Irregular Postings on Coin Collecting & Numismatics - Both Canonical & Conanical

A Scion Society of The Baker Street Irregulars

Numismatists Do Not Fear Change

Category Archives: SIGN

Sign of the Four

HolmeWork Assignment: Fantasy Bank of England £1 Notes Featuring Holmes

HolmeWork Assignment: Fantasy Bank of England £1 Notes Featuring Holmes

“… hen you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth? “

– The Sign of the Four (SIGN)

For this HolmeWork assignment, we have no information on this fantasy Bank of England £1 banknote that prominently features a silhouette of Sherlock Holmes on the front of the note and a quote from The Sign of the Four.

We grabbed this photograph off of a Pinterest board with no data at all. No idea of the note’s dimensions.  The Sherlock Holmes silhouette has been used before on some commercially produced products.

We would welcome any information you may have!

A Connection Between Coins

A Connection Between Coins

We are sharing this post from the British Royal Mint’s website. To see the original post, click HERE. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the majority of the Sherlock Holmes™ stories during the Victorian era. The coinage of Queen Victoria, amongst other coins, included the Sovereign, the Half-Sovereign, the crown and the shilling. Struck by The… Continue Reading

From Watson’s Tin Box – The Sign of Four

From Watson’s Tin Box – The Sign of Four

“Somewhere in the vaults of the bank of Cox and Co., at Charing Cross, there is a travel-worn and battered tin dispatch-box with my name, John H. Watson, MD, Late Indian Army, painted upon the lid.” – The Problem of Thor Bridge (THOR) Watson’s Tin Box, a BSI scion that meets in Columbia, Maryland, shares a few… Continue Reading

In for a Penny, In for a Pound – British Money as Holmes Knew It

In for a Penny, In for a Pound – British Money as Holmes Knew It

“I’d like two shillin’ better” – The Sign of the Four (SIGN) Some Sherlockians are puzzled by references to money in the Sherlock Holmes adventures – “a fifty-guinea watch” in The Sign of Four, a pipe that cost “seven-and sixpence” in “The Yellow Face.” The British monetary system was undoubtedly complicated. A pound was divided into 20 shillings,… Continue Reading

The 2007 Cook Islands Sign of the Four Coin

The 2007 Cook Islands Sign of the Four Coin

” He handed them a shilling each…” – The Sign of the Four (SIGN)       In 2007, the Cook Islands contracted with the Perth Mint of Australia to produce a set of four 1 ounce .999 silver $2 coins.  All four coins featured color vignettes from the 1979 – 1986 Soviet television productions of The Adventures of… Continue Reading

The 17 Steps: The Sign of The Four

The 17 Steps: The Sign of The Four

Seventeen thoughts for further ponderance of the case at hand – The Sign of the Four (SIGN)   WATSON’S FLAW The Sign of the Four begins by showing us a major flaw in our hero’s character, his cocaine usage. Watson, it would seem, does not make it through the tale without showing a flaw of… Continue Reading

British Royal Mint Now Selling 2019 Sets With Sherlock Holmes Coin

British Royal Mint Now Selling 2019 Sets With Sherlock Holmes Coin

“… a work which had been specially designed to please him.” – The Sign of the Four (SIGN) On January 1, 2019, the British Royal Mint released the designs of their 2019 dated coins and began selling the annual sets to collectors. As we predicted in our earlier post about the 2019 Sherlock Holmes 50… Continue Reading

British Royal Mint to Issue Holmes 50 Pence Coins in January 2019

British Royal Mint to Issue Holmes 50 Pence Coins in January 2019

“It might be his portrait.” – The Hound of the Baskervilles (HOUN) In January 2019, the British Royal Mint will be issuing a series of 50 pence coins honoring Sherlock Holmes. Late yesterday, an image of the coin’s design was leaked and shared to the World of Coins website. Below is the proclamation authorizing these coins, as… Continue Reading

Here Are Your Wages (1971)

Here Are Your Wages (1971)

“Here are your wages.” – A Study In Scarlet (STUD) Sherlock Holmes handed each of the original Baker Street Irregulars a shilling and said, “Here are your wages.” As you know, today’s Irregulars have as a symbol the Victorian shilling. This, more than any other, is the coin we associate with Holmes. Though the Canon… Continue Reading

“Hey Pal, Can You Spare A ‘Bob’? – A Very Simplified Guide to Sherlock Holmes and Money of the Victorian Age

“Hey Pal, Can You Spare A ‘Bob’? – A Very Simplified Guide to Sherlock Holmes and Money of the Victorian Age

If anyone has experienced the thrill of a summer in Houston, Texas, you know indoor reading is one of few options left for survival. During the summer of my 14th year, as other young men were discovering their first love — fishing, or a summer job, I discovered the stories of the Canon. As I… Continue Reading