Medieval Monday!

I always thought I spend way too much for my bad looking Eleanor, until I saw what the recent one on CNG went for…
French Feudal - Aquitaine
Eleanor, r. 1185-1204; AR Denier, 17.86mm x 0.8 grams
Obv.: + DVCISIT, M above, A below, two cross pattee on either side
Rev.: + AQVITANIE, Cross Pattee inside
Ref.: AGC 9B (1/a), Duplessy 1025 (Anonymous of William X), Roberts 4313, SCBC 8011, De Wit 401

and on a related note, i finally got a Richard I denier of Aquitaine, and it arrived in the mail today (apologies for the bad phone photos…)

I also paid too much for it…

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

@FitzNigel, to wallow in the obvious, thre's absolutely no shame in having an Eleanor like that! I could rattle off half a dozen examples of mine that follow exactly the same principle --most of which you've probably seen. ...And yeah, overpaying (or, alternately, losing to people who do) is becoming a serious trend. Medieval collectors are making real inroads in stealing Classical collectors' thunder, in that regard.
BTW, belated but sincere thanks for your kind words about last Monday's post from me. ...Why not, here's my other one that early with a castle. --A rerun, but it goes back a ways.
Seigneurie de Saint-Aignan. Denier traditionally assigned to Herve III, also Seigneur de Donzy (1157-1187), but characterized by Duplessy (610) only as anonymous, "vers 1170-1180." Sorry for the pics.

Obv. Castle (possibly timber this early, otherwise likely a kind of masonry 'shell keep'), surmounted by a cross, on a motte, the base of which divides the legend. From 12 o'clock: [+]CAS [...] .T. [...] RVM. Rev.: +SANCTI ANIAI.
Schematic as the coin is, it's fun for coinciding with a real castle, ruinous but extant. Here's the 'shell keep' (possibly the inner curtain around a central donjon, now fallen), which looks typically 12th-earlier 13th century. Followed by a view of the wider context, with buildings dating from the Renaissance to the 19th century.

 

I really like this coin, @VGO_ducks
That way of portraying a castle is really different, isn’t it? It looks like it’s seen from above. But they didn’t have aeroplanes or drones, so they must gave had a creative celator!

 

Many thanks, @svessien.
Except that you're owed more apologies for how bad the pics are ...I'm pretty sure I took them myself, with the only, bottom-shelf digital camera I ever had. The view of the castle is really as conventional as it is schematic. See if you can see the same kind of outline as you get from this representation of a 'motte and bailey' castle on the Bayeux Tapestry, from around a century before. --From this terrific web site: http://www.rupertwilloughby.co.uk/the-norman-conquest/mottes-baileys-and-the-bayeux-tapestry/

 

I just stumbled back onto a trove of untitled coin .jpgs in a 'camera uploads' file. (A misnomer in the first place, because apart from a few of my own initial, maladroit efforts, they're mostly dealers' pics. Yeah, I know.) This is one from the viscounty of Chateaudun, a series I've collected relatively extensively.


This one is dated c. 1200-1210. They're all anonymous until shortly after this; it took Louis IX's purchase of the viscounty from the count of Blois for them to begin being issued in the viscounts' own names, as tenants-in-chief of the king rather than subtenants of Blois.
Obv. abstract, 'bleso-chartrain' profile; rev. '+CASTRI DVnI.' Duplessy 488.
This variety is chiefly known by the star on the obverse, but I like it especially for the Lombardic 'n' on the reverse. Earlier medievals are notorious for the way their legends lag behind the adoption of Gothic in other media, starting, naturally, with writing. This is pretty early for a Gothic 'n.'
And, why not, here's a shot of the castle, from Wikimedia Commons. The donjon, built and elevated between the later 12th and earlier 13th centuries, is next to the chapel, with a Renaissance residential block to the side.

 

Nice example, @+VGO.DVCKS ! The bléso-chartrain type shows how strange the imagery on medieval coinage could get: if I understand correctly, the obverse on the earliest coins shows a human head, which got more and more blundered over time.

My own medieval coin of the week is a little bit clearer in its imagery. Looking at the cross on the reverse, I find it noteworthy that the kings of Cyprus insisted to be kings of Jerusalem as late as the early 1400s. That was a clear case of wishful thinking.

King Janus, for whom my coin was minted, spent most of his reign fighting the Genoese, the Mamluks, and the revolting Cypriot peasants. His efforts were largely unsuccessful. They finally resulted in Cyprus having to pay an annual tax to the Sultan of Egypt. It's fair to consider this a low point of Lusignan reign in the Mediterranean.

