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Above: Royal Bank of Canada issue, 2 January 1920 for Port of Spain , Trinidad in the denomination of $5 Trinidad or £1.10d sterling. Several Canadian banks were allowed to open branches in the West Indies and issued their distinctive currency over the next 20 years or so.
Vol. 10, No. 2 February, 2011
"The Fenian Raids Numismatica" "The First Coins of the U.S. Mint - Almost" "Indian Trade at Montreal in 1689"
The Mid-Island Coin Club, Dues: $12 per year Mailing Address: Mid-Island Coin Club, c/o West Coast Stamp & Coin, Executive Officers: President: Chris Linfitt
Elections were held during the January meeting, the main changes being the assuming by Chris Linfitt of the presidential post; Felix Stawski became our new vice-president. As well, one new directorship position was created, being filled by Orest Minishka. The other positions remain the same as 2010. Please note: It was m/s/c during the January meeting that the time of meeting start be set back to 6:45 p.m. , fifteen minutes early. When we first located at A.B.C. , closing time was 10:00 p.m. , giving us more than ample time for all our activities. Since then, however, closing time has become 9:00 a.m. and we have on occasion become pinched for time, particularly if we have a major presentation scheduled between the business and auction. Therefore, we hope that a further quarter-hour will suffice. It should cause no hardship; practically all the members have been milling around for at least that long by the time the meeting begins. At the upcoming February meeting, member Rusty Phillips from Port Alberni will be delivering a talk on wooden nickels. The "Pandora's Box" contents, held over as a donation from the Christmas meeting, was auctioned off, realizing a further $55.25 for the 7-10 Club. Dues for 2011 are now overdue if not paid. As usual, those whose payment have not yet become known to the editor will see a star before their name on the Journal envelope. If so, and you have paid, please check. Perhaps it was just somewhere in the pipeline at the time of addressing.
Fenian Raids Numismatica.
There were initially two branches, the Clann na Gael in America and the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood (I.R.B.) in Ireland , but both soon became known under the common name "Fenians" in reference to a fanciful band of Celtic warriors, the Fianna Eireann. The aims of both were the same: to free Ireland from British rule. But it was the actions of the American Irish wing that impacted on Canada and in no small measure forced through Confederation.
John O'Mahony as U.S. cavalry officer. John O'Neill (1834 - 78)
The American Fenians hatched a daring plan: Ireland would be freed by exchanging it for Canada , as yet uninvaded and unoccupied. This became an early part of the Fenian plans, proposed as early as the 1850s while the "Fenians" were still its precursor "Emmet Monument Society" and while still under the leadership of one of its founders in 1853, John O'Mahony of New York city , both son and nephew of Irish nationalists from the failed rebellion of "Ninety-eight". All through the U.S. Civil War the movement thrived in the north - not only within the Irish populations of Boston , New York and Philadelphia but also within those of Toronto and Montreal .
Apparently rather far-fetched today, the plan at the end of the war was entirely "do-able". The Fenians could draw on a manpower reservoir of tens of thousands of trained Irish troops and both war surplus arms and ammunition were cheap and abundant. There were also the dual psychological advantages of the U.S. Union still holding firmly to the idea of "Manifest Destiny" (the God-given right of the U.S. to claim the entire North American continent) as well as a certain anger against Britain who was accused of favouring the South (ignoring the fact that nearly 60,000 U.S. troops listed "Canada" as their place of birth). The Fenians therefore assumed that the enterprise was eminently practical - at least an increasingly militant wing did. At war's end, there were two factions. One, lead by O'Mahony, was more conservative, favouring the direct financial aid to the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood in Ireland itself. O'Mahony, a recent Federal cavalry officer with a distinguished record, had come to the conclusion that a successful invasion and occupation of Canada was probably doomed to failure. The more militant wing, headed by William Randall Roberts, a retired New York store owner, preached direct action. In danger of losing his leadership, O'Mahony reluctantly adopted the militant "On to Canada " stance.
