Bigbury Mint
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Bigbury Mint is a well known English designer and manufacturer of medals, awards, coins, jewellery and precious metal items. They have an international reputation for being one of the finest medal-making companies in England.[1]. They produce replica military medals under MoD License, commemorative medals, commission and art medals, and unique handmade jewellery. Bigbury Mint has been trading for over 40 years, started in 1980 by engraver and sculptor, David Holland [2]. The family business is carried on by his son Matthew Holland [3], also a talented artist, metal-worker, sculptor and designer. Today Bigbury Mint continues to make medals for many prestigious organisations including; The British Citizen Awards, Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, The Royal Academy of Dance, Rochester Cathedral, Britannia Royal Naval College, Royal Air Force College Cranwell, The Royal Academy of Music, Harrow School, Winchester College, Oxford Brookes University, Cambridge University, The Samuel Pepys Trust, The National Trust and Channel 4.
History[edit]
David Holland Engraver
David Holland started his working life as an engraver at T.Mackrell & Co. at the Elephant and Castle, in London, engraving brass blocks for the bookbinding industry. He decided to opt-out of the hectic city life and moved to Bantham in South Devon in 1967.[4]
Initially working for Plymouth sign-makers. he continued with his passion for hand-engraving, purchasing barns in Bigbury which he converted into workshops, and discovered a passion for striking coins and medals from steel dies. During his apprenticeship he had learned the art of seal engraving, that is cutting armorial crests into signet rings, a skill which requires you to carve the design into the surface of the gold in reverse. This skill proved invaluable as it gave him the exceptional talent required to carve the dies used for medal striking, which again had to be designed and carved in reverse.
David Holland & Son, Engravers ceased trading in 1980 and started trading under their new identity of Bigbury Mint.
Bigbury Mint
David and his business partner Derek Andrews, built a name for themselves striking medals and coins. David recalls that "In 1980 I struck my first medal, it was on hot copper between a pair of hand-cut dies and struck with a seven pound sledge hammer. I can well remember the excitement of that first medal". The pair started travelling around the UK, taking their "portable" mint with them, demonstrating the ancient art of coin and medal striking. In September 1981, David and Derek set up stall in London and Coin World International Newspaper (September 2, 1981, page 73) reported that Bigbury Mint was "participating in the City of London's festivities just prior to the Royal Wedding ... producing Royal Wedding medals; their activities fascinated the crowds."
David was joined full-time in the business by Matthew in 1985, and in 1986 they were invited to the British Museum, London as part of an exhibition called "Money". They produced 4 different coins for the British Museum Event featuring an owl, ox, lion and ram.
In 1990 David was invited to Fiji to work for the Sovereign Pacific Mint to design and create their official gold coinage, he designed a $25, $50 and $100 Fijian Dollar coin.
Bigbury Mint started to work with another local company, Toad Hall Medals, who realised that there was a market for making copies of medals for ex-servicemen who had either lost their medals, or wanted copies for their children and families. Subsequently Bigbury Mint developed the dies for reproducing military medals and gained an MoD License to become and official manufacturer of replacement medals.
The company was incorporated and became Bigbury Mint Ltd in September 2000, and in 2004 Bigbury Mint bought out Toad Hall Medals.
The British Museum Collection[edit]
The British Museum holds a number of medals struck by Bigbury Mint within its Coins and Medals Collection (Numismatics), these include:
- Bigbury Mint at the British Museum 1986 (Lion struck over Bull). Designed by David Holland, manufactured by Bigbury Mint.[5]
- Millennium Medal, 1999. Designed by John Constantine, manufactured by Bigbury Mint[6]
- Paul and Victoria Getty, Christmas 2002. Designed by Jane McAdam Freud. Made by Bigbury Mint[7]
- The Kenneth Clark Medal, 2014. Designed by: Anthony Smith[6]. Made by: Bigbury Mint[8]
- Foot and Mouth Medal, 2001. Inscription "As we sow recovery or Recession". Designed by: Daniel Hendy. Made by: Bigbury Mint[9]
- Commemoration of: 25th Wedding Anniversary of Edward Bourne and Marcy Leavitt Bourne. 2001. Inscription: EOB MLB OLT.[10]
- An experiment of unusual opportunity. Machine: Ellen Gallagher. Struck by: Bigbury Mint.[11] This medal is notable in that it diverts from the tradition of featuring a portrait head. [12]
- Commemoration of: 200th anniversary of Battle of Trafalgar. Designed by: Lewis Pingo. Made by: Bigbury Mint [13]. A large naval gold medal: limited edition reproduction of 15 medals produced for the Nelson Society to mark the Bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, 2005. Struck by Bigbury Mint, 2005, in 18ct gold with ring suspension, 51mm, 117.38g, edge bearing hallmarks for London dated 2005. Medal number 2 of 15 was listed in the catalogue of Morton and Eden Auctioneers, London on 27th June 2016 [14] with an estimated sale price of £2,250-£2,750.
