I've been on a bit of a coin binge lately and for some reason have been picking up English pennies. In the last few weeks I purchased three pennies, one of Henry II and two of Henry III. Henry II was the creator of the Angevin Empire and one of the most powerful men in 12th century Europe. His grandson, Henry III, was a largely ineffectual king of England that was deposed on one occasion and had to fend off a French invasion of England on another. Henry II AR Penny Short Cross type Class 1b1, 1180-1182 AD Northampton mint, Willem moneyer. 19.5mm 1.40g Obv: hENRICVS REX; Crowned bust holding scepter. Rev: +WILLELM ON NOR; Voided short cross w/ quatrefoils in angles. SCBC.1344 North.963 Henry III AR Penny Short Cross type Class 7b, 1222-1236 AD London mint, Ilger moneyer. 19mm 1.40g Obv: hENRICVS REX; Crowned bust holding scepter. Rev: +ILGER ON LVND; Voided short cross w/ quatrefoils in angles. SCBC.1356b North.979 Henry III AR Penny Voided Long Cross type Class 1b/2a mule, 1248-1250 AD, London mint, Nicole moneyer. 18mm 1.40g Obv: hENRICVS REX ANG; Crowned bust. Rev: NIC OLE ONL VND; Voided long cross w/ three pellets in angles. SCBC.1360 North.984 Rare Feel free to post any medieval coins, pairs of coins of grandfathers and grandsons, binge purchases, or anything you feel like.
Your building a nice collection of pennies. I'm sure glad there are a few of us on here that can appreciate them. Here's a Henry III and brother John. I promise to take more pictures soon. I'm sure you guys are tired of seeing the same old coins.
I have yet to snag a HII from England, but do have an Aquitaine issue: French Feudal, Aquitaine Henry II, r. 1152-1168 Bordeaux Mint, BL Denier, 16.57mm x 0.8 grams Obv.: +hENRICVS REX, cross pattée Rev.: º+º / AQVI / TANI / ºEº, in four lines Ref.: AGC 2 (1/a), Duplessy 1030, Roberts 3881, SCBC 8001 Ex. R.D. Frederick Collection. Ex. A.H. Baldwin England Henry III, r. 1216-1272 (1248-50) London Mint, AR Long Cross Penny, 18.28mm x 1.5 grams Obv.: ★hENRICVS REX.III'. Crowned round head facing, heavy beards with three pellets each side a central pellet Rev.: NIC OLE ONL VND. Long cross voided with three pellets in each angle Ref.: North 987/1, SCBC 1363 ; H3 Ref. LNNC3003, De Witt 3208-14 (Apologies for the oversized images - my combined photo wouldn’t load for some reason...) Nice Henries, Red!
Great Henries. I'd love to pick up some English Medieval coins. I have one Crusader state denier, Bohemund of Tripolis, but that's it for the period. Byzantine coins are not apparently considered Medieval, I guess.
If you want to know more about the Henry III long cross penny take a look at .. http://www.henry3.com/london-1b-2--2.html
There out there but they can get pretty expensive for really nice ones. The ones with more or less complete legends seem quite rare.
Thanks for the coin praise everyone. Those are great coins @alde your John penny is a beauty. I agree, it is great having a few other people on this forum that like ancient coins. @FitzNigel I really want an Anglo-Gallic Henry II denier, that is a great coin you have. Your Eleanor denier is wonderful @Orfew I have one of them on my 2018 want list. If only one would come up for auction. I have a few Tealby pennies, this is my nicest: It is missing almost all of the obverse legend, but as alde said these are usually poorly struck as a rule. The state of English pennies from Henry I to late Henry II was pretty poor.
I feel you on the Eleanors - I probably overpaid for mine, but I hadn’t seen any for a while so I pulled the trigger anyway: 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 I’ll probably upgrade at some point. HI and Stephen are tough - my criteria has been good/decent portrait, and enough of the legend to be able to identify it. My Stephen fits that fine, but my HI is a bit of a stretch - it was just a tiny element on the reverse legend that allowed me to figure out the mint/moneyer: England Henry I, r. 1100-1135 (1125-1135) Bury St. Edmunds AR Penny, 17.16 mm x 0.8 grams Obv.: +hEN[R]I[CVS]. Bust facing crowned and diademed, head three-quarters left, sceptre in right hand Rev.: [+]G[ILEBE]RT[:ON]:E[DM]N. Quadrilateral with incurved sides and lis at each angle over cross fleury Ref.: North 871, SCBC 1276, De Wit 3186 England Stephen, r. 1135-1154 (c. 1136-45) London Mint, AR Watford Type Penny, 19.17mm x 1.1 grams Obv.: S[TIEFNE RE]X. Bust right, crowned and diademed, holding sceptre in right hand Rev.: ADEL[ARD : ON : LVN]. Cross moline with fleur in each angle Ref. North 873, SCBC 1278, CC99 ST1D-005, De Wit 3189
A Stephen is high on my list. I'm learning one can't be too picky when it comes to his and the Henry II Tealby pennies. Even just identifiable Steven's get good money.
Great coins @FitzNigel and @Orfew I would love to have a penny of Stephen. One theory I read regarding their poor quality, and I wish I could remember where, was that the moneyers purposefully struck the coins that way so as to obscure their participation in Stephen's royal operations. That way, if empress Maude won the war they could deny their involvement and hopefully avoid retribution. It is a interesting theory.
I have heard that theory too - but likewise can’t remember from where. I double checked my initial post on this Steohen coin, but did not record where the theory came from. Perhaps I read it in Spufford? Or maybe Grierson’s Medieval coins.