Richard James Shelton

Coins, artefacts and antiquities

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1½ Pice, Bombay Presidency (British India)

Obverse: United East India Company bale mark. All within a tooth-bordered rim

Reverse: Balanced scales with Persian legend between pans, raised, toothed border

Legend in Persian: Adil. Lettering: عدل Translation: Just or fair

1791 was an eventful year for the East India Company, dominated by war and environmental crisis. The Company was deep in the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) against Tipu Sultan of Mysore. In early 1791, Governor-General Lord Cornwallis personally took command of the Madras army after earlier setbacks. On 21 March 1791, British forces stormed and captured Bangalore (Bengaluru), Tipu’s second city and a major arsenal/gunpowder production centre. This was a major strategic victory. Cornwallis then advanced toward Tipu’s capital, Seringapatam (Srirangapatna).

After the Battle of Arikera (May 1791) he pushed close to the fortress but was forced to retreat to Bangalore in mid-1791 because of severe supply shortages, disease, and Tipu’s scorched-earth tactics. The campaign resumed later in the year with Maratha and Nizam of Hyderabad allies. The war would end in 1792 with the Treaty of Seringapatam, under which Tipu lost roughly half his territory. This war significantly strengthened the Company’s position in southern India and is one of the key steps that turned it from a trading body into a territorial power.

1790–1792 also saw a major El Niño-linked drought across large parts of India. 1791 was particularly devastating in the Deccan and parts of the Madras Presidency. Contemporary accounts describe extreme mortality; in Bijapur the year was remembered as the “Doji Bara” or “Skull Famine” because the ground was covered with unburied skeletons. The Company recorded high death rates in areas under its control (including the Northern Circars).

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The arms of the East India Company appear on this 1835 Quarter Anna (Madras mint, marked by small lettering and dots on lions).

This East India Company 1835 silver Rupee, minted in Calcutta (F on neck), is notable for the use of a royal portrait by a private company, indicating ‘that the Company, backed by the Crown, was the paramount power in India…a remarkable statement which appears not to have been challenged or questioned in any way’ (Thompson, 2020, p92). Due to the shortage of dies, all silver Rupees were dated 1835 until new Victoria dies were introduced in 1840. The Two Annas die was subsequently introduced in 1841.

‘When the Crown took over in 1858 it again took some time to produce the new dies required’ (Thompson, 2020, p196). East India Company coins continued to be minted until the new dies of 1862. When Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1876, new coinage was introduced the following year. Note the change from Queen to Empress.

Despite Indian independence from colonial rule in 1947, British coins dated 1948 still bore the title IND IMP, and only changed the following year.

Source: Thompson, P. R. (2020) The Story of Coins and Tokens of the British World, Short Run Press, Exeter.

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Copper-nickel 1 rial commemorative from Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (the last Shah).

The date is ۱۳۵۰ in the Solar Hijri calendar (Persian/Shamsi calendar) which roughly corresponds to the Gregorian period of March 1971 to March 1972.

• It began around March 21, 1971 (start of Farvardin 1350).

• It ended around March 20, 1972 (end of Esfand 1350).

This coin is one of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) issues minted around SH 1350–1354 (1971–1975 AD), with the full title including "Aryamehr" and the date ۱۳۵۰

A nice little piece of late Pahlavi-era history, tied to the UN's global agriculture promotion efforts during that period. Not rare or high-value, but a cool survivor from the final decade of the monarchy.

Reverse script: Persian (nastaliq)

Lettering:

کسی که گندم میکارد راستی میافشاند

یک ریال

Translation:

One who sows wheat scatters honesty.

One Rial

1 Rial - Mohammad Rezā Pahlavī, Iran

Detailed information about the coin 1 Rial, Mohammad Rezā Pahlavī (FAO), Iran, with pictures and collection and swap management: mintage, de

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Canterbury Cathedral and its material culture

What (if anything) does the present-day material culture of Canterbury Cathedral tell us about Christianity before the Reformation? In my answer to this question, I consider what is meant by material culture, Christianity and Reformation, all three terms being wide topics in themselves. Morgan’s definition of material culture includes not only objects but also ‘any aspect of…world-making…

Canterbury Cathedral and its material culture

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Greek Sculpture

This analysis addresses the marble sculpture of a River God from the West pediment of the Parthenon in Athens, now in the British Museum, 438–432 BCE (Figure 1), and the Black River God, by Christie Brown, 1990 (Figure 2). It considers how they both relate to the sculptural traditions in Open University module A111 Discovering the arts and humanities, Book 2 Traditions, Chapter 1, by Jessica…

Greek Sculpture

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Mozart and Dickens

Listen to the extract from a piece of music by Mozart. Write a description of the music describing the use of melody, aspects of its structure, and the way in which instruments interact with each other. As part of your description, you should identify the genre, giving reasons for your choice, and the solo instrument. My first impression listening to the piece is that it is a cheerful orchestral…

Mozart and Dickens

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The Habeas Corpus Suspension Acts of 1688 temporarily suspended the right of habeas corpus in England, in the wake of the Glorious Revolution, in which King James II had recently been deposed. Shown here is an original print of the third and final act, which received Royal Assent exactly ten years and one day since the original Habeas Corpus Act was passed. Any six members of the Privy Council could now sign a warrant committing to prison anyone they suspected of high treason, without bail, mainprise or trial, until the date the Act expired on the ‘three and twentieth day of October’ 1689.

