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 Replies: 33 / Views: 4,197 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
756 Posts |
those are really cool exoguy! they remind me of one I have. this is a large cent modified into a wax stamp for use by Robert Wilkinson Furnas. its been sanded down and only weighs about 8 grams even though there is some solder added to the obverse. Furnas was an interesting guy who did stuff like serving as a civil war colonel for the union, as the second governor of Nebraska, and as the commissioner of the Chicago Columbian Exposition.   Edited by CarrsCoins
11/28/2022 11:48 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6586 Posts |
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The first "official" coinage in British North America was issued by the Province of Virginia in 1775, although they were dated 1773. The reason was that the Virginia House of Burgesses had been requesting the coinage for several years and King George III finally consented in that year.
Five tons of coins were sent to the colony on the clipper ship Virginia and most of the coins were distributed just before the breakout of the American Revolution in April 1775. They are considered to be the most affordable Colonial American coinage.   I'm from Virginia. This was the first coin on my bucket list |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
11896 Posts |
Nice! That looks a lot like your avatar.  IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.com |
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Moderator
United States
188953 Posts |
Very nice!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
The historical significance of this one is probably mostly personal, although more generally it represents aspects of the Civil War era, namely counterfeiting. More famous is the story of Samuel Upham and his counterfeiting of confederate notes, but it seems that fake coins were rife on the Union side as well. This is my contemporary counterfeit 1861 dime. Type 101, and according to https://www.seateddimevarieties.com..._101page.htm "by far the most common counterfeit Seated dime." It came to me via my grandmother and my great-great-grandfather George Emory Logue. He enlisted in the Wisconsin infantry October 28, 1861, less than two weeks after his 17th birthday, and reenlisted as a veteran three years later in early 1864. He served with his father and brother, both of whom were imprisoned at Andersonville. He married my great-great-grandmother in 1879, when he was 35 and she was 16. He only lived another 12 years and died at 47, which my grandmother attributed to the war and the hard drinking afterwards. I picture him scratching through the reverse when he realized he'd been duped by a fake dime. It sat in my collection for 40 years before I realized it was fake myself!   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
756 Posts |
thats one of the most interesting pieces of provenance ive ever seen. thanks for sharing that kbbpll
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Moderator
United States
188953 Posts |
Fantastic! |
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
1849 Posts |
Thank you for sharing such an interesting family history with us, kbbpll.
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Pillar of the Community
Germany
1849 Posts |
This William Pitt Fathing is probably the coin in my collection which has the most historical significance as it relates to America. The Pitt farthing, as well as the Pitt halfpenny are not U.S coins, and were likely not even struck in America. However, they are very relevant to American history because they were struck to commemorate an event, namely the Stamp Act of 1765 which is considered to be one of the factors which directly led to the American Revolution. The Stamp or Tax Act was passed by the English Parliament in 1765. It empowered the Crown to tax the American Colonies on a wide range of transactions and documents, as well as some goods of everyday life. The revenue was intended to be used toward the costs of up-keep of the British standing Army in North America. The reaction among the Colonists to the passing of the Tax Act was predictable... The person honoured in this coin is William Pitt, a member of the British Parliament who sided with the American colonists, and actively campaigned in Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11896 Posts |
Wow! Great stuff kppbll and Germanicvs. IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.com |
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Moderator
United States
188953 Posts |
Quote:
This William Pitt Fathing is probably the coin in my collection which has the most historical significance as it relates to America... Excellent! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5857 Posts |
To be honest, all my coins are of equal historic significance (to me, at least). The whole reason I became interested in collecting coins in the first place was the realization that each of these little pieces of metal were owned by somebody in the (sometimes distant) past and have been handed down throughout many generations until finally finding a temporary resting place in my collection. They are, in other words, a connection to the past and a way to experience the storied history of this country by holding it in my hand. If I had to pick one or two that are somehow especially significant from a historical standpoint, I guess I'd go with this example from the earliest days of the Republic:   And this example from the earliest days of the U.S. Mint:   |
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Moderator
United States
188953 Posts |
Good choices! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
753 Posts |
Thanks for choosing this topic @numismaticstudent! I am not sure I can compete with the cool stamped specimens, or first year issues I have seen here (and I love seeing them!), but I'm not here to compete. I have always loved collecting coins from historically significant dates. To say that the USA has a tumultuous history would be an understatement. One of my childhood numismatic goals was to collect a nice 1838-O, as I a) love the no star obverse and b) see this coin as a witness of the USA's dark, genocidal Trail of Tears. Being minted in New Orleans, this coin came into existence in the route of the Seminoles' forced march. My career has been mostly in education, and has mostly been international (the USA, China, Japan, Bulgaria, and Kazakhstan are the locations I have actually worked), with numismatics as a hobby, so I have a great appreciation for the need to embrace history and learn from it. Visiting the state capitol in Arizona once (in 2009 I think) I saw the quote "A nation that forgets its past has no future" attributed to Thomas Jefferson and immediately admired the sentiment. I can say that that all politics aside (I am not seeking a political conversation here), part of really loving one's country (which I do!) is being honest about the darkest parts of the history and heritage and using those lessons to try and do better in the future. The Trail of Tears is a frightening moment in the growth and development of the young American nation, rivaling the Armenian Genocide at the beginning of World War I. In January 2021 I finally acquired my 1838-O (actually it is 1838-O/O) dime in a decent grade. NGC liked it enough to straight grade it--PCGS did not. Here it is for your enjoyment. Personally, I kind of wish it was in an MS(60) holder... I will repeat the cliche here: "the coin looks better in person than it does in the photos"    Edited by Adam590
12/05/2022 5:16 pm
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Moderator
United States
188953 Posts |
Beautiful!  |
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Replies: 33 / Views: 4,197 |
First Page
Posted 11/28/2022 3:55 pm
