This has been an interesting coin to research. I believe it is a Victorian threepence. Dating from 1896 it is features the “old head”, there were two previous versions – “young head” and a “Jubilee head”.
The reverse is inscribed VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP which means Victoria by the Grace of God, Queen of the British territories, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India.
This is one of the easier coins to identify in my collection. Apologies for the poor photograph but it is also very worn.
This is a French 50 centimes coin dated 1892 and very common.
Another unusual coin is this small coin stamped 50 HAPA 1915.
On the reverse is the head of Peter I, the King of Serbia, with the words ПЕТАР I. КРАЉ СРБИЈЕ
I believe the coin is silver and was issued in Serbia between 1904 and 1915 and is a 50 PARA.
I would love to believe this coin was collected by my great-uncle whilst he was serving in the Army during the First World War.
Following on from previous posts about coins in my possession here is another one which I think is a George III sixpence stamped 1819.
You can see it’s pretty grubby but I have found some similar examples online.
More excellent news for those of us researching our Welsh ancestors. An additional 27 Welsh newspapers have been made available online thanks to the National Library of Wales (NLW):
“There is great excitement as we release 27 publications titles (200,000 pages) from the Library’s rich collection of Welsh Newspapers Online.
“Take a trip back in time from the comfort of your home or office and discover millions of freely available articles published before 1919.
“The resource now allows you to search and read over 630,000 pages from almost 100 newspaper publications from the National Library’s collection, and this will grow to over one million pages as more publications are added during 2014.
“Among the latest titles are Y Negesydd, Caernarvon and Denbigh Herald, Glamorgan Gazette, Carmarthen Journal, Welshman, and Rhondda Leader, not forgetting Y Drych, the weekly newspaper for the Welsh diaspora in America.
“The resource also includes some publications that were digitised for The Welsh Experience of World War One project.
“Browse the resource and discover unique information on a variety of subjects, including family history, local history and much more that was once difficult to find unless the researcher was able to browse through years of heavy volumes.”
You can find a list of all the newspapers, indicating those newly online, at the NLW website.
I enjoyed writing about my exotic locket the other day so I thought I would share another little item in my possession. Again, I inherited this from my paternal grandmother, a small leather purse or wallet.
The brown leather is beautifully soft with a small tear. The initials E.T. have been punched on the front and it is hallmarked in four places – on the lock and two corners. It seems strange that such a small item should have to bear so many hallmarks.
I think the hallmarks mean the following:
Makers mark = GHJ
9 carat gold
Gold fineness = 375
Anchor = made in Birmingham
Date letter = u is for 1857
So I have a small leather and gold purse stamped with the initials ET. There’s a small loop on the back which suggests it could be worn on a belt.
I don’t have any known ancestors with these initials from this time so the item is a bit of a mystery. It contains a number of foreign coins which I’m going to write about over the coming days. Perhaps they belonged to someone who collected coins but I’m hoping there’s a more interesting story to tell!