The Williamite War in Ireland began in March 1688/89 when James II and VII landed in Kinsale seeking to reverse the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, which had replaced him with his nephew William III and daughter Mary II.

To support the cost of his campaign in Ireland James issued a coinage of brass in the denominations of halfcrown, shilling and sixpence.

The so-called gunmoney coins were not only made of melted cannon as is the folk-tale but were made from brass from a variety of less romantic sources including church bells.

Gunmoney is curious in that it was meant as a 'token' coinage and was dated by month as well as year so that it could be redeemed by James after he regained the English throne in the order in which it had been issued.

It is interesting to note that the Julian calendar continued in Britain until 1752, so the first coin shown, dated Nov 1689 was actually minted before the one dated Mar 1689.

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Louis XVI (1774-1792), French Academy, undated token, Feuardent 4381. Engraver: Duvivier. Obv: Louis XVI Roi de FR.et de navarr. Rev: Protecteur de l'académie françoise. A l'immortalité

The Académie Française comprises forty members, known as les immortels ("the immortals"). During the French Revolution, the National Convention suppressed all royal academies, including the Académie Française. In 1792, the election of new members to replace those who died was prohibited; in 1793, the academies were themselves abolished. They were all replaced in 1795 by a single body called the Institut de France. Napoleon Bonaparte, as First Consul, decided to restore the former academies, but only as "classes" or divisions of the Institut de France. The second class of the Institut was responsible for the French language, and corresponded to the former Académie Française. When King Louis XVIII came to the throne in 1816, each class regained the title of "Académie"; accordingly, the second class of the Institut became the Académie Française. Since 1816, the existence of the Académie Française has been uninterrupted.

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‘The art of Benin: 1400 to 1897’ and ‘The art of Benin: 1897 to present day’

‘Since the fifteenth century the changing economic and political relationships between Europe and West Africa have influenced the production, reception and display of the art of Benin’. Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement. Economic and political contact between Europe and West Africa since 1400 spanned the eras of sea exploration and trading by the great merchant adventurers…

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5 Cents, Issued by, British East Africa (Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda), 1936 KN

Minted by King's Norton Mint, Birmingham

Struck in the name of King Edward VIII

Obverse Description

A central hole with curved floral design to left and right; above hole, crown; below hole in two lines, FIVE / CENTS; around, EDWARDVS VIII REX ET IND: IMP: and the mint mark, KN below the denomination

Reverse Description

Curved around central hole four elephant tusks; above hole, 5; around outside line circle, EAST AFRICA 1936

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As a strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus has been contested and occupied by various powers since antiquity; it was successively ruled by the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Persians before Alexander the Great seized it in 333 BC.

Cyprus subsequently formed part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom until it was annexed by Rome in 58 BC. It remained part of the Eastern Roman Empire for the next thousand years, albeit intermittingly coming under Arab control, sometimes jointly with the Romans. The French Lusignan dynasty took control of the island during the Third Crusade of the late 12th century, succeeded by the Venetians in the late 15th century, from whom Cyprus was subsequently conquered by the Ottomans in 1571.

The Ottoman period saw major demographic, political, and cultural changes, including the emergence of Greek nationalism. The island was secretly placed under the British administration under the Cyprus Convention of 1878 after after the Russo-Turkish War.

In 1915, Cyprus was formally annexed into the British Empire after the Ottomans had entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers against the British, and it was initially governed by a military administration until 1925, when it was proclaimed the Crown Colony of Cyprus.

In the 1950s Greece recovered economically, and diplomatic and trade links were strengthened by King Paul’s state visits abroad. He became the first Greek Monarch to visit a Turkish Head of State. However, links with Britain became strained over Cyprus, where the majority Greek population favored union with Greece, which Britain, as the colonial power, would not endorse.

In 1955 an insurgency by National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) led to the Governor General Sir John Harding declaring a state of emergency.

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Hussein Kamel (Arabic: السلطان حسين كامل) was declared Sultan of Egypt on 19 December 1914 during the British protectorate. He was the first person to hold the title of since the killing of Sultan Tuman II by the Ottomans in their 1517 conquest of Egypt.

On 21 September 1917, three weeks before Hussein Kamel's death, the British chose his brother as successor, first requesting that his son Kamal el Dine renounce the throne, for the British not to appear to the Egyptian public as having deprived him of his legitimate rights.

