1977 Postmasters Transatlantic Steamship Medal, The Sky Pirate Eduardo 'Blackbeard' Molto
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“Black birds tend to like shiny things.” ~ The Bloody Raven.
I had this medal for quite some time unsure of how I will present this silver gem. Not a sailing ship but the early steamship that usher in Steam powered ships that were no longer dependent solely on the trade winds.
The Silver Medal
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This medal is of one of a 36 sterling silver (92.5% silver) medal set issued in 1977 by the International Society of Postmasters commemorating historic events with their respective First Day covers.
On April 26, 1827 the English built steamer Curcao travelled from the Dutch port of Hellevoetsluis to Paramaribo in Dutch Surinam. The steamer under the command of Lt. JW Moli crossed the Atlantic and reached her destination in 28 days.
Her maiden voyage was not without problems. The paddle wheels frequently required repairs. Her two engines needed frequent cleaning and repairs, and the boiler leaked. The Curacao continued until 1830 making a total of three voyages delivering passengers, cargo and mail to the Dutch colony.
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The Sky Pirate, Eduardo 'Blackbeard' Molto
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The design was admittedly conceptional with a working model airship and yet to be built full scale demonstration. Funding was no issue as she placed a large gold bar with San Francisco markings onto the table. Her black lace gloved hand gestured an offer to a gentleman's contract, "An advance down payment sir, do we have a deal?"
Eduardo smiled, "And I remain in full control and use the ship as I please?" She nodded with her reply, "Even in an unofficial and enterprising capacity, sir."
With a simple handshake a deal was made. It was still rather early in the evening as the lavish Brooklyn restaurant began to fill with it’s regular well-to-do clientele. The waiter removes the dinner plates as the dessert waiter places two plates of apple pie with brandy sauce topped with fresh whipped cream. His eyes couldn’t help but hesitate at the pure gold bar resting upon the engineering drawings laid out on the spacious table.
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Lady McMillan’s journeys and travels were widespread recent being in the United Kingdom for the last few years, and prior to that California where her travel companion Argenta retired after selling her unique weapon design to the Winchester firearms company. For a reason not stated they finally parted since traveling together from Mexico. But her own travels were not without its hardships and her insights were remarkable bearing witness to the dark powers that act in the back rooms of political power.
Lady McMillan was no stranger to subterfuge, corruption, and murder as a victim of that as a young child of noble decent saw her father’s power and authority usurped before her family were killed, crimes that have long gone unpunished. Without much detail he could see the sadness in her eyes at the mention of it.
Her soul was stained by an unsatisfied justice that had crossed her own moral boundaries for simple revenge. Eduardo could not conceive that such a very cultured and delicate woman can be capable of shedding blood. He realized that they shared a common bond.
“Go on.” Lady McMillan as she stirred in a lump of sugar into her fresh cup of tea.
“I will select my moniker name as Blackbeard.” Though fancying himself to the fearsome pirate Black Beard of an age past, physically, he was neither a tall or imposing man. Rather his small frame leaned heavily on his cane since his injuries at the hands of thieves, no they were spies, a decade ago that saw his laboratory and shop raided by what may have been be Prussian spies before it was set ablaze, and his life's work gone.
The authorities did not take upon themselves to properly investigate nor did the Scientific Academy take action when a group of junior members submitted his inventions as their own. Not even his former grade school mate Pope Leo bothered to take notice of his case. He confronted him privately but his old friend was different. Leo had changed and behaved more like a man trapped in world's affairs than the idealistic and hopeful world saving young man he once remembered. It seemed all orchestrated and a legal theft of his life’s work.
“And you may refer to me as the Raven.” Her brows narrowed, her gaze seared into Eduardo’s soul as a promise to see some justice to those that had a hand in his misfortune and to unburden his heart to be the man he should be.
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With a satisfying smile he pushes his spectacles back up the bridge of his nose, “Ms. Tricia McMillan whom I give due a debt of gratitude.”
As they celebrated with a glass of champagne the glint of gold caught the eye of a well to do business man seated at an adjacent table. He put down his newspaper, napkin and pushed himself from his table in an orderly manner. His eyes beheld the large gold bar before turning his eyes to the two seated figures, "Sir, Madam, pardon me but I would be remiss if I did not offer my services." He politely set his cigar down on his table, reaching into his vest pocket producing a business card. "My name is John Pierpont Morgan Investment banking is my specialty, my friends here in this fine establishment know me as Pierpont. And who may I have the pleasure?
"I am Eduardo Vincenté Molto, scientist and inventor," he stood up accepted the card then gestured his free hand to his new partner. "And this lovely lady is Tricia McMillan, my new business partner."
