Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 17 i Coin Collector

Welcome to this special issue of Coin Collector, dedicated to the remarkable reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the many coins that were issued bearing her portrait. In the last few weeks, the nation, indeed the world, has come together to mourn the loss of a hugely influential figure. We have all reflected on the incredible life and reign of the Queen, and of course, our hobby may seem trivial in comparison. Yet coins are so much more than just ‘collectables’, and as time passes we can begin to look back and celebrate the second Elizabethan era, and the thousands upon thousands of coins issued featuring the portrait of Elizabeth II. These coins give us a unique way to chart history and tell the Queen’s story. The presence…

The ‘Ellerby Area’ Hoard of English Gold Coins recently went under the hammer at Spink. Discovered beneath the floorboards of a historic home in the small Yorkshire village of Ellerby, the hoard was thought to be the possession of a Sarah Fernley, and mostly consisted of coins that would have been used as currency between the reigns of King James I and King George I. One the scarcest coins offered in the sale was an ‘excessively rare’ mint error from the reign of George I (1714-1727). The reverse brockage guinea, of 1720, featured the obverse design but incuse – so presenting a mirror image of the intended artwork. The auction house explained: ‘Only three brockages of the Guinea series have appeared at worldwide public auction since the millennium. A reverse…

From the radicals of the 19th and early 20th century, like Thomas Spence and the Suffragettes, to current artists and activists, such as Aida Wilde and Hilary Powell, the works on display in the Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest exhibition show how money has been used to promote social and economic equality or satirise those in power. Curator and regular Coin Collector contributor Richard Kelleher said: ‘A range of striking objects in the exhibition reveal the multiple roles money played during conflict, whether it be in occupation or resistance, as tokens of memory and remembrance, created during siege or emergency, made for or by prisoners of war, or made in support of sectarian or political ideologies. ‘Contemporary artworks by kennardphillipps, Banksy and JSG Boggs are contextualised against earlier works and reveal…

Were you given any guidelines before you started work? No. It was quite an open brief, except obviously to include the inscription around the coin. We have a few variations of that which we’re allowed to use – and I picked ‘DEI GRA REG FID DE’ which you don’t actually see on the mock ups but you will see on the £2 coin. How important was it to you to reflect previous portraits in this new design? Yes, the only real inspiration I took were the previous portraits. I wanted the image to stand out on its own but also work so that they looked good when put together – almost as a set. Did you feel the pressure? If I’d been selected on my own to produce it then I’d certainly…

As the Queen’s reign went into its final decades, some Commonwealth countries discontinued putting the Queen on their notes, but there are 15 that still do so, and collectors will be eager to see how the designs will develop following the sad passing of HM. But for now let us look back on a remarkable range of banknotes featuring her portrait. It is not easy to determine whether more notes in total have been issued with the Queen’s image on compared to any other person. Strong rivals for top position would include Mao Tse Tung, Mahatma Gandhi and George Washington even though only their home countries have ever issued notes bearing their image. Mao Tse Tung has appeared on all Chinese notes since 1999, Mahatma Gandhi on Indian notes since…

Ema Sikic Ema Sikic is an archaeologist and an art historian. She works for A.H. Baldwin’s & Sons in London as a World Coins Specialist with Baldwin’s collection of World and Islamic coins. Ema is a member of the Royal Numismatic Society. Ema provides a guide to collecting Chinese coins on page 23. Paula Hammond Paula Hammond has worked as a publisher, copy-writer, ghost-writer, author, and journalist. She has written over thirty fiction and non-fiction books as well as comics, poetry, and scripts, and is a regular contributor to Coin Collector. Her collecting passions include autographed FDCs and coins. Jonathan Callaway Jonathan Callaway is a retired banker who has researched, studied and collected paper money for over thirty years. He is the co-author of catalogues and histories of the paper…

The Royal Australian Mint has revealed a series of coins celebrating 50 years of Australian rock band AC/DC. The 2023 set features four 20c coins celebrating the group’s albums with a $1 coin featuring an image of guitarist Angus Young. Pobjoy Mint have released a second £2 coin to commemorate the bicentenary of the famous British astronomer Sir Frederick William Herschel. The new £2 coin features the Southern Constellation of Grus – Crane and coin is the second in the Southern Constellation series of five £2 coins. The coin is issued in Bimetal and Proof Fine Silver. Archaeologists in Israel have discovered 44 7th-century gold coins hidden in a wall at a nature reserve. The hoard found at the Hermon Stream (Banias) site is thought to have been hidden during…

