RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 302, 17 September 1936, Page 10

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current Events _____

(By

Kickshaws.)

Judging by the number of well-to-do people who have to be put on a diet, it isn’t the poor who are suffering from malnutrition. • . *. * Piano production is said to have, gone , up 300 per cent That must be costing a few notes. , * * * The best way to settle this “hats-off in-the-lift” argument is to ask a baldheaded man. , w-SSrv * • » “Could you kindly inform me through your columns whether of not a crown, 5/- piece, dated 1821, George IV. period, is of any value?” asks “Crown.” “Through your Interesting column could you tell me the value of a King George 111. dollar piece?” ask® “A.L.E.M.” These questions were referred to Mr. Allan Suthertind, honorary secretary of the New Zealand Numismatic Society, who has kindly provided the following facts: — The George 111. silver dollar, is an emergency coin of the size of a crown piece, which was circulated Bank of England in 1804 to overcome a serious shortage of silver coin in England—a recurring trouble during a large part of the reign of George 111. This is the only occasion when a dollar was an official coin denomination in England. An earlier expedient used in 1797 was to import Spanish silver dollars, or pieces of eight reals, and stamp them with the Goldsmiths Hail Mark (a tiny head of George 111. usually sunk into the neck of the Spanish monarch), and circulate them as English coins at 5/-. For a time these coins were current at 4/9, resulting in the public gibe “two kings’ heads not worth a crown.” At this time the Spanish piece of eight was the principal coin used by thd colonies of Britain, as well as other non-Spanlsh colonial possessions; it was then regarded a? the mightiest coin in the worid, Its international acceptance being largely due to its silver purity, ajad the quantity available at a time of silver coin shortage in England. The super-stamping of the pieces of eight with the tiny head of George 111. disfigured the features of the Spanish monarch on the coin in a manner that would not be allowed to pass unchallenged in modern times. Numismatic writers never fall to record the saying “To make the Spanish dollars pass They stamped the head of a fool on the neck of an ass.” (Proceedings, British Numismatic Society). The Bank of England dollars were largely stamped from these pieces .of eight (a name always associated with piratical loot), and frequency the old design has not been completely obliterated by the new, and many specimen® are found with the Spanish edge showing. The English' value of a Bank ot England 1804 dollar is from 6/6 to 9/0 according to condition, and" the value of Jhe George IV. silver crown piece. 1821, is from 7/6 to 10/-. / ‘ •

“Talking of cards,” says a reader, “here is a curious yarn, the origin of which I do not know. A company of Belgian soldiers was once upon a march and, having reached a town on Saturday, .duly attended divine service on the Sunday. When the minister took the text, the soldiers, with one exception, took from their pockets their Bibles, but one by the name of Richard Lee took from his pocket a pack of cards and spread them in front of him. The sergeant commanding the company at once ordered him to take up the cards, but Richard took no notice, and continued to look first at one card and then at another. Directly after divine service the man was taken prisoner, and the following day was charged before the major with ‘playing cards during divine service.’ The major demanded: ‘What Have you to say for yourself?’ The prisoner then replied: ‘Much, sir.’ Richard then said: ‘Sir, I have been for six months upon the march, and I have neither Bible nor Common Prayer Book; in fact, I have nothing but a pack of cards, and I hope to satisfy you, sir, of the piety of my intentions.’ He then started with the ace, and said: ‘When I see the ace It reminds me of one God; when I see the deuce it reminds me of the Father and the Son; and when I see the three it reminds me of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. When I see the four it reminds me of the four evangelists who preached—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; and when I see the five it reminds me of the five wise virgins—there were ten, but five were wise and five were foolish. When I see the six it reminds me that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and all that therein is; and the seven reminds me that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy' God, and in it thou shalt do no manner of work. The eight reminds me of the eight righteous persons , who were saved in the ark— Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives; and the nine reminds me of the nine lepers who were cleansed by our Lord, There were ten. but nine never returned thanks; and the ten reminds me of the ten commandments that were handed to Moses. The queen reminds me of the Blessed Virgin Mary; aud the king reminds me of the Great Architect cf the Universe.’ ‘Well,’ said the major, ‘you have described every card in the pack except one.’ To which "ichard replied: ‘I will give you, sir, a description of that as well if you will not be too angry. ‘Well,’ said' the major, ‘I will not be angrv so long as you do not term me to be the knave.’ ‘The knave,’ said the prisoner, ‘is to m° the only black card in ‘he pack, and reminds me of the Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, and when he is gone that card will remind me of the devil. Then,’ said the soldier, ‘if you count the number of spots on a pack of cards yon will find in all 365. representing 365 days in a year. Then, if you count the number of cards in a pack you will find 52, representing the 52 weeks in a year, while if you count the number of suits in a pack you will find four, representing the four seasons of the year. If you count the number of picture cards in the pack you will find three of each of the four suits, making 12. which represents the number off months in the year, and if you count the number of tricks in the pack you will find 13, which represents the 13 weeks in n quarter. So, you see, a pack of cards is Bible. Common Prayer Book and almanac.’ The prisoner was discharged.” Ef so be as O 1 be Ef so be as yew be Spaose un be Spoase we'm Spaose yew’m Ef so be as they’m —Devonian,