Terrible British coins after William the Conqueror, Part 3, Stephen

When Henry I died, he had only one surviving child, the Empress Matilda. Matilda had been married to the Holly Roman Emperor. That accounted for her title which met nothing after he died. She had had experience in running a kingdom while she had been married to the emperor and was probably qualified to be a head of state.

Unfortunately the nobles of the time would have none of that. During this period a Queen of England could only be the wife of a king. She could represent the king at events, and even run the government for a short time when the king was out of the country, but she could not rule alone. Henry had made the nobles accept Matilda as their queen, but after he died, they went back one their word. A little less than 400 years later, King Henry VIII was undoubtedly well aware of this history, which explains some of his behavior, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Instead of Matilda, Stephen became the king. Stephen was the nephew of William the Conqueror. He had no direct claim to the crown.

Matilda pushed for her rightful place which resulted in the first English civil war after the rise of William the Conqueror. She came close to getting a coronation but never quite made it. Famously she once escaped imprisonment by dressing in a white robe that blended in with the snow to make an escape. Ironically Matilda’s son would become king. This was not the only time that parent would fail to become queen only to have her son become king.

Stephens coins are pretty bad. I found this one in a Heritage auction and won it. It might not look like much to some, but it really does have a “wow factor.”



There are also coins for Matilda, but they so rare that dealers speak of them in legendary terms. One dealer told me he had one 35 years ago the he now regrets selling. The piece had been broken in half and held together with glue. In my Internet searches I found a reference to another Matilda piece that similar problem that had a “museum repair.” I found pictures, but I’m not sure about the copyright issue so I won’t post them here. Needless to say, Matilda is on my “cannot obtain list” along with Edward V and Edward VIII.

 

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That is a wonderful coin of Stephen I have rarely seen one so nice

 

From a position of pure ignorance of the style and period, I'd say the coin has appeal even beyond its fascinating story.

 

That is a lovely Stephen as well! Here’s my monster (bold portrait, but little else to add to it:


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
Write-up here.

I recall seeing two Matilda’s offered at auction last year! I think they were both on CNG, but my memory could be wrong.

 

I saw one on Dix Noonan Webb several months ago.

 

I am too old to figure out how to the Matilda coins from an English dealer.

 

What a fantastic Stephen portrait!!

 

Flat portrait, and the coin is broken and repaired, but it is a coin of Matilda

 

Nice Nap! Is that a new acquisition??

 

This makes me think of the two figure type depicting both Stephen and Matilda. I really like it since it depicts both people standing. The reverse is especially nice as well.

Link to CNG:
https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=200513

 

Yes from recent DNW

A very rare type and one on my wish list. The Matilda on that coin is Matilda of Boulogne, queen consort to Stephen and a remarkable woman in her own right. One of only two queen consorts to appear on an English coin.