Old Sails: Coin Weights with Ships

The ship collector will discover new vessels in unexpected places. This week I show you my newest finds from an auction in the UK: ship weights from the 14th to 15th centuries.
   A many of you know, England began is issue gold coins during the reign of Edward III (1327 to 1377). Initial attempts in 1344 to mint a Double-Leopard valued at six shillings (6s) floundered and was replaced that same year with the Noble valued at 6s, 8d (or 80 pence). This beautiful coin depicted the king, holding a shield, while standing at the center of a cog ship.
   In his delightful book, Nautical Numismatics, Dr. Lloryel Antoine noted that the Noble was coined in celebration of a military victory over the French at the battle of Sluys. Apparently, Edward III directed the battle from his ship names the Thomas. As such, the Noble shows him standing on the center of the deck, dressed for battle. Antoine also notes that many nations on the continent copied the ship motif of the Noble (e.g., Netherlands).

At left is a weight for a Ryal; the rose can be seen on the side of the hull.
The second piece shows a fleurs-de-lis in the upper left field and a lion(?)
at right. Both show the banana-like hulls with single central mast with two
stays on each side. The fore- and aft-castles are well defined.

   One cannot help but notice the similarity of many early jetons (e.g., the ship pennies of Nuremburg) to the cog portrayed on the Noble. However, keep in mind that many French Arms also featured a cog (and later, a fully rigged ship) front and center within a shield. Hence, we cannot be sure where the design ideas came from.
   The Noble was continued with minor alterations in design until about 1464 when it was replaced by the Angel, a coin of lower weight. A new gold piece called the Ryal (or "rose noble") was also introduced in the mid-1460s -- the Ryal was valued at 10s and was a bit heavier than the old Noble. Of note, both coins depicted cog ships.
   As with many gold (and silver) pieces, coin weights were routinely used in the marketplace to insure that they were of full weight. Clipping and sweating was a common practice, so many gold and silver coins became lighter over time as they changed hands.
   Square and round ship weights for the Noble, Angel, and Ryal represent a collecting specialty in itself. They were produced in England and on the continent. Both shapes, plus many design types, have been found in all places, so it is difficult to tell where a particular weight was made; this is particularly true for the crude, uniface pieces shown here. If someone can help me attribute them further, please let me know by posting a comment.
   Just imagine: These weights were used in the marketplace. I wonder what items or services were being traded.
   Now that I have the weights, all I need are the Nobles and Ryals to go with them!
  

Loving the Unloved: Exfoliating Large Cent is Terrifying

The pioneering large cent cataloger, William Sheldon, waxed romantic about the wonderful colors that adorn old copper coins. In an oft-quoted passage, he remarked in Penny Whimsy that large cents were as beautiful as fall foliage. I have quoted this one before, but it is worth repeating.
   As he put it: "You see rich shades of green, red, brown, yellow, and even deep ebony; together with blending of these not elsewhere matched in nature save perhaps in autumn leaves."
   But what happens when those autumn leaves begin to fall to the ground?
   Dear William did not wait around for this. His colorful cents were largely smooth pieces with little to no build-up of corrosion products -- the stuff that shouts out in a rush of color that the end is near.
   No, he shunned these honest pieces that tell it like it is. As such, his cents were not so colorful in my opinion. Or very interesting.
   Here is one of my favorite cents. It shouts. The blue-green accumulation of carbonates and sulfates is flaking off. Underneath, a raw layer of cuprite remains. The fiery surface is rough like an open wound: pink, red, and brown. It makes me cringe just to look at it. The cent -- if it had been left in the dirt -- would have deteriorated quickly from this point.
   This is what happens to autumn leaves when they fall and rot in a heap.
   Perhaps this is why dear William -- RIP -- did not have any corroded large cents. In fact, he went through extraordinary lengths in upgrading his collection to avoid them.
   Maybe he found corroded cents terrifying, as nothing lasts forever.
   Corroded cents are terrifying! As Charles Dickens described it: ruins possess an "awful beauty."