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V14 2011 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 14, Number 43, October 16, 2011, Article 11

QUERY: WHAT IS A SAMMY MARKS PENNY?

Dick Johnson forwarded the following item asking,

What is a Sammy Marks Penny?

With over 15 year’s industry experience, South Cape Coins have long been considered one of South Africa’s premier rare coin dealers. So when they launched their first rare coin competition in July earlier this year, there was immediate interest from local and international numismatic communities as well as South Cape Coin’s existing customers and Facebook followers.

The competition prize was an incredibly rare 1898 Sammy Marks Penny, graded MS64 RB by independent coin grading company PCGS and valued at an astounding R45 000.

To read the complete article, see: R 45,000 Rare Coin Competition Giveaway (pressportal.co.za/business-and-economy/item
/5780-45000-rare-coin-competition-giveaway.html)

I'd never heard of these either, but an Internet search found a clue. -Editor

And here's a photo of the 1898 Sammy Marks Penny that could be yours!

1898 Sammy Marks Penny

To read the complete article, see: WIN! 1898 Sammy Marks Penny MS64 RB (www.cointalk.com/t181471/)

So the prize is a South African penny "from the Sammy Marks collection". So who's Sammy Marks? It turns out Wikipedia had an answer. -Editor

Sammy Marks Samuel Marks, better known as Sammy Marks (1843 - 18 February 1920), was a South African industrialist and financier.

Marks contributed generously to Jewish communities all over South Africa. The Pretoria synagogue was built in 1898, for which he donated all the bricks and paid for the electric light installation and chandeliers. At the end of the Anglo-Boer War, he presented a cast-iron fountain to the city of Pretoria, shipped from Glasgow and very Edwardian in design, it stands at the Zoological Gardens. Marks commissioned the statue of Kruger on Church Square in Pretoria - sculpted by Anton van Wouw and cast in bronze in Europe, it carried a price tag of ₤10 000.

Sammy MArks tickey In 1898 Marks was allowed the extraordinary privilege of using the state mint for a day. He was awarded the Jewish Cross for his services to his race. Marks used the opportunity to strike 215 gold tickeys – three-penny pieces that were normally silver – as mementos for his relatives and friends, including President Kruger and members of the Volksraad. The gold would certainly have come from the Sheba mine near Barberton, the only gold mine in which Marks had a substantial stake.

So now we know what a Sammy Marks tickey is. Did he also mint pennies at the state mint? Further searching led back the South Cape Coins. -Editor

... in gratitude of his support of the Government and strong friendship with President Kruger, he was granted the opportunity of free use of the mint for a day, where he struck 215 gold Tickey’s as mementos for his family, relatives and close friends.

The 1898 Sammy Marks Penny, however, was not struck by Marks himself but rather ordered for his own private collection. In total 240 of these bronze pennies were minted. What makes these coins exceptionally remarkable is that the majority have remained preserved and untouched in their original packaging.

In fact, Sammy Marks stated in his will of 1908 that the coins were not to be sold for 100 years, and so, in 2008 they were removed from the safe in their original mint bag. Only 210 of these coins have been graded with the Sammy Marks Pedigree on the capsule.

To read the complete article, see: (www.southcapecoins.co.za/index.php/news
/the-story-behind-the-1898-sammy-marks-penny-that-you-can-win)

Interesting story! Thanks Dick, for bringing this to our attention. -Editor

THE BOOK BAZARRE

AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS: Are your books carried by Wizard Coin Supply? If not, contact us via www.WizardCoinSupply.com with details.


Wayne Homren, Editor

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The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

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