Military Medals[edit]
Replica and Replacement Medals Bigbury Mint Ltd is licensed to produce replica and replacement military medals in the UK, manufactured under Ministry of Defence (MoD) Medal Licence No. D/IPR/1/XE/19/04.
Replacement military medals are copies of the original military medals, and are manufactured at Bigbury Mint in Devon, England, under the strict conditions of the MoD licence. They die strike replica military medals to ensure high definition and consistency. Military personnel, and/or their families and relatives, often choose to buy replacement medals, to replace lost medals, or to provide replica medal sets for family members. Replacement military medals produced at Bigbury Mint include WWI and WW2 medals, BOER War medals, Naval General Service Medals[15], campaign medals and other gallantry medals.
Bigbury Mint also produce official replicas of the Pingat Jasa Malaysia [16] (PJM) medal. In 2011, British veterans awarded the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) Medal were granted permission by Her Majesty The Queen [17] to wear it for the first time during remembrance events on Sunday. Prior to this, it was classed as an unofficial medal and therefore could not be worn on military uniform in the UK.
Sandhurst Medal
In 2016 Bigbury Mint was commissioned to design and create the Sandhurst Medal, which recognises the extraordinary achievement of International Students who successfully complete the challenging 44-week Regular Commissioning Course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. Recipients of the Sandhurst Medal comprise more than 4,800 International Alumni from over 120 different countries. The Sandhurst Medal is fully approved by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence and may be worn on the recipient's uniform.
Britannia Royal Naval College Medal (BRNC)
The Britannia Medal Presentation Set is for International Officers who have graduated from Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. The set comprises a full size medal, a miniature medal and a ribbon bar and is only available to those who have verified eligibility via BRNC records.
Commemorative Medals[edit]
Civilian medals are often created as awards to recognise the achievement of individuals not entitled to receive military medals, but nonetheless have achieved something noteworthy, these are generally known as commemorative medals. Bigbury Mint have been commissioned to produce a wide variety of civilian and commemorative medals for different societies and organisations.
Queen's Jubilee Commemorative
Bigbury Mint designed and produced commemorative medals for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002, and Diamond Jubilee, 2012.
Bevin Boys
The Bevin Boys medal was commissioned by the Bevin Boys Association and as such is their official medal. The medal is available to Ballotees, Optants, Volunteers or next of kin called up as conscripts between 1943 and 1948. So called because Ernest Bevin, drafted 48,000 Bevin Boys from army conscripts to undertake unskilled manual jobs to release more experienced miners to move on to coal production at the coal face. The National Museum of Wales holds a Bevin Boys medal[18] from Bigbury Mint, in their numismatics collection . The medal is hallmarked in solid silver, with the BM mark for Bigbury Mint [19]
General Service Cross Commemorative The hallmarked solid silver cross was instituted in 1992 for those men and women who have given valuable service to the British Commonwealth in peacetime or during hostilities and whose services in many cases have gone unrecognised. By not serving in a War Zone and not serving enough to obtain a Long Service medal, many veterans have had no visual evidence of Services given.
British Citizen Awards
Bigbury Mint are the makers of the British Citizen Award (BCA) Medals, and were one of the founding supporters of the Inaugural British Citizen Awards[20] held at The Palace of Westminster in January 2015.
British Citizen Awards[21] are given to people who have been nominated by readers of the Independant Newspaper. The BCA medals are made at Bigbury Mint in silver-plated bronze and are diamond/shield shaped with a dark blue ribbon. The obverse depicts the union flag with a central boss showing a temple and a laurel wreath. The inscription reads ‘British Citizen Award . For the good of the country’.
Art Medals[edit]
The Promise Art Medal[edit]
The British Art Medal Society (BAMS) was founded in 1982 and has since commissioned medals from many distinguished contemporary sculptors. In 2003 Matthew Holland, of Bigbury Mint, designed a contemporary medal for their "New Medals" scheme - The Promise Art Medal [22] show a young couple of one side and same couple as older people on the reverse. It's a medal that one person could give to another as a "promise" to be together forever. The American Numismatic Society (ANS) acquired a bronze version of the medal in 2013 [23].
