Nap

Nice coins! The early Capetians are tough coins, frequently not that nice looking, and tricky to identify since everyone had the same names! I have not really started to seriously work on the lengthy series of French kings, only have these Capetian coins... Hugh Capet (with Bishop Herveus) denier, Dy. 1 Louis VIII (?) denier tournois, Dy. 187 Philip III denier tournois, Dy. 204 Philip IV gros tournois, Dy. 214 I find attribution tricky because of the name repetition and because differences are very subtle (for example gros tournois of Philip IV and V). Reminds me of the English Plantagenet coins- not my favorite area... The attribution of the above coin to Louis VIII isn't certain. I have read that coins reading 'TVRONVS CIVI' are from Louis VIII and 'TVRONVS CIVIS' are Louis IX, but this isn't accepted by everyone and the safer thing to do is probably call it Louis VIII or IX. As Louis was, as mentioned above, briefly proclaimed king of England, I need a coin of his for my English set, with the understanding that the tentative attribution is probably the best I'm gonna get. I don't believe any coins can definitely be attributed to Louis VIII.

Here is another coin that is related to the Crondall hoard, and may even be English. Tremissis, Nietap(?) type, double cross on obverse, reverse with abstract non-design. This tremissis has the normal weight of the Saxon thrymsas, about 1.3 grams, but has a very small diameter, only about 6 mm, and is unusually thick. A single example of this type was in the Crondall hoard. Other examples have been found in England, with a clustering in Lincolnshire, where my example was found. It is generally presumed that the coin originated in Frisia, due to its inclusion in the Nietap hoard and other Continental finds. However, the possibility of English imitation has remained, with such scholars as Metcalf and Naismith leaving that option open. If you look at the Frisian types, such as the one @Roerbakmix posted above, there appears to be an attempt at a face on the obverse, however it is worn down from degeneration and rust on the die. However, on mine, there is no attempt to portray a face, it is simply a collection of dots. It does suggest that this coin may be an imitation of the better style ones, with the prototype being a rusted or worn example. Being imitative of course would not necessarily mean that the coin is English, or even unofficial. However the clustering of these coins in Lincolnshire does make you wonder...

Nice collection, and I think Wessex definitely deserves its own topic! I am missing coins of Beorhtric (of course) and Ecgberht. Beorhtric is on the noncollectible list for me, along with a few other Saxon and Viking rulers not known outside of museums (Heaberht of Kent, Oswald of East Anglia, Hywell of Wales, and Guthfrith, Halfdan, and Harthacnut of Northumbria). But all of those are still on my want list! Here are some coins of Wessex- Aethelwulf Aethelberht Aethelred I Alfred Edward "the Elder" Aethelstan As far as the one-for-every-monarch.. I am attempting this, for the British Isles from the Saxon times to now. I believe I have a total of 112 different rulers, including monarchs from England, Ireland, and Scotland. I think there are a total of 140 (some of which are noncollectible). I have not included the Roman emperor overlords, which would be a large number of rulers from Claudius to Honorius, nor have I included Celtic, but eventually I might fit those in too.

The large A is on some of the earlier gold and transitional pale gold coins too, as well as later Saxon and Viking coins. It must have held some meaning. I suspect it is related to Christian symbolism, the Alpha and Omega (beginning and end) appear on many Saxon coins. I think a large A may have had a similar devotional function to the large cross. My theory is that the ornate letter A (with the V shaped bar and the horizontal line above) was meant in this fashion, while a normal letter A to spell a name would look much more simple like a modern A or an upside down V. Two emperors thrymsa PADA PIIA transitional thrymsa/sceatta Northumbrian styca, Aethelred II moneyer Leofthegn Eadmund of East Anglia penny St Edmund memorial penny

Cool coin. I have one of those as well, the Leofthegn special designs are really neat coins of the styca series. The generally accepted scholarship is that the ‘m’ is an upside down lowercase omega. And another Leofthegn styca has a central ‘A’ for alpha. Alpha and omega being significant on this Christian coin. But alternate theories are welcome. Mercian coins feature a central ‘m’ and East Anglian coins feature a central ‘A’. So it’s possible the central ‘m’ is not an omega. Here are two wretched pictures. I have a better omega styca but couldn’t find a picture. For both, when properly oriented for alpha/omega, the legend begins at the bottom.

Sadly, as far as I know, only one portrait coin of Wiglaf is privately held, with another three (I think) in the British Museum. It last sold about a dozen years ago. The coin is in nice condition but the portrait is rather messy due to very rusted dies.

Lovely collection, Anaximander. There are no easy middle-period Anglo-Saxon coins! Sadly, and much to my shame, I do not have a coin of Queen Cynethryth. There are some holes in my set. Besides Ecgberht and Cynethryth, I am also missing most of the ecclesiastical coins associated with Mercia- coins of Offa with Archbishop Jaenberht, Offa with Archbishop Aethelheard, and Offa with Bishop Eadberht.

Mostly British dealers and auctions, with one from an American dealer and one from an Australian auction. Congrats on your Mercian. The Burgred is particularly nice. None of them are easy!

