|
|
Vol. 10, No. 8 August, 2011
"The American Coinages of William Wood" "Siberian P.O.W. Currency: WW1" "The 'ANSE CANOT's; Still a Mystery" "The U.S. 'Unions' and 'Half-Unions' "
Above: One of the earliest examples of Canadian depression scrip. Issued as a "Town Warrant" by Raymond , Alberta in 1932. Payable on the following January 15th or receivable as taxes and water rates "the same as Cash", these warrants had both amounts and payee written in by hand so as to not contravene the Bank Act (but were unsuccessfully prosecuted anyway). The blank backs were later overprinted as ordinary "town drafts" (1935). 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
Chaired by V.P. Felix Stawski, attendance was light for July, only 22 members and guests. But things will be picking up soon. Speaker for the evening was Bill Brendon, an insurance agent who gave us the ins-and-outs of insuring our collections. August will be a very busy month for us. Immediately after the meeting will be our annual club barbecue, this year falling on Sunday, August 14 at the Parksville Family Park , Parksville, between the hours of 1:00 and 6:00 p.m. Open to all members and guests, with hot dogs, hamburgers and pop provided. It is strongly suggested that you bring your own chair. Items for show, sale or trade also welcome. Only a week later, August 19 through 23 , will be the club participation in the VIEX. Hopefully, all time slots have been filled. See Joan for marching orders. It is also that time of year when the passing of the Bill Potts Memorial Trophy occurs, the voting as to the new recipient taking place at the August meeting, the actual presentation at the September. The present holder, Joan Ryan, will collect the ballots and bestow the Trophy next month. A travelling trophy (so far, at least), past winners are ineligible; they are: Wayne Jacobs, Jeff Ross, Orest Minishka, Jim Bourgeois, Bob Bresden, Phil Harris and Joan Ryan. Vote for that individual not on the above list who you deem has most helped forward the club and numismatics in general. At little cost and much persuasion, Entertainment Chairman Phil Harris has - all the way from the metropolis of Cassidy - secured the services of Wayne Jacobs as your August speaker. He will, I'm told, not quite speak on money. See for yourself.
The American Coinages of William Wood.
As with so many things, public need is frequently subordinated to the further wellbeing of the rich and powerful. So it was with the coinages later associated with William Wood. It all started in 1722 when the Duchess of Kendal, mistress to George I of England , was granted, free and clear, a patent for the supplying of copper coinage to Ireland . This patent she promptly sold for £10,000 to one William Wood. Despite the bad press that has come down to us, mostly due to the heavily spindoctored writings of Johnathan Swift, it's evident that Wood was a man of substance. He was creative, having been the first to smelt iron with the use of coal rather than wood charcoal. And he was certainly rich, holding interests in many copper and iron mines and "smelteries" throughout Britain - and the amount paid for the patent was huge for the time. The patent for the Irish coinage, dated 16 June, 1722 , was for the sole privilege of coining copper halfpence and farthings for Ireland for a period of 14 years. The total weight was to a maximum of 360 tons, the equivalent of thirty pence to be coined from each pound. One hundred tons were to be coined during the first year and twenty tons per year for the remaining thirteen. Wood set up two mints to handle this coinage: the first in London at " Phoenix Street , Brown's Gardens, Seven Dials" and a second one in Bristol , then the center of the "brass trade" as well as the preferred western port for overseas shipping.
