UkrainiiVityaz

For a long time the 10 bani note was considered the smallest issued banknote - but I have smaller examples from Ukraine, and Morocco. I like Romanian banknotes and coinage from early 20th century.

The only issue with registered mail is that you cannot get "registered" mail from the UK to the USA - only "recorded" which is basically useless. I have a P.O. box to get numismatic related mail and recorded is just thrown into the box - no signature or anything.

I'll kill two birds with one post - a rampant lion and an eagle - this is a Ron Landis of Gallery Mint Museum creation from the mid 1990s.

On a slightly related note regarding identity in the British Isles: https://youtu.be/vAHyefE0PdI

Salisbury Wiltshire - George Godfrey - The Rat Exterminator! Some of the themes and occupations of 17th century tokens are curiously emblematic and very descriptive of the times then. This fascinating little token dated 1659 is from Sarum, now Salisbury in Wiltshire. Of estimated 20.000 token issuers in 17th century, this is the only known token issued by an individual with a then not uncommon profession, that being a rat killer, the 17th century equivalent of an exterminator. Like many other tokens, George Godfrey's little piece here has an emblem of his profession - that being of a rat! But this is the only piece known with an image of a rat, and the only piece known that was issued by someone in the profession of being a rat killer. The extermination of vermin was very important, as it involved health and well being. Indeed, when London burned in 1666 the resultant deaths of hundreds of thousands of rats saw the demise of the annual plague outbreaks.

Norwich Norfolk farthing 1653 issued by Edward Buxton, grocer One of the consequences of the devasting English Civil War and the Commonwealth era in England was an accute shortage of smaller denomination coinage. Usually this coinage was minted at the Tower Mint in the denominations of halfpennies and farthings, however the turbulent times resulted in very little if any smaller coinage being issued by the Crown or even claimants. The shortage of coinage affected the less affluent first. There being a lack of coinage resulted in barter returning to everyday transactions. Clearly something had to be done and soon enterprising merchants engaged minters to manufacture small tokens usually in the denomination of a farthing or 1/4 Penny. This particular farthing was issued by Edward Buxton grocer of Norwich England, He resided at St Andrew's and was churchwarden 1659-60, He died in 1665 and was buried in the South side of the church of that parish.

Beccles Suffolk farthing 1670 Beccles, in Suffolk, has the distinction of issuing one of the more unusual round farthings, this features a house and a shepherd's pen with sheep. This surely must have been reflective of a prominent occupation at that time. Because of the unique design, this piece is my favourite 17th century token. In later times Beccles was known for being a fishing centre, and now light industry have taken over.

Gloucestershire Some of the most fascinating tokens were those issued by innkeepers and tavern keepers, this curious and cute little token was issued ca. 1650 by William Warwick, whom owned the Raven Taverne in Gloucester in Gloucestershire.

Bought this John Balliol penny at auction awhile back, on the cheap. Not sure why people need to put these things in these ridiculous pronged thingamajigs, but eventually I am going to free John boy from his plastic tomb. Crazily enough because of the venue it was being sold on, it did not attract many bids and I got it for far less than many of my Alexander III pennies that I bought years ago. I almost never buy common stuff anymore - only stuff that is overlooked and a great rarity.

Trying to find images of my several Balliol pennies, but more importantly my Robert I penny. My coins and records on them are fairly organized, images not so much. This is one of the scarcer varieties of a lesser mint - 22 pts in the stars was likely minted in Roxburgh. The 24 pt pennies are the most common and were likely minted in Berwick. All of John Balliols' pennies were minted in Berwick as were Robert I's.

