A Blyth Comment (Or, The 1908 India General Service Medal with Afghanistan NWF 1919 clasp)

It's my new favourite thing. A lovely item, and for a number of reasons. Before we start, behold:

The 1909 issue of the India General Service Medal with the Afghanistan NWF (North West Frontier) 1919 clasp. The medal was awarded for the dubious honour of having served on the frontiers of India. In 1919 that meant the North West Frontier, which was India's border with Afghanistan. In 1919 Afghanistan was doing a lot better than it is now, and Britain a lot worse. Having suffered British interference for years, the Afghans took the opportunity of Britain's destitution after the War to launch an invasion. Given the current conflict, the idea of Afghanistan invading the British Empire may seem almost amusing now,  but Charles Blyth, who was the recipient of this medal, would not have been laughing. But we are ahead of ourselves, because we know more about Charles Blyth than is revealed by this medal.
This item was part of a private collection in Denmark. it was bought, perhaps ironically, by a member of the Danish military who had served in Afghanistan. Luckily for us, he did a lot of the research about Charles and his story is fascinating.
Charles Blyth was born in 1884 in Marsham, Norfolk. The son of Joshua Blyth, a farm labourer, Charles enlisted into the militia in 1901 and served in the Royal Field Artillery. He was married in 1905, extended his service and was due for release in 1913. 1913 was not a good time to be finishing one's military career... in 1914 Charles was enlisted in the regular army and served in Northern France and the Middle East. He was invalided to India in 1918. 1918 was not a good time to be re-cuperating in India... Charles, now a Sgt, fought in the third Afghan was and was awarded the medal we see here. That is some epic 'wrong place, wrong time' and coupled with a bout of syphilis in 1905, he may be the unluckiest soldier to have his story told in our museum...

Try not to be a Boer... (Or World War One trench art that is not what it appears to be)

Almost universally recognisable, trench art has attracted a huge following in recent years and always commands considerable prices at auction, even given the amount currently on the market. But that should not concern us. The real appeal of trench art is the personal touch; its provenance. Each piece is, by its nature, unique having been carefully crafted from mundane items of kit or munitions available to the soldier at the time. That is why these pieces are not what they appear… On the surface this pair, although very well executed, are not particularly interesting. We know nothing about their origin, they are not engraved with any information, we do not even know the conflict (although we always guess at either the First or Second world wars). These items have a better story to tell, however. If we unscrew the shell itself[1] we can have a look at the head stamp. Where trench art is not engraved, the head stamps can reveal a lot of information, especially when more than one piece of ammunition has been used.

Firstly, the letter ‘N’ stands out. N denotes that the shell was a naval shell so we are presented with an oddity; is this naval trench art? No. Because we have a date of 31 7 99. This is just what it looks like, the 31^st of July 1899. What we have is a Mark II 6 inch BLC naval shell from the Boer war period. Both these items are the same type of shell, the other has a date of 1904. By 1915 the British army was rapidly depleting its stockpile of artillery ammunition and production could not keep up with demand. Commanders were now aware that cavalry could not achieve a breakthrough on the Western front and were convinced that they could batter the enemy aside with artillery instead. Any serviceable shell in storage was dragged out and re-used, these naval shell were converted to 8 inch howitzer shells. The red paint on our 1899 example shows that they were re stamped for use as mark VII ammunition. Clearly, although originating at different times, both these shells ended up being fired during the same action, and subsequently being made into vases during a quiet period. Unfortunately, we will never know why or by whom. But since the shell crisis had largely ended by the end of 1916 by increased production, we can guess at a date of 1915 or 1916 for the creation of the vases. It's as simple as that...

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[1] Which you can sometimes do with ease with items like this, it’s always worth trying. Take great care, of course, not to damage the item.