Wood's " Hibernia " Coinage. Halfpenny, actual size. Lt: Common obverse. Ctr: First reverse, 1722. Rt: Second reverse, 1723. The " Hibernia " coppers were struck for only two years rather than fourteen and the total amount coined only £14,566 (of which £1,086 was farthings) rather than the calculated £108,000 or so. The reason for its failure lay partly in economics, partly in greed and partly in a certain amount of "truth-shuffling". The money Wood paid outright to Kendal was not the end of his "licensing expenses"; in addition he was required to pay a further £800 annual "rent" to the King and another £200 annually to the "clerk comptroller" (the only sum that didn't go into private pockets). At the rate of 60 halfpenny pieces to the pound of copper, Wood's return on the whole coinage would amount to some £9,000 on £108,000 - over fourteen years. Or virtually nothing. This could only be avoided by the lightening of the coin and although weights vary considerably, tests at the time seem to show that a halfpenny fell from about the originally intended 120 grains to something like 96 (or about 20%). The perception of a light coinage being forced upon a country without its consent made it unpopular from the first. Both Irish Houses of Parliament, the Lords Justices, the Council and Grand Juries of the county and city of Dublin all petitioned the King against this coinage, since the permission of none had been asked. Rather vitriolic letters to the newspaper editors was unwisely answered by Wood in one instance with the words that he "would cram his brass down their throats in spite of them". Wood was a firm believer in the omnipotence of Prime Minister Walpole who backed him. Then in April, 1724, appeared the first of the "Drapier Letters" in the newspapers, the actual author being the currently obscure Dr. Jonathan Swift, Dean of Saint Patrick's. A master of satire and invective, the future author of "Gulliver's Travels" flayed Wood and Walpole to the delight of the Irish public, truth being the first casualty of the war. Swift was careful to attach no blame to the real authors of the scheme - King George and the English aristocracy around him. After all, therein lies treason. Swift was successful in defeating the Wood coinage. In his first retreat in 1724, Wood consented to reduce the total amount issued to £40,000 and in the following year to surrendering the patent altogether. But the last laugh was on Ireland for, in consideration of surrendering his patent, Wood was granted a pension of £3,000 per year for eight years "on the establishment of Ireland" (meaning the Irish taxpayers). With this, the Irish by and large totally refused these coins. A large proportion was withdrawn and shipped overseas to the British North American colonies where they met yet another Wood coinage: the "Rosa Americanas". It so happened that at this time small change was very scarce in British North America, so much so that the Colony of Massachusetts was forced to issue "parchment coins" in the denominations of Penny ( round; 40,000 issued); Two Pence (rectangular; 20,000 issued) and Three Pence (six-sided; 13,333 issued). The legislation for this issue was passed in May, 1722, the "coins" (or "notes"?) appearing in June.
The situation was ready-made for someone with the connections and capabilities of William Wood and, on July 12, 1722 , he was granted a patent to issue coins for the British North American "Plantations". The term of the patent was for fourteen years and the total amount to be coined was to "not exceed" 300 tons; 200 tons were to be coined during the first four years of the patent and 10 tons per year for the remaining decade. For the right of coinage, Wood was to pay an annual rent to the Crown of £100 and the "clerk comptroller" £200. This time there was no big sum up front. The coins were to be coined into thirty twopenny or sixty pennies or one hundred twenty halfpennies per pound weight. The composition of the metal was unusual, being "Bath Metal"; this was a rather low-grade brass containing a small amount of silver (75% copper, 24.7% zinc, .3% silver). The engravers of the dies were the same as those presumed to have made the "Hibernias" as well: Messrs. Lammas, Harold and Standbroke (whose given names have been lost). This time, Wood had partners in the enterprise: one Kingsmills Eyres and a Mr. Marsland of Cornhill, hardwareman. This last man was bankrupt by the "Rosa Americanas" later on, his cellar full of the coins with no demand for them.
ROSA AMERICANA - UTILE DULCI = "American Rose - useful and pleasant".
The coins for America were also struck at two mints: Wood's mint in Bristol as well as London , this time at "French Change, Hogg Lane , Seven Dials". The coins were struck hot in what would appear to be a "drop-press" (similar to a piledriver). Many coins had a blistered appearance even when new and the soft brass did not wear well. The coins soon became unpopular in America . As early as 29 Oct., 1725 , the governor of Massachusetts was compelled to write his counterpart in New Hampshire urging him to do all in his power to circulate these coins, in accordance "with the King's will". Since by this time, the "Hibernias" withdrawn in Ireland were beginning to appear - and would continue to do so - in America, it isn't hard to understand why new and large issues of the "Rosas" were having difficulty in being absorbed into the economy as well. Except for "Mr. Marsland" going broke, his cellar full of "Rosa Americas" (indicating this difficulty), we have no further documentation as to their fate, numbers actually struck, cancellation of the patent or other. The "Marsland Hoard" may have been melted in whole or part - or it may have served as an ongoing reservoir of new supplies for some years. Today, they are - like the "Hibernias" - more expensive than rare since they have been a part of the American numismatic series since Day One.