Coins from Robert I and Mary are the most popular because of the associations of their reigns, actually Robert I's pennies are more common than John Balliols, but nobody cares too much for the "Toom Tabard" - empty coat monarch but everybody wants Robert I's coinage. Queen Mary's pennies are the rarest of the bunch, by then a fairly small denomination that had been devalued by inflation and actually much scarcer than many other reign's pennies. Pennies in 90 percent bronze and 10 percent silver were the first of very few coins struck in Scotland bearing a portrait of Mary, this as an infant. This particular coin is from the first coinage with the portrait of Mary with an arched crown, a particularly rare coin, struck in small quantities, and one of the few with Mary crowned on a coin. The legend on the front of the coin is + MARIA D G R SCOTORVM whilst the reverse is OPIDVM EDNBVR. Provenance: Ex David McDonald Collection (Dix Noonan Webb 63, 7 October 2004), lot 710

Your best bet for finding a Scottish coin is going to be King Alexander III(1249-86) - over 50 million pennies were estimated to have been minted. Of course there are no where near 50 million now, but the coinage from that reign is far more numerous than any other Scottish monarch. I have a couple of pennies from King John, but they are not imaged. Coins from his reign are notably scarcer than Alexander III's coinage, but demand is generally fairly low(not a popular monarch like Robert I)

Queen Mary wedded to King Philip of Spain - a quite consequential marriage even after Mary's untimely demise. Because King Philip viewed himself as the defender of the faith, and Queen Elizabeth as a heretic. He believed he had claim to the throne vis a vis his marriage to Queen Mary, and sought ardently to partake of that culminating in the failed Spanish Armada of 1588. Queen Elizabeth was a fascinating character, she was put into an untenable position in 1586-7 by her cousin's continued antics. Queen Mary of Scotland was not an overly ambitious character, but her supporters were - and they were responsible ultimately for her demise culminating with Queen Elizabeth signing her death warrant.

@JeandAcre A big issue with the research of British Isle coins in that era is the 1st English Civil War was in full swing and chaos reigned supreme throughout the islands. A lot of documentation from ecclesiastical sources suffered severely during that time so that there are instances where control over areas especially in the mid of Great Britain are not well known. As bad as it was south of Hadrian's Wall, it was far worse north of the border. Rulers are documented, but get into mid level and lower levels of governance and the record is particularly slight. In essence that makes that era rather intriguing for me. I've owned and still own several English pennies and cuts from that era, but one I would love to own is the Queen/Empress Matilda penny that was issued during Stephen's unreign. Another matter of importance is that earldoms were cast out like candy, north and south of the border. As much as it was a factor in the 12th century, it came to the fore in the early 14th whence Robert de Brus aka Robert I of Scotland held earldoms in the English north which pre-empted his involvement in the early part of the Scottish rebellion commenced by William Wallace, but middled and finished by Robert.

Scotland Queen Mary (1542 ~ 1567) Half Lion or 22/- Gold 22 Shillings, crowned shield, I G either side, rev. crowned monogram MR, date in legend, 2.49gms S.5396. The I G on both sides of the shield are for James, Earl of Arran, Governor of Scotland. Curiously, he was next in line to the Scottish throne, being descended from James II. He was appointed regent in 1542, and would subsequently negotiate with the French for Mary's marriage to the Dauphin Francis. For his efforts he was created Duke of Chatellerault. In 1554 the regency was surrendered to Marie of Guise, Queen Mary's mother. The Latin legends on this coin, Maria Dei Gra R Scotorum translates to Mary Queen of the Scots, whilst on the reverse Diligit Iusticiam translates to observe justice. This particular coin is S-5396, and SMA22S-005.

Junk box pick up for melt:

I'd be grumpy as hell if I had a schnose that looked like that! Cool looking coin though.

Phanagoria - Фанагория Phanagoria was founded in the 6th century BC by colonists fleeing Asia Minor in the wake of the expansion of the Persian Empire. The city was located on what is now the Taman Peninsula in Russia, directly across and east from the Crimean Peninsula in what is now Ukraine. Phanagoria was a strategically located centre of trade and commerce and had a long lineage of rulers that continued to reign until ca. 108 BC when the ruler Paerisades V lost his kingdom to the Skythians. This coin was one of the last issued under the original kingdom that flourished in that region, the King Paerisades V and is a dimunitive AE11 that has a portrait of a bearded Satyr on the obverse and a bow and arrow and the legend "ФА". In the first century Phanagoria became part of a client state of the Roman Empire under their Bosporan Kingdom.

