Coins

[johnnywad]

Would anyone have knowledge of some coins I will list here? My Grandfather gave these to me in 1968. I remember well the year,for I couldn't wait for 4 more years to pass until at least one of them was 100 yrs. old. The first one to turn 100y/o is a coin,dark in color. It has a 10 in the middle and directly underneath it says Centimes.The other side has a bust of a womans head.Perhaps Royalty? Any Ideas friends? Others I was given are called Pfenigs or something along that line. One coin looks like the star of david and has a hole in the middle. Any info would be very much appreciated.Thnx

 

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[Mackaydon]

Welcome to Treasure Net!!
Does you coin look like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/REPUBLIQUE-FRAN...in_2?hash=item1c0cdca102&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

What would be most helpful are both sides' pics of each coin--along with either a ruler or (say) a penny for scale reference.

 

[johnnywad]

Welcome to Treasure Net!!
Does you coin look like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/REPUBLIQUE-FRAN...in_2?hash=item1c0cdca102&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

What would be most helpful are both sides' pics of each coin--along with either a ruler or (say) a penny for scale reference.

OMG! you did it! The second one from the left in the second row is identicle to it. Only difference is the year. Mine is 1872 as aforementioned. Great tip about using a penny or something for reference (pic too) I can't thank you enough for going out of your way to help me out. That was a VERY kind gesture,and VERY much appreciated. This qualifies you for a story lol. My friend Tom has been "metal detecting" for years. While out hunting I came upon a very old foundation (house) Likely early settlers to the area. I told Tom of my discovery. He went the next day and had a "hit" almost immediately. He unearthed an amazingly preserved coin. At one time there was "Upper Canada", and Lower Canada. Each minted their own coins. Tom'c coin said Bank of Upper Canada on one side. The other side depicted a man on a horse,slaying a dragon with a lance. Neat stuff eh? Lastly,where I am. There is many many places where you can "detect" and find many remnants from the War of 1812. If you scuba dive,it's fairly easy to find cannon balls. We have Fort Erie,and moving north at the mouth of Lake Ontario, Fort Niagara.
We've gotten musket balls,buttons, lapel pins, and all sorts of stuff. Just west of there is where the Battle of Ridgeway was fought. There's LOTS to find there as well. GREAT PLACE! Thank you ever so much again for your wonderful,and informative direction. The coin itself isn't worth all that much,but it's sentimental value is priceless.

 

[Mackaydon]

Thanks for you response, it made my week.

The other coin you described is either a 1/2 or 1 penny bank token--easily determined by the size of the coin's diameter in the event the date is obscure.

Here's the story of your 'dragon' coin:
In 1850, the Bank of Upper Canada received the right to issue a coinage due to a severe coin shortage. The obverse of the coins carried a representation of St.George slaying the dragon based on Benedetto Pistrucci's gold sovereign coinage design. The reverse of the coins carried the then obsolete Coat-of-Arms of Upper Canada. The 1850 issue was struck at the Royal Mint, London, but the coins did not arrive in Canada until 1851. Some of the 1d. pieces bear a dot between the tips of the cornucopiae, but the significance of this is unknown. The letters "R.K. & Co." is not a mintmark. It is the mark of Rowe, Kentish and Company of London, the agents the Bank of Upper Canada used to place their coin orders.

In 1852, the Royal Mint started to strike the second issue, but due to a heavy schedule and time pressure, the coin dies and planchets were transferred to Heaton's Mint. There is a way that the strikings can be distinguished. The Royal Mint issue has the dies in medallic alignment, whereas, the Heaton's Mint issue has the dies in coin alignment.

In 1854, Heaton's Mint were asked to strike a new coinage. There are two types of '4's' in the date: a plain '4', and a crosslet '4'.

In 1857, Heaton's Mint were asked to strike this final coinage. The reason why this was the final coinage was, because the introduction of a decimal currency into Canada was being contemplated.

In 1863, the Bank of Upper Canada complained to the Canadian government that it had a hard time trying to issue their final coinage because of the change to decimal currency. The government bought the coins and stored them in a warehouse as copper bullion. After Canadian Confederation, a proportion of the coins managed to reach circulation, but the majority of the coins were melted in 1873 under government supervision.

That coin probably looks like this:
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/9800651/1850_Penny_VF_35_Canada_1d_Upper_Canada.html
Don.......

Source: Wikipedia.

 

[johnnywad]

Don, you are an absolute gem! That coin depicts perfectly the coin I mentioned that my friend Tom unearthed. Very uncanny to me,was the state that the coin he found the coin to be in. It was pristine, and everything struck on the coin on either side was in perfect condition. If I may hazard a guess,you appear to be just as interested in these things as I. It's obvious in the great lengths you must have went to,in an effort to relay this information. I truly can't thank you enough. I have many other very interesting things to share with you if you're interested,and of course a few questions to throw in. I would also like to be able to send you some pictures. I had tried to send pics with one of my last entries,but was unable to complete the task. I'm sending along my e-mail address,in the hopes that we can correspond there,enabling me to send along the aforementioned pictures. I have an extensive coin and firearms collection that I really know very little about. A few of the firearms are used regularly for hunting as we are in a bountiful area for this undertaking. Some of the older ones,I've aquired have remained unused and locked in the gun safe for years. The coins have been collected by myself since I was a 7 yr old child. My father had given me a dime for a treat,but upon seeing the fish on one side (1867-1967 Centennial Year Issue) I was instantly hooked on collecting just about everything. I'm now 49, so you can just imagine the quantity of things I have accumulated over the last 42 years. I have been teasingly known as the "Pack Rat" of the family. Here's my E-mail jcrumb1@cogeco.ca I sincerely hope to hear from you. You've been a tremendous source of help. More than you may realize. I am very thankful to you,and your willingness to assist.
Kind regards, John Crumb

 

[Mackaydon]

John:
Again, thanks for the kind words. Actually, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of us here on TN that would like to view, ID and comment upon your unknown coins. Feel free to post them here and then enjoy the rapid responses you will receive.
All the best,
Aye, Don.......