************************************************************************
Siberian P.O.W. Currency: WW1.
During the first year or so of the First World War, the huge Russian forces took some two million of German, Austrian, Hungarian and Czechoslovakian prisoners, so many that the inadequate system for their incarceration and care was severely overtaxed. As fellow Slavs, some Czechs fared relatively well, particularly if they had technical training useful to Russian industry. The others did less well. About 55% of the prisoners were housed in 771 camps in Russia itself but a further 45% of the unfortunates were sent to one of some 120 camps in Siberia .
Thousands died during the forced-labour construction of the Murmansk and Bukhara-Afghanistan railways and on the steppes of Turkestan . Others were put to logging, mining and hired out to farmers during harvest season. The last were considered to among the most lucky of all with fresh air, more food and even a little pocket money. But most prisoners-of-war never got to move from their camp - and there could be as many as 30,000 jammed within its walls. The typical camp was located in the taiga country, with a forest and climate similar to Labrador . It was usually of log construction, each barracks partly sunk below ground level as a means to ameliorate the vicious Siberian winter when the temperature could plunge to -60°F (or about -52°C). The few windows were small and high, frequently blocked by snow in winter. Heat was by the old Russian stone stoves, one to a barrack and with firewood purchased by the prisoners as a whole. The damp conditions caused floors to give way after a time and the holes became garbage pits. The funk in these semi-subterranean burrows was unbelieveable and sickness - particularly typhus from contaminated water and food - ran rife. So did various vermin. The sick rate among prisoners ran to as high as 50% per year and around 40% of those "hospitalized" died. Typhus rate ran to 77%; scurvy to 28%. Well over half of those taken prisoner never saw home again. According to the Articles of War, each prisoner was granted an allowance of 50 roubles per year for his "sustenance and health" but beyond this allowance, the camp was only responsible for two meagre meals of black bread per day and articles of clothing issued at periods varying from several months to a few years. All else came out of the prisoners' allowance - which might be supplemented by cash on his person at the time of capture or wages when hired out. Unfortunately, there was no provision for the fall in the value of the rouble; in 1914, a gold rouble was valued at about 51¢ Canadian but was nearly valueless by 1917. This went hard on the prisoners. Especially hard was that the Russian Revolution and its civil war turmoil kept most of these P.O.W.s locked up until 1920 or even 1921! Kerensky's provisional government of early 1917 repudiated any responsibility for prisoners taken by the Czar's forces and while the Communists said they were willing to see to their care, the whole region was under the control of the czarist "White Russian" forces of Kolchak and Semenoff, preventing them from doing so.
Through necessity, some of the camps issued their own currency with the concurrance of the respective commanders. These latter saw to it that such currency was valid not only in the camp itself but also in the area immediately surrounding it. With nothing being received to run the camps except virtually worthless paper roubles, the commandant and his soldiers were very good in "persuading" the local farmers and suppliers to accept the prisoner's scrip at par; so far as these civilians were concerned, the issues were just one more in what was becoming a sea of czarist, provisional government and bolshevik notes as well as private issues from all sorts of towns, cities, organizations and private individual. The P.O.W. notes were probably no worse and perhaps even better than any of these. Russian numismatists have determined from camp records and military reports that at least 19 P.O.W. camps in Siberia issued such notes. However, the notes from only three have survived, all being rare to unique. Plus one general series issued for use of Russian soldiers captured in the civil war. All surviving notes are extremely crude, having been produced with virtually no supplies. Paper was collected that was still blank on at least one side: camp bulletins, letters, fly leaves from books and so forth. Many notes therefore have writing or printing on the backs that have no relation to the faces. The ink was home-made as well, lampblack being collected from partly-smothered kerosene fires and the like. Sometimes colours were made from local berries, nuts, leaves and roots but most notes are printed in plain black. In camps like these, there are always a few "artists" and these produced the needed printing blocks. These were all carved from wood with the printing portion raised, much like a rubber stamp. Most notes were printed in rubber-stamp fashion as well although there are one or two instances recorded where a cider-press was converted to a printing press, allowing for a much sharper image. Listing of Known Extant Notes.
