EDWARD V111 RARE COINAGE

No coins bearing Edward V111 effigy were officially issued but some patterns dated 1937 exist and are extremely rare. Because there had been a major design reform of the silver coinage in 1927 it was felt unnecessary to radically alter the reverse designs of the new king’s coins except the crown, sixpence and threepence. The reverse of the crown was used on the same denomination for Edward’s successor George V1.

These coins are dated 1937 and inscribed as follows:

Silver Crown: Crowned royal arms with supporters and the motto DIEU ET MON DROIT on a scroll below. 

Silver Half crown: Royal Arms as a standard flag with a crowned E8 monogram either side. 

Silver Florin: Crowned rose between a thistle and a shamrock, the latter two having the ER below. 

Silver Shilling: Crowned lion holding a sword and scepter seated facing on a crown, with the date split either side, and two small shields showing on one the cross of St Andrew and on the other a thistle. 

Silver sixpence: Six interlocked rings of St Edward. 

Silver threepence:  Three interlocked rings of St Edward.

Nickel- brass 12 sided threepence.  Thrift plant. A few were struck but most melted down. 

Bronze Penny: Figure of Britannia with some slight alterations to the drapery.

Bronze Halfpenny: Golden Hind 

Bronze Farthing: Wren left Head left 

The gold coins:  five pounds, two pounds and a sovereign featured the St George Dragon and dragon design of Pistrucci.

Some coins bearing the king’s name and titles, but not his portrait, were issued for British East Africa, British West Africa, Fiji and New Guinea and these were produced in large numbers bearing the date 1936.

BRITANNIA ON BRITISH AND OTHER COINS

People familiar with British coins will instantly recognize the figure of Britannia, the spirit of Britain personified. Britannia suggests the might of the British navy and skill of its soldiers. The seated lady holding a shield and trident or spear has been a feature of British coins since the days of the Roman conquest. More than a thousand years later, it turned up as Britannia on a coin of Charles 11 of England. Two centuries later, the figure, slightly altered also appeared on the liberty seated dimes of the United States and other coins.

She first appeared on the coins of the Roman emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, the man responsible for the building of Hadrian’s wall and the Antonine wall in Britain. These were issued to celebrate the building of the walls. In fact, Britannia’s pedigree goes even further back, to the image of the goddess Athene on the reverse o Lysimachus’ Alexander the Great coin. The pattern for the first Britannia on a British coin, designed in 1665, had the motto Quattuor Maria Vindico ("I claim the four seas" ). But in 1667 before the coin had been struck, the Dutch won a resounding naval victory from the English. The proud claim disappeared from the coin.

Britannia reappeared in 1672 on the halfpenny and farthing of Charles 11. The figure was modernized when the king’s friend Frances Stewart acted as a model for the legendary figure. During the reign of George 1V in 1825 a new type of Britannia was approved.

Today Britannia on British coins

Cartwheel 2 pence of 1797

wears a helmet and faces right. She does not "always rule the waves" as she does in the famous song "Rule Britannia." On some coins, a lighthouse and ship appear in the background and on other, the background of a ship and waves has been deleted. Sometimes she holds an olive branch, the familiar emblem of peace. On some coins you can see a beehive and horn of plenty, denoting industriousness and plenty.

IRISH GUN-MONEY

During the 700 years or so of English rule, Irish bitterness continued to simmer and boil over at the slightest occasion. Consequently when the English expelled the tyrannical James 11 in 1688, he fled the country to France and later went to Ireland to rally Catholic support. His attempts to regain the throne petered out speedily enough, produced one of the most interest oddities of coinage, the famous Irish gun-money. James promised to redeem the Irish gun money in due time for silver coins of the realm but did not in fact do so. Arriving in Ireland in June, 1689, James immediately set about raising an army. In need of coinage to pay his troops, he issued emergency money by melting cannon, church bells, and scrap. Remarkably well executed considering the circumstances, these curious coins were struck in denominations of a crown, half crown, shilling and sixpence. Besides the crown they show not only the year, but the month of issue as well. In those days the year did not begin on January 1 but on March 25; consequently the coins dated March, 1690 were issued only a few days after the coins dated March, 1689!  The calendar we use now came into existence in the eighteen century. Dates of Irish gun-money: July, 1689 – March 1689 and March 1690 – August 1690.

