Welcome Covenanters

Our CT Covenant is growing.  And a few others are watching.
     This blog spot is our Glen. Fortunately, we do not have to gather in the cover of dusk. Or worry about the King's troops. In fact, our activities are center-stage for all to see and enjoy. In fact, this blog spot has had over 10K hits in the past year -- it is a well-trodden path.
     Covenanters (and onlookers) do not have to produce a token to enter the Glen -- "Token," the elder would bark, as he stiffly held out his hand. But, I bet our pockets and drawers are full of CTs.

     Feel free to try a short posting to see if everything works. Consider sharing a picture of your newest acquisition. I'm sure many of us will recognize it ... especially if you are on ebay much.
     The marketplace has been active, so I am sure that some of us are adding new pieces on a regular basis. I managed to get a few pieces just yesterday, and I am looking forward to the ritual of examining, cataloging, and packaging them into tidy flips with a small descriptive card.
     The hammer prices have been very reasonable this month. I think the FF will provide a review of the action at the end of the month.

     But for now let me share a recent find that was reported by a metal detectorist in the "backwoods" of PA. Our lucky treasure hunter was searching for coins in a wooded area in the Hartslog Valley of central PA. He found a CT from this rural outpost. As he put it, he was unsure if this tiny lead token of 6 x 10 mm was historically significant, but now he knows that he has something special and rare -- not just a dog or cattle tag! Of note, reissue CTs of this variety (Bason-243) exist -- I cannot tell if this is one of them.

This one looks to be in nice shape,
especially for a "grounder" -- it is
cataloged as Bason-243.

     In any case, the found CT is neatly inscribed with thin, block letters adorned with delicate serifs. The sawtooth borders (Bason says: "dog-tooth") provide an attractive, folk-art frame. The small rectangular size is quaint but easily slips between the fingers (at least in this case).
     According to Bason, Hart's Log Church was first described in 1786. As quoted from Bason: "In 1814 as a result of a political feud the Alexandria Church seceded from Hart's Log Church. In 1830 churches of Hart's Log and Alexandria were united. Lead from which these tokens were made was likely dug from Canoe Valley, adjacent to Hart's Log Valley." The town of Hartslog is now called Alexandria.
     There is a website that describes the church: Check it out at Hartslog Church Site. This site has photos of the church site. Also, be prepared, as there is fife and drum music!
     Apparently, the church name is derived from a hollow log used as a trough by trader John Hart in the late 1740s for his pack animals. The log was located on a pioneer trail known as the Frankstown Path. The Hartslog church was constructed nearby; it was a log structure with no windows and a dirt floor -- cold in the winter and stifling in the summer. The parishioners sat on split-log benches, facing a rough-cut pulpit while swallows fluttered overhead.
     CT history does not get any better than this! Makes you want one of these HL rectangles, doesn't it?

Market Watch for May 2014

It was a vibrant month in the marketplace. There were over 320 CTs sold on EBay and over 500 lots offered in the Simmons Gallery auction that closed mid-month. These numbers add up to over 800 CTs on the hammer
     The large numbers of CTs sold were bolstered by several big sales that were conducted on EBay throughout May: xonumia sold 36 CTs between May 19-20, 22 CTs between May 21-22, plus two group lots of 17 and 20 CTs; comtok continued this month with 37 CTs on May 3rd, 26 CTs on May 14-15, and 12 more CTs on May 26; and finally, cobwrightfortishe sold 18 CTs on May 15 plus 14 more CTs on May 30.
     Examining these EBay sales, most CTs sold (257 pieces or nearly 80%) were hammered down for under $20, placing them in the C category. Another 49 CTs crossed the block in the B category (under $50), whereas only 18 CTs sold above this mark. Ten CTs sold in the BB range, five more in the A range, and three CTs (all sold with one bid) garnered AA money.

This is a true diamond CT.
It took until 1949 for this CT to be cataloged
by K&L in the Proceedings. It is a Free Church
CT attributed to N. Albion St. Chapel.

