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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TheRed, post: 2920583, member: 87080&quot;]That is a great coin, especially the dolphin and anchor motif on the reverse.&nbsp; I would gladly make that coin a part of my collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>I do have one coin, which I have posted before, that is a bit of a medieval mystery:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]707076[/ATTACH]</p><p>Edward III AR Esterlin 1335-1337 AD Bordeaux mint? (18mm 1.32g)</p><p>Obv: EDWARD&#039; REX AnGL&#039;, Crowned bust facing slightly left, leopard below.</p><p>Rev: DVX AQV ITA nIE, long cross pattee terminated in trefoils, crowns in quarters</p><p>Elias 56</p><p><br /></p><p>What makes this coin a bit of a numismatic mystery is that scholars are starting to question the long accepted origin of this coin.&nbsp; The reverse legend declares Edward the Duke of Aquitaine, and thus the coin was always assumed to be an Anglo-Gallic issue.&nbsp; There are several problems with that, one being that the coin is not to the standard of Anglo-Gallic issues.&nbsp; Coins of this issue weigh in well above 1g and have a high fineness of silver.&nbsp; In contrast, Anglo-Gallic coins of Edward III were minted to the continental standard and were of lower weight and poor silver quality, often times being billon.&nbsp; Another problem is that these Esterlin aren&#039;t found in coin hoards in Aquitaine.&nbsp; Instead, they tend to be found in Britain, northern France, and the Low Countries.&nbsp; Lastly, the style of this Esterlin is unlike anything minted in Aquitaine.&nbsp; Medieval English coinage can be recognized by distinctive stylistic elements, which was by design.&nbsp; Coins struck in Ireland are visually distinct from those minted in England.&nbsp; Given the widely different silver quality of regional issues it made it very easy to know the value of a coin.&nbsp; So the unique design of this Esterlin would tend to indicate, along with the other evidence, that it is not in fact an Anglo-Gallic coin.&nbsp; But if it is not Anglo-Gallic then where and why was the issue minted?&nbsp; The leading &#039;new&#039; theory is that the coin was minted for military operations in northern France or the Low Countries, hence the weight and fineness. To quote Cicero, &quot;The sinews of war are infinite money&quot; and this coin may have been minted of high quality silver to pay soldiers, yet made visually distinct from any other English coins so as to not disrupt the economy and cause inflation.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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