Map of the three areas of the "Fenian Raids", 1866-70.
As early as December, 1865, Canadian authorities began to take the Fenian menace seriously, dispatching militia along the Niagara River for a rumoured attack that did not come. Again, following vitriolic speeches on St. Patrick Day, the militia - some ten thousand strong - was called out. With no attack. Questioning the expense of militia for what was apparently crying wolf, they were sent home. Just at the time the attacks did come.
In April, 1866, Fenian forces under O'Mahony gathered at Eastport , Maine , the object being the capture of Campobello Island and thus the closing off of Passamaquoddy Bay . It turned into a farce. The only action occurring was the raid by five Fenians on tiny Indian Island , the threatening of an official and capture of a Union Jack. Despite the open drilling of Fenians in Maine directly across the St. Croix River in full view of New Brunswickers, the only abortive action was an attempt to seize the customs house at St. Stephen, N.B. by a group of some 20 Fenians. They were thwarted by the police of Calais , Maine , who arrested the lot and fined them $5 for "drunk and disorderly". But the British were viewing these as less than comic scenes, the behemoth 3,727-ton H.M.S. Duncan , 81-guns and loaded with troops, immediately standing just offshore, soon joined by four other warships. Belatedly, some 300 American troops arrived at Eastport, ostensibly to enforce Pres. Johnson's declaration of neutrality, and the Fenians withdrew - but not before having 1500 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition seized. This spelled the end of John O'Mahony in the Fenian Raids.
$5 Bearer Bond, dated March 17, 1866 , signed by Dorian Killian and John O'Mahony Lt: Eire with American soldier, pointing overseas. Rt: T. Wolfe Tone, Irish patriot.
The Fenian Raid at Eastport had an unexpected result. Since New Brunswick was at the moment in the midst of a divisive and contentious election over the issue of Confederation with Canada , the Raid helped push the result into the pro-Confederation camp.
To fund the Fenian activities, bonds were issued late 1865 / spring of 1866, all with the printed signature of John O'Mahony. The smallest denomination was the $5, which was a non-interest bearer bond. Printed by the Continental Bank Note Company of New York , it was meant to pass much like an ordinary bank note, payable six months after the establishment of the Irish Republic .
In addition were two more O'Mahony bonds, one for $10 and another for $20. There are reports that there were also $50, $100 and $500 bonds issued in this series; if so, none are known today. These promise a return of 6% per annum, payable by the treasury of an independent Ireland . All the bonds are uniface.
Fenian "O'Mahony Bond", $10. Written date: " March 21 1866 " Above: " Erin " vignette; Lt: T. Wolfe Tone; Rt: Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Actual size: 10 ½ x 7 1/8 inches. Continental BNCo , New York .
Fenian "O'Mahony Bond", $20. Written date: " December 9 1865 " Above: " Erin " vignette; Lt.: T. Wolfe Tone; Rt.: Robert Emmet Size and printing company as $10
The almost comic opera Eastport "raid" spelled the finish for O'Mahony as the main commander and he retired from the whole business. Unfortunately for Canada proper, it also caused them to complacently disband their militia forces, merely to be subject to the only halfway successful Fenian attack launched on the Niagara frontier on 31 May 1866 . This was lead by O'Mahony's successor, General John O'Neill, another ex-Union cavalry officer. On that date, he lead a force of 800 Fenians from Black Rock Ferry (near Buffalo , New York ) in an attack on Fort Erie , Upper Canada . Caught unawares and with the militia disbanded, the 600 inhabitants were quickly overcome. To prevent reinforcements, O'Neill had the telegraph lines cut and sections of the railroad torn up.
From Fort Erie , the Fenians marched to Ridgeway, some ten kilometers to the west, but there they encountered an ill-trained militia detachment of 840 Canadians under the command of Lt.-Col. Alfred Booker, who nevertheless held their own quite well. For a while. With what few horses they had (the Fort Erie farmers had hustled their animals away), the Fenians executed a crucial feint. Mistaking this for a full-fledged cavalry charge, Booker ordered the outdated " Wellington Square " formation, allowing the Fenians to pour on rifle fire. With 9 dead and 38 wounded, Booker retreated.
