The Groves Forum and Coinage of the Americas Conference 2003

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED - To RSVP, contact Juliette Pelletier at ext.
230 or pelletier@...

Groves Forum – Friday May 16, 2003
Harvard Club, 27 West 44th Street, New York

Graham Dyer. "The Royal Mint and North Carolina, 1754." The paper
will examine the response by the authorities in London, and
particularly by the officers of the Royal Mint, to a proposal in
1754 by the Governor of North Carolina for a coinage of copper
halfpence, pence and twopences. An attempt
will be made through contemporary documentation to place the response
in the context of Mint attitudes towards the coinage of copper at
that time, both for Great Britain and for Ireland.


COAC – Saturday, May 17, 2003
Fraunces Tavern, 54 Pearl St., New York

David T. Alexander. "Hessian 'Blood Money': the History and the
Myth." The paper will explore the legendary "bloodthalers," their
Hanoverian context, and the strange career of Rudolph Erich Raspe in
the era of the Revolution.

Brian J. Danforth. "New Interpretations on Irish Coppers in the
American Colonies: The St. Patrick, Wood's Hibernia and Voce Populi
Series."
Based on original research conducted in Ireland, England and America,
this paper presents a new perspective on selected Irish coppers that
contributed to the circulating medium of colonial America. The
highlights of the presentation shall include: the minter and
production sequence of St. Patrick coppers, the circulation of Wood's
Hibernia coinage in Ireland and the American colonies, and the events
surrounding the issuance of the Voce Populi series.

Margi Hofer. "Recent Discoveries in the New York Historical Society."
As a result of cataloguing in preparation for opening a new study
center, displaying the vast majority of its permanent collections
long held in storage, significant numismatic discoveries have come to
light at the New York Historical Society. This presentation will
focus on two groups of exciting finds: five very early medals of the
Society of the
Cincinnati, and a pair of United States pattern quarters from 1792.

John Kraljevich. "Annapolis Silver: The Coinage of John Chalmers."
This will cover the currency context into which the Chalmers coins
were issued, including archaeological finds of coins in the
Chesapeake Bay region and contemporary paper money. It will examine
the place of Annapolis in the nation in 1783, when it was our first
peacetime capital, through a look at documents from Washington and
Jefferson among others. Finally, it will include John Chalmer's
biography and the specifics of the coins he issued.

Syd Martin. "The `Georgius Triumpho'/Danish West Indies Mule." The
paper will examine the two newly discovered Georgius Triumpho/DWI
mules in terms of (a) their physical characteristics and (b) where
and when they were produced. This examination will tie together a
number of loose ends with respect to an important addition to
American colonial issues.

Kent Ponterio. "The First Coinage of the New World: Coins of the
Mexico City Mint Struck during the Reign of Charles and Johanna." The
paper will analyze recent discoveries in the sequences of issues and
their assayers, based upon hoard study and original documentation.