Options
Bertie's Florin - An Enigmatic Tale & A Christmas Story, too
MacCrimmon
Posts: 7,053 ✭✭✭
Following is my fantasy auction description of singularly the most wonderful coin I own. It begs the question, why were Bertie's Christmas Gifts unopened?
This and 15 other envelopes appeared at a small country sale in the mid-1980s in England, all gifted to Bertie, and all unopened. They spanned 16 years from 1859 until 1874, each containing either a florin, two bobs, or maybe a bob and two sixpence, but mostly florins.
And so, the question is, Why?
Great Britain. H.R.H. Queen Victoria. - S-3893 - 1870 Gothic Florin, Die #13. The Bertie Hoard, Barclays Bank. Ultra Gem Uncirculated. The flawless surfaces of this florin are adorned with colours of such an ethereal nature that she might be mistaken for a Flemish tapestry woven with great skill and artistry using ever changing threads of blues, greens and reds that dance across Victoria's near perfect features; features electrified by the whorl of lustre atop Wyon's Gothic canvas.
In the pantheon of Victorian Numismatics there exists this enigmatic coin whose complete tale is yet to unfold. She is a pristine, miracle survivor of the ravages of time because of a boy named Bertie. He was thought to be the son of the President of Barclays London branch in the mid to late 1800s, and for about 16 years, 'dear Papa', presented Bertie with a florins worth of change in a wax sealed Barclays envelope. This florin being the sole coin given at Christmas in 1870, the envelope is inscribed, "Bertie's Florin, From dear Papa. Xmas 1870". Why didn't Bertie open his envelopes, any of them; any of the 16? Did dear Papa merely 'present' them to Bertie as a memorial to his deceased son? Were they saved to be opened only on a special occasion, an occasion which never occurred? Whatever the reason, Thanks Bertie! We owe you a debt of gratitude for a true National Treasure!
Important note: Now consigned as lot #21181 at the Boston World ANA auction, The Bertie Florin does not include the envelope shown below.
TrueView Image
Image Courtesy of Mark Goodman
The Envelope
Manufacturer's Embossing
Wax Sealed Flap
Close-up of Barclay Seal
This and 15 other envelopes appeared at a small country sale in the mid-1980s in England, all gifted to Bertie, and all unopened. They spanned 16 years from 1859 until 1874, each containing either a florin, two bobs, or maybe a bob and two sixpence, but mostly florins.
And so, the question is, Why?
Great Britain. H.R.H. Queen Victoria. - S-3893 - 1870 Gothic Florin, Die #13. The Bertie Hoard, Barclays Bank. Ultra Gem Uncirculated. The flawless surfaces of this florin are adorned with colours of such an ethereal nature that she might be mistaken for a Flemish tapestry woven with great skill and artistry using ever changing threads of blues, greens and reds that dance across Victoria's near perfect features; features electrified by the whorl of lustre atop Wyon's Gothic canvas.
In the pantheon of Victorian Numismatics there exists this enigmatic coin whose complete tale is yet to unfold. She is a pristine, miracle survivor of the ravages of time because of a boy named Bertie. He was thought to be the son of the President of Barclays London branch in the mid to late 1800s, and for about 16 years, 'dear Papa', presented Bertie with a florins worth of change in a wax sealed Barclays envelope. This florin being the sole coin given at Christmas in 1870, the envelope is inscribed, "Bertie's Florin, From dear Papa. Xmas 1870". Why didn't Bertie open his envelopes, any of them; any of the 16? Did dear Papa merely 'present' them to Bertie as a memorial to his deceased son? Were they saved to be opened only on a special occasion, an occasion which never occurred? Whatever the reason, Thanks Bertie! We owe you a debt of gratitude for a true National Treasure!
Important note: Now consigned as lot #21181 at the Boston World ANA auction, The Bertie Florin does not include the envelope shown below.
TrueView Image
Image Courtesy of Mark Goodman
The Envelope
Manufacturer's Embossing
Wax Sealed Flap
Close-up of Barclay Seal
0
Comments
eBay Store
DPOTD Jan 2005, Meet the Darksiders
WNC Coins, LLC
1987-C Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
wnccoins.com
I will still work on this for you!
WNC Coins, LLC
1987-C Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
wnccoins.com
<< <i>President of Barclay's London branch should not be that hard and from there.... I'll help you! >>
Thanks Mortus.
