German Empire, Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Bernold, 1027-1054. Denar /pfennig. Obv. Bishop facing, holding crozier and staff with a cross. Full legend (unless this is a variant: ) +SCS MARTINVS ARCBIER (As of now, 'Arcbier' appears to be a medieval Latin (or maybe even Frisian--making the legend bilingual) rendering of 'archbishop.') Rev. Crenellated city wall, with gateway between two towers. +BERNOLDVS EPISCOPVS; above: [STRA/]ECT[V] (Apparently medieval Latin for 'Utrecht.') The 11th-century issues from Frisia and northern Germany are habit-forming for their remarkably elaborate designs, within the limitations of contemporaneous, punch-based engraving. The recurring architectural theme is one of the main draws. I've yet to even try squinting out the Google Books version of Dannenberg for this, but examples from Acsearch (citing something or other that's more current) routinely attribute the 'portait' to the reigning bishop. But for now, I'd rather think it's St. Martin himself, with the honorary title of 'archbishop' (as it would be for the prince-bishop of Utrecht, apart from being a formal prince of the Empire). Martin is one of any number of 'martial saints,' having been a soldier under the emperor Julian before leaving the army and becoming bishop of Tours. Continuing the wishful thinking, the design might include a medieval rendering of chain mail. ...Oh, No! Almost forgot, Again. Folks are cordially invited to post anything with architectural motifs (there was a terrific thread on this, mainly for Roman coins, just lately), or St. Martin, or whatever else is related, along lines I didn't get around to thinking of.
Sweet purchase! You just gotta love these early and unrefined pieces . I believe the cruder TRAIECT types such as this, when only ‘ECT’ is visible, are attributed mostly to the successor of Bernold, Willem van Ponte (check Ilisch, a more recent inquiry into these fascinating 10-12th century pennings). Although identifying these is always hard! I have none of this period, but will share a later coin of a Bishop of Utrecht: Bishopric of Utrecht, Bishop Frederik van Blankenheim, AR Brede plak (at the time colloqially also known as a 'goose', in honour of the majestic eagle on the reverse). 1404 - 1420, Hasselt mint.
Many thanks, @AnYangMan, for your terrific example. Along with the contuation of the martial theme, I have to love the colloquialism. ...What do you call that? 'Folk Irony'? ...And certainly no less for your help with the attribution. (Looking forward to seeing the link.) I was hoping someone could help out with that. ...It's truly embarrassing how little I have for references, especially in print, for medieval German and Frisian coins. ...In any language! It's only been over the past year or so that I've been actively collecting these, but they've inexorably become a de facto focus. Mostly I have Kluge, Numismatik des Mittelalters (a brilliant overview ...but only that), and a couple of key auction catalogues. Could you offer any suggestions? Anything affordable, current and comprehensive (however relatively so) would be fantastic. ...Aaaah, just looked at your link. ...And in German, which I have better luck with (...by default) than Dutch or Flemish. The complete renderings of the legends are a huge help, particularly for the fact that issues of the same type are indeed in the reigning bishops' names. I'm about to download the .pdf. Many, Many Thanks.
You can find Ilisch here: https://jaarboekvoormuntenpenningkunde.nl/jaarboek/1997/1997-1998a.pdf You'll find this piece, or at least the various types that resemble it, under Utrecht. I am not that knowledgeable on these earlier pieces, but for those issued in what is nowadays the Netherlands (and western Germany), Ilisch is one of the most renowned experts in the field! I had the privilege of attending a lecture of his last year on the 11th century coins of Leiden. Which coincidentally are imitations of this type of Willem van Ponte! Ah yes, these sort of ironic nicknames. Another one favourite of mine, also from a Bishop of Utrecht: Bishopric of Utrecht, Bishop Rudolf van Diepholt. AV Sint-Maartensgulden or Postulaatsgulden. 1433-1453, Deventer mint. Amongst the general populace, these were known as 'knapkoek'! Knapkoek is a sort of local biscuit, that as the name implies, is very brittle and snaps in two really easily. The result of the low gold content of these guldens reminded them of that same snapping....
Cool coin, @AnYangMan ...not least for the continuing element of 'folk irony'! Glad your example is in one piece.... To state the obvious, your pictures evoke the color of electrum coins from a couple of millennia earlier.
@AnYangMan, sorry for the delay in addressing this part of your first post. But your profession of relative ignorance about the 11th century coins could not help evoking the saying, 'In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.' Of course, you were Spot On in your identification of the type and the issuing bishop of the denar /pfennig. It is 10.10.B of Ilisch's otherwise magnificent study. ...Without a trace of apparent variation, which wasn't reducible to different dies. In a study as recent as this! This is a dramatic contrast to the earlier French feudal that has been my traditional 'center of gravity' as a collector. Apart from minting practices (we can all 'hold our noses' for a moment), it's remarkable how standardized the production of the dies would have been, even during the reign of one bishop. I'm seeing more of the true legends (including 'WILHELLM') on my example, but am still having trouble making any sense of the reverse legend(s). The most intuitive guess is that this is some version of the Medieval Latin for the place name. Here, as you observed, there is some evident loss to the original legend of Bernold. Anyway, Thanks, Lots! Congratulations on your attendance of Ilisch's lecture on coins of Leiden. I will look them up! ...It's been a long time since anything in .pdf format was this much fun to read!
