Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 26 i Coin Collector

I’m delighted to welcome you to the June edition of Coin Collector, which is the second in our new monthly schedule. Being published every month means that the ‘Coin Update’ section can cover numismatic developments more comprehensively and in a timely manner. As a result, this month’s news includes several stories that highlight exciting new developments and discoveries in numismatics. The first reports on ground-breaking research recently published on the origins of Anglo-Saxon silver. Scientific analysis of 49 coins in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum has revealed Byzantine bullion and a French silver mine as the source of the silver used in production between AD 660 and 750; a time that saw a rapid rise in the use of silver coins and a revival in trade. The result of…

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The enactment of the treaty between Alfred and Guthrum in c.880, while a victory in the sense that the very existence of Wessex had not been snuffed out, was ultimately a compromise. The Viking ‘Great Heathen Army’ had sailed over from Scandinavia seeking new land to settle and treasure to plunder, and in both respects, they had succeeded – to a degree. When the dust settled, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria were destroyed as political units, leaving Wessex as essentially the only Anglo-Saxon kingdom with an intact administrative and governmental system. Although Alfred can be seen as partially responsible in his efforts to bind together the disparate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms as one nation, it is interesting to consider what might have happened had the Scandinavians not invaded or been repulsed early…

In the ‘Treasure Hunt’ column in Issue 20 of Coin Collector on the long-lasting 5 francs ‘Fünfliber’ from Switzerland, I reported that the material was changed from silver 83.5% to cupro-nickel for the mintage of 1968. However, a very small number of silver planchets were used erroneously. One of these rarities appeared at Sincona’s Auction 5 in Switzerland. The description reported that this 1968 5-franc coin from the Berne mint, weighing 15.4g, was struck on a silver rondelle (Figure 1). The genesis of this error was explained. During a delivery of silver planchets intended for the 1967 or 1969 vintage, a small number of pieces probably remained in one of the containers and were subsequently used for minting the 1968 vintage. Again and again, supposed 5-franc pieces from 1968 appear…

Recently, gold bullion prices have risen sharply, briefly topping $2,400 for the first time. Tensions over global conflicts and concerns about the massive US Federal debt have made gold look attractive as a safety play. Almost daily, we have clients calling and asking about how to buy gold to protect their assets. It will only take one major headline crisis for gold to move to the next level, possibly above $3,000. The most immediate effect of the recent gold rise has been an upsurge in activity in coin shops in the United States. I would also guess that companies around the world with a strong web presence that is devoted to bullion have also seen an increase in business. ss. Many dealers who I have contacted have been buying much…

Guthrum/Æthelstan (c.879–90) – the leader of the Scandinavian invaders defeated at the Battle of Edington in 871. Guthrum submitted to Alfred following his defeat. The resulting treaty stipulated that Guthrum and his leading ‘officers’ be baptised as Christians, before permanently leaving Wessex into territory they would occupy peacefully – the ‘Danelaw’. As part of his ‘Christianisation’, Guthrum took the regnal name ‘Æthelstan’ and went into East Anglia – which he appears to have ruled over peacefully. The vast majority of coins struck under his rule copy the two-line type of Alfred, though there are a few among these that attempt to render the name ‘Æthelstan’ – with varying degrees of success. Cnut of Northumbria (c.900–5) – far more obscure than his 11th-century namesake, who reputedly tried to hold back the…

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The bronzes struck in the Roman empire of the 4th century were generally very different to what had gone before. Instead of the bewildering number of reverse types to be found on the radiates of the second half of the third century, the fourth century is dominated by a successive sequence of stock reverse types that were changed every few years. Most of these coins were struck at every mint then operating across the empire, from Antioch and Alexandria in the east, to London and Lyons in the west. Both the obverse and reverse types would often be standardised so that, apart from the style of different die engravers at different mints, the only difference was in the mint marks that the coins carried. But not all types were struck…