I just bought this ugly coin of Stephen of England. His coins are notorious for being ugly and poorly struck and for irregular flans. Yes, all three are true of my coin. If you look carefully you will be able to see the outlines of a crude right facing portrait on the obverse. Stephen (c.1136-1145AD) Spink 1278, BMC I - Cross Moline Type, Some clear detail with a patchy tone, some edge damage. (HHC4387) Norman Silver Coin Please feel free to post your hammered coins.
Stephen's coins are almost always ugly, in my limited experience. I had one (Watford type) with a pretty nice portrait on it once upon a time, but I think this reign had to be the low point of English mint quality. Must have had something to do with the turbulence of the times, with the civil war and all that? They're just all so crude. But oh so scarce and fascinating. Congrats! I don't have pictures of my old Stephen penny- that was 24 years ago, before I'd ever heard of the Internet. So here's a King John I used to have, and the Aethelred II from my present "Eclectic Box" collection. The John now lives with @Aethelred, and the Aethelred II (his former namesake coin) now lives with me. (It's a long, convoluted story.)
Nothing ugly about that coin as far as I'm concerned. In fact, so called ugly coins are often way cooler than perfect coins because they have a better story to tell. If a coin is pristine, that means it wasn't passed from hand to hand or used to buy who knows what.
Cool coin. I don't have any English pennies but it seems like a fascinating sphere of things to collect, what with all of the history involved.
Lovely ugly Stephen... good catch Orfew. Here's mine: England Stephen, r. 1135-1154 (c. 1136-45) London Mint, AR Watford Type Penny, 19.17mm x 1.1 grams Obv.: S[TIEFNE RE]X. Bust right, crowned and diademed, holding sceptre in right hand Rev.: ADEL[ARD : ON : LVN]. Cross moline with fleur in each angle Ref. North 873, SCBC 1278, CC99 ST1D-005, De Wit 3189
I'm in the midst of reading a series of historical fiction books about the times of anarchy after the death of King Henry I. Stephen of Blois is one of villains in the book. I'm really enjoying this series. It is named the Anarchy Series by Griff Hosker.
How is that series? I once attempted to read the Cadfael series which is also set in this time. I couldn't get through it because I knew too much about the time period and am far too annoyed by inaccuracies. I've now taken to enjoying historical fiction about the 1600-1700s since I don't know as much about the period.
Here is my most recent ugly hammered coin! I have several! Duke Bernhard von Spanheim, Austria, AR Pfennig, 1201-1256 O: Bernhard standing, holding staff and flag. R: Paschal Lamb advancing right. 17 mm, 1.1 g
Too be honest, I know very little about this time period; however, I have double checked some of the facts the author uses and find he tries to be true. He freely admits that he embellishes certain facts in order to make it fit his narrative. The hero of the series is fictitious, the Earl of Cleveland. There never was anyone by this title. I find I cannot put the books down. The author keeps the action moving from start to finish.
