Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-02-23
Observation-Disclosures
.f..3s .{..S.
/. ROMA Noes OF OLD COINS. !,
I'LL. .f..f.
Observation-Disclosures.

.
Coin collecting Is the most ancient
hobby in the world. AS soon as man
kind began exchanging bits of
stamped metal instead Of bushels OF
grain or heads Of cattle for his
seeds the coin collector appeared
Archacologists have found traces Of
him In the most ancient Of the ruined
cities. Most numismatists, however,
care more for tho rarity OF the coins
they father than they do for the ro-
mantle associations connected with
them. There are q few coin collec-
tors, nevertheless, who regard their
pieces OF gold, or silver, or copper,
from the imaginative rs well as the
historical viewpoint. says the New
York Press.
There are certain coins which are
considered unlucky to possess, al
though they may be extremely rare
and valuable. The most lucklcss Of
money ever mnted cannot be found
in any collection. They are the 30
pieces Of silver which Judas received
They were common coins at that
time, but are said to have been taken
from the body Of Judas after he had
hanged himself and to have been
stamped with peculiar mark. Be-
cause these coins were the price of
treason, and having been taken from
the body OF suicide, it was thought
that any superstitious fear Of them
would be removed If they were
stamped with the oldest symbol OF
good luck known.
In the Orient this symbol is called
the SwaStika, and in England the fyl-
Tott cross. Because of their rarity
and historical value tradition says
the thirty pieces Of silver soon dis
appeared from circulation. Doubt
less they were boarded by the COL
lectors Of King Herod's time. But
it was not long before the ancient
numismatists. who were a most SUI
perstitions lot Of people, began to
whisper that those particular coins
were accursed or that they left a
trail Of ruin. One by one the coins
were buried in the earth or hurled
into the sea. There is no authentic
record OF one Of these thirty pieces
OF silver having been seen for more
than fifteen hundred years.
There are hundreds Of different
varieties OF coins, some ancient and
some comparatively modern, of which
| put IL SlHSlc Sl)cCllllen cNlStS. Incre
are none Of these, however, that pos
! scss more than a historical interest,
and they are valued so highly be-
cause they are so unique. One Of
| these is 20-stater piece in gold Of
Eukratides. King Of Bactria, which
Is in the British Museum 1t was
| found in India and IS valued at about
! $23, 900. This is one OF the most
| highly prizcd coins in existence.
The possession of pirates gold is
supposed to be unlucky, but so far
as can be ascertaincd none OF the
! collectors OF coins who own pieces Of
| this description have been exceptions
ally unfortunate. There is one man
( in Ne" York who has a gold pistole
! Of the reign OF William II OF England
that was coined for the use Of the
! merchants trading along the Spanish
! main at the very beginning OF the
eighteenth century. This was dug
up accidentally near Ipswich, Mass.
1t is supposed to have been buried
there by old Harry Main, one Of The
lesser buccaneers, who, after ca
reor OF piracy, smuggling, blasphemy
and dissipation, became a wrecker,
and by means Of false lights lurcd
vessels to destruction on the Massa-
chuSetts coast. The legend is that
after he was hanged lis soul was sent
! To DO pcnance on Ipswich bar, where
he had wrecked many ship. Some