Medieval Monday

[Severus Alexander]

1 hour ago, Nap said:

Busy all day yesterday, so it’s Medieval Tuesday!

 

 

Hugh Capet, king of France 987-996
with Bishop Herve of Beauvais
Denier
O: HVGO REX HERVEIS
R: BELVACVS CIVITAS
Duplessy 1

Hugh, the first Capetian king, issued coins with otherwise little known Bishop Herve of Beauvais.  His coins copy the Carolingian monogram, probably for familiarity and propaganda to show a dynastic continuation.

This scarce denier is the only collectible coin of Hugh, with a couple other types known but only from one or two examples.

Excellent coin! I was your underbidder. 😢🙃

[JeandAcre]

Dang, I'm on @Nap's page about Tuesday, but am Really sliding home in a cloud of dust --it's 8 pm Pacific time.

Taifa of Seville (one of the regional emirates that eventuated in al-Andalus after the fall of the Caliphate there); Mohamad al-Motamid.  Base /AE dirham, AH 463; c. 1071 CE.

This is actually a pretty solid example.  Going back an easy couple of decades before this, the taifas were already paying tribute to the Christian princes in northern Spain, who were quick to take advantage of the political fragmentation following the collapse of the residual, but unitary Umayyad polity in the 1030s CE.  The debasement of the coinage, both 'silver' (like this) and gold (often electrum), eloquently symptomizes the economic effect this had.

Kind of too bad, since the taifas perpetuated the stellar cultural attainments of the Umayyads without skipping a beat.  al-Mutamid himself was an accomplished poet.  But he's also the one who, in 1085, when the Christians were on the brink of capturing Toledo, advocated an appeal for intervention by the Almoravids of northern Africa.  This despite the fact that they were not only much more militarily accomplished and cohesive than the taifas, but correspondingly more fundamentalist, and likely to run roughshod over them (as they did).  al-Matamid is quoted as saying that he 'would rather be a camel-driver in Morocco than a swineherd in Castile' (Fletcher, The Quest for El Cid, p. 151).

 

[Nap]

11 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

Excellent coin! I was your underbidder. 😢🙃

Sorry about that 😞

Fortunately they aren't super rare.  You get the next one!

[JeandAcre]

I've been doing a fair amount lately with issues from the mid-later 11th c. CE taifas, in connection with a focus on the early phases of the Reconquista, particularly in reference to Rodrigo Diaz /El Cid.  (...Saw the movie once, as a kid; that was probably enough.)  I really like these, for ubiquitously being in the names of individual emirs, along with AH dates --when they're not off the flan.  Right, the downside is that, near-uniquely among Islamic coins of the period, the strikes on these compare with the worst you get with Salian-era denars of Germany and the Low Countries.

But this one demonstrates the same level of debasement mentioned my last post here, from gold to electrum rather than from silver to billon /de facto AE.

 

 

Taifa de Toledo y Valencia. Yahya al-Mamun.  [Emir of Toledo c. 1043/4-1076 CE; Valencia 1065-1075 CE.].  Fracción de dinar en electrón. (V. 1097) (Prieto 333). Acuñación muy floja, pero completamente legible. Rara. 0,72 g. BC+.

Some people frown on cutting and pasting dealers' attributions.  But even that involves its own methodological spectrum.  I did find this in Vives 1097 (from an online .pdf).  And the dealership, Aureo y Calico (sorry, Aureo, for the Spanish instead of the Catalan), has exhibited the highest order of scholarly responsibility I've seen from anyone for several years.  Excepting Jean Elsen et ses Fils, who have a comparable level of experience in medieval coins of the Low Countries.  In each case, this is their bailiwick.  I think it would be foolish not to take advantage of the fact.

Trust in preexisting expertise, when warranted, doesn't represent an innate character flaw.  Some people are merely more worthy of it than others.  If you run into sloppy attribution from dealers who list on major auction sites, you might as well go back to ebay, and trust your own eyes.