Pantikapeum - Пантикапеум The city state of Pantikapeum was quite possibly founded by Greeks from Miletos in Asia Minor, they possibly settled the Cimmerian Bosporus beginning in the 7th century BC. This city is located roughly near modern Kerch in Ukraine. Coinage with the satyr, Pan and the bull reverse with the legend PAN was issued beginning in the 3rd century BC. A similar example with a curious feature of having a spur which was subsequently pushed back into the flan of the coin, this piece is also slightly off of centre.

Sicily, Syracuse Æ Hemi-litron reign of King Agathokles ca. 317-289 BC This hemi-litron was issued during the reign of Agathokles from ca. 317-289 BC and portrays an image of Artemis or Diana, the Goddess of War -notice her quiver of arrows behind her neck. The legend Soteira translates as "saviour" The winged thunderbolt on the reverse with the monarchs' Agathokles name and title is a famous design

Scotland David I (1124-1153) AR Penny Researchers have long debated whom was the first Scottish King to have actually instituted a native Scottish coinage. Whilst the Kingdom of Northumbria encompassed parts of Scotland up to the Forth River, it is believed that all of the Northumbrian coinage was minted in the south, ie York. Occasionally these coins are found in southern Scotland. Ca. 1980 there was a report in the press about a researcher determining that a coin was minted during the reign of Ecfrith of Deira and Northumbria (664-670 AD) in Scotland, but subsequent research has determined that this theory is not with due merit. Earlier volumes on Scottish Coinage, such as "The Coinage of Scotland" by J.D. Robertson have suggested that the first native Scottish coins were issued during the reign of Alexander I (1107-1124) however this is 19th century research, which has since been disproven. Without a doubt, David I issued coins in his name, and therefore is most likely the first Scottish monarch to have actually issued them as such. The first Scottish coins are believed to be those issued by King David I(1124-1153), previous to this time very few coins ever found their way into Scotland, though some Roman era and Northumbrian sceats are very occasionally found. The first issue of coins was ca. 1136, and was likely connected to the Scottish capture of Carlisle and it's mines. Even after the introduction of a native coinage, barter continued to the basis for the economy for many years. David I was the youngest son of Malcolm Canmore (1058-1093) and the third son to have acceded the throne after his father. His early years appear to have been spent in England, the birthplace of his mother, Margaret(whom was the sister of Edgar The Aetheling.) With his mother's sponsorship, and given his lower rank in the possibility of his inheriting the throne he spent much of his youth in the Church and was an accomplished student. In 1113 he was married to Matilda, whom was the daughter of the Earl of Northumberland. With this marriage he acquired lands south of the Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, Huntington and Northampton. This acquisition would result in his being recognised as a Norman Baron. David's older brother, Alexander I, soon would recognise David as the sub-king of the Scottish lowlands as a result. In 1124 Alexander I died and the throne again was inherited by a son of Malcolm Canmore and David I would soon have the opportunity to forge Scotland into a united kingdom once more, as divisions existed from the earlier disputed monarchs of Scotland. Some of the legacies which were instituted during this reign included the creation of the counties of Scotland, which in effect lasted until 1975. Whilst there was a sound degree of harmony in Scotland, the opposite was true of her southern neighbour, England. The first English Civil War was in full swing, with Stephen (1135-1154) as King of England defending himself against Matilda, whom was the daughter of Henry with purportedly a better claim at the throne. Whilst the explanation of the English Civil War would take up volumes, it can be summarised in that David I of Scotland soon saw opportunity knocking and moved south in favour of his niece, Matilda in 1135. Despite having made this move, it is in retrospect, obvious that he was looking more for acquisition than assisting Matilda, as subsequently his support could be described as lukewarm at best. The move south resulted in the Scots acquiring Carlisle, with it's nearby mines, and importantly for coin collectors, it's mint. Coins had been struck in the name of Stephen since the previous year. The capture of the mint resulted in some coins