Notice of Meeting

The next general meeting of the PEINA will be held on Monday evening, April 16, 2001, at 7:30 p.m. in the Library of Colonel Gray Senior High School, Charlottetown.

In case of bad weather we will meet one week later, on Monday, April 23. If in doubt don't hesitate to call Mark at home, 566-5837, but if schools are shut down then you can be sure that Colonel Gray is closed and our meeting postponed.
 

Dues for 2001

The By-Laws of our association call for dues to be paid by all those wishing to become or remain members. Please note, that if dues are not received by the end of April 2001, your name will be removed from our membership roll and the newsletter mailing list.

Those on the mailing list who have not paid their dues may find a friendly reminded on a post-it note attached to the top of this page, but only if your editor has time to do this.

Help us pay our bills!
 

On our agenda:

The big item of course is the APNA Spring Show which we are organizing at Rodd's Royalty Inn, May 11 - 13. This important event is now only a few weeks away. With this newsletter you will find the "registration kit" which has gone out to all the numismatic dealers on our list and will be going out to all APNA members, courtesy of APNA treasurer Randy Larsen. In addition, kits will be sent to the region's coin clubs just in case there are members who are not APNA members.

Please, take a moment to complete your registration sheet, indicate which of the many events you will be attending, and give it to one of the club executive at our April meeting.

Matters we must discuss at our April meeting include advertising and promotion, the draw, the show medal, and volunteers to maintain our club table where draw tickets will be sold and prizes given to the first 100 visitors, also to all our young visitors.

Regarding prizes for young visitors, can we all have a look through our collections and accumulations for any coins or tokens that could be given as prizes to younger visitors? We have a supply of 1967 centennial medals to give away, but let's spice up the pot with some Canadian or foreign items.
 

Displays

Please note that the registration kit also contains a form to let us know you will be entering a display at the May APNA show.

Give some thought to entering a display and showing off some aspect of your collecting interests.

Returning this form will give us a better idea of how many tables we'll need to accommodate members' displays.

The club owns a number of standard-size display cases and you are most welcome to borrow one or two of these, first come and first served as usual. Please see Mark or Ralph D. about this.
 

New Website

A reminder, that we have a new home on the world wide web, our new address is <www.angelfire.com/art/peina> and for this we thank our computer gurus Terry and Gary.
 

Island Lecture Series

Another reminder, in case this gets to you in time, that on Monday, April 9, historian Dr Doug Baldwin of Acadia University will give a talk on the early banks of PEI, in the Carriage House at Beaconsfield, the headquarters of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation in Charlottetown. This is part of an on-going series of talks on Island entrepreneurs.
 

Coin of the Month

There she is again! Today's mail brings catalogues from dealers as far apart as Chicago and London, and both offer this very special lady of numismatic and cultural fame.

The Chicago dealer, who specializes exclusively in ancient coins, offers no less than three of these beauties from 430 - 413 B.C. Impressive, but keep in mind that this lady is said to have appeared at least 9 million times, not counting the many forgeries made of Athena over a period of hundreds of years.

The woman in question is from Attica, and from its capital city of Athens. She appears on both sides of the coin, designated a tetradrachm, as the female personification of the goddess adopted by the citizens to protect their interests. On the reverse she appears in the form of an owl. This was Athena's "attribute", wisdom, and it was known to the ancient Greeks that the gods could change from human to animal shape with ease.

To these ancient Greeks this small bird would be as famous as the Pegasus appearing on the coins of Corinth, or the turtles of Aegina. Peering directly at the viewer, Athena's owls would rise to be as well known as the US dollar of today due to their reputation as a currency of good weight and undebased silver content. It is estimated that some nine million were struck in the thirty years from 450 to 420 BC, many in an inferior condition. Forgeries were made as far away as modern Yemen. Archaeologists have found Athenian owls from Spain and Syria, with a hoard of some ten thousand coins found in Egypt in 1946. This is indeed remarkable, given the fact that ancient Greece saw more than 1,400 city-states or other autonomous groups issue their own coinages over the years.

Source: CNG catalogue for Mail Bid Sale 51, page 37.

Clearly, this owl was special. When first issued the tetradrachm of Athens is said to have been the largest silver coin known up to that time. The coin is also said to be the first to bear a full design on both sides, and the first to have an inscription. One the reverse, the letters AOE appear next to the owl, the beginning of the Greek word for 'of the Athenians'.

The reverse also features an olive branch, the olive being Athena's plant, both a source of food and a symbol of peace. A crescent moon also appears and it is suggested that this may refer to the famous Athenian naval victory over the invading Persian fleet at Salamis.

A major power in Greece after 480 BC, Athens led the newly formed Delian League, a confederation of Greek states united in opposition against Persia. The Athenian "owls" were produced both with the silver tribute exacted from League members and that removed from the famous mines at Laurion. Especially in the years before the Peloponnesian Wars [431-404 BC] this coin appeared in "massive quantities" according to The Coin Atlas.

