Description
The Modbury Ecu Town Coin.
This is one of a range of ‘Town Coins’ made by Bigbury Mint. They are made as fictitious currency or tokens of Devon Towns, local to where the Mint exists. The coins can be bought to give as gifts, made into jewellery, or used as tokens. If your town (wherever in the world) would like to commission us to make a ‘coin’, please contact us.
The Modbury Ecu. 20mm diameter solid silver. (approximately 2g). The ‘coin’ is very thin to represent medieval style English pennies which were ‘one pennyweight of silver’
Before the ‘Euro’ came into being, it was thought that the new European Currency Unit might be called the ‘ECU’.
Bigbury Mint thought it would be humorous to produce one and believes that it was the first one ever (1st April 1992)
It was issued on behalf of the ‘Fellowship of the Green Box’, a fictitious secret Modbury Society that gathered at ‘The green box’ which is an old telephone cable connection box in a central position in the town. The text on the reverse reads ‘ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE GREEN BOX’. The die was made by direct carving and punching (diesinking) by David Holland. The central mark is the Bigbury Mint ‘Mint Mark’
The Obverse shows the fair ceremony glove and bell, St George’s cross (from the town church) and the lion of its twin town, (Le Faou in France) surrounded by the stars of the European Union. The text reads ‘ONE ECV, MODBVRY’. Die carved by David Holland.
Medals are mounted ready for wear and then placed on a block within the frame. This allows for the easy removal and replacement of the medals as required, meaning they can be removed for wear on parade or for cleaning.
The medals will hang from the block at a slight angle much as they would if they were being worn on the chest.
Medals are not mounted ready for wear and instead are placed flat against the frame backing with the medal ribbon secured through a slot. This means that the medals cannot be removed from the frame and cannot be worn.
Medal mounting swing style is the more traditional method of mounting medals. Swing Style or ordinary style mounted medals are mounted on a medal brooch bar which can then be pinned to your tunic directly, through becketts or attached to a pocket holder. This style of medal mounting allows the medals to move or ‘swing’ when worn. Over time, the edge of the medals can become damaged due to the medals “clinking” together.
Medal mounting court style is alleged to have began during the reign of Queen Victoria. Those attending the Queen would wear medals court mounted to stop them “clinking”. Other sources suggest that the Cavalry first adopted the practice. Either way, this style of medal mounting is becoming more popular. Court mounted medals are fixed to a rigid backing material called buckram. The buckram is then covered in a felt material before the medals are mounted on their own ribbon length. This style of medal mounting holds the medals firmly in place and prevents them ‘clinking’ together and damaging each other when worn.