Nazi piece of work... (Or, Operation Market Garden and Nazi medal and badge souvenirs)

Many people are fascinated, nay obsessed, with relics from the Third Reich. I am not one of them. So why I am I posting about a set of Nazi war medals and Badges? Well, Ill tell you. It would hardly be fair otherwise... First, as is traditional and only sensible, let's take a look:

Ok, fair enough, they do look pretty cool. What are they? Firstly, let's talk about what they are not. They are not about neo-nazism or the modern right or any of that nonsense. They are pieces of history. On the left is an Order of the Iron Class, 2nd class. It's probably the most instantly recognisable foreign historic medal ever issued. The date at the is 1939, but it was first issued in 1813 for service against Napoleon's French army. If you have one of those you can pretty much name your price. It was re-issued for the Franco-Prussian war in 1871, again for WW1 and a final time for WW2 when it was raised to the honour of an 'order' by hitler. The WW2 issues are the most common, they were issued out like biscuits towards the end of the war to try and boost morale. Biscuits may have been more useful... How do we know it's a 2nd class and not a 1st class? The ribbon. i.e. it has one; the 1st class awards had pins. To its right is a 25 year faithful service medal, similar to the British Long Service and Good Conduct, LSGC (or, Long Service and didn't Get Caught!). It is what is it, fairly unusual though. Right again and were back to the early Reich with a 1934 Bremen assembly march badge, quite a scarce little thing. That's Hitler's ugly mug, its fairly self explanatory. Right again, and rarer still, a Kreigsmarine (German Navy) officer's breast eagle. Ignore the coins... Yes, the labels are wrong, we've had a re-assessment and corrections have been made before you ask!

Question is, what are they doing in the museum, and what had Market Garden got to do with it?

Oddly enough, these items belonged to a British soldier. But they hadn't always... In 1944 1st army was advancing into Holland. It was part of the Ground element of the offensive (the 'Garden' bit). Within its ranks was 72 Regt RA, a Light Anti-Aircraft Artillery regiment. Troops from one its batteries, 262, would see heavy fighting at Son bridge. During the fight, a number of German POWs were taken, including men drafted in from the Kreigsmarine manning coastal defences. These items were swapped for cigarettes by the war-weary troops. And that is why they have a place here. This set of items is not about the Third Reich, or Market Garden, its about that moment in 1944 when two opposing soldiers made an exchange of items as two ordinary men. The items may be rare, but the story is priceless. 

I don't mean to medal, but... (Or, World War Two campaign medals and stars)

This is what I lovingly refer to as our 'Top row'. It's a collection of (very nearly) all the campaign stars and medals from the Second World War. Despite the wealth of literature on the web, a lot of people ask about these medals, so here is a post from the mobile museum's 'World at War' section. A lot of information can be taken from a medal set. Unfortunately, unlike WW1, the medals are not named. But still, what set your family member has will still tell you a story. Lets start from the Left and work across:

The Defence Medal

The Defence Medal was awarded for non-operational service. This type of service was usually in the UK and included those service personnel working in HQ or on training bases and airfields and members of the Home Guard. Home Guard service counts between the dates of 14 May 1940 and 31 December 1944. 1080 days was the qualifying criteria. The Medal was also awarded for non-operational service overseas, for example in India or South Africa, where the qualifying length of service was shorter. The most common medal ever issued, the ribbon is said to represent the green fields of Britain, the blackout and the fire of the Blitz.

The War Medal

Perhaps the second most common, this was the award for 28 days minimum service with the armed forces, anywhere in the world. Like the Defence medal, it is cupro-nickel (the Canadian issue is silver). Anyone who had a campaign star automatically qualified, so if your family member has a star, they were entitled to this aswell. 

The Voluntary Medical Services Medal

Not a government issued medal, but one that turns up fairly regularly. It was awarded by the British Red Cross and the Scottish St Andrew's ambulance Corps in 1932 after direction from King George V. It often accompanies the Defence or War medal in a set belonging to VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) personnel providing field nursing services at home and abroad.

The Italy Star 

For 1 or more days' service in Sicily or Italy between 1943-5, and in the Balkans for various set dates. In the main an Army star, but Navy and RAF personnel involved in combat operations also qualified. 

The Burma Star 

For 1 or more days' service in Burma between 1941 and 1945. The ribbon, dark blue overlaid with a central red stripe, represents the Commonwealth Forces with two narrow stripes of orange to symbolise the sun. The design, in common with all the campaign stars, are said to have been designed by George VI personally.

