Collecting Jamestown: Part 12. Mysterious Phoenix Token in Pit 1.

One of my favorite tokens found at Jamestown is the Phoenix.

This chunky lead token was unearthed in 1994 – one of the first tokens discovered within the fort. It was found in Pit 1, the very pit at the spot where Dr. Kelso first pricked the ground with his shovel on April 4, 1994.

   The four 10x10 squares (JR1 to JR4) produced all sorts of artifacts. Among the finds were the top half of a Bartmann jug, a crucible, pipe stems and bowls, beads, metal book clasps, a matchlock plate, jack plate, sword hangers, and of course, many pottery sherds. A complete cabasset helmet was found sitting upright on a ledge as if placed there. Maybe it was placed there! The pit (actually several overlapping pits) appeared to be filled in about 1610 – perhaps during the rebuilding of fort following the arrival Thomas West (Lord De La Warre).

Phoenix token dug in UK.

   The Phoenix token was found in the first square (JR1), just beneath some bricks that were buried under 11 inches of plowzone – not very deep. What a cool find; no other Phoenix tokens have been found at Jamestown. I do not believe that any more have been unearthed on the continent. As such, this single piece makes it part of the American colonial set.

   Although it is scarce, Phoenix pieces from Queen Elizabeth’s reign have been found in England. The obverse shows a crowned Tudor rose flanked by the letters ER (Elizabeth Regina) and encircled by the legend BEATY REGINA (Beatified Queen). On the obverse the legend reads SO LA PHOENIX MVN DYE (Only the Phoenix is Pure? – JT curator was unsure about this one, hence the question mark).

   The Phoenix on the reverse is dramatic and is not easy to interpret. In the field reports for 1995, Beverly Straube and Nicholas Luccketti conjecture that it represents Elizabeth’s efforts to protect the kingdom from the Roman Catholic Church, or it symbolizes the “Virgin Queen.” More research is needed here, but other data suggest the latter.

Next week, we will see what Michael Mitchiner said about this token, and we will explore the ones listed in the PAS database.

Have a Happy New Year!

Bowed Sixpences and the Holidays

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.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays.

Loving the Unloved: Gut Responses in Coin Collecting (and Zombie Coins)

Our gut rules! So go with it!

   We like to think that our heads rule, but this is not so. Yes, we can plan; we can execute; and we can evaluate. But the living that we do -- the real living -- is shaped by our gut.
   Of course, our gut is connected to our brain -- the limbic system, that is. This is where our emotions reside -- all of them: rage, excitement, awe. This is the power center.

What spirits lie within? This relic shouts!

   Don't you want a coin that hits you in the gut? A coin that jolts the limbic system? Maybe not all the time, but at least some of the time?
   Relic coins do this.
   You cannot explain or analyze the allure of a relic piece in full corrosive bloom: you just feel it. This simply does not happen with glossy coins that lived their whole life in an envelope.
   Let's be real here: nice smooth copper is pleasing to look at just as elevator music is soothing. It is pretty: smooth with sharp details. Perhaps you get a mild rise out of it. But, these Jim-Dandies look just like the other pretty ones. Maybe one of the dentils is more crisp than on some other one. Or, perhaps the hair is just a tad sharper. Oh look! The L in Liberty has a full serif! Wow!
   A relic coin, on the other hand, is not smooth at all. It is not pleasing. Rather, it shouts! The details have given way to the ravages of time and Mother Nature. Each relic is unique. Each one is mysterious. They prompt questions: When was it lost? How long ago? Who found it?
   Relics look like us after half a century of living -- really living. And yet, folks run from relics, as if the relics are zombies! Yes, I like that: Relic coins are zombies!

   Why would anyone run from a relic that is steeped with such telling wear and tear? I think it is because they have learned to suppress what is happening in their gut. Yes, they have enlarged frontal lobes (Gee, that's nice). They know each dentil personally (also nice). But be forewarned, the gut will revolt one day: ulcerating in a pool of acid while you juggle your slabs.
   Now, let me say that there is nothing wrong with counting dentils ... BUT, relic coins can offer so much more. They are provocative. They jolt us to see the crush of the world in a way that is both horrific and awe inspiring. I dare say, relics have vitality -- an occult energy that only a necromancer can appreciate.
   And necromancy? Well, it is a skill -- like condition grading -- that can be honed with practice and experience. You do not need to call a cunning man to charm you -- just find an old relic like the one pictured and spend time with it.

   By the way, I am not at all surprised that kids are not drawn to coin collecting these days. The new and shiny, the smooth copper, the sharp details -- all this is boring. Face it: Condition grading is boring. It is a neurotic exercise, actually. Go ahead, give me a shiny American Eagle, and I'll feed it to the ducks. Learn to be a necromancer instead -- this is what will attract new collectors: old stuff that looks old ... and is filled with zombie spirits!

Collecting and Appreciating Relic Coins

There is a philosophy here.

If you read any of this blog, then you know that the necromancer approach to collecting is not about conjuring angry or evil spirits. Rather, it is about recognizing the magic in coins that come by their history honestly: they were spent, saved, spent again, maybe lost for awhile, and after all of this, you have it in your hand. Coins like this spark a childlike wonderment that many of us have lost.

Relic coins -- those that show the ravages of time -- are like the rusted bits that archeologists dig out of the dirt. They come directly to us ... from the hand of the poor bloke who lost the coin on a dark and rainy night. Yes, they have a story to tell.

Relics give us all the history and none of the anxiety. Many worry too much about condition grading, value, or showmanship. Relics, on the other hand, are honest bits of history, signposts of action that occurred long ago. For the most part, a shiny coin from a mint bag just cannot compare.

The introduction to this collecting philosophy is included in my book: Lost Cents, Dead Owners. I know you will like it. It is heartfelt. It represents an aspect of collecting that is free and steeped in the history of everyday life. It is the book that I wanted to read but could not find. And now that I have written it, I still enjoy reading it and musing about how a crusty old coin, caked with corrosion, can be so fascinating.

The book is offered by Wasteland Press for $24.95. This is not expensive for a coin book. It is a book for readers, not for looking up values, discerning grades, and other boring stuff.

To order it go to books123.org -- If the book come up on the main page, just click on it. If it does not come up on the main page, check under "best sellers" and you will find it.

Go ahead and try something different this holiday season. Tell others about it. I priced it to break even, so that we all can enjoy it. All the pictures are in color and are mesmerizing.

And then, I urge you to go out an find the coin that you imagined finding in the dirt when you were a kid. No slab, no value, no worry. Just a cool piece that is fun to own, fun to pass around to friends, and fun to keep on your bed stand as a "wonder" coin. I dare you!