One side of our coin has the legend ‘Diocese of Birmingham’ and a shield with a bishop’s mitre (hat). The other side says ‘Cathedral Bazaar Token’ round the edge and ‘Spend me as Sixpence’ in the centre with the date ‘Oct 9 10 11 1928’. This text tells you almost everything you need to know, the exact date, the place and the event. What more can you want? Well firstly which cathedral are we talking about? A quick look on the internet under ‘Diocese of Birmingham’ showed that this is the Anglican diocese and the cathedral is St Philip’s, right in the middle of the city. St Philip’s is an interesting building; it only dates from the early eighteenth century and is really just a large church, rather than a…

AUSTRALIA (www.ramint.gov.au) Domed Silver Proof Coin Lunar Year of the Rabbit Denomination: $5 Diameter: 39.62mm Weight: 31.107g Metal: 99.99% Fine Silver Mintage: 7,500 Mint: Royal Australian Mint Australian Commonwealth Games Denomination: 50c Diameter: 31.51mm Weight: 15.55g Metal: Cupro-nickel Mintage: 20,000 Mint: Royal Australian Mint Centenary of the Country Women’s Association CWA Denomination: $1 Diameter: 25mm Weight: 9g Metal: AlBr Mintage: Unlimited Mint: Royal Australian Mint AUSTRIA (muenzeoesterreich.at) Denomination: €10 Diameter: 32mm Weight: 16.82g Metal: 92.5% Sterling Silver/92.5% Sterling Silver/Copper Mintage: 30,000/30,000/130,000 Mint: Austrian Mint Democracy 2022 Denomination: €5 Diameter: 28.5mm Weight: 8.9g Metal: Copper Cu 999 Mintage: 200,000 Mint: Austrian Mint Notes: The copper edition is made from copper taken from the former roof of the Parliament building in Vienna. British Antarctic Territory (www.pobjoy.com) Bicentenary of astronomer William Herschel Denomination:…

Do you have a good side? One that you turn towards the camera when posing for a photo? Edward VIII certainly thought he had, adamant that the left side, showing the parting in his hair, was the right choice for his coinage, even if it went against the custom of alternating the direction coin portraits faced. Of course, it wasn't the only break with tradition the king made during his brief time on the throne and besides the coins never saw the light of day. Whilst they may not have said it to his face (whichever way it was turned) the folk at The Royal Mint were not happy with the idea of breaking the long-held tradition. Indeed, when George VI coins were produced just months later, the king is…

Jonathan Callaway is a Director of the International Bank Note Society Lawrence Chard Founder and Expert Numismatist, Speciality Sovereigns Jeff Garrett US coin dealer and board member of the Smithsonian Museum of American History Richard Kelleher Assistant Keeper, Department of Coins and Medals, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Jonathan Mann Numismatist and coin expert, British coinage specialist Rory Naismith Lecturer in Medieval British History, King’s College London Ema Sikic Archaeologist, art historian, coin specialist at Baldwin’s, London Anglo-Saxon and Viking coinage: Gareth Williams Curator of Early Medieval Coins and Viking Collections at the British Museum…

Several of my very good friends in Lexington, Kentucky are involved in the restaurant industry. One fellow owns and operates two very successful, upscale eateries. Occasionally we discuss topics of health and menu selections in theirs and other restaurants around the country. Both have told me on separate occasions that they are constantly pressured to offer healthy selections on the menu. The public virtually demands it. Many states in this country have gone so far as to require calorie totals on menus. The irony of course is that most of these healthy alternatives do not sell. One of my friends tells me that despite his offering of great salads, his best seller is the bacon cheeseburger! You might wonder what this has to do with coin collecting. Ask any collector…

It may have been overlooked by the majority of the British Musuem’s visitors, but for numismatists and medallists the recent exhibit, Mary Gillick: Modelling the Queen’s Portrait, was little slice of joy. Designed as part of the celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the exhibition celebrated the work of a sculptor who was thrust into the spotlight at the grand age of 71 when her portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was selected to adorn the monarch’s new coinage. The newspaper headlines of the day didn’t exactly give their readers an accurate impression of the artist whose work was to become the subject of so much scrutiny. The Daily Graphic noted merely that Gillick was a widow who had given up her holiday to finish her design. Other papers focussed on…

Australian coins have featured the same portrait of the Queen over the years, from Mary Gillick’s youthful depiction to the final portrait by Jody Clark, but there was one anomaly. Vladimir Gottwald, a former member of the Royal Australian Mint’s Design and Engraving Section, had entered the Royal Mint’s competition to find a new effigy in 1996 and his work was shortlisted. Ultimately he lost out to Ian Rank-Broadley whose design was introduced onto Australian coinage in 1998. But two years later Gottwald’s design was approved for a one-off on a special 50c coin issued to commemorate the Royal Visit in 2000. Gottwald became the first Australian designer since the renowned Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal to have his work on the obverse of an Australian coin. In that same year,…