Pillar Dollar ? other ? Advice requested.

[Paulmanta 0]

Hi,

Since my last bout of tidying and rediscovering my old coin collection I have been back in the mood for sorting things out and have been looking through some of the things my Grandmother left me when she passed on.

She left me a lot of interesting wooden boxes and it seems some more coins, these ones are very curious as they had been put in the secret drawer of the writing slope, a drawer I only discovered today.

I think one is a Pillar Dollar or Pillow Dollar. She had written on the paper it was wrapped in, as you can see one says "pillow" and the other "pillar" I am resisting thetemptation to google these terms as last time it only threw up lots of false leads and bad advice, this site was the most sensible, hence I am back again.

I can take more pics if anyone wants. I am keen to know if these are special, I have no reason to doubt my grandmothers note as to where these came from, we live in Penzance in Cornwall and she was a Geologist and would regularly visit the Isles of Scilly which lie just off the coast here. 1960 would have been around the time she was most active among those who were diving or exploring wrecks.

[scott 144]

"piller" because of the design on them, minted in mexico. period is correct, research the information about the wreck would shed more light on it.

[HistoricCoinage 147]

Pillar Dollar is the correct term for these, rather than a pillow or a piller.

Yours seems to have a wonderful sentimental link, you must be pleased you rediscovered it.

[HistoricCoinage 147]

A quick bit of research rules out HMS Association as this was in 1707 whereas the date on your coin is 1740. The Dutch East Indiaman Hollandia shipwreck of 1743 is very likely as many pillar dollars were recovered from the Isles in 1971.

[Paulmanta 0]

Indeed, I had taken the other posters advice and had a quick look around and concluded the HMS Hollandia is the most likely for the pair of them.

The Pillar Coin date is 1740 and the other coin is 1742

The other coin has what I think is "CRESCUNT CONCORDIA RESPARVA" On one side and a right facing horseman on the other with some writing I cannot make out due to wear and unfamiliarity with latin !

I am curious to know what they are worth, not for sale purposes but just so I know wether to keep them in the safe !

[Peckris 579]

Indeed, I had taken the other posters advice and had a quick look around and concluded the HMS Hollandia is the most likely for the pair of them.

The Pillar Coin date is 1740 and the other coin is 1742

The other coin has what I think is "CRESCUNT CONCORDIA RESPARVA" On one side and a right facing horseman on the other with some writing I cannot make out due to wear and unfamiliarity with latin !

I am curious to know what they are worth, not for sale purposes but just so I know wether to keep them in the safe !

I should know what that means - it was our school motto! "In (by, with) harmony, small things grow". (It's actually RES PARVAE - "small things" - of which I was certainly one )

Edited November 10, 2012 by Peckris

[scott 144]

it is dutch the other one, can't really see much else to identify it with with that photo, just google what you see as there are a few types

[Peterkin 0]

Indeed, I had taken the other posters advice and had a quick look around and concluded the HMS Hollandia is the most likely for the pair of them.

The Pillar Coin date is 1740 and the other coin is 1742

The other coin has what I think is "CRESCUNT CONCORDIA RESPARVA" On one side and a right facing horseman on the other with some writing I cannot make out due to wear and unfamiliarity with latin !

I am curious to know what they are worth, not for sale purposes but just so I know wether to keep them in the safe !

You may get an idea of value if you Google Hollandia shipwreck and see what comes up. There may not be much in the way of value, but they were important enough for your grandmother to keep in the secret drawer of the desk - so, why not keep them in the safe.