“ Spanish Doubloons ” and "Pieces of Eight”

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 62, 16 March 1944, Page 7

“ Spanish Doubloons ” and "Pieces of Eight”

REMARKABLE COIN COLLECTION IN PALMERSTON NORTH Tho days when Drake sailed the Spanish Main, sinking the King of Spain’s ships, and returning home to England and Queen Elizabeth with hatches battened down on precious cargoes of silk and Spanish doubloons, are recalled by a remarkable collection i of old coins in the possession of a Pal-! merston North recident. They also' range as far back as the days when Caesar ruled the Roman Empire and sent his legions across tho English Channel, and bring back pleasant memorios of tho long winter evenings of childhood, before a glowing log fire, lost in the adventures of “Long John Silver” and his motley crew of buccaneers in their drunken chorus of “Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest—-yo-ho-ho and a bottle oi rum.” with Cap ’n Flint, tho parrot, shrieking hoarsely, “Pieces of eight! pieces of eight! pieces of eight” Started with three coins dug out of a garden in tho town of Lancashire, England (where Gracie Fields was born), and built up during the last ten years by a former ship's carpenter from Newcastle now residing in Palmerston North, the collection contains over nine hundred coins representing practically every country in the world. One of the three original coins of the collection is of ancient Egyptian origin made of solid copper, hand beaten, a quarter of an inch in thickness and with a diameter of three-quarters of an inch. The surfaces of this coin are worn smooth, faint outlines of Egyptian lettering being visible on one side. The other two are an English two-penny, and penny piece, bearing the date stamp of 1797, both coins being bigger and heavier than the half-crown in circulation at tho present time. Thesb three coins weigh approximately half a pound and are made of solid beaten copper. Included among the collection is a crown or live shilling piece which was in circulation during the reign of Charles 11, a one shilling piece, a penny and a half-penny minted during the reigns of George II and 111, and “ spade ’* guineas and half-guineas with the coat of arms of England on one sido (a harp, three lions, Scotch ikons, and the Prince of Wales feathers in a shield). These coins were known as “spade” guineas because of the fact that the gold was mined in South Africa and shipped to England where it was minted. An English crown which was minted during the reign of Queen Victoria is also in the collection. This coin was the heaviest five shilling piece issued during English history, being two-thirds bigger than any issued previously, and went out of circulation after the death of the Queen. It is made of pure silver and worth approximately ten shillings to-day. Among the more recent English coins is one which was issued to commemorate the ascension to the throne of George VI. It is a twelve-sided brass com with Scotch thistle and King’s head imprinted on it. As very few were made it was not used as money. A 1797 eight centimo piece (copper) in circulation in Spain during the reign of Ferdinand IV and a 1904 one pesto (Alfonso XIII) are also in the collection. Among the French coins is a one-quarter franc piece minted in 1833 during the reign of Louis Philippe the first; and several ten and five centimes, as well as a quarter, half, ana i one franc pieces which were in circula tion during the reign of the Napoleons. The ten and five centimes are copper coins, being about the same size as ou; half-crown and one shilling respective ly, while the quartei, halt, and one franc pieces which are made of silver, are ai->proximately as big as our three pence, sixpence, and shilling respectively. One French coin, a ten centime piece, in circulation during the time of the French Republic, has the head of Joan of Arc imprinted on one side and the words “Liberte,” “Egalite” and “Fratermte” on the other. The Indian quarter rupee in circulation in 1883 (English value approximately 6d) ana a one anna piece minted during tho reign of George V are also l in the collection. The one anna piece is a circular scalloped coin made of white metal and about the size of a shilling, its Englisk value being approximately one penny. Amongst the Japanese money arc to be seen several small coins taken from pockets of Japanese soldiers killed during the ligating in tho Pacific area, coins issued to soldiers for use in conquered territory (occupation currency), and one and ten guilder notes for use in the Dutch East Indies. Other coins of the collection include a Dutch one quarter guilder, about the size of a sixpenny pieco, minted in 1914, a Dutch indies one-tenth guilder, minted in 1896, and an 1855 ten cent piece. The poor quality of the metal in the more recent issues of German coins is to be seen in several among the collection which have come from the battlefields of Greece, Greto and Libya. These coins have an eagle and swastika printed on them, are extremely light, and of a greyish colour. The German 50 pfennig piece minted in 1877 is a silver coin about the size or a shilling. An English coin which is very rare was circulated in the States of Jersey, in 1871. This is a one-third of a shilling; piece. A small coin slightly bigger than | a shilling with a hole in the centre was I in circulation in Fiji in 1936. It is a 1 Fijian penny, one of a few that were 1 minted during the period of Edward’ VIII. A United {States one cent piece, minted in 1860, with an Indian head stamped on one sido is slightly larger than a sixpence. A Hongkong dollar with Britannia on one side and Chinese lettering on tho other was minted in 1900. Among the collection are also a Danish live oro piece (1884), a Republic of Panama two and a half Centisimo (1916), a silver coin about the size of a shilling, and an Irish halfpenny, a copper coin with a pig stamped on one side and a harp on the other. What is possibly the oldest coin in the collection is a bronze coin, a relic of the reign of Ceasar. It is in perfect order with the same circumference as a shilling but twice as thick, and with a bust of Ceasar on one side surrounded by Roman lettering. The collection also contains a number of notes, including Fijian one penny, one shilling and live shilling notes (issued because of shortage of copper), Greek 100 and 1000 drachuiai, Egyptian five and ten piastre, Japanese fifty oin, Indo-China live francs, New Caledonia five centimes, and a Chinese ten cent roto drawn on the Canton Municipal Bank.