As is usually the case with these, my coin misses much of its legends, but otherwise it is rather pretty. It was a lucky €6.50 bargain from ebay. Allen Berman's "Price Guide to Coins of the Crusader States" (2007) lists a value of 60 USD for this type in "fine." We all know how catalogue values sometimes can be optimistic.


Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus, under Janus, AE sezin, 1398–1432 AD. Obv: + IA[nU]S . R[OI D]Є . , lion of Cyprus rampant l., pellet to l. of lion. Rev: [+ IЄR]LM [Є D]Є C[IP]; cross of Jerussalem. 20mm, 1.45g. CCS 124b.

 

Thanks, @Orielensis, and Yep, you nailed it; the prototype was a late (10th c.) example, but otherwise very typical of fairly detailed, representational Carolingian portraiture.
Your example of Janus is Great. It's wild how fraught the history of the Frankish Levant got as late as this. Easy to see how you and @seth77 find it so compelling. ...Nope, as a collector, I think I'm kind of stuck in the 14th century and earlier. Just too invested in that interval.

 

Germany, Brandenburg. Friedrich II (the Iron), AD 1440-1470. AR Hohlpfennig Bracteate (15mm, 0.19g). Stendal mint. Obv: Arms (Half-eagle facing, head left; four diamonds to right) in rayed circle. Ref: Bahrf 19. Very Fine, nicely toned.

 

Wow, @Edessa, I had no idea that bracteates continued this late, even at this module! And how appropriate that it's a feudal issue. Loving it.

 

Italy. Salerno. Roger Borsa, Duke 1085-1111. Æ Follaro.
Nimbate bust of St. Matthew facing; in field l. and r., S and M .
ROJE / RIVS / DVX
MEC 103-109


Italy. Salerno. William (Guglielmo). Duke, 1111-1127 . Æ Reduced Follaro.
Bust of St. Matthew, nimbate and holding Gospel, between S and M
Large Latin cross, V-V above, DV-X below
MEC 139-145

 

Wow, @VD76, some really, really cool Norman Sicilian stuff.
I've never seen any of this, except, maybe, in books.
...I'd dearly love a follaro that was unambiguously attributable to Robert Guiscard. From here, that's a true 'grail coin.' If you're on the same page, best of luck to both of us.

 

Godfrey II, the Bearded, active c. 1040-1069; variously Count of Verdun (in Lower Lotharingia), and Duke of Lower, then Upper Lotharingia ...involving successive revolts against Heinrich III of Germany. Cut denar, Friesland; attributed to Mere (Alkmaar?) mint;. Struck circa 1060.
Obv. Facing portrait; +GOEDI[___]R[_].
Rev. Domed church; CII inside, [A] A S in fields. +ECN[__]S. Ilisch 24.5.
(Pssst --in the last Naumann auction, an entire example closed at 575 Euros.)

 

A newer purchase from last year, but a charming mounted knight:
Low Countries - Brabant
Henry I, r. 1190-1235 (1210-1235)
Antwerp Mint AR Denier, 12.86 mm x 0.61 grams
Obv.: DV X below mounted knight right, holding sword, reins and shield over quatrefoil
Rev.: Cross of Brabant with a line in each limb and central pellet, in each quarter, pellet-in-annulet above quatrefoil
Ref.: Roberts 7361, de Wit 1108

 

That's a magnificent example, @FitzNigel. I think I remember it from one of the recent Elsen auctions. For comparison, I wound up with this one. The sole feature in its favor is that the sword is on the flan; at considerable expense to the legend, which, in dramatic contrast to yours, is barely present at the extreme lower edge. Not to mention the surfaces --just, never mind! ...I was still glad to get it.

 

Better late then never....
I picked this one up on Easter Sunday from MA-shops/ Dirk Löbbers

Frankfurt/ Imperial City
AV Goldgulden 1495
Frankfurt Mint
HRE Maximilian I von Habsburg 1493-1519
St. John the Baptist standing/ holding Lamb & Book of Gospels/ Weinsberg Shield between feet.
MO'oNO'oFR ANC'Fo 1Ω95
Imperial Orb in Trefoil
MAXIMILIANVSoROMAoREX
3.26g. 22mm. .986 12h
Frey 428 J&F 129 Fr. 941 DeMey d'Or 979 Schulten 851

 

Few space fillers from Elsen auction 150 finally arrived today . Here is a one for this Monday

0.87 g.

 

Very cool, @VD76. Right, Antioch, beginning of the 13th century, maybe Raymond Roupen. I wound up not even bidding on anything from the auction, but the period is my personal favorite for "l'Orient latin," and this one gets to be A Lot better than a 'space filler.' These fractions have to be as scarce as anything in the whole series.

