Where to start?
The day was dull, though we did have a few customers, which makes a pleasant change. It was a stuffy day in the back room, and it was a relief to get out and breathe some fresh air at the end of the day.
We sold a few starter coins to a lad who came in with his grandparents. Then we sold a decent coin to a collector of Roman coins. Someone else spent a couple of pounds on a 50p piece and then someone rang to ask if we sold coins of James I, adding that they might be a bit too old for a local coin shop. “Condescending” was one of the words I used after the call ended.
That’s James I of England and James VI of Scotland. He deserted the dreary wastes of Scotland as soon as his cousin Elizabeth died in 1603, criticised smoking, hunted witches and eventually died in 1625.
The Roman coin we sold in the morning was a Hadrian denarius. Hadrian was emperor between  117 and 138 and ordered the building of the famous wall.
So yes, we do sell coins of James I, and no, it isn’t too early for us. We actually have earlier coins too.
To be fair, he did come to visit in the afternoon and bought one.
I’m constantly amazed at what constitutes “old” in the mind of some people. It’s all relative, I suppose. We’ve had people ring up about “old coins” that were actually decimal coins from the 1970s. One bloke actually started swearing at me when I told him that his 30-year-old football medallions weren’t really old in coin terms. We frequently find that “old coins” feature the portrait of George VI or George V. People just don’t realise that before we went decimal we had pockets full of coins dating back to Queen Victoria. As a young collector in those days you could get back as far as the 1860s with a bit of work and some luck.
Young people these dys have only ever seen the Queen on coins. One actually asked if we thought her coins would be rare as they were withdrawn. Withdrawn, we asked? Seems he thought the Royal Mint was going to take all the Elizabeth II coins out of circulation and replaced them with coins of Charles III. He couldn’t quite grasp the fact that her coins will still be circulating in a hundred years.
Banknotes of Charles III aren’t expected until the middle of next year. There will be an eventual withdrawal of Elizabeth II banknotes as the replacement rate is higher with notes, as they wear out quicker than coins. Stamps are already on sale, but retailers have been instructed to use up stocks of Queen Elizabeth before selling the Charles III ones. So far I haven’t had a letter with one on.
The header picture is a frog Julia found in the MENCAP pond when cleaning it out. They also had newts, but they were blurred.
Stamps, stamps, stamps…
We have plenty of stamps to be going on with.
I am pro-frogs. I am pro-coins. I am pro-stamps. I believe that Roman coins from Hadrian’s time are older than coins from any of the Jameses’ times, but then again I am American and we are dumb about history.
You can’t know everything, I am weak on most American history. Nobody is dumb, we just know different stuff.
Er, the Hadrian versus any Brit King James (not the bible lot) would indeed have hadrian the elder though, right? It never hurts to check–
Yes, Hadrian reigned between 117 and 138. James I reigned in England 1601-1625 and was also King of Scotland before that as James VI.
I am always surprised when things from my lifetime turn up on the Antiques Roadshow. They can’t be old, surely.
The same thing has happened to me. It’s a strange feeling isn’t it, seeing your life slot into its place in history. And realising that for many people “history” is only thirty or forty years. 🙂
Glad you had a good day. I was always fond of the tanner which was worth 6p
It was a lovely coin, and has an interesting history.
How much will you give me for a used Charles III stamp?
Approximately £0. Let the grandchildren have it, as I normally say. Advice I would have given her late majesty about the throne too. Grandchildren in that case being Mr and Mrs Tindall.
🙂
🙂
Thank you for the history and coin lessons, Simon. I always learn something new here.
Thanks for reading. 🙂