Confessions of a Coin Obsessive

Commemorative Coin Obsessions

Well, now that this Blog has finally come to fruition, I thought it best to perhaps explain a little but about why I like coins so much (insert L on forehead here). 

Having come from a family where at least 2 members saw both the historical and educational value of collecting coins, I am afraid I shunned any attempt by them to engage me in any kind of show and tell activities, preferring to educate myself on matters of Home and Away and condemning these interesting artefacts to the 'boring (Yawn)' file. I now realise why coin collecting is actually an interesting and worthwhile thing to do, that the history, culture and politics of Britain is all right there in my pocket and these will be passed on to future generations. And isn't it interesting to think that in our lifetime we will see the face of one, if not 2 (or more.  But that would be good for Wills) future monarchs on these coins in our lifetime. 

According to the London Mint Office "This use of coinage to spread news of an event dates back to Roman times. The beauty of using coinage is that virtually the whole of the population uses it, and more importantly they look at it when they use it. Even today, while some people may not read newspapers and others do not use the internet, everyone uses coinage."

My interest in coins came about fairly recently when a friend of mine began collecting the Olympic 50 pences. I still couldn't quite see the point in saving rather than spending them, but then I started to get a few in my change too. Suddenly they seemed like little treasures inside my purse. My Dad is a self confessed magpie and I suppose I am the same. The thrill of finding a special shining treasure amongst your change cannot be beaten. (Incidentally, it's worth noting at this stage that I am a single lady in my 30s. I expect it to stay this way if I continue with my numismatic ways). 

I began noticing the designs (some designs better than others) of the Olympic coins and not quite realising just how many of them were in circulation, set about collecting all of them. Now that the Olympics are done and dusted, and knowing how well GB did and the sense of team spirit and camaraderie that the games brought with it to London and surrounding, they will act as a lovely reminder of how great humans can be if you actually try. These coins will be around for a long time after that's all over. 

So that's what got me thinking about what commemorative coins mean and how the subject matter is clearly pretty special to be worth commemorating. 50p and recent £2 Coins circulate normally and can be found in change. Usually about 5 million of each of these are the commemorative issue, the rest being of the standard design. The designs of the £2 being particularly beautiful in some cases (but I'll come back to my favourite ones later). 

I now look out for all commemorative coins in my change. And will write a bit about my favourites in my next posts. 

Coins We'd Like to See: Snail Racing

The Olympics are known for displaying the pinnacle of human endeavour, effort and determination. However, there have been questions recently about what credit should go to the animals involved. It has even been suggested that Big Star, the horse that Nick Skelton rode to victory in the showjumping event, should be given his own golden postbox, since the Royal Mail is painting a postbox gold for every Team GB gold medal winner.

Where will this all lead? Will dog assault courses or falconry events be introduced? Well let's hope so because that means that the noble sport of snail racing could be in the next Olympics!

"But Matthew, what is snail racing?" I hear you say. I'm glad you asked. You'd never guess it, but it's a race involving snails! Each competing snail has its shell painted with a number. All the snails are then placed at the starting line and then it is a sprint to the finish.

Molluscs are notoriously bad at moving in straight lines, however, and so the race course is not like the human 100m, with lanes and such, but is set in a circle. The starting line is around the centre and the first snail to reach the edge of the circle is the winner.

The radius of the circle is generally 13 or 14 inches and the fastest recorded time was set at a lightning 2 minutes by a speedy snail called Archie in 1995.

My coin design for this sport features two snails in a photo finish as they are both streaming towards the line. I think it reflects the pace and excitement of the event perfectly!

Olympic Review: Badminton

This series of posts will have a look at each of the 29 Olympic and Paralympic coins, review their design and then review Team GB's involvement and performance in the sport.

First up, Badminton.

Personally, this is my favourite design of the 29. It was designed by Emma Kelly, who is an illustrator from London. The combination of the giant detailed shuttlecock and the miniature figures in different poses works well in both the official image above and the coin itself. When you see it in your change it is instantly recognisable, and at the same time reveals some more detail when you take a closer look.

I also like it because I like to play Badminton myself, so I may be a little biased!

In the results, China dominated the medal table, winning at least gold in all 5 events. Unfortunately Team GB did not manage to get through the first round for any of the 3 events we entered: Men's Singles, Women's Singles and Mixed Doubles.

Susan Egelstaff in the Women's Singles event put up a particularly strong fight, quite convincingly winning her first match in the group stage 2-0 and the first game of her second match. The Japanese Sayaka Sato was just too good, however, and won the match, knocking Egelstaff off the top spot in the group and out of the competition.

Am I Not a Man and a Brother

It is the end of the 18th century - a time of revolution in France and independence in America, when George Washington was president and George III was king. It is in this time that the story of this coin starts... This 2007 two-pound commemorating the Slave Trade Act of 1807 is my favourite coin. Designed by David Gentleman, it is not intricate or particularly beautiful, but it is powerful especially when you take into account the story behind it.
The words "AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER" appear on the edge of this coin. They originate from a medallion sold in 1787, designed by none other than Josiah Wedgwood.