In his article "Of Owls, Wooden Walls, and Flower Girls", numismatic writer Michael E. Marotta points out that there were three kinds of owls: archaic style from 550 to 450 BC, the "classical" style from 450 to 420, and a version he calls the "new style" in the Hellenistic period after Alexander the Great. The archaic owls were nicknamed "flower girls". When the Oracle of Delphi advised protection from the Persians by building "wooden walls", the Athenian leader Themosticles argued successfully against a walled enclosure for the city and for the creation of an Athenian fleet. This fleet would soon defeat the Persians and give the Athenians a golden age. Democracy was one of the fruits of the Greek experiment, and Marotta argues that "In paying for the creation of popular government and the wooden walls that saved it, the "owls"...bought you the political freedom you enjoy today."

This remarkable coin is one of the most famous of the ancient world. Its remarkable story reminds us again of the history behind the coin and the fascination coins can have upon knowledgeable collectors.
 

Medals

Last Saturday's Globe and Mail newspaper from Toronto carried a remarkable story regarding a rare medal of the Italian renaissance. It is a useful reminder that from time to time, a good look through a "junk box" will repay close attention! One finds stories like this on a regular basis in the European media, where old and valuable objects are often "rediscovered". Indeed, the popular Antiques Roadshow television programme has institutionalized this and sent thousands into their attics. In Canada we do not often expect such discoveries, and yet much was carried here by immigrating families. It happens here too!

Following the Globe news story, photocopied below, is an essay on one of the most famous family of medal makers, the Dassiers.

The Dassier Family of Medalists,

by George Manz, Regina, Sask.

The medals of Jean Dassier and his family are among my favourites.

Jean Dassier was born in Geneva in 1672. His father, Domaine Dassier, was Chief Engraver at the Geneva Mint. Two of Domaine Dassier's three sons later became Mint Engravers, including Jean, who became Chief Engraver at the Geneva Mint after his father died in 1719.

Although the family was based in Geneva, the Dassiers produced medals in France, England, Italy and Russia.

Jean Dassier's first major series of medals was called the Celebrated Men of the Time of Louis XIV. Issued in 1712, it consisted of 72 medals, but since 75 medals have been identified from the series, it appears the series was issued more than once, when additional medals were added. The 28mm medals in the series were struck in bronze and silver. Dr. Peter J. Thompson notes in his 70-page book The Dassier Family and its Medals, the series "is said to be Jean Dassier's finest work."

In 1725 Jean Dassier produced the Protestant Reformers series, a set of 24 medals with the images of eminent theologians such as Calvin, Knox and Luther.

Dassier later visited London in 1728, where he was offered the job of Assistant Engraver at the London Mint to work under noted medallist John Croker. Dassier decided against accepting the job even though it paid a salary of L50 a year!

Thompson writes that both the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries of London "became interested in establishing a series of true images of the Kings and Queens of England. Having done this by the use of 'Bustos, Medals, Coins and other authentik Monuments' they sought an engraver to produce the images on a series of medals. Jean Dassier, chief engraver at the mint in Geneva, was already known in England for his series of Reformers, published by him in 1725, and he was encouraged to produce the series of English Kings and Queens medals."

Thompson notes that the first sets of 33 medals in the series were made of "damascened bronze, bronze medals with the design highlighted in gold." One of these first sets was presented to King George II, "to whom the series was dedicated. He liked the medals but asked that a medal of Caroline, his wife, be added. Thus when the series was offered for sale in London in 1731 it contained 34 medals."

The series begins with William I, often called William the Conqueror, who became King of England in 1066 and changed the course of the country's history.

Richard I, better known as Richard the Lion Heart for his leadership during the Third Crusade, shows him in armour with mantle, helmet laureate.

Another favourite is Oliver Cromwell, who was Lord Protector of the republican Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1653 to 1658.

The series ends with George II and his consort, Caroline.

The English Worthies is another important set of Dassier medals. They represent eight of England's most distinguished writers, poets and philosophers, including William Shakespeare, John Locke, Sir Isaac Newton, John Milton and Francis Bacon.

After he was appointed third engraver at the London Mint in 1741, Jacques-Antoine Dassier, Jean Dassier's eldest son, proposed to issue a series of medals for distinguished contemporary Englishmen,

Dr. Thompson writes these medals were "issued by subscription and produced at the expense of the Dassier family." The series comprises 15 medals in total, including Robert Walpole, generally regarded as the first British Prime Minister, and Edmund Halley, noted mathematician and astronomer.

The Roman Series, by Jean Dassier and one of his sons, contains 60 medals which illustrate Roman history. Produced in both bronze and silver, the series took three years to complete and was issued by subscription. The series includes Romulus, said to have founded Rome, Hannibal, Pompey the Great, Cicero, Caesar, and Augustus, as well as Marc Antony and Cleopatra.

Dr. Thompson's book ends with a useful Guide to Values and Rarity.