                          

MULES ALSO KNOWN AS HYBRID COINS WITH MINTAGE AND VALUES

Mules are coins whose obverse and reverse designs are wrongly matched. It can include different denominations or even other foreign countries. Mules or hybrid coins have been recorded since Roman times, the obverse and the reverse portraying the effigy of different emperors. The mixing of dies at mints where coins of various countries are being struck resulted in the occasional mule or hybrid coin.

Below are a few mules or hybrid coins with their mintage and approximate values:

Canada

Nickel Dollar Elizabeth 11 Obv: Young bust right. Rev: Voyageur.

Date      Mintage         MS-60 MS-63 Proof

1985       not known       1,000   1,950                

Note:     Mule with New Zealand 50 cent

Silver 10 Dollars Elizabeth 11 1976 Montreal Olympics Obv: Young bust right, small maple leaf below. Rev: World map.

Date      Mintage        MS-63                                 

1974          320            290

Spain

Copper-Nickel   5 Pesetas  Obv: Juan Carlos I  Rev: World globe,

soccer ball, value and star with numeral 80.

Date        Mintage           XF         Unc          BU 

1975   Est. 30,000           200         290          330

American Samoa

                              

Gold  100 Dollars Obv: USA's yacht passing New Zealand's yacht. Rev: Olympic rings and Chamshil Stadium above denomination.

Date                 Mintage      Proof

1988                       5             2200  

German Empire

Iron 5 Pfennig  Obv: Denomination, date below. Rev: Crowned imperial eagle with shield on breast.
Mule with Polish reverse, 5 fenigow
Date     Mintage   F      VF       XF     Unc    BU
1917F        -         600  1000   1500   2200  2500

IMPORTANT DATES IN ROMAN COIN HISTORY

The Roman Republic

Collectors have traditionally divided Roman coins issues into two groups - the Republican coins struck prior to 27 B.C. and the Roman Imperial coins struck after that date. By about 300 B.C., Rome was supreme in Italy and the first true Roman coins made their appearance. These coins were cast and known as the "aes grave" or "heavy bronze." The largest coin was an "as" and weighed several ounces. The lower values each have the head of a different god or goddess while the reverse of these coins always shows the prow of a galley and "roma" in the legend .

In 268 B.C. the first silver coins were struck in Rome. The largest of these were the denarius, which was equal to ten asses. It was meant to replace the Greek didrachma and was subdivided into denominations of  ½ and ¼. The denarius was to be coined only by the state. In 49 B.C. Julius Caesar declared the gold aureus, which equaled twenty-five denarii, as the standard gold coin of the realm.

753 Rome founded
509 Republic set up
443 First censors
268 First coinage of Denarius and Sesterce

264-241 First Punic War or Carthaginian War
241 Naval Victory over Carthage
219-201 Second Punic War
216  Hannibal's Victory at Cannae
202  Scipio's Defeat of Hannibal
150-146  Third Punic War
146  Carthage Destroyed; Conquest of Greece Completed
133-121 Attempted Reforms of the Gracchi
107-87 Marius in Power
83-80  Sulla in Power
60  First Triumvirate: Crassus, Pompey and Caesar
58-49 Caesar's Campaigns in Gaul
49-44  Caesar in Power
44  Caesar Assassinated
43  Second Triumvirate: Antony, Octavian and Lepidus
31  Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium.

The Roman Empire

Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome reformed the Roman coinage, establishing a system with denominations in gold, silver and bronze that was to survive for more than 200 years.

Coinage of Augustus

Denomination                 Metal                 Value

Aureus                           Gold                 25 denarii
Denarius                        Silver               16 asses
Quinarius                       Silver               8 asses
Sestertius                       Brass               4 asses
Dupondius                      Brass               2 asses
As                                  Copper             4 quadrantes
Semis                             Brass               2 quadrantes
Quadrans                       Copper             ¼ as

27  Augustus ( Octavian ) Emperor ( Reign : 27 B.C. - 14 A.D.)

9  Varus Defeated by the Teutonic Tribes

14-37  Tiberius
30  Jesus Crucified
37-41 Caligula 
41-54  Claudius     
54-68  Nero          
64  Rome Burned
68-69 Civil War
69-79  Vespasian 
79-81  Titus             
81-96  Domitian       
96-8  Nerva             
98-117  Trajan           

