Today is the 100th Birthday of naturalist and broadcaster, Sir David Attenborough: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough

I think we've likely all seen at least some of the well over 100 documentaries he has made and hopefully appreciate the planet we live on and the amazing variety of life we share it with that little bit more because of the knowledge he has shared.

Here is a 2019 £2 coin featuring the Royal Research Ship (RRS) named in his honour. Image of the coin from Numista:

Image of the ship from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRS_Sir_David_Attenborough?wprov=sfla1

#numismatics #Coins #CoinCollecting #history #OnThisDay #sir_david_attenborough #SirDavidAttenborough @numismatics

Largest hoard of Roman silver coins found in Devon for years

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/gallery/largest-hoard-roman-silver-coins-10951722

A  hoard of Roman coins unearthed in Devon is thought to be the largest discovery of its kind in the county in recent times.

The 97 silver and six copper alloy coins were found in the parish of North Huish in the South Hams and are around 2,000 years old.

#Numismatics #Coins #ancientCoin #history #Histodons @numismatics @histodons

And another book for Asian coin collectors: "A GUIDE TO THE ATTRIBUTION OF THE MORE COMMON TENPO TSUHO". This is a fascinating coin I barely touched on in one of the very first articles on the Coin of Note site: https://coinofnote.com/japan-100-mon/

So I should get myself a copy of this book and expand my knowledge on the subject as well! More on the book here: https://www.coinbooks.org/v29/esylum_v29n18.html#article3

#Numismatics #News #Book #Bibliophile #Coins #CoinCollecting #Japan @numismatics

Michael Zachary has published an updated, second edition of the Ten Cash Commentary book. I have the first edition of this and it is excellent. I now have the second edition in my Amazon cart :) If you are interested in early machine minted Chinese coins, this is an excellent resource. He also has one on the twenty cash coins.

https://www.coinbooks.org/v29/esylum_v29n18.html#article2

#Numismatics #Coins #CoinCollecting #China #History #Histodons @numismatics @histodons

Two rare Anglo-Saxon Agnus Dei coins found in Denmark – The History Blog
https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/75950

"There are fewer than 30 examples of the English Agnus Dei type coin minted around 1009 by King Æthelred the Unready in the hope that God would express his approval of his iconography on the coinage by helping England’s fight against the Viking invaders. The fact that majority of the Agnus Dei coins known have been found in Scandinavia suggests the petition was rejected."

#History #Coins

One thing I love about #Coins is the range of things you can learn about the world. At times, they can be keepers of knowledge which might otherwise be lost. This week's E-Sylum has an article about the extinct plant silphium on coins: https://www.coinbooks.org/v29/esylum_v29n17.html#article20

Used for contraception and abortion, medicine, food seasoning, perfume and as a livestock improver, its special properties made this herb one of the most precious commodities in Graeco-Roman antiquity.

Then, one day, it went extinct.

I'm not 100% sure on the exact coin, but there are a few picturing the plant: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?r=silphium

#Numismatics #CoinCollecting #AncientCoins #History #Histodons @numismatics @histodons

“Every year, the United States #Mint sells more than $1 billion of investment-grade #gold #coins. Each is stamped with an icon like the bald eagle, signifying the government’s guarantee, required by law, that the gold is 100 percent American. […]

"The Mint is actually the last link in a chain that launders foreign gold, much of it illegally mined, for an insatiable market.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/world/americas/us-mint-gold-drug-cartel-colombia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.d1A.x4Dc.auSxJV3WBRx1&smid=url-share #GiftArticle #free #gratis #NYT #uspol #gold #BloodGold