bigjarofwasps

Vigo Bay silver Crown

The British minted silver crowns from captured Spanish silver, as they had done after the battle of Vigo Bay, the English triumphantly celebrated their capture of the Spanish treasure ships in the War of Austrian Succession by turning some of the booty into their own currency. The British melted down the captured Spanish pesos, which the were from the mint in Lima, and reminted them into English coins, marked Lima to commemorate the victory.

(George II - 1728 to 1758 - Some coins of 1745 and 1746 have LIMA below the bust to indicate that they were made from silver captured by Admiral George Anson in June 1743.)

Spanish and Spanish colonial gold coins were minted in denominations of 8, 4, 2, 1, and 1/2 escudos, the 1/2 escudos existing only in the later milled bust type coinage. Gold escudos coins were valued at 16 times that of the silver reales issues, thus one 8 escudos gold coin would be equivalent to sixteen 8 reales silver coins. Due to their high valuation, gold coins were seldom used except by the rich, and therefore were not exposed to heavy wear from frequent transactions. For this reason, and because gold does not corrode like silver, most gold escudos coins are superior in quality compared to the silver reales issues.

Spanish Colonial Mints

Listed by order in which they opened.

Mexico

(1536-1821)

Mintmark-M or M with small o above. The mint produced the following coin types: Pillar type cob - (1536-1572), shield type cob - (1572-1733), milled pillar - (1732-1771), and milled bust - (1771-1821).

Also produced an irregular shaped machine struck shield type coin (1733-1734)

Mexico never produced the pillars and waves coin design.

The first dated coin was struck in 1607.

Santo

Domingo

(1542-1564)

(1573-1578)

Mintmark-SP or monogram s overlapping the left side of a large D with a small o above. The mint produced the following coins types: Pillar type cob - (1542-1564) rare, shield type cob - (1573-1578) very rare.

Since the mint closed in 1578, none of the later coin types or dated coins were ever produced.

Lima

(1568-1572)

(1577-1588)

(1659-1660)

(1684-1824)

Mintmark-P, or P with star above, or L, or LM, or LIMA, or a slightly overlapped ME. Lima has the distinction of being the only mint to strike all five of the coin types. Pillar type cob - (1568-1571), shield type cob - (1572 and 1577-1588), pillars and waves type cob - (1659-1660 and 1684-1752), milled pillar - (1752-1772), and milled bust - (1772-1824).

The first dated coin was struck in 1659.

La Plata

(1573-1574)

Mintmark-P. The mint was in operation for a few short months and produced only shield type cobs, which are indistinguishable from those of early Potosi

No dated coins were produced.

Potosi

(1574-1825)

Mintmark-P or later a monogram PTSI which looks similar to a dollar sign ($). The mint opened after the pillar type cob period, thus it is the only coin type not to see production. Shield type cob - (1574-1652), pillars and waves type cob - (1652-1773), milled pillar - (1767-1770), and milled bust - (1773-1825).

The first dated coin was struck in 1617.

Panama

(1580-1582)

Mintmark-AP arranged vertically. The mint was in operation for only a couple of years and produced a limited number of undated shield type cobs - all very rare.

Cartagena

(1622-1655)

Mintmark-S, or RN arranged vertically, or NR arranged vertically, or C. The mint produced the following coin types: Shield type cob - (1622-1635) rare and pillars and waves cob - (1653-1655) also rare.

The first dated coin was struck at the mint opening in 1622.

The Cartegena mint is known more for its gold escudos coin production.

Bogot?

(1622-1820)

Mintmark-S, or NR both vertically or horizontally, or NR with a small o above each arranged both vertically or horizontally, or NR alone or with a single small o above, or N, or SF or FS both vertically or horizontally, or F. The mint produced the following coins types: Shield type cob - (1622-1651) rare, pillars and waves cob - (1651-1748) rare, milled pillar - (1759-1762) very rare, and milled bust - (1772-1820) also rare.

The first dated coin was struck at the mint opening in 1622.

The Bogot? mint is known more for its gold escudos coin production.

Cuzco

(1698)

(1824)

Mintmark-C or CUZ. The mint produced only one type of silver coinage, that being the dated milled bust type in 1824 which incorporated the mintmark CUZ.

Only gold 1 and 2 escudos were minted in 1698 using the pillars and waves design and the mintmark C.

Guatemala

(1733-1821)

Mintmark-G or NG. The mint opened in 1733 when the first machine struck coins were being introduced to the colonies. The mint produced a hand cut pillar type coin (1733-1753) very similar to the later milled pillar coin but irregular in shape like a conventional cob. Minted next was the milled pillar - (1754-1771) followed by the milled bust - (1773-1817).

Santiago

(1749-1817)

Mintmark-S with a small o above. The mint produced two types of coins, a very rare milled pillar - (1751-1770) and a more common milled bust - (1771-1821).

The Santiago mint is known more for its gold escudos coin production.

Popayan

(1758-1822)

Mintmark-P. The mint produced only one type of silver coinage, the rare milled bust - (1810-1822).

The Popayan mint is known more for its gold escudos coin production.

