1820s Hudson’s Bay Company first promissory notes

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HBC 1820 York Factory Pound 001

A One Pound Sterling and a Five Shilling promissory note from the Hudson’s Bay Company York Factory at the Red River Settlement. “Currency was needed by the new settlers in the Red River Settlement, and the Hudson’s Bay Company’s first promissory notes—2000 for one pound each and 4000 for five shillings each—were sent to York Factory in May 1820. The promissory notes were issued in books containing 100 notes each. They were not put into circulation immediately as Governor Simpson feared the settlers might hoard them, but after 1824 they gradually came into circulation and other denominations added. The notes…

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A violet-green swallow from Canada

RCM violet-green swallow

Have you spotted a vivid violet-green swallow in the wild ? Fifth and final coin in the Colourful Songbirds of Canada series. With its endearing chirp and stunning plumage, it’s easy to see why the violet-green swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) is a favourite swallow species for many birdwatchers. Found in the open woodlands of western Canada, this songbird’s iridescent feathers add an unexpected splash of colour to its serene surroundings and as such, are part of the beauty of Canada’s natural landscape. – Thank you Royal Canadian Mint for image and text See more at: http://www.mint.ca/store/coins/12-oz.-fine-silver-coloured-coin-%E2%80%93-colourful-songbirds-of-canada-the-violetgreen-swallow-2015-prod2400234?rcmiid=link|search|searchresults|12_oz_Fine_Silver_Coloured_Coin_Colourful_Songbirds_of_Canada_The_Violet-Green_Swallow_2015&#.VhJehPlVhBc

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Hong Kong 1941 $1 Overprint

Hong Kong 1941 $1 Overprint

When the Japanese Army attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941 and overwhelmed the defenders on the mainland, the remaining British forces retreated to Hong Kong Island.   While under siege on Hong Kong Island there emerged a shortage of coins and $1 banknotes.  The shortage of the $1 banknotes arose when the Japanese distributed leaflets warning that all notes over $10 would be worthless after the Japanese took over the colony.   To relieve the situation, a stock of The Bank of China 5 Yuan notes were discovered on the premises of The Commercial Press Limited located on King…

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Austria 2014 Ceramic Stamp

This stamp was issued by Austria in 2014 and it is the first official porcelain (ceramic) stamp in the world. The stamp is made of fine porcelain and was created in cooperation with the porcelain manufacturer Augarten in Vienna.  It was not printed but made in an elaborate, specially developed process. The white ceramic base was fired for 24 hours at 960 degrees, then glazed and cured at higher temperatures.  Only then was the “Viennese Rose” design, the country name and the denomination added.  It was then baked at 820 degrees in a further operation to ensure the color fastness. Thank…

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Japan 1 Sen 1945

Due to the shortage of metal in Japan caused by World War II, this 1945 1 Sen coin was made of baked clay and pressed into service.   It circulated in central Japan for only a few days at the end of the war.  The coin features Mt. Fuji on the obverse with the value of 1 Sen, while on the reverse is the Imperial Seal of Japan with the name of the issuing authority.   The coin comes in two varieties, one in brown baked clay, and the other in red baked clay.  Both are quite scarce and mintage is unknown.…

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Reminder of the October North Shore Numismatic Society Meeting

Bank of Vancouver Note

Hello everyone, Mark your calendars!!! This is a reminder that the next North Shore Numismatic Society meeting is Tuesday, October 20th. The meeting is held at the Bonsor Recreation Centre, in Multipurpose Room #2.  Doors open at 7 pm and the meeting starts at 7:30 pm.  The meeting is open to members and non-members, so everyone is welcome. Program:  Michael Souza will present a PowerPoint on “The History of the Bank of Vancouver”. Using archival photos and Bank of Vancouver memorabilia, Michael Souza will present a brief history of British Columbia and its impact on the rise and demise of the Bank of…

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Wooden Coin from Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo 5 Francs Reverse

  This 2005 coin is made of Maple wood and was issued by the Congo to commemorate the efforts to protect gorillas and their rainforest habitat.  The gorillas were once considered endangered due to poaching, clear cutting of the trees and disease but have made a comeback.   Only 2,000 were made. Thank you Joel for the image.  http://www.joelscoins.com/

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Somalia Guitar Coins

Somalia Guitar Coins

The multi-coloured silver-plated Guitar coins have proved unbelievably popular with coin collectors, guitar enthusiasts, Rock ‘n Roll fans and the general public. These multi-color guitar coins are designed after famous electric guitars. The coins were issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rock ‘n Roll. The top row was issued in 2004 which included the classic red and white Fender Stratocaster, an American Flag Stars and Stripes Gibson Flying V, a Gibson Flying V, a pink star Guitar used by various rock stars including Gary Glitter and Abba, a blue Gibson X-Plorer and a yellow Klein. Thank you Joel for…