Bigbury Mint also presents an annual prize for BAMS, the best student art medal - The Honorable Mention[24]
Lenkiewicz Weight Of Paint Medal[edit]
This is a limited edition medal designed and modeled by Matthew Holland, at Bigbury Mint, to commemorate the life of painter Robert Lenkiewicz (31/12/1941 – 5/8/2002), who worked for much of his life in Plymouth. The medal was cast in bronze by Lunts Foundry, it measures 120mm in diameter and weighs 1.25Kg.
Matthew Holland says "I met Robert Lenkiewicz several times. He was intrigued about the idea of making a medal, particularly a ‘memento mori’, but not sure when he would find the time since he had a lot of other obligations to fulfill. There were a few dates penciled in for a bit of plaster carving practice, but other pressures meant that it never actually happened before he died." Matthew was committed to the project so he carried on and in 2011, completed the model and had some cast in bronze. The medal was exhibited at FIDEM XXXII Glasgow 2012[25]. (International Art Medal Federation)
The Cornish Tin Mining Lament Medallion[edit]
The Promise Art Medal in Bronze, by Matthew Holland (BAMS 2003) The Cornish Tin Mining Lament Medallion was designed and created by David Holland at Bigbury Mint. It arose out of a project in collaboration with local geologist Barry Gamble. He had purchased a number of Cornish Tin Ingots from the wreck of the SS Cheerful which sank off St Ives on route to Liverpool on 20 July 1885 [26]. In a collaborative project Bigbury Mint designed and created a number of collectible items using Cornish and Devon tin, these also included a range of paperweights depicting carvings from various Churches around Devon and Cornwall, such as the Mermaid of Zennor, a carving in St. Senara's Church in Zennor, and the Tossed Ship Of St Winnow depicted on a carved bench-end in St Winnow Church [27]
Medal Commissions[edit]
The Kenneth Clark Prize (Winchester College)
The Kenneth Clark Prize Medal was launched in 2004 at Winchester College. Designed by Anthony Smith [28] and struck at Bigbury Mint, Devon. The adjudicator of the 2014 competition [29] was Sir Mark Jones , a numismatic specialist and former Director of the V&A and he recommended that the medal should be part of the British Museum collection, which it now is.
National Trust, Chartwell At Winston Churchill's family home they have saved over 40 medals awarded to Churchill which are now on display in Chartwell House [30]. In 2018 Bigbury Mint were commissioned to produce replicas of four of the medals so that they could be handled by the public, and shown to children on educational visits. The Trust did not wish to release the medals from their care to be digitally 3D scanned so Matthew used detailed photographs to carve a new medal master in plaster, the process of re-creating the medal using traditional techniques [31]. The solid silver medal replicas were struck at Bigbury Mint and hallmarked at the London Assay Office, the replica shown here was cast in solid bronze.
St Mary’s University Benedict Medal
The Benedict Medal is the highest honour of St Mary's University, London [32]. In 2019, Sister John Berchmans Conway [33], an Irish nun who has spent most of her life teaching in Pakistan, became the first woman to be decorated with the Benedict Medal during a ceremony at the Westminster Cathedral on Wednesday.
The medal is 75mm diameter in gold and silver-plated bronze. Reading around both top and bottom of the medal is the text’ BENEDICTUS XVI P.M.’ The central area has a depiction of Pope Benedict XVI, carved by Matthew Holland and struck at Bigbury Mint.
Harrow School
In 2022 Harrow School celebrates the 450th Anniversary of it's foundation in 1572[34]. Bigbury Mint was commissioned to produce a commemorative medal to celebrate this very special year
Channel 4 TV
A 36mm diameter silver-plated Channel 4 Medal was made to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the TV channel. The obverse shows the front of the Channel 4 building in London. The reverse shows the Channel 4 logo with surrounding text ‘INVENITE ORBEM XXV ANNI TELEVISIONIS FILMIQUE TERRAM RUMPENTIS’. Carved by Matthew Holland at Bigbury Mint.
Other Medal Commissions:
- John Simpson Architect
- Royal Belfast Institution
- Leeds International Piano Competition
- Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
- Edinburgh and Glasgow Boat Race
- Andrew Roberts Historian
- Bishop of St Asaph
- Royal Academy of Dance
- Dean Prior
- RAF Cranwell
- Channel 4
Coinage[edit]
Pacific Sovereign Mint Of Fiji[edit]
In 1990 the Emperor Gold Mining Company who owned mines at Vatukoula in Fiji, wanted to make solid gold coins which would be legal tender in Fiji and also provide a valuable souvenir for tourists to take home. They did not want a modern-looking coin, rather something with a hand-crafted feel and so they approached the British Museum for help, and they recommended David Holland at Bigbury Mint.
