Quarantine Diary

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by The Eidolon, Mar 20, 2020.

  1. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 53: Grand Duchy of Würzburg 3 Kreuzer 1807

    Würzburg was formerly a bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire. It was secularized in 1803, given to Bavaria, then given instead to Ferdinand III to compensate him for the loss of Salzburg. It was an Electorate briefly, and then was bumped up to a Grand Duchy. Würzburg existed as a Grand Duchy from 1805-1814 and issued a few coins. Then it was given back to Bavaria, where it still remains.

    I love all the short-lived states and changes of rulers during the Napoleonic Era. Glad I didn't have to live through it, though!
    Grand Duchy of Würzburg 3 Kreuzer 1807.jpeg
     
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  3. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 54: Netherland East Indies, 1 Duit, 1809, Louis Napoleon

    Another Napoleonic Era coin! When France conquered the Netherlands, Napoleon needed someone he could trust on the throne, so he placed his little brother Louis in charge. Along with the Netherlands, France also gained control of Dutch colonial holdings, at least for a little while. The British invaded and conquered much of the Netherland East Indies in 1810-1811, giving them back to the Netherlands after Napoleon's defeat.

    Anyway, turns out Napoleon couldn't trust his brother after all. Louis Napoleon tried to build up independent popularity in the Netherlands separate from his French backing. Emperor Napoleon was more interested in cancelling much of French debt from Dutch merchants and having the region under direct military control. Louis resisted, and Napoleon forced him to abdicate. "Brother, when they say of some king or other that he is good, it means that he has failed in his rule."
    Dutch East Indies 1809 Louis Napoeon.jpeg


    Bonus coin: 2 Stuiver copper "bonk" money, Netherland East Indies, 1810.

    These were emergency money cut from copper bars imported from Japan, due to the disruption in coinage supplies from Europe during the Napoleonic Wars.
    2 Stuiver 1810 Indonesia.jpeg
     
  4. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 55: (West) Germany, Silver 5 Marks Commemorative, 1973
    Celebrates the 500th anniversary of the birth of Copernicus (or "Kopernikus")

    An unusually modern coin compared to what I usually collect. I happen to remember getting this circa 1997 for more than melt value but less than face value. Based on 1997 prices, 5 marks would have been worth about $2.85, and it had 11.2 g of .625 fine silver. If silver was about $4.74 in 1997, that's only about $1.07 in melt value. The package has $5.00 crossed out, but I think he had them for sale for $2.50 or so.

    Germany 5 Marks 1973.jpeg
     
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  5. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 56: Venezuela 1912 5 Bolívares

    I don't have anything much of interest to say about this coin though.
    Venezuela 1912 5 Bolívares.jpeg
     
  6. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 57 (a little early): Four Dragons
    From L: Japan, 2 Sen, Meiji 15 = 1882
    China, Qing Dynasty (Guanxu), 10 Cash, Hu-Peh Province, Undated 1902-5
    Korea, Joseon Dynasty year 505 = 1896, 5 Fun
    Ob.jpg Rev.jpg
     
  7. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 57 bonus entry:
    Nürnberg Queen Anne Vigo Bay Expedition Token 1702
    "ANNA. D. G. MAG. BR. FR. ET HIB. R. LGL" (Lazarus Gottlieb Lauffer of Nürnberg)
    "ANGLOR. ET. BATAV. VIRTVTE
    INCENS. CLASSE OPES AMERIC. INTER CEPT. 1702."
    I can't find much about this token outside of this Numista entry.
    Nürnberg Queen Anne Vigo Bay Expedition Token 1702.jpeg
     
  8. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 58: Schleswig-Holstein 1 Sechsling 1787
    Obverse: Monogram of Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway, and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
    Reverse: "1 SECHSLING SCHLESW-HOLST SCHEIDERMUNZ 1787"

    I think this was a single year type. Schleswig-Holstein seems to have only minted its own money intermittently. The design feels a bit more Scandinavian than German States to my eye. They made about 6 million of these, but they are not especially cheap, especially in better condition. I wonder if some of them were melted down.

    According to my guide, the monetary system has 4 dreiling = 2 sechsling = 1 schilling, 60 schilling = 1 sepciesdaler
    Schleswig-Holstein 1 Sechsling 1787.jpeg
     
  9. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 59: Danish West Indies coins (now the US Virgin Islands)

    The Danish West indies had a bit of an odd monetary system. Up to the mid-1800s then had the rigsdaler, which equaled 96 skilling. This was parallel to the system in use in Denmark at the time, but the West Indian version was worth only 4/5 of the Danish one. (Why 96 skilling? 12 penning = 1 skilling, 16 skilling = 1 mark, 6 mark = 1 ridsdaler. Oh, and 8 mark = 1 krone. So 16 x 6 = 96 skilling to the rigsdaler.)
    By the time the Danish West Indies had its own money, the penning was too small a denomination to be in use, so the skilling was the smallest monetary unit.

