lordmarcovan

January 11

New Zealand (Christchurch): 1881 bronze merchant token, Milner & Thompson's Music Depot

PCGS MS63 BN, cert #38594734.

Numista-95371, KM-Tn50, Renniks-368.

Handsome Milner & Thompson token featuring a Maori chief, a kiwi, and a New Zealand scene.

January 11

France (Compagnie La Prévoyance): 1869 silver jeton (insurance token) engraved by Paulin Tasset

Obverse: Nude, draped female figure standing left, right arm reaching towards ship at sea, left arm holding a snake-entwined mirror; she is surrounded by mercantile products, an anchor, and a cornucopia full of coins. Inscription in exergue: P. TASSET.
Reverse: COMPAGNIE / LA / PRÉVOYANCE / 22 MARS 1869; wreath of river reeds (cattails), caduceus at bottom.
Issuer: Assurances Compagnie La Prévoyance, France. Engraved by sculptor Ernest Paulin Tasset, who also designed coins for several countries outside France.
Specifications: Silver, 36 mm octagonal, 18.88 g, medal alignment. Incuse edge mark reads ARGENT ("silver").*
Grade: PCGS MS63; cert. #35075130. Purchased raw.
Reference: PCGS-599608, Numista-190433, Gailhouste-690.
Provenance: ex-Numiscorner, Lille, France, via VCoins store, 25 January 2018.*
Notes: Medallic French jetons have been struck for many centuries, almost always to a high standard of artistry, but many from the 18th and 19th centuries bear particularly elaborate and lovely designs. Several 19th century types were struck on octagonal silver planchets like this.
Comments: As of this typing (August, 2020), this piece is one of only two examples certified by PCGS. The other is also graded MS63 like this one. I think mine is beautiful, but the other one could be described as especially stunning. Its owner must be duly proud. This type (Gailhouste-690) is certainly an exceptionally beautiful design.

January 11

United States: 1863 bronze patriotic Civil War token, "Our Little Monitor" type

PCGS cert. #44769724, Fuld #237/423a.

Portrays the famous ironclad warship USS Monitor. At certain angles to the light, this token displays some attractive pink tones.

January 11

United States (Nashville, TN): ca. 1852-1853 brass merchant token, Francisco & Whitman, Hatters

Obverse: ★ PUBLIC SQUARE ★ NASHVILLE TENN.; stovepipe hat.
Reverse: FRANCISCO & WHITMAN / HATTERS; eagle with Union shield, wings spread, clutching an olive branch and three arrows in its talons.
Issuer: Francisco & Whitman, hatters, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Specifications: Brass, 23 mm, plain edge.
Grade: PCGS MS65; cert. #35858718.
Reference: Miller-53A Brass.
Provenance: ex-"classickidcoins_0", eBay, 4 June 2020. Prior provenance to Heritage Auction #131924, Lot #26158 (sold for $312.00), 12 June 2019.*
Notes: This is an interesting and especially pristine merchant token from the antebellum South, which has survived over 160 years in Gem Mint State, with few marks and surprisingly little toning of the brass. Many tokens of this era featured eagles similar to the ones on the gold coins then in circulation.
Comments: I was drawn to this token by its Gem grade, not to mention the eagle, the top hat, and the fact that it's an early Southern piece. (Or at least the merchants were Southern; I suspect the token itself was struck by the Scovill Manufacturing Company in Waterbury, Connecticut.)

January 11

France: 1840 gilt bronze specimen medal by Antoine Bovy, for Napoleon Bonaparte's Paris funeral

Obverse: uniformed, bare headed bust of Napoleon Bonaparte left.
Reverse: scene of Napoleon's original memorial on the island of Saint Helena.
Issuer: engraved by Swiss-French medalist Antoine Bovy (1795-1877).
Specifications: Gilt bronze, 41 mm. Plain edge. Struck in 1840.
Grade: PCGS SP64; cert. #32592814.
Reference: PCGS-544441, Bramsen-1990 gilt bronze, special strike.
Provenance: ex-Mark Engelstad ("thebigeng" on Collectors Universe), 15 June 2019.
Notes: After Napoleon's final defeat in the wars that bear his name, he was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, which is situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He died and was buried there in 1821. In 1840, his remains were exhumed and returned to France, where they were eventually laid to rest in the Dôme des Invalides in Paris. This repatriation of the remains was called le retour des cendres , meaning "the return of the ashes". (This simply meant his mortal remains and not literal ashes, as Napoleon was not cremated.) This triumphal return of France's dead hero and his 1840 Paris funeral was the occasion of the striking of these medals, and this particular piece was a special gilt specimen of a type that was usually issued in plain bronze.
Comments: The size of this medal is impressive, as is the flashiness of its gilt surfaces, but what is especially striking is the very high relief. It is quite attractive in hand and is housed in a double-thickness PCGS holder.* Some people have been confused by the "Bramsen-1990" catalog number on the label, believing that to be a date, and the medal thereby to be a restrike. This is not the case. While Bramsen variety #1990 is a posthumous Napoleonic medal, it is an original specimen striking from 1840, not a modern restrike.

