Options
Coins in an old book -- The Innocents Abroad (1869)
spoon
Posts: 2,798 ✭✭✭
Spinning off of Willie Boyd's Coins in an old movie threads, here's an excerpt from an old book describing Darkside coins of the day.
The book is Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad, which describes his trip through the Mediterranean and Holy Land in 1867. I'm not even a quarter way through it and expect to come across more such references, but for now here is an excerpt describing coined money in Tangier (Ch 8):
The general size of a store in Tangier is about that of an ordinary shower bath in a civilized land. The Muhammadan merchant, tinman, shoemaker, or vendor of trifles sits cross-legged on the floor and reaches after any article you may want to buy. You can rent a whole block of these pigeonholes for fifty dollars a month. The market people crowd the marketplace with their baskets of figs, dates, melons, apricots, etc., and among them file trains of laden asses, not much larger, if any, than a Newfoundland dog. The scene is lively, is picturesque, and smells like a police court. The Jewish money-changers have their dens close at hand, and all day long are counting bronze coins and transferring them from one bushel basket to another. They don't coin much money nowadays, I think. I saw none but what was dated four or five hundred years back, and was badly worn and battered. These coins are not very valuable. Jack went out to get a napoleon changed, so as to have money suited to the general cheapness of things, and came back and said he bad "swamped the bank, had bought eleven quarts of coin, and the head of the firm had gone on the street to negotiate for the balance of the change." I bought nearly half a pint of their money for a shilling myself. I am not proud on account of having so much money, though. I care nothing for wealth.
The Moors have some small silver coins and also some silver slugs worth a dollar each. The latter are exceedingly scarce -- so much so that when poor ragged Arabs see one they beg to be allowed to kiss it.
They have also a small gold coin worth two dollars. And that reminds me of something. When Morocco is in a state of war, Arab couriers carry letters through the country and charge a liberal postage. Every now and then they fall into the hands of marauding bands and get robbed. Therefore, warned by experience, as soon as they have collected two dollars' worth of money they exchange it for one of those little gold pieces, and when robbers come upon them, swallow it. The stratagem was good while it was unsuspected, but after that the marauders simply gave the sagacious United States mail an emetic and sat down to wait.
The dismal state of Moroccan coinage at the time is largely true. What we would recognize as "modern" (milled) coinage did not begin circulating until 1299 AH (1882). The bronze coins were cast and what silver and gold there were was hammered. Both had a tendency of being highly crude and irregular in shape, varieties abound. The most common and readily identifiable features of this old, crude Moroccan coinage are the frequent use of a six-pointed star and European script numerals for the Hijri date (as opposed to true Arabic script numerals).
Unfortunately I don't have any pics handy right now, but I'll try to find some. If anyone else can help illustrate this thread it'd be greatly appreciated
The book is Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad, which describes his trip through the Mediterranean and Holy Land in 1867. I'm not even a quarter way through it and expect to come across more such references, but for now here is an excerpt describing coined money in Tangier (Ch 8):
The general size of a store in Tangier is about that of an ordinary shower bath in a civilized land. The Muhammadan merchant, tinman, shoemaker, or vendor of trifles sits cross-legged on the floor and reaches after any article you may want to buy. You can rent a whole block of these pigeonholes for fifty dollars a month. The market people crowd the marketplace with their baskets of figs, dates, melons, apricots, etc., and among them file trains of laden asses, not much larger, if any, than a Newfoundland dog. The scene is lively, is picturesque, and smells like a police court. The Jewish money-changers have their dens close at hand, and all day long are counting bronze coins and transferring them from one bushel basket to another. They don't coin much money nowadays, I think. I saw none but what was dated four or five hundred years back, and was badly worn and battered. These coins are not very valuable. Jack went out to get a napoleon changed, so as to have money suited to the general cheapness of things, and came back and said he bad "swamped the bank, had bought eleven quarts of coin, and the head of the firm had gone on the street to negotiate for the balance of the change." I bought nearly half a pint of their money for a shilling myself. I am not proud on account of having so much money, though. I care nothing for wealth.
The Moors have some small silver coins and also some silver slugs worth a dollar each. The latter are exceedingly scarce -- so much so that when poor ragged Arabs see one they beg to be allowed to kiss it.
They have also a small gold coin worth two dollars. And that reminds me of something. When Morocco is in a state of war, Arab couriers carry letters through the country and charge a liberal postage. Every now and then they fall into the hands of marauding bands and get robbed. Therefore, warned by experience, as soon as they have collected two dollars' worth of money they exchange it for one of those little gold pieces, and when robbers come upon them, swallow it. The stratagem was good while it was unsuspected, but after that the marauders simply gave the sagacious United States mail an emetic and sat down to wait.
The dismal state of Moroccan coinage at the time is largely true. What we would recognize as "modern" (milled) coinage did not begin circulating until 1299 AH (1882). The bronze coins were cast and what silver and gold there were was hammered. Both had a tendency of being highly crude and irregular in shape, varieties abound. The most common and readily identifiable features of this old, crude Moroccan coinage are the frequent use of a six-pointed star and European script numerals for the Hijri date (as opposed to true Arabic script numerals).
Unfortunately I don't have any pics handy right now, but I'll try to find some. If anyone else can help illustrate this thread it'd be greatly appreciated
0
Comments
My wantlist & references
That had me laughing outloud
My OmniCoin Collection
My BankNoteBank Collection
Tom, formerly in Albuquerque, NM.