OLD COINS FOUND

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 190, 25 May 1934, Page 3

OLD COINS FOUND

DISCOVERY BY WORKMEN.

ONCE PART OF COLLECTION.

(Special to the " Guardian.") WELLINGTON, May 23

While engaged in pulling down one of Wellington's oldest houses, workmen recently found three old coins behind a mantelshelf. Two of the coins are dated 1788, and bear the image and superscription of Geo'ge 111. They are believed by the finders, employees of the Wellington Demolition Company, to be spade guineas.' The third is a specimen of Victorian currency, a half-farthing issued in 1844. On the older coins is the wistful declaration, "In memory of the good old days,'' an inscription which, in the opinion of the finders, might well have been appropriated for the newly-mint-ed New Zealand coinage. The old house in which the discovery was made stood at No. 100 Brougham Street, near the Basin Reserve. It V/as erected 82 years ago---in 1852 by the late Mr John Pattinson, who as a young man of 26 came out to Wellington in the ship George Fyfe in 1842. He worked for 10 years on a farm, and saved in that time enough money to acquire property in. Wellington, and to build a house. With the growth of the town he prospered, and died wealthy in 1910 in his 95th year. He was a generous man, and highly esteemed.

Before leaving England Mr Pattinson collected a large number of old coins. These he brought' to New Zealand. "Most of them he gave to members of his family, and the three which were found in his house had evidently slipped unnoticed between the mantelshelf and a. wall behind it. Mr J. A. B. Howe, a grandson of Mr Pattinson, who lives next door to the old house, has a fine collection of old coins and tokens which his grandfather gave him during his lifetime. Among them is a George 111. piece dated 1768, similar to, but, 20 years older than, the two which came to light in Mr Pattinson's home. Also there is a smaller coin, which is believed by Mr Howe to be a spade halfguinea. Other interesting coins are a George 111. penny dated 1797, known as a cartwheel—it is 3-16-inch thick—and a. tiny specimen the silver lid, dated 1843. A George HI. half-crown of 1816 is still another uncommon coin. Many other descriptions, all old, are in Mr Howe's possession, and these include a double-headed shilling, better known as a gambler's coin. Not the least interesting coins in Mr Howe's collection are a number of copper tokens. In mid-Victorian times these enjoyed a tremendous vogue. They were issued by many old colonial houses of commerce, and recall familiar names. Some of them are: Professor Holloway's pills (1857); H. J. Hall, Coffee Mills, Christchurch (undated); Robert Hyde and Co., General Marine Store, Melbourne (1861); J. M. Merrington and Co., Wholesale and Retail Drapers, Nelson (undated); Morrin and Co., Grocers, Wine and Spirit Merchants, Auckland (undated) ; Auckland Licensed Victuallers' Association (1871); G. L. Beath and Co., Clothiers and Drapers, Christchurch (undated); M Somerville, Family Grocer, City Mart, Auckland (1857); S. Hague Smith, Ironmonger, Auckland (undated) ; Kirkcaklie and Stains, Drapers, Wellington (undated); Day and Mievilie, Merchants, Dunedin, Otago (1857): A. Toogood, Merchant, Pitt and King Street, Sydney (1855); J. R. Grundy, Merchant, Ballarat (1861); Milner and Thompson, Christchurch (1881); United Service Hotel, Queen and Wellesley Streets, Auckland (1574) ; J. Hurley and Co., Bakers and Grocers, Wanganui (undated); Brown and Duthie, Ironmongers, Brougham Street New Plymouth (18G6); J. G. Fleming, Grocer and Tea Dealer, Hobart Town (1874) ; Robinson Bros. and Co., Flinders Street West, Melbourne (1862); Georgo McCaul, Coppersmith', Grahamstown (1872) ; Mason Strutters and Co., Ironmongers (undated); John Gilmour, New Plymouth (undated); Modal Queen Victoria Ascension, June 20, 1837; W. Anderson, General Store, Wellington (undated).