Numismatikforum

Had taken some photos for one last crack at the S.S. Rex and etc., and idly picked up a book I’d bought the other day for a dime—guess they really didn’t want it. So oops, I immediately read something to stick in my coin-notebook, and had just taken a photo I could use. Rex'll have to wait, again.

I’ve already seen a couple of other references to coins in the book. If they’re worthwhile I’ll add them later on.

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x: A 1917 “cole,” then British soldier-slang for a penny. “Coal,” apparently, is old British slang for money in general, but then became fastened on the penny and acquired a variant spelling in “cole.” I’ve read that the usage had gone into decline during the 19th century and was extinct by the turn of the 20th, but I’ve also seen that contradicted. Former American soldier Arthur Guy Empey wrote Over the Top, a widely-read account of his WWI service in the British army. Included in his book—published in 1917, the same year this penny was coined—is a section called “TOMMY’S DICTIONARY OF THE TRENCHES.” In it, “‘Cole.’ Tommy’s nickname for a penny. It buys one glass of French beer.” (xx)

v.

Really fascinating ! ( And what a nice copper with a nice patina ! ) Do you as a native speaker have any idea why " cole " became a nick for " money " that is " coin " , I should say, as banknotes most probably where out of reach for most people, the smallest denomination being 50 pounds at first when the bank of England was founded, then 15 pounds later in the 18th centyry and finally being 5 pounds until 10/- and £1- notes where introduced in 1914.

Glad you too noticed the look of this penny. (You were also right about that Belgian 50-franc piece.) I pulled this '17 penny out of my duplicate box, trying to save a little effort photographing. It's been sitting on my desk since then and I've found myself admiring it over and over. A better one is supposed to be in my collection, but I think I'll check to see whether it has the eye appeal to go with its technical grade.

I looked some at the OED and recast the entry as follows:

x: A 1917 “cole,” then British soldier-slang for a penny. “Cole” derives from “coal,” says the Oxford English Dictionary, and appears at least as early as 1673 as old British slang for money in general (a 1771 citation explicitly describes “cole” as pounds, shillings, pennies and farthings.). But apparently “cole” somehow became fastened on the penny, perhaps—and this is only me talking—because of “penny-stone,” a usage the OED finds as early as 1803 describing a distinctive type of ironstone found in a Shropshire coalfield. At any rate, I’ve read that “cole” as slang for "money" had gone into decline during the 19th century and was extinct by the turn of the 20th, but I’ve also seen that contradicted. Former American soldier Arthur Guy Empey wrote Over the Top, a widely-read account of his WWI service in the British army. Included in his book—published in 1917, the same year this penny was coined—is a section called “TOMMY’S DICTIONARY OF THE TRENCHES.” In it, “‘Cole.’ Tommy’s nickname for a penny. It buys one glass of French beer.” (xx)

A few notes (guesses, mostly) about coal > cole = money:

1) "Coal" is an old word in English, of course, and important. Coal is fuel, a lubricant of life, an agent of comfort, a tool of industry. Money is all these.

2) Coal is in fact found money--Pop used to tell us about picking fights with the firemen of passing trains back in the '30s, hoping they'd throw lumps of coal back at them; they'd take it home, or sell it. (And of course the firemen knew the favor they were doing for the kids--and I expect this same mock-hostile tableau was visible in about every Depression-era country.) Anyway, coal is fuel is money, and maybe that's the root of the usage.

3) Finally, "cole" as early slang for money in general definitely goes beyond coins (I had no idea the contemporary British paper denominations were so high!)--thing is, the word encompasses more than just money's physical representations--in some of its constructions "cole" also speaks to money in the abstract, as a unit of account.

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Don't know how much of this is right, but it was fun to think about. (And we know a penny bought a British soldier a glass of French beer c.1916-17!) Thanks....

v.

"Kohle" is still today used in german slang as synonym for money. Best regards, KarlAntonMartini

Hello villa,
thank you for your thorough explanation. I was not thinking of " cole " as a derivate of " coal " at all, but instead I was thinking of " cale " or " cabbage " . So I started to cook up a possible way how the name of a plant could have rubbed off on a piece of metall ( cabbage being shaped as a head > disregard for the king like on the countermarked spanish dollars, cf " A as on a fools neck " ). But any way, that was not untill 100 years after " cole " for money was first mentioned , as OED tells.


I also made a mistake when I wrote that small paperdenominations where first introduced in 1914. In fact the british money crisis under the Napoleonic wars saw a BoE- issue of £1 ( while the 1914- issue was a Treasure Note ) wich was withdrawn when things got stabelised again.

KarlAntonMartini hat geschrieben:"Kohle" is still today used in german slang as synonym for money. Best regards, KarlAntonMartini

Fun to know, and seeing "kohle" the word...like reading again the series of old "K" words in the OED ("kohle" may well have been one) that gave English-speakers "coal."

v.

Mynter hat geschrieben:...I was not thinking of " cole " as a derivate of " coal " at all, but instead I was thinking of " cale " or " cabbage "....

Funny, reading this last night I knew what movie I was going to re-watch: "The Best Years of Our Lives," from 1946. Won the Oscar for Best Picture, and told the story of a trio of soldiers/sailors returning home from WWII. (Some great real-life pictures of what happened to the many tens of thousands of surplus warplanes.)

Reading your mention of "cabbage" reminded me of the scene in the movie where Homer the double-amputee flips through his disability pay and calls the pieces of paper money "leaves of cabbage."

v.