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jgenn

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Journal Entries posted by jgenn

  1. jgenn

    Decimalization

    By jgenn,


    Venezolano
    One aspect of monetary reform taken by almost all nations was to change the subdivision of a currency into units of 10 and 100.  The main benefit was to simplify calculations for accounting purposes and was often undertaken to align with trading partners.  Nations often changed the size and weight of their coins as part of monetary reforms and sometimes changed the name of their currency.  Typically, these changes allowed the issuing authorities to reduce the amount of precious metal without the commensurate change in official value. For world crowns in the 19th Century, many nations settled on 25 grams and 37 mm for their largest silver coins. An important standard was set in 1865 when France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland formed the Latin Monetary Union.    Decimalization occurred in many of the former Spanish colonies in the Americas in the middle of the 19th century as these new nations moved away from the 27 gram 8 reales standard to 25 grams and several of these nations joined the Latin Monetary Union to facilitate trade with Europe.  In Venezuela, decimalization started with the peso in 1843 although no silver coins of that denomination were struck.  In 1872 the currency was renamed to the venezolano with the subdivision of 100 centavos.  The silver venezolano was issued for just one year in 1876.  Venezuela joined the Latin Monetary Union in 1879 and changed the currency to the bolivar, with the crown sized silver coin issued as 5 bolivares.   Here is my example of the short lived venezolano, the first silver crown of Venezuela.  25 grams, 37 mm and 90% silver.  Mintage of only 35,000 and struck at the Paris mint. ~jack
  2. jgenn

    A Silver Crown of Ireland

    By jgenn,


    Irish Crown
    There may not be a true silver crown of an independent Ireland. The closest that I have uncovered would be the silver crown, presumably issued by the Catholic Confederacy of Kilkenny, in 1642-43, although the few examples that appear in auction sales appear to be less than 25g in weight.  These coins are also quite rare.  The next closest example of an Irish silver crown, which I was able to acquire, might just be the "Ormond" crown of the same time (1643-1644), issued by the Earl of Ormond, James Butler, commander of the royalist army in Ireland.  At least it is a silver crown sized coin (my example is 29.71g), most likely minted in Dublin, and during the time when there was an independent government that controlled two-thirds of the island.  This brief period of independence would end in 1653 with the occupation and annexation of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England.   Obverse design, crowned CR for King Charles I.  Reverse V with a small S above for denomination of 5 shillings.
  4. jgenn

    Mansfeld Thaler Redux

    By jgenn,


    Mansfeld
    It's been some time since I last posted to my journal.  I have lots of new coins to share but I will start with one that is connected to two of my older posts.  Since I have been fortunate to maintain my income close to that at the beginning of the pandemic, I have taken advantage of the surge in interesting coins appearing at auction this year.  I won't speculate as to why the numismatic areas that I follow have experienced a bountiful supply, as there are many likely reasons, but I have answered with my demand.   The featured coin of this post is a lovely 1560 Mansfeld thaler that I acquired this Spring.  What makes it noteworthy is that it replaces the Mansfeld thaler that I sold to a fellow collector that specializes in that region.  I do not regret that sale and the collector responded with a wonderfully detailed write up on the Mansfeld region and the House of Mansfeld and their coinage in the 16th and 17th century.  Although my replacement coin is of the same date and mint (Eisleben) it is a different variety (DAV-9481, according to the NGC label).  However, it is extraordinarily well struck for a hammered coin of the 16th century. ~jack

  5. jgenn

    Like a Box of Chocolates

    By jgenn,


    1684 ducato of Naples
    To paraphrase Forest Gump, coin collecting is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna find.  I find this especially true of the Heritage weekly world coin auctions.  Sorting out all of the consignments that Heritage gets into their various auction formats must take quite a bit of time and when it comes to world coins, I doubt if all the people involved are experts in all coins across all of coin minting history.  Still, I am surprised to find the occasional scarce variety pop up in the weekly auctions.  Late last year I found a scarce pillar dollar, one of the difficult date/assayer combinations in the 1760-1771 Mexico City 8 reales series (Gilboy R2, 25-50 pieces known). This one is a straight graded AU with good eye appeal that replaces a rather ugly details graded one that took me years to find.   In a weekly coin auction this year I found a really special coin that just happens to be related to the pillar dollars that I focus on. And it's a pretty important coin in general for those of us interested in coin imagery (as in the images depicted on coins as opposed to coin photography).    1684 ducato of the Kingdom of Naples (and Sicily).  The obverse shows the bust of Charles II, ruler of the Spanish Empire which, at this time, included the Southern portion of Italy and the island of Sicily.  The reverse has the legend VNVS NON SVFFICIT (one is not enough) which was previously seen on medals and printed works of art as VNVS NON SVFFICIT ORBIS (one world is not enough), and depicts a pillar surmounted by a crown and two hemispheres of the globe.  The initials on the reverse are for the mint official Andrea Giovane and assayer F. Antonio Ariani. On the obverse, the initials under the bust are for the engraver Giovanni Montemein.   Earlier depictions of the two globes theme are not as geographically representative of the New and Old Worlds as we see on this coin.  The earliest example that I have found is from a medal commemorating the union of the French King Francis II and Mary, Queen of the Scots from no earlier than 1558.  Another example is a medal of Francis I, with a date of 1515 but likely produced in the 17th Century, showing one earthly globe juxtaposed with a celestial globe. It seems unlikely that Francisco Hernández Escudero was unaware of these precedents when he designed the iconic pillar dollar in 1729, a coin that would become so successful as a trade dollar across the globe.   ~jack
     

  6. jgenn

    Vietnam Dragon Dollar -- Cast or Milled?

