I have packed parcels, as usual. I have drunk coffee, despite my preference for tea (because I am offered coffee and am too lazy to make my own drinks). And I have eaten my sandwiches.
It has not been a day of high excitement or great drama. We have been using the internet as a displacement activity, and to inform ourselves so we now know that Doctor Ferdinand Porsche was chauffeur to Archduke Franz Ferdinand during his National Service. This reminds me that although I know the names of the Archduke and the assassin, the name of the 1914 chauffeur seems to be absent from the records.
I also now know that Nickola Tesla was a Serbian, liked pigeons, liked walking and didn’t like paying his bills.
I then moved on to eBay, selling gold-plated coins with pictures stuck on the back.
They are not quality coins, but if you buy them from us they are reasonably priced. Buy them from the manufacturer and they will cost you a lot more.
I’m seriously thinking of applying for a job copywriting for the manufacturers, using words like sumptuous and avoiding words like value for money. Today I managed to get the word “skullduggery” in, so sumptuous should be easy.
That’s why I’m going to be nice about the makers of crap coins. Well, maybe not nice, but possibly neutral. If they find the blog I don’t want to put them off by being honest about the expensive tawdry garbage they market so aggressively.
Tactful silence…
Tactful silence…
Tactful silence…
I finished off the day with coins which have been made into jewellery. The best bit is this 1676 Half Crown.
Half crown of Charles II
It’s not the prettiest coin, it’s been made into a brooch, and someone has started to make a hole at the top, but it has seen some history in its life.
When it was minted Charles had only been back on the throne 16 years and Cromwell’s head was still on a spike above Westminster Hall. It probably circulated during some of the wars with Holland, Monmouth’s Rebellion and the South Sea Bubble. It might have been handled by Prince Rupert, Sir Isaac Newton or Sir Henry Morgan.
You never know, it might even have still been in circulation when America declared its independence.
That’s a lot of history for one small coin.
Half crown of Charles II
Half crown of Charles II
Half crown of Charles II
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Tesla was a fascinating character. Glad you found him!
I knew of him but that was it – a fascinating man now I’ve started looking at him.
I have often wondered what I would look like on a coin!
You could always buy a Cook Island dollar and glue your own picture to the back. That’s what the Royal Family seem to do, though they probably have the staff doing it.
Ugly dude, yes, but oh the history! Impressive.
An interesting man, even in death.
https://www.targethealth.com/post/britains-charles-iis-medical-treatment-led-to-his-suffering-and-death
I do like your presentation of coins – both crap and historic (not your writing – the subjects)
Thank you Derrick. I will shortly (probably tomorrow) be using the word “skulduggery” in relation to a coin. It’s the first time I’ve ever used the word in print. I’m thinking of spelling it “skullduggery” though, as I prefer the look of it.
🙂 As good a reason as any
The Cook Islands dollar is a handsome looking coin.
That is one ugly dude. I would have wanted the other side to be facing out on the brooch. It looked much nicer.
He started a trend which lasted until Edward VIII and George VI restored some sort of normality to the looks of our Royal Family. The Georges I to IV were particularly poor specimens of pulchritude.