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Vol. 10, No. 9 September, 2011
"Early Aviation Medals of the Wright Brothers" "Isaac Brock, Hero of Upper Canada " "Portable Coin Test Scales of the 19th Century"
Above: The winning design for the reverse of a Canadian 5-cent piece commemorating the sixtieth year of Confederation, 1927. Designs were chosen for the 1-, 5- and 25-cent coins but never evolved beyond the drawing stage. The first commemorative would have to wait until 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
The August meeting was attended by 23 members and guests. Schedules for participants of the club at the VIEX to be held August 19-21 were passed out. Reports were given for the club barbecue August 14. Voting was conducted to determine the recipient of the Bill Potts Memorial Trophy for the upcoming year, bestowal of that trophy to be made at the September meeting. With our tenth anniversary in the near future, designs have been solicited for one appropriate to the occasion. The winner of this contest was Rob Tallone. Scheduled speaker for the September meeting will be our own Felix Stawski who will deliver a talk on varieties and errors, both unintentional and intentional. Ought to be a good one; be sure to take it in.
Haligonian/U.S. Currency.
To this day, Americans have little use for their $2 notes; Canadians, on the other hand, will take all the Twoonies you give them. And until the Canadian and American currencies became truly synchronized (denominationally speaking) after WWI, we tended to use a couple of denominations that the Americans found odd: the 20-cent piece and the $4 bill. We do now as well – but there's a reason why they were popular.
Almost from the very first, British North American currency was expressed in pounds/shillings/pence based on the value of the coin above: the Spanish “dollar” (actually an “8-reales” piece). Each individual colony used a valuation that best suited it. New York , for instance, valued the above coin at 8-shillings local currency; Nova Scotia called it just 5-shillings (“Halifax Currency”). Since Britain regarded the “dollar” as just so much silver bullion, this value of 4s2d to 4s6d sterling dictated just how much “cheaper” a given colonial local currency was in relation to sterling. After the American Revolution, the individual states continued to insist going their own way in monetary matters until even they recognized the sense of one pan-U.S. currency overseen by the federal government. Thus was the “American dollar” born in 1792, made exactly equal in weight and fineness to the above coin and its fractional silver parts in proportion. The price of gold (thus the amount contained in a U.S. gold coin) was determined by the cost in silver dollars for an ounce of it. That turned out to be 19.39 silver dollars ($19.39 per ounce) and each U.S. gold coin would contain exactly 24.75 fine grains per dollar face. Since U.S. gold coins contained full face value (thus coined at a slight loss) and silver coins nearly full face, limited mintages established only the fact that there was a U.S. dollar. Much of the actual circulation needs was met by the importation of large quantities of Spanish-American silver (with no minting costs) and making them legal tender at the rate of 8-reales “dollar” = 1 U.S. dollar. Thus the 4-reales passed for 50¢, the 2-reales for 25¢ and the 1-real for 12½¢ (making it necessary to strike ½¢ coins that became unpopular after 1830 or so). But for the break below the 25¢, there were also coins to substitute for the American 10¢ and 5¢: the Spanish “pistareen” and its parts. Back in the 1680s, Spain was broke (again), continuing to fritter away the treasure of the Indies . To help things out, the Spanish secretly lessened the fineness of their silver coins by some 10% and weight by the same amount, insisting that they were still of “full value”. But the world exchanges soon caught on, devaluing the new poorer coins by 20%. Spain then returned the 8-real “dollar” itself to the old standard but continued to strike its fractional parts in the new, lower standard. Quantities of these coins were used in America , rated at 20¢ U.S. / 12d Halifax. Although there were also 1- and even ½-real pistareen coins, the reverse design on these thin pieces almost begged to be cut and many were halved and quartered (10¢ U.S. / 6d Halifax per half; 5¢ U.S. / 3d Halifax per quarter).
