, countermarked in London, England. Silver, MF. 32.5mm, 13.5g. Oval countermark of George III and other trade countermarks (S 3767). George III had what I think was the most interesting coinage in modern British history, as I described here https://www.cointalk.com/threads/george-iiis-numismatic-menagerie-part-i.366092/. Such was the mess the coinage was in, he even issued coins with an enemy monarch’s face on them. In 1797, a failed invasion of Wales by the French caused financial panic. Gold and silver coins were hoarded. The Royal Mint was already struggling to support rapid industrial expansion. Coins were replaced by new 1 and 2 pound notes and the Bank of England began to act as a substitute mint. For smaller change, they distributed foreign silver coins they’d accumulated in reserve. The Mint countermarked the Spanish 4 and 8 reales with a portrait of George III on the neck of Charles IIII of Spain (“the head of a fool on the neck of an ass”). I suspect the other countermarks made this coin more affordable, but I prefer them, as they’re not badly placed. It’s how the coin was used, like punches on a ticket, with George III's the last to be applied. This coin has had quite a life and it wouldn’t be as interesting if it was shiny and unblemished. 9. Paul I Five Kopeks, 1797 Ekaterinburg, Russia. Copper. 5 kopeks 1793 (Catherine II the Great) struck over 10 kopeks 1796 (Catherine II the Great). 42.13g. Netted edge (Bit P101; Conros 180/195 R1). Overstriking was common in Russia. It happened when weight standards changed or when a new Tsar wanted their predecessor forgotten, i.e. very often. In 1797, Paul wanted to obliterate his mother’s unpopular reduced coinage of 1796 (when the value of a ruble was halved). He wanted, I’m sure, to erase her memory with it, but he also wanted someone to blame for re-striking 2 million new lightweight coins. So, he overstruck her new design – with her old one. Some coins were re-struck 4 times, but it’s rare to see traces of even 3. Mine shows 2. It was originally a ‘cypher’ 10 kopek from 1796, with the new design struck at 45 degrees. The left-hand image still shows the 10 between 2 and 3 o’clock, and the end of the word десять (ten) emerges through the middle at the same angle. The date is between 7 and 8 o’clock. On the right-hand image are the 10 dots of the old design. A second crown fades into the eagle on the left. The remainder of the old E monogram obstructs the new denomination, пять копѣекъ, on the banner at the bottom. Two coins in one! 10. George III Three Shilling Bank Token, 1813 London. Silver, 35mm, 15g. GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA REX. BANK TOKEN 3 SHILL (S 3770). Another legacy of George III’s coinage troubles. This huge, handsome coin of a fascinatingly ugly monarch was issued during the Napoleonic Wars and a self-inflicted coin shortage. This (and the eighteenpence) were not Crown coinage as they were minted by the Bank of England not the Royal Mint, so were classed as bank tokens. Thank you for reading! My Top Ten Ancients are here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/john-conduitts-top-10-ancients-of-2020.371045/. Here’s to a better 2021. Only a few days to go now...
Wow, you picked up some amazing pieces this year. I find numbers 3 and 4 to be particularly interesting. The coins are appealing enough, but their historical backstory is in a different league. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for posting your amazing "younger" coins. You and I share the same interest in Ancients/ Medieval/ to so called more modern issues. Your English pieces are beautifull. John
Likewise. The Commonwealth and Billie3 shillings as well. The Shah Jahan rupee is lovely. That's an understatement, considering one of them was the Taj Mahal. Coins with only Arabic script and little to no pictorial design elements didn't used to interest me much. But over time, I've evolved a bit, and learned to appreciate their calligraphic beauty. I even added one to my collection, and it is actually one of my favorite pieces. Thanks for sharing these. I gave your list a "like" last night, but didn't have time to comment further. I like them all. The Russians, too.
Thanks for sharing a quite fascinating group of coins. I like your taste in historical coinage. I found the Charles I klippe most interesting.