The Africa Star

1 or more days' service in North Africa or Malta between 1940 and 1943, when the campaign was brought to a successful conclusion. Service with 8th or 1st army will qualify recipient for the relevant clasp.

The Pacific Star

A more elusive medal, this is for service on between 1941-2 in Singapore or Malaya, or at sea until 1945. A disastrous land campaign which saw Singapore fall to the Japanese was none the less the scene of some intense and brave actions. The ribbon is wide central stripe of green bisected by a central narrow yellow stripe to represent the forests and beaches of the Pacific, flanked by one stripe of dark blue and one of light blue with red edges to represent the three services. It is worn with the dark blue stripe furthest from the left shoulder.

the Atlantic Star 

This star could only be awarded after the 1939-45 star (see below). 180 days' additional service at any time between 1939-45 as ships crew (Royal Navy or Army) in Home Waters or the Atlantic was required. RAF air crew qualified after an additional 60 days service in an operational unit (having taken part in operations against the enemy at sea).

1939-45 Star

The most common star, it was awarded for 180 days service anywhere in the world between 1939-45 (although the period was shortened to a single day in some areas at certain times). RAF air crew qualified after 60 days service in an operational unit. Air crew of fighter aircraft engaged in the Battle of Britain between 10 July and 31 October 1940 were awarded the Clasp 'Battle of Britain'.

The France and Germany Star

Star awarded for 1 or more days' service in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands or Germany 1944-45. Naval personnel could qualify with service in the English channel and North Sea.

The Territorial Efficiency Medal 

In a WW2 medal group, this signifies the recipient was a member of the Territorial Army at the start of the war. It replaced the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal in 1921, and was in turn replaced by the Efficiency Medal. 12 years service were required, but wartime counts as double, so anyone with this medal had to have been in the TA in Sept 1937 at the latest. 

I hope this helps, we always welcome questions/queries about medals you have and need help identifying. They can be helpful in starting the process of digging into your family history. I am, of course, missing the Aircrew Europe Star and for that I can only apologize. 60 days operational service on top of the 180 days needed for the 1939-45 star allowed personnel, almost exclusively of the RAF to gain this medal for service over Europe from UK bases. Why is it missing? Have you seen what they go for?! If anyone has this medal, the museum would be VERY grateful...

For more information, the MOD operates an extensive database:

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceFor/Veterans/Medals/    

Remains to be seen (Or: Displaying our ancestors)

I was quenching my cultural thirst last week at a beautiful museum ( I won't say which one, because I'm about to criticise it!) and having a lovely time. I happened, however, upon the oddest thing. In a glass display case, about the size of a small TV, and lit with a bright spotlight, was a pile of bones. A skull, some ribs, a femur and part of a spine were parts I could make out. A sign accompanied the display which read along the lines of 'these are the remains of a prehistoric man. We treat the remains with the care and dignity they deserve'.

'Care' is a curatorial task, clearly the bones were well preserved and secure etc. Dignity? Heaped in a pile in a glass box with a spotlight and gawped at by passing tourists? Im not sure that qualifies as any sensible definition of dignified. Its certainly not how I would like to end up, and I am the most likely person alive to want to be displayed in a museum! I wouldn't want that now, in 10 years, or in 10,000 years. Many museums do this, and it is becoming a controversial point. No less a giant than the British museum recently returned two ash bundles to Tasmania for traditional burial, and quite rightly too.

There are two sensibilities that are offended here. Firstly, our own understanding of how to treat a corpse seems sharply at odds with the practices that we enjoy seeing at museums. But perhaps more importantly, the individuals 'on display' likely had even more cherished notions of the afterlife than we do. Indeed, mummies on display in several museums violate the deepest sanctity of Ancient Egyptian religous practice, that a body should not be disturbed from its resting place. Countless pharoahs spent fortunes on vast tomb complexes, in part to ensure that their place in the 'field of reeds' would go unmolested. Without a say in the modern world, these ancient peoples and many like them have ended up in a sad place indeed.

