Medieval Monday

[JeandAcre]

Huge thanks for the link, @John Conduitt.  Naturally, it was summarily bookmarked. 

I have no idea how often the '-E' construct shows up as a shortened 'AE' --often enough, one can imagine, given all the other creative ways the die sinkers navigated the available space.  But you've gone much further than halfway toward persuading me that this could be the moneyer!  Not sure from here whether even the reverse is a die match, but it's close!

Edited March 27, 2023 by JeandAcre

[Edessa]

Switzerland, Canton of St. Gallen. St. Gallen (Abbey). 13th century. AR Runder Pfennig Bracteate (20mm, 0.43g). Obv: Agnus Dei standing left, head right; cruciform banner behind. Rev: Incuse of obverse. Ref: HMZ 1-475. Toned, slight bend at edge. Very Fine. Ex Sincona AG 70 (19 May 2021), Lot 3556. Ex CNG e529 (14 Dec 2022), Lot 864.

[JeandAcre]

A Heinrich III denar of Mainz, my first of that mint.  

Heinrich III, 'King of the Romans' (variously ruling or co-ruling heir) 1036-1049; Emperor 1049-1059.  Denar of Metz (can we end this, finally? nnnNo,) Mainz, as the former.

Obv.  Heinrich facing, crowned; neo-Byzantine tassels from the crown mysteriously hanging in midair, rather than falling vertically; ending in three pellets.  Three annulets in both lower fields.  +H[EINRICV]S.

Rev.  Church facade (going back to Louis I's 'temple' issues, with numerous intervening imitations in the region, back to the 10th century); simplified 'Chi-Rho' sign within two columns.  +V[RBS MONG]VNCIA, or variant.  Dannenberg 793, Kluge 139.

Despite Mainz's proximity to Worms and Speyer --two of the most active mints of the reign-- Kluge lists only two types of his that were issued there.  In the absence of either a 'REX' or an 'IMP,' the legend is no help in pinning down the issue's place in Heinrich's collective reign.  It's left to Dannenberg (citing arcana relating to ecclesiastical issues of Mainz and neighboring bishoprics) to place the issue during Heinrich's reign as 'King of the Romans,' during and shortly after the lifetime of his father, Conrad II (d. 1039). 

Kluge implicitly confirms this, by way of a Mainz issue of Conrad, with remarkably similar obverse and reverse motifs (p. 160, # 109).    

 

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by JeandAcre

[JeandAcre]

This is from a separate document on GoogleDocs; hopefully it's been a minute since it was posted here.

Cnut, King of Denmark and England 1016-1035. AR penny of Chester, quatrefoil type, c. 1017-1023.
Obv.  Cnut facing left, crowned and mantled, within a quatrefoil.  Two piercings, at 5 and 6 o’clock, inviting comparison to other late Anglo-Saxon pennies, from less provincial mints, which were adapted (much less crudely than this) to use as broaches.
[From 11 o’clock:]  CNVT REX ‘/\NGLORVM  (‘CNVT REX ANGLORVM;’ Cnut, King of the English).
Rev.  Voided long cross, extending to outer border, within quatrefoil.
[From 1 o’clock:]  +LE [/] [OF]PI [/] I\E ON [/] LEI  (‘LEOFPINE ON LEI[GECESTRE];’ Leofwine, the moneyer of Chester).
North 781 (and p. 173 for moneyer and mint), Spink 1157 (and p. 127 for mint).

I cannot tell a lie; from AEthelred II through Edward the Confessor, I always like (well, peck marks and) Scandinavian moneyers and mints from the Danelaw or York, the two primary centers of Viking settlement.  But as early as this is in Cnut's reign, an Anglo-Saxon moneyer and mint is wryly appropriate. 
 

[John Conduitt]

52 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

This is from a separate document on GoogleDocs; hopefully it's been a minute since it was posted here.

