# Coinage of The Shire



## Will Whitfoot (Feb 24, 2022)

If it's interesting to the denizens here, I might offer a bit of back-story to my own journey into the realms of Tolkien tactile artifacts. It begins of course with Gandalf arriving for Bilbo's party in the first chapter of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING: A Long Expected Party....



> Small hobbit-children ran after the cart all through
> Hobbiton and right up the hill. It had a cargo of fireworks, as they rightly
> guessed. At Bilbo's front door the old man began to unload: there were great
> bundles of fireworks of all sorts and shapes, each labelled with a large red
> ...



So we learn here that Bilbo "gave a few pennies away"! Presumably the children will go off to buy sweets. The key fact is that small coins of low value are mentioned and are clearly commonplace. What do they look like? I could not help but wonder. 

The next specific reference to coinage comes in Chapter 11, A Knife in the Dark...



> In the end there was more than three hours' delay. Bob came back with
> the report that no horse or pony was to be got for love or money in the
> neighbourhood - except one: Bill Ferny had one that he might possibly sell.
> 'A poor old half-starved creature it is,' said Bob; 'but he won't part with
> ...



Twelve "silver pennies" is Bill Ferny's price for our friend Bill, a sickly and dispirited pony. Now Tolkien says this was at least three times the pony's worth in those days, and this seemed outlandish to me on the face of it. Three small silver coins for a pony seemed like far too small a price! So, I did some library research (remember, this research was in the 1980s, long before you could just "google" such things) And it turned out that in Medieval England, there was a denomination called a "silver penny", (later a "shilling") that was about a quarter ounce of silver and represented a week's wages for an average laborer. A week's wages! So suddenly twelve silver pennies was indeed a significant amount of money... about three months wages. And now of course I began to wonder what the coins would look like. I had been a collector of world coins since I was small... and uncles and aunts would give me the leftover pocket change from their travels. I had a sense of how coins depict the character of their respective realms. 

So now we have both "small coins" of low value mentioned... presumably of copper, as well as more valuable silver coins that can be used for larger purchases. 

And so the idea of Shire Coinage was seeded in my mind, though it would be many years before I could actually make anything happen.


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## Will Whitfoot (Feb 25, 2022)

This is an image of the very first coin effort... (circa 2001) this is the silver penny of SR1401. I had no way of creating blanks, except to melt a pre-1965 silver quarter coin into a "button" and strike the coin on that. Centering was very difficult. The dies were made from the hexagonal shank of a jack-hammering bit, the design was acid etched into the steel. 

Tolkien mentions coins, but never describes them. So I had to create the design from whole cloth, but informed by what I knew about real world coins are designed, and how cultures typically depict their character in those designs. So the first decision was that All Shire Coins Shall have an image of a Tree on the obverse. The design was influenced heavily by the 1654 Massathusetts tree coinage of colonial America pre-independance. The words THE SHIRE surround the tree. On reverse is a simplified depiction of the four farthings in the center (emulating the viking era "cross" coinage, and the denomination ONE PENNY. 

Within one hour of creating this coin I took a photo of it and posted it to my list of Tolkienist correspondents. A great deal of interest was generated. Apparently nobody had ever thought about actually MAKING such things! One of the early correspondents was a fellow named Greg Franck-Weiby, who also went by the SCA moniker Ian Cnulle. He introduced himself as a Tolkien scholar, a linguist, and an engraver. He praised the coin and then said something like: "But you realize, it wouldn't have been in English?" For while we commonly think of the common tongue or Westron used by Hobbits and Dwarves and the men of Bree as English, Tolkien was quite clear that it was not. I answered that well... yes I understood that to be the case, but I have not the knowledge or skill to translate the inscriptions into the Hobbit tongue. And Greg then offered to collaborate with me on continuing the project. Greg had worked out an elaborate expansion of Tolkien's Tengwar script, and had been devision a simple Hobbit language he called KUDUK. We decided that Hobbits would use the Tengwar script, as an homage to the way British coins continued to use latin inscriptions long after everyone had forgotten latin. And so the NEXT silver penny, the 1402, was designed and engraved by Greg using the same tree idea combined with the concept of the symbolic depiction of the four farthings... but it was SO much better!


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Feb 26, 2022)

I think they both look great!


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## Will Whitfoot (Feb 26, 2022)

The next collaborative effort with Greg was the copper penny. We decided that silver coins would always have a tree in full-leaf, while small base-metal coins would be done in bare branches. To make the 1402 copper penny I obtained bags of US "wheat" pennies (pre-1958) and annealed them (heating to relieve the accumulated cold-work stresses) and tumbled to clean and brighten. On some examples it is possible, using magnification, to identify the "undertype". 