    After decimalization in 1849, 100 cents equaled 1 daler. However, there was a parallel system worth 1/5 as much, with 100 bits = 1 franc. Based on the gold content of the West Indian gold 20 francs/4 dalers, (6.4516 g .900 fine), which was the exact same standard as the French 20 francs at the time it was adopted, I believe the Danish West Indian monetary system was based on the French one. Why France and not Denmark? I'm guessing the presence of the nearby French Caribbean colonies, which were quite wealthy at the time, made their money more likely than to be encountered that of the Danish homeland.

    The coins below were dual-denominated, in both bits and cents. Both are from 1905, and seem to have been single-year types. The Danish West Indies only minted coinage occasionally anyway. Denmark sold the colony to the United States during World War 1, in 1917. I believe Denmark was neutral in that war, but having a money-losing and hard-to-defend colony in the Caribbean must have been an unattractive burden when surrounded by a World War which wrecked commerce. The US changed the name to the Virgin Islands, but kept the daler currency unit for 17 years. In 1934 they switched from the daler to the dollar, which I find somehow hilarious because I am immature. (1 US dollar = 1.0363 daler)

    As for the symbolism on the reverse, I haven't found a specific reference. It doesn't seem to be from the Danish coat of arms. I see a trident, sickle and caduceus crossed, which I interpret to represent the basis of the economy: fishing (trident), agriculture (sickle) and trade (caduceus, the symbol of Hermes, patron god of commerce, and confused health insurance companies).

    10 bit.jpeg
    5 bit.jpeg
     
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  10. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 60: I ran out us usable photos again, except for a few blurry ones I need to retake. So I got out some billon coins and took photos over the weekend.

    Why make coins out of billon (a silver alloy with more than 50% base metal)?
    Here are a few overlapping reasons that have been used:
    1) To conceal a debasement.
    2) To keep coins at a familiar size after a debasement.
    3) To allow coins of a small denomination to still have value based on silver content.
    4) To allow small-value silver coins to not be impractically small.

    And why are billon coins mostly no longer used:
    1) Improved minting technology allowed copper and other base-metal coins to be circulated at face value higher than metal value. (Copper was widely counterfeited.)
    2) Billon was seen as a "waste" of silver. It was not widely accepted in international trade, and the silver is expensive to recover to a purer form.
    3) It is hard for ordinary people to assess the value by weighing.
    4) It is relatively bulky for small purchases.

    Anyway, for today: Corsica, 4 Soldi Billon, 1764, Pasquale Paoli

    This was during the Corsican Republic, after independence from Genoa (1755) and before the conquest by France (1768). Paoli was exiled after the conquest, but returned during the French Revolution, which he initially supported. He turned against it after the execution of Louis XVI. Apparently, when ordered to conquer Sardinia, Paoli sent his nephew with secret orders to fail in the invasion. Napoleon was infuriated. Corsica rebelled and became a British protectorate briefly, from 1794-1796. France retook the island, and Paoli lived out his life in exile in the UK.
    Corsica 4 Soldi 1764 Pasquale Paoli.jpeg
     
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  11. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 61: Two 1/12 thalers from Meckenburg

    At first I thought there was a debasement, because the 1848 one is 0.500 fine, and the 1849 is 0.375 fine. But Mecklenburg was actually divided into two different states, each with its own ruler and money. The 0.375 one (lower) is slightly heavier at 3.25 g vs. 2.44 g. So the silver content is almost exactly the same.

    Top: Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1/12 Thaler, 1848
    "FRIEDRICH FRANZ V.G.G. GROSSHERZOG V. MECKLENB.SCH."

    Bottom: Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 4 Schillinge, 1849
    "GEORG V.G.G. GROSSHERZOG V. MECKLENB.STR."
    Meklenburg-Schwerin 1848 1:12 Thaler Friedrich Franz II.jpeg Meklenburg-Strelitz 1849 4 Schillinge Georg 0.375 billon.jpeg

    And a map showing the two states. Source
    map.jpg
     
  12. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 62: Austria 6 Kreuzer, 1849 C (Prague, Bohemia) Billon 0.4375

    This is a pretty common coin--Numista says they minted over a quarter billion of them. It's a fake single-year type: they were minted with the 1849 date intermittently from 1849-1862. The C mint mark for Prague is a little less common, and was only made from 1849-51.