Cnut, King of Denmark and England 1016-1035. AR penny of Chester, quatrefoil type, c. 1017-1023.
Obv.  Cnut facing left, crowned and mantled, within a quatrefoil.  Two piercings, at 5 and 6 o’clock, inviting comparison to other late Anglo-Saxon pennies, from less provincial mints, which were adapted (much less crudely than this) to use as broaches.
[From 11 o’clock:]  CNVT REX ‘/\NGLORVM  (‘CNVT REX ANGLORVM;’ Cnut, King of the English).
Rev.  Voided long cross, extending to outer border, within quatrefoil.
[From 1 o’clock:]  +LE [/] [OF]PI [/] I\E ON [/] LEI  (‘LEOFPINE ON LEI[GECESTRE];’ Leofwine, the moneyer of Chester).
North 781 (and p. 173 for moneyer and mint), Spink 1157 (and p. 127 for mint).

I cannot tell a lie; from AEthelred II through Edward the Confessor, I always like (well, peck marks and) Scandinavian moneyers and mints from the Danelaw or York, the two primary centers of Viking settlement.  But as early as this is in Cnut's reign, an Anglo-Saxon moneyer and mint is wryly appropriate. 
 

Nice coin from an interesting mint. By the way, I think Chester is LEGACEASTER, LEGACEASTRE, LEGECEASTER, LEGECEASTRE, LEGERCYESTRE, LAEGECEASTER, LEGCESTER, LIEGECESTER, LIGCESTER, LIGCEASTER, LEICEASTER or CIVITAS DE CESTRE (as per the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Bede, Henry of Huntingdon and the Doomsday Book), but never LEIGECESTRE. Not to be confused with LIGERACEASTRE or LEGRACASTRE, which are obviously Leicester. 😉

Edited April 17, 2023 by John Conduitt

[JeandAcre]

This is fantastic, @John Conduitt!  I have Domesday and Henry of Huntingdon in cheap, paper but academic translations, but never bothered to check them for the orthographic variants involved here.  As old as the original of the above post is, I can't even reconstruct how I got to 'LEI[GECESTRE]' from North's 'Leigeces' (p. 173).

I can promise you, though, if you do enough genealogy from primary sources, you eventually start to relax about this sort of thing, especially where either surnames or place names in Old or Middle English (often enough within Medieval Latin texts) are concerned.  

Regarding distinguishing this mint from Leicester, you nailed it; that involves a point where you can safely cross the line from variation per se, and substantive ambiguities about which mint is being named.  But beyond that level, as you note, variants are legion.  During the whole interval, the language was evolving at what amounted to breakneck speed.  Even Shakespeare (who single-handedly expanded early Modern English with untold thousands of Latinate words) signed his own last name three different ways, in as many separate autographs.

Edited April 17, 2023 by JeandAcre

[John Conduitt]

Here's a coin for the niche connoisseur 😁 

'Mustafa' was a very late khan of the Golden Horde. I'm not sure if anything is known of him, apart from the fact he was 'son of Ghiyath al-Din', a title used for various khans too old to be his father.

The coin features the tamga of Küchük Muhammad (the fork on the reverse with two dots between the prongs). Up to that point, tamgas had been absent from Golden Horde coins since pre-Islamic times over 100 years earlier. Muhammad's sons Ahmad and Mahmud also include this tamga on their coins from Hajji Tarkhan. None of them are dated so no-one is sure when they reigned, but Mustafa's coins have die links with Mahmud's and Ahmad's as well as Muhammad's, so his apparently short reign must coincide with theirs.

Hajji Tarkhan appeared in 1333 and became a major trade centre, only to be sacked by Timur and burned by Ivan the Terrible. Modern Astrakhan was built a little further south.

Mustafa bin Ghiyath al-Din Dang, AH847/1443-1444

Hajji Tarkhan. Silver, 16mm, 0.72g. Sultan / The Supreme Mustafa / Khan bin Ghiyath / al-Din Khan (Savosta Obverse A5). Tamga of Küchük Muhammad; Struck in Hajji Tarkhan (Savosta Reverse P10) (A 2062; Zeno 274288; Savosta 121).