Note that all inscriptions are in Tengwar EXCEPT for the date, which was done in modern Arabic numerals. In those days I would commonly carry some in my pocket and drop them in odd places... such as penny trays at convenience stores, coin return slots in vending machines, or just randomly dropped on streets or hiking trails. At least a thousand were scattered widely in this way, including on cross country travels involving national parks and historic sites. Only once have I ever heard back from someone who found one. In that case it was in a wild cave in the Ozark Mountains. A man and his ten year-old son had traveled some distance to explore the cave, and during a rest stop the boy found this coin. The only thing they could read was the date, and they immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was an ancient Celtic coin and evidence of pre-Columbian contact between Europe and North America! During the entire trip home to Iowa the story grew in their minds until it was the greatest archaeological find of the century... they would become famous, and it was probably worth tens of thousands of dollars. This was before cell phones had the power of google, so they had to wait to get home before they could research it. When they searched Celtic coinage, they quickly realized that was incorrect. Finally they googled "1402 copper coin" and up came my website with a picture of the coin, and a button that said 'BUY IT NOW, $2'. The man contacted me and was quite angry. Oh Well... at least they got a free coin and had a few hours of excitement about it.


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## Halasían (Feb 26, 2022)

I remember some of these! that last story is great!


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## Will Whitfoot (Feb 27, 2022)

There have been over 40 different coins of The Shire. I don't want to bore you folks to tears, so I'll simply say that this fan art project was WAY over the top in nerd-land! Different denominations, different metals, different trees and different years. But then there were the forays into other realms. So here we have a few of those. There are a great many more, but these are representative examples of the variety. 
1. On left, the Axe of Durin in copper... Durin's bearded visage on obverse, inscription in Angerthas runes, Axe on reverse with BK. (Baruk Khazadh). From the first age of Middle Earth, some were recovered from the Hoard of Smaug, and a few found in the rebuilding of Moria in after days. Very ancient and rare, they are considered collectors items and seldom encountered in change.
2. Next the Fall Leaf of Hollin, Engraved in Noldorin on one side (poem to Elbereth) and in Angerthas on the other. This coin was issued in four metals each denoting a different value. The Fall leaf in copper, the Winter leaf in silver, the Spring leaf in Mithril, and the summer leaf in gold. (we substituted niobium for mithril, and brass for gold). Common among elves and elf-friends, these coppers are generally accorded a value of tuppence when encountered in The Shire,
3. In the middle the Iron Eye of Sauron. On obverse the lidless eye with the inscription OBEY MORDOR in Angerthas. On reverse, the fiery mountain with the inscription ORODRUIN. These were made for the use of orcs for the purchase of weapons, alcohol, and small live animals. Many of these are found badly rusted, scattered in old Orkish encampments, and are often used by mechanics as washers by punching holes in them. 
4. Next is the Brumby Penny of Rohan in brass. It features the running figure of Shadowfax on obverse, in an unbounded field. The metal was originally recovered from the Hoard of Scatha, By Eorl The Old. Common in Rohan and Gondor, these are accorded the value of one Gondoran or Shire penny in exchange. A "brumby" is an Australian term for a foal born to a domesticated mare, but gone wild. 
5. On the far right the Raven Penny of Old Dale. Bearing the raven image, the coin is inscribed in Angerthas and dated TA 2769 (the year before the dragon Smaug came and destroyed the town). This coin was also issued in Silver. Both versions are known to exist in fairly large numbers due to having been recovered from the Hoard of Smaug after the battle of five armies, but they tend to be shunned in fourth age commerce due to the fact that they remain tinged with the Dragon Sickness after long contact with the evil worm.

After fifteen years of doing this strictly as a private fan-art project, we finally licensed with Middle-earth Enterprises to create and market coinage for these realms! Please search out Shire Post Mint if interested in learning more.


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## Halasían (Feb 27, 2022)

Awesome! Been a while since I checked in on your site.


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## Will Whitfoot (Feb 28, 2022)

And other doors have opened to us based on the fan enthusiasm for the Middle-earth work. Our other licenses now include A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (over 40 different coins and pendants), Labyrinth by Jim Henson (just two items so far), The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (with two), American Gods By Neil Gaiman (two items), The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson (five different), The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett (two different), Conan The Barbarian by Robert E. Howard (13 different). 

