The Voynich Ninja

(11-08-2019, 02:29 PM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Mind you, they are funny looking coins. They are far too modern. Coins of the era didn't have reeded edges like that, they were much flatter with no profile edge.

True, unless the parallel lines do not show texture but are an example of the "parallel hatching" to indicate depth/volume in the Voynich , something Nick Pelling has blogged about You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

The pattern does continue under the paint, so I don't think it represents ridges like on modern coins. There's also the age-old question of where the symbol ends and the plant part begins.

I've been turning it over on my mind since I wrote the original post but am no further forward. 
The items have a definite edge. The circular lines are drawn, then the e edge ribbing is drawn to the edge line. The ribbing is divided by the circular line. 
On another note, there are some glyphs hidden within the items. 
The second from left of the middle left branch had a definite side wise 8 glyph. It's been partly covered over by the red paint that was applied later. This is the best I can do on my phone :
[attachment=3145]
The coin at the end of the same branch appears to have some glyphs, so faint I can't make them out.

If you turn your head slightly to the right, it almost looks like something with a descender, then v, then cross-shape (almost like a single-leg gallows with a long cross-bar), then r. But that's very speculative indeed.

Maybe descenderletter-v-blob (o?)-f-r.

I've been looking in my facsimile and I'm sure there's something there under the paint. Very faint brushwork. I just couldn't make it out.

I've been trying to find 15thC (or earlier) coins with reeded edges (looking beyond Europe too where possible) and I haven't found anything significant, but I did find a tarot deck with some interesting symbolism that you might find to be worth your consideration. According to wikipedia, playing cards seem to have entered Europe from Egypt at some time in the latter half of the 14th century. There are references to a card game known as tarot/trionfi in documents from around Italy in the first half of the 15th century, but the earliest tarot decks to have survived are mid-15th century or later.


One of the earliest and most complete tarot decks to have survived is New York, Morgan Library, M.630 (the Visconti-Sforza Tarot) which can be viewed here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.


The cards I particularly wanted to point out are the regular cards from the denari/coins suit: this is the 7 of coins


I also thought that the face cards from the cups/coppe suit were all very interesting in terms of the design of the cups etched into the gold:

(15-08-2019, 12:07 AM)arca_libraria Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I've been trying to find 15thC (or earlier) coins with reeded edges (looking beyond Europe too where possible) and I haven't found anything significant, ...

Good idea. I was wondering about whether there were reeded edges in those days and I really didn't know.

It might just be a bad attempt to draw depth, but the lines are emphasized, so it seems to mean something.

(15-08-2019, 12:13 AM)-JKP- Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Good idea. I was wondering about whether there were reeded edges in those days and I really didn't know.

It might just be a bad attempt to draw depth, but the lines are emphasized, so it seems to mean something.

The great thing about coins is that they travel a lot, so I was able to browse a sample of European, Middle Eastern, N. African, and Asian coins and I didn’t find anything with unambiguous reeded edges. If anyone did find such a coin that might tell us something about the location of production as it doesn’t seem to be a standard feature at this time. I’m not completely sure that the coins on that tarot deck are drawn with a scalloped edge - after all that design feature is blue rather than gold - but it seems like such a deliberate design decision that it feels like it must come from somewhere. I had a look at loom weights too as they often have scallops or ridges, but they’re not a good match for the 34v plant either.

As far as I can tell, reeded edges would be an anachronism in the VM. 

Maybe the pattern is some awkward attempt to show the gleam of silver? Or marks that were actually on the surface of coins?

Reeded edges are a deliberate design feature that was probably out of technological reach for most 15th century mints. The shape and weight of the coin had to evolve to permit the reeded edge.
The point of a reeded edge, of course, was to prevent debasement of the currency by coin clipping. There's a fascinating account of coin development in a recent Issac Newton biography whose name escapes me. Must look it out.