January 11

United States (New York): 1837 nickel silver private pattern cent, Feuchtwanger's Composition

Obverse: Eagle right, wings spread, seizing a serpent in its talons.
Reverse: * FEUCHTWANGER'S * COMPOSITION surrounding wreath, denomination within.
Issuer: Dr. Lewis Feuchtwanger, New York City, USA.
Specifications: Nickel-silver, 18.5 mm.
Grade: PCGS MS64; cert. #90027484.
Reference: PCGS-20001, Numista-40701, HT-268.
Provenance: ex-Northeast Numismatics, USA, 18 February, 2022.
Notes: Dr. Feuchtwanger was a German immigrant physician, metallurgist, and chemist who ran a pharmacy in New York City. These tokens were produced as a private pattern proposal to replace the large cents of the time. His proposal was denied by the Mint, but his tokens ended up being widely circulated in the wake of the Panic of 1837, which had caused a severe shortage of small change. They proved practical to the needs of commerce and were less cumbersome than the government-issued large cents. Feuchtwanger cents are catalogued with the Hard Times Tokens, and many varieties of them exist. He also produced 3-cent tokens with two different designs in 1837 and 1864, all of which are rare today.
Comments: Feuchtwanger was 20 years ahead of the government in producing a small cent. His "German silver" alloy (which contained no actual silver) stood the test of time well, too. Most pieces retain a pleasingly mellowed silver color today, some 180 years after they were produced.

January 11

I am frankly surprised.

Let me get to work on posting a few things and sweeping away the tumbleweeds here! 😉

January 11

2 hours ago, Di Nomos said:

Will be remembered by me for those beautiful coins on that distinctive blue background.

To my recollection, I never had any private dealings or conversation with him, but I too remember seeing some lovely coins on a blue background.

January 11

I was wondering if anybody could provide attribution information and/or a rough date range on this Spanish cob? It is not my coin, and not in hand. Nor do I know the diameter and weight yet, though I have sent a request for that information to the seller.

What I find intriguing is that it apparently comes with an old collection envelope, showing that somebody paid a dollar for it in 1943.

It looks like it might be pretty small, so I'm guessing a half-real, maybe? Or one real? There's that "I" on there. But from which country/mint? And when? I'm out of my depth here.

Thanks!

January 10

The coins are wonderful, but that inscribed tablet fragment really captivates me. So much stuff!

I shall really need to step up my game next Saturnalia.

January 10

Robert Harris' Roman-era stuff is awesome. I don't read much fiction anymore, but for my next Audible audiobook credit, I am contemplating his Act of Oblivion, set in England and America in 1660. I'm sure that listening to it will make me want a coin of Commonwealth or Oliver Cromwell all the more.

January 10

Head of Roma.

Phrygia, Amorium: ca. 160-220 AD. Bronze pseudo-autonomous AE16.

Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma left, ΘEA PΩMH.

Reverse: Clasped hands, AMOPI / ANΩN.

Reference: BMC 17-18 var. 16 mm.

An inexpensive bronze I just bought for my giveaway contests. Couldn't resist that portrait, the patina, and the clasped hands.

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January 10

That was a lot of work! Looks good.

January 10

Continuing with mythological creatures, here's a capricorn.

Next, another Octavian/Augustus or another capricorn.

January 10

That Ptolemy is amazing! Aside from the obvious (gold!!!), I found the Ptolemy and that Max Thrax sestertius the standouts, but it wasn't easy to choose from amongst such an array!

We both bought Saxony thalers in 2023. Mine is a tad earlier than yours but yours is 15 grade points higher than mine.

January 9

3 hours ago, panzerman said:

I do not have any big AE coins

But I have a 1969 Proof Set from Uganda/ 5 gold/ 6 silver.

The 1000 Shilings weighs 140 g/ a modern 40 Dukaten size coin. Beautifull design for modern coin. Set has 7 oz. gold.

If y'all will forgive me for continuing the brief digression into modern gold, I would like to inquire if @panzerman has one of these. At 35 mm, it's not absolutely huge, but pretty big for a gold coin. 31.4890 g and 1.0114 oz bullion content. I know it's ultra modern and looks like a guitar pick, but hey, I like it. (What's not to like about that much gold, right?)

OK, modern digression is over now. Resume discussion of Ptolemaic "hockey pucks" or other ancient heavies.

January 9

On 12/31/2023 at 4:18 PM, Al Kowsky said:

Not the biggest, but the strike & condition are hard to beat 😏.

I can see why that one got the "star" rating!

January 9

This honkin' huge Siberian 10-kopecks of Catherine the Great is my largest coin. Per Numista, the specs are: 45 mm diameter, 65.5 g, 4 mm thick. It only barely fits inside a standard NGC holder (the older, pre-prong style). The slab even bulges a tiny bit. Since mine is an all-slabbed collection, and I choose not to include anything in oversized holders, this is about as big as anything in my collection is likely to get.

January 9

On 12/31/2023 at 3:08 PM, Heliodromus said:

I wonder how these beasts were actually used

Probably in warfare, as sling bullets. You could knock the life outta somebody with one of those, if you fired it from a sling! Would probably make a mean buzzing sound as it flew to its target, too. 😉

January 7

12 minutes ago, thenickelguy said:

Unusually late first significant snowfall we had last night that I woke up to in N. Central Pennsylvania.

Probably another 6 or so to go and we'll have color again. It is still snowing but due to stop soon.

I do find winter snowscapes like that very beautiful, despite enjoying the milder (snowless) winters here in the Deep South.

January 7

1 hour ago, kirispupis said:

Given the off topic nature, I thought I'd share some photos from our recent trip to Curacao.

It will be about 2000 years before there's any ancient coins from Curacao, so just the photos for now...