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1969 European Holiday: Day 2
Jul. 4th, 2019 05:22 pm4 July 1969
Our second day in London was a busy one, and again, it was mostly about coins coins coins!
As soon as I found out we were going to England again, I told Mom I wanted to see if we could visit the Royal Mint. We'd visited the U.S. Mint in San Francisco the year before, but that was mostly a museum. The Royal Mint still made all the coins of the realm for the UK, and for many nations in the Commonwealth at the time, as well.
At the gateway of the Royal Mint.
I was very impressed with the operation, and I confess, I was also very tempted to commit what would have been a crime. Near the end of our tour of the stamping section, we walked past an inspection station, and there, right in front of our group, lying there in a tray completely unprotected, was an assortment of mis-stamped planchets (coin blanks). Error coins are quite valuable, as few examples ever get past the mint's inspectors. However, I knew we were going to have to pass through metal detectors on our way out, so for once, I had to keep my youthful kleptomania in check.
After the mint, Mother needed to find a pillar box to mail a postcard, so we walked across Tower Hill to Minories. There, we encountered a street photographer who snapped Mom's picture. Mother hated having her picture taken while she was wearing her glasses, and when the man approached her to ask for a half-crown for the photo, she refused. I'll never forget what the man said to her then:
"You're a hard woman, Miss. A har-r-r-rd woman."
Indeed, at times, she was.
I guess I could be hard, too, because the perfectionist in me wasn't satisfied with the groat I had purchased the day before, so after that, we returned to Spink & Son so I could exchange it for another of a higher grade.
Anyway, here's me again, standing in front of Spink's.
BTW, the book I am holding in both snaps above was this one, which I still have to this day:
After Spink's, we made our way to the British Museum, which had a world-renown collection of coins. Unfortunately, when we got there, we found that much of the museum was closed off due to the fact that H.M. The Queen was soon to visit. So I had to be content with viewing some dusty old mummies and a walk around the gift shop. I did find something really cool there, though: this replica of the Great Seal of Edward III.
At night, we attended another musical, this time 'Anne of Green Gables' at the New Theatre in St. Martin's Lane.
And that was that for Day 2!
Our second day in London was a busy one, and again, it was mostly about coins coins coins!
As soon as I found out we were going to England again, I told Mom I wanted to see if we could visit the Royal Mint. We'd visited the U.S. Mint in San Francisco the year before, but that was mostly a museum. The Royal Mint still made all the coins of the realm for the UK, and for many nations in the Commonwealth at the time, as well.
At the gateway of the Royal Mint.
I was very impressed with the operation, and I confess, I was also very tempted to commit what would have been a crime. Near the end of our tour of the stamping section, we walked past an inspection station, and there, right in front of our group, lying there in a tray completely unprotected, was an assortment of mis-stamped planchets (coin blanks). Error coins are quite valuable, as few examples ever get past the mint's inspectors. However, I knew we were going to have to pass through metal detectors on our way out, so for once, I had to keep my youthful kleptomania in check.
After the mint, Mother needed to find a pillar box to mail a postcard, so we walked across Tower Hill to Minories. There, we encountered a street photographer who snapped Mom's picture. Mother hated having her picture taken while she was wearing her glasses, and when the man approached her to ask for a half-crown for the photo, she refused. I'll never forget what the man said to her then:
"You're a hard woman, Miss. A har-r-r-rd woman."
Indeed, at times, she was.
I guess I could be hard, too, because the perfectionist in me wasn't satisfied with the groat I had purchased the day before, so after that, we returned to Spink & Son so I could exchange it for another of a higher grade.
Anyway, here's me again, standing in front of Spink's.
BTW, the book I am holding in both snaps above was this one, which I still have to this day:
After Spink's, we made our way to the British Museum, which had a world-renown collection of coins. Unfortunately, when we got there, we found that much of the museum was closed off due to the fact that H.M. The Queen was soon to visit. So I had to be content with viewing some dusty old mummies and a walk around the gift shop. I did find something really cool there, though: this replica of the Great Seal of Edward III.
At night, we attended another musical, this time 'Anne of Green Gables' at the New Theatre in St. Martin's Lane.
And that was that for Day 2!
