Happy St. Eligius Day!

Senex

December 1st is the feast day of St. Eligius (of King Dagobert fame) the patron saint of numismatists

keyman64

And I thought the patron saint of numismatics was SaintGuru on these forums. Go figure. Learn something new every day.

coinlieutenant

That is funny keyman....

keyman64

<< <i>That is funny keyman.... >>

Catbert

I am a descendant of King Dagobert.......

MidLifeCrisis

carabonnair

Patron Saint of coin collectors

BillDugan1959

I have several of those octogonal St. Eligius medals, including some silvers.

I have always thought that the medal was very well planned and executed.

northcoin

Not sure what the name of today is but in Germany isn't this the day (December 1st) when the children wake up to find goodies in their shoes?

carabonnair

@northcoin said:
Not sure what the name of today is but in Germany isn't this the day (December 1st) when the children wake up to find goodies in their shoes?

I'm not an expert on the Saints, but perhaps you mean Saint Nicholas Day ? (December 6)

ms70

Edit: What? Nobody gets it?

Boosibri

I found a silver in an antique shop for about $5 a few years back.

ColonelJessup

My mom was Jewish? Will he still pray for me?
Can coin dealers purchase indulgences even if they weren't yet invented? Is there a bid/ask in the CDN?
What's his opinion on MCMVII's in MS69, and have the two of them ever met?

ms70

Now I can pray that I'll one day be able to afford a 1792 Half Disme.

BillDugan1959

@ms70 said:
Now I can pray that I'll one day be able to afford a 1792 Half Disme.

Actually, Saint Jude is the Patron Saint of Desperate cases and Lost causes.

ms70

@BillDugan1959 said:

@ms70 said:
Now I can pray that I'll one day be able to afford a 1792 Half Disme.

Actually, Saint Jude is the Patron Saint of Desperate cases and Lost causes.

I'm taking it as a lost cause......

northcoin

@carabonnair said:

@northcoin said:
Not sure what the name of today is but in Germany isn't this the day (December 1st) when the children wake up to find goodies in their shoes?

I'm not an expert on the Saints, but perhaps you mean Saint Nicholas Day ? (December 6)

Wow that is a relief to know. I checked my shoes when I woke up yesterday and there were no goodies in them. Four more days to go until the 6th.

ChangeInHistory

I never knew that, I'll keep an eye out for that little medal.

ricko

Amazing... I guess there is a religious icon for everything.... Cheers, RickO

BillDugan1959

@ms70 said:

Edit: What? Nobody gets it?

Old Television show, St. Elsewhere. It was o.k. drama, for a few seasons. Other than the name of the hospital, it had nothing to do with numismatics.

St. Eligius was a goldsmith and moneyer early in life, went on to the high church and high politics later. He is venerated for a number of reasons, and had a big following in northern France for a long time (when you look at World War I photographs, it seems like one-half the destroyed churches were named Saint Eligius the this, or St. Eligius the that).

Also known as St. Eloi, and this is the origin of the name of the French company that makes all the nice 'coin knives' and also luxury cigar cutters and other gentlemanly metal items.

BillDugan1959

@ChangeInHistory said:
I never knew that, I'll keep an eye out for that little medal.

The medal is basically silver dollar-sized (38 mm). In real life, it is odd how the different shape throws one's ability to make a comparison.

ms70

@BillDugan1959 said:

Also known as St. Eloi, and this is the origin of the name of the French company that makes all the nice 'coin knives' and also luxury cigar cutters and other gentlemanly metal items.

I'll have to check that out. Sounds interesting.

BillDugan1959

@ms70

Look for the 'Eloi Pernet' company.

Items are pricey direct from the manufacturer, can sometimes be obtained for less on eBay.

Coin knife and the diamond-shaped stamp that says 'Eloi'. Diamond-shaped Stamp is hard to see in my photo, at 12 o'clock in my close up photo. Stamp is at five thirty o'clock in the larger photo. Stamp will be found on both sides of the finished product.

BillDugan1959

Please excuse me if I bump this (at least once).

I have approximately ten of these French coin knives and am very pleased to own them.

ricko

I have two Kennedy Half coin knives.... Had a couple of others, but lost them in some moves or life altering events.... Cheers, RickO

Shamika

The Saint Eligius medal was actually minted just up the street from my house. I have four of the copper pieces and one of the silver with it's original packaging (see below). These were manufactured in 1966 at the Van Brook Mint here in Lexington Kentucky. Total mintages were 2000 in "antique golden bronze", 1000 in silver, and 500 in gold vermeil. The silver and gold vermeil medals have serial numbers stamped on their edges. All are approximately 1-½ inches in diameter.

The bronze medals show up on eBay fairly often and typically sell in the $15-20 range. However, the silver medals almost never show up suggesting a very low survival rate. I've only seen a single gold vermeil medal at auction.

BillDugan1959

@Shamika Very useful post & information!