    1849 was a momentous year for Austria. Germany had elected a National Assembly in the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1848 and was attempting to draw up a constitution for a united government. The question was what role Austria should play. It was a multiethnic empire with a large non-German population. If only the German part of Austria were admitted to the new German state, Austria feared that this division would lead to nationalistic unrest in the remainder of its empire, and eventually lead to the dissolution of the Austrian Empire. The "Lesser Germany" faction won out in the German Assembly, and the King of Prussia was offered the position of Emperor (which he initially refused), leaving Austria mostly on the sidelines of a united German state.
    Austria 1849 C 6 Kreuzer 0.4375.jpeg
     
  13. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 63: Continuing the billion photo series, some Prussian silber groschen

    Top: 1824 A, Friedrich Wilhelm III, 0.222 fine
    Bottom: 1872 A Wilhelm I, 0.222 fine
    Prussia 1824 1 Silber Groschen Friedrich Wilhelm III 0.222.jpeg
    Prussia 1872 A 1 Silber Groschen Wilhelm 1 0.222.jpeg

    Prussia seems to have used a variety if different silver finenesses for its denominational coinage, from 0.222 for the 1/2 and 1 silber groschen, up to 0.900 for the double thaler. At 30 silber groschen to the thaler, I made a little chart of all the 1800s Prussian silver denominations to show what fraction of full bodied they were compared to the thaler.

    Chart.jpeg
    The smaller denominations contain only about 87% silver content for their value. Keeping small denominations slightly underweight was a common practice in multiple countries in response to chronic shortages of silver small change. This made small change less attractive targets to be melted or exported. Oddly, two of the denominations from before the 1821 currency standardization seem to have been significantly overweight compared to the thaler. These were the 4 groschen (made until 1809) and the 2/3 thaler (made until 1810). I don't believe Prussia was on the gold standard yet, so I'm not sure how these could have coexisted at the same time as the thaler, which was consistent in weight and fineness over this era. In spite of the variations in fineness, the rest of the larger denominations from the 5 groschen up to the double thaler all have about the same silver content per unit.

    The silber groschen also provides a nice example of why small coins were made out of billon. At 2.19 g of 0.222 fineness, it only contained 0.4842 g of silver content. If it had been made of 90% silver with the same value, it would have needed to be a tiny coin weighing only about 0.54 grams. Comparing that to the smallest US silver coins from the 1800s, like the 1.35 g half dime or the 0.75 g Type II 3-cent piece, you can see how impractical that would have been. And a half silber groschen would have been even tinier, only 0.27 grams if made at 90% fineness. Anyway, if one wanted to make small-denomination coinage out of silver, billon alloy was the only practical way to make them large enough to handle.

    Countries like England with a strong tradition of not changing the fineness of silver denominations (at least until Henry VIII's debasements) did make silver halfpennies and farthings (about 0.4 grams) with tiny weights, but they were probably no more practical than cutting a silver penny in half as needed.
    ob.jpg
     
  14. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 64: Zurich Billon 1 Schilling, 1725

    Obverse: "MONET REIP THURI GENSIS"
    Reverse: "I SCHIL LING 1725 DOMINE CONSERVA NOS IN PACE"

    I always wanted some Swiss regional issues, but haven't seen them come up very often. Turns out I already had one. I can't count how many times something like that happens. This one was quite affordable. The packaging says I paid the princely sum of $2.50 for it.
    Zurich 1725 1 Schilling Billon.jpeg
     
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  15. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 65: United Nassau, 6 Kreuzer, 1835, Duke Wilhelm, Billon 0.375 fine

    "United" Nassau refers to the union of Nassau-Usingen with Nassau-Weilburg in 1806, under pressure from Napoleon. For some reason, I associate Nassau with the Netherlands, but the House of Nassau-Orange is a different branch of the family. Nassau sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. It held its own against Prussia, but would up annexed by Prussia anyway. Helps to pick a senior partner with a little better win-loss record in wars than Austria, I guess.

    This coin was issued under Duke Wilhelm (ruled 1816-1839). He was the father of Queen Sophia of Sweden and Norway (she married Oscar II), so many modern European royal families are descended from that line.
    United Nassau 6 Kreuzer 1835 Wilhelm Billon 0.375.jpeg
     
  16. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 66: Bavaria, 1814, 6 Kreuzer, King Maximillian I Joseph, 0.333 Billon

    Another Napoleonic Era billion German states coin. I did a little reading on Bavaria in the Napoleonic Wars this morning. Turns out they changed sides multiple times. Bavaria was squeezed between Revolutionary France and the Austrian Empire, both of which had designs on its territory. In spite of this precarious position, Bavaria actually did quite well for itself by changing sides at opportune times. (See maps below)
    Bavaria 1814 6 Kreuzer Max I Joseph.jpeg

    Here are 2 maps of Germany in 1789 and 1815. Bavaria is light green, just west of Austria, first as an electorate (until 1805) and then as a kingdom ("Königreich Bayern" on the lower map).
    Map_of_the_Holy_Roman_Empire,_1789_en.png Deutscher_Bund.png

    As a member of the Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria was compelled to side with Austria against Revolutionary France in 1800. Austria lost, and Bavaria had to give some of its western lands to France. Maximilian was reluctantly convinced by his minister, Maximilian von Montgelas, to ally with France.

