The Colonial Coin Collectors Club is pleased to provide our members with an informative video on Sommer Islands coins provided by Conder Token Collectors Club President Jeff Rock with the permission of all involved. Jeff provides the introductory remarks below for the video, which has now been posted in the “C4 Videos” section of our website under the “Collectors Resources” tab. If you have not looked at our online videos, or if it has been a while, now is a great time to become acquainted with our extensive offerings across many colonial numismatic series.
Christopher R. McDowell,
President C4
___________________________________
INTRODUCTION TO SOMMER ISLANDS COINAGE TALK
Well-known British researcher Gary Oddie gave a fascinating talk on the 1616 Sommer Islands coins—or are they tokens?—at the 2024 British Token Congress held in Northampton, England. While a few Americans were on hand to hear the talk, I felt it was important that it be made available for C4 club members and others interested in the series and asked that C4 share it on their website. Gary graciously allowed us to post his video on the C4 website, with the blessing of the Token Corresponding Society, which hosts this marvelous event (a solid two days of talks and camaraderie on tokens of all eras and places, though with an emphasis on the British issues of the 17th-19th centuries). Generally, the talks at Token Congress are given live, and few have been recorded, but Gary was having some health issues and pre-recorded this talk in case he was not up to giving it in person. He is doing better now, and I am sure he would welcome any commentary or feedback you may have. You can send comments to me at rosaamltd@gmail.com. I will forward them to Gary (and for those who might want a deeper discussion on the topic with him, I will put you in touch with each other). The talk is just over 50 minutes long, and I guarantee you will learn something new—and perhaps look at what has generally been thought of as the American colonies’ first coinage in an entirely new way. Enjoy this fascinating bit of research, from across the Pond!
Jeff Rock,
President, Conder Token Collectors Club
England’s First Colonial Token Coinage – the Hog Money of Sommers’ Isles” 2024 by Gary Oddie