Edited February 13, 2023 by JeandAcre

[John Conduitt]

9 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

I've been doing a fair amount lately with issues from the mid-later 11th c. CE taifas, in connection with a focus on the early phases of the Reconquista, particularly in reference to Rodrigo Diaz /El Cid.  (...Saw the movie once, as a kid; that was probably enough.)  I really like these, for ubiquitously being in the names of individual emirs, along with AH dates --when they're not off the flan.  Right, the downside is that, near-uniquely among Islamic coins of the period, the strikes on these compare with the worst you get with Salian-era denars of Germany and the Low Countries.

But this one demonstrates the same level of debasement mentioned my last post here, from gold to electrum rather than from silver to billon /de facto AE.

 

 

Taifa de Toledo y Valencia. Yahya al-Mamun.  [Emir of Toledo c. 1043/4-1076 CE; Valencia 1065-1075 CE.].  Fracción de dinar en electrón. (V. 1097) (Prieto 333). Acuñación muy floja, pero completamente legible. Rara. 0,72 g. BC+.

Some people frown on cutting and pasting dealers' attributions.  But even that involves its own methodological spectrum.  I did find this in Vives 1097 (from an online .pdf).  And the dealership, Aureo y Calico (sorry, Aureo, for the Spanish instead of the Catalan), has exhibited the highest order of scholarly responsibility I've seen from anyone for several years.  Excepting Jean Elsen et ses Fils, who have a comparable level of experience and in medieval coins of the Low Countries.

Trust in preexisting expertise, when warranted, doesn't represent an innate character flaw.  Some people are merely more worthy of it than others.  If you run into sloppy attribution from dealers who list on major auction sites, you might as well go back to ebay, and trust your own eyes.

I'll make you feel better with a Golden Horde coin. Towards the end, they knew how to strike coins badly. So bad that attribution is often wrong too. At least, though, it's silver.

Timur Khan ibn Timur Qutlugh Dang, 1410

Azak. Silver, 14-16mm, 0.85g. Timur Khan. Struck in Azak (Zeno 110564).

[JeandAcre]

Thanks, @John Conduitt, for your skilful evasion of other fraught, albeit merely numismatic issues.  This is guaranteed 100% hyperbole-free...but consider the source: it really does help to be reminded of how the same thing routinely happened, in completely independent contexts.  

(Edit:) Just wiki'd Timur Khan.  I really need the swirling cultural (notably cosmological) dialectic that was happening across Asia around this time.  Wish I had another lifetime to learn more --along with a half-dozen languages, several conspicuous for having minimal relation to eachother.

Edited February 14, 2023 by JeandAcre

[Ursus]

I've got something a bit different for today. Here is an 11th century "Saxon penny" that I rently picked up.

The die designs and workmanship of these coins are usually rather crude, but they have an interesting technical feature: Their edges have been hammered up in order to test or show the quality of the silver. Alloys containing a significant persentage of base metal would have been too hard and brittle for this treatment. Whether this was done already at the mint or later while the coins were in circulation is fiercely debated in scholarship.

"Saxon pennies" were minted in eastern Saxony and often used in trade with the Vikings and Slavs. Most known hoard finds come from Scandinavia or the east Baltic region.

"Saxon penny", anonymous regional issue (probably episcopal), ca. 1070–1100 AD, struck in  in the Saale region, probably at Halle-Giebichenstein or Merseburg. Obv: crosier, tip r., flanked by two wedges and circle of pellets. Rev: cross of wedges, V-shapes and pellets in quadrants. 12mm, 1.0og. Ref: Type Sal E 3:1; Dannenberg 1340; Mehl 2011, 900 and 902.

[JeandAcre]

Here's one that's never been posted here.

Robert II, ‘le Jeune,’ Comte de Dreux 1188-1218.  

