Grounders or Coins from the Dirt

A coin unearthed is called a grounder.

This cent has been "flooded" with green corrosion.
Thick debris has snagged amidst the stars and date with
a washed out area in front of the face, running to the rim.

   It possesses a certain charm. Unfortunately, this charm is obscured by our biases. If a grounder is placed in your hand at a coin club meeting, you are apt to perfunctorily examine it and pretend to be interested. After all, it is important to be polite. But after this practiced display of prosocial behavior, you quickly hand the coin back having barely given it the study it deserved.
   Too bad (for you) that you allowed the Angel of Numismatic Correctness to crush your natural inclination to be curious. An old coin is always interesting. And the fact that someone else set it aside is also interesting.
   A coin from the ground is special. Just ask an archeologist. A dug coin is worth a shovels-up celebration every time. So let's hear it: "Shovels up!"
   Too often, we inhibit our raw curiosity. Too much GABA? Too many coin experts? Too afraid to confront the unknown?
   But if you did actually look at the battered and corroded coin that was placed in your palm, you would see that grounders can stimulate our imagination in unexpected ways. Corroded metal conjures up all sorts of images.
   The corrugated fields remind you of a flood plain. Hollowed out trenches stretching to the rims, swallowing stars and letters -- this is cool. And clumps of green stuff cling to whatever landmarks remain.
   Yes, it was a flood!
   Your brain goes into over-drive trying to figure it out. Is there a pattern to the corrosion and decay. Did the waters flow this way, or that?
   Suffice to say, corrosion is the hallmark of a grounder. A coin lost in the soil is on a direct path to ruin. The earth eats coins and the people that made them. Electrons are spewing out in all directions.
   This is a saga that strikes the root of our fascination with old coins. Namely, we are enamored with objects that have outlived our forefathers (and mothers). This is why we trek out to see the ruins.
   Necromancers always take the time to study grounders -- it is our wont.

Old Sails: A French Galleon from 1656

Last April I profiled a jeton from Nuremburg with a stylized old ship (a medieval cog). The slender counting piece was from the late-1500s. Today I introduce a second ship to my fleet.
   The ship appears to be a galleon as defined by its low forecastle and stepped aftcastle. It is a fully-rigged vessel with three masts, two of them with topsails. The sails are full as the ship makes it way on a starboard tact (heading East, I imagine). The seas are choppy with a few white caps.
   The engraving is fanciful with gently sloping gunwales and billowing sails pulling the clews wide, stretching the sheets. One curious feature is the wind, personified in the clouds by a puffed face blowing to fill the sails.

Jeton with French Galleon dated 1656.

   This jeton is dated 1656 (on the reverse, not shown). It is listed in Mitchner's guidebook as 3319. The piece is 27mm across and is quite thin with flat strike. It is known in copper, brass, and silver (I have only seen the first two compositions). The legend is apt: EX FLAMINE VIRES; it translates to read: Its strength comes from the breath (or blast, or wind). The reverse (not shown) depicts a beehive -- a symbol of industry -- with the legend: MENS OMNIBVS VNA that means All of one mind.
   The jeton was issued by the Corporation of the Drapers. The Drapers were a group of cloth merchants; the corporation was akin to a guild that was well-organized and required membership.
   If you know more about this jeton, please share your comments!

   For me, this jeton is special because it depicts a ship that was sailing at the time of issue. For those who were fortunate enough to be given a newly minted piece as a gift, it represented a handsome image to study and ponder. And for the necromancer, this piece provides opportunity to muse about who owned it, passed it on, and so on. It was enjoyed. After all, paper drawings of galleons were not that common, and they certainly were not durable as keepsakes.
   My piece is worn with some corrosion but not abused. I imagine this was touch-piece for someone (several someones) for a century or more. At some point, it was set aside. It was discovered and finally ended up in a collection. But unlike money that was used first, then saved, this jeton was marvelous from the start -- a mighty galleon meant to be enjoyed.
   As for finding one of these ships for your fleet, it may take six-months to a year. It is not considered rare, so a patient collector should be able to find one on E-Bay or at a large coin show without too much difficulty. Cost will be low. As mentioned above, most of them are flatly struck and worn as touch-pieces.
   For those of you still sitting on the wharf, I recommend jumping in. Topical collecting (ship pieces, shipwrecked coins, not to exclude all the beasts that have appeared on coins and metals, or whatever) is fun and allows you to take a breather from the humdrum of dates and mints. And all of these coins were probably enjoyed as artistic. Marvelous!