Fun For History Buffs: "When This Coin Was Made..."

nice coin and excellent topic idea!

And now flat earth wing nuts think is is a wall of ice at the edge of the earth.

England - Elizabeth I Penny
Sixth issue, mm crescent, 1587-1589
S2580



1st February 1587

Queen Elizabeth I of England signs the death warrant of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, after Mary is implicated in a plot to murder Elizabeth. Seven days later, on the orders of Elizabeth's privy council, Mary is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle.

Nice additions!

Here is a favorite Ancient of mine:

Peroz I, Shah of the Sassanid Empire
R. 459-484



He is a fascinating historical figure at the center of one of the greatest general upheavals in recorded history.

Timeline of Peroz's rule:
457-459 - Death of Peroz's father Yazdegerd II. His older brother Hormizd III ascends to the throne. Peroz seeks thr throne and takes refuge with Hepthalite Hun king Kushnavaz, who aids him in the civil war to gain power.
464-471 - Seven year famine nearly topples the Sassanian empire
460s - Kidarite Huns stop paying tribute; Peroz responds with military action, but is desperately short on funds and unable to organize a campaign. Byzantine emperor Leo refuses financial aid. Peroz is forced to sue for peace, then turns to Kushnavaz for aid in another campaign against the Kidarites. They succeed by 467.
469 - Kushnavaz betrays Peroz and seizes the former Kidarite capital for himself. Peroz launches a campaign, but is captured and forced to ransom himself. Emperor Leo assists in the ransom.
470s - Peroz launches another campaign to punish the Hepthalites. He is defeated again and this time forced to ransom his children and chief priest.
484 - Peroz amasses a huge army to topple Kushnavaz, but once again is defeated and dies in battle. The Huns invade and plunder the empire.

Lasting impact:
- Ransoms and plunder make the Hepthalite empire one of the most powerful entities in the world
- Huge influx of silver coins lead to their establishment as de facto silk road currency; Peroz imitations persist in Central Asia until the 8th century, and in India until the 13th century.

Meanwhile in the world:
450s-476 - Rome is sacked by Vandals in 455; rapid succession of weak puppet-emperors lead to fall of the Western Roman Empire to Odoacer in 476. Former Roman territory is now controlled mainly by Vandals, Visigoths, and Ostrogoths.
460s - Gupta empire begins rapid decline in face of aggressive invasions from "white huns", probably Hepthalites. Skandagupta dies in 467 and is succeeded rapidly by a series of ineffectual rulers. Gupta empire fractures.
464 - Buddhism reaches China for the first time under the monk Batua
474-476 - Death of Leo I and his grandson Leo II. Zeno rises to power, but is ousted briefly by usurper Basiliscus. Byzantine empire is unable to intervene in the fall of the West.
480 - Death of Julius Nepos, last legitimate Western Roman emperor in exile.
481 - Rise of Clovis, king of the Franks.

A lot of history packed behind one little coin.

The year this coin was minted, Millard Fillmore was president of the US and Franklin Pierce was elected. Pierce was a Democrat, his opponents were a Whig (Gen. Winfield Scott) and a Free Soil (John P. Hale). There were 31 States and slavery was common. Fredrick Douglass delivered his most famous anti-slavery speech on July 4, 1852. This was also the year that Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin.

On a personal note, this is also the year my gggrandfather immigrated from Arran, Scotland.




Edit: forgot to mention, when I found this coin it was wrapped in Scotch tape

September 21 1877



Prospector Edward Schieffelin files his first mining claim after discovering silver ore on a high plateau between
the San Pedro River and the Dragoon Mountains in southeastern
Arizona Territory.

He names his stake "Tombstone".