I appreciate the value of historic research, and would be the first volunteer to take part in a detailed study of any ancient remains. It is vital to capture the facts of lost civilisations, there is no better way of preserving them. But once the study has reached its conclusion, it should be the most natural thing in the world to return the remains to their resting place. I baulk at the idea that the remains of Roman babies and young children are sat in display cases across the country. I can only imagine the horror of the parents if they had had an inkling of the future fate of their loved ones.

Suffice it to say, the Mobile Museum will not be displaying dead people any time soon...

The Exhibition at Enford fair

We have just arrived back from showing the collection at Enford fair, a successful day with lots of nice comments and lots of questions about the Iron age that would have taxed all but the best of curators... ;) Quite an appaling start, Im afraid. We had some issues at Shipton Bellinger with our gazebo, today it was completely flattened by the wind. Fortunately no-one, and no strange old things were damaged in the process. But the day seemed to be a write off. The organisers at Enford sorted us out an indoor spot, however, and I'm so grateful for all their support.

Today we showed the Contemporary Conflict section for the first time, with mixed reactions it has to be said. I am very keen on this section because it's overlooked by many collectors and under studied in comparison to the two world wars. But because people are usually not well informed about the subjects, which include the Korean war, Bosnian war, Cold war and Afghanistan, there was not as much interest as I'd hoped. I think some more information would help matters, maybe a map. All lessons to take forward. Our key lesson now though is this: We need an indoor spot! If I have to spend another weekend bungeeing and tying a rubbish gazebo to my estate, I shall cry like a baby. SO in future, we will have to ask for accomodation indoors. At Enford we were set up next to the cake store, which guaranteed a steady stream of visitors, and a small rise in my blood sugar level, which will likely remain well into next week.

Again, I think the Roman Empire section stole the show. We had our new piece out: A clay brick from Ulpia Oescus, the legionary base of 1st (Italica) Legion during the Dacian wars (c AD 107/8). The brick is stamped with the Legion's mark: 1 LEG ITAL and was by far the most expensive old brick I've ever bought (and yes, I do make a habit of it!) During a visit to Carleon last week I actually pulled two roman tile sherds out of the ground in a public park, nice finds but unfortunately no marks on them. Still, they make a really nice display and certainly catch the eye. Next time we will be bringing out a 1935 Umbro swimming costume: cotton (perhaps not the ideal material!) it was used by a swimmer for the national team of Scotland so it's a very cool item. Ive procrastinated for ages in getting a decent frame (because I'm such a skinflint) but it deserves it.

Thankyou to everyone who visited us, and thank you all for your kind donations. A special thanks to everyone who helped me with the gazebo, as Mother Nature ate it... Next stop Durrington on July 15th; be there AND be square... 

Seeking: Strange Old Things! (Or, how to help the museum by donating items)

How many people reading this blog have an old, unidentified medal sat in a box in a drawer? Or a dusty set of old letters from nineteen-0-something under the stairs?

We are reliant on donations. Our running costs are effectively zero: petrol and thats about it. But we need strange old things to keep the museum going. By donating/lending your old items you can help us keep the museum fresh and relevant. Id love to have a different collection every time we roll out but we just have enough stuff. Give your item to the museum and we can exhibit it for the enjoyment of the whole community. We'll even help you identify your object so it can be displayed and explained properly. A recent spate of donations has allowed us to start a new stand on contemporary conflict (we were kindly given a Japanese Korean war era cigarette case and an original Falklands war 3 PARA post-operational report. Thanks so much to Gloria and Adele!) which looks pretty good.

