Merry Christmas.
I want to thank anyone who has read this
blog; I hope you have enjoyed it. I enjoy the writing life, plus all the coins that
provide the spark.
Pictured here is a coin that signifies good friends and
good luck. It was dug in England.
By the way, twice-bent sixpences make great gifts. And, they carry a deeper meaning.
You might be interested to know that love-token benders (or “bowed”
sixpences) began to show up in the Elizabethan era and were highly popular during
the reign of William III. A few other denominations were bowed too, a few groats
and thruppences for the most part.
If you examine the PAS database of all dug sixpences across
the fields of England, you will find that about five percent of Elizabethan
sixpences were bent, but only a quarter of these where love-token benders with
the characteristic S-shape. In contrast, about one-third of all William III
sixpences were bent, with nearly all of them being love-tokens. If there ever
was a cultural practice that is reflected in the secondary life of coins, this is it.
