May 2005 Issue

I know a man who has some interesting delusions. His tastes from childhood have been princely, and his purse thin. But this has not stopped him from becoming a most sophisticated collector of everything that glitters.

From the time he was five, Fetchin Holmes has amassed ten rooms of stuff. During seven decades of collecting paintings, early furniture, rare books, silver, stamps, prints, fabrics, porcelain, pottery, antiquities, rare sea shells, copper, brass, and many more objects of merit, he has also collected all kinds of rare coins.

Fetchin’s motto is the same, a Patrick Day’s Auntie Mame, “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

Fetch loves parties and sharing his collections with good friends, but for security’s sake, he limits access to his private museum to a mere two or three hundred buddies. Fetch has allowed me a rare look into his little hoard of gold.

On Halloween, he dressed like a pirate for a special party featuring a pirate theme. As a dining room centerpiece, he had arranged a locked display case heaped with early silver and gold, which could actually have been found in Pirate Henry Morgan’s captured treasure. It was exciting to the collector, and non-collecting guests alike.

Fetch has selected some four dozen coins for reasons of his own to share with us. By the way, Fetch lists his address as the High Street, Porto Bello. That would be more convincing if I didn’t know that Porto Bello had been under water for more than 300 years. I guess that my pal Fetch, doesn’t want to be found.

One of the coins Fetch shared with me for this piece is a gold stater (Illus. 1) struck in Kent, England by the local Celtic king, about 35 B.C.E. It features a horse, which the Celtic people consider a most nobel beast. Historically, it is always the man on the horse who is looked up to. Fetch said that he selected these coins, because they could all be had for $2,000 or considerably less.

Fetch built his multi-million dollar collection on a shoestring, citing the line that, “Knowledge is power.” He also said that 95 percent of his collection had been bought at auctions and from dealers since the early 1950s.

The next coin is an Imperial Solidus of Honorius. Honorius (Illus. 2) merits my respect because he reigned from 393 C.E. to 423 C.E. That was 30 years! It was an incredible record for a Roman emperor. In some years in Roman history, as many as three emperors ruled the empire in quick and bloody succession.

The Roman Empire was so vast that it was split into two halves. The Western Empire fell to Odoacer in 478 C.E., and the Eastern Empire, ruled from Constantinople, plodded on until May 29, 1453. This Solidus shows Emperor Leo I, (Illus. 3) who reigned a respectable 17 years from 457 C.E. to 474 C.E.

Justinian the Law Giver, otherwise known as an apostate” (Illus. 4), reigned from 527 C.E. to 565 C.E. He ruled with the help of his gifted empress. His reign marked the highest point of the Eastern or Byzantine Empire. Justinian is most famed for his landmark code of laws.

Fetch’s fifth coin is a beautiful gold dinar of Vasu Deva I of the Kushan Empire (Illus. 5) minted about 175 C.E. It features the king standing with a trident, about to sacrifice a bull, which is seen behind the king. The coin is in Mint State 65 condition.

Fetch’s sixth gold piece features three kings, each with his orb surmounted with a cross (Illus. 6). It was minted by the Eastern Empire between 610 and 641 C.E. The seventh gold piece is a dished solidus of Byzantine Emperor Michael II (Illus. 7) minted between 1071 and 1078. Michael’s coins can be found in almost every large coin show.

The eighth coin is a gold piece of the Western Gangas (Illus. 8). It features an elephant, and was minted between 1080 and 1138. This coin represented some serious money, as did all of these gold pieces. Common folks almost never saw them, which is why so many are found in outstanding condition.

Between the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 478 C.E. and the rise of the Italian States, which grew rich on trade, very little gold was minted in the European area. The Dark Ages and early Crusading Period only saw the minting of silver coins like the dime size pennies. From the 13th century on, the ratio of gold coins issued in Europe to those minted in the east and Asia, was one to a 100.

Venice was one of those rich gold minting centers in the West. By 1342, it had a very active trade. Venice minted Ducats, like this ninth example from Fetch’s collection (Illus. 9). It’s a gold ducat of Andrea Dandolo, featuring St. Mark, a patron of the city.

England’s power and influence was also growing as is evidenced by the tenth coin from Fetch’s collection. It is a quarter noble of Edward III (Illus. 10) minted between 1361 and 1369. Edward III has many claims to fame. He ruled England from 1322 to 1372. He began the Hundred Year’s War to secure the kingship of France through his mother Isabella. He didn’t care for her very much, and in fact, locked her up and killed her lover, because Isabella killed Edward’s father, Edward II.

Moving right along, Edward III also founded the most noble order of Knights, The Order of the Garter. This order was established by the King to cover the embarrassment of a lady, who lost her garter at a dance at Edward’s court. The nobles pointed to the object on the floor and jibed, “Who lost this?” to the laughter of most of the men present.

The king advanced to the garter, picked it up, and placed it on his own leg. He looked around and smiled. You can guess the reaction of the royal company. A new order was established with its own insignia, a garter, with the words, which translate, “Evil to him who thinks it,” emblazoned on it.

Fetch’s eleventh gold piece is a huge Ecu d’ or of Charles VI of France (Illus. 11). He was the king who allowed his son, the Dauphin of France to insult England’s young Henry V. The Dauphin sent Henry a gift of tennis balls, and a letter telling him to forget the gaining of the French throne, and spend his time playing tennis.

The result was the English invasion of France and Henry’s great victory at Agincourt, where the English were greatly outnumbered by the French, by more than 10 to one. Yet, Henry won a smashing victory.

When Charles VI died in 1422, the Hundred Year’s War began again. This brought Joan of Arc onto the stage of French history.

Coin number twelve in Fetch’s hoard, depicts the Boy King of England, Henry VI standing on the deck of a ship on a gold half noble (Illus. 12). He was supposed to inherit the throne of both England and France, as a result of a treaty signed by French King Charles VI and his father, Henry V, who married Charles VI’s daughter, Catherine. But that pesky Dauphin, with the aid of Joan of Arc, broke the treaty, and the Hundred Year’s War resumed. The English were subsequently driven out of France.

The last coin, number 13, is an English Angel (Illus. 13). It is so called, because the gold piece features an angel on the obverse. The Hundred Year’s War between France and England ended in the 1450s, but the “War of the Roses” was to rage on in England until 1485.

This dynastic war was between the House of York, represented by a White Rose and the House of Lancaster, represented by a Red Rose. The issue was resolved in 1485, at the battle of Bosworth Field. Here, Richard III, of York was killed.

He had murdered his way to England’s throne. His victims included his two nephews, who were children who stood in his way to power. This Angel was minted by Henry VII, who ruled England from 1485 to 1509, when he was succeeded by the ever loving, and much married Henry VIII.

Next month we’ll see the second batch from Fetch’s gold hoard