The medallion was worn by members of the slavery abolition movement. There were many people of conscience who were part of this movement. However, most of the politicians of the time were representing areas that would suffer if slavery was abolished (large port towns) or in the pay of the companies who traded slaves, which were very rich.

The very fact that the Slave Trade Act of 1807 ever happened is largely down to one member of parliament - William Wilberforce. He tirelessly campaigned in parliament and to the influential people of the time until there was enough momentum and public backing to make abolition possible. The 1807 act did not abolish slavery, but it was a giant first step which eventually led to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.

If you want to find out more about William Wilberforce (who also set up the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which later became the RSPCA) and the slavery abolition movement, I would recommend the film Amazing Grace, which also came out in 2007 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of that first act.

I hope you can now appreciate that the simple design of a broken chain instead of the 0 in 1807, is quite a powerful image.

Coins We'd Like to See: Fly Swatting

Competitive Fly Swatting

A sport I would like to see immortalised on a coin has to be competitive fly swatting. I can think of nothing more irritating than bothersome bluebottles buzzing round a quiet room. In fact, I would rank it as second in a list of my personal pet hates (with the first being Lorraine Kelly). For instance, I was quietly relaxing in bed the other evening with the paper and a packet of cashew nuts (lightly salted) when quite out of nowhere a fly started buzzing around the room. I tried to ignore it for a short while, but sadly the little *astard got the better of me. Then commenced a laborious and irritating attempt to evict it by switching on and off various lights in order to encourage it to exit the room and enter another one. I thought to myself, if only I had a fly swatter to hand. 

What a fabulous invention. 

The first modern fly-destruction device was invented in 1900 by Robert R. Montgomery, an entrepreneur based in Decatur, Ill. Montgomery was issued Patent No. 640,790 for the Fly-Killer, a “cheap device of unusual elasticity and durability” made of wire netting, “preferably oblong,” attached to a handle. The material of the handle remained unspecified, but the netting was crucial: it reduced wind drag, giving the swatter a “whiplike swing.” By 1901, Montgomery’s invention was advertised in Ladies’ Home Journal as a tool that “kills without crushing” and “soils nothing,” unlike, say, a rolled-up newspaper might.

I am clearly not alone in my hatred of these winged pests.  During a 2009 CNBC interview, President Obama killed a fly with his bare hands, triumphantly exclaiming, “I got the sucker!” PETA was less gleeful, calling it a public “execution” and sending the White House a device that traps flies so that they may be set free.

Fly swatting has been turned into a competitive sport in Australia, and although I don't see this being included in the 2016 Rio Olympics, I would wholeheartedly back any bid made for entry. 

Rules:

Are there rules? The most important one is no surface strikes — the fly must be killed midair.

Games include the Single Player Time Trial, where three flies are released to see who can kill them the fastest. There’s also Single Player Grilling, the same thing except you have to smash a fly through the mesh of the swat head within one minute.

I found this on the Australian Association of Competitive Fly Swatting's Facebook page: 

Currently the rules state that if two flies making love will earn double points.  Some within the community feel though that due to the vulnerability of the flies engaged in love making, the rules should be changed to only single points if two flies are swatted. However, one community member argues that double points should be awarded for stopping the damn things breeding! 

I agree. 

Coins We'd Like to See: Dodgeball

There are 29 fifty pence coin designs for the 2012 Olympics, depicting different sports from Aquatics to Wrestling. Most of them are very good and some could be better (and we'll cover those in later posts), but what other sports would we like to see?

In this series, we'll take a sport we'd like to see on an Olympics coin and do a mock-up, even if it isn't in the Olympics (yet).

The first is Dodgeball. Popularised by the film of the same name, this sport is one of quick wits, flexibility and teamwork. As Patches O'Houlihan says, "Remember the five D's of Dodgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge"!

In my opinion, the epitome of the sport is someone being hit in the face with a ball. Therefore, I present to you the (not) official London 2012 Dodgeball fifty pence piece.

Hope you like it!

Welcome to the mint source

Hello. Allow us to introduce ourselves.

This is Elizabeth and this is Matthew

While some people collect stamps and some collect teddy bears, others collect Elvis memorabilia and, due to a typing error, otters collect clocks.

We are people who collect coins. The kind of people who get excited when they see something shiny in their change, who virtually hyperventilate at the sight of a Commonwealth Games two pound. Some may call us sad and we choose to agree with them!

This blog will be about our thoughts, experiences and adventures with UK coinage, from the first commemorative coin in general circulation to the cutting edge of minting technology. It will be a healthy mix of information and levity, with features such as Whose Mint is it Anyway? and The Untold Story Behind the Heptagonal Design of the Fifty Pence Piece and its Influence on Twentieth Century Philosophy (note: these may be fabrications).

So we invite you to join us on our numismatistical journey. Hopefully you'll enjoy it and you may even be inspired to start a coin collection of your own!

Sincerely,
Elizabeth and Matthew