The Americans used a lot of pistareens until 1827 (when they were retired), fractional Spanish-American silver until 1853 (withdrawn since they had become very worn) and the foreign dollars in 1857. No foreign coins had legal tender value there after that date. In the rest of British North America (i.e., what is now Canada ), Halifax Currency held sway, the Spanish and/or American dollar valued at a “crown” of 5/ (or 60d). The same coins being used by the Americans worked out in convenient amounts in this system – while British coinage very rarely did. So we see: Spanish Spanish-American U.S. Value in “ Halifax ” 8- reales Dollar 5/ or 60d 4-reales 50¢ 2/6d or 30d 2-reales 25¢ 1/3d or 15d 2-reales (value: 20¢) 12d (“Halifax Shilling”) 1-real 10¢ 6d ½-real 5¢ 3d 1-real 7½d From the above, we see that at 5-shillings Halifax per dollar ( U.S. or Spanish-American), a “Halifax Pound” would be equal to $4. It was for precisely this reason that this denomination remained so popular in Canada – while the Americans opted for a more “decimal” $5. Canadian banks could – and did – issue notes in dollars long before decimalization was adopted. The note shown below was issued at about the time that decimalization came in but a later issue of 1859 ( after the official adoption of the dollar) was still “doubly-denominated” as $4 / One Pound. And the first notes of this same bank, issued in 1818, were entirely in dollars.
At their option, individual banks might issue notes in pounds only, dollars only or both. Proximity to the U.S. border usually made it advantageous to express dollars – either alone or in tandem – since the Americans had great respect for the stability of Canadian banks ( which con artists sometimes exploited).
By the time the above note was issued – in downtown urban Montreal – the province had been decimal for thirty years. Nevertheless, it shows how tenacious old standards can be. Since private banks were forbidden to issue notes for less than $5 (and multiples thereof), this $10 note is also denominated “Two Pounds Ten Shillings” as well as a “colloqually-bilingual” “Deux Louis Dix Chelins”. By this time, the government of Canada had reserved note denominations of less than $5 to itself – including the $4. The very last $4 note produced in Canada was that show below. Despite its being dated January 2, 1902 , it was actually printed and issued in the summer and fall of 1911. The issue amounted to 1,636,000 notes and circulated throughout WWI. But with its passing, the “Halifax Pound” also disappeared. But the “half-pound” didn't; it has lived on as successive issues of $2 government notes to the Twoonie of today.
* * * * * * The other denomination that was fairly distinctively Canadian was the 20¢ piece. Today, this seems like an odd denomination – but in the early 19 th century, it was far from that, being an even “Halifax Shilling”. As noted in the previous table, it was derived from the “pistareen” which was rated at 1/5 th of a dollar (5/) due to its lightness of weight and lesser fineness rather than ¼ dollar – which is what “2 R” on the coin would imply.
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Early Aviation Medals of the Wright Brothers.
From the top of Killdevil Hill, on the seaside near Kitty Hawk , North Carolina , a momentous event occurred on December 17, 1903 : the very first flight by man in a powered craft. This was accomplished by Orville and Wilbur Wright, brothers who were partners in a bicycle repair shop in Dayton , Ohio . By a toss of a coin, the attempt that became the first successful one was made by Orville, Wilbur running along side steadying the craft by holding to a wing tip until it took off. The first flight was short: just 12 seconds in duration covering a distance of less than 200 feet. But a later of the four flights made that day by both brothers managed 852 feet. Possibly by coincidence, but more probably with a sense of what could transpire, it so happens that a photo was made of this very first flight.
This team of fairly young men (Orville was 32, Wilbur 36) were already seasoned pioneers in aviation research. They had already spent years in developing a glider that could be reliably controlled in flight, the consequences of its lack having been forcefully brought home by the death of their hero, the German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal, in an uncontrolled glider accident. By 1902, they had such a machine: No. 3 and its successor, Flyer 1 was fitted with an engine – lightweight for the time – that yet developed 12 h.p. Steering, ascent and descent was by means of wing-warping with cables and lines; it would be ten years before flaps and rudders would be developed and the forward ailerons eliminated. Oddly, the brothers flew for years, completely unremarked by the world. With their first successful flight, word was sent to the Dayton newspapers to that effect; the report never appeared. In January, 1905, the Wrights offered their invention to the United States government; it was ignored. During the period 1904-7, their successively longer and more sustained flights in increasingly superior machines were held in fields near the railway tracks in Dayton . Hundreds must have witnessed their flights – and, indeed, reports and rumours abounded of their feat. But scientists discounted these reports since (a) they knew powered flight was impossible and (b) if it were true, where were the newspaper reports? – if true, there should many of them. As for newspaper editors, they refused to send out reporters to cover what was obviously a non-event: if flights actually were taking place, where were the scientific reports? That there were none was adequate proof that it didn't exist. Not until European aviators started to make their own contributions in about 1908 did the U.S. public become aware that the true pioneers – and still frontrunners – were in their midst. From that time on, they were lionized – their public flight exhibitions well publicized and attended and the U.S. army buying one of their machines in 1909.