Lady McMillan lifted her hand, “Sir,”
The businessman promptly lighted upon it with a kiss. "Ah, I do not see many women who partake in the complex and unforgiving world of business Investment. I do provide investment services for many Fortunes of widows and established families so I do admire women that can manage their business affairs." His words may be polite yet his body language and inflection were slightly condescending. His eyes again shifted to the gold bar for a moment.
Eduardo tucked the business card into his vest pocket, "I, or shall I say, we may consider your banking services sir."
“The address of my business is clearly indicated on my card, I can make time for an appointment early as tomorrow if you wish to discuss details and make all the necessary paperwork.”
“I believe we have a pending appointment.” Replied McMillan as she stepped to Eduardo’s side and slipped her hand around his arm. “We are in no hurry to decide. We are relatively new to this marvelous city and we would love to relish in the experience in this land of opportunity and freedom. Is it not so Edward?”
Pierpont nodded, "Madam, Sir, all new business establishments require a proper issuance of ownership stock. And I can assure you the fees are modest once you come to know my fine record and reputation in this fair city. My bank’s tremendous success speaks for itself.”
Eduardo adjusted his spectacles and smiled, “And I am sure of your Bank’s reputation is well known. It’s name and advertisements do appear in every page of the city newspaper. We will contact you when we are ready.”
“I agree, we need some time.” Lady McMillan squeezed Edward’s arm in assurance like a couple.
Five Years later...
Atlantic ocean, 31.30 degrees North, 65.10 degrees west.
North by north east of the Bermuda Triangle.
"Th' bluudy fog, ye cannae see past twenty yards off th' stern from me station." The old Gaelic sailor downs another mouthful of scotch of his pocket flask. He let a soft belch putting off his train of thought for only but a moment. Then collecting himself as resolute. The thick Atlantic fog can hide anything from other ships, sea creatures, icebergs just as well as a man's imagination or fears.
A distant wailing could be heard over the din of the Argosy's churning engines. It was almost human. Something was amiss. He had well observed whales before having worked several seasons whaling before demand went into decline and found work as a deckhand. He recalled the wailing of these great creatures as they were slaughtered like cattle. Capturing the lead whale kept most of it's kin close by made for easy work.
His mind rationalized what his soul had considered unthinkable. Whales had souls? The ghostly tales that rattle the fears of green hands were all in jest yet sent chills down his back. A flying ghost whale!
“My gawd, th’ size of it!” His heart raced as something very large loomed, remaining obscured in a veil of fog about sixty yards portside keeping pace with the steamer for no more than an hour before silently veering off into the darkness.
His Irish-kin watch officer couldn't identify this peculiar encounter, if it was an encounter. There was a tremble in his voice, "Madness, Th' Cap'm woo 'ave busted us if woken up fer nuttn like this! Bess keep quite. "
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The #piratesunday tag is the scurvy scheme of Captain @stokjockey for #silvergoldstackers pirates to proudly showcase their shiny booty and plunder for all to see. Landlubbers arrrh… welcomed to participate and be a Pirate at heart so open yer treasure chests an’ show us what booty yea got!
References
Photos are my own shot with an ancient 2018 Samsung SM-A530W or otherwise indicated.
P. Image by Clker-free-vector-images under Pixabay
W. Wiki Commons
☠️🎃 Page Dividers by thekittygirl. ❄️🌞
Cameo Raven Brooch from The Black Wardrobe.
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How precious and keepers of memories 🙏
And some lucky Hiver will win this little chest with a pure One Troy ounce pure silver Reale along with a few relevant perks.
Thank you for visiting @pinina
You received an upvote of 100% from Precious the Silver Mermaid!
Thank you for contributing more great content to the #SilverGoldStackers tag.![](https://images.hive.blog/DQmT7RQqkpjXrjR43HZgPkPghGxUYDHPu7A68diYnmgbB64/round_gem.png)
You have created a Precious Gem!
A fine looking ship of an era past.
It is the age of invention, wind and sail no longer determined the rich trade routes but by the power of steam and innovation. The glory of empire building by the projection of power is now on an industrial scale.
The advantage always goes to those who develop and innovate, or by those who control it by nefarious means, hook or by crook.
I thought you would like it...
I was thinking something along te lines of a steampunk styled Airship.
"A flying whale."
Sounds like something I'd come up with...
I've put together a banner like a movie poster.
Work in progress.
Cool steamboat. Not exactly my kind of ship, but it’s a ship.
The Curcao did have sails should they be needed but by trial and plenty of error progress did make the ship of sail obsolete as far as commerce and trade dictated. My alternative coin, The Frontenac Canadian silver dollar is similar but the first to use a propeller. The Curcao won on a coin flip. Welcome to the age Steam powered ships. @silverd510
!PIMP
You must be killin' it out here!
@kerrislravenhill just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @silverd510.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/1 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
Ms. Ravenhill @kerrislravenhill ..........