Leave a message on this blog for more details, or you can tweet us @TheMobileMuseum. If you're on facebook, join our group for details of upcoming events:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/414579935242011/

Thank you

Ben and Meg

The rollout at Shipton Bellinger (or, making a museum mobile)

The first rollout was quite a success, thankyou to everyone who turned up and supported us, especially my wife Meg, who had high winds and stormy tempers to deal with for the first few hours! Thanks also to Jon, who turned up to wish us luck and ended up as buckshee manual labour!

high winds and cheap gazebos do not mix, but after a lot of rope and swearing, we at least erected the shelter. that was really the hardest part. The collection itself travelled quite well, never asking 'are we there yet' and not once kicking me in the back. I was a little bit worried about it, especially some of the Roman pieces. We have three iron nails recovered from the battlefield at teutoberg forest in Germany, AD 9, very unusual to be able to date such non-descript pieces to a specific time like that, and they are deeply fragile. jon wouldnt believe that something that has been buried in the mud for two millenia could be so fragile, maybe im over protective... But all the peices made it in tact and pretty much in the order in which I packed them, which made life a lot easier. We had prepared a number of labels which went down fine, but these were not in order: cue lots and LOTS of faffing and an increasingly exasperated Meg as the opening time approached! placing paper labels behind tiny coins with my fat fingers is like trying to eat a pomegranet with a spade.... Because the gazebo was quite windy, we couldnt put our maps of Roman britain behind the displays, they had to sit outside. But i think theyll stay there, they were drawing people in.

We had a lot of visitors, many of whom were asking questions and I was in hogs heavan talking about the pieces at length... lot of kind donations including a copy of the post-operational report of the Falklands campaign by the 3 pars CO, very interesting stuff, and a perfect way to kick off our new 'contemporary conflict' display about British conflicts post-WW2. favourites seemed to be the Roman artifacts and the modern Britain collection, quiet a few of the older generation being pleased and upset at once to find one of their household items on display! Next stop... no idea yet, Well keep you posted! We are a charity, and were always seeking your unwanted strange old things for display either temporarily or permanently. You can email me at ben_welbourne@hotmail.co.uk for further information or to enquire about how you can help. dont forget to follow us on facebook as well.  

Mobile Museum: Making the Modern World (History of Europe from Medieval to Renaissance)

Now THIS was difficult...

How to compress the history of Europe from the end of Rome to the Renaissance, in 3 pages. An appropriate section of history in theory, Rome's withdrawal and eventual destruction marked the end of high civilisation in Europe, and although much has to be said for 'dark age' culture, it definetly sucked compared to the Romans who, after all, invented Field artillery and the condom. The renaissance was thus named to refer to a 're-birth' of roman culture. But this is a LOOOONG period during which modern europe was cast from clay, and fired into fine pottery, only to be smashed to pieces twice in the same century. But thats for another day... In the mean time, check out the link on our facebook group and see how we have condensed this epic. Suggestion welcomed as always.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/414579935242011/ 

Roman Empire Exhibit

Anyone interested and on facebook can join our new group and see our first display board piece:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/414579935242011/

As you can see, we are hard at work reducing the complexities of Latin history into a few meaningful paragraphs and pretty pictures! Ive definetly gotten back into Rome recently, after reading about Caesar's conquest of Gaul. Masterful, get me the Commentaries for my birthday. But Ill settle for sunshine on the 9th...

Mobile Museum

The plan is relatively simple. I wish I could claim it as my own, but my partner and inspiration takes the credit here. Thanks Meg :)

We have between us an extensive collection of Strange Old Things. I mean its HUGE! It should be in a museum or something. We dont have a museum, so we are lovingly creating a something instead! Currently we are settung up as an unregistered charity, and building up our kit. A BIG tent, lots of portable display cases, information boards and a brew kit and we are away... Our first stop will be Shipton Bellinger village fair. Its an arts and craft thing, so we just about qualify. it will be the first time ive moved the collection in its current (epic) form, and the first time its gone public. the set up will be a bit of prior planning, and a lot of cuffing it on the day i think!