Dr. Thompson has provided a great service to collectors of Dassier medals by compiling all available information on the Dassier family in one highly readable book. I am indebted to Dr Peter J. Thompson for writing The Dassier Family and its Medals, from which much of this information is excerpted.
 

Ed.Note: George Manz is the owner of George Manz Coins. He offers many Dassier medals for sale. Copies of Thompson's book are available for UC$25 from George Manz Coins, Box 3626, Regina, SK., S4P 3L7. His Website is <www.georgemanzcoins.com> and he can be reached by telephone at (306) 352-2337
 

Canadian Numismatic Association
 

Just a note here, to draw attention to a thoughtful article by Chris Boyer in the March 2001 Canadian Numismatic Journal titled "Are e-Clubs the Way of the Future". More and more collectors are connected to the Internet, on-line auctions of numismatic items are now commonplace, and many dealers now operate with a website. Further, and Boyer gives examples of this, there are many places on the Internet where a collector may go for information, education, and contact with like-minded people.

But what of those not connected?

This is an article worth reading and discussing.
 

Book Review

The Banker's Art; studies in paper money. Edited by Virginia Hewitt. London: published for the Trustees of The British Museum, 1995.

This paperback appears thanks to a successful conference held in the British Museum in May 1994, to mark the tercentenary of the Bank of England in that year. The papers were well received, and they have been published, with many illustrations, by the Museum.

The book is divided into two parts. The first is called "Issuing Paper Money - Cause and Effect" and the second part is "Making Paper Money - Design and Symbolism".

I found this book in a new / second-hand bookstore in Britain last summer, in Yorkshire as I recall, and paid five pounds for it. It sells in the "high street shops" for 30 pounds, and I am reminded of this book -- and reminded to write this short review -- by an advertisement received today from Coincraft of London. They have bought up a large quantity and have it for sale for 19 pounds 99 pence. So I got a bargain after all!

Regardless of the price, it is a book with something for everyone with an interest in paper money.

The first section, on issuing paper money, consists of six essays. Two stand out, given my collecting interests, Douglas B. Ball on "The influence of the Bank of England and the Scottish banks on American banking, 1781-1913" and the fascinating piece by Peter Bower, "Economic warfare: banknote forgery as a deliberate weapon". I am not, however, suggesting the other essays are not good. The opposite is true. Ian Wisehn, of the Royal Coin Cabinet in Stockholm, writes about "Sweden's Stockholm Banco and the first European banknotes" and anyone interested in the early history of paper money will enjoy this.

The second section likewise features a smorgasbord of numismatic delicacies. Essays examine the symbolism of such diverse subjects as visible minorities on U.S. obsolete banknotes, the gypsy image on the Banco de Mexico 5 peso note, and by editor Virginia Hewitt, "Soft images, hard currency: the portrayal of women on paper money".

One article that brings together history, numismatics, and a really good story is "Agents of culture and nationalism: the Confederate Treasury and Confederate currency". How often do we see Confederate bills at various shows, but feel bewildered by their variety? Guy Swanson of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond offers a most interesting approach to understanding and appreciating this chapter in American banknote history. One is tempted to apply his approach to the banknotes of P.E.I.: what do our 19^th century notes say about us, or more precisely, what do they say about how 19^th century Islanders viewed themselves and wanted to be viewed? There is a research project for someone!

If there is one overwhelming message from these articles, it is that banknotes offer a broad range of subjects, ideas, and collecting possibilities. I do not collect banknotes, I say to myself, but I find it hard to say no to a well-designed note which presents some aspect of the human experience. This is especially true if the note retails for $3 or less! Often, they do!

Just recently, while in Ontario, I found a 1915 German 20 mark note identical to the one reproduced in Hewitt's Beauty and the Banknote (1994). The note presents a man and a woman -- are they husband and wife? -- in separate eight-sided compartments. The man is presented in daylight, rolling up his sleeve as though he was about to begin work. The close proximity of the tree behind him suggests he is working in an orchard, or perhaps a forest. He stares directly at the viewer with a steady, unafraid gaze.

The woman, in contrast, appears in moonlight. The crescent moon is behind her, and stars fill the sky. Her hands are clasped, and she rests her chin on her hands. Her eyes appear closed.

Hewitt's caption observes that the man and woman on this note "reflect the symbolic association of woman with the moon and intuition, man with daylight and reason." An interesting idea to think about, and mine for only a loonie.

Next time you see a pile of banknotes, at a bourse or in a  shop, take a moment to go through them. Reading even only a few articles in this interesting book will give you a new perspective and new eyes.

Reminder

Our next meeting goes as usual on the third Monday, which is Monday April 16 at 7:30 pm.

Also, and I suppose there is irony in mentioning this as we are so busy with our own, the fall 2001 APNA rally takes place in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, October 12 and 13, at Rodd's Grand Hotel.

Finally, the CNA's big annual convention takes place this year in Quebec City, July 26-29. Anyone considering a summer jaunt couldn't do much better than a drive up to Quebec this year.

That's all for now. See you on the 16^th and pray we don't receive any more snow!