This was the only time in Egyptian history that an eligible heir gave up his rights to the throne of his own free will.

2 Qirsh silver coin, King Farouk, Egypt 1937 - 1356 ( ١٣٥٦ -١٩٣٧ )

Farouk I (فاروق الأول) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, known for his extravagant playboy lifestyle. While initially popular, his reputation eroded due to the corruption and incompetence of his government. He was overthrown in the 1952 coup d'état, and forced to abdicate in favour of his infant son. Gamal Abdel Nasser led the coup and withdrawal of all British military personnel from Egypt. The monarchy was formally abolished on 18 June 1953: Egypt was declared a republic for the first time in its history. Following an attempt on Nasser’s life in 1954 he put the first President Mohamed Naguib under house arrest and Nasser was formally elected president in June 1956.

20 Qirsh silver coin, 1956, Egyptian Mint Authority, Cairo

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces18943.html

20 Qirsh, Egypt

Detailed information about the coin 20 Qirsh, Egypt, with pictures and collection and swap management: mintage, descriptions, metal, weight,

In July 1956, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal Company, previously British and French owned. After Israel invaded the Egyptian Sinai, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to cease fire, landing paratroopers along the Suez Canal. Before Egyptian forces were defeated, they blocked the canal by sinking 40 ships.

It later became clear that Israel, France and Britain had conspired to plan the invasion, but with the canal rendered useless, political pressure from the US and USSR led to a withdrawal. President Eisenhower had strongly warned Britain not to invade, threatening damage to the British financial system by selling sterling bonds. Historians conclude the crisis "signified the end of Britain's role as one of the world's major powers".

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A unique aspect of sovereign production was the establishment of several branches of the Royal Mint outside the British Isles. No other country since the fall of the Roman Empire had spread its coin production over such a vast area. In this case policy was dictated by the enormous distances involved in the far-flung British Empire.

When gold was discovered in New South Wales and Victoria in the mid-nineteenth century, it seemed sensible to refine and assay the gold on the spot. The first coins struck at Sydney Mint were in 1855 and at Melbourne in 1872.

Before the Federation of Australia in 1901, British shillings were shipped around the world to serve as currency for the British Empire and the first Australian shillings were struck at the Heaton Mint in Birmingham and the Royal Mint in London. In 1916 the first Australian coins to be struck in Australia were shillings produced at the Melbourne Mint.

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Edward VII gold sovereign, 1908 Perth Mint (P above date)

Perth Mint was established during the 1890s, as a subsidiary of the Royal Mint. At that time, the population of Western Australia was growing rapidly due to the discovery of rich gold deposits at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie.

The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 meant that the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward, now King Edward VII, was unable to undertake a planned tour of the British Dominions. Instead, he sent his son George, Duke of Cornwall and York, on the extensive eight-month voyage. At Perth mint the Duke and his wife Mary were presented with a casket containing two Perth Mint gold sovereigns and two half-sovereigns. The Mint remained under the control of the UK government for 69 years.

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British Iron Age, CATUVELLAUNI, Cunobelin (8-41 AD), Stater, Linear type [class 2], ear of barley with five pairs of grains dividing [c]amv, rev. horse bounding right with ladder mane, branch and two pellets above, cv[n] below, 5.42g/12h (Sills 551; ABC 2774; VA 1925-1; S 281). Die break on obverse, good very fine, attractive rosy gold [Noonans auction April 2023]

From numismatic evidence, Cunobelin appears to have taken power after the death of his father Tasciovanus, and following the Roman defeat in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, Germania in AD 9, which possibly emboldened him to act against the Trinovantes capital at Camulodunem. The Trinovantes were a Roman ally whose independence was protected by a treaty they made with Julius Caesar in 54 BC, but problems in Germania severely discouraged Augustus's territorial ambitions and ability to defend allies in Britain. Cunobelin’s aggressive policy of expansion that involved members of his family eventually led to Roman concern over the extent of his power, Suetonius calling him ‘king of the Britons’. Following his death just prior to AD 43 the emperor Claudius took the decision to invade Britain, and the minting of tribal coins ceased shortly afterwards.

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LVDOVICVS . MAGNVS . REX . SVFFICIT * NEC * DEFICIT * TRESOR.ROYAL. MDCLXXXV (1685)

‘Sufficient is never enough’. On 15 October 1685, Louis issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the Edict of Nantes. Protestant groups were no longer tolerated in France. No further Protestant churches were to be constructed, and those already existing were to be demolished. Pastors could choose either exile or secular life. Those Protestants who had resisted conversion were now to be baptised forcibly into the established church.

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Until the early 19th century, Guernsey used predominantly French currency. Coins of the French livre were legal tender until 1834, with French francs used until 1921. In 1830, Guernsey began production of copper coins denominated in doubles. The double was worth 1⁄80 of a French franc. The name "double" derived from the French "double deniers".