NUMISMATIC TIMEPIECES ON THE NEWMAN PORTAL

The new year reminds us of time marching ever forward, but, if one can find a numismatic connection, the loss of time will perhaps be felt less intensely. To the rescue comes the Eclectic Numismatic Treasure collection of numismatic timepieces, currently featured in a Newman Portal image gallery.

Coins make natural faces for watches or watch cases, and the most spectacular item in this collection is a Tiffany “pop-up” watch featuring a 1909 Saint-Gaudens double eagle. On this piece, the reverse of the coin and the watch dial literally pop-out of the enclosure and can be neatly tucked back into the shell built around the obverse of the coin. Housed in the original Tiffany box, the expert workmanship of this piece represents an elegant way for a numismatist to keep track of time.

It also represents a dilemma – use of the object will cause wear on the coin, but keeping the object stored away robs the user of its utility. In this case, the user clearly opted for utility as the wear on the $20 gold piece demonstrates many hours of useful service.

Link to Eclectic Numismatic Treasure timepieces on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/Library/ImageCollection/511224

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web