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A denier tournois from the usurpation of Infante Ferdinand de Majorca in Morea
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<p>[QUOTE="seth77, post: 2983669, member: 56653"]The <i>deniers tournois</i> of Ferdinand de Majorca at Glarentza are rather scarce<font size="1">1</font> and as such<font size="4">,</font> bringing new specimens to the attention of the numismatic community is an endeavor worth pursuing.</p><p><br /></p><p>The present specimen stems from an old Italian private collection but has not been published before in lack of a positive identification. Now, with a full proper attribution, the coin is<font size="1">2<font size="4">:</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]734495[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="1"><br /></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4"><b>Specs:</b></font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">AR18mm 0.71g billon denier tournois, minted at Glarentza, cca. 1315-1316.</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4"><b>OBV:</b> + IFAnS · F · D’ · mAIORK · ; cross pattee</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4"><b>REV:</b> + ° DE CLARENCIA ° ; chateau tournois flanked by two annulets.</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4"><b>REF:</b> Malloy 31a<font size="1">3</font>, Schlumberger XII, 22<font size="1">4</font>, Cecchinato fig. 31<font size="1">5</font></font></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4"><b>NOTE:</b> Well worn by circulation but in good identifiable condition, full</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">legends and mint marks.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">Ferdinand was the son of the King of Majorca James II (1276-1311) and in 1311 he became Lord of Frontignan and Viscount of Aumelas. Since the early 1300s he had been a frontman for the Grand Catalan Company, and as such involved in the complex political and military context of the Angevin-Aragonese conflict in Sicily and South Italy and in the Byzantine-Frankish situation in Greece<font size="1">6</font>.</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><br /></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">In 1313 he entered the Villehardouin family by marrying Isabella de Sabran, the grand-daughter of Prince Guillaume II of Achaea (1246-1278), in a bid by this faction of the Villehardouin family to regain power in Achaea. By early summer 1315, Isabella had died but not before giving birth to a boy who inherited the claim. In his name, Ferdinand organized a band of Italian and Aragonese knights and Catalan mercenaries and set sail for Glarentza, which he conquered in June or July 1315. Shortly after, his authority was established in Morea and he took the title of Prince.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">By June 1316 the lawful rulers of Achaea, Louis de Bourgogne and his wife Maude de Hainaut, reached the Morea in an alliance with Venetian interests and Greek support from Mystras and defeated Ferdinand's band of knights on July the 5th at Manolara (Manolada). The death of Ferdinand either on the battlefield, of injuries or by execution at the order of Louis made sure that, by October 1316, the Catalan Company – which had already overran the Duchy of Athens (1311) and was trying to extend its conquests in Greece for the Aragonese kings of Sicily – would not encroach upon the Angevin dominion of the Principality of Achaea.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">The coinage minted for Ferdinand's short-lived usurpation in Glarentza follows the usual monetary system of Achaea of <i>deniers tournois</i>. These coins were issued in what appear to be two series (Malloy 31a and Malloy 31b)<font size="1">7</font>, both following the quality and weight of the standard early 14th century Frankish Greek <i>tournois</i><font size="1">8</font>.</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">The legend – IFAnS F D mAIORK – can be interpreted as either Infans filius domini Majoricarum or Infans Ferrandus de Majorca. Both interpretations are possible as we know that he was often referred to as such during his lifetime, from Ramon Muntaner<font size="1">9</font>.</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><br /></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">Being of rather good billon and measurements, his coins might have circulated long after his ill-fated usurpation, like the specimen presented here obviously did.</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">The circulation wear evident on this particular coin is consistent with many years of use and circulation. This coin might have reached Italy via trading or military routes, as an effect of an economic and monetary policy, started by Charles I d'Anjou when he inherited the Principality of Achaea at the death of Guillaume II in 1278 and tried to start a monetary unification throughout his realms from Provence to the Morea<font size="1">10</font>.</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">From the 1280s to the early 1330s – when the debasement of the Frankish <i>tournois</i> became evident and with it came the downfall of its prestige and acceptance, many <i>deniers tournois</i> minted by the Greek mints entered mainly Neapolitan circulation and usage<font size="1">11</font>.</font></font></p><p><font size="1"><br /></font></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">The defeat of Ferdinand's claim in 1316 entrenched Angevin control in Morea and supported the continuation of the acceptance of Greece-minted coin in the Kingdom of Naples and the realms around it for another 15 years, during which time it is possible that the specimen presented here might have found its way to the Italian markets.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">Notes:</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">1. A similar coin from the same issue was offered by Baldwin's Auctions Ltd, Auction 49, lot 1710, from the Crusader coin collection of Alistair Lilburn: <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=323607" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=323607" rel="nofollow">https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=323607</a> </font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">2. Dealer's photos, 2016.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">3. Alex G. Malloy, Irene Fraley Preston & A. J. Seltman – Coins of the Crusader States 1098-1291, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem and its vassal states of Syria and Palestine, the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus (1192-1489), and the Latin Empire of Constantinople and its vassal states of Greece and the Archipelago, Attic Books Ltd, New York, 1994, p. 365.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">4. G. Schlumberger – Numismatique de l'Orient Latin, Paris, 1878-1882.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">5. R. Cecchinato – Il Denaro Tornese della Grecia Franca, LaMoneta.it, 2011, pp. 44-45.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">6. Ramon Muntaner – Chronicle, pp. 471-480 et al.