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Rob

Quiz for members with a prize.

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To give people something to do whilst life is on hold, I have attached a short quiz of 20 questions for people to answer.

Closing time and date is 23:59 this coming Sunday (10/5/20). PM me the answers and the winner will be either the one with the most correct answers or in the event of a tie, drawn from a hat. The winner can choose from a choice of items as follows:

A copy of the BNJ (date to be decided when I've worked out what I've got spare)

Davies British Silver Coins since 1816

Spink Coins of England 2020 Decimal Section

I'll see what else I've got if the winner has these already.

 

 

200508-Forum Quiz.docx

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Due to a lack of knowledge, I eventually decided to look up the answers to most of the questions. It was fun and I did learn a few things.There are a few I can't do even with the help of Google and books. Rob, can I have the answers to the questions I have got wrong or can't find please.

Quiz Questions
1. How much was an angel current for in 1613?
Eleven shillings
2. Which was the last of the provincial mints to close following the recoinage of William III and when did it close?
3.  Everybody loves them, so who designed the reverse of the Churchill crown?
Oscar Nemon 
4.  Who succeeded J P Droz at the Soho Mint?
5.  Which coin struck as currency in the reign of George VI was not struck in the name of Edward VIII?
Half sovereign
6.  The first dated coins in this country were patterns struck in the reign of Edward VI. There were two different patterns. How was the date written on each piece? 1547
7. If you see a coin reference Hks. xxx, what does this refer to? Author & Title required.
Hawkins, The Silver Coins of England
8. How many Spanish American mints are found on the countermarked 8R coinage of George III? 7?
9. The Anne pattern halfpennies and farthings were the work of which engraver? 
10. What element was used to enhance the ‘mint fresh’ appearance of hammered silver? 
11. If you see the mint signature GRA on Saxon coinage, where does this refer to?
GRANTEBRJC, Cambridge Mint
12. For any student of the Anglo-Saxon coinage, the roundabout at Podimore in Somerset is a dream come true. On the various signs leading onto and off the roundabout are the names of approx. 10% of the attested Anglo-Saxon mints. For the geographically challenged, Podimore is 4 ½ miles north of Yeovil at the junction of the A37 – the Fosse Way and the A303 which is the link road connecting the A30 near Chard with the M3 at Basingstoke. Name them.
13. What does the latin inscription “DECVS ET TVTAMEN” translate to in English?
An ornament and a safeguard
14. What material is the current 2p manufactured from?
Copper plated steel
15.  What did W J Taylor set up in Melbourne in 1854?
Kangaroo Office Mint. It has been argued that W.J. Taylor came to Melbourne and established the Kangaroo Office, because his signature is to be found on the tokens minted there (eg. McDonald 1992). However there is no evidence that he came to Australia. Taylor's name is on tokens and medals attributed to the Kangaroo Office because either they were struck in his mint in London, or Scaife was using dies that Taylor had made for him.
16. An aureus depicting a triumphal arch with the inscription DE BRITANN was struck in whose name?
Claudius
17. Who are the so called three emperors shown on the antoninianus struck in this country towards the end of the 3rd century AD?
Maximian, Diocletian and Carausius
18. Prior to the act of Union, what was the last year coins were struck in Scotland as an independent country?
19. In what year was the first George V crown struck and who was the engraver?
1927, Kruger Gray
20. How many British monarchs have their bust facing both left and right on currency coins? Name them.
Right 13, Left; 12
Right: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Philip (Jure uxoris), James I, Charles II, William & Mary, George I, George III, William VI, Edward VII, Elizabeth II
Left: Mary, Elizabeth I, Charles I, Charles II, James II, Anne, George II, George IV, Victoria, George V, Edward VIII, George VI

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1 hour ago, Sword said:

Due to a lack of knowledge, I eventually decided to look up the answers to most of the questions. It was fun and I did learn a few things.There are a few I can't do even with the help of Google and books. Rob, can I have the answers to the questions I have got wrong or can't find please.

