Allways On The Lookout For These Pictorials

They are fascinating depictions - any idea what the first pic, the reverse, is supposed to represent?

that took some time and effort. Very, very nice!

November 18th, 1810: height of the Napoleonic Wars, in particular, the Peninsular Campaign.
The depiction appears to be military stores, &/or accoutrements, or perhaps trophies, piled in tribute: a symbol of a great victory, or a great defeat, depending upon your perspective. I can see two shields representing the United Kingdom of England and Scotland.

The other side is Britannia, and this is the reverse of a "cartwheel" penny, or perhaps twopence, of 1797. You will see that Britannia is holding a shield, similar to the two on the other side. Originally, the obverse would have shown an effigy of KG3.

This is the sort of item that is nowadays called "trench art": the handiwork of a bored soldier, using the materials readily available, in this case, a low-denomination coin. The soldier may have been a prisoner, but not necessarily so.

Now, here's the mystery: was this made by a Napoleonic soldier, utilizing a captured British penny;
or by a British soldier, using his own penny ?
Was it made by a prisoner, or a soldier relaxing after the battle ?
The answer might be found, if we can discover who the winners and losers on 18.11.1810 were ...

What an interesting piece !

These "pictorials" are closely related to "potty dollars", "love tokens" and "hobo nickels", in that timeline order.

Early piece when you consider the inscribed date. Thanks for sharing.

IMHO, that's not an "ignorant" statement. The point or interpretation may have been misread; perhaps even, better stated.

As I see it, this artfully engraved piece certainly predates its American cousins, being love tokens, potty coins and hobo nickels; all of which rendered coins into canvases. It's quite likely that our stateside engravings were inspired by these arty "love tokens" from merry olde England. This thought occurred to me when I first acquired a similar piece to the subject of this thread; coincidentally, one that is signed "1810" on a 1797 cartwheel.

The so-called Conder tokens from England greatly influenced our American tokens throughout the Hard Times era and into the Civil War years. The 1790's English design elements, sayings, political sentiments, etc. were often repeated here, stateside. Thus, one can logically look at the issue of tokens and engraved coins with respect to a timeline, methinks.

From a personal standpoint, the artwork on the few early English coppers that I've seen is generally superior to that I've seen on the vast majority of American coins ... art for art's sake. Yet, the English coppers offer a much larger canvas and were cumbersome to carry about. The American coin engravings seem to have more of a personal intention behind them on the whole.

With tongue in cheek, I trust that my personal observation will not render me as being judged overly ignorant on this topic; this, for my having concurred with the timeline scenario.

Pineapples were highly prized and very valuable in England during this period. We actually culitvated them (in England!?) and they were accessible to only the super-rich. Wealthy Victorians would display such wealth when entertaining distinguished guests by using them as a centerpeice at the dinner table.

Such was the popularity that not only were millions of pounds probably squandered on pineapple consumption, but also on castle renovations...




http://www.buildingconservation.com...neapples.htm