ColonialCoinsUK

Very nice coin and a very interesting/complex period in history. I have only ever seen one example 'in person' but it will come as no surprise that I have some Ormonde sixpences somewhere!

I hope everyone has a good year - surprised I didn't have an 1822 so just a 1922.

Just wondered whether there were any plans for a mid-sized holder between the normal one and the oversized holder. The reason is there are lots of medals with diameters between 45mm and 65mm and these are just a little too big for the normal holder and yet are completely swamped in the oversize holder (which also then takes up alot of space). Something which was suitable for upto 70-75mm would be great! Thanks

Another Napoleonic medal added to the collection. This one was produced following the Treaty of Pressburg which was signed by Napoleon on the 26th December 1805 following the major victory by the French over the Austrian's at Austerlitz earlier in that month. In 1813, as Napoleon's control in Europe weakened, the Austrians regained the Illyrian provinces so French influence was short-lived but did result in some positive changes in region. As part of this important Treaty Austria ceded its possessions in Dalmatia to France and this is represented on this 1806 bronze medal by the Temple of Jupiter in Split (Bramsen 513, Julius 1552, Essling 1128 - there is also an example in silver). This temple was part of Diocletian's palace, and given Napleon's fixation with the Roman Empire, this was no doubt an appropriate example to highlight the importance of the region. The Paris mint produced a whole range of medals related to this pivotal battle and the corresponding Treaty, and its resultant collapse, so this medal is the start of a small sub-collection.

Great gifts, sounds like everyone understands, the now, family hobby! I didn't get anything coin related although I did spend some time sorting through things and even added a few coins, I had forgotten about, to various Registry sets. I seem to also have a pile of things to send for grading.

Gary, all your hard work has brought the history together, and protected it, allowing others around the world to get involved - which is what it is all about, many congratulations!

Managed to upgrade my VF 1815 '100 days' Napoleonic 5 francs from the common Paris mint (A mint mark) in my Napoleon Typeset. Not only to a better quality coin but also to an example from the more scarce Toulouse mint (M mint mark) Recently I did think I would actually complete this set as there is only a single missing coin - a Premier Consul half franc. The one I had my eye on was not only a rare mint but also in great condition but it went for 6x the estimate and three times my annual coin budget Looks like a common date/mint will be needed to fill this final slot

He is either rushing about like a mad thing or asleep - I wish I could sleep like that! Area is loosely Medicinal Chemistry - draft dissertations this weekend were on a new diagnostic agent for neuroinflammation and a compound we are working on which shows promise in treating colon cancer - the diversity keeps things interesting

During the Napoleonic period Italy was not the single country we know today and as such had multiple, sometimes, short-lived territories each with their own coinage. The gold 20 and 40 Lire issues were only struck at Milan (mint mark M) with the smaller denominations also being issued by the mints at Bologna and Venice (mint marks B and V), the Italians seem to have had a much greater need than the French for small change - Napoleon only had a single copper issue struck for the French, the 1808BB 5 centimes, so I assume there was enough copper coinage already circulating. These were the main mints for the Kingdom of Italy and I have some examples for each of these. However some Italian mints were under the same authority as the French mints and issued Francs rather than Lire, these were Turin (mint mark U, T was already taken by Nantes!), Genoa (mint mark CL) and Rome (mint mark is a R topped with a crown as Napoleon declared himself the King of Rome). I have had a 1810U gold 20 francs for some time, and this is part of my Registry set, however examples from Rome and Genoa have proven more of a challenge - usually financial . So it is great to finally acquire the crowned R mint mark in the form of a 1813Rome gold 20 francs to add to my collection I will now have to start saving for the elusive CL.

You are doing a lot for a PhD student, sometimes you just have to focus on things. Having organised a number of conferences I now decline politely I am spending the weekend going through draft dissertations for some of my students - also with feline 'help'!

Nice coins, it is nice to see the smaller denominations get graded, which over time may reflect just how rare quality examples are. I seem to have bought more Napoleonic medals, as opposed to coins, this year - there is probably a custom set in there somewhere if I can put a theme together, anything would need a lot more examples though as I am about 3000 short of the full set

Congratulations on finding an example, Italian coins, over many periods, seem to very difficult if you are trying to complete a date set and top quality examples of anything are scare with prices to match!

Yet more varieties of the Napoleonic 20 Lire!

Given earlier Journal entries it will be no surprise that I, not only, have an interest in die varieties but have also been looking at the Napoleonic coinage of Italy which is complex to say the least! It looks like I was not the only one attempting to resolve this dilemma as another collector has also been working on the gold 20 Lire issues and their collection came up for sale at the recent Gaduory auction in Monaco which took place on 22/23 October (see catalogue pages below and next post). It includes the variations in the number of stars, the points on the stars, the overdates and the relative positions and styles of the M mintmark for Milan. I think this should now be the reference work for these coins - just the small matter of all the other denominations to sort out now which are even more diverse than 20 Lire with the Venice and Bologna mints also issuing coins and often reusing the dies from Milan!

