Featured An obscure lord with an obscure coinage in Flanders: Arnold van Rummen

@AnYangMan was kind enough to offer his expertise on my thread about Margaret of Constantinople and he also launched an invitation for me to delve deeper into the feudal coinages of the Netherlands.

I have to say, I find this area extremely interesting and often rewarding, as I have mentioned in my Hainaut threads: here, about Margaret and here about Willem III and Albrecht van Beieren as Counts of Hainaut.

Unfortunately, outside the high profile auctions of Elsen, I don't really know where to search for a more deeper understanding first hand of the Low Countries coinages -- that is outside the feudal and royal sections of the French ebay or the regional/provincial sections of the Dutch and Belgian ebay plus some Flemish independent collector and dealer sites.

Regardless, I did my due diligence and, courtesy of patience and some Flemish that I can read and understand, I went searching for something interesting.

And eventually there it was: a leuwengroot from Arnold van Rummen.


ARNOLD d'OREYE as SEIGNEUR de QUAEBEKE et RUMMEN (1331-1365/1373)
AR25mm 2.16g silver leeuwengroot, Rummen mint, cca. 1364-1365.
+ MOnЄTA ☘ RUMEn ❜• inside a circle of 12 oves with leaves inside; prancing lion to the left in center field.
+ BEИEDICTV - SIT : ИOmE : DNI : NRI : IhV : XPI (esterior legend); ARn - O❜•QV - C D0 - Mn❜I (interior legend); long cross.
Vanhoudt G 2007, Lucas 4-6, Torongo/Oosterhout Subtype I F2

The leeuwengroot of Rummen is par excellence an imitation coinage, designed to mimic the groten of Flanders and Brabant, making these coins almost counterfeits. Arnold started the series of leeuwengroten very likely after 1355 or perhaps 1360 -- after the death of Jan III de Brabant, who was powerful enough to suppress such an illegitimate coinage, were it to arise during his reign.

The many privy marks used and the fact that there were two distinct types minted seem to suggest that the mintage of the Rummen groten lasted for much longer than just the period between Arnold had sold his claim to the domain of Chiny (1364) and his sale of the Seigneurie de Rummen in 1365, but it is rather likely that during this period a large number of coins was minted, and very likely these variations with the many privy marks recorded, as it's the case in this specimen presented here.

More on the classification of the leeuwengroot coinage of Rummen, for anyone who might be interested, can be found in Torongo & Oosterhout - The Leeuwengroten of the Lordship of Rummen: A Preliminary Overview, as available here.

This specimen comes from a French collection and was likely found in Normandy, showing an area of circulation similar to other Flemish billon and silver coinages.

Similar examples here, here and here.

 

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Great write up and a cool coin. Congrats.

 

Once again my friend you have supplied a very interesting writeup. I look forward to your posts on these mostly overlooked coins.

 

Thank you!

 

Coming from the Low Countries, I find this very interesting. Thank you @seth77 for your write up.

 

Glad you liked it!

 

I initially missed this topic due to being on holidays, but glad I got tagged @seth77 ! Certainly not a common coin and as you point out in your write-up, a very obscure yet historic piece. Condition is always a mayor factor in medieval coins from the Low Countries (and of course in medieval numismatics in general) and obscure pieces such as this one in superb conditions can go through the roof pricewise.

The scholarship of Paul Torongo has been some of the finest work on Flemish/Dutch medieval coins of recent times. He is also one of the first to realize that publishing in English is actually beneficial to the field, which is as you undoubtedly have noticed a rather inwards-orientated discipline. Almost all works are published in Dutch! (or French for some of the southern areas)

And to keep it legal; another equally obscure lordship (also discussed by Torongo in one of his articles, since it also struck leeuwengroten). A grand denier, after the Flemish half gros of 1331, from Reinoud II (or III?), lord of the obscure Coevorden.

 

The leeuwengroot of Arnold van Rummen was 12EUR unidentified and offered as "French" coinage. Were it to be recognized as what it was I doubt I would've afforded it despite the condition, which is not all that bad.

 

Yep yep. Nice coin....NOT FROM RUMMEN.
This is a Cambrai CMACN coin.
Far more rae too.

 

"rare"

 

https://www.academia.edu/43036486/The_Leeuwengroten_of_the_Diocese_of_Cambrai_A_Preliminary_Overview

 

Typically brilliant writeup, Seth!
(...This time, it was a relief to find out you didn't 'scoop' me again! :<}}} Honest, when you mentioned Elsen and French ebay, I said, "Oooooh, Nooooo, here it comes...." But the 14th century is effectively outside my purview.)

 

Thank you.
I am honored and humbled.
- P. Torongo

 

Torongo/van Oosterhout Cambrai Type VIII

 

I will correct in my files, thank you so much for your insights and your great work on these interesting issues.

 

Thanks. It's a "labor of love'
A Cambrai leeuwengroot is way better than a Rummen leeuwengroot.

 

Please feel free to add this specimen to your database and the image to any future study you feel would benefit from another known specimen.

 

Another one, better condition, 2.04g from French ebay