[JeandAcre]

Wow.  This is arcanity elevated to a high art form.  I need it!  :<}  Thanks, @John Conduitt ...and for giving the thread this kind of boost.

Gotta find something.  Um....

This is my best immobilization of a 'GDR' /post-Edict of Nantes denier of le Mans, probably dating to the early counts of Maine, c. late 10th century.  

Obv.  'KAR<>LVS' monogram; from 9 o'clock: +CIATIA D--I REX.  ('GRATIA D[E]I REX.')

Rev.  Cross; +CNI<>NANIS CIVITIS [both 'S's retrograde].  ('CENOMANNIS CIVITAS.')

[John Conduitt]

10 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

Wow.  This is arcanity elevated to a high art form.  I need it!  :<}  Thanks, @John Conduitt ...and for giving the thread this kind of boost.

Gotta find something.  Um....

This is my best immobilization of a 'GDR' /post-Edict of Nantes denier of le Mans, probably dating to the early counts of Maine, c. late 10th century.  

Obv.  'KAR<>LVS' monogram; from 9 o'clock: +CIATIA D--I REX.  ('GRATIA D[E]I REX.')

Rev.  Cross; +CNI<>NANIS CIVITIS [both 'S's retrograde].  ('CENOMANNIS CIVITAS.')

You can always rely on feudal France for obscurity. Nice coin!

[JeandAcre]

...Followed by the 'Yes' and Popcorn emojis.  (Yep, had to finally wiki 'Emoji' to find out how to spell it.)

Edited May 8, 2023 by JeandAcre

[Prieure de Sion]

Link to the Shop and Offer

 

Quote

Alfred the Great (871-899), silver Penny, portrait type, Southern Danelaw issue (c.880-910), London Monogram reverse, double diademed tall portrait facing right, wearing tunic made up of curved horizontal beaded lines, legend and outer beaded circle at rim surrounding, legend commences at lower left, ELFR ÆD REX, rev. the Londonia Monogram, cross pattée above, four cruciform pellets below, outer beaded circle surrounding, weight 1.42g (Mackay Danelaw A1 -1 - O1/R1, pl.4 - 58 this coin; reverse B.M.C. type VII; N.463; S.964). Toned, a touch off-centre, some discoloration from soil and surface stress marks around chin, cut on cheek, very fine, extremely rare, more so perhaps than Alfred's own moneyers issues.

 

This is not my coin, not my shop, I get no money for this link 😉 ... but I see that fantastic Alfred the Great coin today and I am in love. But not my collection area. But I love that... Uhtred like it too...

 

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Prieure de Sion

[JeandAcre]

A-Mazing.  I had no idea there were Danelaw copies of this.  Might go a distance toward explaining the (only relatively) early peck marks.

...But no, as far as AElfred or Charlemagne being 'bucket list' coins, somehow I was inoculated against that.  Stuff at that level kind of belongs in museums.  In a much lower key, here's my oldest denier from the duchy of Burgundy.

Eudes /Odo I, 1079-1102.  Denier, Dijon.
Cross fitche between three annulets.  + ODO DVX BURG.
R/ DIVON CASTRI.
Dumas (Bourgogne) 2.2
Dijon was the primary mint at least through the 13th century.  This issue is fun for referring to the castle rather than the city (CIVITAS).

[Cordoba]

I got this artuqid bronze recently and I really love the portrait on this. Spengler and Sayles says the prototype of this coin is from Antiochos IV or V. I definitely see the resemblance with portraits of Antiochos V. This coin is a fairly scarce type, since his reign was short, so I was pretty happy to find one at auction for a good price.