(a) ACHINSK. Located on the Trans-Siberian Railway between Tomsk and Krasnovarsk in west-central Siberia . It had the dubious distinction of being the worst camp of all, where "human beings perish like flies". The notes issued by this camp all appeared in 1919 and are known in denominations of 50-kopeck (shown) and 1-, 3- and 5-ruble. Besides the name of the camp in Russian appears the phrase "Prison Money" in German, Austrian and Russian. The serial numbers and signature were entered by hand.
(b) KANSK Another camp on the Trans-Siberian, it was located some 250 miles to the east of Achinsk. It was a more substantial camp since it had been built many years before to incarcerate the prisoners of the czars.
Records show that notes were issued here in 1918, 1919 and 1920 but none are dated. All are relatively square, the 10- ( shown) , 15- and 50-kopeck denominations being quite small (about 1 square inch) and the 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 10- and 25-ruble being larger (40-50mm on a side). The larger notes exist with an "F"( 1-rubel F series shown ) and a "T" series. Numbered and signed by hand. They were issued by the "Self Administration Officer of the Camp" and, almost miraculously, we know the name of the "artist": a German named "Conrad".
(c) PESTECHANKA. The location of this camp is unknown but it must have been a relatively large one since the notes are issued by "Barrack 9". This was a true P.O.W. camp for Central Powers prisoners only, the notes having been issued in 1916 (5-, 10-, 25- and 50-kopeck; ½-, 1-, 3- and 5-rubles) and 1917 (1- and 3-kopeck only). The 1916 issue ½- through 5 rubles are all printed the same, the denomination being added by hand as were the signatures and serial numbers ( shown top below ) . At the same time, there were printed the one-design-per-denomination 10-kopeck through 1-ruble. All are rare to extremely so. ( shown below bottom left and right ).
(d) BATAREJNAJA. These notes were not issued by a special camp but were general-issue military notes issued for a regiment or battalion of the regular army by the central government. They were accepted by the general immediate population as well as military stores, canteens and the like. Most importantly, they were accepted and used by any P.O.W. camp if the soldiers were captured. They were issued in 1919 and 1920 and probably by the bolsheviks. The following denominations are known and all are rare: 20-, 50-kopecks; ½-,1-, 2-, 3-, 5- and 10-rubles. All are "completely printed" notes lacking only the serial number and signatures which were added by hand. There was more than one issue since "Batarejnja" is sometimes rendered "Batarenia" ( 50-kopecks shown below ).
* * * * * *
From the memoirs of the Kansk P.O.W. camp commandant, we have a good idea as to the fate of these notes. By the Geneva Convention of 1907, prisoners-of-war were to be returned to their home country at which time the homeland was liable for the expenses of that prisoner's upkeep to the country in which he was interred. The Bolsheviks were only too anxious to follow these terms as soon as they had established control in the new Soviet Union for the cash involved. Part of these upkeep-charges were the P.O.W. notes and as each prisoner was signed out, his camp notes were exchanged for current Russian paper, the debt noted and the notes destroyed. Most of those known are from Russian government archives of various kinds; others were probably the result of a prisoner retaining a souvenir or a former local supplier to the camps overlooking a note at redemption time.
************************************************************************
The "Anse Canot"s: Still a Mystery.
In the late 19th Century, a mysterious token turned up that Canadian collectors chose to attribute to Canada . There was absolutely no evidence, even circumstantial, for doing so - nor, for that matter, logic. P.N. Breton included it (in this case, a 10-"something") in his catalogue as his Number 924 with the accompanying text: "Anse Canot or Canoe Cove runs in from one of the bays on the coast of Prince Edward Island . This coin was probably issued to represent a certain monetary value by one of the Acadian or Breton fishermen. The only known specimen is in the collection of Mr. Cyrille Tessier of Quebec . R.5."
