Gold Napoleons, French gold coins, 1901 kidnapping ransom
WillieBoyd2
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I recently read a book titled The Miss Stone Affair : America's First Modern Hostage Crisis by Teresa Carpenter, which is about the 1901 kidnapping of a American protestant missionary, Miss Ellen Stone, in Ottoman Macedonia by a band of armed revolutionaries.
Miss Stone had been in the area for a long time, spoke their languages, and sympathized with their cause, which caused some suspicions later.
The kidnappers also took a local woman to serve as a companion for their hostage; she turned out to be pregnant. They moved around the local mountains to avoid capture. The kidnappers took a long time to negotiate the ransom; enough time to add a baby girl to the hostages.
The story got a lot of publicity in the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt was asked to send either US troops or the Navy in, but he wasn't able to resolve the situation. Roosevelt made a statement that American women shouldn't go into these wild places.
The Ottoman Turkish government was also involved as some of the territory was Ottoman.
A lot of diplomatic maneuvering and dealing with the kidnappers finally resulted in a ransom payment made in early 1902 and the release of the women and baby.
The ransom amount was 14,500 Turkish gold lira (about $63,800 US dollars) and was paid in gold Napoleons, which weighed around 105 kg or 232 lbs.
What is a "Gold Napoleon"?
A Gold Napoleon is basically a French 20 Franc gold coin with a picture of Napoleon I or III on the obverse (There was a Napoleon II but he didn't issue coins).
More generally, the coin is any French 20 Franc gold coin, including the varieties with angels or roosters on them. An even more inclusive definition is any French gold coin.
Gold Napoleons are 21mm in diameter, weigh 6.45gm, and were worth around US $4 in 1901.
Gold Napoleons sometimes turn up in literature, including Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "The Red-Headed League".
In the story, crooks tunnel into a bank to steal a large amount of the coins.
A silly reason for wanting a coin but I had to have some:
France Gold Napoleon 20 Francs 1810 - Mint W (Lille), Privy mark caduceus, 6.39gm
France Gold Napoleon 20 Francs 1863 - Mint BB (Strasbourg), Privy mark anchor, 6.41gm
Gold Napoleons also turned up in a recent news story about a German man who found 217 21mm gold coins buried during the Nazi era. 74 of the coins were Napoleons.
Miss Stone had been in the area for a long time, spoke their languages, and sympathized with their cause, which caused some suspicions later.
The kidnappers also took a local woman to serve as a companion for their hostage; she turned out to be pregnant. They moved around the local mountains to avoid capture. The kidnappers took a long time to negotiate the ransom; enough time to add a baby girl to the hostages.
The story got a lot of publicity in the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt was asked to send either US troops or the Navy in, but he wasn't able to resolve the situation. Roosevelt made a statement that American women shouldn't go into these wild places.
The Ottoman Turkish government was also involved as some of the territory was Ottoman.
A lot of diplomatic maneuvering and dealing with the kidnappers finally resulted in a ransom payment made in early 1902 and the release of the women and baby.
The ransom amount was 14,500 Turkish gold lira (about $63,800 US dollars) and was paid in gold Napoleons, which weighed around 105 kg or 232 lbs.
What is a "Gold Napoleon"?
A Gold Napoleon is basically a French 20 Franc gold coin with a picture of Napoleon I or III on the obverse (There was a Napoleon II but he didn't issue coins).
More generally, the coin is any French 20 Franc gold coin, including the varieties with angels or roosters on them. An even more inclusive definition is any French gold coin.
Gold Napoleons are 21mm in diameter, weigh 6.45gm, and were worth around US $4 in 1901.
Gold Napoleons sometimes turn up in literature, including Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "The Red-Headed League".
In the story, crooks tunnel into a bank to steal a large amount of the coins.
A silly reason for wanting a coin but I had to have some:
France Gold Napoleon 20 Francs 1810 - Mint W (Lille), Privy mark caduceus, 6.39gm
France Gold Napoleon 20 Francs 1863 - Mint BB (Strasbourg), Privy mark anchor, 6.41gm
Gold Napoleons also turned up in a recent news story about a German man who found 217 21mm gold coins buried during the Nazi era. 74 of the coins were Napoleons.
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Comments
It was similar historic events that led me to get a few gold sovereigns for myself (Douro treasure, Samaszko's hoard, etc.)
So roosters can be referred to as Gold Napoleans. I did not know that.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Je' suis Napoleon!
The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin
Coins in Movies
Coins on Television
"Gold Napoleons" definitely has a more romantic sound to it than "French 20-franc pieces".