I agree completely with Peters words. The medics in combat zones, whereever they are, are real heros in my opinon.

Here is an article and a picture of the brave Soldier in question:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/new...ine_for_vc.html

The article states, that he is only the second in 40 years, who is awarded the VC not posthumous. Who was the first?

Ramahadur Limbu, won his VC in Borneo on the 21st November 1965. He`s a far as I`m aware still alive.

But going back to the recent awards, I`ve also heard rumours that there are 3 other possible VC`s in the pipe line for this recent operational tour of Afganistan!!!!! I have been unable to confirm this but will kepp looking, and update you on what I find.

A box of Krugerrands valued at $170,000 disappeared on a flight from Johannesburg to London, possibly during a Nairobi stop, an airline spokesman said today. The coins were part of a 10-box consignment of Krugerrands, a South African coin minted for investors. The consignment was put aboard a British Airways flight in Johannesburg on Monday night, according to the official.

Private Peter McKinley is being awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the lives of two GIs in Afganistan who were wounded in a Taliban attack. At the time he was working on the wounded GIs, the Taliban was firing at the trucks with machine guns, mortars, and RPGs.

Private McKinley is a paratrooper with the 3rd Batallion, Parachute Regiment.

Here`s an interesting site........

http://www.austincoins.com/shipwreck_salvaged.htm

As a scuba diving fanatic in the warm blue seas of Malta ... (that was before I stupidly draged myself to the mountains of land locked Switzerland) .... I find this thread most interesting! I doubt that I can however contribute much to the topic of gold and medallions as most of the acceccible wrecks in the area are indeed WW2.

It still, makes some very very interesting reading.... The pics in post 4 set my heart racing. I will never forget my first wreck (a humble tug boat).... A distant dark shadow which, within three or four odd fin strokes revealed itself as the haunting shape of the wreck.....

I get gooseflesh remembering and still feel the same each time I approach a wreck. Close to 2 years without a dive....... ...depressing!

Jim

Hi Jim

I`d love to have a bash at diving on a wreck, especially one that has or had gold on it, as you never know your luck do you ho,ho,ho. I`ve only ever had a beginners go at scuba diving, but loved it. I`d very much like to get in on the scene, but have no idea where to even begin, any tips?

Gordon.

Also of interest might be my threads on the RMS Douro & HMS Edinburgh.

The total number of UK troops killed in operations in Iraq has risen to 126 after a soldier in the Parachute Regiment was shot during an operation in Basra.

Sergeant Jonathan Hollingsworth, of the Parachute Regiment was shot during a "search and detention" operation in Basra. He was taken to a nearby military hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Sergeant Jonathan Hollingsworth, from the Parachute Regiment, was killed following a planned search and detention operation in Basra City, Iraq, on Friday 24 November 2006.

Sgt Hollingsworth sustained gunshot wounds during the operation and was evacuated to a nearby military hospital. Despite the best possible medical care, he later died from his injuries.

He was a member of the Parachute Regiment, on secondment to Headquarters Multinational Division South East, Iraq.

Beautiful.........

Size Face Value (Oz. Fine Gold) Weight (g) Fineness 1.000 Gold Content (g) Gold Content (Troy Oz.)

Full 1 33.9305 . 917 3 1.104 1.0000

Half 1/2 16.9653 .917 15.552 0.5000

Quarter 1/4 8.4826 .917 7.776 0.2500

Tenth 1/10 3.3931 .917 3.110 0.1000

1/10 Oz Krugerrand.......

The Quarter Oz.......

The Half Oz Krugerand.......

Krugerrand Sizes...

Full Ounce.

Wreck of the Royal Charter

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The Royal Charter is a very shallow and divable wreck near Moelfre on the east coast of Anglesey. She was an early steel hulled steam clipper which was destroyed in a storm in 1859 on its way back from Australia to Liverpool with the loss of over 450 lives. She was carrying a large quantity of gold as cargo, and there was more gold in the possession of the passengers who were returning miners, and some of it was recovered at the time. For many years, even in 2005, diving teams are still attempting to excavate and recover something from the site. No successes have been reported.

The wreck just off shore level with the memorial stone in a field two kilometres north of Moelfre. It lies in 4 to 6 metres of water, and can be dived from the shore after a long carry, or from a kayak.

"Royal Charter off Anglesey, one of his favourite wrecks, from which he recovered gold sovereigns and a 5oz gold nuggett."

http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/articles.p...splay&show=

Reverse:

[attachmentid=61700]

Well, I'm afraid that's it for my Short Snorter collection... at least for now. I'm always on the lookout for more.

Again I hope these have been of interest. Also again many apologies if these are in the wrong section. If so, Gordon please feel free to transfer them wherever you think they might make a better fit.

Many thanks,

Dan

No No Dan, this thread I find very interesting & its more than welcome to stay!!!! Please post more, as & when you get them. I`m sure the other visiters will find then equally interesting. Thanks for sharing them with us

Gordon

This is an interesting website. Imagine walking along the beach picking up gold sovereigns like sea shells!!!!!