Anyways, as so often happens on blogs, Ill let you know how it goes. if youre in the area on june 9th, come and see for yourself, its a lot more fun that way :)

An empty shell of a gift (Or, Second World War Trench art and Identifying WW2 cartridges)

You should never begin a piece with a question. Since Ive already begun with a statement, however, I can pose one now:

When is it acceptable to put a lighted cigarette near an anti-tank shell? Answer:

Trench Art: An ashtray made from a 1941 2 Pdr No1 Mk II Anti-tank shell



When said shell has lovingly been fashioned into an ashtray by bored RAF in a desert... Why RAF in a desert? Well get to that later. For now, let's take a look at an item whose tyoe is taking the collecting world by storm. Trench Art has held a fascination for years. Its an odd combination of a personal, lovingly crafted item and memorabilia from a vicious historic conflict. Which conflict, of course, affects the value and determines the age. But it does not seem to greatly affect the type of item. An ashtray could just as well come from the first or second world wars or from very recently in afghanistan. Check out some of the Afghan stuff here:
http://bfbs.com/news/afghanistan/trench-art-day-life-3703.html
Trench art first became prominant during the First World War, but dates back to the 19th Century. Wherever in history vast numbers of bored blokes have been sat around lots of scrap metal, tinkering has usually occured...
So, with that in mind, how do you tell the age/provenance of a piece? Sometimes youll be lucky enough to find a piece that has stayed in the family from an elderly relative or friend. These items were made mostly for personal use, or as gifts for loved ones back home. Such provenance of course increases the value. My ashtray above is worth between £15 - £25, not an awful lot. WW1 Tranch Art goes for considerably more. You can at least double the value if you know who produced it and where, and if that person is in some way famous, the item approaches the realms of the priceless. In truth, it can be very difficult to tell. The key is knowing what equipment/kit was available to armies from various periods/theatres and spotting bits of it in your item. Some stuff from WW2 has bits of German medals and nazi brooches incorporated. 
Some if the pieces we see are regimental in nature and feature the individuals capbadge, again giving us clues. Royal Engineers is perhaps not very helpful, but many corps, such as the Machine Gun Corps, were only around for specific conflicts (It was formed in 1915 for WW1 and disbanded in 1922) so anything with the twin machine guns capbadge is WW1.
Items are sometimes inscribed, which obviously can give us specific dates or the names of individuals we may be able to trace through records.
Better yet, is a mark on the bottom of all rounds called a 'headstamp' used to identify the round. It can tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the original item. Lets have a look at our ashtray again, this time from below:

1941 is twice stamped, most clearly in the centre, so we have WW2 straight away. 1941 saw conflict in a number of places, Burma, North Africa, Crete, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Top we have written 2PrNo1MKII. 2 Pounder is the weight of the shell, so an anti-tank shell is our best guess, fired from a 40mm gun. Others are better qualified to take it from here, but i believe the army used the 2 Pdr No 2 during the war, so this may be a naval shell or from an aircraft mounted weapon. The RAF hurricane's, the Tank Busters, used this kind of ammunition but not until 1942, and later in the Far East, so this is probably a naval gun (he waits for the corrective comments to flood in!) im not sure, but all the information is there for you. More on headstamps at a later post... For now my nan has a new old ashtray as a birthday gift! She served on an operational RAF station during WW2, so I hope Im wrong about it being naval...

An Old Post (Or, appreciating nineteenth century European stamps)

Ok, let's get this out of the way before we start.

There need be no argument.

Stamps are cool. Some of the greatest strange old things I have are stamps, some will be coming your way soon (If you're lucky...). These are part of a bag of 1200 I bought very recently,

 Various Nineteenth Century stamps from Holland, Romania and Denmark

These are just a handful, and heavily postmarked, but that's part of the fun. We can date the issues to specific years. Example, the Danish stamps on the second row up (called numeral issues) came out in 1875, but they were around for a good few years, so we cant know for sure how old they are. The post marks help us out, the romanian stamp on the bottom row second from right is dated 1903. Because it's all about quality, and stamps do not generally fair well with time, its easy to build up a nice collection of issues/countries with some really old dates. Danish stamps, although not massively interesting to look at, were changed fairly regularly from the 1860s onwards, and can be picked up easily and cheaply. The oldest and more valuable Danish stamps are square, rather than rectangular, and the currency is in 'skilling' which was replaced by the Kroner in the 1870s. Look out for dutch stamps similar to those in the second row down but marked 'nederland indie' from the Dutch empire in the east indies, prevelant until the 20th century and surviving until WW2. Danish stamps without a head on are usually 19th C (King Christian IX became the first monarch to be depicted on a stamp in 1904).
The Romanian issues (posta romana) are easier, as the monarch is always depicted. Identify the ugly mug and you can date the stamp with relative ease. King Carol I is our man here.