Aside from those licensed series we also have started doing coins and tokens for quite a few public domain themes, such as The Moon, Memento Mori, Viking themes, Historical fiction items, Worry coins, Wax seals, Zodiac coins and seals, and the list goes on and on. From 2001 when it was just me by myself doing everything, we have slowly grown and now have 14 employees and have built a new workshop with a retail showroom in West Fork Arkansas. If you are travelling across country via I-40 or I-44 it would not be very far out of your way to stop and see us. When you get to West Fork, just look for the Round Green Door! All Vaxxed and boosted, we are still masking but hope to relax soon with new CDC guidelines. ork Arkansas.


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## Eledhwen (Aug 27, 2022)

This is phenomenal! Experimental archaeology for Middle-earth; who’d have thought it? The original coins were, of course, the actual weight and value of their denominations; only later did they become tokens - mere promises underwritten by the powers that be. Would Middle-earth have ever hand banknotes, maybe in 4A? First they would need banks, with people prepared to swear, hand on heart, that the note was backed up by real value in the vaults. Somehow, that doesn’t seem very hobbity.


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## Will Whitfoot (Aug 30, 2022)

Eledhwen said:


> This is phenomenal! Experimental archaeology for Middle-earth; who’d have thought it? The original coins were, of course, the actual weight and value of their denominations; only later did they become tokens - mere promises underwritten by the powers that be. Would Middle-earth have ever hand banknotes, maybe in 4A? First they would need banks, with people prepared to swear, hand on heart, that the note was backed up by real value in the vaults. Somehow, that doesn’t seem very hobbity.


Thanks for your note! Such fun! In my original plan for the Shire* Post *(as in postal system) I imagined that The Post would serve as the essential financial system of The Shire, with postage stamps serving as a sort of de-facto paper currency. Coins are heavy and large quantities become inconvenient to transport. So let us say that Pru Brandybuck of Needlehole North Farthing wishes to purchase a tuppence worth of ribbon for her hair from Broadbottom Millinery in Whitfurrows East Farthing. Well it's a long walk or pony ride. But Pru can go to her local post office and send a letter to Whitfurrows for 1/2p. Rather than including coins, which might bang around and break out of their envelope, she might include a pair of penny black stamps (or a tuppence blue) for the ribbon and another 1/2p green for the return postage. In a few days she will have her ribbon and be able to adorn her hair for Jeminy's party!


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## Will Whitfoot (Sep 1, 2022)

As per long-held Hobbit custom, I gift to you all on my birthday one mathom, a relic of the early days (this one from The Party of SR1405 that was held under the Party Tree at Bag End by Frodo in Bilbo's continued absence). Not as large or as elaborate as the famous gathering of SR1401 at which Bilbo mysteriously disappeared... but Frodo continued the tradition as a smaller more intimate gathering all the way up through SR1418 when events in the wider world began to impact even the reclusive folk of The Shire, and parties became less important for a time. Known as the "Windmill Mathom", these coins were the same size and shape as the penny, and were given, one to each person attending The Party. They were generally kept by the recipients as mementoes, but sometimes (especially those received by children) would find their way into circulation where they were accepted as a penny equivalent. Such private tokens would be minted from time to time at the mint in Michel Delving by request (and at the expense of) certain leading citizens.


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## Ent (Sep 1, 2022)

Will Whitfoot said:


> And other doors have opened to us based on the fan enthusiasm for the Middle-earth work. Our other licenses now include A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (over 40 different coins and pendants), Labyrinth by Jim Henson (just two items so far), The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (with two), American Gods By Neil Gaiman (two items), The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson (five different), The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett (two different), Conan The Barbarian by Robert E. Howard (13 different).
> 
> Aside from those licensed series we also have started doing coins and tokens for quite a few public domain themes, such as The Moon, Memento Mori, Viking themes, Historical fiction items, Worry coins, Wax seals, Zodiac coins and seals, and the list goes on and on. From 2001 when it was just me by myself doing everything, we have slowly grown and now have 14 employees and have built a new workshop with a retail showroom in West Fork Arkansas. If you are travelling across country via I-40 or I-44 it would not be very far out of your way to stop and see us. When you get to West Fork, just look for the Round Green Door! All Vaxxed and boosted, we are still masking but hope to relax soon with new CDC guidelines. View attachment 11902ork Arkansas.



There be Hobbitish, Dwarvish Mannish and even Elvish folk among this group, there be...!


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## Elbereth Vala Varda (Sep 1, 2022)

Will Whitfoot said:


> View attachment 15431


Very kind of you! Hannon-le! I am touched!


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