Phil's photos with the keyword: Table-top

The union of English and Scottish thrones. The Union of England and Scotland Act 1603, (full title...... "An Act authorizing certain Commissioners of the realm of England to treat with Commissioners of Scotland, for the weal [an "olde English" word meaning wealth, health & prosperity] of both kingdoms.") was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England enacted during the reign of King James I (who was also King James VI of Scotland). It appointed a commission led by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Ellesmere, to meet and negotiate with a commission which would be appointed by the Parliament of Scotland. The aim of the discussions was to look into the possibility of arranging a formal political union between England and Scotland, going beyond the existing Union of Crowns and to report back to Parliament. The commission was not effective, however, and similar subsequent proposals also fell flat. The two kingdoms were eventually united over a century later by the Acts of Union, 1707. This Sterling Silver "Trial" coin (A.K.A. "Test" or "Pattern" coin) was minted in 2003 as one of a number of proposed designs for the British version of the Euro. These coins were made in small quantities, often as "Piedforts" (double the thickness & weight of the standard version) and were not intended for circulation. The coins have been created for a variety of reasons, including sample coins for VIPs and for testing various designs and die cuts in the minting equipment. Photographed with a Sony RX100 camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

The union of English and Scottish thrones. The Union of England and Scotland Act 1603, (full title...... "An Act authorizing certain Commissioners of the realm of England to treat with Commissioners of Scotland, for the weal [an "olde English" word meaning wealth, health & prosperity] of both kingdoms.") was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England enacted during the reign of King James I (who was also King James VI of Scotland). It appointed a commission led by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Ellesmere, to meet and negotiate with a commission which would be appointed by the Parliament of Scotland. The aim of the discussions was to look into the possibility of arranging a formal political union between England and Scotland, going beyond the existing Union of Crowns and to report back to Parliament. The commission was not effective, however, and similar subsequent proposals also fell flat. The two kingdoms were eventually united over a century later by the Acts of Union, 1707. This Sterling Silver "Trial" coin (A.K.A. "Test" or "Pattern" coin) was minted in 2003 as one of a number of proposed designs for the British version of the Euro. These coins were made in small quantities, often as "Piedforts" (double the thickness & weight of the standard version) and were not intended for circulation. The coins have been created for a variety of reasons, including sample coins for VIPs and for testing various designs and die cuts in the minting equipment. Photographed with a Sony RX100 camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

In 2002 the UK issued a series of "pattern" coins based on the Euro. The coins were struck at the Heaton Birmingham Mint (which closed in 2003) with permission granted by the UK Government to use a new portrait of HM the Queen. A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, produced for the purpose of evaluating a proposed coin design and not meant for circulation. They are often produced to proof standard in Gold or Silver and as "Piedforts" (double the thickness and weight of the standard version of a particular coin). They are collected or studied by coin collectors because of their highly-elaborate designs and their rarity....this one is a Sterling Silver Piedfort (one of only 5000 ever made to this specification). Pattern coins have been created for a variety of reasons, including sample coins for VIPs and for testing various designs and die cuts in the minting equipment. Camera: Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

In 2002 the UK issued a series of pattern coins based on the Euro. The coins were struck at the Heaton Birmingham Mint (which closed in 2003) with permission granted by the UK Government to use a new portrait of HM the Queen. A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, produced for the purpose of evaluating a proposed coin design and not meant for circulation. They are often produced to proof standard in Gold or Silver, and as "Piedforts" (with double the thickness and weight of the standard version of a particular coin). They are collected or studied by coin collectors because of their highly-elaborate designs and their rarity....this one is a Sterling Silver Piedfort (one of only 5000 ever made to this specification). Pattern coins have been created for a variety of reasons, including sample coins for VIPs and for testing various designs and die cuts in the minting equipment. Camera: Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.