AR denier parisis of Dreux, c. 1190-1210.  (Possibly issued, or continued, by Robert's heir, Robert III, Comte 1218-1233.)
Obv.  [In two lines, partially retrograde:]  HC-O  [/]  M[E]S  (‘A COMES;’ of the Count.  Apparently a combination of the genitive case in Old French (‘a’) with the more conventional, formulaic Medieval Latin (‘comes’).  See the entry for Thibaut II of Champagne for two examples of a similar juxtaposition of linguistic elements.)
[From 3 o’clock:]  X MI: ROBERTVS  (+ME[I] ROBERTVS;’ [of] me, Robert).
Rev.  Cross, Alpha (‘/\’) in lower right and (inverted) upper left angles.
+DRVCAS CA.STA  (Castle of Dreux).
Boudeau 4, Duplessy 421.

This is one of several feudal issues from polities near the royal demesne which imitate contemporary royal deniers parisis, with two lines of text in the obverse field.  @seth77 has discussed these in considerable depth ...somewhere.  But (to continue an ongoing theme)  along with coinage, Robert III imitated Philippe II in castle architecture.  Here is his castle of Nesles-en-Dole, built c. 1219-1226.

It actually improves on Philippe's castle of Dourdan, dating to the end of his reign, c. 1220.

The donjon at Dourdan is tucked away in the rear of the castle, conforming to the tradition of passive defense going back to the 12th and even 11th centuries.  Robert III put the donjon at the front, where it could contribute to the defense of the gatehouse.  We're already starting to move toward the ethos of Edwardian concentric castles, with their emphasis on active defense.
 

[DLTcoins]

On 2/7/2023 at 11:56 PM, JeandAcre said:

Dang, I'm on @Nap's page about Tuesday, but am Really sliding home in a cloud of dust --it's 8 pm Pacific time.

Taifa of Seville (one of the regional emirates that eventuated in al-Andalus after the fall of the Caliphate there); Mohamad al-Motamid.  Base /AE dirham, AH 463; c. 1071 CE.

This is actually a pretty solid example.  Going back an easy couple of decades before this, the taifas were already paying tribute to the Christian princes in northern Spain, who were quick to take advantage of the political fragmentation following the collapse of the residual, but unitary Umayyad polity in the 1030s CE.  The debasement of the coinage, both 'silver' (like this) and gold (often electrum), eloquently symptomizes the economic effect this had.

Kind of too bad, since the taifas perpetuated the stellar cultural attainments of the Umayyads without skipping a beat.  al-Mutamid himself was an accomplished poet.  But he's also the one who, in 1085, when the Christians were on the brink of capturing Toledo, advocated an appeal for intervention by the Almoravids of northern Africa.  This despite the fact that they were not only much more militarily accomplished and cohesive than the taifas, but correspondingly more fundamentalist, and likely to run roughshod over them (as they did).  al-Matamid is quoted as saying that he 'would rather be a camel-driver in Morocco than a swineherd in Castile' (Fletcher, The Quest for El Cid, p. 151).

 

An unusually legible and complete coin for the Taifas! The obverse cites the heir al-hajib Siraj al-Dawla and a local official Hashim:

al-hajib / la ilah illa / Allah wahdahu / Shihab al-Dawla / Hashim.

Although the margin inscription is mostly missing, the mint name al-Andalus الاندلس is visible at 6 o'clock, as is the digit thelath (3, ثلث) of the date at 3 o'clock.

The reverse field cites the ruler and the deceased Spanish Umayyad caliph Hisham II (as al-Mu'ayyad) :

Allah / al-Mu'tamid 'ala Allah / al-imam abd 'Allah / amir al-mu'minin / al-Mu'ayyad bi-nasr / Allah.

The reverse margin is always Qur'an 9:33, as with most 'Abbasid-era coins.

Reference: Miles (Taifas, 1957), p. 149, no. 577.

Nice example!

Edited February 21, 2023 by DLTcoins

[JeandAcre]

@DLTcoins, Thank you; right, the dirham was pretty exceptional for the milieu.  I had some luck on that front.

Meanwhile, Huge Thanks for all of your help with the legends!  Another numismatist, Alan DeShazo (published in the Celator and Spinks's Numismatic  Circular) was prodding me toward learning the Arabic alphabet, just so that I could pick out proper nouns, and maybe titles, the Shahada, and other common elements.  Along the lines of what I like to call 'coin Latin' and 'Greek.' 