But O'Neill was only too well aware that professional troops were not too far away and himself withdrew back to Fort Erie , only to find his 150-man rearguard under attack by 70 men under Brigade Major John Dennis who had arrived by tugboat. The Canadians themselves were soon overwhelmed with 6 dead and 54 captured.
With 20,000 militiamen mustered and British troops under Col. George Peacocke arriving at Fort Erie on June 3, the Canadian forces found that the town had been abandoned, O'Neill's Fenians having retreated to the Niagara River where they were picked up by the U.S. warship Harrison and arrested for breaking U.S. neutrality laws. O'Neill was ultimately fined $10 and served 3 months of a much longer prison sentence, released by presidential pardon.
At nearly the same time as the O'Neill attack, another was launched from Vermont on Pigeon Hill, Missisquoi County , Quebec . Initially lead by General Thomas Sweeny, a former brigadier-general in the U.S. army, the force amounted to more than 1000 men. But Sweeny was arrested in Vermont by U.S. authorities before he could lead his men into Canada , his place taken by Brigadier-General Samuel Spear. The Fenians looted and marauded their way through the small Quebec towns of Ste. Armand and Frelighsburg, doing little for the cause of Irish independence. Their reserve supplies were seized at St. Albans , Vermont , by presidential order and at the Battle of Pigeon Hill, a cavalry charge by the Royal Guides sent them fleeing to the U.S. border where Spear and his officers surrendered to the American authorities. This was nearly the end of the Fenians Raids - but not quite.
In March 1867 an abortive uprising in Ireland was squelched, in part blamed upon the failure of the O'Mahony forces in America in supplying the promised arms. Considerable infighting resulted in the Fenian movement.
One of Sir John A. Macdonald's first acts as prime minister of the new Dominion was to set up a larger, better-trained, better-equipped militia since part of the Confederation agreements would see the withdrawal of British forces. It was well he did, for they were soon blooded.
Canadian militia fire on Fenians at Eccles Hill , P.Q. (May 25, 1870)
On 1 January 1868 John O'Neill, "the Hero of Ridgeway", became president of the American Fenian movement and proceeded to lay new plans for the occupation of Canada, an idea generally considered no longer feasible. On 25 May 1870 , O'Neill himself directed an attack on Eccles Hill , Quebec , not far from Spears' failed attempt of four years before. With a force of only 200 men (a further 400 had been promised but never materialized), the Fenians ran into an entrenched, forewarned Canadian militia force under William Osborne Smith who poured on a steady fire - suffering not a single casualty to themselves. Again fleeing for the border, the attackers were berated by O'Neill from his observation post on the American side. In mid-tirade, he was again arrested for violating U.S. neutrality laws, convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment (but again released after three months by presidential pardon).
Undeterred, O'Neill also lead the last "hiccup" of the Fenian raids. In 1871, he was joined by William O'Donoghue, a former member of Louis Riel's short-lived provisional government from 1870. Together, they and a force of 35 Fenians seized an undefended Hudson 's Bay Company post at North Pembina, Manitoba , the area at the time being disputed territory between Canada and the U.S. This time it was U.S. troops who arrested the lot, again charging them with violation of the U.S. neutrality laws, but in court it was ruled that North Pembina was Canadian territory and they were released. This was the last of the Fenian Raids.
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The O'Mahony " Irish Republic " bonds, of course, were never redeemed and, as usual with a stew like this and the number of cooks it had, accounting of what went where was hazy. Some of the funds just sort of evaporated. Today all of them are considered fairly scarce, the $10 and $20 bonds more common as remainders than as fully entered.