Mercia was a large and centrally located Anglo-Saxon kingdom and one part of the "heptarchy" of the early medieval period of England. Mercia became the dominant kingdom of England during the 7th century and remained so until the 9th century, when Viking attacks and infighting decimated the country and considerably changed the political climate, leading to the rise of Wessex. The early coinage of Mercia was much like the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, small (10-12mm) sceattas featuring abstract designs with Christian, Pagan, and Celtic imagery. Kings and princes were not named on the coinage, with the exception of a sceat with the Runic name of Aethelred, possibly representing the contemporary Mercian king of that name. In the mid 8th century a powerful king named Offa began coinage in his own name, copying the contemporary deniers of France. Offa was probably the Anglo-Saxon equivalent to the "enlightened despot", such as Charlemagne, and accomplished political, economic, and military goals. He is remembered for "Offa's dyke", an earthwork formation dividing England from Wales, which still partially exists to this day. In numismatics, his main contribution is the coinage reform that led to the first coins that most would recognize as "pennies". The penny coinage would not considerably change in size, weight, or composition for nearly 1000 years. Offa was less successful in establishing a dynasty. Despite having a successor in place, his plans were thwarted on his death and his son was only around for a few months before he died, presumably (though not necessarily) violently. A noble named Coenwulf became king and immediately faced political breakdown from other lands that his predecessor had subdued. He seems to have been an energetic king who dealt with a multitude of political and military problems, mostly with his neighbors. On Coenwulf’s death, a series of short reigns followed, of which we know little. First was Ceolwulf I, brother of Coenwulf. He was deposed in favor of a seemingly unrelated king, Beornwulf. Beornwulf’s short reign was notable for two major defeats, a battle against Wessex that heralded the latter’s ascendancy, and a battle against the East Angles trying to remove the Mercian yoke, which led to Beornwulf’s death. Beornwulf was followed by Ludica, who met the identical fate just a year later, dying in battle against the East Anglians. Ludica was followed by the also presumably unrelated Wiglaf, who was defeated and deposed by Ecgberht of Wessex. Ecgberht soon found himself kicked out again in favor of the resilient Wiglaf. All of this happened in less than a decade. After Wiglaf’s second reign, his son and grandson were quickly removed and a new dynasty installed. But then a curious thing followed. Mercia, though clearly in decline and forever disconnected from its client kingdoms in Kent and East Anglia, entered a period of stability. For the next 40 years or so there was relative peace with the reigns of Berhtwulf and Burgred. There was also a degree of cooperation between Mercia and Wessex against Viking invaders. However Mercia’s days were numbered and the Viking invasions would do them in. The last king of independent Mercia, Ceolwulf II, is called a Viking puppet by the Wessex-biased chronicle, but even if he was marginalized by history, he was still unable to lead Mercia back into prosperity. Mercia became absorbed into Wessex. With a recent acquisition I managed to collect all the Mercian kings. I am still missing a coin of Ecgberht of Wessex, who was briefly ruler of Mercia, but I have managed to find the others. All Mercian coins are rare, though Offa, Coenwulf, and Burgred are somewhat more numerous. The others are rare, and Ludica and Wiglaf are extremely rare, hence my damaged examples. Here are my examples of coins of the Mercian kings. Offa 757-706, London mint Offa 757-796, Canterbury mint Coenwulf 796-821, Ipswich mint Coenwulf 796-821, Canterbury mint Ceolwulf I 821-823, Ipswich mint Beornwulf 823-826, Ipswich mint Ludica 826-827, Ipswich mint Wiglaf 827-829, 830-839, London mint Berhtwulf 840-852, London mint Burgred 852-874, London mint Ceolwulf II 874-879, London mint

I haven't gotten into the artifacts, as many look dodgy and my budget is typically blown on coins. Here is probably the most interesting item of that type in my collection- It's a pseudo-coin lead brooch of Eadred. The reverse is blank with a broken brooch attachment. King Eadred is presumed to be king Eadred of England (946-955), the only known monarch of that name. As far as I know, it is the only coin brooch of Eadred, and one of just a very few pseudo-coin brooches of the Saxon kings known. The purpose of these brooches is unknown, but I like to imagine that it was owned/worn by someone in King Eadred's retinue, perhaps someone who was on a diplomatic mission, or a pilgrimage. Interestingly this artifact was found in France, in the Loire valley. This location is not on the medieval pilgrimage to Rome trail, so what it was doing there is really unknown. It's almost certainly a British artifact. Marion Archibald wanted to acquire the artifact for the British Museum, but the seller instead kept it, and it eventually ended up in an auction. I have her letter to the owner from the late 80s, which was kept with the artifact and came with the item when I bought it. It's something I'll likely donate to the British Museum in the future. Here is a coin of king Eadred-

You may have to write it! As far as I know, such a book does not exist. Recent publications on Merovingian coins have focused on individual areas. The vastness of the coinage has been explored over a hundred years ago, but nobody has recreated the massive sources of Belfort and Prou. I believe there is a French volume of Medieval European Coinage (MEC) in preparation, but I don't know anything more. The title is "The Age of the Denier" though, so it may focus more on the later silver coinage.

Will be there today, tomorrow, and Saturday

Nice selection. I am partial to the medieval coin, of course 🙂

Thanks for the heads up. You could always sell it privately you know, I have references 🙂

Some honorable mentions. This ended up being a pretty productive year for me- No long write-ups on these, but let me know if there's anything you'd like to know more about. Finally, an ancient coin! Allectus, the Romano-British usurper. Anglo-Saxon sceat, series H, type 48 Anglo-Saxon sceat, series Z-related Anglo-Viking penny, St. Peter of York, swordless type Groat of James II, king of Scotland 1437-1460 Bracteate penny of Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, king of Denmark, 958-986 and Norway 970-986. And yes, the wireless Bluetooth technology is named after him Penny of Eric I "Ejegod" or "Evergood", king of Denmark, 1095-1103 Hvid of Hans, king of Denmark (1481-1513), Norway (1483-1513), and Sweden (1497-1501) Penny of Olav III "Kyrre" or "the Peaceful", king of Norway 1067-1093. The son of Harald "Hardrade", the famous Viking Bracteate penny of Cnut Ericsson, king of Sweden 1173-1195