I love that quote! Droz seems to have got around a bit, as did a few other engravers. There have been quite a few 'not recorded' and 'unique' gold Napoleonic coins and medals appearing over the last year or so - some of these have been from the 'bonaparte family' and in their possession since their issue. I wonder if the Dutch, Italian and Westphalia branches of the family have decided now is a good time to sell?? The gold version seems to be a reworked die and/or struck over another medal - I am still trying to identify this

I was interested in a coin at a recent auction with an estimate of 600-800 which I thought was a little low and wouldn't have been surprised at 1200 - it went for 3500! It was a top pop but was the 2nd most common issue of the series to find in uncirculated condition, I will wait for an ungraded example to appear. I think top pop coins are attracting bids that really can't be justified - often 5 to 10x just one grade lower - sometimes I think that the coin doesn't warrant the grade at all and people are buying the label. I am more than happy with a grade below 'top pop' as long as the coin is nice

Napoleon had a fascination with the Roman Empire and this is reflected in everything he did, most notably on the medals of the period. I have an example of the medal depicting the Vendome column in Paris, this was erected in 1810 as tribute to the Grand Armee and the Victory at Austerlitz in 1805. This was Napoleon's take on Trajan's column in Rome. Both columns show a spiral relief of important military events, the major events of the 1805 campaign for Napoleon and in this case of Trajan the Dacian campaign. The similarity does not end there as they also seem to have had the statue on the top changed a few times over the years – Napoleon, originally dressed in Roman garb, did not survive much past 1814 and the fall of his Empire being re-instated as the little corporal’ in 1833. The Vendome column was also demolished in 1871 during the short-lived Paris commune only to be re-erected a mere three years later following the French army regaining control of the area. This is the version that can still be seen in Paris today and is topped by yet another roman reincarnation of Napoleon. An extremely rare, possibly unique, gold version of the medal has just appeared at the upcoming MDC Monaco auction (20-21 October, lot 763) with a starting price of 30,000Euros. That means that I will not be able to ‘upgrade’ in this lifetime and have to settle for my example, copper is good.

Hope everyone is OK, moderns and multi-holder wasn't me!

Nice photos, I think the angled shots are much better at showing lustre and clean fields etc, this doesn't really show up on the 'head on' pictures. Also why people love gold. I really need a proper camera!

Thankyou - managed to get to look at the lots today - even though I have no hope in ever owning one I got to see a gold 5 guinea and it always amazes me how heavy they are! Saw this and thought you may be interested - from the catalogue, I tried taking a photo but it was much darker than the listing.

Thankyou both for your kind comments, unfortunately the condition is progressive, with no cure* although I plan to do everything I can to limit its impact for as long as possible. Coins, medals and their associated stories provide a welcome break with the added bonus that we have a local coin auction coming up for the first time in several years so I will spend a few pleasant hours actually going through some real coins before deciding what to bid on! * As a scientist who works in translational drug discovery that challenge is now No1 on the 'to do list'

I agree with everyone that prices, and certainly those in my areas of interest, seem to be going forever upwards - I think I was a bit in shock watching my selected lots go through at the MDC Monaco auction, the Paramount Collection and the latest Heritage and Stacks sales, needless to say I didn't get anything!! As a result I have bought very little lately, although I did pick up some more Napoleonic medals - in copper/bronze as the more elusive silver strikes are now achieving prices in the thousands! My lack of recent Journal entries is a result of my focus being elsewhere following a life-changing diagnosis rather than the lack of new acquisitions (I did try). Although I am functioning again and back at work for now it looks like I am going to get the time to finally sort out, and research, my collection properly, albeit earlier than expected. Always have a hobby you can do at your own pace whilst sitting down - numismatics seems a good choice!

Congratulations - I have several #1 sets but for most of them mine is the only set!Quite easy to do in the 'World coins' - move to the dark side the possibilties are endless

@coinsbygary thankyou for your comments, although I prefer paper copies of things I do have a number of catalogues/books etc that are now PDF downloads which is great as that is cheaper and takes up much less space! I am aware of the NNP, and have some coins with the Newman pedigree, although it seems to have a US focus which is understandable, although it sounds like I need to check it more regularly if they are updating things as articles on individual Napoleonic medals etc have appeared in various periodicals which are always an interesting read and often contain information not available elsewhere.

The catalogue for the Paramount Collection from Heritage has just arrived and I will be adding this to my collection as it has some great information on rare world coins and will no doubt get referred to for many years to come. As I mentioned in the ‘Auction Catalogs’ thread some of the standard references used in sales for the areas I have an interest in are actually auction catalogues rather than books, the main one being Napoleonic medals. I already had a copy of Bramsen (reprint, original 1907 and the first attempt at listing) and Julius (1932) so it was great that I have now also acquired a copy of the 1927 catalogue for the Prince d’Essling collection on the coins & medals of the 1st Empire Napoleon I to Napoleon III, so I finally have the three main ‘references’. There have been many more specialist collections since the early 1800’s and due to last minute work commitments I managed to miss the start of the latest Kolbe & Fanning Sale (March 6th) which had some rare catalogues for collections from this early period – this was a bit frustrating to say the least. I was surprised that the copy of Julius that appeared later on in the sale hammered at $550! (only the 3rd copy I have seen, including mine, and therefore looks to be a much better financial return that some of my coins). I know that you are supposed to buy the book before the coin but sometimes you have no choice – well that is my excuse.