Post Your Coins And Medals With Trees

Terry Fox Loonie, Canada 2005

1987 British pound coin with an Oak Tree:

This coin's reverse design was heavily criticized when it was released. It was one of four reverses, designed by Leslie Durbin, used in successive years for the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each coin showed plants that are national symbols for their respective countries. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish coins showed a thistle, leek and flax plant respectively, all inside a coronet. The oak is a popular symbol for England, but many numismatists thought that it would have been better to have portrayed a bunch of twigs with acorns and oak leaves rather than cram an entire tree inside the coronet, which makes the design rather out of scale with the others...

Palm Trees on French Polynesia

Seeing mrwhatisit's Connecticut State Quarter from 2009 certainly triggers thoughts of the first time the Charter Oak appeared on a Federal US coin - the 1935 Connecticut Tercentenary half dollar.

The commemorative half dollar was issued to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Colony of Connecticut. Though some historians point to 1632, 1633, 1634 or 1636 as founding years of Connecticut, due to early exploration of the area, the construction of forts and/or the founding of early settlements that led to present-day cities, the 1935 date was selected as the official tercentenary year.

The oak tree on the coin's obverse, formerly found in Hartford, CT, is the famous "Charter Oak." Legend has it that the Charter Oak was the hiding place for the colony's Royal Charter when an attempt was made by King James II (through his local administrator Sir Edmund Andros) to revoke it. The tree stood for centuries (it is believed the tree dated to at least the 12th century) before it was knocked down during a strong storm in 1856.

Here's a link to the story of the Charter Oak on the Connecticut History web site: The Legend of the Charter Oak

The half dollar's reverse features a standing eagle with 13 small stars (representing the original 13 colonies, of which Connecticut was one) just under "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" near the rim of the upper half of the coin.

The coin was designed by Henry Kreiss; Kreiss also designed the official Tercentenary Medal for Connecticut.

1935 Connecticut Tercentenary Half Dollar





For other posts about the Connecticut half dollar, see:

- 1935 Connecticut Tercentenary - Includes images of official medal
- 1935 Connecticut Tercentenary - Ephemera
- 1935 Connecticut Tercentenary - Ephemera II
- 1935 Connecticut Tercentenary - Philatelic Tie-In
- 1935 Connecticut Tercentenary - Commission Bulletins


Other of my posts on commemorative coins and medals can be found here: Read More: Commems Collection.

Great examples!

Namibia 2010 50 cents with a Quiver Tree


Swaziland 1982 2 Cents with Leadwood Tree


Steve :)

1871 P.E.I
Canadian provinces (Canada)
1 Cent - Victoria.



Reverse

Drawn from the island's seal.It shows a large oak, symbol of England, over three oak seedlings which are the symbol of the island's three counties. Around it, the Latin sentence "PARVA SUB INGENTI", meaning "The small beneath the great".