As I promised, one Bonaparte sister, coming right up:
1808 Lucca 5 Franchi - Felix and Elisa https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces17810.html
Elisa Bonaparte was Napoleon's younger sister; she was married to a captain Felice Levoy in the French Army, and in 1805 Napoleon made them Prince and Princess of Piombino (later combined with Lucca). Their little realm sat between the Napoleonic puppet kingdom of Italy and the Ligurian Sea, and as with her other siblings, Elisa was forced to abdicate upon Napoleon's defeat in 1814.
And while we're in Napoleonic Italy: 1808 M Kingdom of Italy 5 Lire - Napoleon I https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces13400.html
The coat of arms on the imperial eagle's breast is particularly interesting; it contains sections for Lombardia (the crowned Milanese serpent), the winged lion of St. Peter for Venice, the crossed Papal keys, etc.
Another date I have nothing. But I'm excited to start playing again tomorrow, I still have 9 USA coins left to share, including my 2 most expensive ones...
1806 - USA "draped bust" quarter dollar: More than 3mm larger diameter than modern quarters. Definitely getting back into the more expensive US coinage. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces30701.html
Sorry to clog up the thread with verbatim, but the 3 coins above me are all great.
The 1806 Copper coinage of the UK was easily the most useful to date, unlike the 1797s these used stronger and higher rims to ensure coins wore less quickly (Copper was much less durable than the Bronze introduced in 1860 to British low denomination coins). I can't wait until we get to 1799 and I bring out my special coin from that year.
The quarter, absolutely amazing to see pre 1810s American silver coins. Lovely coin and well worn, imagine the stories it could tell, it could have been in Edgar Allan Poe's pocket or even Thomas Jefferson's.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Citação: "Moneytane"Sorry to clog up the thread with verbatim, but the 3 coins above me are all great.
The quarter, absolutely amazing to see pre 1810s American silver coins. Lovely coin and well worn, imagine the stories it could tell, it could have been in Edgar Allan Poe's pocket or even Thomas Jefferson's.
You're not clogging up at all, no worries. We all love having someone say how awesome coins in our collection are :)
Looking at the population of the USA vs the mintage of quarters, 1806 saw about 1 quarter per 25 people. Edgar Allan Poe would have been lucky to even see one of them! US silver had a really rough start. Just wait till 1802 and 1795 in this thread, two of the most awesome coins in my collection!!!
British coinage from between roughly 1770 to 1816 (the Great Recoinage), spanning roughly the same period as the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, is pretty sparse and interesting; lots of counterstamps, tokens, bank issues, and so on.
1804 H Further Austria 1 Kreutzer - Franz II https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces33457.html
Further Austria was a series of Austrian/Habsburg possessions located in modern day Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany (and a little in modern day Alsace, or Eastern France). At the Congress of Vienna in 1815 Austria gave them up to Baden and France in exchange for influence and territory in Northern Italy.
Gorgeous coin and in such nice condition. The American coins were easily the most elegant at the time, compared to the British on and off issues and the overly imperial and militaristic looking Napoleonic coins and various German statelets. This was high art.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I love it, that coin must be so rare. Imagine if it was an 1804! And it has the second eagle reverse. The 1795 and to some 1798 coins had a eagle that looked like a Turkey buzzard according to Thomas Jefferson and in 1798 the mint got the message and added the much more imperial and meaty looking bird.
To give us an idea of how rare coins this old are from the US, before the 1820s, apparently people bought in their silver to the mint and they melted it down(!!!) to make silver coins out of. These huge dollars were only issued until 1803/04 (Some say the 1804's were in fact from 1834 when the Steam presses were tried out - coins this old are only screw pressed) and they relied on half dollar coins until the 1830s when silver supplies perked up (Gold was sporadic but fine, with gold coming out of Georgia before 1848 (Dahlonega mint).
Sorry - American coins always fascinate me.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Not as handsome as the dollar above, but from the flip side of the Louisiana Purchase:
11 (1802) France 5 Francs - Napoleon Bonaparte https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces21917.html
Napoleon's rise through the French military landed him in a perfect position to seize power from the Directory, whom had controlled French politics since the Thermidorian Reaction that ended the Terror in 1794. In 1799 he declared himself First Consul, evoking ancient Rome; and it is this title we see on the coin pictured. In 1804 he would crown himself Emperor, but some French coins continued to bear the legend "REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE" until as late as 1807.
