Merry Christmas to me, I guess

Toward the beginning of this month, I ran across several unattributed French feudal coins on French ebay, all from the same, unfamiliar dealer.
If you go back far enough, this used to be standard practice. Over most of the last couple of decades, especially in France, sellers, both professional and less so, would list unattributed coins as a matter of routine. That was how I wound up with the spine of my French feudal collection.
Except that this guy was doing the same thing, most of two decades later. It was time to hit the ‘nostalgia’ button. ...Turns out that he specializes in modern coins, and was fine with letting this stuff go for what he could get for it. ...He told me that the best way to duck (um, his) PayPal fees was by way of a “gift.” And, as much as I was looking at, I said, ‘Okay, fine.’
This was for a total of five coins, all but one (as I like to say) unattributed as the driven snow. …Except, thank you, a measure of trepidation ensued. Right, with Paypay, “gifts” are nonrefundable.
To cut to the chase, the whole thing got here today. ...How cool was this guy? Very, Very cool. As a group, it’s Mag-Smegging-Nificent. ...But only in the Best Possible sense of the term.


Petit denier /maille of the abbey of Epinal, Lorraine, c. later 12th century. Very selectively published; easiest is this link to the .cgb archive, citing Boudeau, along with another reference with which I have exactly zero familiarity.
https://www.cgbfr.com/lorraine-epinal-anonyme-denier-tb-,bfe_258153,a.html
(Who was it on this forum, not long ago, who was talking about how, in contemporaneous northern Europe, the flans were deliberately altered in this way, to provide the distinctive rims you see here? ...If you're reading this, Holler!)


Denier attributed to Hugues IX and X, counts of La Marche (from the notorious Lusignan family, of crusades and baronial revolts) c. 1199-1219-1249. It has the fun detail of the star in the reverse legend, not in Duplessy (cf. 960 /960A), but noted in Poey d’Avant 2609. As such, it’s a duplicate, but the price was right.
Obv. (from 3 o'clock: ) +VGO COMES.
Rev. (from 10 o'clock: ) +MARCHIE*.


Champagne: County (and bishopric) of Troyes. Denier of Count Thibaut I, 1066-1089. (Funly contemporaneous to William I, not least since one of his descendants was King Stephen.)
Obv. Cross, ‘X’ in lower left corner. +[T]RECAS CIVI [TEBO].
Rev. Neo-carolingian monogram (R V B S --’Robertus?’ or, perhaps, ‘URBS,’ referring, in context, to the town’s status as an episcopal seat).
+PETVS EPISCOPVS (‘Bishop Peter,’ likely referring to the patron saint of the cathedral.)
Cf. Adam 148-65; Boudeau 1744, Poey d’Avant 5947, Roberts 4156.


Duchy of Burgundy. Denier of Dijon, c. later Hugues III (1162-1192), Eudes III (1192-1218), and early Hugues IV (1218-1272).
Obv. Two ‘anniles’ (anchors), pellet and star between them.
(From 5 o'clock: ) +VGO DVX BVRG: DIE.
Rev. Cross, pellets in two corners. +DIVIONENSIS.
Boudeau 1204, Dumas (Le monnayage des ducs de Bourgogne, 1988) 7/1; Poey d’Avant 5661 /Plate 130, no. 19.



Last, the true piece de resistance, my third example of Guy /Gui /Wido, Count of Ponthieu 1053-1100. One of a select few people to appear on the Bayeux Tapestry by name (‘VVIDO,’ as it’s rendered here).
Obv. (from 4 0'clock: ) +VVI[DO COMES].
Rev. Degraded neo-Carolingian monogram (likely of Eudes, the Robertian king, 887-898). +A[BBATIS VILL]A.
Boudeau 1925, Poey d’Avant 6695; cf. Roberts 4382. (Badly blundered legends on both sides; regarding what the minter was too hungover to strike up, you're not missing much.)
You're cordially welcome to post anything you think is of relevance. ...To, heck, I don't know, the 11th-13th centuries ACE (...anywhere), or, what, maybe the holidays. Honest, be as subjective about the criteria as you care to.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Congratulations, nice group @+VGO.DVCKS and Merry Christmas to you.!

 

Great gift to you, @+VGO.DVCKS ! Not only nice coins, but you were able to chase down attributes. Big fun. Congrats.

+VGO.DVCKS: "You're cordially welcome to post anything you think is of relevance. ...To, heck, I don't know, the 11th-13th centuries ACE (...anywhere), or, what, maybe the holidays. Honest, be as subjective about the criteria as you care to."

LOL, ok...



China Shang 1766-1154 BCE or Zhou Dynasty Ghost Face Ant Nose 1.65g Hartill 1.4



China Shang Dyn 1766-1154 BC Ant Nose Ge Liu Zhu 17-4x10 very scarce H 1.10



China Shang Dyn 1766-1154 BC Ant Nose Ge Liu Zhu 2-6g 19-5x11 very scarce H 1.10

 

kool ... my only interest has been with the Louis's in the French realm so far.. but there's a whole lotta other there too and you help educate us with your coins!..great self Christmas gift and Merry Christmas to ya @+VGO.DVCKS !

 

Interesting, @+VGO.DVCKS. I know little about these coins, you expanded my knowledge.

