Scrip: British POW Camps in India 1941

, ,

India Coin News notes > The British established POW camps in India in 1941 as a result of the large number of POWs captured during the North Africa campaign. Over 100,000 POWs were transfered to camps in India which held Italian and Japanese POWs and German, Japanese, and Italian civilian internees. Some Indian political prisoners were also held in the camps. Ten of the camps were known to have issued currency. There were two major types of notes issued. Type one notes have a 6 mm bar on the left side of the note and type two notes do not. A…

Continue reading

10 Cash from Yunnan-Szechuan

Chinese coins are a whole new area for me. I’ve been having fun identifying a 10 Cash coin I won in  a (Vancouver) North Shore Numismatic Society auction. Mine is in VF condition with abrasion to the raised surfaces and a prominent scratch. The image below is a 1906 10 Cash from Yunnan-Szechuan in XF grade. with a value of $150. Y# 10w. I really like the stylized dragon!  A Tai Ch’ing Ti Kuo Dragon. This cash coin handily tells us english speakers that it is a Copper Coin. It’s Chi’ing dynasty or Manchu China. The Emperor is Kuang-hsü who decreed in 1905…

Continue reading

“The King Of Canadian Coins”

“The tale begins in 1870, when the 50 cent coin was first introduced in Canada. 450,000 coins were struck that first year, but demand for this denomination varied widely afterwards, with some years having no coins produced at all.In 1920, the Canadian government officially reduced the silver content of our coins from 92.5% to only 80%. This worsened the situation for the 50 cent denomination, which was already unpopular, and demand for the coins fell dramatically. So much so that of the 200,000+ 50 cents struck in 1921, virtually all of them remained in storage at the mint. Demand for…

Continue reading

Medicine Man Charlie’s Wooden Nickel

Token Talk with Duff Malkin Medicine Man Charlie’s Wooden Nickel What can give me a good buzz is the discovery of something I did not know about and which is somewhat unusual and I did not expect to see. This following wooden nickel is one such item. It is quite thick for a wooden nickel (7mm or about ¼ of an inch, which may have been more relevant in Canada’s pre-metric days). Ranier Provisions is in Gastown at 2 West Cordova. It is a licensed restaurant. I am not sure whether it is the “Rainier of Gastown” referred to on…

Continue reading

Token Talk: On the Wings of Teddy Bears..

On the Wings of Teddy Bears.. Ballie Bear Tokens Token Talks by Duff Malkin We are not exactly sure how Ballie Bear fits into the arcade nature of this bear token. It is clear that on the token the bear is carrying a tray of food and is wearing a bib with “B&B” on it, yet none of the institutions (i.e. arcades or video rooms) it has been found in have any connection to serving food. There is no trademark registration in Canada for “Ballie Bear” In the beginning, after these kept getting found in the token box of Chantou…

Continue reading

Token Talk: UBC Transit Passes + Some tips for Transit collectors

Token Talk with our token explorer Duff Malkin UBC Transit Passes + Some tips for Transit collectors Q When did UBC Bus passes start  ? Duff > I may be wrong but I think the first UBC period (i.e. valid for a long period of time) bus passes originated in 1978. These were laminated passes which were good for a term at UBC. I believe they cost 78 dollars but this was a bargain for four months. On the very first day one was required to present it and ones Alma Mater Society card as proof in order to get…

Continue reading

A Favourite Coin – 1958 B.C. Dollar

My father was a Royal Naval man and so proud of his service. He was too young for the war but joined the Navy soon afterwards when he was 16 and served a full career. One of the ships he told us about was was the veteran battle cruiser HMS Newcastle which had seen such brave action in the war. Post-war, Dad joined the re-commissioned ship in the Far East. There was action in the Malayan Emergency when the ships guns where “fired in anger”. Then there was a long Foreign Service voyage from Ceylon to Burma to Hong Kong…

Continue reading

My Favorite Canadian Coin

The 1949 silver dollar issue is considered by me, and many others to be the most beautiful of all Canadian circulating coins. I’m maybe more than a little biased being that I was born in Newfoundland and lived there until my late teens (and no it never leaves your blood). This coin was issued as the third commemorative in the silver dollars series to mark the entry of Newfoundland into the Confederation. The reverse shows “The Matthew”, the ship in which John Cabot is thought to have discovered the island in 1497. Below the waves is inscribed the Latin phrase…

Continue reading

Europe-shaped coin

One of the most unusual shaped coins ever issued is this 2002 coin issued by Nauru, an island republic situated in the western Pacific Ocean. The face value is $10 and the coin is in the shape of Europe. It was issued to commemorate the first issue of the Euro. The coin contains 1oz of .999 silver and mintage is only 2,500 pieces. Note that they had to build a “land bridge” to connect the UK to the rest of Europe. ~Mike Souza

Continue reading

Stamps: Canada’s War Issue 1942 – 1943

,

Canada’s War Issue 1942 – 1943 On July 1 1942, a new series of definitive stamps was issued showing Canada’s contribution to the war effort of the Allied Nations. The Post Office Department issued stamps portraying King George as head of the Armed Forces in naval, military and air force uniforms. Subjects depicting Canada’s munitions, war supplies, shipbuilding, agriculture, her importance as a great air-training centre, and as a source of food were chosen for the pictorial stamps. The low value definitives with George VI in military uniforms were in use until 1949, while the War Issue pictorials were replaced by…

Continue reading

Token Talk: The Vancouver Antique Flea Market

The Vancouver Antique Flea Market at 24 Water Street on the ground level of the Grand Hotel also issued an “admits two” tokens along with this wood in 1969 and an “admits two” token in 1970. I do recollect going down there once and seeing a vertical pile of these woods and they were very dirty. Knowing that tokens and woods were numismatic I started to try and get one but was discouraged by other members of my family who were there too (and saw nothing that they wanted). I am not sure how the tokens were distributed but it…

Continue reading

UBC SUB Pizza Parlour

There was a time when the UBC Stamp and Coin Club could have met at night at SUB and had Pizza and Beer!!! Quite cheaply but then as you may see wages were not that great either then. A fairly replete history of the SUB Pizza Parlor from the Ubyssey (and its token) September 14th, 1976 Ubyssey “Parlor opens tonight Pizza and beer will replace hamburgers and milk every night in the SUB cafeteria snack bar beginning today at 7p.m. The new SUB pizza parlor will offer beer, wine, cider and pop over the counter from 7p.m. to 12:30a.m. Friday and…

Continue reading

Canada’s Rarest Coin

Canadian Coin News > On 19th October 1911 “the Royal Mint of London, England sent dies for a new Canadian $1 silver coin to its Ottawa Branch; this coin is known today by collectors as the rarest coin from Canada. According to articles from the present day Royal Canadian Mint, when the Mint began striking coins in 1908 (then known as the Ottawa Branch of the Royal Mint), a one-dollar coin had not yet entered circulation, but was desperately needed; so in 1911, the Mint struck a trial one dollar coin in lead, while London’s Royal Mint struck two trial…

Continue reading

Our Coin Show is Saturday 12th September at Nikkei Cultural Centre in Burnaby

2 nikkeigarden0036

The show is held at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre located at 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, just 4km east of Metrotown near Kingsway & Sperling.   There is free underground parking at the Centre and along Beresford Avenue.

The show hours are from 9am to 3pm.  Admission is $2 and is free for age 16 and under if accompanied by an adult.