May the record show that I know he's right.  Two other favorites would have to be Sasanian Pahlavi and Ge'ez.  Wish I had another life.

Edited February 21, 2023 by JeandAcre

[seth77]

7 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

Here's one that's never been posted here.

Robert II, ‘le Jeune,’ Comte de Dreux 1188-1218.  

AR denier parisis of Dreux, c. 1190-1210.  (Possibly issued, or continued, by Robert's heir, Robert III, Comte 1218-1233.)
Obv.  [In two lines, partially retrograde:]  HC-O  [/]  M[E]S  (‘A COMES;’ of the Count.  Apparently a combination of the genitive case in Old French (‘a’) with the more conventional, formulaic Medieval Latin (‘comes’).  See the entry for Thibaut II of Champagne for two examples of a similar juxtaposition of linguistic elements.)
[From 3 o’clock:]  X MI: ROBERTVS  (+ME[I] ROBERTVS;’ [of] me, Robert).
Rev.  Cross, Alpha (‘/\’) in lower right and (inverted) upper left angles.
+DRVCAS CA.STA  (Castle of Dreux).
Boudeau 4, Duplessy 421.

This is one of several feudal issues from polities near the royal demesne which imitate contemporary royal deniers parisis, with two lines of text in the obverse field.  @seth77 has discussed these in considerable depth ...somewhere.  But (to continue an ongoing theme)  along with coinage, Robert III imitated Philippe II in castle architecture.  Here is his castle of Nesles-en-Dole, built c. 1219-1226.

It actually improves on Philippe's castle of Dourdan, dating to the end of his reign, c. 1220.

The donjon at Dourdan is tucked away in the rear of the castle, conforming to the tradition of passive defense going back to the 12th and even 11th centuries.  Robert III put the donjon at the front, where it could contribute to the defense of the gatehouse.  We're already starting to move toward the ethos of Edwardian concentric castles, with their emphasis on active defense.
 

That is a very nice example for this coinage. I did a presentation on CT for a couple of coins from tresor de Gisors, see here.

[JeandAcre]

 

Kingdom of Aragon (and Navarre).  Sancho Ramirez, 1063-1094.  AR diner (Catalan) /dinero (Spanish) of Jaca (‘moneta iaccensis’ or ‘jaqueses’), Group II /’elegant’ B; c. 1076-1088. 

Obv.  Sancho facing left; (from 10 o’clock:) SAN [annulet] CIVS REX.

Rev.  Long cross on flowered base (the latter evoking Arabic outer legends on contemporaneous Andalusian and other Islamic coins).  In field: ARA [/] GON, ‘A’ and ‘R’ ligated.

Crusafont, ME v. IV, #202; MEC v. 6, Pl. 4, #47 and pp. 101-3 (commentary).  See O’Callaghan (Reconquest p. 152) for the localized, Latin and Catalan names of the denomination. 

Sancho was on the eastern wing of the early phases of the Reconquista, the counter-invasion of all but the northern fringe of Iberia from the Arab and Moorish Andalusians. 

Iberia at the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, c. 1031 CE. The Andalusian taifas are to the south of the Christian polities, in gray.  Otherwise, the borders are effectively the same as under the Caliphate.  (From Wikimedia Commons.) 

Like his contemporaries, Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon (who captured Toledo in 1085) and Rodrigo Diaz /'El Cid,' Sancho happily imbibed and appropriated the Islamic influence he had grown up with.  ...During a time when al-Andalus was as culturally advanced as any part of the Islamic world, never mind Europe.  

 

Mark and signatures of Sancho Ramirez, in Latin (‘Sigñu Sancti’) and Arabic.  From a donation of an estate to his son, Pedro Sánchez, 1081.

From the Dara Medieval website: https://dara.aragon.es/opac/doma/rey02-SanchoRamirez.jsp 

This at a time when literacy among European monarchs, even in Latin, was the exception that proved the rule.  I like how this autograph demonstrates Sancho's own illiteracy in anything except Arabic.

