Crusader Coin Showing Fascinating Medieval Armor

First two coins description

Crusaders . Principality of ANTIOCH . Bohemond III ( 1163-1201.) . Ex 'Roupen' hoard
0.80g, 17 mm . 'Helmet' denier class B/C ('mule') of Bohemond III (c1165?).
Obv. +BOAMVNDVS Helmeted head left
Rev. +ANTIOCHIA Cross pattée, crescent in second angle .
Metcalf 372-373
Marcus Phillips 'The Roupen hoard of Helmet pennies of Antioch', Numismatic Chronicle 2005, pp 249-276 . Plate 30 - 27(this coin).

Crusaders . Principality of ANTIOCH . Bohemond III or IV ( 1163-1216.)
0.83g, 18 mm . Helmet denier ('Irregular') class J of Bohemond III/IV
Obv. +BOAIIVIIDVS Helmeted head left
Rev. +A.ITIOCII.IA Cross pattée, crescent in second angle .
Metcalf 417-437
The existence of die links with coins in the name of Roupen shows that the
introduction of the annulet marked the end of the issue .
Marcus Phillips 'The Roupen hoard of Helmet pennies of Antioch', Numismatic Chronicle 2005, pp 249-276 . Plate 34 - 331(this coin).
Ex 'Roupen' hoard No 331

 

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Wow @VD76 You have an amazing collection of these crusader era Antioch coins. Thanks for posting these.

Also, thanks for clearing up my question regarding the issuer of your transitionals. Seth was kind enough post this very helpful chart from Malloy to another thread a few months back that shows a head right column but doesn’t appear to assign a ruler to it.

 

Head right deniers are before Class A type for Bohemond III so at the beginning of the series in 1163. Where is still some discussion is where Bohemond III ends and IV begins and whether his types start in 1201 or in 1208 after the revolt in Tripoli. Class N (the second reign of Bohemond IV) is also rather obscure. While die links between classes make these "irregular" specimens relevant for the chronology, they also raise new problems.

A "Class J" Bohemond IV from TimeLine Auctions for good measure:

 

Raymond Roupen??? Anonymous knight/gate denier .

 

While I can’t add much more to the Bohemond discussion, I’ll drop off my Roger I Trifollaro as another example of 11th Century arms and armor on coins:

Norman Italy - Calabria
Roger I, r. 1072-1101 (1098-1101)
Mileto Mint, AE Trifollaro, 28.04 mm x 8.3 grams
Obv.: ROG [ERVS] COME +S. Roger, mounted left wearing Norman helm, holding kite shield and striped banner
Rev.: + MARIA [MATE]R DNI (’N’ retrograde). Enthroned nimbate Virgin Mary holding on lap Christ child, nimbate and in swaddling clothes right
Ref.: NCKS 131var., De Wit 3789, [MEC 14, 93]

You can see the helm on Roger is quite similar

 

All of these coins are absolutely delicious! That anonymous denier you don't see often. I think the last one that came to auction went for big bucks. Here is one that you normally don't see:

Latine Rulers of Constantinople: Anonymous (1204-1261) Æ Trachy, Constantinople (Lianta 103-106; CLBC 11.31.1)

Obv: Full-length figure of beardless and nimbate saint wearing short military tunic, breastplate and sagion; right hand spear resting over shoulder; left hand holding shield; O/Δ/ΓI to left; O/C to right
Rev: Full-length figure of emperor, wearing stemma, divitision, collar-piece and paneled loros of simplified type; right hand holds trilobate scepter; left hand holds globus cruciger.

 

Yours looks like the larger module to this 18x16mm 1.19g (clipped) specimen:



If it wasn't for Eleni Lianta's reference there, I would have thought that it's a coinage of 1240s Thessalonica Series III (spanning Ioannes and Demetrios of the Komnenodoukai and after). Now that I see your specimen I also see the obvious stylistic similarities with the 'religious types' -- Hendy types P, R, S, T and Metcalf/Grierson type U of 'Constantinople'. At least I came spot on or very close to it chronologically.

This could also continue the discussion about the origin of Thessalonica Series III and a possible connection to 'Latin' ('Venetian') mintings also somewhere between Thessalonica and Constantinople ca. +/-1240.

And then there's the interesting possible reverse legend [Π/P/φ/P]Γ/...[HH/T]OC or similar -- that can be interpreted from the three and a half letters on your reverse and one an some on mine, possibly alluding to Baldwin II, who was in fact 'born in the purple'.

 

In terms of (late) medieval armour, my favourite coin showing this in my collection has always been this kneeling knight in full armour with mace and shield from my ancestral land, East Friesland (Ostfriesland) in northwestern Germany. It's much later than the crusader coinage in this thread, but I think it's still pretty cool and the most detailed I have seen. The harpiye on the shield is one of the East-Frisian symbols used on their coinage, which is pretty apt given that it is a wind-spirit, and East Friesland is a pretty flat and windy place!!!

Edzard, Christoph & Johann, 1540-1566. Reichstaler c.1563/66
Emden mint, mintmaster Dirk Iden Kruitkremer (crossed clover & axe mintmark above the knight's head on the obverse). Kappelhoff 203