    By jgenn,


    Vietnam 7 Tien
    By the end of the 19th Century, so many countries had issued silver world crowns that I generally need to focus on selecting just one example per country for my custom set, that I have playfully named "My World Crown Affair".  Chief among my criteria is that the coin was minted in the country.  If not locally minted, then a design element should be strongly representative of the country.  Quite a few examples of coins issued for colonies lack any flavor of the local culture and thus fail to interest me.  An additional selection preference is that when issued, the country was independent.  This last criteria can be a serious constraint for countries that issued silver crowns during brief periods of independence.   The country that we commonly refer to as Vietnam has had many official and unofficial names.  In the early 19th Century the independent empire of the Nguyen dynasty was called "Nam Viet", "Viet Nam" and "Dai Nam". Increasing French influence undermined the empire's independence and after 1845 the name "Annam" was used for the French protectorate followed by "French Indochina" when the French consolidated their rule in 1887.  I have seen catalog descriptions of coins issued during the period of independence listed as coins of Annam.  While it may be convenient for a catalog to broadly group issues together under one name I consider this, at best, misinformed; at worst, downright disrespectful.    Dragon Dollars or Silver Dragons are names for the Asian silver dollar sized coins issued in China and Japan at the end of the 19th Century in emulation of the Spanish Colonial and Mexican 8 reales that were the dominant trade coin. But the first of these silver coins with a prominent dragon design was actually issued by Emperor Minh Mang of Viet Nam.  The earliest of these are undated and the first dated coins show the number 13 indicating the regnal year, 1832.  The specific denomination that corresponds to the 8 reales trade standard is the 7 tien, weighing almost 27 grams.  The casting of coins in East and Southeast Asia had been established since ancient times and some opinions that you may find on the internet claim that the silver issues of Minh Mang and subsequent rulers were also cast.  Fortunately, there are more informed resources to consult.  The Standard Catalog of World Coins lists these as milled as do many of the top auction house catalogs.  And a few of the finest examples are encapsulated in mint state grades by TPGs indicating that the coin surfaces still exhibit the luster that occurs from the metal flow when a planchet is struck.  If you examine enough good photos of these you can notice some instances where the planchet was not perfectly centered -- a feature of a coin struck in a open collar press.   My example is from the 14 regnal year, 1833, shown in Chinese characters beneath the dragon, the obverse shows the characters for Minh Mang and Thong Bao (general currency). It exhibits circulation wear and environmental damage in addition to the holes where it was likely used as a garment adornment.  Having examined many 8 reales of the contemporary time I am comfortable with the assessment that this is a milled/struck coin just from the appearance of the surfaces.  Devices are sharply defined, there could be a die crack and there may be a bit of toning shadow that is sometimes seen next to a device but always toward the rim where the stress from metal flow alters the way the surface forms its patina.  Ultimately, the examination of the edge provides the necessary proof.  My photos of the edge clearly show that the coin was run through a single die edging mill (a parallel edging mill would show a second gap opposite the one gap in the oblique reeding) and you can see from the uneven profile that the coin was probably edged after it was struck (otherwise the flat surfaces of the coin press would have provided a more even profile). Both the dentils on the rims and edge designs were features added to milled coins to make them harder to counterfeit and to clearly show if any slivers had been shaved off. Of course, my example may be atypical or even a counterfeit.  However, it was purchased through the Stephen Album auction house and came with a provenance.  It's just unfortunate that you never get to see the edge of coins unless you can examine an unencapsulated example in-hand.  I should add that the Standard Catalog of World Coins notes that there is a variety of presentation pieces without milled edges.   *I apologize for omitting diacritics but you just can't be sure everyone's browser can display them properly.   ~jack

  7. jgenn

    A Hard Year, A Great Year

    By jgenn,


    1860 5 Lire
    No, I'm not talking about this year which I can only call another strange year, but rather, the year 1860.  In trying to broaden my Silver Dollars of '60 custom set, I researched the silver dollar-like coins issued from European nations in 1860 and I believe there are only two.  By this time, thalers had shrunk to 33mm and 18.52g so they no longer fit my definition of silver dollar size!  Having already acquired a nice 20 reales of Spain (38mm, 26.291g), I was stuck with finding the 5 lire of the Kingdom of Sardinia (37mm, 25g), a coin with a mintage of only 5,044.  That is one hard year!   But, why such a small mintage?  In 1859 the Kingdom of Sardinia, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia had launched an effort to reunify the Italian states and successfully concluded several military campaigns with their French ally against Austria.  In 1860 the Kingdom proceeded to gain support from other Northern Italian States through plebiscite and achieved decisive military victories against the papal army and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.  Warfare is expensive so my guess is that silver stocks were depleted leading to the low mintage of coins for general circulation.   The political and military successes of 1860 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy with the King of Sardinia, Vittorio Emanuele II, it's first ruler of a united Italy since the 6th century.  Clearly, for those that benefited from a unified Italy, 1860 was a great year.   I finally tracked down an example of the silver dollar-like coin from the Kingdom of Sardinia, dated 1860.  This coin was minted in the principle city of Piedmont, Turin, as denoted by the eagle head mintmark.  Turin was the capital of the Kingdom of Italy until 1865.   ~jack
  8. jgenn

    Anno 1790

    By jgenn,


    Sweden Riksdaler
    Back before streaming became so popular, one of my local cable channels would broadcast a great selection of international television content in the original language with English subtitles.  My favorites were the detective shows such as Inspector Montalbano, Commissario Brunetti, Blood of the Vine (aka the Wine Detective), Beck and Wallander, all set in contemporary time, and the period shows Nicolas Le Floch and Anno 1790.  I highly recommend all of these, which can be streamed from various services in addition to the novels that many of these were based on.   I found the show Anno 1790 to be particularly fascinating because the time period matches that of many of the coins that I have chosen to collect. In this series, which is unfortunately limited to one season of 10 episodes, the viewer gets to experience a bit of late 18th Century Sweden through the eyes of a police commissioner of Stockholm.  Sweden, like many European counties at this time, experienced a shifting balance of political power between monarch and parliament.  The ideas and ambitions that led to the French Revolution in 1789 were present here as well.  King Gustav III, reigned from 1771 to 1792 and died in a politically motivated assassination.   Needless to say, acquiring a nice silver crown of Sweden of the date 1790 was a collecting goal that I finally achieved earlier this year.   ~jack