Quiz Questions
1. How much was an angel current for in 1613?
Eleven shillings
2. Which was the last of the provincial mints to close following the recoinage of William III and when did it close? Bristol, Sept. 1698

3.  Everybody loves them, so who designed the reverse of the Churchill crown?
Oscar Nemon 
4.  Who succeeded J P Droz at the Soho Mint? Conrad Heinrich Kuchler
5.  Which coin struck as currency in the reign of George VI was not struck in the name of Edward VIII?
Half sovereign   English shilling
6.  The first dated coins in this country were patterns struck in the reign of Edward VI. There were two different patterns. How was the date written on each piece? 1547 MDXLVII and MDXL7
7. If you see a coin reference Hks. xxx, what does this refer to? Author & Title required.
Hawkins, The Silver Coins of England
8. How many Spanish American mints are found on the countermarked 8R coinage of George III? 7?  5
9. The Anne pattern halfpennies and farthings were the work of which engraver?  John Croker
10. What element was used to enhance the ‘mint fresh’ appearance of hammered silver?  Arsenic
11. If you see the mint signature GRA on Saxon coinage, where does this refer to?
GRANTEBRJC, Cambridge Mint
12. For any student of the Anglo-Saxon coinage, the roundabout at Podimore in Somerset is a dream come true. On the various signs leading onto and off the roundabout are the names of approx. 10% of the attested Anglo-Saxon mints. For the geographically challenged, Podimore is 4 ½ miles north of Yeovil at the junction of the A37 – the Fosse Way and the A303 which is the link road connecting the A30 near Chard with the M3 at Basingstoke. Name them.  London, Bristol, Bath, Crewkerne, Ilchester, Langport, Taunton, Exeter, Frome.  
13. What does the latin inscription “DECVS ET TVTAMEN” translate to in English?
An ornament and a safeguard
14. What material is the current 2p manufactured from?
Copper plated steel
15.  What did W J Taylor set up in Melbourne in 1854?
Kangaroo Office Mint. It has been argued that W.J. Taylor came to Melbourne and established the Kangaroo Office, because his signature is to be found on the tokens minted there (eg. McDonald 1992). However there is no evidence that he came to Australia. Taylor's name is on tokens and medals attributed to the Kangaroo Office because either they were struck in his mint in London, or Scaife was using dies that Taylor had made for him.
16. An aureus depicting a triumphal arch with the inscription DE BRITANN was struck in whose name?
Claudius
17. Who are the so called three emperors shown on the antoninianus struck in this country towards the end of the 3rd century AD?
Maximian, Diocletian and Carausius
18. Prior to the act of Union, what was the last year coins were struck in Scotland as an independent country?  1706
19. In what year was the first George V crown struck and who was the engraver?  1927, Kruger Gray    1910, Allen G Wyon
20. How many British monarchs have their bust facing both left and right on currency coins? Name them.
Right 13, Left; 12
Right: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Philip (Jure uxoris), James I, Charles II, William & Mary, George I, George III, William VI, Edward VII, Elizabeth II
Left: Mary, Elizabeth I, Charles I, Charles II, James II, Anne, George II, George IV, Victoria, George V, Edward VIII, George VI

Aethelstan, Eadgar, Aethelred II, Cnut, Harold I, Edward the Confessor, Harthacnut, Harold II, William I,  James I, Charles I, Charles II, James II.

 

A tad late, but 9 right. Q.12 has reduced by one mint since I first posed the question 5 years ago, because Bruton no longer appears following replacement of the signs. Q.20 was pointed out to me that the wording was imprecise, as I had included Offa, Edward the Elder & Aethelstan I, but these were not strictly kings of all England.

Sleepy won, but by default, as he was the only person who bothered to reply. I didn't think it worth posting the results given the lack of interest.

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Thanks for the answers Rob. I think very few of us have such wide ranging knowledge and this would explain the lack of entries. I am sure a number of people including myself were interested to find out the answers.

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A bit of everything for everyone. 9 or 10 could be got from Coins of England, 1 coins of Ireland, Scotland etc, 5 from ESC, 5 general knowledge, 1 google street view, 3 from Peck. So even with a copy of Spink (which I assumed most would have), plus either ESC or Peck, you are at least half way there.

It's not a question of knowing all or not bothering - it's supposed to be fun. At our club quiz, I can't remember anyone getting more than 75-80%. Same goes for the intercounties quiz we go to at Crewe every year. When it's my turn to set the questions for the club I usually aim for a mix of ancient, early & late hammered, milled, tokens, designs/designers and general knowledge in equal measures. Do I know the answers? Yes if I set them, otherwise no. I still have to look things up to get suitable questions for ancients and tokens about which I know very little. It's actually quite hard to find a balance between the condescendingly simple and the challenging for the simple reason that most collectors sit in a niche, with very few who collect everything. Consequently, 20-50% is quite normal.

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