Mervyn Mitton

I bought this coin recently - not because I think it has any value, but rather for all the detail and the fair condition for it's age. From the loop on top it has been used as a pendant, whilst the purists will say that lowers the value - to me, it shows it has been a loved item ! The inscription around the Head reads (please correct me if I am wrong) : Georgius DG (Deo Gratia - By the Grace of God) M - (Monarch) BR (Britain)FR (France) ET ( ? Thuringia , bearing the German origins), HIB (Ireland) REX (King) FD (Fidelis Defendere - Defender of the Faith, a title awarded by the Pope to King Henry 8th. The reverse is a little more difficult. The date of 1723 is clear , however, no value - but I suspect a Florin (2/- piece). The Arms of Hanover are on the right. At bottom - combined arms for England and Scotland. Left; The Fleur de Lis - we still laid claim to France until 1802. At the top, The Arms for Ireland. The Garter symbol appears to be in the middle. I am not at all sure about the Latin - Dux is usually a Military Leader - and later came to mean a Duke. George 1st - before being invited to take the British Throne, was the Elector of Hanover -this later became a Kingdom and we maintained the claim until 1835 when our Arms changed to the current ones. Really, a short history lesson in one small coin. Please tell me where I've gone wrong ?

Ian - this one is the one in Wiltshire. Note the better paint - they pay higher rates and taxes.............. Chris - it would be difficult - but, possible. Ian has over two hundred truncheons , plus some lovely tipstaffs. Usually, new collectors will invest a considerable sum to acquire the nucleus of a collection - many of mine went in this way, and indeed it still continues today. The subject of selling collections was raised recently on the Lounge and I fully agreed with the difficulty of selling. You never forget where you bought the really special items - they become part of you.. However, age is no respecter of collectors and so, now the decision has been made to let other people have the 'fun' of collecting.

These are examples of three good truncheons. From the left - a William 1Vth. (1830-37) - with the red painted end, very possibly for an early railway, although there is no naming. Before signalling was invented for the railways, the early police were positioned on bends etc., to give warning to the train diver - they did this with the red painted truncheon. The second one is for the City of Liverpool and has the name in the cartouche or, shield. Above the Crown is the figure 1 st. - when Queen Victoria came to the Throne in 1837, they followed custom and named her the 1st. However, by about 1841/2 they realised that she was the only Monarch of that name and so, dropped the number. This allows us to date quite accurately. The 3rd. truncheon - I have put on for Leigh ..... It is in fact the Parish Constable for Leigh in Wiltshire and would date to the early part of the 19th. Century. Since I have been a member of GMIC , I have tried to show various examples - they are all different and unique in their own way. Research for my book showed that there are probably fewer then 12,000 in existance - not really very many when you consider how important they were. The heraldically painted details on each truncheon were the Constable's Warrant - or, in modern terms, I.D. - the Crown showing that his authority came directly from the King (or, Queen). Prior to 1829 there was no uniform, so without the truncheon he could not perform his duties. I still have a number of different styles of truncheons and will post them gradually. I am holding back on Metropolitan Police until Nick makes a decision on the new Forum.

No, it just doesn't look right. The front is fairly crisp - however, the back is unfinished and the lugs look like an afterthought. Pity - but, we have a lot of new RCMP collectors recently joined - so, someone should be able to help.

Paul - why do you think the Met. were so limited in numbers for the Jubilee. Did they perhaps only give it to those who had the Coronation ?

INVITE TO THE OFFICIAL PICNIC - SIX WEEKS AFTER THE SIEGE WAS LIFTED.

The quality is not high on some pages - and, the dreaded old sellotape has been used freely. **Remeber Hugh's advice - press Ctrl and the Plus sign to enlarge. Ctrl and - to reduce

Although the signs had been apparent for some time, Britain - as always - was surprised when the Boers declared War in 1899. Our troops were not in position and supplies inadequate. The Boer Forces were - of course - ready and immediately swept into action with their , smallish forces.Their main intention was to descend into Natal - capture the coal fields, which were so necessary for our coal fired ships - and , if they could, take Durban. They would then have a base for landing supplies. The Coast of South Africa has very few good harbours and at the time of the War commencement, all supplies for the Boers had to come through Lourenco Marques in the old Mocambique. Kruger had established a railway line between there and Pretoria. You have to remember that both The South African Republic (The Transvaal) and The Orange Vry Staat were both inland and were - and still are - some 400/500 miles (800/900kms) from the sea. The Boer plan of action was to move quickly and take a number of strategic and important towns. Kimberley was high on the list because of it's mineral wealth; Mafeking - because of it's strategic importance and Dundee - in Natal, for the coal. Both Kimberley and Mafeking resisted and both turned into important sieges - histories for another time. The first battle of the Boer War was Talana - where if it wasn't an outright victory - then we held far superior numbers. However, the position could not be supported and we retreated towards Ladysmith and Sir George White's troops. Before our troops reached there, they had an engagement with the Boers at Elaandslaagte - which we won. When our troops had entered the town of Ladysmith the Boers - with greatly superior forces - enveloped the Town - and so, the Siege of Ladysmith commenced on 2nd. November 1899. I recently acquired a torn and battered old copy of the official account of the Siege - published six months after the Siege was lifted on 1st. March 1900 , by the Town Council. We can then, be sure that the information and statistics are correct and accurate - which makes it important. I have selected a number of pages which I think will be both informative and interesting - bearing in mind that this type of post is providing a source of information for future writers. The booklet included burials, numbers and names of people, the full list of the Town Guard and all proclamations and orders given out by the Military Command. These I have available should anyone need that type of info.. Sieges - by their very nature - tend to be dominated by the Military, and the plight of the Civilian population overlooked. Later historians have done exacly that with Ladysmith and I hope some of these pages from the booklet will allow us - now - to realise what a difficult time they had and how food shortages impacted on everyone. Some of the food prices are horrendous - I suppose the One pound in 1900 would be worth about twenty today - possibly more. A Gold Sovereign - worth then one pound one shilling - is today worth Pounds 230 ! ($360)

I'm tempted to think it dates from the 1930's when the RAF and some ground forces were engaged over the desert in Iraq and Syria. The planes were unreliable and often had to make forced landings. We recently had a lovely medal group to this period on our medal sub-forum.

Thankyou Paul - nice to see the old Police belt. I think the date on it looks like 1906 ? Has re-issue PC's number , so must have seen a lot of service.

The Hungarian one has to be a presentation - would you please take upright photos - back and front - perhaps we can see it's original purpose ?

Good pair - nice that he was serving throughout King George V th. reign.

Stephen - I will IM the possible new members email, since you may be able to help. I think Leigh - our Host - maybe away, however, I don't think we must allow our Forum to become a selling place. Try the IM system or, there is the special sub-forum. Mervyn