Medieval Monday!

I do love a nice penny of Edward I and class 1c is one of my favorite classes of Edward I. I picked this one up in the fall of 2021 for around $250.

Edward I AR penny class 1c London mint.
18mm 1.39g
Obv: EDW REX ANGL DNS HYB
Rev: CIVI/TAS/LON/DON/

I only mention the price of this penny because a class 1c penny of Edward recently came up for sale in CNG's Winter Classical Numismatic Review.

While a nice example, the price just about knocked my socks off. CNG was asking $1250 and the coin sold! I think my example above is on par with the CNG coin which makes me wonder how I go about getting $1200 for my coin? Maybe I can put in an TPG holder and sell it based on an AU or MS number.

And my nicest example of a class 1c penny cost less than $200 about 4 years ago. Talk about the valueof a name!

 

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@Dafydd, from the reviews on Amazon, it's sounding as though, along with being a really nice coffee table book, there's some substantive social history, and exploration of John's character in some serious depth. --And I speak fluent Typo ...generally understood as a sub-dialect of American English.

 

@TheRed, those are some brilliant 1cs. I totally agree that the artistry of Class 1 is superior to any of the later ones.

 

Isaac II byzantine I just received from winning on eBay

 

Regarding the 10th century immobilizations, of which tresor de Fecamp is most relevant for the Western and North-western Frankish mints, I did a brief thread last month about Quentovic, which appears to have had a renaissance of sorts at a time historians thought it deserted: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/quentovic-and-the-conundrum-of-carolingian-vs-feudal.390337/

 

Thanks, @seth77, for the link to your Fantastic thread on this.
...I will forever be in the debt of the French dealer who sold me his copy of Dumas, Le Tresor de Fecamp, at his cost, after shipping. You had best believe I asked him to inscribe it, which he did, all en francais.

 

Yours with the direct connection to the king is even more interesting. Also the monogram is still the basic Carolingian shape, marking a starting point for the evolution of the type in northeastern Frankia for a century afterwards.

 

Yes, I've noticed the same thing ...of necessity, more impressionistically than you have.

 

A William I Sword type penny of Dorchester. The moneyer is Oter.


An interesting variant with a cross to the right of the bust. There are two variants of this feature; this coin which is believed unique and a second variant with a much larger cross filling the field, of which two are known.

The reason for the cross is unknown, though speculatively and given the religious connotation, it could be related to the nearby Abbotsbury monastry, which was built by Orc who was a thegn of Cnut. He and his wife both founded and generously endowed the monastry with land, some of which was given after their deaths. With the Sword type tentatively dated to 1077-1080, it is possible there is some posthumous connection given the only mints sporting the cross on type 6 pennies are Dorchester and the nearby mint of Wareham. Oter was the regular moneyer at Dorchester and didn't normally mark the field with a cross, so it is difficult to make the case for it being a personal mark.

 

Aethelred Last Small Cross penny of Cissbury. CIOLNOD ON SIDESTEB. Apart from the unique Cnut Quatrefoil of this type in the BM, the other 38 known coins from this mint are of this type. Cissbury was set up as a temporary place of refuge during the Danish invasion at the end of Aethelred's reign. Once peace was restored, the mint went to Steyning. This coin ex Conte collection.

 

Although I appreciate this is not a "follow the leader" thread I thought I would contribute my penny for comparison as I seldom can add coins as a relatively new medieval collector. I particularly liked the prominence of the mint marks on this coin.



England. Aethelred II. 978-1016. AR Penny (20mm, 1.42g, 12h). Crux type (BMC iiia, Hild. C). London mint; moneyer Æthelred. Struck circa 991-997. + ÆDELRED REX ?NGLOX, bareheaded draped bust left with sceptre in front / +ÆDERED M#O LVN, short cross voided, C R V X in angles. BEH 2205; North 770; SCBI 7 (Copenhagen), 708; SCBI 65 (Norway), 255. Very Fine, wavy flan, peck marks.
I purchased this coin last year from Alpha Numismatics and is the first coin I have purchased from Scandinavia and the transaction was flawless.