We Know all About BANKERS..............
#PirateSunday
!LADY
!PIZZA
As written by an Italian writer in 1711, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend..."
The Bloody Raven adds, "...unless that enemy is a banker, he is everyone's enemy."
!PIZZA of Eight.
Do you know who created these replicas?
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This one is a real 8 Reales.
I have a few literal pieces of four, piece of two and a piece of one and a half-ish ☠️ Even a pirate must make change.
I do not know the maker of those in the Picture I sent to your Post @kerrislravenhill
$PIZZA slices delivered:
silversaver888 tipped kerrislravenhill
kerrislravenhill tipped stokjockey
stokjockey tipped kerrislravenhill
@kerrislravenhill(4/5) tipped @joshuaslane
kerrislravenhill tipped silvertop
Looks like the steamship Curcao was a work in progress right from the start!🙄
I wonder how difficult it would be to collect all 36 of these sterling medallions?
It was originally meant to service up and down smooth flowing rivers like the Thames river in England before it was sold to a Dutch company that got the wacky ideal of using it as the communication route to the Suriname Dutch colony in South America. Despite all the problems this little steamship made history.
!PIZZA
!LUV
Interesting steamship history, I guess just like everything else it takes a bit for the bugs to be worked out Lol!😇
View or trade
LOH
tokens.@kerrislravenhill, You have received 1.0000 LOH for posting in Ladies of Hive. We believe that you should be rewarded for the time and effort spent in creating articles. The goal is to encourage token holders to accumulate and hodl LOH tokens over a long period of time.
!LADY
As you know sis, I love to read your stories! Thank you for sharing the tale and for sharing a lovely silver metal of the steam ship! In Cincinnati, where I hail from, there were always steam ships on the Ohio River that would travel to the Mississippi River on down to New Orleans. They are very interesting and oftentimes, very ornate in their decor.
Take care sis and have a lovely weekend!🤗💜 !LADY !PIMP
The Curcao is a dual Side-wheeler. You probably could picture that. More suitable for smooth flowing river transportation than the chaos of the open ocean. There is a paddle wheel ship made into a permanent display in New Westminster called the Sampson V that went up and down the Fraser river back in the good old days.
Thanks for the support Sis.
!LADY
!LUV
Aways sis! Steam ships are intriguing for sure. Take care!🤗💜 !PIMP
You must be killin' it out here!
@elizabethbit just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @kerrislravenhill.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/1 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
The coin is very clean!
Do they still deliver mail via ships?
I miss your story-telling, sis!
Much !LUV
!PIZZA
My previous overseas orders from Hong Kong took almost a month to get to me. Either they are sent via slow boat from China, or held in quarantine by our Canadian Border Services for a month the moment they enter the country before they hand it off to Canadapost. My Trudeau Tax dollars at work, slow work.
The Curcao was in a way a postal ship so that gave the Dutch some credible claim to the Suriname colony. Also circulating coinage were Dutch-Suriname silver Gulders.
Always with love, 🤗🌺❤️
!LADY
I love that ship even though it isn’t really my type
The coin looks really cool
Since the invention of the Steam engine the sailing ship's days were numbered and could not compete with Steam powered ships on a commercial and economic basis. Technology triumphs here over the romanticism of the age of sail.
Thanks for coming aboard @rafzat
!LADY
The story, the coin, the writing and use of accents... All EPIC!!!
And that wasn't the whole first chapter yet,
"Puired silvers! Th' cream o' th' crops!" 😉 -Keptin
There's more to come in later chapters Keptin.
Glad to have yea aboard today.
!PIZZA of Eight ☠️
This topic is very interesting! Thanks for sharing with us :)
Thank you, @delilhavores I have this fascination with monetary history and enjoy historical fiction. The two eventually come together in my writing. My favorite era; Victorian Europe.
!LADY
It's really fascinating! 😍 I'm in love with Victorian Era
Very cool silver medal, I like that one! Never trust a banker except to rob you blind... That is a fitting piece for your stack!
Congratulations on the win yesterday! That was great!
The Curcao did have sails ready as backup. Despite it's problems this vessel marked the beginning of the end for Sailing ships. Steamers improved and became much more economical, cost effective and reliable than their full sail counterparts.
Thanks @thebighigg, I didn't buy very many tickets and expected NOT to win anything hoping someone new to Stacking would win. That seems to be the thinking of most members, the vision of building the community as a whole benefits all.
I remember you getting coin a while back at not a bad price along with another medal from the same series. A nice pickup too.
PD
Oh yes, I forgot about that Science ship, thanks for the reminder.
BTW, incoming! even with the few tickets I got I still won a prize in the Monster Raffle.
KLR
I am just passing through your blog to say hello and send you a big kiss from Switzerland. 💞💜
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