Coins and Historical Medals

Charles II, Halfcrown, 1676, Shillings (8), of William III, Anne, George I, II, III, George IV (2), William IV and Victoria; together with (perhaps) an Edward III Penny and a Henry VIII Halfgroat (these clipped), all fitted in a wooden framework and set in a hand-drawn architectural background. The Shillings are set in four pairs, vis-à-vis and shaking hands, each wearing period clothing and enclosed in an arcade. The hammered coins form the centre of capital letters. Below the reverse of the 1676 Halfcrown and the second George IV Shilling are set within the legend ‘New Utterings of Old Coins and Recoinings of Old Utterances, Illustrated by T.C. Hine’s Pastime Sketchings’. Above and below are rhyming couplets and quotes from Shakespeare [12]. Coins in varied state, some gilt or coloured, an amusing and unusual Victorian numismatic puzzle or riddle (c. 1880?); set in a contemporary glazed frame [this somewhat distressed], almost certainly a UNIQUE item £150-£200

Thomas Chambers Hine (31 May 1813-6 February 1899), born in Covent Garden, London, was an influential 19th century architect who based himself in Nottingham from 1837 and was active in the city until the early 1890s. He was responsible for the design of many of Nottingham’s private and public buildings between 1850 and 1890, including the Adams Building in the Lacemarket (1855), All Saints’ Church (1863-4) and Nottingham Castle Museum (1875-8). His interest in church architecture led to his involvement in the restoration and alteration of many of Nottinghamshire’s medieval churches, and surviving detailed sketches reveal his passion. Towards the end of a long obituary published in the Nottingham Guardian on 11 February 1899, is the following: ‘He was also an ardent antiquarian, being for close upon 30 years a Fellow of the Society of Antiquarians and among his collections are a number of historical cartoons which he cleverly conceived and drew round the various faces of old English coins, a series which has on more than one occasion been exhibited in the Castle Museum’