Merry Christmas from Askari !!!

Askari · December 24, 2002 2:33AM

It's been a tradition for several of us to offer numismatic Christmas stories and songs and I would like to offer my effort for this year here. If you would like to see the previous two years' "Christmas gifts" to the Forums (the prior years' having been lost to the ages on the old CU Forum), they can be found here ... but be forewarned ... you'll be walking on the Dark Side -- which is a very good place to be!!

May each of you and those you love have a truly wonderful and richly blessed Christmas and happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!!

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I’ll Be DARK for Christmas (If Only in My Dreams)

[With apologies to Bing Crosby; sung to the tune arranged by John Scott Trotter, Oct. 1943]

I’ll be “Dark” for Christmas,
Nothing ‘Lite’ for me;
Please have coins and currency
As presents under the tree.

Crowns and Shillings for you,
Marks and Thalers for me;
Nothing slabbed would ever do,
Raw or toned, nat’ral they’ll be.

Gothic Crowns, such beauties,
Britannias are my love,
But Notgeld, too, and MPCs
Are part of my treasure trove.

So much the Dark Side offers,
So strongly does it tease.
Lost in attics and cellars
Are treasures such as these:

Staters, Drachms, and Follis,
Lepton, Karshapana,
Dirham and Denarius,
Antoniniani, Prutah,

Shillings, Pounds and Pesos,
Dinara, Yen and Pence,
Centimes and Centavos,
Sols and Livres and Francs,

Bani, Lei and Lira,
Hellers, Øre and Sen,
Centesimi, Leva,
Pfennigs and Kronen,

Drachmai, Rubles, Kopeks,
Gulden, Yuan, Rupees,
Perper and Karbowanez,
Kronur, Reals, Zlotych…

I could go on forever
With this pleasant reverie,
Of copper, gold and silver,
And paper currency.

Longer grow my wantlists,
No end in sight, it seems.
I’ll be “Dark” for Christmas,
If only in my dreams.