Years ago, in a series of columns near Christmas, I wrote about the English tradition of inserting a sixpence coin into a loaf of plum pudding.
The Yuletide ritual of the sixpence coin was that the coin is put into the bread and milk mixture. Then all members of the family stir it. Once baked, when served, the individual that receives the coin in their serving is said to have good luck for the coming year. (That’s assuming they didn’t choke on the coin while eating the dessert.)....
Judging from the loads of mail I received afterward, readers loved learning of the quaint holiday custom. Imitation soon followed. I’m told coin dealers had a rush on English sixpence coins just for that practice. Some still do....
Of course, Christmas; England; and traditions go hand-in-hand. After the puritanical overtones of the mid-1600s, when any celebration of Christmas was virtually forbidden in both England and the New England colonies, it finally lightened up. By the 1800s, it had become celebratory and even ribald. It’s now nothing short of “electric.”
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is possibly the best illustration of an “old time” Christmas replete with multiple references to English money – the kind collectors now lust after. From his window Scrooge offered a young boy half a crown if he immediately returned with the butcher in tow. That half a crown would be the monetary equivalent of $20 today. For many collectible silver half-crown coins from the mid-1800s, collectors now pay between $500 and $1,000 depending on the condition.
Some holiday gift-givers who have been fortunate in business (or inheritance) are more accustomed to giving youngsters or young adults gifts of gold coins. In England – or really anywhere for that matter – English sovereigns are a tradition. That may be a result of their size. Weighing just under one-quarter ounce, the British sovereign is a beautiful coin with the image of St. George slaying a dragon. At roughly the size of a US quarter, it is internationally popular with a current value of just under $500.
While countless millions have enjoyed watching A Christmas Carol, first in the theaters as a silent film in 1908 and then as an American adaptation in 1938, the original story was penned by Dickens in 1843. Inspired as he walked the streets of Old London, he wrote the tale in just six weeks. Part of it was based on childhood incidents, including his family’s experience with debtor’s prison and his need to drop out of school and work in a factory to earn money.
Successful as A Christmas Carol has become in all its forms, initially Dickens barely made a profit on the publication. That’s due to his being a stickler by demanding the first printing be done in a fabulous binding with detailed illustrations and gold gilt edges on the pages. That sent production costs soaring, depleting his profits. The book cost the public a hefty five shillings per copy – roughly $33 in today’s money. Still, all 6,000 copies sold out within the first week.
Copies of that first printing are passionately sought-after today. Collectors eagerly pay between $5,000 and $35,000 per copy depending on the condition. Naturally, those in mint condition with crisp pages and pristine binding bring a small fortune. What’s exciting is that copies of both that English and American first edition printing are still hiding on forgotten bookshelves, in basements or old stacks of dusty books.
Exceptionally rare presentation editions that Dickens inscribed and gave to a number of friends are currently valued between $55,000 and $282,000. One sold in 2010 for $282,000. Naturally, the original handwritten manuscript with Dickens’ deletions and amendments owned by the Morgan Museum is virtually priceless – valued at countless millions of dollars.
An attractive and inventive coin honoring Dickens is both affordable and obtainable. It is a two-pound piece issued by the British Royal Mint in 2012, the 200th anniversary of the author’s birth. The design is in the form of Dickens' head profile crafted from the words of the titles of his most famous novels and characters. A Tale of Two Cities; David Copperfield; Oliver Twist and, naturally, A Christmas Carol are front and center in the design.
In any country, the coin would make an impressive gift at Christmas. Or, as Scrooge lamented, “A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!”
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