Tiny coins desirable even damaged
By Donald H. Dool Thanks to a bit of a buying spree and some good fortune, our trip across southern Europe is off on a detour that takes us to…
By Donald H. Dool
Thanks to a bit of a buying spree and some good fortune, our trip across southern Europe is off on a detour that takes us to Germany and Namur in the southern Netherlands.
The city of Überlingen lies on the north shore of Lake Constance bordering Switzerland. The history of the city dates to Roman times, with evidence of settlements back to the Stone Age. Like most European cities, Überlingen has seen its share of conflict. For example, during the Thirty Years War, it was besieged by Swedish troops. When, after a long siege, the walls were breached in May 1634, the population was able to resist in street-to-street and house-to-house fighting until the invaders withdrew. A rare occurrence.
Überlingen struck bracteats in the 12th century, but the only modern coinage are the copper pfennigs dated 1694 and 1695, along with an undated one from the same time period. These pfennigs are uniface, but this example has an unrecognizable mess on the reverse. Several photos were taken, and one clearly shows that it is brockage. The obverse has a rising double-tailed lion holding a sword. Between the lion’s head and the sword is a “V” for Veberlingen. The date, 1694, is below. The weight is 0.63 gram with a diameter of 13.51 mm. The attributions are Neumann I 7311 and Schön 2(v); the 1694 date is not listed in Schön.
My copper coin collection is usually one coin per date, one coin per issuing entity, but there are quite a few exceptions. In this case, a duplication of locations in order to obtain the date.
With this acquisition, a 1497 double mite from Namur, all possible locations and dates of the 15th century have been acquired. There is a seventh AD-dated copper coin, the 1494 patard from Liege; with this one, all denominations would be achieved as well as all possible dated coins of the 15th century. The obverse has PHS+ARCHID+AVST+DVX+BG+CO+N on the perimeter and a standing lion facing left in the field. On the reverse is IN+DOMINO+CONFIDO+AO+1497 on the a perimeter with short cross with briquet in the field. The weight is 0.68 gram and the diameter 18.40 mm. The attributions are Chalon 217, Frey 463, GH 129-7, and Lev II 140a.
Stralsund, an old city located on the Baltic in Pomerania, is the latest addition to my sub collection, Kipper Era coins, and this one is number 60.
Unfortunately, this example is holed, but as these are scare, I decided not to continue looking. The obverse has the Stralsund arms, a spear head, in the field with MON NO STRAL*S*. On the reverse is * VI* / PHEN / N SVND / 1622. Interesting that Stralsund is divided between the obverse and reverse. The hole is roughly square, probably by an antique nail, and was punched from the reverse. The reverse is rotated about 45º counterclockwise. The attributions are Eklund 1495, KM 24, Neumann I 4753, and Schön 2. It weighs 1.96 gram, and the diameter is 21.26 mm.
Contact Don Dool with questions, corrections, and comments at dool@comcast.net.
Works Cited
Chalon, R. Recherches sur lesmonnaies des comtes de Namur. Brussels, 1860.
Eklund, O.P. Copper Coins of German States. Colorado Springs: American, 1963. Rpt. Of “Copper Coins of German States.” The Numismatist.
Frey, Albert R. The Dated European Coinage Prior to 1501. New York. T. R. Marvin and Son. 1914.
Levinson, Robert A, The Early Dated Coins of Europe 1234-1500. Clifton, NJ. Coin and Currency Institute, Inc. 2007.
Krause, Chester L., and Mishler, Clifford. Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700. Ed. Colin R. Bruce II. Iola, WI: Krause, 1996.
Neumann, Josef. Beschreibung der bekanntesten Kupfermünzen. 6 vols. Prague: 1858-1872. Rpt. 7 vols. Leipzig, 1965-67.
Schön, Günter. Katalog der Kupfermünzen des Römisch-Deutschen Reiches. Graz, Austria: Verlag für Sammler, 1978.
Überlingen. 30 Sept. 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Überlingen
Van Gelder, E/ Hoc, M. Les Monnaies des Pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols 1434-1713. Amsterdam, 1960.
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