in Stephen's name still being struck after the capture, but soon they began changing the dies and issued pennies in David's name. Many of the coins issued during this reign are quite similar to the English issues of Stephen, and this has led to some confusion given the fact that all of the coins from this era were quite crude by comparison with earlier issues. Workmanship on the coins had deteriorated, and legends on the coins were often blundered, the result of uneducated die cutters creating the coins. All of the coins of this era featured a portrait of the monarch, or more likely during this time a crude representation of him. The reverse was usually a short cross with pellets in the quarters of it. Later in the reign coins were minted in Berwick, Perth, Roxburgh and Edinburgh. Denominations used during this reign Silver Penny Pennies were the only denomination struck, they were struck at 22.5 grains weight at .925 fine ie sterling standard. They are divided into the following classes:Period A or First Issue(ca. 1136-1144): As Henry I(of England) but with DAVIT REX minted at Carlisle, then a possession of the Scots. This coin is S-5001 and SD11D-005. This coin is extremely rare. As Stephen I(of England) but with STIEFNE REX minted at Carlisle, then a possession of the Scots. This coin is S-5002 and SD11D-010. This coin is very rare. Like Stephen coin above but with DAVIT REX minted at Edinburgh. This coin is S-5003 and SD11D-015. This coin is extremely rare.Period B or Second Issue(ca. 1144-1149): Blundered and poorly executed copy of Stephen's coins minted at Edinburgh and Roxburgh, This coin is S-5004 and SD11D-020. This coin is very rare, but one of the most common types found of David I's coinage. Henry I(of England) but with DAVIT REX and annulet or crescent enclosing pellet; minted at Carlisle, Berwick, Edinburgh, Perth & Roxburgh. This coin is S-5005 and SD11D-025. This coin is extremely rare. Bishop of Carlisle minted at Carlisle, king holding a branch. This coin is S-5006 and SD11D-030. This coin is extremely rare.Period C or Third Issue(ca. 1149-1153): Coins of better workmanship, with DAVIT REX and crowned bust with sceptre. Minted at Carlisle, Roxburgh, St. Andrews and Berwick. Usually with single pellet in angles. This coin is S-5007 and SD11D-035. This coin is rare, but one of the most common types found of David I's coinage. Similar but has other symbols instead of pellets in angles. This coin is S-5008 and SD11D-035. This coin is rare.Period D or Fourth Issue(ca. 1153): DAVIT REX etc., sometimes retrograde legends and crude bust. This coin is S-5009 and SD11D-040. This coin is very rare. Blundered and retrograde legends still, but better style of King's bust. This coin is S-5010 and SD11D-045. This coin is very rare. Collecting coins from this reign Collecting the coins of David I are quite challenging, as all of them are very rare nowadays. When they are found, it is usually a unique find, and not as a hoard. In scanning through important auctions of Scottish coinage, for example the Dundee Sale of 1976 it is notable that this reign is only scarcely represented. In fact in that auction of hundreds of Scottish coins there were only two lots from this reign. Currently, lower graded and properly identified coins from this reign start out at approximately £600 each. Collectors should exercise caution as there are very many similar English pennies, most of which are quite more common.

England Suffolk Bury St. Edmunds Marie Cressener farthing ca. 1660's Marie Cressener was the widow of Thomas Cressener, the apothecary in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk. He died in 1662, and she continued the business, and perhaps was connected to the Catholic Short family in Bury St. Edmunds, the Short family were a medical dynasty in the town. The inference is that this token issued by Marie Cressener, that perhaps since she worked with the Short family that perhaps she was Catholic also, but this now is conjecture and is not known definitevely. This piece is Suffolk 50 in the Williamson catalogue.

Scotland James III (1460-1488) Crosraguel Penny Most of the available coinage for collectors from this reign is in the form of Pennies or farthings, which are commonly referred to as Crosraguel pennies, from the abbey at St. Andrews where most of the extent examples were found. It is not for certain whether these were an Ecclesiastical issue that was issued by Bishop James Kennedy, or if they were a regal issue. At any rate, regardless of the issuer, they must have not been popular as they have never been found in any quantity aside from the Crosraguel hoard.