Hello, recently started buying medals and quickly became confused with the Paris mint edge markings that are supposed to be used to determine the strike year of the medal. I see tons of conflicting information about the cornucopia symbol that is used. Exonumia.com states "Used Jan. 1, 1880 to 1898, 1901." This same thing is mentioned in the book Medallic Portraits of Washington. However, Benjamin Weiss' website(which appears to be a reliable resource) states that it was used from 1880 on. I do know that they started adding the year either in the 50s or 60s. Obviously, both websites can't be right. So, does anyone know the real facts about when the cornucopia image was used on the Paris medals. I have John Paul Jones paris restrike that has the cornucopia image plus the word bronze on the edge and would love to nail down the approximate date of mintage. Any input would be appreciated!
The Monnaies de Paris has been striking metals since the 16th century, and the edge imprint simply identified the Paris Mint. During this period, there had been a lot of problems with counterfeiting, especially where the use of precious metals was needed, so in 1841, the Paris Mint changed their procedure allowing the Director of the Mint to choose the symbol used on the edge during his term of office. In 1880, the Mint standardized the symbol using the cornucopia, and it was sometime in the 1960's that the Mint modified this so that the year of mintage could be identified. Maybe the page linked below will help you. Chris http://www.exonumia.com/art/art_04.htm
Just a quick note regarding a comment on that (otherwise helpful!) page: "Paris Mint officials state the intent is to progress through the Greek alphabet for each new year." No, the alpha (in the sense of "beginning") was only used on 2002 collector coins ... Christian
This is exactly what I'm talking about...the previous post states that it was used into the 60's when the year was added but the website you have referenced which I'm very familiar with states that the cornucopia was "Used Jan. 1, 1880 to 1898, 1901.". Again...conflicting information. I'm sure your answer is right and I greatly appreciate the information but I just wish I could find one resource that clearly confirms that it was used into the 60's when the year was added.
No conflict, the first statement indicates the use of JUST the cornucopia, no date. That was done from 1880 to 1898 and again in 1901. The second part is the use of the cornucopia WITH a date, started in the 1960's.
I've been known to "beat a dead horse" but I most definitely see a conflict. The conflict is this: Chris above implies(but doesn't flat out say) that it was used continuously from 1880 up until the 1960's when a year was added but the link he provides says something completely different(i.e. Used Jan. 1, 1880 to 1898, 1901). This is a big difference from used continuously into the 1960's when a year was added. Don't get me wrong...I believe Chris' information is correct but I have only seen a single resource(Benjamin Weiss website) that even mentions that the cornucopia might have possibly been used later than 1901. Exonumia.com even states that no mint edge markings were used from 1897-1920. I would just jump for joy if someone could show me credible documentation that EXACTLY outlines when the cornucopia symbol was used. I have a couple of medals with the cornucopia symbol and the word "bronze" so EXACTLY when the cornucopia symbol was used would be nice to know.
The image of the Monnaie de Paris' cornucopia is often unrecognizable, as some commenters have noted. In my research on the 1970-release of South Korea's first commemorative coins, I found that the different (or privy mark) of the cornucopia looks like a ...fish, or a pidgeon? Here's the link. Scroll down to see the image of a gold coin's Paris Mint privy mark: http://dokdo-research.com/fivemillenia.html
Okay, so confirmation of the dates of use for the cornucopia symbol by the Paris mint remains a mystery. How can this not be documented somewhere? I love medal collecting but it can be frustrating sometimes!
I've tried to find the date ranges for that mark, too, but with no luck. Has someone tried searching in French? Use search terms like, differént, Monnaie de Paris, and whatever "cornucopia", and "medal" is in French.
Try using these search terms at google: differént monnaie de Paris "corne d'abondance" I found the following at the top of the results page: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Différent_(numismatique) http://www.poinconor.com/les-poinco...e-de-paris-simple-corne-dabondance-1880-1996/ Just get the pages you find at google translated into your native language (if it's not French) and voila...
Okay, I've definitely found multiple resources on the web stating that it was used from 1880 to either present or 1996. Either way, I'm satisfied. Thanks mlov43! Never thought to search in French!
Yeah, original language searches can yield impressive results (after all, those medals are from the PARIS mint). Especially in countries (like France, I'm assuming) where there must be a fair quantity of coin/medal collectors who create related content on the internet.