This is a recent addition, a denier from Richard I of Normandy (very high resolution here, by @AnYangMan)


Any information would be welcome

 

Merry Christmas @+VGO.DVCKS ! I really like your medievals, it is an area that I haven't ventured into apart form the Byzantines. Perhaps it is a pity to live in the UK and not to have a Tudor coin, so maybe I should do something about it

 

What a great group of coins @+VGO.DVCKS I like them all. Having a coin from a companion of William the Conqueror would be awesome. Tangentially I've always wanted a coin from Ponthieu, it minted ones of the Anglo Gallic variety under the Edwards. Your maille resembles this little guy I picked up from the city of Metz, very similar rim and striking.

 

Wow, all are nice. You took a big chance with NO RETURN but in your case it paid off. A very Merry Christmas indeed. Great post, thank you.

 

Very cool stuff, @Alegandron!!! Yes, you Definitely got the right idea!!!
...But no, you get fluent in this stuff. Like you all with your bottomless erudition about Greek and Roman. Back in the day, I had Roberts and Boudeau for reference, which are pretty good, between them, for basic navigation. Roberts's cheat function (Silver Coins of Medieval France) is that he arranges the book by similar types, rather than geography. Makes for a very good introduction to the series.

 

@Roerbakmix, that's a very solid example (please read, better than mine, which has a less than stellar flan). Yours is Duplessy 16.
Rev. Neo-Carolingian temple facade (imitating issues of Louis I and Charles II); cross of St. Andrew and four besants (/pellets) inside. +ROTOMAGVS (Rouen).
Obv. (From 6 o'clock: ) +RICARDVSI.

 

Nice coins @+VGO.DVCKS - have a Merry Christmas.

 

Golly, Thanks, @TheRed, and everyone else. Yes, the Metz ones are cool. They were consistently issued in the bishop's name over the 12th and into the 13th centuries. ...You're scaring me with the Ponthieu issues of Edward. I've seen some of those for sale. Yikes. After about a four and two zeroes, my eyes start to glaze over. ...Or are there ones a little cheaper than that?

 

Coins and Christmas are like a cold Corona with Lime on a hot day.....GREAT!!!!

 

thanks @+VGO.DVCKS. I noted that the reverse was photographed upside down. @AnYangMan kindly took the picture, and failed to note it. What a n00b . Still, excellent photo. Thanks for the info!

 

Nice group, @+VGO.DVCKS ! The little coin from the Abbey of Epinal certainly is quite a catch.

'Twas me, I suppose. Hammered-up edges are typical for coins from the border regions of Saxony and the Slavic territories in the late 10th to early 12th century. Here are some examples:


"Saxon penny", anonymous regional issue, under Conrad II, ca. 1025–1030 AD, struck in the region around Meißen. Obv: legend of wedges and retrograde [C]-V-X-R (CRVX–type), cross trefly. Rev: legend of wedges and H-[E?]-V-R (VERH–type), cross of wedges. 16mm, 1.10g. Ref: Type Mol A 2; Dannenberg 1335a–c.


"Saxon penny", anonymous regional issue, under the early Salian emperors (Conrad II – Henry IV), ca. 1025–1060 AD, struck in the Saale region close to Naumburg. Obv: legend of wedges and retrograde [R?]- X-I-V (CRVX–type), cross with pellets and ringlets in quadrants. Rev: legend of wedges and C-V-X-[R?] (CRVX–type), cross of wedges. 16mm, 1.17g. Ref: Type Sal D 2:1; Dannenberg 1337.


Magdeburg, Imperial mint, "Saxon penny," probably issued under Otto III (r. 983–1002 AD) and Archbishop Giselher (984–1004 AD). Obv: ...I M I... (corrupted MAGADEBURG); "wooden church" with four pellets inside; three pellets to l. and r. Rev: ...EI°III... (corrupted IN NOMINE DNI AMEN), cross pattée. 16mm, 1.27g. Ref: Dannenberg 1330; Mehl 30; Kilger Mg HP 1; Slg Hauswaldt 14.

 

I really like the way your coins look, @+VGO.DVCKS -- even though I know less than nothing about medieval coins! The photos are really good too. Did you take them?

I wish it were still as possible to buy the equivalent in ancient coins now as it was 20 years ago, from what I've read. (Back then, I was buying a lot of British coins and historical medals on ebay. Of course, there wasn't the same concern about counterfeiting as with ancient coins.)

 

@Orielensis, thanks a Ton, and another one, for coming clean on your being responsible for this! I was registering guilt for not having found your posts about this. ...It's remarkable how far west this practice spread, into the more Francophone parts of the former Lotharingia. Granted, intuitively, it looks as if it originated in Germany, radiating in either direction from there.
Now I'm newly inspired to find your initial thread.

 

Thanks, and Sorry, @DonnaML, all the pics were the dealer's. I have an old, bottom-shelf digital camera, and never evolved to the level of taking consistently competent pictures.
...Which I should probably make some attempt to do. I'm remembering your wistful wish that I could find the .jpgs (...maybe, for all I know at this point, fictional to begin with) of my run of (...I Promise you) really sweet late Tudor -early post-Restoration pennies and halfgroats.

 

The two Hugues of Lusignan had interesting and mirroring fates - Hugues le Brun died at the siege of Damietta during Jean de Brienne's Crusade of October 1219 and Hugues X died 30 years later during the Seventh Crusade, also at Damietta.

 

Yowie! This Just showed up on academia.edu. (A study of the Lusignans' comital politics at home.) Barely containing my anticipation.
https://www.academia.edu/38795168/A...NCE_IN_THE_13TH_CENTURY?email_work_card=title