 

Penny of David II of Scotland (1329-1371)
Mint: Edinburgh
Third coinage
S. 5130
O: +DAVID REX SCOTORVM
R: VILL AED InBV RGh

 

A pretty astounding array, guys. By way of punting, here's a c. 13th-early 14th-c. harness pendant, found in Norfolk. (You could look at this for some context: )
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-very-heraldic-weekend.388184/#post-7971125

The arms, three cinquefoils, are distinctive enough to narrow the options for attribution, given that there's no enamel and virtually no gilt left. In hand (you'll probably just have to trust me), there's jeeYust enough gilt (/or) in one of the cinquefoils (pierced) to be within range of clinching it as belonging to the Bardolfs, prominent landholders there. (Cf. Humphery-Smith, Anglo-Norman Armory Two, p. 449; cf. 448.)
They're probably best known for having briefly taken the Montfortian side in the 'Barons' War.' This is is their caput, Wormegay Castle, which apparently (this was a surprise) was never upgraded from timber to masonry:
http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English sites/2002.html

 

Byzantine Empire
AV Solidus ND Constantinople Mint
Anastasius II Artemius 713-15AD
After troops on Rhodes revolted against the Emperor in 715, and selected a "tax collector" as a replacement (Theodosius IV) Anastasius was forced to abdicate to a monastary. Later after Theodosius was deposed, he led a revolt vs the new Emperor Leo III. Eventually, Leo nipped it in the bud, and had Anastasius sent to the "executioner"

 

Of those references, which do you prefer - is it North?

 

Of the referred references cited by the auction house, I only have North which I like because of the profusion of plates, my posted Coin for example, has 6 examples to look at.
I also use Spink, English Coins as a quick reference but find this not as useful as North. To give a precise answer to your question, North.
Choice for my Ancient collecting is far wider where my "go to" choice is Sear, backed up by Crawford, Mattingly and Sutherland supplemented by Stevenson's "Dictionary of Roman Coins" which I find really useful and also ERIC. My Medieval library is short of numismatic reference works but over the years I have amassed quite a large number of related history books as my Medieval knowledge was limited.
I once collected later hammered coinage and was inspired to do so by reading Professor Fernand Braudel's "Civilisation and Capitalism 15th - 18th Century". Braudel writes in an easy and expressive manner describing trade between nations and of course the instruments of commerce. Not a coin book but relevant and interesting.
My interest in Medieval coins was inspired by CT where I have been an outsider looking in for a couple of years admiring the examples shown and the huge amount of shared knowledge freely given.
My own question would be , what do you recommend I read regarding Medieval Coins? I would appreciate recommendations from anyone here.

 

I have reviewed a number of books here:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fitzs-medieval-book-review.286343/

 

Oh this is superb, thank you @FitzNigel I really appreciate this.

 

It's Monday somewhere!

Coenwulf of Mercia (796-821), Tribrach type

Obv. [ ]ENVVL:F.R.EX Rev. SE / BE / RHT (HT ligated)

This is my first coin from the Saxon period. The elegance of the coin comes through the damage.

 

It's Monday here! Below is my first medieval acquisition for quite a while. At the moment, I'm on a tight coin budget due to major non-numismatic expenses (renovating a mid-19th century building), but this coin didn't cost much and spoke to me.

I am fascinated by the history of medieval Spain. This dirham comes from the time of the Almohad Caliphate. The Giralda and Alcázar of Seville were build during this period, and the philosopher Averroes (Ibn Rushd) served as a judge and physician at the Almohad court in Seville:


Almohad Caliphate in Spain and Northern Africa, anonymous, AR square dirham, c. 1163–1269 AD (558–668 AH), without mint name. Obv: “No God except Allah / It's all for God / No power except God”. Rev: “God is our Lord / Mohammed is our messenger / The Mahdi is before us”. 14mm, 1.40g. Ref: Album 496.