Nor was Canada overly quick to reward her warriors. The first awards concerning the raids were private rather than official. They were two: (1) A medallion by L.C. Wyon issued by the New Brunswick Rifle Association in 1866 for such of its members who took part in repelling the raids. Known in both silver and bronze, Leroux considered them "very rare"; (2) A "white metal" medallion issued by the County of Welland for those who took part in the action at Fort Erie on June 2nd, 1866 . It, too, is considered "very rare".
New Brunswick Provincial Rifle Association medallion, 1866. Silver or bronze. 48mm.
Not until 1899 did the Imperial government sanction awards for the regular and volunteer forces of the Fenian actions, and only after Canadian Members of Parliament
had been deluged with letters on the behalf of veterans. The issue was known as the Canadian General Service Medal, silver, showing the veiled bust of Victoria on the obverse and a Canadian flag surrounded by maple leaves on the reverse. A total of 16,120 were awarded with clasps for three campaigns: "Fenian Raid 1866", "Fenian Raid 1870" and " Red River 1870" (the first Riel rebellion). Most have one clasp but they are known with two or even all three clasps. The recipient's name appeared on the edge and the ribbon was red, white and red stripes in equal proportion - although recently Stacks auctioned a Canada G.S.M. issued to Gnr. R. KENNY, Sarnia G.A. with a "Fenian Raid 1866" clasp that was pale blue with yellow edgings (shown above).
Quite a hectic start for such a peaceful country.
The First Coins of the U.S. Mint - Almost.
Numismatics, like most subjects, has its legends that persist despite any amount of corrective research. One such is that of the first coin of the new federal United States . Legend says it was a small silver "half disme" (or 5-cent piece), that it was struck in small numbers, that the silver for it was provided by none other than Martha Washington in the form of silver plate and that the obverse also depicts Martha Washington. Subsequent research shows that it was something like that. But not entirely. It is the legend shown in the picture below, an "artist's conception" painting intitled "Inspecting the First Coins of the First U.S. Mint", done in 1914 by John Ward Dunsmore. In it, Martha Washington, seated, prepares to inspect the first U.S. half-disme being held by Mint Director David Rittenhouse. The small screwpress used to strike the coin is shown in the background at the center right.
The truth is a little different. First of all, the little half-disme of 1792 was not struck at the U.S. Mint at all because it was not quite ready yet. The new Mint began production on 18 July while Jefferson 's account book of 13 July records the receipt of 1500 half-dismes. Years later, it became known that these coins were struck "in the cellar of Mr. Harper's, saw maker at the corner of Cherry and Sixth Streets." Of course, that begs the question as to which coin was the first denomination struck, even the earliest cents and half-cents being dated 1793 and the other denominations later than that.
The coin's name seems strange to us today and, in fact, such a denomination only occurs on the 1792 half-dismes and their counterpart dismes of the same date, the last of which exists only as a few rare patterns in silver and copper. At the time, "disme" was logical, being French for "tithe" or "tenth", which was exactly what a "disme" was: one-tenth of a dollar. We're less sure how contemporary Americans pronounced it: "deem" as did the French; "dime" as it subsequently became known; or (only rarely suggested) exactly as it was spelled - "diz-me". The coins themselves don't tell us much in this respect. The general circulation pieces of 1793 to 1805 gave no denomination at all and when resumed in 1829-through-1837 were designated "5 C.". In this last year, the type changed completely and they were now marked "Half Dime". Presumably, the "disme" was always pronounced "dime".
The "Half Disme" of 1792. Approx. 3x.
The exact status of the half-disme has always been hard to pin down, even the authoritive Red Book of U.S. coins listing them neither in the general circulation nor pattern sections but rather as "First United States Mint Issues" in association with other denominations of 1792, all of them patterns. Perhaps they could best be described as souvenirs that could be spent as coins, since the size, weight and fineness was meticulously that as ordained for the "half disme" denomination. Whether or not intended as keepsakes, few were so retained. Of those known today, most are worn - some very much so.
