Horsing Around with Coins

While I grew up just in a rather urban environment outside of Providence, Rhode Island, my wife was lucky enough to grow up on a horse farm along the Connecticut River. All the way through college and after, she was a high-level competitive equestrian, competing in hunter / jumper competitions around the country. While I always loved being in nature and around animals, the first time she convinced me to get on a horse was a bit of a jarring experience. However, over the years and witnessing the bonds she had with her horses, I have come to understand why so many truly fall in love with their equine friends.

Antiquity is filled with stories of the bonds between people and horses. In the Greek era, the horse of Alexander the Great, Bucephalus, was considered to be a major part of the origin story of Alexander. Since being tamed as a colt by a 12- or 13-year-old Alexander, the horse was inseparably paired with the boy, whose army conquered the known world. When Bucephalus died following the Battle of Hydaspes in 326 BC, Alexander promptly founded a city named Bucephala, after his horse, near the site where the battle occurred in what is now part of Punjab, Pakistan.

It wasn’t only the Greeks who had strong connections with their steeds. According to legend, Roman Emperor Caligula was so bonded with his horse Incitatus that he intended to make him a consul, and Incitatus was alleged to have 18 servants of his own. Modern historians now think that this was most likely a satire by Caligula to imply that even his horse could do the job of the senate, and many of these stories were overblown as it would serve the purposes of later emperors to discredit the regimes of previous ones. Despite the age of this coinage, coins of both Caligula and Alexander the Great are quite readily available. Bronzes of Caligula can be had in lower-circulated grades for a couple of hundred dollars, while circulated silver Tetradrachms of Alexander can usually be found for $500 to $700.

One of the more common motifs on coins and medals is the image of St. George slaying the Dragon. Although venerated in innumerable countries and by various branches of Christianity, St. George is numismatically most connected with England. As the patron saint of England, St. George mounted on his rearing horse above the dragon is an iconic design. It has graced numerous important British coins, including the crowns of Victoria and many of the gold issues, including British Commonwealth gold pieces. While much of the life of St. George is now considered to be a legend (most historians now believe dragons have never existed!), it is historically agreed that St. George was a Roman soldier of Greek origin who was most likely executed as a martyr in the year 303. His connection with England began to grow during the crusades due to his connection as a patron saint of soldiers, and by the mid-1500s, he was well established as the primary patron saint of England.

Crowns of the later-reign Queen Victoria depicting St. George and the dragon can be found as graded uncirculated examples for several hundred dollars, while circulated pieces can be located for under $100. Common half sovereigns or sovereigns depicting the same scene can be purchased for slightly above melt, while graded uncirculated examples can usually be located for only a bit more than that.

A more modern equine coin with a cool backstory is the 1943 Ireland Half Crown. Its design featuring an Irish harp on the obverse and the side profile of a well-muscled horse on the reverse has long rendered this coin a popular type. This series was struck from 1928 through 1943 in silver and from 1951 until 1967 in copper nickel. However, it is the 1943 date that is the scarcest. According to Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins, it is believed that 1,000 pieces were struck, with around 500 known to survive. As they were produced in the midst of World War II, the price of silver was beginning to exceed the face value of these issues, and any pieces which had been struck but not released were ordered to be melted. Both this issue and the florin, which is even scarcer, are exceedingly difficult to find – especially in high grades. Lower-grade circulated examples will cost around $500, while better-condition pieces increase exponentially in value, with top-graded pieces trading for close to $10,000!

Even if you are not a horse lover, it is quite easy to see the appeal that these coins have for all sorts of collectors. Who knows? Perhaps you could begin your own stable of horse-themed coins!