117-38  Hadrian     
138-61 Antoninus Pius   
161-80  Marcus Aurelius
180-92  Commodus
284-305  Diocletian           
301  Price-fixing by Diocletian
303-311  Persecution of Christians
305-337  Reign of Constantine
312  Constantine ends Persecution of Christians
330  Constantinople Founded as Capital of Eastern Roman Empire
403  Ravenna Replaces Milan as Western Roman Capital
410  Alaric Sacks Rome
429  Vandals in North Africa
449  Saxons in Britain
455  Vandals Sack Rome
466  Visigoths in Spain
476  End of Western Roman Empire
1453  End of Eastern Roman Empire

UNIQUE KRUGER POND OF 1898

A Unique Kruger pond with a 9 overstamp has recently been sold for an estimated R 20 million. The coin has an interesting history.

In 1899 Kruger pond dies were seized by the British in Lourenço Marques during their occupation of Pretoria.
In the absence of these dies, the 1898 dies had to be reused.
In order to confirm the wartime re-opening of the mint, it was resolved to overstamp 1898 pounds with a 99 overstamp beneath Kruger’s bust.
The mint master had 130 of these 1898 pounds overstamped.
On 2 November 1899 the first coin was struck with a single 9 and it was resolved to use a smaller punch for the rest of the coins.
The single 9 pound also depicts an “M”on the obverse.

In 1899 this coin was presented by the ZAR government to Mr. C.E. Macrum, the American consul general in Pretoria. The pond was also in the collection of the late King Farouk who bought the coin in Paris.
In 1954 the coin was sold at a Sotheby auction as part of a lot for R650. Dr. Froelich of Port Elizabeth thereafter bought the coin for 655 Egyptian pounds.
In 1969 it was again sold by auction as part of the late Dr. Froelich’s collection for R2530.
During 1981 and 1983 it was sold by postal auction for R45 000 and R132 000 respectively.
In 1999 the centenary of the Boer War it was sold for R4,65 million and two years later for R9,8 million. A couple of months ago it was sold for an estimated R20 million.

ROMAN EMPERORS REIGN AND LEGENDS ON COINS

These often appear with abbreviations, especially for titles of honor. In some cases these words are completely spelled out. The order of words varies with different coins. Thus, IMP may appear as the first word in some cases, as the last in others. Consequently some of the words used here may not be present on all inscriptions. This is especially true of coins issued during the early period of an extended reign. The examples given below are the most common but by no means the only possible combination as titles were frequently added. Commemorative pieces may have different legends.