Fortunately, we do have some first-hand information. Adam Eckfeldt, Chief Coiner at the time, was still around more than 50 years later and was able to give verbal information to Dr. Jonas McClintock in 1844 on this particular subject, which McClintock reported in a letter, still extant. In part it says:
" ... the Half Dismes .. were struck at the request of Gen. Washington , to the extent of One Hundred Dollars which sum he deposited in Bullion or Specie for the purpose - Mr. E. thinks that Gen. W. distributed them as presents - some were sent to Europe but the greater number of them he believes were given to acquaintances in Virginia - No more of them were coined except those for Gen. W. - They were never designed as Currency - the Mint was not at the time fully ready for going into operation - the coining Machinery was in the cellar of Mr. Harper's, saw maker at the Corner of Cherry and Sixth Streets, at which place these pieces were struck. ( April 9, 1844 )"
The engraver/designer of the coins has been determined to be Robert Birch, a Mint worker, who, although he did not sign these coins, did so on other stylistically-similar patterns of 1792. And unless Jefferson 's account book is in error, Eckfeldt was out on his "One Hundred Dollars" which would equal 2000 half-dismes. Or did the General - at the time also the President of the United States - pay for the dies? Seems hardly likely.
And it does seem that Martha Washington is depicted on the obverse, there being a definite similarity between it and Trumbull 's portrait of her, already in existence in 1792. In a kind of way, it seems that Martha beat George by more than a century in having her portrait appear on U.S. coinage (George on the Lafayette Dollar of 1900). But, to be fair, George Washington appears on U.S. tokens dated as early as 1783.
As is frequently the case, when is a coin a coin?
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Indian Trade at Montreal in 1689.
An anonymous insertion in the pages of the Canadian Antiquarian & Numismatic Journal for January, 1877, reads as follows. It would appear to be a contemporary account written in Albany - or the English colonies in general:-
"DIFFERENCE OF PRICES IN THE INDIAN TRADE AT MONTREAL , AND ORANGE , ( ALBANY ), N.Y., IN 1689
The English have no black of Brazilian Tobacco, they sell that of Virginia at discretion to the Indians. The other small wares which the French truck with Indians, are supplied to them by the English, in the market. The English give six quarts (pots) of eau de vie for one Beaver. It is rum or spirits, or in other words liquor distilled from the sugar cane, imported from the West Indies . The French have no fixed rate in trading brandy, some give more, some give less, but they never give as much as a quart for a Beaver. It depends on places and circumstances and on the honesty of the French trader. REMARK : - The English do not discriminate in the quality of the Beaver, they take all at the same rate which is more than 50 per cent higher than the French, there being besides more than 100 per cent difference in the price of their trade and ours." ( Ed. note):- Albany , New York colony, fairly recently conquered from the Dutch was ideally situated for the fur trade. Up the Hudson River some 125 miles above New York city (recently New Amsterdam ), it was at the height of navigation and was the gateway into "Iroquois Country" to the north and west. The severe discrepancy in trade prices was largely due to the setup of the fur trading enterprises of the two nations. That of Montreal was a royal monopoly, farmed out to a private firm, and the profits clung to all sorts of sticky fingers along the way. The trade conducted in Albany was almost entirely privatized, free enterprise and devil take the hindermost. Not only did most Indians take their trade to the English but many of the French as well, although illegally. Even with the wide disparity in prices, the French dominated the trade in what is now Quebec and northern Ontario ; that was why the establishment of the British posts of the Hudson 's Bay Company to the north was felt by New France so keenly. It was nothing less than a British "trade vise". And, ultimately, the "vise" worked. Northern furs began to flow down all the rivers of the Hudson 's Bay watershed, the Company's posts strategically situated at the mouths of the largest rivers. South and west of the Great Lakes , they flowed south and toward the British Atlantic seaboard. Even the most notable French explorers could not halt the flow.
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February 2011"The Fenian Raids Numismatica" "The First Coins of the U.S. Mint - Almost" "Indian Trade at Montreal in 1689"
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