Breton was reaching beyond all reasonable bounds. P.E.I.'s Canoe Cove is little more than a geographical feature. No station, trading post, or even general store that might conceivably use such a token. He even had to back-translate the name into Anse Canot and then explain it as having been used by French-speaking people when chances are good that the original name would have been used even then. But as a dealer, Breton had a direct interest in broadening the scope of Canadian numismatics, all the better to also broaden his potential stock. As for collectors at the time, most were more concerned with rarity and condition than anything else - and happily included "rare"/"choice" pieces that they heavily suspected (or even knew ) to be concoctions. Not all went along with Breton, particularly those who did not have an "Anse Canot". Subsequent research revealed that there existed a real "Anse Canot" in Guadeloupe and while there still lacked any evidence or reason that it would have been issued there, the name, at least, was right. By the 1960s, it was known that the Anse Canot tokens existed in denominations of 1-, 5-, 10-, 20- and 40-"somethings" and catalogues such as Regency's were adding the comment "Possibly not Canadian". Over the past few decades, yet a third attribution has been made for the "Anse Canot"s, again with no direct documentation but at least with more of the pieces fitting. It has been discovered that before the late 19th Century, the coaling station of D'Ennery on the island of St. Lucia it was known by its original French name: Anse Canot. Most St. Lucia tokens are coaling workers' tokens, denominations signifying loads of coal. In addition to the (attributed) D'Enney tokens, others were issued by the following companies: Barnard, Peter & Co.; Bernard Sons & Co.; Peter & Co.; The Peter Coaling Co. Ltd; and James Burness & Sons. Therefore, these pieces are attributed as coaling tokens, probably representing measures of coal. At the present time, D'Ennery gets the vote of the majority of collectors as to the provenance of the "Anse Canot" pieces. The tokens are all in copper with a different size for each denomination. In appearance, all are similar. Obv.: ANSE / CANOT, Rev.: Denomination in large figures. All are at least very scarce or rare. They are: Denomination: 1 Size: 20mm " 5 " 22.5mm (Possibly unique) " 10 " 25mm Rare " 20 " 28.5mm " 40 " 32mm Very rare
************************************************************************
The U.S. Unions and Half-Unions.
In about 1876, the U.S. government contemplated the issue of gold coins in denominations larger than the $20 "Double Eagle" then in circulation. For whatever reason, the project was soon put on hold, and the U.S. never did issue a circulation gold coin larger than the $20. (The Panama-Pacific $50 gold pieces were actually early-day NCLTs, being sold for more than face even at the outset.) The denominations being considered were $100 and $50 pieces, insiders at the time referring to them as "Unions" and "Half-Unions" respectively. Of the former, only the above exists: a sketch by George Morgan of the Mint staff with the notation "Design for $100 Gold - 1876" and his signature. The design was certainly a large departure from the usual ones used on the current gold, but it was very similar to Morgan's obverse designs on pattern 20-Cent pieces at the time. In any case, the " Union " never arrived even to the pattern stage. It would have been a tremendously large, "clunky" coin anyhow. If struck, its weight would have been 167.18 grams - or more than 5? Troy ounces (!) - and its diameter approaching 75mm! No doubt the gold certificates then in circulation were much more convenient even for such a large sum. If the $100 "Union" was a non-starter, its half at least made it to the pattern stage. The patterns were by William Barber, Chief Mint Engraver, and in practically every respect, they were as the $20 "Eagle", except in larger size (48mm diameter; 83.6 grams).
There are actually two series of $50 patterns, differing mostly in the arrangement of the obverse stars. That shown above (Judd-1546) has a star opposite the lower curl to the right; the Judd-1549 has the stars starting and finishing at about 8:00 and 4:00 . No matter: in gold, each pattern is unique anyhow, and both institutionalized. Not so the corresponding patterns in copper and copper-gilt, but all examples are extremely rare and usually available only in Proof. Where they will fetch six figures. Not bad for copper "failures".
|
August 2011"The American Coinages of William Wood" "Siberian P.O.W. Currency: WW1" "The 'ANSE CANOT's; Still a Mystery" "The U.S. 'Unions' and 'Half-Unions' "
|
|---|
