Edmonton Numismatic Society

Show Me a Coin Used for Paying Tax By: Graham Sproule Although the utility of a coin has decreased in the modern age of electronic banking, the image of a coin remains a potent one. For this reason alone, there is no reason to believe that the age of the ‘coin-less of ce’ will ever […]

Digging for Dollars, German style By: Marc Bink Shift work is hard. It’s the classic “hurry up and wait” scenario that only people in the military can understand; hours of sheer drudgery interspersed with a few moments of terror. The other night I was hard at work and had a couple of hours to kill. […]

Defacing Coins as a Form of Political Action: Royal Canadian Mint Sues Dogwood Initiative over ‘Loony Idea’ By: Graham Sproule. “No person shall, except in accordance with a licence granted by the Minister, melt down, break up or use otherwise than as currency any coin that is current and legal tender in Canada.” – Article […]

French Experiments with Paper Money – Part 3 “Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” By: Pierre Driessen The Revolutionary government, having assumed the debts of the previous regime, found itself in dire financial straits. In addition to this fiscal burden, domestically it faced a deteriorating economy, shortages of food […]

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS)   The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS) is an educational association founded in 1979 to support and promote the use and collecting of numismatic literature. Numismatic literature includes books, periodicals, catalogs and other written or printed material relating to coins, medals, tokens, or paper money, ancient or modern, U.S. or worldwide. […]

French Experiments with Paper Money – Part 2 By: Pierre Driessen Following the collapse of John Law’s “System”, the French government’s finances became desperate. Royal debt had tripled between 1715 and 1722, credit was drying up, interest rates were soaring and the crown’s credibility had been severely tarnished. Over time however, through governmental and administrative […]

French Experiments with Paper Money – Part 1 By: Pierre Driessen This article was sparked by a conversation with a dealer at a recent coin show. As I was admiring the nice mandat he had for sale, the dealer surprised me with his questions. He was wondering exactly what it was, who issued it and […]

Tetradrachm of Mithradates II By: Terrance Cheesman The Parthian Kingdom occupied the region of modern day Iraq and Iran. Starting in north eastern Iran, the Parthians conquered Iran by 230 B.C. and Iraq by 170 B.C. They were a constant menace to the Greek kingdoms in Syria and Turkey, and later to the Romans when […]

The U.S. Standing Liberty Quarter, (1916-1930) By: Marc Bink Imagine if you will; a protest of thousands of people taking place in front of the Parliament buildings; – over a lousy quarter! This sort of thing did happen once, but not in Canada, it happened in the United States in 1917. All it took was […]

The IMPERIAL EAGLE of FRANCE By: Jean Pierre Driessen Napoleon Bonaparte had a problem. Following his proclamation as Emperor of the French on 28 Floréal, AN XII (18 May 1804), what would be the symbols of his regime and dynasty? Symbols which would personify the new political order and his subjects could identify with and […]