Stamps are documents, and the pattern they choose, words they employ and beaurocracy they represent are fascinating insights into the nations and people who produced them. More to come...

Silver lining (Or, identifying Edward III medieval silver coins)

It has long been VERY difficult to pin medieval pennies to specific rulers. Edward I and Edward III look remarkably similar on their coins, you might almost suspect they were related... I love the coins though. They look and feel... old. Old silver has few equals, so todays strange old thing was something of an enigma when I bought it. And here she is:



Medieval Silver Penny (York Mint)

Fantastic, lovely portrait and enough legend to identify the coin. Yes, my finger is in the picture, that's for scale, Im not a camera mong... So who is it. It looks... like every medieval ruler. The image is not a portrait, efforts were not made to capture the King's likeness until Henry VII stole, I mean ascended, the throne in the late 15th century. Before that the image was a representation of a bloke with a crown. Well, helpfully medieval mints wrote legends around their coins. Unhelpfully they are all very similar, silver is easily worn and damaged, the legend is often cut away for scrap silver and the font of the text is something like IMPACT and very difficult to read.
What can we see here? lets look again:

We can see the letters 'DUSREX'. REX, obviously, is Latin for king. DUS is only found on Edward I, II and III coins (EDWARDUS is, again, latin). However, Edward I and II mostly used the legend EDW REX. It was Edward III who used EDWARDUS REX. So we have our best guess as to the ruler. The difference between Edward I and II is much more subtle. All I can say is... Good luck with that! If we flip the back we get even more information:

Top right is EBO which is part of CIVITAS EBORACI. More Latin lessons: EBORACUM is the Roman town of York, here the mint at York is responsible. Compare the example on the left (our coin) with another one right. In the centre is a quatrefoil design, which was used by the archbishop in York when the mint became an ecclesiastical asset. Thus: Edward III, York mint. If we can identify more of the legend, it may even have the letters FR around the end of the portrait, denoting Edward IIIs claim to the French thrown after the treaty of Bretignt in 1360.

Todays lessons then:

1) know your history and you will know your strange old thing.

2) Latin is just as much a pain in the arse now as it was for our parents....

A Moral Dilemma

I am currently looking at something at once fascinating and repulsive. No, not The X Factor, something even worse. No picture as yet, but see below for one very similar:

 Republic Srpska Army capbadge

Bosnia, 1991.  Radovan Karadzic  creates a renegade serbian army within Bosnia, which is comprised of Ethnic Serbs and Muslims. Karadzic is supported by Serb leader Milosevic (of kosovo 1999 fame). In 1992, under his leadership, these nationalists begin a campaign of ethnic cleansing, killing non-Serbs. Rape and murder are widespread and systematic. The leaders have pretty much all been rounded up and tried, but of course many of the foot soldiers were not. Those footsoldiers, the renegade Serb army of  Republic Srpska, wore this cap badge on their issue hats. It was apparently confiscated by British soldiers in Bosnia iin the 90s, when the UN finally got their ass in gear and intervened. Ive no idea when or by whom.

Question is, what the hell do I do with it? I ahad a similar dilemma with two nazi medals I have. They were my grandad's (don't worry, I dont have a dark past, he swapped them for cigarettes with German POWs!) They are obviously... controversial. In the end, I displayed them, but tucked away in a cabinet in a corner so you dont see them unless I point them out. Shame in a way, the iron cross was a bravery award, many german soldiers earned them for genuine acts of courage. Then they were handed out like sweets to the Hitler Youth and regulars in 1945. They were not awarded when you committed your 10th consecutive war crime.

