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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TheRed, post: 3093359, member: 87080&quot;]Over the last several years I have become enthralled with Anglo-Gallic coins; i.e. those coins minted by the English kings and their feudal vassals in their territorial possessions in France.&nbsp; The series is massive and covers almost 300 years of history.&nbsp; It also includes some great historical figures, Richard Coeur de Lion being one of the most prominent.&nbsp; The coinage of Richard is one of the areas I&#039;ve heavily focused on and there are a large number of coins that are available as the mints of Richard in both Aquitaine and Poitou were prolific.&nbsp; In <i>Anglo-Gallic Coins</i> by P &amp; B.A. Withers and Steve Ford, the best reference on the subject, there are 6 obverse die and 11 reverse die listed that are paired in 17 combinations for denier of Aquitaine.&nbsp; Some are exceedingly rare, with only a few specimens known.&nbsp; The most common is AGC 5 1/a and it is quite common.</p><p>&nbsp;[ATTACH=full]781080[/ATTACH]</p><p>Richard I AR Denier as Duke of Aquitaine 1172-1189 AD Bordeaux mint </p><p>18.0mm 0.86g</p><p>Obv: +/RICA/RDVS/ω in four lines.</p><p>Rev: +AQUITANIE, cross pattee within inner border.</p><p>AGC 5 1/a</p><p><br /></p><p>The list of 6 obverse dies and 17 combinations is going to have to be updated. A denier of Richard from Aquitaine came up for auction in April via CNG that caught my eye.&nbsp; While CNG noted that it was extremely rare, it is unlisted in <i>Anglo-Gallic Coins </i>or the other references.&nbsp; I was also unable to find any examples of the type that had come up for auction in recent years. To make a long story short, I won the coin with a massive last second bid.&nbsp; After the coin arrived I brought it to the attention of the author&#039;s <i>Anglo-Gallic Coins</i>.&nbsp; They confirmed what I had suspected, that it is a previously unknown obverse die paired with a common reverse die and makes for a completely new variety.&nbsp; It is also quite possibly unique.&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]781094[/ATTACH] </p><p>What makes the coin so special is that the obverse legend is a complete mess.&nbsp; The order of the letters is reversed and the C and D are retrograde.&nbsp; The Rs on both lines are retrograde and inverted. Yet the A, S, and V, are correctly oriented. Instead of reading <font size="7">RICA/RDVS</font> the obverse reads: [ATTACH=full]781107[/ATTACH]</p><p>Needless to say, the poor die engraver really botched this job.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>To have a newly discovered and possibly unique coin for such a historical figure is quite the thrill.&nbsp; One of the true specialists in the field has inquired after the coin and I&#039;m not sure if I am going to keep it.&nbsp; For the time being though I am probably the only person in the world with this variety of Richard denier.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Please add any coins you have that are unique, rare, or unlisted be they Greek, Roman, or Medieval.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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