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"Swiss Frog"

"Swiss Frog"



Pictorial love token carving on 1885-B Swiss 20-rappen coin




image



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Larger reverse picture



Obverse: original Liberty Head design, unaltered. Reverse: "20" numeral planed off and re-engraved with a picture of a frog, original wreath design and mintmark unaltered. Ex- "chullie" (eBay), 2/14/2015.



"Swiss Frog". Does this title remind you of an unappealing chocolate candy in a Monty Python sketch? (If you actually understood that obscure reference, congratulations. Like me, you are over the hill and have questionable comedic tastes.) I have always associated frogs with more temperate or tropical places than Switzerland, but I suppose there must be frogs there, too. In fact, I guess there must be frogs just about everywhere, except maybe the most frozen polar regions.



But why did someone painstakingly hand-engrave one on the back of this coin? Obviously it was a love token, though there are no initials or monogram on it. The hole indicates it was used in jewelry. We'll never know for sure, but perhaps the answer was, "Why not? Just... because."



Why did I feel the urge to add this strange piece to my collection? There the answer is more certain. "Why not? Just... because."





Engraved/Counterstamped/Oddball Type Set




















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Comments

  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: lordmarcovan

    Does this title remind you of an unappealing chocolate candy in a Monty Python sketch? (If you actually understood that obscure reference, congratulations. Like me, you are over the hill and have questionable comedic tastes.)




    Or not. Some would say you have very discerning comedic tastes. But that's up for argument. image



    For those of you who did not catch the reference, here you go! image



    (Thanks, YouTube.)




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  • cecropiamothcecropiamoth Posts: 959 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Agreed that a frog on a Swiss coin is a little odd. But, IMO the engraver did a heck of a nice job here. Intricate work. Couldn't have been easy with such a small surface area. Look especially at the detail in the eye, the frog's front feet and the webbing on the back foot. A stretch here, but maybe done by a herpetologist with a hobby interest of coins/engraving? A nice unique piece to own lordmarcovan.



    Jeff
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: cecropiamoth

    Agreed that a frog on a Swiss coin is a little odd. But, IMO the engraver did a heck of a nice job here. Intricate work. Couldn't have been easy with such a small surface area. Look especially at the detail in the eye, the frog's front feet and the webbing on the back foot. A stretch here, but maybe done by a herpetologist with a hobby interest of coins/engraving? A nice unique piece to own lordmarcovan.



    Jeff




    Thanks. The nice engraving, coupled with the downright oddness of the thing, made it worth going after, I thought. (After all, I call this particular set my "Oddball" collection, so it's a good fit on that score.)



    And maybe you're right. Note that it's a realistic frog and not a cutesy one. I've seen "cute" little frogs (usually holding umbrellas and such) on love tokens before, but this is the first fairly realistic one I've come across.






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  • ZoharZohar Posts: 6,629 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Rob - just looked at your box of 20. You done great!!
  • WillieBoyd2WillieBoyd2 Posts: 5,034 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Maybe the engraver was a fan of Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".

    image
    https://www.brianrxm.com
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  • bronzematbronzemat Posts: 2,602 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Neat find, Rob.
  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That's pretty cool.... I like weird oddities image
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Zohar

    Rob - just looked at your box of 20. You done great!!




    Thank you. Hasn't been much activity in the Box of 20 since I added the proof 3cN late last year. Nor is there likely to be any more additions there in the immediate future, due to my presently impoverished state.



    However, I can still have fun with this much more budget-friendly sideline collection. image



    This frog love token in the OP just cost me about 26 bucks plus shipping. And really it only cost me four bucks since I had some leftover balance on a PayPal gift card.



    So far this whole "Oddball" collection has given a lot of bang for the buck, and only one piece (the large cent) has cost me more than 100 bucks (and that barely so).


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  • jdmernjdmern Posts: 286 ✭✭✭
    Love the realism on the frog carving... Almost reminds me of the level of detail in some of the oddball Spielmarkes, like this frog one Here:

    Justin Meunier

    Boardwalk Numismatics

  • SYRACUSIANSYRACUSIAN Posts: 6,445 ✭✭✭✭
    But why did someone painstakingly hand-engrave one on the back of this coin? Obviously it was a love token, though there are no initials or monogram on it. The hole indicates it was used in jewelry. We'll never know for sure, but perhaps the answer was, "Why not? Just... because."



    Ever since the Muppet show appeared and became an instant hit, my nickname as a teen (and still to this day for the 2-3 that still remember it) was Kermit. image



    So maybe it was a female numismatist who did it,(Miss Piggy? image ) in love with some similarly poorly nicknamed guy such as myself.



    Why did I feel the urge to add this strange piece to my collection? There the answer is more certain. "Why not? Just... because."



    Just shoot me a PM when you get bored of it. We gotta live with the nicknames we were given, wether we like them or not. image



    PS: I'd also be interested in that superb French jeton of yours, but I know that it's in your box of 20 and you'd better keep it there. If, I say, IF you ever decide to part with it, pls contact yours truly first. image

    Dimitri



    myEbay



    DPOTD 3
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