  9. jgenn
    In February of 1797, ongoing war and the threat of invasion from the French Republic triggered a run on the Bank of England.  To meet the demand for silver coinage, in March, the Bank was authorized to release foreign currency from its silver reserves, almost entirely Spanish 8 reales.  These emergency issues were countermarked at the Royal Mint with a small oval stamp with the bust of King George III -- a stamp that had been in use for hallmarking silver plate.  One of my earliest journal posts featured an example of this type.  The dollars had a fixed value of 4 shillings and 9 pence but as the price of silver dropped counterfeiters began passing 8 reales with false stamps and eventually forced the recall of these issues in the Fall of 1797.  In 1803, renewed war once again affected silver circulation and countermarked 8 reales were issued in January of 1804 using an octagonal stamp of the king's head.  False stamps quickly followed and forced the recall of the issues by June of 1804.  
    Clearly a method that would be hard to counterfeit was needed.  Fortunately, for the Bank of England, the Soho Foundry of Matthew Boulton and James Watt had been established with Boulton's newly invented steam powered screw press.  In May of 1804 the foundry was commissioned to use a previously designed dollar pattern to fully overstrike the 8 reales.  These issues were much harder to counterfeit and proved to be so successful that they were issued from 1804 to 1811, although all show the 1804 date, and were not removed from circulation until 1816.
    The power of the steam driven press typically obliterated the host coin's details, but occasionally you will see one that still shows some underlying details and that's what attracted me to my example. This one, a new purchase from Heritage Auctions, is a raw example so I took the opportunity to examine it in detail.  Curiously, a section of the host coin is thinner -- where CAROLUS is visible under George's bust and ET IND shows on the reverse.  I can make out a date of 180? but I can't see a mintmark.  Of interest is the edge which still shows much of the alternating rectangle and circle design albeit oddly curving from top to bottom.
    Now the funny part.  This coin only weights 25.67 grams and compared to a full weight 8 reales at 27.0674 grams, even with loss to circulation, it seemed too low.  That plus the uneven thickness and the wandering edge design made me suspicious.  So I measured the thickness (averaged over four spots) and diameter and calculated its volume.  After converting the volume from cubic mm to cubic cm you can divide the weight by volume to get the specific gravity.  A 90% silver/10% copper coin has a specific gravity of 10.3 but mine is 9.5 which means there could only be about 40% silver content.  Assuming that the overstrike is genuine (I have to trust Heritage on that) this appears to be a contemporary counterfeit 8 reales host coin ("contemporary" meaning that it circulated at the same time as genuine issues) .  Now, I'm not at all disappointed to discover this -- I think it's a much more interesting coin this way.  8 reales have been heavily counterfeited over time and the problem remains between distinguishing contemporary ones, later ones made for trade with China and modern forgeries.  With the overstrike occurring in the 1804-1811 time-frame, this one falls into the contemporary counterfeit category (a collectable category on its own).
    ~jack

     

    edits for typos and clarity.
  10. jgenn
    First off, congratulations to all the registry participants and the winners of the 2019 registry awards.  As for me, I won a Classic Set award for my Mexico City 8 reales Pillar Dollars of Charles III (1760-1771).  This is my third major award and I had never posted about them in the past, but for this one I will make an exception.  I want to highlight the wonderfully broad approach that the NGC judges have chosen in selecting sets for their awards.  I haven't yet browsed through all of the other winning sets but I'm sure that mine is more of an outlier than most.  To start with, the advertised criteria for Classic Sets is "US or World Sets, 1792-1964" so my set has somehow slipped through the time-frame constraint.  But the point I want to emphasize is that, using my set as an example, you don't necessarily need the highest grade coins to be considered for an award.  I built much of this set from raw examples -- and most of my coins fall in the XF range!  
    Now, I know that many collectors that use the NGC journals or forums are not keen on registry participation for all of the valid reasons that you've posted but maybe some of you might reconsider your opinions.  I believe there are many magnificent collections out there that are just waiting to be recognized.
    Here is, perhaps, my least impressive coin from my set, grade-wise. VF details, but still a quite scarce variety.
    ~jack

  11. jgenn
    Last November, I noticed that the latest round of deaccessions from the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society, billed as the Eric P. Newman Collection Part XI US Coins Signature Auction, also had a few world coins mixed in.  I won this nice upgrade for the 1733 klippe 8 reales that I mentioned in a previous journal entry.  But, I was also curious because of the lot description that included:
    "A scarce-to-rare example of the Philip V 8 reales pistareen with cut sides, struck on a screw press according to the Eric P. Newman kraft envelope, which accompanies the coin."
    I was aware that "pistareen" was a nickname for Spanish 2 reales coins and wondered why Mr. Newman would mention that in his notes about an 8 reales.  Alas, I was unable to glean any more information by examining the envelope because it was not included in the shipment from Heritage.  I did complain to Heritage and they checked with their shipping department and opened an investigation into the issue.  However, after a month they concluded that the envelope was lost.  They did offer a refund if I wanted to return the coin but I elected to keep it, but I was able to get a credit for part of the lot cost. 
    I imagine that it was accidentally shipped with a different lot so if you received an envelope with your package from the Eric P. Newman Collection Part XI US Coins Signature Auction that doesn't seem to belong with your lot, it may be mine.  Please contact Heritage if that's the case.
    As part of my investigation into the "pistareen" question, I came across a great article from the April 2001 issue of the Colonial Newsletter that discusses how a coin that was never meant to be used outside of Spain, was actually one of the most commonly used coins in Colonial Virginia.  This connection may have been how Mr. Newman recognized some of the similar design elements on the 8 reales klippe as the shield on the obverse is the same although the style of the cross on the reverse only bears a slight resemblance.  I'll leave it to you to hunt down example photos of a "pistareen" and I'll just show my photos of my new klippe.
    ~jack