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">7. Idem 3.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">8. Malloy p. 354.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">9. Muntaner, op cit, p. 471.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">10. Cecchinato, p. 22.</font></font></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1"><font size="4">11. Idem 10.</font></font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="seth77, post: 2983669, member: 56653"]The [I]deniers tournois[/I] of Ferdinand de Majorca at Glarentza are rather scarce[SIZE=1]1[/SIZE] and as such[SIZE=4],[/SIZE] bringing new specimens to the attention of the numismatic community is an endeavor worth pursuing. The present specimen stems from an old Italian private collection but has not been published before in lack of a positive identification. Now, with a full proper attribution, the coin is[SIZE=1]2[SIZE=4]:[/SIZE][/SIZE] [ATTACH=full]734495[/ATTACH] [SIZE=1] [SIZE=4][B]Specs:[/B][/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]AR18mm 0.71g billon denier tournois, minted at Glarentza, cca. 1315-1316.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4][B]OBV:[/B] + IFAnS · F · D’ · mAIORK · ; cross pattee[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4][B]REV:[/B] + ° DE CLARENCIA ° ; chateau tournois flanked by two annulets.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4][B]REF:[/B] Malloy 31a[SIZE=1]3[/SIZE], Schlumberger XII, 22[SIZE=1]4[/SIZE], Cecchinato fig. 31[SIZE=1]5[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=4][B]NOTE:[/B] Well worn by circulation but in good identifiable condition, full[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]legends and mint marks.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]Ferdinand was the son of the King of Majorca James II (1276-1311) and in 1311 he became Lord of Frontignan and Viscount of Aumelas. Since the early 1300s he had been a frontman for the Grand Catalan Company, and as such involved in the complex political and military context of the Angevin-Aragonese conflict in Sicily and South Italy and in the Byzantine-Frankish situation in Greece[SIZE=1]6[/SIZE].[/SIZE] [SIZE=4]In 1313 he entered the Villehardouin family by marrying Isabella de Sabran, the grand-daughter of Prince Guillaume II of Achaea (1246-1278), in a bid by this faction of the Villehardouin family to regain power in Achaea. By early summer 1315, Isabella had died but not before giving birth to a boy who inherited the claim. In his name, Ferdinand organized a band of Italian and Aragonese knights and Catalan mercenaries and set sail for Glarentza, which he conquered in June or July 1315. Shortly after, his authority was established in Morea and he took the title of Prince.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]By June 1316 the lawful rulers of Achaea, Louis de Bourgogne and his wife Maude de Hainaut, reached the Morea in an alliance with Venetian interests and Greek support from Mystras and defeated Ferdinand's band of knights on July the 5th at Manolara (Manolada). The death of Ferdinand either on the battlefield, of injuries or by execution at the order of Louis made sure that, by October 1316, the Catalan Company – which had already overran the Duchy of Athens (1311) and was trying to extend its conquests in Greece for the Aragonese kings of Sicily – would not encroach upon the Angevin dominion of the Principality of Achaea.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]The coinage minted for Ferdinand's short-lived usurpation in Glarentza follows the usual monetary system of Achaea of [I]deniers tournois[/I]. These coins were issued in what appear to be two series (Malloy 31a and Malloy 31b)[SIZE=1]7[/SIZE], both following the quality and weight of the standard early 14th century Frankish Greek [I]tournois[/I][SIZE=1]8[/SIZE].[/SIZE] [SIZE=4]The legend – IFAnS F D mAIORK – can be interpreted as either Infans filius domini Majoricarum or Infans Ferrandus de Majorca. Both interpretations are possible as we know that he was often referred to as such during his lifetime, from Ramon Muntaner[SIZE=1]9[/SIZE].[/SIZE] [SIZE=4]Being of rather good billon and measurements, his coins might have circulated long after his ill-fated usurpation, like the specimen presented here obviously did.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]The circulation wear evident on this particular coin is consistent with many years of use and circulation. This coin might have reached Italy via trading or military routes, as an effect of an economic and monetary policy, started by Charles I d'Anjou when he inherited the Principality of Achaea at the death of Guillaume II in 1278 and tried to start a monetary unification throughout his realms from Provence to the Morea[SIZE=1]10[/SIZE].[/SIZE] [SIZE=4]From the 1280s to the early 1330s – when the debasement of the Frankish [I]tournois[/I] became evident and with it came the downfall of its prestige and acceptance, many [I]deniers tournois[/I] minted by the Greek mints entered mainly Neapolitan circulation and usage[SIZE=1]11[/SIZE].[/SIZE] [SIZE=4]The defeat of Ferdinand's claim in 1316 entrenched Angevin control in Morea and supported the continuation of the acceptance of Greece-minted coin in the Kingdom of Naples and the realms around it for another 15 years, during which time it is possible that the specimen presented here might have found its way to the Italian markets.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]Notes:[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]1. A similar coin from the same issue was offered by Baldwin's Auctions Ltd, Auction 49, lot 1710, from the Crusader coin collection of Alistair Lilburn: [url]https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=323607[/url] [/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]2. Dealer's photos, 2016.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]3. Alex G. Malloy, Irene Fraley Preston & A. J. Seltman – Coins of the Crusader States 1098-1291, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem and its vassal states of Syria and Palestine, the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus (1192-1489), and the Latin Empire of Constantinople and its vassal states of Greece and the Archipelago, Attic Books Ltd, New York, 1994, p. 365.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]4. G. Schlumberger – Numismatique de l'Orient Latin, Paris, 1878-1882.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]5. R. Cecchinato – Il Denaro Tornese della Grecia Franca, LaMoneta.it, 2011, pp. 44-45.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]6. Ramon Muntaner – Chronicle, pp. 471-480 et al.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]7. Idem 3.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]8. Malloy p. 354.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]9. Muntaner, op cit, p. 471.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]10. Cecchinato, p. 22.[/SIZE][/SIZE] [SIZE=1][SIZE=4]11. Idem 10.[/SIZE][/SIZE][/QUOTE]
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A denier tournois from the usurpation of Infante Ferdinand de Majorca in Morea
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