Pathe Newsreels UK & Vatican Coins

STLNATS

After seeing the movie Kings Speech I did some poking around on the internet to find examples of George VI actually speaking. I tripped over a number of really fascinating numismatic items on Pathe newsreels. Here are links to a story about G VI farthings (I like the wrens a bunch), QE II "coronation" coins, a new royal mint to produce the UK decimal coinage (5,000 million coins according to the narrator!) and an interesting italian film showing a screw press and a newer press. The date on this one is 1946 and in the second half of the film they seem to be hand striking annual medals of Pius XII. The last scene is especially funny. After carefully inspecting and holding the medals, a tray full are just dumped into a container containing others! So much for quality control. No wonder these always seem to be banged up (LOL)!

These are just the tip of the iceberg of what seems to be out there. Lots more here I think including decimalization so worth a bit of time poking around. I'm sure some of you have seen these before, but the films were a delight since they were totally unexpected by me. Hope you enjoy these as much as I did.


farthings

QE II Coins

New Royal Mint, decimal coinage

Papal/Vatican

edited to add - minting of 1957 sovereigns! sovs

Gazza

A great find. I hadn't really thought much about the minting process and never considered it to be so industial, odd that. Now seeing it happen the whole process is akin to ship building.

wybrit

Pathe newsreels were a staple of the cinema in the days I lived there. I've never seen these particular ones before, though. Thanks for the links and the nostalgia!

HTubbs

Very cool, thanks for posting...

ormandh

Wow, this is very informative! Definitely a keeper for the history alone! I can only imagine that the coins I own were coined during the making! It definitely makes you think! -Dan

Iosephus

For me, the Vatican video is perhaps the best thing I have seen posted here! Very interesting to see restrikes of papal medals of Clement XII being made in 1946 still using the screw press from the time of Clement XII. Thanks so much for posting this!

spoon

Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing!

I noticed some videos from old Maundy ceremonies there too

MacCrimmon

<< <i>Pathe newsreels were a staple of the cinema in the days I lived there. I've never seen these particular ones before, though. Thanks for the links and the nostalgia! >>




I didn't think film had been perfected until the 1920s or so.

STLNATS

I think that this is the medal shown in the second half of the Vatican mint film. It is the annual medal for year 8 (1946) of Pius XII. The war had casued a disruption of the normal elections to the college of cardinals, resulting in a significant number of openings. To deal with the situation, Pius named 32 new cardinals, from 5 continents, the largest number of cardinals named at a single time since 1816. He named another 24 cardinals in 1953 reducing the Italian % to about a third. The scene on the medal shows the ceremony inside of the Sistine Chapel According to Sadow and Sarro mintage totalled 8 gold, 1552 silver and 1756 bronze medals; De Luca notes 28 more silver and 13 more bronze.

I'm glad to see that y'all seemed to like these films as much as me. This sort of thing really adds a dimension to collecting and its fun to think that my medals might have been among those struck during the film.

JCMhouston

Very cool, thanks for posting the links.