     The top three AA CTs were all English pieces sold by the same NZ dealer on May 26: 1) a round Crown Court piece from London, dated 1848, brought $130; 2) a second round piece, this one from Lloyd Street Church in Manchester, dated 1801, brought $130; 3) a cut-rectangle dated 1861 from Trinity Church in London came in at $104. All three were described as ex-Burzinski (cataloged as BZ1696, BZ4617, and BZ4436 respectively).
     The five A CTs all sold within the tight range of $75 to $87, but the bidding patterns were quite different. The most expensive piece was a Glasgow diamond, dated 1783 (KL49-46). This is a true diamond with acute and obtuse angles (not a rotated square). Nine bids were entered by eight bidders to push the hammer to $87. Most interesting was the bidding pattern: it appears that each player took a single stab at it, but no one stood their ground and defended their move. In the end, the price was fair given that a similar one sold last year for $96.
     In contrast, a Glasgow-styled square from Port Glasgow, dated 1761, soared skyward with only two bidders doing battle. This one sold for $75 after 23 bids from four bidders -- but 21 bids came from one player chipping away at an early high bid from the winner. It was a beautiful piece with the Arms of Glasgow in the center, all bold and steeped in a dark patina (BK914A) -- it does not come around often. Here is the link:  Port Glasgow CT.
     Another battle was waged over an oval from Brechin (East Parish), dated 1836. Here, three bidders made 27 moves to inflate the hammer to a whopping $81. It was an attractive piece with simple design and unusual verse (BZ999). But was the price too high? Another one was sold by Simmons Gallery last year for 6 GBP (under $10), and a second piece went unsold yesterday that was offered with a BIN of $16.50. Maybe the $81 piece was a variety(?), or it was just a bidding war!
     The two other A CTs were from England: a cut-rectangle from Warrenford (BZ7127) and a super-cool square from Etal (in Northumberland) with incused heart (BZ2467) -- the latter sold at a BIN of $83, the former traded hands for $79.
     I will leave the Simmons Gallery auction for later, or perhaps someone else can provide some analysis on this sale. Finally, I thank TH for helping with this Watch.

The next big thing: Write a Post!

This blog has run its course in the current format. 

     This blog was started a year ago to provide a meeting place for CT collectors. I published a starter guidebook soon afterwards. As most of you know, our field of collecting did not have a beginner's guide or a meeting place. We are a small group, spread across the globe -- quietly collecting for the most part.
     Many collecting specialties have websites that allow members to independently post their experiences and questions -- I am member of several of these. These sites have active discussions about what folks are finding and liking. Plus, they have auction reviews and historical tidbits. This is perhaps what is needed for those of us in the CT field.
  
     Up to now, this blog did not offer enough access and flexibility for new writers who want to share their collecting experiences or expertise. This is about to change. I am inviting others to post articles and pictures on this blog, just as I have.

Check out the new page!  It will provide details about joining the blog and becoming part of the CT Collectors' Covenant.  

     Also, do not forget that there is a gathering being planned for CT collectors at the Winter Baltimore Expo. This would be a great time to meet up, share ideas, and do what all great collectors do: eat steak and salad and talk tokens and coins.

One of my favorite CTs for its bold
figures and archaic first digit.
This is BK563 from Kemback, Fife.

     My experience with this blog has been an adventure. When this blog started in June 2013, there were 182 hits by the end of the month; this jumped to 47 hits in July and kept rising to a peak of 1376 hits in January 2014. Since then, there have been 1107 and 1396 hits for February and March respectively, with a decrease to 835 hits with the new weekly format introduced in April.
  
     Our CT marketplace is active. This past April, we had 225 ebay sales. Two-thirds of these sales involved CTs trading below $20 -- there were many nice pieces in this group. I think we all realize the importance of this market segment for getting new collectors involved. On the opposite end, we had some stellar pieces bringing strong hammer prices -- for example, the Covenanter token that sold for $355 on April 9th.
     Some books are selling too: two copies of Brook, two copies of Bason, and one copy of Milne sold last month on ebay. I am selling a few guidebooks on Amazon. This tells us that new collectors are entering the field. In addition, several large collections are being pruned at present: Merchant, Macmillian, Sutherland, and still some Burzinski CTs are crossing the block.
  
We are fortunate to have such a great hobby. I end with a quote from my book, One Coin is Never Enough (2011):

"... as coin collectors, we believe in magic. We love our coins and treat them accordingly no matter how irrational it appears to onlookers. The coins in our collections are special. They have stories to tell, and we marvel at their survivorship, rarity and beauty. Through the act of collecting them, we transform the mundane into the marvelous."