In Norse mythology Freyja (Old Norse "Lady") is a Goddess associated with love, sexuality, beauty, fertility, gold, war and death. Freyja is the owner of the fabled necklace Brísingamen. She rides a chariot pulled by two cats or, when not using her chariot, rides the boar Hildisvíni (which is also said to be Freyja's human lover Otta in disguise and is the reason why the God Loki consistently accuses her of being "wanton" by "riding her lover in public"). She possesses a cloak of falcon feathers and, by her husband Óðr, is the mother of two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. Along with her brother, father and mother, she is a member of the Vanir. Modern forms of the name include Freya, Freija, Frejya, Freyia, Frøya, Frøjya, Freia, and Freja. Freyja rules over her heavenly afterlife field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle.........the other half go to the God Odin's hall, Valhalla. Freyja assists other deities by allowing them to use her feathered cloak, is invoked in matters of fertility and love and is frequently sought after by powerful Jötnar who wish to make her their wife. Freyja's husband, the God Óðr, is frequently absent. She cries tears of amber (or "red gold") for him and constantly searches for him under assumed names. Amber is plentiful in the Scandinavian / Baltic regions and is often referred to as "The Tears of The Goddess". Scholars have theorized about whether Freyja and the Scandinavian Goddess Frigg ultimately stem from a single Goddess common among the Germanic peoples and about her connection to the Valkyries, female battlefield choosers of the slain. Freyja's name appears in numerous place names in Scandinavia with a high concentration in Southern Sweden. Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name (before they were, apparently, "converted" to Christianity) and rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freyja into the 19th century and beyond. (Wikipedia....edited & shortened). Camera Sony RX100. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2. Cold-cast figurine from Nemesis Now ("Willow Hall" collection).

Morrígan (meaning "Phantom Queen" or "Great Queen") is usually regarded as a Celtic / Irish war Goddess and she has been compared with the Valkyrie / Walkuere of Germanic and Scandinavian origin. Her role often involves premonitions and predictions of a particular warrior's violent death, suggesting a link with the Banshee of later Irish folklore. In certain areas of Ireland this supernatural being is, in addition to the name Banshee, also called Badb (in some versions, Badb and Morrigan are sisters). Her role was not only as a symbol of imminent death but also to influence the outcome of wars and battles. She did this by appearing as a crow or raven flying over the battlefield and would inspire either fear or courage in the hearts of the warriors. She could be heard as a voice among the corpses on a battlefield and, according to some accounts, she would often join in the battle itself as a warrior and show her favouritism in a more direct manner. (Wikipedia...edited & shortened). Photographed with a Sony RX100 camera and processed with Nikon Capture NX2. Figurine of Morrigan by Pagan artist & sculptor Neil Sims from South Shields, U.K.

A 22K Gold Bahamas $100 commemorative coin issued to celebrate the independence of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. This coin is unusual due to the fact that it displays two dates.....1975 (the year of issue) and on the other face is the date 1973 (the year of independence) below the Queen's portrait. The Bahamas became a British Crown colony in 1718 when Britain clamped down on piracy. After the American War of Independence, thousands of American Loyalists (taking their enslaved Africans with them) moved to the Bahamas where the Americans set up a plantation economy. After Britain abolished the international slave trade in 1807, the Royal Navy resettled many free Africans (liberated from illegal slave ships) in the Bahamas during the 19th century. Hundreds of American slaves and Black Seminoles escaped to the islands from Florida and nearly 500 were freed from American merchant ships by the Royal Navy. The Bahamas became an independent Commonwealth Realm in 1973, retaining Queen Elizabeth II as it's monarch. (Wikipedia). Camera Sony RX100. Processing with Nikon Capture NX2.

"Sic Semper Tyrannis", one of the most infamous phrases in U.S. history, was shouted by John Wilkes Booth as he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. This phrase (Latin for "thus always to tyrants") encircles the obverse of the newest "round" in the Silver Bullet Silver Shield series. This time it celebrates the overthrow of the Debt and Death paradigm. Here, Freedom Girl stands triumphant over Debt and Death. She holds a spear and a buckler shield emblazoned with the Trivium, both of which she used to slay Debt and Death who is portrayed with his five arrows from the Rothschild's family crest and the chains he used to enslave mankind. The slain foe lies on a pile of U.S. currency, one of his greatest tools in enslaving humanity. (Silver bullet, silver shield). Photographed with a Sony RX100 camera and processed with Nikon NX2 software.