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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TheRed, post: 2840865, member: 87080&quot;]Boon, George C. <i>Coins of the Anarchy 1135-1154</i>. Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 1988. ISBN: 0-7200-0325-3</p><p>Pages: 44</p><p>Price: aprox $10</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]672022[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Grade: A</p><p><br /></p><p>In December of 1135 Henry I of England died, leaving the throne to his daughter Matilda, known as Maud.&nbsp; Almost immediately Stephen of Blois, the nephew of Henry and cousin of Maud, seized the throne of England.&nbsp; [USER=74712]@FitzNigel[/USER] has a great post about this period, known as &quot;The Anarchy,&quot; which can be found <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/stephen-and-the-anarchy.279466/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/stephen-and-the-anarchy.279466/">here</a>.&nbsp; During the Anarchy law and order broke down, and with it the coinage of the realm.&nbsp; It resulted in one of the most confusing periods of English numismatic history. Thankfully there is this little gem of a book to shed light on the coins of this period.&nbsp; &nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The book begins with a short introduction covering the origin of most of the coins, a hoard near Cardiff that was discovered in 1979, before giving a two page overview of the struggle between Maud and Stephen. The majority of the book is devoted to the coins from the Anarchy themselves.&nbsp; Forty individual coins are presented in the book, and accompanied by color photos at twice their actual size.&nbsp; The first three coins are of William the Conqueror, William II Rufus, and Henry I.&nbsp; The next 35 coins are those of Stephen, Maud and her supporters, and then Royalist coins.&nbsp; The last two coins are of Stephen and Henry II post Anarchy.&nbsp; The legends, weight, and die axis of all coins are given as well as detailed descriptions of the coins, their moneyers, and historical context.&nbsp; Scattered throughout the book are illustrations of relevant coins, royal seals, and even a map of the mints of Stephen and Maud. Finally, there is a short list of further readings.</p><p><br /></p><p>To say that there is a lot of information packed into this book is an understatement.&nbsp; It is overflowing with historical and numismatic facts.&nbsp; For example, when Stephen seized the royal treasury in 1135 it consisted of 24,000,000 coins!&nbsp; The strength of this book rests in the rare, if not unique, coins that are presented within the pages.&nbsp; Many of these coins, such as those of Stephen&#039;s son Eustace IV of Boulogne or the local issues, are of types which rarely, if ever, come to public auction/sale.&nbsp; To have clear color photos with detailed descriptions is a treat. </p><p><br /></p><p>It should be noted that this book is not exhaustive when covering the coins of Stephen.&nbsp; Also, the coins lack reference numbers for SCBC or North.&nbsp; Those, however, are minor quibbles for such a wonderful book.&nbsp; While I will probably never own any of the coins of the Anarchy that are illustrated within the pages, this book was a very enjoyable read and is a highly recommended addition for anyone interested in medieval English coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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