Edited February 27, 2023 by JeandAcre

[John Conduitt]

1 hour ago, JeandAcre said:

 

Kingdom of Aragon (and Navarre).  Sancho Ramirez, 1063-1094.  AR diner (Catalan) /dinero (Spanish) of Jaca (‘moneta iaccensis’ or ‘jaqueses’), Group II /’elegant’ B; c. 1076-1088. 

Obv.  Sancho facing left; (from 10 o’clock:) SAN [annulet] CIVS REX.

Rev.  Long cross on flowered base (the latter evoking Arabic outer legends on contemporaneous Andalusian and other Islamic coins).  In field: ARA [/] GON, ‘A’ and ‘R’ ligated.

Crusafont, ME v. IV, #202; MEC v. 6, Pl. 4, #47 and pp. 101-3 (commentary).  See O’Callaghan (Reconquest p. 152) for the localized, Latin and Catalan names of the denomination. 

Sancho was on the eastern wing of the early phases of the Reconquista, the counter-invasion of all but the northern fringe of Iberia from the Arab and Moorish Andalusians. 

Iberia at the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, c. 1031 CE. The Andalusian taifas are to the south of the Christian polities, in gray.  Otherwise, the borders are effectively the same as under the Caliphate.  (From Wikimedia Commons.) 

Like his contemporaries, Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon (who captured Toledo in 1085) and Rodrigo Diaz /'El Cid,' Sancho happily imbibed and appropriated the Islamic influence he had grown up with.  ...During a time when al-Andalus was as culturally advanced as any part of the Islamic world, never mind Europe.  

 

Mark and signatures of Sancho Ramirez, in Latin (‘Sigñu Sancti’) and Arabic.  From a donation of an estate to his son, Pedro Sánchez, 1081.

From the Dara Medieval website: https://dara.aragon.es/opac/doma/rey02-SanchoRamirez.jsp 

This at a time when literacy among European monarchs, even in Latin, was the exception that proved the rule.  I like how this autograph demonstrates Sancho's own illiteracy in anything except Arabic.

He seems to include an eternal knot in his signature, which is rather Arabic of him.

Muhammad Öz Beg Dang, 1333-1334

Saray al-Jadida. Silver, 1.50g. Sultan / Just / Öz Beg Khan; in segments: Mint of Saray and year (AH734). Creed around names of 4 Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and Ali (Sagdeeva 203; Album 2025).

[JeandAcre]

@John Conduitt, many thanks for pointing that out.  True story; your example kicks some stuff all around the block.  

More broadly, it warrants reiteration: medieval Europe Never, that gets to mean, Never was monocultural.  --The Gothic arch?  Oops, Islamic architecture.  The revisionism Starts with the people who refer to cleaning up the initial historical mess as ...Just wait for it... 'revisionism.'

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by JeandAcre

[seth77]

One of the highlights of a small lot that brought the elusive billon tornesello of Agostino Barbarigo (see here) -- an early billon tournois of Giovanni II Orsini as 'Despot of Romania' from Arta:

AE16x15mm 0.45g billon denier tournois, 100/1000, Arta mint, ca. 1328/9.
+ IOhS DЄSPOTVS; Cross potent
+ DЄ ARTA CASTRV; Chateau tournois, flanked by triangles made of three dots, annulet underneath
Malloy 115, Tzamalis F103, Tzamalis Elis/1964 Hoard p. 282 IO 10A, Schlumberger 1878, Tav. XIII / 16, Baker IOA var 2 (p. 1468)

Giovanni II was made 'despot' by Andronikos III in 1328 or 1329 (Nicol - The Despotate of Epiros 1267-1479, 201, p.95) which is possibly when he started minting his deniers tournois in his stronghold at Arta (Bendall - Longuet's Salonica Hoard, p. 155). His policy was oscillatory between the Byzantines and the Angevins, which brought him some success at the expense of both major parties for around 10 years.