  12. jgenn

    Mansfeld Mystery Solved

    By jgenn,

    This a follow up on my earlier post about a 1560 Mansfeld thaler that I bought last Spring and then immediately received buy offers through the Heritage auction site.  I wondered what might be so special about this coin and made some posts on this and other forums to see if I could find out.  Finally, I got a PM through this site from a person who found my earlier post and provided some information about the attribution for this coin.  As I had speculated, there is nothing particularly special about this thaler except that the collector who contacted me has a connection to the Mansfeld region and only collects Mansfeld thalers.  I have agreed to sell this coin so that it can join a collection where it will be special.  My one condition on the sale was to ask the collector to share some of information about these Mansfeld thalers with us here.
    ~jack

  13. jgenn

    Philip II, King of England

    By jgenn,

    This coin caught my attention, when it came up for auction recently, and I checked on the type in CoinFacts wiki and read that the obverse legend for this daalder included Philip's title as King of England.  
    With a little more research, I can say that the July 25th, 1554 marriage of Queen Mary of England to King Philip of Spain brought about a short period where Philip gained the title of King of England and Ireland and was deemed co-ruler by an Act of Parliament.  The terms of the marriage agreement limited Philip's reign to the duration of the marriage -- it lasted until Mary's death in 1558 upon which the throne went to her half-sister, Elizabeth I.
    As far as I can tell, coins using Philip's title as King of England are limited to a few issues from the Spanish ruled provinces of the Netherlands.  This interesting history plus the fact that I did not have a Spanish Empire crown from the reign of Philip II sealed the deal so I've added it to my crowns of the world collection.
    Obverse: Armored bust of Philip II, legend PHS D G HISP ANG Z REX COMES FLAN 1558 (Philippus dei gratia Hispaniarum Angliae etc rex comes Flandriae -- Philip by the grace of God King of Spain and England, Count of Flanders)
    Reverse: Crowned coat of arms of Philip II over the Burgundian cross, golden fleece below between a pair fire irons* emitting sparks, legend  DOMINVS MICHI ADIVTOR (dominus michi adivtor -- Lord my helper)
    *Jean Elsen catalog listings consistently call these "vuurijzers" which translates to fire irons, the iron implement struck by flint to start a fire. 
    ~jack

    edited: to correct the translation of vuurijzers
  14. jgenn

    When was this coin minted?

    By jgenn,

    Yes, it is a trick question.
    My question is about an 1808 dated 8 reales with the bust of Fernando VII and the mint mark of Potosí from the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (modern day Bolivia). The answer lies in the tumultuous history of the period. Here's an illuminating discussion from a recent Heritage Auction catalog description:
    This apparently anachronistic issue was due to the Royal Ordinance of April 10, 1808 which was sent to the mints of the Americas before Ferdinand VII surrendered his throne to Napoleon on May 9... and reads as follows: "regarding the fact that the coinage ought to be minted with my royal name and no other alteration, I have instructed that until the (new) master dies are received the coins shall be minted as until now with the bust and name of my august father and without variation of the date and that later some coins shall be minted from the new master die and my bust and name and the date of 1808 proving that I have reigned in it (in that year)". Naturally, this royal ordinance was originally intended to be only provisional and effective for 1808 since the new master dies were expected to be sent and received in that year. However, Napoleon's invasion of Spain meant that the new master dies would not be sent until 1811. In the interval 1808-1811, the various mints gave different interpretations to the aforementioned ordinance: some (as Guatemala, Potosi, Nuevo Reino and Popayan) kept minting with the previous bust of Charles IV while others (Mexico, Lima, Santiago) engraved local renditions of Ferdinand VII, thus creating the so call "imaginary bust" issues.
    The previous text described an 1808 8 Reales of Fernando VII minted in Guatemala, but the key details apply to the issues of the Potosí mint, as well. This establishes that Fernando VII "proper bust" issues could not have been minted in 1808 due to the absence of dies with the official portrait. Calbeto includes this note in his 8 reales compendium, "1811 - Abril 7. Con oficio de esta fecha se remiten a las Casas de la Moneda de Popayan, Potosi, Lima y Santiago, los cuños para las moneda reales de a 8 y de a 2.", which confirms the date when dies were sent from Spain to the colonial mints.
    The revolutionary forces of the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata (from Buenos Aires -- modern day Argentina) took control of much of Upper Peru, including Potosí in 1810 but were forced out of the region after losing the Battle of Huaqui in June of 1811. The earliest point when 1808 dated examples could have been issued would have been during the second half of 1811 after the royalists returned to power and after the "proper bust" master die was received from Spain. "Proper bust" issues are also known with 1809 and 1810 dates -- these were probably minted in 1811 or possibly 1812. However, no examples are thought to have been issued with 1811 and 1812 dates. Although production could have started in 1811, it would have been interrupted in 1812 due to revolutionary armies moving through the area once again. The next confirmed issues from Potosí are for the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata in 1813 after the mint once again fell under control of the revolutionaries but reverted to the Fernando bust, with the 1813 date, after royalists reasserted control.
    ~jack