  

A Communion Token Progression: Brutish to Stylish

Which one do you prefer? 

I seek out communion tokens from the same parish to see how they evolved across time. As you know, CTs from a specific kirk can be separated by years or decades.
     Sure, we know that squares, rectangles, and rounds became ovals and cut-rectangles. But a more intimate story can be found when the same basic design (and shape) was improved or modified across decades in the early period.
     With this frame, I am contemplating two tokens from Fala in Midlothian (BK405-406). There is a story here; we cannot be sure what it is, but it is worth our efforts, as this is what amuses us. Is it the story of two engravers? Is it a story of better tools? Was the first one used as a model for the second? Is the crude one the first one? I will at least assume the latter.
     The crude token is undated. It is a simple square with bold lettering that is coarsely engraved. The letters -- FK -- are bold with few adornments. The F was given a serif on the upper crossbar, but the rest seems hurried. The F was given quite a bit of room too; after all, the bars need space to project outwards. Perhaps the engraver started with grand designs in his head, but gradually found that his hands and tools were not up to the task. By the time he got to the middle crossbar (which is low) and the base (uneven), he was forced to confront his limitations.
     With such a bold F, the K is squeezed such that it runs off the rim. The diagonal bars barely have room to breath. Still, he tapered the diagonals to provide a modicum of style. One other element is puzzling: what are the dots meant to signify?
     Some years later, the elders called for another piece. And so, another engraver was hired. This time, he had expert hands and more precise tools.
     The first thing I notice is the regularity of the die: the square is true. No border is evident, as the mold was neatly cut out. The die was a two-part affair so as to provide more info on the reverse. Finally, the piece was made with a broader face, and thicker too.
     The FK was placed on the obverse. The attention to detail is immediately obvious. The F and K have air -- perhaps too much in the middle. The letters are delicate with a taper from bottom to top. The F has delicate serifs -- only the base is lacking (but it is stout).
     The K is also lighter at the top. The serifs are a bit bolder but less competently shaped. The best part, however, is the gentle curve on the lower diagonal bar -- a knee joint that pulls the eye immediately to it -- it is the first element you take notice of. It seems human.
     The reverse is lightly rendered, but the style is consistent. The I (for J) has delicate serifs. The G also has a soft finial. The letters stand for John Gourlay who served as minister from 1764 to 1773.
     The date is neatly spaced with big loops defining the double-sixes.
     All told, the comparative artistry is what makes these CTs worth having. There are many pairs (or longer series) of CTs in the Scottish series that invite side by side comparison like this one.
     Do you have a pair of CTs with a similar story to tell? Share it.

CT Meeting this Fall? Plus, some Auctions.

I was exchanging emails with Bob Merchant, and we agreed that the Winter Expo in Baltimore might be a good place to get together. Perhaps some others would like to join in -- A CT Meeting.
     Baltimore, MD, is a clean city with many hotels and restaurants near the Convention Center. The crab cakes are the best. The Whitman Expo is scheduled for October 30th to November 2nd. This is probably the best US show on the east coast (although I have not yet been to FUN in January). There is also a summer Expo running from June 26th to 29th, but this show is slower -- I rarely go to it unless I am hot to sell something.

Here is another piece from the Expo in March.
All info is on the flip. When did you last see this one?

