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Message:: [QUOTE="GinoLR, post: 8133306, member: 128351"]In the Frankish states of Outremer (the Levant) the locally-minted coinage, like the deniers of Amalric, circulated together with equivalent coinage from Western Europe. Silver or billon deniers from Italy and South France are frequently found in all the countries: Israel, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. There is even a written source about it: The chronicle of Raymond d’Aguilers lists the coins used by the first crusaders, coins from Poitiers, Le Mans, Lucca, Valence, Melgueil and Le Puy. A friend of mine in Gaza has a large collection of ancient coins he bought from local dealers, all found in the Gaza strip. He is so proud of his collection that he even published a book about it. The humblest coin in this book is a worn and holed denier of Angers minted c. 1160-1190. What was such a coin from Western France doing in Gaza? Very probably it came in the purse of one of Richard Coeur de Lion's men when he retook Gaza and the coastal towns and fortresses in 1191/2. Richard was not only King of England but also Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou, Maine and Touraine, his army was mostly from Western France. Similar coins from Angers have rarely been spotted in the region, one specimen in Acre, another one in Jerusalem. [ATTACH=full]1416873[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]