For the silver content, the research on the Elis/1964 Hoard, Tzamalis p. 280 is still relevant. This one is a good billon specimen, minted early in the series, the low weight is because of flan damage and circulation. There's golden-brownish irizations in the image, but the surface is smooth and silvery in less bright lighting. Usually most of these (usually later specimens) are more coppery in look.

 

[JeandAcre]

Etienne, Comte de Penthievre c. 1093-c. 1135/6; Seigneur de Guingamp.

 

AR denier of Guingamp.  
Obv.  Cross [stars in upper angles].
+STEPhAN CO(([)]  (‘STEPHAN[VS] COM[ES];’ Count Stephen).
Rev.  Stylized profile to right.
[+]()VIN()AM[P]  (‘GVINGAMP;’ Guingamp).
Boudeau 144, Duplessy 362.

This is the one of mine that has the most recognizably human profile.  Over roughly a century of immobilization, the issue becomes a miniature version of the infamous 'bleso-chartrain' type, progressively abstract as it goes along.
 

[TheRed]

I'll add my latest win from CNG. It is a denier of Edward I from Aquitaine, and was minted after he became king.

[John Conduitt]

Keeping it Edward I...

Edward I Type 1 Penny Jeton, 1282-1289

Tower. Copper, 20mm, 1.65g. Bust of king facing, inside border of rosettes. Cross pattée, fleurs at ends, sun and moon in angles, inside border of rosettes (Mernick Series 2a, Obverse 2a.8, Reverse 15, based on a penny of Fox Class 4). Struck by the mint using coin punches.

[Bailathacl]

My most recent medieval arrival is a Semessis of Michael III “The Drunkard” (842-67) from the Syracuse mint, SB 1694.  The proverbial 2-headed coin.  Coins of this Emperor seem a little harder to find in decent shape than his contemporaries. As for his nickname 🥴 it likely is a posthumous bit of character assassination by the court of his successor.  Tough times. 

[JeandAcre]

It's brilliant how many people have stepped up to this plate over the course of the day.  With such relentlessly mindblowing stuff.

...Monday is really, truly the day of the week when other, more inherently real parts of my life get to happen.  Along the lines of treading water playing catch-up with the preceding week. From here, there really couldn't be a less propitious day for this.

Maybe I'll do an OP later this week.

Edited March 14, 2023 by JeandAcre

[Cordoba]

Latest medieval from gorny and mosch, and my heaviest medieval coin by far. not too sure the diameter b/c they are lagging on shipping my wins, but according to spengler & sayles these range from 32-39 mm. 

Mu‘izz al-Din Sanjarshah Dirham
Zangids of al-Jazira, Mu‘izz al-Din Sanjarshah, AH 576-605 / AD 1180-1208. Dirham (Bronze, 15.56 g), al-Jazira.

Obv: Zengid tamgha; names and titles of al-Mu'azzam Mahmud and Wali 'Ahad al-Zahir in outer margin.
Rev: Names and titles of Abbasid caliph and Rum Seljuq overlord in three lines; mint formula and AH date in margins.
Reference: Spengler & Sayles 86; Album A1883.

Ex Gorny & Mosch.

[Bailathacl]

Waiting on this to arrive.  Happy to add this shilling from the short-lived son of Henry VIII   

[JeandAcre]

This was fun, as a bottom-shelf example of the reign, that's still worth having. 

Harold I 'Harefoot,' joint king of England (with his half-brother, Harthacnut) 1035-1037; sole king 1037-1040.  Either an exceptionally ragged 'cut half,' or a fragment verging on hacksilver.  Fleur-de-Lis coinage, c. 1038-1040.

Obv. Harold's lower profile; armored and holding a sceptre.  

+[HAR]OLD [REXC].

Rev.  Voided long cross, fleur de lis in each angle. 

(From 7 o'clock --grrr, Google Docs Won't rotate:)  +-ELFP[...].