     As I have reported on this blog, there are some CTs to be had at the show -- see picture. Of course, if we get together, we might end up trading a few pieces. In any case, the crab and tuna is good.
     If you collect colonial coins then the Winter Expo is the place to be, as StacksBowers conducts the C4 auction (Colonial Coin Collectors Club) at this meeting. I am a member of C4 and dabble in US colonial coins from time to time. However, I am quite serious about Spanish Colonial cobs from Potosi!
     Bob Merchant reminded me that the 3rd installment of his collection is being auctioned by Simmons Gallery in early May. As many of you know, Bob has a huge collection, judging from the hundreds of lots already sold in 2013. Up for auction this time are 514 lots! Most of the pieces are 19th century CTs ranging from KL495 to KL1193. This run of  CTs is most impressive with two-thirds of them up for grabs. The starting bids are low at 6 BP, and the estimates are only at twice that. Check it out: Link to Simmons Gallery.
     The late series CTs represent a great collecting opportunity. I have noticed that cobwrightfortishe has recently been selling 19th century ovals and cut-rectangles at bargain prices on ebay. He sold 18 pieces on April 12th with most of them going for under $15 -- he has another 20 pieces coming up for auction tomorrow (in about 10 hours from now).
     The same sort of bargains can be had with the Simmons Gallery auction: I purchased over a dozen pieces last Fall for very reasonable prices -- these CTs were from the 2nd installment of Merchant's collection.
     So there you have it. Some auctions to follow and a possible meeting next Fall at the Expo. I'll talk more about the meeting as it gets closer.

Weaving stories about Communion Tokens crossing the Atlantic

Happy Easter!
     One of my favorite activities in collecting is discovering stories. Of course, no story rivals the one that is celebrated today.
     I believe that one of the motivations for collecting objects is to make sense of the world by weaving stories. As collectors we arrange objects into sets to do this. Some folks collect CTs from a particular shire, others focus on dates and various themes in history. I fancy myself to be a type collector, so a story I like to discover concerns the range of decisions that parishes made when CTs were made.
     But, the CTs I most treasure are the ones with stand-alone stories. Of course, they all have stories -- you just have to discover them. The CTs I got directly from church hoards, or from the church yard, are among my favorites. They were used, stored away or buried, and then found -- this is a common story with many parallels in life. More dramatic is the story told by the Covenanter CT profiled last week. So too, the engraved silver piece from South Carolina boasts of a story-line interwoven with the American Civil War.

Two CTs from Johnshaven. The oval one was used in
Antigonish (Nova Scotia) sometime after 1818.

     One story I like concerns the CTs that came over from Scotland to Canada. This is a story of new beginnings.
     As it turns out, several Scottish ministers came to Canada with a bag of tokens. One example of a bag of tokens being brought over involves the pieces from Johnshaven in Kincardine.
     Burzinski lists two pieces from this parish: BZ3462 -- a rectangle  that is attributed to Rev. David Harper (1769-1789), and BZ3463 an oval dated 1808 that is attributed to Rev. Thomas Trotter. The latter is from the APC, so it represents a different congregation.
     The oval piece is listed in the Charlton catalogue for Canadian CTs as NS-200B. So, here we have a token that is both Scottish and Canadian.
     Rev. Trotter emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1818 and settled in the frontier settlement of Antigonish -- a small community located on the northwest side of the island. The placename has been translated by some to mean "where three rivers fall into the harbor." Sounds idyllic, but I am sure that life on the frontier was hard. New beginnings tend to be a challenge.
     According to Charlton, Rev. Trotter started his tenure with a meager congregation of less than twenty Scottish pioneers. His bag of tokens consisted primarily of the ovals from ten years before. It is possible that other tokens were in the bag too. The Charlton guidebook shows a small rectangular piece with rounded corners marked with a large C that might have been in the bag as well, as they were also used at Antigonish.
     These are not the only instances of Scottish CTs being listed in the Canadian catalogue. Other Scottish CTs used in Canada include a bag of Dalry squares dated 1788 and a few 17th century pieces from Tongland -- both are listed in Charlton as CW-278A and CW-278B. They were used in Lanark, Ontario, sometime after 1823.
     Along these same lines, CT dies made in Scotland were brought over too. The Glasgow-style squares of Truro were made from dies carried over from Scotland (NS-304). I'll save this story for another time.
     I purchased my Johnshaven pieces from a Canadian dealer. I wonder if they were in the bag that was carried across the Atlantic by Rev. Trotter? Or did mine come over recently? I want to believe that it was the former scenario. Either way, it is an interesting story and provides a nice link between the two collecting domains: SCTs and CCTs.
     What stories are you telling with your CTs?

