Coins: how old is too old?

[roytheodd]

I'm on a quest to fill my bag with coins. I've discovered that very few replicas exist for the GaoP and those that do exist are mainly repros of English coins, and of those no one seller has a good selection.

The online stores that sell coins that definitely fit GaoP include:

PewterUK.com sell a 1685 threepence.

GGGodwin.com sells a 1689 gold guinea.

Dorchesters.com sells two 1689 William & Mary halfcrowns, a 1693 W & M shilling, and a 1713 Queen Anne gold guinea.

Jas-Townsend.com sells a 1705 crown and a 1718 half penny.

Grunal Moneta sells a 1300-1700 Venetian ducat.

The online stores that sell coins under the guise of piratey but not necessarily authentic include:

Piratephenalia.com sells "small gold coins" and an assortment of pirate coin replicas.

TreasureCast.com sells "Pieces of Eight" in a set.

WestAir.co.uk sells "20 Mixed Pirate Treasure Coins" but only wholesale.

With all of that in mind my question is what are the earliest coins worth collecting? What's a reasonable cut-off for coins? I understand that there are 500 year old coins in existance today, but they're not in normal circulation. In other words, if I'm portraying a pirate in 1700 are coins from 1650 too old to have in my hoard? How about 100 year old coins? While I'm at it, anybody know of any other sources for replica/inexpensive coins?

[Matty Bottles]

Loyalist Arms sells a French 1717 coin.

I'm on the same quest, BTW.

[michaelsbagley]

Going partially from memory, most of the coins found on the Whydah were peices of eight (Spanish gold and silver, and mostly silver).

Checking through my copy of "Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah" (which is the exhibit coffee table book), I found that one of the coins was marked with a "53" which the author claims means the coin was minted in 1653. Reading a bit further, there is mention of some French coins dated to 1690, and various English coins dated to the 1690 to 1710 range... So, reasonably speaking, since the Whydah went down in 1717, I think have mostly coins from within 20 to 30 years of your target date would be okay, and having the rare coin up to about 50 or 60 years old would not be unreasonable. Of course this is based solely on one find... Until more information is published about other pirate ships, this is probably the best info available to us.

Hope this helps.

Maybe if I get tired from working on projects I will dig out my copy of "Expedition Whydah" and see if it has any more detailed information on the topic... The "Real Pirates..." book is more of a picture book, while the "Expedition..." book is more text oriented and as such would probably have better information on the topic.

P.S. I just realized this was my 500th post! I am now a "Pyrate Captain"!

[roytheodd]

Loyalist Arms sells a French 1717 coin.

I'm on the same quest, BTW.

Argh! My order for a bayonet plug just shipped from them yesterday. Now I gotta consider if a coin is worth another order.

Also, I found another period correct coin at Dorchesters that I missed on my first sweep of the site: 1705 Felipe V 8-reales.

[MadL]

Dorchesters ye mention above ha'e a Felipe V 8-Reales dated 1705, I do think that does fit, I know for th' man I kill'd just th' other day had some in he's pocket he did

...now let me tell ye about the time a whore tried tried t' gi'me a Canadian nickel in me change, she did...

[MadL]

AHRRR! roytheodd fire'd first!

...must be all that stratch'n that whore left me with

[Red Sea Trade]

Much of what they offer is too early for our period, but

www.by-the-sword.com has some nice coins. I don't think they carry anything after the era of Charles I, but they have some lovely Elizabethan coinage for the Sea Dogs among us.

A bit pricey, as they are minted in real silver, but they are very pretty and they clink nicely in the hand...

[Dutchman]

actually...

i think anything pre period will work as long as its silver or gold since that was the base trade in weight. a gold coin melted down still weighs the same as a gold coin with a face and a prudent banker or merchant is going to weigh it.

i recall a wild west (ok wrong era, but the description will make sense in a second) trick where bankers would place a sheet of paper on the floor under the scales. when they weighed the dust, inevitably a bit would "spill" to be collected later.

maybe Kass can clarify this next one. seems there was a fellow found burried in a moor somewhere that had greek or roman gold coins mixed in with his current coins. that was a national geo article a few years ago, but they made a big deal about his clothing.

[Graydog]

You can try these lads:

Great American Coin Company- Spanish Reals

[michaelsbagley]

Are you thinking of the Gunnister Man?

Gunnister Man archeological survey

The details of the coins are on page 10... For anyone who is interested in 1690s garb, there is some realy awesome deails about the garb and accoutrements this gent was carried in the article... Aother thing that caught my attention was the fact he was carrying a horn spoon. I had always wondered if they were actually correct for this period or just a "re-enactorism".

[Dutchman]

i think thats it, but i thought there were some older coins. regardless, nice work mr bagley.

[Sjöröveren]

Patrick O'Brian mentions several times throughout his books that, when prize money is divvied up amongst the crew, there were coins (gold and silver) from all over Europe and the Mediterranean - British, French, Spanish, Turkish, etc. and more than a few Roman coins. The Romans produced an enormous amount of coins, and hoards are still occasionally found and sold. Do a search on ebay sometime for roman coins. You can buy them by the sack, just like sliders.

And even though this source is from fiction, O'Brian had the reputation of meticulous research. So I would be completely comfortable including any coin, going back to antiquity, so long as it were gold or silver.

And speaking of the Gunnister man, I have 3 original 1/6 Öre Swedish coins like the ones he had, one from the same year (1683) and one each from 1677 and 1668. The 1683 one is in great condition, and would probably be pretty easy to re-cast, if anyone knows how.

[Dutchman]

ah, i just went through a casting issue with our crew coins. i gave up and took it to a machinist friend who cut a plug and i went after it with a dremmel. Its ok, but a repro would have been better. sculpy does not work for detail and will only get one or two pieces before the mold wears out. latex molds were a fiasco. anyone have any ideas.

Incidently, a pound of pewter will get you 19 pieces of eight with a bit left in the bottom of the pot.