It was during the early part of this publicity era that the two medals described below were issued. Both were issued during a home celebration at the Dayton Fair Grounds on June 17-18, 1909 when both the American government and the State of Ohio honoured their favourite sons. The square medal is government issue, manufactured and presented as a result of an Act of Congress (March 4, 1909). One each were presented to the brothers at the Dayton Fair Grounds on June 17 by Gen. James Allen, one of the first supporters of military aviation. It was struck at the Philadelphia Mint, is in “bright bronze” and measured 82mm by 57mm. The obverse shows the two brothers in profile with their respective names close to each and the seal of the United States in the upper right. To the left is: “Resolution / of Congress / March 4 / 1909” and below: “In Recognition and Appreciation of Their Ability, Courage and Success in Navigating the Air”. The reverse shows a winged figure in flight, holding a torch in both hands with a Biblical quotation (Isaiah, Chapter 40, Verse 31) above: “Shall Mount Up With Wings as Eagles”.
The other medal was issued on the same occasion, this time by the Governor of Ohio on behalf of the state. They were looped for suspension, 32mm in diameter and in either silver or a silver-like metal.
The obverse shows the same profiles (although reversed from the above) with “W. Wright” left and “O. Wright” right, and an early Wright biplane in flight above. The reverse shows the biplane and five birds in flight with “Wright Brothers Home Celebration” above and “ Dayton , June 17-18, 1909 ” below. Presumably, both medals were also available for sale at the time.
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Isaac Brock, Hero of Upper Canada .
Isaac Brock was born on the isle of Guernsey in the English Channel on October 6, 1769 - a notable year that also saw the births of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Duke of Wellington and a future dictator of Egypt named (wait for it:) Mohammed Ali. As the eighth son, Brock would not, of course, stand to inherit so a place was made by purchase of a commission in the 8 th Regiment in 1785. By age 28, he was Lt.-Colonel of the 49 th
Regiment. During 1799-1801 he saw service in Holland and Copenhagen and in 1802, his regiment was sent to Canada . Serving in Quebec City , Niagara and York , he was in the last post when the War of 1812 broke out. In the meantime, he had been made full colonel in 1805, a major-general in 1811 and, just before the outbreak of the war (June 19, 1812 - although Canada was not aware of it for five days more), interim Lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada . Despite his limited forces of only 1,600 regulars (two-thirds of them of the 41 st ), Brock used them to advantage. A successful attack was made on Fort Michilimackinac (July 12, 1812) , causing the local pro-American Wyandots to switch sides (Aug. 2). This was followed up by a magnificent ruse: the capture of Fort Detroit . The Indians under the Shawnee war chief Tecumseh were a separate pro-British force. On August 5, this force crossed the river into American territory and ambushed a supply train at Amherstburg, defeating also the force sent to its rescue. The area was under the command of General William Hull, who was also governor of Michigan . The Indian raid unnerved him. On August 13 th , Brock and Tecumseh joined forces at Amherstburg for an attack on Fort Detroit, especially since the booty seized with the supply train included Hull's official plans and orders, revealing that Detroit was to be the western arm of a three-prong thrust into Canada (the others: Dearborn to advance from Lake Champlain against Montreal and Van Rensselaer through Niagara against Upper Canada). Although Hull had 2,200 men with him in a fort, Indian yells and snipings convinced him his position was untenable and when Brock demanded the fort surrender, Hull did so without firing a shot (Aug. 16, 1812), on condition the inhabitants of Detroit be spared from "Indian massacre". Hull was later courtmartialed for this surrender. Much of the advantage gained by British arms was squandered when Brock's superior, Sir George Prevost, concluded an ill-considered armistice with the Americans, allowing them time to prepare for attack unmolested. Using his limited resources as best he could (the British informed Canada on August 10 there would be no reinforcements forthcoming), Brock established a defensive line on the Niagara frontier at Fort George , facing Van Rensselaer in New York . The Americans attacked across the Niagara River at Queenston Heights on October 13 th , forcing Brock to gallop the 11 km from Fort George to resist them. On the very first attack against them, Brock was shot and instantly killed by a musket ball but a subsequent counterattack by his 2.I.C., Colonel Roger Sheaffe, swept them away. Backed against the Queenston precepice, the U.S. troops had little choice but surrender. Of the force of 1,600 that had crossed the Niagara River , some 300 were casualties and nearly 1000 prisoners; British losses totalled 112 - including Brock.