David spent 6 weeks in Fiji to become familiar with the customs and the tribal art, and in 1990 designed 3 new coins to be struck in solid gold, $100, $50 and $25 Fiji Dollars as reported in the New York Times in October 1990 [35] He also helped and advised on the set up of the new mint in Fiji. One of his coins [36] featured the "tabua" a tooth from the lower jaw of a sperm whale, which has a special sacred significance to the Fijians. Numismatic News, July 2016 [37] mentions David Holland's coin designs and the wider significance of the tabua in Fijian culture.
Town Coins Project[edit]
Bigbury Mint produce a range of Town Coins for a number of towns local to their Devon workshops. The project started in 1989 with the Modbury Ecu.
Modbury Ecu
David Holland created the Modbury Ecu coin for their local town in Devon, initially as an attraction for Modbury Fair Week in 1989. David and his son Matthew would take along the metal die, heavy wooden blocks and sledge hammers and actually strike the coins by hand, to the delight of the watching crowds and the coins were then sold to fair-goers for a few pounds. This method of coin-making which went back to medieval England, was a great hit with onlookers and led to Bigbury Mint being invited to the British Museum in London to provide similar demonstrations at their "Money" Exhibition [38] in 1986.
Other coins produced by Bigbury Mint for the Town Coins Project include:
- Tavistock Penny
- Kingsbridge Solid Silver Crown
- Kingsbridge Quarter Crown
- Dartmouth Town Penny
- Buckfastleigh Tanner
- Ivybridge Five Penny
- Seaton "One Noble"
- Honiton Two Bobbins
External links[edit]
Bigbury Mint Ltd [1]
References[edit]
This article "Bigbury Mint" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Bigbury Mint. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- ↑ "Devon Life Magazine". www.devonlifemagazine.co.uk. p. 54,55. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "Matthew Holland". SHAF. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ Holland, Matthew (2005). The First 25 Years of Bigbury Mint. Devon, UK: Matthew Holland. p. 33. ASIN B005MJ7UYI. Search this book on
- ↑ "medal | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "medal | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "medal | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "medal | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "medal | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "medal | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "medal | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ Mengham, Rod (2018-12-13). Grimspound and Inhabiting Art. Carcanet Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78410-591-4. Search this book on
- ↑ "medal; presentation-box | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ Morton and Eden (27 June 2016). "Orders, Medals and Decorations" (PDF). Morton and Eden. p. 98. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ↑ "Online Resources". National Museum of the Royal Navy. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "Malaysian Service Medal", Wikipedia, 2022-01-04, retrieved 2022-02-23
- ↑ "Veterans to wear Malaysia Medal officially for first time". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
- ↑ "Bevin Boys Medal". National Museum Wales. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "Birmingham Makers Marks - BL-BZ". www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "British Citizen Awards" (PDF). British Citizen Awards. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ↑ "The British Citizen Awards | The people's honours BCA". British Citizen Awards. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "The Promise". bams.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "From the Collections Manager (Fall 2013) – ANS Magazine". Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "BAMS Student Medal Project 2019 prizes and awards". bams.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "XXXII FIDEM Congress". www.fidem-medals.org. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "SS Cheerful wreck site, Cornwall, England, UK". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "St Winnow". www.greatenglishchurches.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "LORD CLARK MEDAL". Anthony Smith Bronze Sculptures. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "The Trusty Servant, Winchester College". Wincollsoc.org. November 2014. p. 3. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ↑ "The redisplayed Ante Room at Chartwell". National Trust. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "Making medals for National Trust Chartwell (Churchill's home) • Medal Makers - Commemorative and Military". Medal Makers - Commemorative and Military. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "Dr. Moran presents Benedict Medal to Sir Mark Sedwill at St. Mary's University Graduation Ceremony | Christopher Moran". Dr. Christopher Moran. 2019-07-25. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "Religious Sister the first female recipient of the prestigious Benedict Medal". Conference of Religious. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "Harrow 450 - Harrow School". www.harrowschool.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- ↑ Stevenson, Jed (1990-10-21). "Pastimes; Coins". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ "100 Dollars - Elizabeth II, Fiji". en.numista.com. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ NMN. "Fiji's tabua often misunderstood". Numismatic News. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ↑ Doty, R. G. (1989). "Review of Money: from Cowrie Shells to Credit Cards". The Numismatic Chronicle. 149: 225–227. ISSN 0078-2696. JSTOR 42667585.