Covenanter Communion Tokens

A Covenanter CT was sold on ebay this week. These are rare pieces -- I have never seen one offered before, so I decided to take a closer look in this post rather than wait for a market review.
     The auction ended four days ago with quartet of determined bidders pushing the hammer price to $355 after 13 bids. The CT was sold by comtok who relayed to me a "feeling of loss" just after listing his prized piece. I know this feeling: after all, we have to pass our tokens on to the next collector at some point. I am sure the new owner is excited -- that can be comforting for the seller.
     This particular Covenanter CT carried the phrase: holi/nes.to (obverse); the/lord (reverse). It was a cast rectangle, in lead, with hand-cut letters -- all in lower case. The piece was from Burzinski's collection and is the plate specimen. It is the only Covenanter CT pictured in his catalog.
     This token, along with four other Covenanter CTs, are illustrated in Brook. All of them are mavericks. As such, Brook did not number them (but Burzinski did: BZ7511 to BZ7515). As Brook put it: "None of them mentions a date or the locality whence the tokens emanated, nor do they bear the initials or names of the ministers by whose orders they were made."
     Burzinski listed a sixth Covenanter CT as BZ7516. This one is round. It was apparently documented by Rev. H.A. Whitlaw but destroyed in 1909 -- so none are known to exist(?).
     So when were these tokens made and used? Brook explained: "Although the struggle against Episcopacy commenced in 1638, it was not till the Restoration in 1660 that the ministers had to leave their churches. Previous to this there is no doubt they used the existing tokens of the churches where they officiated and celebrated the Lord's Supper. When field conventicles began in 1663 it became necessary for them to have tokens of their own, and it was probably at that date or a little later that these tokens were made."
     Let me provide a little clarification of this history. Most of you are probably aware of the tumultuous history of the Scottish reformation. Protestant opinions reached Scotland soon after the movement gained momentum in Germany. The heretical ideas challenged the ascendency of the Roman Catholic polity and were summarily squashed. One of the first such actions was the burning at the stake of Patrick Hamilton on February 28, 1528. More executions followed. Even the bold and fiery John Knox was threatened with an assassination plot, but he was unmoved: "As for the fear of danger that may come to me, let no man be so solicitous; for my life is in the custody of him whose glory I seek" [June 16th, 1559 at St. Andrews].

Five Covenanter CTs illustrated
by Brook.

     It was this devotion among the early Presbyterians -- fueled in no small part by the recent history of struggle, that led to a series of pacts made to bound themselves to the Presbyterian doctrine and polity. The covenant of 1581 forwarded by John Craig, known as the National Covenant or King's Confession is considered to be the pivotal event, as it harshly denounced Popery and the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. It was endorsed by James VI of Scotland and enacted into law.
     When James VI became the King of England in 1603, he lost interest in the cause and eventually reversed his position. In 1618, the Articles of Perth were introduced to force the Presbyterians to adopt practices consistent with the Anglican church. James I reminded the prelates that the sword was in their hands, and they should not let it rust. So too, Charles I attempted to force Anglicanism upon his Scottish subjects, introducing the Book of Canons in 1636.
     The Covenant was reaffirmed in 1638 at a Presbyterian assembly in Glasgow. The Articles of Perth were declared unlawful and the Book of Canons was condemned. But all this was to no avail.
     Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Presbyterians suffered during the Civil War at the hands of Cromwell, as the Presbyterians were considered to be insurgents. When Charles II ascended to the throne in 1660 (note that he was crowned in Scotland in 1651 by supporting the Presbyterians), the push to suppress the Presbyterian polity continued with a renewed vigor. In fact, Charles II renounced the covenants, declaring them unlawful in 1662 with the Adjuration Act. All ministers who refused to recognize the authority of the bishops were to be expelled in October 1662 (an extension was given until February 1663 when it was discovered that many ministers had refused to succumb).
     After February 1663 -- as mentioned by Brook -- many ministers resigned, and the Covenanters began to meet in secret. These rebel ministers preached in the glens -- the meetings were known as conventicles. It was a capital offense to attend these treasonous gatherings, but the meetings continued until the Presbyterianism was restored by law in 1688. It was at the conventicles that Covenanter CTs are thought to be used (1663 through 1688).
     Certainly one of the allures of CT collecting is their association with this history of devotion and perseverance in the face of grave danger. The Covenanter token sold this week was born of this tumult.
     No wonder comtok was reluctant to part with it. I want to thank comtok for providing some of the info included in this posting. He has many CTs coming up for sale in the next few weeks!