I've googled myself silly, but nothing concrete as of yet. I do have some leads, but unraveling would probably require some genealogical research of UK (Scottish) records.
We can probably presume that Bertie is an Albert. It could be Albert Barclay, or Albert Jones.....the hunt continues.
Bertie does suggest Albert more to me though.
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." -Luke 11:9
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." -Deut. 6:4-5
"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." -Isaiah 33:22
Is the envelope included in the giveaway too?
Thanks for the chance.
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
WNC Coins, LLC
1987-C Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
wnccoins.com
Great coin!!
FOR SALE Items
<< <i>Not to get into a bidding war, but make it $51 >>
For that kind of money you better make sure he throws in an Air-Tite!
WNC Coins, LLC
1987-C Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
wnccoins.com
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." -Luke 11:9
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." -Deut. 6:4-5
"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." -Isaiah 33:22
My OmniCoin Collection
My BankNoteBank Collection
Tom, formerly in Albuquerque, NM.
<< <i>I think it would be very wrong to dip that coin. That is only my opinion, others may disagree. >>
I agree with you, on principle it would be extremely wrong to dip that coin, as for once the tone is all part of the history of the piece. On my personal tastes on the other hand... well, i'm afraid i'd have to let history overrule æsthetics for once on that score.
It's a good catch indeed.
<< <i>WOW!!! ... and this is the DARK SIDE!!
Feel the power of the Dark Side ... give up all your saints and start working on soverigns ...
Happy Rock Wrens
You're having delusions of grandeur again. - Susan Ivanova
Well, if you're gonna have delusions, may as well go for the really satisfying ones. - Marcus Cole
Absolutely gorgeous anyway. Glad to see you occupied with Great Britain, time to leave Switzerland to the rest of us.
myEbay
DPOTD 3
<< <i>give up all your saints and start working on soverigns >>
......sssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Don't give him any ideas. Besides, Sovs. are virtually non-existent in gem.....I'd hate to see him frustated.....he'll be crying enough during next years baseball season.
The auction is a fantasy, but the story behind the coin is true, nicht wahr?
Maybe it was a gift to "Bertie the Caresser."
That is a truly beautiful coin. I've admired the design for a long time, but the condition and color of yours really stand out.
Obscurum per obscurius
Shiro, correct. There is no auction.....not yet, anyway.
The description and details about Bertie, the annual Christmas gifts from 'Dear Papa' sealed in the envelopes, and the Barclay connection are true.
The exact names of the giver and receiver, and the reason for the gifts are as yet unknown.....
myEbay
DPOTD 3
Collecting:
Conder tokens
19th & 20th Century coins from Great Britain and the Realm
As for SG just stay with your Saints and we'll be be better off.
09/07/2006
siliconvalleycoins.com
In the meantime, You can throw my name in the hat for your generous giveaway
8 Reales Madness Collection
Conder Token Gallery https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMCiunai6NjOxoo3zREkCsAnNm4vONzieO3u7tHyhm8peZmRD_A0MXmnWT2dzJ-nw?key=Rlo2YklUSWtEY1NWc3BfVm90ZEUwU25jLUZueG9n
Dan
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
<< <i>Is there any direct evidence that "Bertie" was a boy? >>
Well.......
<< <i>A stunner and a nice thread to boot. >>
Wow Mac, thanks for the story on your ICON, it is a georges piece, and the story of it is really neat
Merry Christmas
Dan
Obscurum per obscurius
Well, just Love coins, period.
Obscurum per obscurius
..........................one for the Ages!
Fantasy auction becomes Reality!
<< <i>So how did Mark Goodman photograph this coin and the envelopes? This is not the TRUVIEW image is it? >>
No, the image shown in this thread is not a TRUVIEW image. The image is from Mark which he imaged in the PCGS tomb, and I photographed the different envelope shots.
Mark's image shown here does a much better job of capturing both the color and especially the luster than do the Heritage images, although Heritage did do a good job for most of the coins.....i.e. pretty true to life. The catalog image of the 1893 proof crown is much closer to the real deal also. Their cat. image is way too dark.
In any event, as I've said before, take a look yourself to see the actual coins.....hopefully, the winning bidders will be pleased. Ciao.
edited for clarity: Actually, the top image now shown is the original TrueView image by Phil Arnold, circa 2005.