 

So, it is one third of the way into the year, and my success in acquiring new coins for my collection has been limited. I have picked up a solidus of Justinian from Carthage, and one of Nicephorus and Stauracius. The latter coin was a longtime goal. I have bid on many more coins, only to see my efforts outbid by collectors offering two or threefold, or even more, than I was willing to venture. Byzantine, Late Roman, and Germanic gold still offer the occasional bargain, but not often. I was getting a bit frustrated.

So, I decided to try for some medieval silver pieces from an auction house new to me, Olivier Goujon Numismatique. I essayed 6 bids, thinking perhaps I will win one. Instead, I won five of six.



Goujon-1. Byzantium, Basil I reigned 867-886 AD, and his son Constantine, died 879 AD, miliaresion


Goujon-2. Carolingian, West Francia, Charles the Bald or Charles le Chauve, grandson of Charlemagne, son of Louis the Pious, denier of Quentovic. Reigned in West Francia from 843 to 877 AD, and was Emperor 875-877 AD.

Quentovic was, with Dorestad, one of the two most important Frankish ports in the North during the Merovingian era. Its position opposite Kent facilitated trade with Britain, and was the debarcation point for Anglo-Saxon pilgrims to Rome. It was attacked by the Vikings in 842 AD and declined in importance until it was completely abandoned, probably in the end of the tenth century.

OBV: monogram of KAROLUS, +GRATIA D-I REX
REV: Cross with two besants, +QVVENTOVVIC



Goujon-3. Francia, Languedoc, Comté de Toulouse, Bertrand

OBV: cross patée. BERTRAND.COMES some letters legate
REV: +TOLOSA CIVI S O V IN THE FIELD
EF+

Count Bertrand, 1106-1112 AD. Was also Count of Tripoli 1109-1112 AD.



Goujon-4 France, Provence, Robert of Anjou sol coronat.
OBV: <crown> IER#R ET: SICIL:REX
REV: <cross with lis in the angles>. COMES: P VIN CIE

Best guess is King of Jerusalem and Sicily / Count of Provence

2.14 grams. BD 833



Goujon-5 France, Archeveché de Lyon denier. Anonymous coin of the Archbishops. Circa 1050-1150
OBV: +PRIMA SEDES. In the field, L^G for Lugdunum
REV: GALLIARU In the field, a cross patée

Refers to Lyon (Lugdunum) being the first seat of a bishop in Gaul, GALLIARU short for Galliarum, “of the Gauls.”

The first bishop of the Gauls was Saint Pothinus who was born in 87 AD and was a disciple of Saint Polycarp, who sent him to Gaul. Polycarp was personally acquainted with Saint John the Apostle. Saint Pothinus was martyred during the persecution of Marcus Aurelius in 177 AD. His successor was Saint Irenaeus of great renown.

It is remarkable to think that this coin, almost a millennium old, is none the less closer in time to us than it was to the time of Polycarp, Pothinus , and Irenaeus.

“Christ came not only for those who believed from the time of Tiberius Caesar, nor did the Father provide only for those who are now, but for absolutely all men from the beginning, who, according to their ability, feared and loved God and lived justly. . . and desired to see Christ and to hear His voice.” Saint Irenaeus

 

Here is an English Anglo-Saxon penny of Ceolwulf II


Ceolwulf II, king of Mercia 874-879(?)
Moneyer: Leofwald
Mint: London (?)
Cross-and-lozenge type
S. 944

Ceolwulf II, the last king of an independent Mercia, is largely forgotten to history, and his mention in the Anglo-Saxon chronicle is certainly not auspicious. It records that, in 874, the Vikings defeated the Mercians at Repton, drove out Burgred, king of Mercia, and placed Ceolwulf on the throne. Ceolwulf is called an "unwise king's thegn." This was high medieval slander! The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles is a production of the Wessex court of Alfred "the great" and certainly has its agenda and viewpoint, if not outright propaganda.

For centuries it was presumed that Ceolwulf II was a Viking puppet as there really aren't any other written sources. However, the numismatic evidence somewhat argues against this. Both Ceolwulf and Alfred produced coins of the cross-and-lozenge types, and they circulated together, having been found together in hoards. Also, both kings issued a very rare type featuring two seated emperors, copied from the old Roman design, and possibly representing the two monarchs themselves. If Ceolwulf were considered a pretender far inferior to Alfred, it is highly unlikely that these coins would have been issued.

Rather, Ceolwulf was probably a short-lived ruler who did not have the military success, written legacy, or fame of Alfred, but it is highly doubtful he was a fool and a pretender. Ceolwulf II was likely a relative of a prior Mercian king of the same name, who was ruler about 50 years previously.