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Scarce Golden BC Dairy Token

I had some luck at a VNS show in the 1990’s. This token showed up and I had not heard of it so I bought it. Golden, B.C., is not really a noted token issuing place. It was a dairy token so I rather assumed that it would be from the 1930’s or 1940’s before the plastic dairy tokens came in. But no, this one turned out to be earlier (around 1910’s which was unusual. Since this token was found at about the same time things were going on line. I was able to find out that a Basil Ashton…

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Z.A.R. Coinage by Tom Deeth

The Country of South Africa is about ½ million square miles, the 25th largest in the world shaped like a large potato some 1200 miles long from Capetown in the Southwest to the Limpopo River bordering Zimbabwe & Mozambique in the northeast and 400 to 600 miles wide from the Atlantic & Indian Oceans in the south and southeast to the Kalahari Desert in the north. South Africa was unknown to Western Europe until the first Portuguese explorer, Diaz in 1488, first rounded the Cape and entered the waters of the Indian ocean. A decade later, in 1497, the Portuguese…

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Copper Penny of Torrhen Stark

Torrhen StarK Penny Winterfell

“The copper penny of the North Kingdom was minted at Winterfell by Torrhen Stark, the last King of the Independent North Kingdom. It dates It dates from some three hundred years before King Robert Baratheon’s reign, long before Aegon’s Conquest that united Westeros. The obverse pictures the standing king with scepters. The reverse shows the head of a Dire Wolf, mascot of the House of Stark” Thank you Joel at joelscoins for text and image.

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Hedgehogs from Kazakhstan

A” hedgehog is featured on both sides of this 2013 Kazakhstan 50 Tenge coin.   One side displays the face of the hedgehog staring out at you.  The other features the hedgehog curled up in a ball.  The coin is 31mm in diameter and is brilliant Uncirculated.” Thank you Joel at joelscoins for text and image I like the way the reverse hedgehog, curled up, fills the whole round coin. ~ Julian Ticehurst

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A Taku Turtle from Fiji

“This attractive 1 troy ounce .999 fine silver 2 Dollar coin from Fiji features a stylized Hawksbill turtle, also known as the Taku.  This 2012 issue was the last of Fiji silver Taku with Queen Elizabeth on the obverse.  The 40.5mm coin was struck for Fiji by the New Zealand Mint and has a maximum mintage of just 350,000 pieces.” Thank you Joel at joelscoins for text and image I like the compositional curves of the turtle and framing in the round of the coin. I like the spiral swirls in the turtle’s shell. Also the ring-linked bubbles. ~ Julian Ticehurst      

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British Colonies (Dominica, Gibraltar, Martinique) holed Dollar

British Colonial Dollar

This rare type of  British Colonial Dollar has a heart-shape cut out from a Peruvian 8-Reales 1753 coin. This particular dollar originated in Gibraltar and was present in Dominica and Martinique in the Caribbean in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Spanish silver pieces-of-eight were the standard currency in Dominica and East Caribbean. In Dominica various holes were cut out of them to create different values – before 1813 a “bit” was worth 9 pence and there were 11 bits to a holed dollar, 12 1/2 bits to an unholed dollar. The values then changed and finally in 1843 sterling became the official currency…

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Christian Tokens in Vancouver

The “Jesus Saves / (cross) / Eternal Life” and “Lord is Coming / (cross in circle) / Millenium” aluminum pieces were distributed in the early 1970’s and perhaps earlier in the streets of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as well as Seattle, Washington state (and very likely many different places in North America) by people wishing to spread their message. It worked like this. They would drop the items on the street (which was usually, it seems, Granville Street here), someone else would pick it up thinking it was a dime, read the message and either a) keep the item or…

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Armillary Sphere coin in gold from the Cook islands

Coin week have reported the new “Armillary Sphere” coin. It’s an ounce of finest gold and is actually legal tender in Cook Islands value  $100.   This avant-garde 24-carat gold coin concept comes in the shape of an Armillary sphere. Four individual annular $25 1/4 ounce coins combine to form a large one-ounce $100 coin. This coin was produced by Swiss gold manufacturer Valcambi and is legal tender in the Cook Islands.  Each of the rings is individually packaged and comes with its own assay card, which lists purity, weight, and authentication by a Valcambi certified assayer. Obverse: Three concentric rings and an center disc.…

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Many people carry their money…on their head

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The great mines of Falun in Sweden provided much of Europe’s copper during the seventeenth century. Now a world heritage site the mine’s production affected the economic and political situation throughout the continent and gave rise to one of the more idiosyncratic monetary practices…. Following the first coinage act for plate money in 1644, sheets of copper of varying sizes were stamped with dies to indicate their value in terms of silver dalers. These included eight daler pieces which were over half a metre in length and weighed 14kg, leading a Danish visitor to comment: “Many people carry their money in…

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