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  15. jgenn
    I won this thaler recently and immediately received a "buy from owner" offer through Heritage for a decent increase over my winning bid. This one is destined for my Silver Dollars of '60 set so I didn't respond to the offer but I did post a trade offer in several forums that I frequent, hoping to catch the eye of the individual that really wants this coin. I haven't received a response from the trade offers but I did get a second, higher offer through Heritage after the first one expired.
    So what's so special about this thaler? I know why it's special to me so I was willing to bid higher than I expected.  But obviously someone else really wanted it (and didn't put in a high enough proxy bid).  I found only two other auction records for coins closely matching this one on acsearch although there were quite a few that were similar. Most of my references don't go back to the 16th Century, but I dug out my copy of the "Standard Price Guide to World Crowns & Talers 1484-1968 as cataloged by Dr. John S. Davenport" for further information. Given the span of years, this reference is not much more than a listing of Davenport numbers with a few notes, out-of-date prices with a small fraction having coin images (and none matching my coin). However, it does include the following introduction to Mansfeld thalers:
    So, no small task to figure out the correct Daveport number without a picture. In my photo, you can see the mintmark to the left of St. George's head. German auction results associate the Weinblatt (or grape leaf) mintmark with the town of Einsleben. The Davenport reference shows a section for the Vorderort Eisleben line with Davenport numbers 9481-9499 and the first rulers listed are Johann Georg I, Peter Ernst I, Christoph II, 1558-1569. These track better than any others with my coin having the legend on the obverse of -- IOHAN * GE * PETER ERNS * CHRIS -- with the (15)60 date. It looks like the possible numbers are 9481 and 9484 -- the NGC label says 9484 so maybe that's correct.
    The historic lands of the counts of Mansfeld, and their many lines, was in the current German state of Saxony-Anhalt and included the town and castle of Mansfeld, the neighboring town of Eisleben and eastern foothills of the Harz mountains, where the silver was mined.  Martin Luther was born in Eisleben and later moved to Mansfeld -- his father was involved in mining and smelting.  Of the rulers noted on my coin, Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort (1517–1604), would become the governor of the Spanish Netherlands.
    I'm not convinced that there's anything special about this thaler above and beyond its full strike and the colorful toning in the remnants of luster in the legends.  Perhaps in Europe ...?
    ~jack

  16. jgenn
    I have posted about emergency issues but what kind of calamity could compare to your city besieged?  Siege money are the ultimate emergency issues -- defending soldiers required pay and internal commerce needed to be maintained.  Many examples come from the period of the Eighty Years War, also known as the Dutch War of Independence that occurred from 1568–1648 or from the English Civil Wars in 1642-1651.    When regular coinage became scarce jewelry, silverware and religious vessels were converted into coinage.  Issued in an expedient fashion, they were often roughly shaped, typically squares or diamonds, with a uniface design. When precious metal ran out, other alloys or even paper could be issued, all in the hope that the emergency money would be redeemed after a successful defense.  The opposite was the worse case scenario where one might lose everything. My example is a silver thaler klippe issued by the besieged city of Münster in 1660 and fits nicely into my Silver Dollars of '60 custom set.  At 34mm x 34mm square and weight close to 28g it may not be silver dollar shaped but certainly has the heft of one.  The uniface design shows the city of Münster's coat of arms with the legend MONAST : WESTPH : OBSESSVM, for Münster Westphalia Beseiged.  It differs from typical siege currency in that it was not from wartime but from an insurrection that began in July of 1660.  The catalog notes from the CNG auction of the Jonathan K. Kern Collection of Siege Coinage provides the following background information:
    :

  17. jgenn
    Journals from 2016
    When was this coin minted?
    Transitions within Transitions
    Top Executive Accepts Kickback Custom Set Collage
    When the Colony becomes the Ruler A Sky Blue '60
    Reflection on a Collection
    Nephew's First Coin
    Lights-Camera-Action
    The Silver Dollars of '60
    Second Chances
    Custom Sets Question
    Journals from 2015
    A Tale of Two Cities
    England without a monarch!
    A rose by any other name... My Three Suns
    US Silver Dollar Mint Type Set
    Light and Shadow
    Old Map -- New Presentation
    Two goals in one!
    Journals from 2014
    The Fix for Coins Misaligned in their Holders
    Hey, this guy has a face!
    The Ugly Truth About 8 Reales Beautiful Thaler from Baltimore
    Losing and Rebuilding a World Class Collection
    Surprise Gold Acquisition
    Started My Fencing Coin Custom Set My First US Silver Dollar!
    Journals from 2013
    The 8 Reales Pinnacle
    When does bidding really close at a live auction?
    Controversial Deaccession
    Real de a Ocho de Dos Mundos
    Pandamonium strikes!
    First Gold
    Amazing 8s Spanish Eight Reales countermarked as English Dollars
    Early Milled Eight Reales of New Spain
    This REALLY Bugs Me!
    The Raw Coin Submission Blues
    Just passed 100K Registry Points!!!
     