    Napoleon encouraged a policy of consolidation among the German States. He seized territories for France in the west, and paid off the states losing territory by giving them land from smaller states and bishoprics. This process of mediatisation (placing an intermediate authority between smaller states and the Holy Roman Emperor) and secularization (placing church lands under temporal control) had winners and losers. But the winners were usually the larger and more powerful states, who were happy to be bought off with territorial gains.

    Bavaria was one of these winners, being elevated to a kingdom from an electorate. Austria was defeated by France with Bavarian aid in the Battle of Austerlitz on 1805. As a reward, Bavaria received Austrian territory in Tyrol and Voralberg in the Treaty of Pressburg. Bavaria sent troops for Napoleon's disastrous Russian invasion of 1812, losing thirty thousand of them.

    Souring on its alliance with France, Bavaria switched sides to join the Sixth Coalition in return for guarantees of its independence and territorial integrity. After Napoleon's loss at the Battle of Leipzig, Bavaria was rewarded with the former bishopric of Würzburg in exchange for returning Tyrol to Austria. It also exchanged Salzburg to Austria for the parts of The Palatinate which it had earlier lost to France. This would have been in 1814, the same year as the coin above, as part of the Treaty of Paris. As the maps show, Bavaria came out of the whole debacle significantly larger and more powerful than it was at the start.
     
  17. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 67: 1 Kreuzer, Free Imperial City of Frankfurt, Undated 1839-40, 0.167 Billon

    Frankfurt 1839-40 1 Kreuzer 0.167 Billon.jpeg
     
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  18. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 68: Continuing the billon series...

    Duchy of Württemberg, 1 Kreuzer, Billon, 1769
    Ob: CAROLVS D:G: DUX WURT
    Rev: 17 69 1
    Duchy of Württemberg 1 Kreuzer Billon 1769.jpeg
     
  19. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 68 Bonus entry: two 19th century Saxe-Meiningen billon coins

    Top: Saxe-Meiningen, 6 Kreuzer, 1832, Bernhard II, 0.347 fine
    Bottom: Saxe-Meiningen, 3 Kreuzer, 1836, Bernhard II, 0.305 fine
    Saxe-Meiningen 6 Kreuzer 1832 Bernhard II 0.347.jpeg
    Saxe-Meiningen 3 Kreuzer 1836 Bernhard II 0.305.jpeg
     
  20. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 69: Another billon coin, I think.

    France, Charles VII, Blanc, Undated (1422-61?), St. Lô, Billon
    France Charles VII Blanc 1422-61 St. Lô Billon.jpeg
    Numista seems to just list this type as "silver," and I can't find a specific entry for St. Lô. I don't have many reference books for before 1600. Here's a similar one on MA Shops which mentions billon composition. The Numista entry mentions a lot of different versions with subtle changes in the text around the perimeter. Mine has 5 pointed stars at around 11:30 and 4:00. Some have secret marks, "point secret", which I assume are anti-counterfeiting devices.

    Obverse: "KAROLVS FRANCORVM REX"
    Reverse: "SIT NOME DNI BENEDICTVM"

    A lot of that is not readable on mine, unfortunately. The center looks pretty clear on the obverse, so I'm wondering if much of the lost edge detail is from the quality of the strike rather than wear. I still have a lot to learn about medieval coins.

    BTW, Charles VII was the king whose own dad disinherited him to give the throne of France to England. That's why Henry VI was crowned as both king of England and France. England suffered some abrupt reverses in the 100 Years' War shortly thereafter, and under Joan of Arc, France regained most of the territory lost to England, except Calais.
     
  21. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Day 70: From a blanc to a blanca
    This is the end of the billon photo series. I hope that you have enjoyed them!

    Spain, 1497-1566, Billon 1 Blanca = 1/2 Maravedi
    Obverse: Monogram "F" for King Ferdinand II of Aragon. I think the "C" is Cuenca
    Mint. Some unreadable text should be: "+ FERNANDVS: ET: ELISABET:"
    Reverse: Monogram of Isabella I of Castile "+ REX: ET: REGINA: CAST: LEGI"
    These were also issued in their names under Charles V from 1516-1566
    Spain 1497-1566 Cuenca 1 Blanca.jpeg

    On a side note, Spain was one of the first European countries in Late Medieval/Early Modern times to experiment with copper coinage. The copper "vellón" (literally billon in Spanish, after the coins like these it replaced) coinage started in 1596. The cylinder press allowed mass production of copper coinage which was less easily counterfeited, allowing copper coins to circulate for more than metal value. All that was required for a successful copper token coinage was for the issuing authority to limit supply enough for them to hold their value. Spain failed spectacularly at this.
     
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