Dice Players By Giuseppe Maria Crespi.
The dice game known as Crown and Anchor has been known since the early 18th century, & was apparently a favourite game played by seamen.
Approx. 17.5 x 17 inches. Hand painted gambling
board for the game of Crown and Anchor. It dates c. late 18th century
and was found in an old wood box of effects with the stamps on the box of the
American ship Lydia of Boston, under Captain Samuel Hill.
Crown and Anchor dice 1800-1900 ad.
A Sailors Scrimshaw Gambling Dice Carved from a Sperm Whale Tooth
With designs for a heart, crown, club, spades, anchor and diamond,
inlaid with pitch and red wax
Early 19th Century.
17th
century leather dice shaker c. 1680 to c. 1720 English.
Wooden Dice Box 18th Century (National Museums of
Scotland).
English crown and anchor board, early to mid 19th
century, circa 1830 – 1870.
I believe this is a representation of the game board used
by the French and Belgian's; the sun replacing the crown.
Crown and Anchor Dice game Rules.
Rules of play
The game is played between a player and a banker. A canvas or felt mat marked
with the six symbols is used for play. The player places bets on one or more
symbols. He then throws the three dice. If there is a bet on any symbol which
comes up on one or more of the dice, the banker pays the player the amount of
his stake for each die showing that symbol: even money if one, 2:1 if two, and
3:1 if three. If the symbol doesn't come up, the player loses his bet.
On average, the player will win 92.1% of the amount he bets; that is, over time
he will lose 7.9% of whatever he bets. Thus, the banker has a substantial edge.
In a game at a festival or casino, the house will be banker. In a game among
friends, each person serves as banker in turn.
There is a similar Flemish version called Anker en Zon
("Anchor and Sun"), in which a sun symbol replaces the crown. The
French version again uses the sun, and is called Ancre, Pique, et Soleil ("Anchor,
Spade, and Sun").
This game with it's cloth board would be very easily carried in ones knapsack. Perhaps with the attached images above you may be able to make your own board & dice. Wood, bone or antler I think would be acceptable for the dice, and oilcloth or canvas for the board.
Keith.