The Battle of Queenston Heights From a painting by Capt. James Dennis of Brock's old 49 th . The Heights are above the village of Queenston , shown to the right.
Bottom previous page: States of Guernsey , £10 note, issued 1975-80. Above: Another, issued 1980-91;(another similar 1991-5) All of the above show Guernsey 's native son, Isaac Brock, against a background of a painting of the Battle of Queenston Heights . The top one from Dennis. Having been responsible for blunting two of the American prongs of attack against Canada , Brock was hailed as the saviour of Upper Canada . When the first of the copper tokens appeared in that province not long after, it was not unexpected that their designs would trade in on Brock's popularity. The tokens were commonly called "black money" and even at the time sometimes derided as being light. However, with Upper Canada using "York Currency" by which a Spanish dollar was rated at 8-shillings instead of 5 as it was in the "Halifax Currency" of other provinces, then 320 of these pieces needed to buy a dollar rather than 240 like the rest explains part of their light weight.
Br-723. Probably issued 1813-16 Br-724. Probably several issues 1816-20s(?) It's hard to say why a ship appears on the obverse of the Br-723 (UC-5) above when the token was meant primarily for the use of an inland province. The fact the legend tried to include Lower Canada as well ("Success to the Commerce of Uppr & Lowr Canada") must have intitially been unsuccessful. For the Lower Canadians at the time, these were light tokens; later, when Lower Canada 's copper standards fell as well, such pieces might have been more acceptable. The reverse legend reads: "SIR ISAAC BROOK, BART. THE HERO OF UPPER CANADA WHO FELL IN THE GLORIOUS BATTLE OF QUEENSTOWN HEIGHT ON THE 13 OCTR 1812". The diesinker made two errors: it's "BROCK", not "BROOK" and " QUEENSTON HEIGHTS ", not "QUEENSTOWN HEIGHT". The Br-724 (UC-6) is much commoner than the last and, because there are something like at least seven die varieties, it probably appeared in issues over several years. If anything, the average weight of these pieces is a little less than the "Ship" design. The obverse shows a fictional view of the Brock monument. The first real one, built by subscription in 1824, was blown up by an ex-rebel named Benjamin Lett on Good Friday, 1840, and the present one, much larger and grandiose in every way, built to replace it. The obverse shows two cherubs crowning Brock's funeral urn with a laurel wreath with the inscription (around): SR. ISAAC BROCK THE HERO OF UPR CANADA (and on the tomb): FELL OCT 13 1812 . Oddly, Isaac Brock never knew he was SIR Isaac. Awarded a knighthood for his capture of Fort Detroit , word had still not reached him by the time of his death. The reverse is all inscription: SUCCESS TO COMMERCE & PEACE TO THE WORLD around 1816. Some time later (but apparently for ordinary commerce, and not collectors) there was a mule struck using a worn "Ship" obverse of the UC-5 combined with a very worn reverse die of the UC-6 carrying the 1816 date. They are quite scarce. Please note: There also exists an "unknown mule", very nicely engraved and usually in choice UNC condition, that purports to combine the Obverse of UC-6 (the cherubs & urn) with the reverse of UC-5 (the many lines of inscription). These dies are copies and the "issue" was made around 1980 by the Pobjoy Mint for sale by gift shops in the Niagara Falls area as souvenir medals. Beware.
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Portable Coin Test Scales of the 19 th Century.
With practically all of the civilized world's currencies firmly based on the Gold Standard in the late 1800s, a need very naturally arose for devices that were simple and reliable in testing the various gold coin to make sure the receiver was not being cheated. The old balance scales, in use for millenia, were the most reliable but did not lend themselves well to portability, an important consideration.
There were a great many different such devices invented and (usually) patented during this time, that shown above being typical. And it was, incidentally, considered effective. This was the "H. Maranville's Coin Tester", patented in Clinton, Ohio, January 13, 1857 and probably manufactured around 1860. The maker of this device was C.D. Staples of Worcester, Mass (and he had probably bought the rights to the patent as well). The pan is marked off in various denominations of U.S. and foreign gold and silver coins. In use, the coin in question would be placed at the peg shown in the bottom view and a slide was used to set the correct balance weight. So that a baser (therefore lighter) fake could not be made thicker to account for its lesser weight, there was also a guage which just allowed the genuine coin to slide under. Ingenious tinkerers, these people.
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Sept 2010"Early Aviation Medals of the Wright Brothers" "Isaac Brock, Hero of Upper Canada " "Portable Coin Test Scales of the 19th Century"
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