Augustus 14 B.C.-A.D. 27 CAESAR AVGVSTVS
Nero 54-68 NERO CLAVDIVS CAES AVG GERM
Galba 68-69 IMP SER GALBA CAES
Civil War (68 – 69)
Otho 69 IMP M OTHO CAES AVG
Vitellius 69 VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG
Vespasian 69-79 IMP CAES VESP AVG
Titus 79-81 T CAES VESPASIAN IMP
Domitian 81-96 IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM
Nerva 96-98 IMP NERVA CAES AVG
Trajan 98-117 IMP CAES NERVA TRAIANO AVG GERM
Hadrian 117-138 IMP CAES TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG
Antoninus Pius 138-161 ANTONINVS AVG PIVS
Marcus Aurelius 161-180 M ANTONINVS AVG ARM
Lucius Verus 161-169 IMP CAES L AVREL VERVS AVG
Commodus 180-192 M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG PIVS
Pertinax 193 IMP CAES P HELV PERTINAX AVG
Didius Julianus 193 IMP CAES M DID SEVER IVLIAN AVG
Clodius Albinus 193-197 D CLOD SEPT ALB CAES
Septimius Severus 193-211 IMP CAES L SEPT SEV PERT AVG
Caracalla 198-217 ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM
Geta 209-212 P SEPT GETA CAES
Macrinus 217-218 IMP C M OPEL SEV MACRINVS AVG
Elagabalus 218-222 ANTONINVS PIVS FEL AVG
Severus Alexander 222-235 IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG
Maximinus 1 235- 238 MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM
Gordianus 1, Africanus 238 IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG
Gordianus 11, Africanus 238 IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG
Balbinus 238 IMP CAES D CAEL BALBINVS AVG
Pupienus 238 IMP CAES M CLOD PVPIENVS AVG
Gordianus 111, Pius 238-244 IMP CAES GORDIANVS PIVS AVG
Philip 1 244-249 IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG
Philip 11 244-249 M IVL PHILIPPVS CAES
Trajan Decius 249-251 IMP C M Q TRIANVS DECIVS AVG
Hostilian 251 IMP CAE C VAL HOS MES QVINTVS N C
Trebonianus Gallus 251-254 IMP CAES C VIB TREVONIANVS GALLVS AVG
Volusian 252-254 IMP CAE C VIB VOLVSIANO AVG
Aemilian 253-254 IMP CAES AEMILIANVS PF AVG
Valerian 254-260 IMP C P LIC VALERIANVS AVG
Gallienus 253-268 IMP C P LIC GALLIENVS PF AVG
Postumus 259-267 IMP C POSTVMVS PF AVG
Victorinus 265-270 IMP C VICTORINVS PF AVG
Quintillus 270 IMP C M AVR QVINTILLVS AVG
Tetricus 1 270-273 IMP C TETRICVS PV AVG
Tetricus 11 270-273 C P ESV TETRICVS CAES
Claudius 11 Gothicus 268-270 IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG
Aurelian 270-275 IMP C L DOM AVRELLIANVS PF AVG
Tacitus 275-276 IMP C M CL TACITVS AVG
Florianus 276 IMP C MAN FLORIANVS AVG
Probus 276-282 IMP C PROBVS PF AVG
Carus 282 -283 IMP C M AVR CARVS PF AVG
Numerian 283-284 IMP C NVMERIANVS PF AVG
Carinus 283-285 M AVR CARINVS NOB CAES
Diocletian 284-304 IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG
Maximianus 1 284-305 IMP CMA MAXIMIANVS PF AVG
Carausius 287-293 IMP C CARAVSIVS PF AVG
Allectus 293-296 IMP C ALLECTVS PF AVG
Constantius 1, Chlorus 293-306 CONSTANTIVS PF AVG
Galerius Maximianus 293-311 IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMIANVS PF AVG
Severus 11 305-307 IMP C SEVERVS PF AVG
Maximinus 11, Daza 305-314 IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMINVS PF AVG
Maxentius 306-312 IMP C MAXENTIVS PF AVG
Licinius 1 307-324 IMP C VAL LICIN LICINIVS PF AVG
Constantine, the Great 306-337 CONSTANTINVS PF AVF
Constantine 11 317-340 FL CL CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C
Constans 333-350 CONSTANS PF AVG
Constantius 11 323-361 FL IVL CONSTANTIVS PF AVG
Julian 11, the Apostate 355-363 D N FL CL IVLIANVS NOB C
Jovian 363-364 D N IOVIANVS PF AVG
Valentinian 1 364-375 D N VALENTINIANVS PF AVG
Valens 364- 378 D N VALENS PF AVG
Gratian 367-383 D N GRATIANVS PF AVG
Valentinian 11 375-392 DN VALENTINIANVS IVN PF AVG
Theodosius 1 379-395 D N THEODOSIVS PF AVG
Magnus Maximus 383-388 DN MAG MAXIMVS PF AVG
Honorius 393-423 D N HONORIVS PF AVG
Johannes 423-425 
Majorian 457-461
Libius Severus 461-465
Anthemius 467-472
Glycerius 473-474
Julius Nepos 474-475
Romulus 475-476

Tiberius A.D.14-37 TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVG 
Caligula 37-41 C CAESAR AVG GERM 
Claudius 41-54 TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG
Civil war (193 – 197)
Valentinian 111 425-455
Avitus 455-456


Full Imperial Titles used on Roman coins

AVG or AVGG – Augustus or Augustii. Emperor or EmperorsCAES – Caesar. EmperorCOS – Consul. Refer to one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman state.
DN - Dominus Noster
IMP – Imperator. General. Commander – in - Chief of the army
PP – Pater Patriae. Father of his Country
PF – Pius Felix. Pious. Happy
PM – Pontifex Maximus. High Priest
SC – Senatus Consulto. By order on the Senate
TR P - Tribunicia Potestas. Tribunician power

Coins minted during the two civil war periods are scarce as well as those of Gordianus 1.