This cap badge is different. Maybe the guy who owned it was a random sentry, then he was arrested by the UN. maybe not, there is scope for much much worse in the Bosnian war. Im not displaying it at the moment, its a bit too grotesque. I dont want to sell it, for the same reason i wont sell third reich stuff, it can get into the wrong hands. Its not valuable enough to go to a museum. Anyway, at the moment its sat in my drawer at home gathering dust. If you're not familiar with the Bosnian war, look it up (link below) its important we dont forget this stuff.

http://www.historytoday.com/nick-hawton/conflicting-truths-bosnian-war

Anyway, this hasn't helped my dilemma. Think Ill just leave it where it is. When my son is old enough to appreciate strange old things, hopefully time will have healed somewhat. The he'll probably sell it...

Have your fake and eat it (Or, 'identifying fake silver coins')

Heartbreak beyond description. Never in the field of human suffering or soap opera has such heart break been seen...

I bought a pack of coins from the auction house 'Toogood and May' in Shipton Bellinger. Sold as seen, fair enough, didnt get chance to examine them properly as it was busy and i was in a rush etc etc. Wasnt sure what they were, I saw an old date on one, so I bid £23 for the lot.

Really should have looked harder...

So, here are two of the offending items (cue hours of uploading and swear words as I plant my very first image!):

Fake 1849 Twenty Dollars and 1847 'seated liberty' silver dollar



To be fair, I didnt even know what they were supposed to be. Had I seen a packet full of solid silver mid 19thC dollars for £23, I would have smelled a rat. So how do you tell if you've landed a fake?  Well, a number of ways. Any one of them would have saved me £23 pounds. Fortunately, Im not bitter at all.

1.  THE MAGNET TEST
Obvious really. Silver is not magnetic. Nasty Nickel alloys are, and they are usually what makes up your fake coin. So if it sticks to a magnet, leave it well alone. Obviously this is just a 'silver thing' an old US Civil War Nickel will obviously stick to a magnet the same as a modern fake.

2. THE WEAR TEST
Hows the wear on the coin? If its a strange, uniform wear that has dulled the details and 'doesnt feel right' then its probably a poorly cast fake. Wear on genuine coins is usually not so uniform.

3. THE SPIT TEST
Apparently if you spit on a silver coin and wrap it in alumimium foil for 10 seconds it will start to smell of rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulphide you see, the joy of any secondary school science lab. It seems a bit disgusting to me, not sure I could bring myself to spit on Queen Victoria's face...

4. THE WEIGHT TEST
Find out how much a genuine specimen weighs and weigh your coin, then compare and contrast. Obvioulsy you need pretty accurate scales for this; dropping it into you kitchen scales with bits of egg and flour might not give you an accurate reading, and isnt very hygienic. Its even worse if youve been spitting on it all day...

5. THE COMMON SENSE APPROACH
Is it 'right'? Does is look and feel like it should? Is it worn, but spotlessly clean? It is covered in wierd marks or stains from the copying process? Did you buy it for £9.99 from a chinese buyer on ebay? If it smells like a turd and looks like a turd, its probably not a nineteenth century piece. And therefore not in any way a strange old thing. This is such a problem on ebay that you are now not allowed to sell copies or fakes, even if you say they are copies, unless they are indellibly marked as such. As for Toogood and May, buyers beware...
readers with any other suggestions/tips, please let us know. (as long as it doesnt involve bodily fluids of any description!)

An introduction of sorts

So... Strange Old Things it is. As a collector of said strange old things, I thought it would be useful to set up a single reference points for all things strange and old, specifically of the collectable variety. From the every day (Old coins, stamps, militaria) to the random (cartridges, padlocks, postcards). In my head it was an easy process, but like most things in my head the transition to reality is bumpy and littered with bear traps...

So this is my introduction. A voice in my head suggests there will be a seperate section for intros, that I have missed. So call me a maverick. Or a retard... Well start talking about some old things very soon, I hope people find it useful, Id love to hear about wierd old things you have at home. Ok caveat that quickly... wierd old people do not feature. Neither do spirits, poltergiests or anything non-corporeal or anything else i cant spell. I think well start with coins, its easier for everyone that way :(