  18. jgenn
    2017 was a tipping point for me.   After many years of relentless collecting, I slowed down to the point where I only purchased four coins, and actually sold four coins.  Three of those that I let go were Silver Riders -- ducatons of the Dutch Republic. You will find these beauties cataloged under the coins of the Netherlands, or more properly The Kingdom of the Netherlands as the modern nation is a constitutional monarchy.  Back in the 16th century, seven of the Low Country provinces threw off Spanish Habsburg rule and formed a globe spanning mercantile empire.  In North America, the Dutch established the colony of New Netherland in the early 17th century and its capital at New Amsterdam in 1625 (later renamed New York in 1664 after its capture by the English).
    The Dutch Republic minted several crown sized silver coins with the ducaton having the higher value of 60 stuivers. Produced from 1659 to 1798, the ducaton got the nickname of "Silver Rider" from its obverse design of a mounted knight. The reverse shows the coat of arms of the republic, with the lion holding a sheaf of arrows, symbolizing the unity of the provinces, and brandishing a sword in defense of their liberty. These are impressive coins -- 43-44 mm, 32.78 g and 91.4% silver.
    My initial foray into collecting ducatons was filled with mistakes due to lack of study and patience. For those of you that might consider collecting a nice example, do your homework and take your time.  There are rare types but most are not particularly scarce; well struck, problem-free examples from the provinces with the largest mintages are not expensive relative to other contemporary world crowns.  However, there are plenty of examples with issues and all three of the ones that I sold recently fall into that category.  Two of them came from shipwrecks and show varying degrees of environmental damage.  The one that I was happiest to sell is the one pictured here.  This example is from the province of West Friesland and has a very nice obverse but a weakly struck reverse.  When I previewed the auction I decided to pass on it because of the poor eye appeal of the reverse.  But in the middle of the on-line bidding, I only looked at the obverse and forgot why I initially passed.
    Selling my coins couldn't have been easier.  They were all originally purchased in Heritage Auctions and they were sold through the Heritage "make offer to owner" program.  I set the prices as low as I could to account for the 10% (minimum $40) commission and still get close to breaking even.  Then you wait and either accept an offer at your price or negotiate if a lower one comes in.  It's all conducted through email and the Heritage website -- you mail your coin to Heritage so your anonymity is maintained.  Going forward, I feel my collection has matured and I want to sell coins that are not part of the core.  I'm not in a rush -- my plan is to try selling in a variety of venues with breaking even as my goal.  As for Silver Riders, I still have a few better examples -- notably a 1760 AU-58 from West Friesland in my Silver Dollars of '60 set and a 1791 MS-63 from Utrecht that will get a place in a new set I'm calling "My World Crown Affair".
    ~jack

  19. jgenn
    What intrigues me the most about the coins in my collection is their place in history and the circumstances of their issue.  I enjoy doing the research -- light research, that is, using online resources -- and I'm often surprised by the details that I uncover.  Consider one of the most beautiful South American coins, the "sun face" issues of the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata, that we now associate with Argentina.  If not for the shifting fortunes of war during the struggle for independence from Spanish rule, these might not have been minted.   In the early 19th Century, the Spanish Empire was in turmoil.  Napoleon Bonaparte forced the abdication of the Spanish King in 1809 and in Buenos Aries, the capital city of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a junta took control after the May Revolution of 1810.  Many years of warfare between separatist and loyalist armies ensued, especially across the province of Alto Perú, the region that would eventually become Bolivia.  Victories in September of 1812 and February 1813 left the independence forces in control of the mint at Potosí. Seizing their opportunity, the general assembly in Buenos Aires authorized the minting of their first national coinage and provided the design characteristics in April of 1813.  Soon after, gold one, two and eight escudos and silver 1/2, one, two, four and 8 reales were being minted at Potosí featuring the sun face on the obverse and a variation of the newly created coat of arms on the reverse.   I find it interesting that the activities of the mint during these transitions seems to have continued with a few obvious changes. The mint was the property of the crown so those with official positions may have retreated with the royalist army.  The coins of the Provincias Unidas featured the initial "J" of assayer Jose Antonio de Sierra and not those of the royal assayers, Pedro Martin de Albizu and Juan Palomo y Sierra ("PJ").  The mines, however, were private ventures and, although the mintage is unknown, the quantity of coins that were produced suggest that ore extraction, smelting and refining continued as well.  Since the mint's function was converting precious metal into currency, it provided a necessary service for the mining industry to fund their operations.  Striking of the Provincias Unidas issues continued until November 1813 when military defeats caused a withdrawal from the area.  The retreating general ordered the destruction of the mint but the locals disconnected the fuses from the explosives.  The averted disaster was a boon for both sides as the mint was retaken and another issue of Provincias Unidas coins were produced between April and November of 1815 with the same design and the initial "F" of assayer Francisco Jose de Matos.  The mint reverted back to royalist control and continued to strike Spanish coins until Bolivia secured its independence in 1825.   Had the mint at Potosí not become available when it did, I wonder what the early coinage of the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata would have looked like.  Regular issues would not start until 1824 from the mint at La Rioja and with many, many changes in leadership since early 1813 it's unlikely that the same decision makers were in power.  Fortunately, we can enjoy the sun face design, known as the Sol de Mayo from the story that the sun shone forth from the clouds at the declaration of the new, independent government in May of 1810. The design is similar to the heraldic device called the 'sun in splendor', notable for having alternating straight and wavy rays. Other coins of South and Central America are noted for their sun face theme.   ~jack
  20. jgenn

    2016 Journal Award Icon

    By jgenn,

    I don't know why it took an entire year to finally create the 2016 journal award icon, that now only appears on your profile page, but lo and behold it finally showed up to replace the broken link icon that I have gotten used to staring at.

  21. jgenn
    And why does Heritage Auctions put them in their own category?

    Before they became a US territory in 1900, the islands of Hawaii had been unified into a kingdom that existed for nearly a century. The Kingdom of Hawaii issued their own coinage, cents in 1847 and a series of silver coins in 1883. The cents were struck by a private firm in Massachusetts and the silver dimes, quarters, halves and dollars were designed by Charles Barber and were produced at the San Francisco Mint. These issues are what I consider to be the coins of Hawaii. 

    Even though Hawaii is now a US state, I think of the coins of Hawaii as "world" coins and would expect to see them in world coin auctions just as I expect to see the coins of Puerto Rico and the coins of the Philippines (although I admit the argument for including the US produced coins of the Philippines in US coin auctions is compelling). However, if you browse a Heritage world coin auction you will typically see the top categories as Ancient coins, World coins and Coins of Hawaii. I don't have an answer for why they have their own category but I imagine it has to do with bidding action.

