Loving the Unloved: Worn Elizabethan Sixpence Pendant

Elizabethan sixpence, holed and smoothed.
This pendant likely repelled witches & demons.

Is it jewelry? Or is it protection?

This piece was once loved. Now unloved: no one wanted it when it was offered for sale.

But at one time ...

... it was worn for a lifetime. It was revered. It was apotropaic.

Sometimes the most fascinating coins are the most used up. Many holed silver pieces have been dug in the fields of England. It was a popular practice to wear crossed pieces to ward off evil. Just like crossing one's self before stepping out, a crossed piece was suspended close to the heart.

Nowadays we worry about sugar, fat, and caffeine. But back then, it was evil. The devil was everywhere and witches were so numerous that they threatened every community. Even nightfall was considered a portent of hell -- full of villains. No one was safe.

In a recent trip to Massachusetts, I observed old shoes and poppets that were found in the wall of seventeenth century houses. And horseshoes? They have been found far from the barnyard in hearths and under thresholds. Sentries, all.

But coins were carried and worn. Back in England, the PAS database has revealed that one out of twenty-five pieces were holed in the Elizabethan era. We have already seen that bent coins were also used to repel evil. Some coins were bent and holed.

The hole on this sixpence has nearly given way, and the piece is but a sliver. Old Church magic never disappeared despite the press of the reformation.

The poppet shown is from Massachusetts. It was found within the walls of an old house. It protected against evil.

So next time you see a holed and worn (or bent) Elizabethan coin, think twice. It could have been used as an amulet. It was loved.

1793 Large Cent made into a Patriotic Token

Here are some thoughts for Memorial Day.

One afternoon many years ago someone decided to make a patriotic token from an old cent. A worn 1793 flowing hair cent was retrieved from a drawer and became a canvas.

This was clearly a left-handed effort. An old screwdriver was taken from the toolbox and used as an engraving tool. And with nearly 150 impressions, a US flag was boldly centered on the reverse and flanked by two stars. The rim was adorned with 45 dentils.

It was not a rush job, just crudely made. The design is engaging and precisely balanced. The flag is shaped with a gentle curvature and supported by a broad base on a hill. The letters are tidy with serifs that reflect a bygone era. Overall, the image draws you in and entices you to study each mark.

The cent was not pierced, so it was probably carried. The design is worn with a decade of fingertips softening the design. The patina has depth – dark in the fields and chocolate where the metal was raised from the marks.

Folk art like this is evocative. I want to know who made it and when. But we will never know. It could be a Civil War piece, as it was probably inspired during a period of nationalism.

Maybe it served as a good luck token. I wonder if it worked. Did the soldier survive the battle?

Some numismatists might see this cent as simply mutilated. Others might give it a glance and move on. “It is just a beat piece with bad art,” some will say.

But I disagree. It is more than that. It takes initiative and vision to produce a token like this one. There was a purpose.

And, it is this human action that makes all the difference. Coins like this are alive. This one has more to say than an unmolested cent of the same type.

This is the kind of coin you keep after the others are sold.

Happy Memorial Day.

Old Sails: French Galleon sails into the Sun on 1685 Jeton

Here is an uplifting panorama of a fully rigged ship on a starboard tact heading out of a heavy rain and into the sunshine.

The hull with its low forecastle and elaborate aft-castle tells us that it is a galleon from the seventeenth century. And the date on this French jeton confirms this: 1685.

The sun is personified as a young women with golden locks morphing into bright rays. She smiles. And her rays break through the clouds and shine directly on the ship below.

All is brightening. 

The storm with its massive rain drops is left behind – clear weather ahead.

The legend reads: VNVS QVI CVNCTA SERENAT. The words translate a positive affirmation: “The one for whom everything is brightening.”

And so, trading is prosperous, and the seas are safe. Mother nature is looking out for the mariners and merchants. And for France.

This jeton is dated 1685 on the obverse. It was struck for the Mayor of Paris, Henry de Fourey. Mitchiner cataloged this jeton as 3299; he estimated 900 latten pieces struck. They were minted at the Royal Mint and distributed near the end of the year to civic officers.

This is one of my favorite jetons. It is scarce but available – I have seen two others in as many years. The center and clouds wear easily as this one shows.

A Visit to the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory

I visited the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab (MAC Lab) last week. The staff was extremely gracious and spent hours with me, showing me their wonderful facility. They are experts in their field and clearly enjoy their work.

The MAC Lab itself is a high-tech operation that is housed in a series of linked buildings. They have a large x-ray chamber and an even larger freeze-dryer. There were several vats filled with chemicals wherein you could see old muskets, ancient oak beams, and cannons. 

The Lab is a state-funded program that is responsible for most of the artifacts dug in Maryland. As such, they have everything from massive paddle-wheels to sherds of pottery and coins.

The facility is located along the Patuxent River at the center of the Jefferson Patterson Park. The landscape is stunning and steeped with history. Archeological digs are underway at the park and include a late 17th century plantation site, plus Native American sites and African-American sites. All told, the park provides a broad view of Colonial Maryland history.

For my research, I was interested in coins and other relics that were used as talismans to ward off evil. Consequently, we examined a witch bottle, several iron hinges engraved with magical symbols, and a few coins found in strategic places -- namely, kitchen and doorways. With all this magical material, I assumed the MAC Lab was safe from witches. 

The coins themselves appeared mute, but their "found" context shouts.

In archeology, it is all about the context.

A pot taking shape at the MAC Lab.

I was also impressed by the melding of scientific conservation methods with painstaking artisan work wherein each artifact is gently picked, brushed, and cleaned by hand. Every piece is cataloged in three dimensions -- hence, they know exactly where and in what strata a pieces was unearthed. 

And sometimes, the work comes down to old-fashioned problem-solving as when, for example, a collection of sherds is turned into the artifact that is once was. One example that caught my eye was a large pot that was being reassembled – piece-by-piece. The archeologist chuckled when he told me that they all take turns adding a piece to the whole. They work as a team.

And of course, all the pieces of the pot are not there making the task ever more challenging and fun.

For the coin collecting necromancer, it doesn't get any better than this.