William 1111

[Guest Pugwash]

I have this coin which has on the head "William 1111 died June 20 1837" and on the other side a horse and rider being attacked by lions ? and the inscription, "By Trampling on Liberty I lost the reins". Can anyone tell me what it is and what it means. ? Thanks.

[scottishmoney 31]

Even with my decent vision I canna see wha'ever said piece is. Might wanna make a bigger image size.

[Red Riley 2]

I have this coin which has on the head "William 1111 died June 20 1837" and on the other side a horse and rider being attacked by lions ? and the inscription, "By Trampling on Liberty I lost the reins". Can anyone tell me what it is and what it means. ? Thanks.

Probably an unofficial medal of some sort. The inscription probably refers to William IV's controversial handling of the Great Reform Bill of 1832. Historians nowadays are inclined to treat him a little more kindly.

[Guest hammyman]

Hi.My first post!I also have the same coin!It is the size of a 20p piece.Surely to small to be a medal?Rgds Eric

[Red Riley 2]

Hi.My first post!I also have the same coin!It is the size of a 20p piece.Surely to small to be a medal?Rgds Eric

These sort of things were frequently produced in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to espouse some political cause or another, a well known example being those minted in support of the anti-slavery movement ('am I not a man and a brother?'). This particular one was produced outside the period we normally associate with the circulation of tradesmen's tokens, although I suppose it may have had a redeemable value somewhere (a farthing?) but I couldn't imagine it being widely used.

Others may know more.

[Guest hammyman]

Thanks for your prompt reply Red Riley.This is identical ,and is as you said a medal!

If it is the same size as a 20p then it is what I have.

http://www.napoleonicmedals.org/coins/bhm-1725.htm

Edited December 12, 2009 by hammyman

[Red Riley 2]

I often bang on on here about the historic value being more important than the monetary value, and this is a case in point. Probably worth peanuts but tells you so much about public opinion at the time. Thanks for posting it.

[scottishmoney 31]

Red Riley, your tastes in art are just about as prurient as mine, and that my friend is downright alarming.

[Red Riley 2]

Red Riley, your tastes in art are just about as prurient as mine, and that my friend is downright alarming.

It's just a girl...

actually it's a painting called 'Proserpine' by Gabriel Rossetti. In classical mythology Proserpine was the daughter of Ceres and was abducted to the underworld by Pluto but later freed by the gods. Because she had eaten a mouthful of pomegranate while in Haedes, the gods ruled that she would have to spend half of the year in the underworld. The model was Janey Morris, one of the great beauties of the 19th century and also Rossetti's lover. Buggerall to do with coins but hey, I'm not a one trick pony!

The reason I changed was because a woman at work saw my old Avatar and described it as simply a lady with no clothes on. My protestations that it was actually great art fell on deaf ears, so after due consideration I changed to this more um... acceptable image.

What's the story behind yours?

[Red Riley 2]

I think this now needs to be put into the 'nothing whatever to do with coins section' but I have just hit on a bizarre coincidence. Following my downloading of the Rossetti portrait of the beautiful Jane Burden as my Avatar, I did a bit of Googling on the subject, and it seems likely that she is a very close relative, possibly my GGG Aunt. The whole thing hinges on her mother's maiden name (Maizey - my GG grandmother's surname) and her place of birth in Oxfordshire.

Weird or what?

[Chris Perkins 228]

Practically incest Del!

[Red Riley 2]

Practically incest Del!

That might be stretching the accepted definition of the word a tad far, but it does give provenance to my avatar and if anybody asks, I just say, 'That's Aunty Jane'.

[Peckris 579]

Practically incest Del!

That might be stretching the accepted definition of the word a tad far, but it does give provenance to my avatar and if anybody asks, I just say, 'That's Aunty Jane'.

The only problem with that dame is that no other woman ever seems to appear in pre-Raphaelite art! You may not be a one-trick pony Red, but those artists were ...