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/alma...06/alm06oct.htm

Hi Hauptman,

First of all many thanks for posting your thread on the forum, its always interesting to read new topics.

The first coin is very interesting, and you`ll have to excuse my ignorance, but has it been voided or was this how it was designed?

Gordon.

Some of the lower deeps are so hot that the air which runs the drills and so on is refrigerated on surface firts, if the ventilation goes out you'd have about 90 minutes before you baked and the rock is hot enough to burn your skin! Yucch!

What we'll do for the "precious stuff". I've worked in mines, but you wouldn't get me down in one of those!

Peter

My word Peter, I had no idea. I certainly wouldn`t want to be working in those conditions either. The desert was hot enough for me!!!!

I bet the miners get paid peanuts as well, especially in the bad old days, if you get my meaning. No offence to any South African memebers on the forum .

Twelve die in South African gold mine disaster

10 May 2001

Twelve mineworkers were killed in an explosion at the Beatrix gold mine on Tuesday May 8, in South Africa's worst mining disaster in two years.

The explosion at the mine near Welkom, 280km southwest of Johannesburg, occurred about 850 metres underground and tore apart a development area where the men were working. Two more miners suffered serious burns, one of whom is in a critical condition in a local hospital. Six others escaped unharmed. Four thousand men were working in the mine at the time of the explosion and all have been accounted for. As news of the disaster spread, hundreds of anxious relatives telephoned the mine to find out whether their loved ones were safe.

The immediate cause of the disaster is thought to have been a methane gas explosion. A broken fan had been reported the night before, which would have reduced air circulation and increased the danger of a gas build up. Four senior members of staff—two electricians, a vent officer and a production supervisor, who had been sent down the mine to investigate the breakage, were among the dead. The other eight fatalities were construction workers repairing tracks. The disaster comes 51 weeks after a similar explosion killed seven at the same mine on May 15 last year.

In a statement, Gold Fields Free State divisional manager Dana Roets claimed that the lessons of last year's disaster had been learnt and the four senior members of staff were equipped with devices used to measure the presence of methane gas. He said that the deadly gas is "lighter than air and so in a haulage area methane can be quite high overhead and difficult to detect". He added that the lack of circulation caused by the broken fan could increase the danger of a methane build up.

The government has announced that there will be an investigation into the explosion. One question that must be addressed is why work at the mine had not been stopped, at least in the vicinity of the broken fan, when the danger of a build up of methane was known. With 4,000 miners underground at the time, the disaster could have been far greater.

South Africa's deep-level gold mines are among the most dangerous work environments in the world. The death toll this century is reported as anything from 69,000 to 100,000, with more than one million workers injured in South African gold mines.

The gold is reached by blasting, which destabilizes the overhead roofs and creates a constant danger of rock falls. Methane gas explosions and fire are also serious hazards, causing many deaths.

In the industry's last major accident in July 1999, a methane gas explosion at a mine in the gold belt southwest of Johannesburg killed 19 miners. The country's worst mining disaster was in 1986, when 177 workers were killed as a result of a polyurethane fire at a mine east of Johannesburg. A total of 313 miners were killed in 1999, 372 in 1998 and 424 in 1997.

At the time of the accident in July 1999, a BBC report gave some idea of conditions underground: "All of South Africa's significant gold deposits are very deep underground, miles down, at depths that ordinary human beings find hard to comprehend.

"The shafts are so deep that the rock is hot to the touch. The devil's workplace. And like the devil's workplace, working at these depths is very dangerous. Newspaper reports talk of mine cave-ins and shaft collapses. The real thing is far nastier, where the pressure builds up in deep level rock until the whole tunnel explodes inwards, footwall, hangingwall, sidewall, the lot, crushing completely anything in its way."

The end of the apartheid regime has brought the introduction of better safety regulations but the unions complain that there are still not enough inspectors to enforce them, and that some mine managers still put output before safety.

Even though there has been some improvement in the industry's safety record since 1994, over the past three years the death rate has averaged more than one miner killed everyday in South Africa's gold mines.

The South African gold industry has to compete on the world markets with modern, open cast gold production in North America and Australia. Here miners cut the tops off low-grade mountain deposits, which are then crushed, soaked in cyanide and the precious metal extracted from the liquor. This low cost, low labour production threatens the very existence of the South African gold industry and increases pressure to maximise production at all costs, resulting in disasters like the one at the Beatrix mine this week.

17 Die in Blast in South African Gold Mine

30 July 1999

At least 17 miners were killed late Thursday in an explosion in a gold mine near Johannesburg, the mine owners reported.

Two workers are still missing in the mine, the Mponeng, near Carletonville, about nine miles southwest of Johannesburg. Twenty miners were rescued.

This is the worst mining disaster for the mine's owner, the Anglogold group, since 1995, when 104 people were killed when an elevator plummeted in a mine near Klerksdorp. Anglogold, the world's biggest gold producer, said the explosion was apparently caused by methane.

South Africa's mines are among the world's deepest and accidents are frequent. The authorities said at a mine safety meeting in November that nearly 890 miners were killed in South Africa's mines in the last two years.