    I have gotten used to seeing the coins of Hawaii in their own Heritage category but lately I have observed a trend that I personally do not care for. Within the Coins of Hawaii category, Heritage has started to include bullion "medals", with Hawaiian themes issued by a company calling themselves the Royal Hawaiian Mint. Some of these may have a connection to a State of Hawaii government office but I believe the majority are strictly private issues. Now there's nothing wrong with collecting exonumia; I just find their placement in the same category to be potentially confusing. 

    Now that you know a bit of the history of the official coins of the Kingdom of Hawaii, please understand the difference when you come across a Hawaiian themed medal, regardless how "royal" it seems.

    Here's my example of the silver dollar (akahi dala).

    ~jack 
  22. jgenn
    And why does Heritage Auctions put them in their own category?
    Before they became a US territory in 1900, the islands of Hawaii had been unified into a kingdom that existed for nearly a century. The Kingdom of Hawaii issued their own coinage, cents in 1847 and a series of silver coins in 1883. The cents were struck by a private firm in Massachusetts and the silver dimes, quarters, halves and dollars were designed by Charles Barber and were produced at the San Francisco Mint. These issues are what I consider to be the coins of Hawaii.
     
    Even though Hawaii is now a US state, I think of the coins of Hawaii as "world" coins and would expect to see them in world coin auctions just as I expect to see the coins of Puerto Rico and the coins of the Philippines (although I admit the argument for including the US produced coins of the Philippines in US coin auctions is compelling). However, if you browse a Heritage world coin auction you will typically see the top categories as Ancient coins, World coins and Coins of Hawaii. I don't have an answer for why they have their own category but I imagine it has to do with bidding action.
     
    I have gotten used to seeing the coins of Hawaii in their own Heritage category but lately I have observed a trend that I personally do not care for. Within the Coins of Hawaii category, Heritage has started to include bullion "medals", with Hawaiian themes issued by a company calling themselves the Royal Hawaiian Mint. Some of these may have a connection to a State of Hawaii government office but I believe the majority are strictly private issues. Now there's nothing wrong with collecting exonumia; I just find their placement in the same category to be potentially confusing.
    Now that you know a bit of the history of the official coins of the Kingdom of Hawaii, please understand the difference when you come across a Hawaiian themed medal, regardless how "royal" it seems.
    Here's my example of the silver dollar (akahi dala).
    ~jack

  23. jgenn
    The Mexico City "klippe" issues of 1732-1734
    With the royal decree of 18 September 1728, Philip V initiated a radical change in the production of silver coins in Spain's colonies. By 1732, the Mexico City mint would issue the Americas' first milled coins that would become the world's preeminent trade dollar for the next century.
    Such a change from the earlier hammered "cobs" did not come with out some difficulties in reaching normal quotas. The new processes instituted machinery for rolling ingots into flat sheets, stamping into rounds, upsetting and imparting an edge design and impressing the obverse and reverse design. To make up the difference in production volume, hammered cobs were continued until 1733, but in addition, a unique method was employed from 1732-1734. These are known as "klippe" issues, named after the emergency siege coinage, when production was hurried and snipping squared shapes replaced stamping of round planchets. In Spanish, these are called "recortadas" for the multiple cuts that are apparent from the edges. They are an interesting hybrid of cob and milled techniques.
    First, lets review how cobs were made. Dan Sedwick presents a better explanation than the oft repeated idea that these were hacked off the end of a bar of silver.* Instead, these were likely cut from a stream of molten silver alloy poured onto a flat surface. To produce cobs, the silver was cut into equal pieces and struck between trussel and anvil die. For the klippe issue, I surmise that the strip of silver was flattened in the mechanical roller to provide a uniform thickness, manually cut into equal sized pieces and then struck in a screw press. This would have skipped the stamping into rounds and edging steps, yielding a significantly faster production output. These are further distinguished by their design, employing a somewhat more ornamental variation of the cob design with the obverse showing the crowned Spanish coat of arms, mint mark and denomination to the right, assayers initials left, and monarch's legend with date circling the rim; the abbreviated coat of arms and national legend on the reverse. A type called the "klippe die on cob planchet" is also recognized for this period and presumably skipped the process of flattening the strip in the roller.
    Why would the engravers of Mexico City produce a new design for these klippe issues? I should note that the appearance of the milled coinage was described in the royal decree and that the obverse and reverse design was executed in Spain by Francisco Hernandez Escudero leaving little room for the local engravers to exercise their talents. Perhaps we can assume that stamping the new design on a coin that did not go through the proscribed production process would be a violation of the ordnance. With the evidence that regular cobs were still produced, my theory is that the engravers were proud of their skills and their local design and produced a short run of issues that would commemorate these using the superior production techniques of their new equipment.
    Here's my "klippe" from a recent Barcelona auction.
    ~jack
     
