From Steve Album/ India/ Early Medieval AV Dinara ND/ NM struck 640-56 during reign of Bhaskavarman King of Kamarupa/ Assam obv: stylized King archer type rev: Stylized Goddess holding Ball RRR
Recently have been getting into Handhellers what with the current plague. Last purchase of 2020, first coins in of 2021: 15 assorted Handhellers of Schwäbisch Hall plus a few I had previously. Had to stage a fun picture with them all: And one just to show the type: OBV: Hand (or Glove), H/A/L/L/A REV: Cross, x/•/x/•/x/•
Abbasid Caliphate. Time of Harun al-Rashid. Dated 171 AH (787-788 CE). Silver dirham. al-Abbasiya mint. Cites Yazid (b. Hatim), the governor of Ifriqiya. Bakh above reverse area legend. Album 219.2a. al-Abbasiya was near Kairouan in Tunisia. The bakh on the reverse means "good" and is saying this is money of good quality. This is only F grade but some of the calligraphy is nice, also I didn't have one from a North African mint yet.
I posted these in the follow the coin theme game thread but wanted to share them here as well. They're absolutely the smallest coins I've ever seen or held. These coins are attributed to the little-known Michen Kingdom of Lower Burma, circa 775-835 AD. They apparently circulated locally around the Gulf of Martaban. The coins are a tiny silver bracteate series showing a four-petaled flower with a stem (on some) and a dimple in the flower. They are tightly standardized at 0.03 grams (0.29 grams over 10) and 7-8mm wide. They're paper thin and feel very fragile. Michen Kingdom of Lower Burma c. 775-835 AD AR Bracteate (1/2 ratti) | 0.03 g | 7mm Obv: Four-petalled flower with stem and dimple within flower Rev: Reversed impression Ref: Than Htun PL 155.3, Mitchiner#565-571, Krisadaolarn A403 Bonus: Than Htun listed five locations within Lower Burma that these Michen coins are known to have circulated; I plotted them on a map to show how small of a region these circulated in.
@FitzNigel, thanks for the link to your terrific writeup. Some coin you got there! ...You talked me into dredging up my immobilization of Charles the Bald of Bayeux. It eventually involved not one, but three coups. First, the French dealer Remi Thieux ("rtnumis" on ebay and Delcampe) sold me his copy of Dumas, Le Trésor de Fécamp, at his cost. (Better believe I made him inscribe it!) Then, I found this example on French ebay, attributed to Charles, as usual. But it's a die match of Fécamp 6047. These are described as 10th-century immobilizatons. Moesgaard discusses the issue, along with @FitzNigel's, in an article in Graham-Campbell, ed., The Silver Economy in the Viking Age (2007; see esp. 102-111). The ones of Bayeux might be contemporaneous to Richard I's issues in his own name, rather than earlier (looks like a better case for that with the temple immobilization), but they're kinda cool anyway. On to Coup #3. Had to get an example of Charle's prototype. Here with the unblundered (but still very medieval Latin, and somewhat fraught) mint signature.
This is the first time that I’ve contributed to the Medieval Monday thread. I confess that I don’t know which end is up. viewing the coin from different angles doesn’t seem to help. The bull and the horseman are likely upside down. Please feel free to advise.
Thank you, @Deacon Ray, for resuscitating this --especially after the last couple of days' worth of drama with the website! To wallow in the obvious (...never stopped me before), there are people here who can be of real help with reading this series, both in terms of the motifs and legends. ...Now I have to find something (in .jpg). ...See what you did?
First time I’ve succeeded getting to the site all day! Unfortunately I can’t help @Deacon Ray with his jital, but I’ll follow with an Indian coin too: Ceylon Vijaya Bahu IV, r. 1271-1274 AE Kahavanu, 20mm x 4 grams Obv.: King Standing facing right, holding lotus with altar, flame, and pellets in fields Rev.: Devanagari Legend Sri Vi ja ya Ba hu right. King reclining right, holding sankh
Kidarite Huns/ Kashmir Vinayaditya 570-604AD AV Dinara ND/ NM 7.89/ 21mm/ ex: Fuller Collection/ Steve Album Auction This king was a crook, trying to pass that off as gold.
Here's a Northumbrian styca of Eanred of Northumbria, c. 810-830 (later, billon phases). I only got one representative example, years ago, and am too lazy to look beyond my 2015 edition of Spink ...which is less than conclusive. Vaguely Spink 862.
Seems there is a problem using BBCode (or insert image) on the site after the hiccup. The images are not coming through, but if you attach it, it seems to work. Thailand: Ayuthia (ca. 1350-1564) AR 1/4 Baht (MNI-2711) Obv: Elephant standing right Side: Conch Shell Rev: Blank
(In reference to an intervening post, since deleted: ) The Thing rises from the swamp where it was spawned....
France: King of West Francia, 887-898. AR Denier (22mm, 1.56 g). Limovicas (Limoges) mint. Obv: + GRΛTIΛ D - I RE, ODO with quadrilateral Os across field; cross pattée above and below Rev: + LIMOVICΛ(horizontal S) CIVIS, cross pattée. M&G 1332; MEC 1, 973. For his skill and bravery in resisting the attacks of the Vikings at the Siege of Paris, Odo was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat.
Sweet example, @Severus Alexander! ...I have a couple of the ensuing immobilizations of Limoges, through the 12th and maybe into the 13th century. --Nope, just, Never Mind.