I recently purchased this coin as a cut halfpenny of HENRY I, (Sp. 1276) Does the legend on the Rev. contain a moneyer's name, or the mint name of 'Bifes'? I am having difficulty confirming this and I am seeking assistance, please? View attachment 996315 View attachment 996316
Yes it is, from the quadrilateral on cross fleury series that was minted 1125-1135 AD. On the obverse of your coin the arm, scepter, mouth, and nose of Henry are visible. On the reverse the letters ES are visible, which is probably from the name of the moneyer. Here is a little clearer example of the type from Ipswich.
@TheRed Thank-you for that. I appreciate the input. My main concern was that according to the reverse legend the moneyer's name ended in "ES" and I could find no such name, (all examples I found on 'Wildwinds' and 'CNG' etc. ended in "N") but I could find a mint at "BIFES" (ES) and I wondered if the legend contained the mint name instead of the moneyer's name?
UPDATE: I believe that the "[ ]ES" that I can read on the reverse legend may be part of "ON:EXES" or 'Exeter' mint.
I'm not so sure the ES comes from the mint name. While I'm not that well versed on Norman coinage, the quadrilateral on cross fleury used the +moneyer:ON:mint format for the reverse inscription. The only places letters were followed by the : was at the end of the moneyer name and the word ON. I checked my copy of JJ North's book v1 and couldn't find a moneyer that ended in ES. That said, I dont think he has a complete list with all variations in spelling. So the moneyer Godhese could of also been spelled Godhes. Maybe @FitzNigel or @Aethelred might be able to help with further identification.
I hear you, but from Acsearch I found:- which shows a : (colon) after the letters "ES" for the mint name "EXCES" (Exeter).
I am not aware of any complete list of moneyers and mints for the Norman kings. Best bet at the moment is the Catalogue of English Coins in the British Museum which is freely available from Archive.org. It dates from 1916 however, and is incomplete, but the best collection of this information in one place. It won’t be convenient finding the info though - a lot of hunting will be required.
Turns out I am flat out wrong about the reverse legend on BMC XV pennies. They do have a : after the mint name next to the + One off my favorite Henry I pennies in my collection clearly demonstrates this. Good ID work @Topcat7 and congrats on your Exeter mint half penny! I think I need to spendmore time collecting and researching these coins.
They are ugly little suckers (at least the reasonably priced ones are). Here is mine: England Henry I, r. 1100-1135 (1125-1135) Bury St. Edmunds AR Penny, 17.16 mm x 0.8 grams Obv.: +hEN[R]I[CVS]. Bust facing crowned and diademed, head three-quarters left, sceptre in right hand; Rev.: [+]G[ILEBE]RT[:ON]:E[DM]N. Quadrilateral with incurved sides and lis at each angle over cross fleury Ref.: North 871, SCBC 1276, De Wit 3186