    *http://www.sedwickcoins.com/articles/strap.htm

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  24. jgenn
    Establishes private mint on behalf of family
    Sorry to tease with a headline that could have come from current affairs but there's nothing new about powerful, greedy people finding ways to enrich themselves. In this case, I'm calling out Philip II of Spain, who in 1580, negotiated such a sweetheart deal with his cousin, Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, that he was presented with two coin rolling mills, constructed at the Hall mint, as a present. Today, we would deem such a considerable personal gift following a transaction as a "kickback" and probably illicit. It would have made sense to install Spain's first mechanized mint in Seville, the home port of New World commerce, and thus the entry point of silver and gold from its colonies. But, the new mint was built in Segovia, the jurisdiction of close friends to the King, and was not governed by the State but became private property of the Royal Family.
    With such self-serving behavior in the highest places, it's no wonder that Spain went bankrupt four times during Philip's reign (1557, 1560, 1576, 1596) despite the vast precious metal resources under its control, including the enormous silver deposits at Potosi and Zacatecas. I admit to trivializing the economic forces that resulted from the rapid expansion of the money supply, but the sheer scope of the financial mismanagement cannot be understated. It's estimated that from 1500 to 1800 Mexico and Peru produced 75% - 80% of the world's silver. Dr. John Leonard Riddell, during his appointment as melter and refiner of the New Orleans Mint, stated in 1845 that "During the days of Spanish rule, near $23,000,000 in silver were annually obtained from the mines [of Mexico]". That's a lot of capital to squander.
    The new mint in Segovia was called the "Real Ingenio", or Royal [Coin] Mill, and was built at the location of an old paper mill on the Eresma River where the mill could deploy a waterwheel to power the roller presses. The other coin mint in Segovia, previously established by Henry IV in 1455, and now called the Old Mint, continued to produce hammered coins for another century and was never mechanized. The Royal Coin Mill began regular production of silver coins in 1586 and introduced the stamping of the year of minting to Spanish coinage. The rest of the Spanish mints adopted dates on their coins by 1588, as this was seen as a useful anti-counterfeiting measure. Mintmarks and assayers initials were added later for the same reason. The roller presses of the Royal Coin Mill continued to perform their function until they were replaced by screw presses in 1770.
    Here's an example of an 8 reales from the Segovia mint, which can not only be identified as the only mint with machine struck Spanish coins at the time, 1660, but also by the aqueduct featured in its coat of arms and used as its mintmark. You may also note some characteristics of a roller press struck coin as these have a slight wrinkle in the surface and show the perfect roundness from being cut out of the silver strip with a circular stamping tool. There are three varieties of the 1660 8 reales, which may be purposeful, since the roller die consisted of three separate engravings allowing three strikes per revolution of the roller.
    There is no competitive set for older coins like these but you can see it hosted in my "Silver Dollars of '60" custom set.
    http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=19493
    ~jack

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  25. jgenn

    Custom Set Collage

    By jgenn,

    Celebrating an Amazing 8s milestone
    This year I was able to add two coins to my set of Charles III 8 reales and complete the goal of an example from each mint that produced the portrait type issue. I figured out how to add an image to the custom set description and called on some dormant skills to illustrate the achievement. I left the commercial art field just as computer graphics were starting to take off so I remember 'copy' as what the photo department did, 'cut' requiring X-ACTO knife skills and 'paste' coming from the waxing machine.
    The active mints during this period, 1772-1789, and up to 1791 for various posthumous issues, were:
    Madrid -- Capital of Spain since 1606, its mintmark is distinguished by the crown above the 'M'. It was not one of the main mints of Spain until the 17th century. 8 reales of the macuquina type (cobs) first appeared in 1620 according to Cabeto. Charles III portrait 8 reales were issued from 1772-1775, 1777, 1782 and 1788.
    Seville -- An ancient city that produced coins for Romans and Goths, its zenith during the Spanish Empire was its period as the home of La Casa y Audiencia de Indias, the agency for all colonial exploration and trade, from 1503-1717; Seville's mint handled much of the precious metals from the New World. Its mintmark is 'S' Charles III portrait 8 reales were issued from 1772-1779 and 1788.
    Mexico City -- The oldest mint in the Americas was established in 1535 in the capital of the Viceroyalty of new Spain. 8 reales were not issued until the reign of Philip II (1555-1598). The common mintmark is 'M' with a small 'o' above. The first two years of the Charles III portrait type are known for the inversion of the mintmark and assayers initials. Charles III portrait 8 reales were issued from 1772-1789 and posthumously in 1789 and 1790 with the bust of Charles III and legend for Charles IV.
    Guatemala City -- Capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a large region that included El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Chiapas; minting started in 1733 with old equipment and tools from Mexico City and used the mintmark 'G'. The Charles III portrait 8 reales started in 1772 but were interrupted in 1773 by earthquakes that resulted in the movement of the city and mint away from the highlands, 40 miles to the Northwest. The new mint began 8 reales production again in 1777 and began using the mintmark 'NG' for Nueva Guatemala (New Guatemala). Issues continued until 1789 with posthumous issues in 1789 and 1790 with the bust of Charles III and legend for Charles IV.
    Lima -- Capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru, it was granted minting authority in 1565. Starting with the Charles III portrait issues, its mintmark was a monogram combining the letters 'LIMAE'. These continued from 1772-1789, with posthumous issues from 1789-1791 with the bust of Charles III and legend for Charles IV.
    Potosí -- Established in 1543 as a mining town at the foot of a mountain with the largest known silver deposit, Potosí was part Alto Perú (Upper Peru), which would be renamed Bolivia in honor of the general and political leader Simón Bolívar. Alto Perú was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1776, when it was shifted to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in hopes of countering the growing influence of Portugal in the region. With the beginning of milled coinage in 1767 it adopted the mintmark monogram with the letters 'PTS'. Charles III portrait 8 reales were issued from 1773-1789 and posthumously in 1789 and 1790 with the bust of Charles III and legend for Charles IV.
    Santiago -- Capital of the Captaincy General of Chile, its mint was first authorized as a private endeavor in 1743. It minted what the region mined which was mainly gold. Charles III brought the mint under the crown in 1770. The mintmark is 'S' with a small 'o' above. Silver issues are scarce and the Charles III 8 reales portraits are known for 1773, maybe 1774, 1775-1789, with posthumous issues from 1789-1791 with the bust of Charles III and legend for Charles IV.
    ~jack
    http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=3785

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