 

Right, the autopsy.  On one hand, all you get for the moneyer is '-ELFP.'  I went looking in North for possible moneyers.  First, I was hoping that I was really looking at an initial 'E,' instead of shorthand for an 'AE,' as in 'AElfwine.'  There are a few Anglo-Saxon names that do begin that way, and I knew it would simplify my life.  But North doesn't list any for the whole reign, in any mint.  Meanwhile, as anticipated, there are Mountains of moneyers' names beginning 'Aelfw--'; there's effectively no way of finding the mint from that little.  ...Now, the second half of the name might've been of help.

Meanwhile, regarding the obverse, I think I won out.  Enough of the name for a positive identification; the distinctive profile, and that funky armor that looks like two mail-covered shields, evoking AEthelred's Helmet type.

 

Harold is fun for the dynastic wrangling with his half-brother (right, both sons of Cnut) over England and Denmark.  Particularly in Snorri Sturlusson's Heimskringla.  You can get the feeling that from the 11th century, the early-13th c. Snorri begins to hit his stride as a credible historian.  His ongoing reliance on oral tradition can actually add to the interest of his perspective.  It's worth remembering that the Norse settlement of L'Anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland, was found on the basis of two saga accounts, written down two centuries and more after the events.  ...But, Rats, it was Harthacnut who drank himself to death at the wedding party.  

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by JeandAcre

[John Conduitt]

8 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

This was fun, as a bottom-shelf example of the reign that's still worth having. 

Harold I 'Harefoot,' joint king of England (with his half-brother, Harthacnut) 1035-1037; sole king 1037-1040.  Either an exceptionally ragged 'cut half,' or a fragment verging on hacksilver.  Fleur-de-Lis coinage, c. 1038-1040.

Obv. Harold's lower profile; armored and holding a sceptre.  

+[HAR]OLD [REXC].

Rev.  Voided long cross, fleur de lis in each angle. 

(From 7 o'clock --grrr, Google Docs Won't rotate:)  +-ELFP[...].

 

Right, the autopsy.  On one hand, all you get for the moneyer is '-ELFP.'  I went looking in North for possible moneyers.  First, I was hoping that I was really looking at an initial 'E,' instead of shorthand for an 'AE,' as in 'AElfwine.'  There are a few Anglo-Saxon names that do begin that way, and I knoew it wouldsimplify my life.  But North doesn't list any for the whole reign, in any mint.  Meanwhile, as anticipated, there are Mountains of moneyers' names beginning 'Aelfw--'; there's effectively no way of finding the mint from that little.  ...Now, the second half of the name might've been of help.

Meanwhile, regarding the obverse, I think I won out.  Enough of the name for a positive identification; the distinctive profile, and that funky armor that looks like two mail-covered shields, evoking AEthelred's Helmet type.

Harold is fun for the dynastic wrangling with his half-brother (right, both sons of Cnut) over England and Denmark.  Particularly in Snorri Sturlusson's Heimskringla.  You can get the feeling that from the 11th century, the early-13th c. Snorri begins to hit his stride as a credible historian.  His ongoing reliance on oral tradition can actually add to the interest of his perspective.  It's worth remembering that the Norse settlement of L'Anse aux Meadows,in Newfoundland, was found on the basis of two saga accounts, written down two centuries and more after the events.  ...But, Rats, it was Harthacnut who drank himself to death at the wedding party.  

 

Nice piece. I'm always on the cusp of getting something like this. Harold I is good for either fragments and cut halves, or full, beautiful and expensive pennies.

Yours looks very much like this.

Edited March 27, 2023 by John Conduitt

[Dafydd]

On 3/20/2023 at 11:51 PM, Bailathacl said:

Waiting on this to arrive.  Happy to add this shilling from the short-lived son of Henry VIII   

Really nice coin. This is my example.  

England. Edward VI. 1547-1553. AR shilling. London mint, Third period; im: Y. Struck 1551. :ЄDWARD?. VI: D?. G?. AGL?. FRA?. Z: hIB?. RЄX, crowned and mantled bust slightly left; rose to left, XII behind / POSVI DЄV?. ADIVTORЄ?. mЄV?, coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée. SCBC 2482; North 1937. 

From the Wisdom Collection.

Ex Agora Auctions Sale 100 Lot 227 2021.