Artuqids of Amid and Hisn Kayfa. Nur al-Din Muhammad, AD 1174-1185. Dirham
(Bronze, 32 mm, 12.81 g, 6 h), Hisn Kayfa. AH 578

Obv: Large diademed male head to left within beaded circle; around, mint and date.
Rev: In inner field, 'Malik al-Umara Muhiyy / al-Adil Nur al-Din /
Muhammad ibn Qara Arsla/n ibn Artuq Nasir / al-Imam al-Nasir /
li-din Allah'; in outer margin, Mal'un man / yu'ayyiruhu'; all in Kufic.
Reference: Spengler & Sayles 11; Album 1821.3.

Not my coin, but a picture of an Antiochos V tetradrachm for reference. From dr busso peus nachf


 

From Turkoman Figural Bronze Coins and Their Iconography. Vol. I - The Artuqids page 33:

Quote

 

The artists serving Turkoman princes adapted venerable motifs and images to the needs of their own artistic program. In some cases we see clear evidence of historical awareness and sensitivity, especially in the use of classical images to bolster a program of legitimization. This is not to assume, however, that every image resurrected from the ancient world was recognized by Turkoman die-engravers in its original context, any more than we can assume to have interpreted the context correctly from our own vantage point. The portrait serving as model for this coin could have been seen by 12th century intellectuals as representing a specific person, perhaps Antiochos IV or V, but not necessarily so.

It is just as plausible that the Seleucid portrait was mistaken for a personification or even for some other personage. More likely, the prototype simply provided a convenient resource for the artist in a program with an increasingly astrological and political orientation. The fact that Antiochos IV was the ruler against whom the Maccabees revolted in Palestine may or may not be of significance. In any case, the precise intention of the artist remains a mystery.

 

[JeandAcre]

Hoo-Ray!  The Artuqids (and other, neighboring Turks?) are amazing.  Makes me sorry I've never gotten further in the series than one or two lower-grade representative examples.  It's fantastic how they riffed off of pretty much everything from Hellenistic to Byzantine.  Eclecticism elevated to the level of its own art form.

Here's a denar of Philipp von Heinsberg, archbishop of Köln 1167-1191, well known for his enthusiastic participation in regional 'private wars.'

[John Conduitt]

I got this Northumbrian styca on eBay for £30. The reverse is off-centre and has some deposits, but it's otherwise pretty nice in hand. (The photo is 8 times bigger on my screen than the actual coin - I don't think I'd look my best if my face was blown up 8 times bigger). The obverse couldn't be much better. I think I was helped by the seller not identifying it, as you can't usually get these for less than two or three times that.

Archbishop Wigmund Styca, 837-846

York. Copper, 1.18g. Central cross; VIGMVND. Rosette of pellets; EDELHELM (moneyer Ethelhelm/Aethelhelm) (S 870).

[JeandAcre]

Yes, @John Conduitt, along with the notorious fakes from the Balkans, ebay can still be good for medieval dealers who, in good faith, merely mis- or underattribute stuff as resonantly brilliant (and demonstrably genuine) as this.  It's even true, randomly, of US ebay, but only more emphatically so of the UK, which remains the go-to place for detector finds.  Congratulations on a brilliant coup.

[John Conduitt]

9 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

Yes, @John Conduitt, along with the notorious fakes from the Balkans, ebay can still be good for medieval dealers who, in good faith, merely mis- or underattribute stuff as resonantly brilliant (and demonstrably genuine) as this.  It's even true, randomly, of US ebay, but only more emphatically so of the UK, which remains the go-to place for detector finds.  Congratulations on a brilliant coup.

I use eBay a lot for coins under £100, which is 70% of my collection. There's more chance they aren't correctly attributed and even if they are, buyers tend not to risk as much as they would with CNG, Noonans or Heritage. Obviously, I have to think I can spot enough fakes that the risk is less than the price difference. That's the pay off from looking at coins all day 🤣

Having said that, Saxon coins (like Celtic coins) are widely faked and expensive, so I rarely buy them on eBay and I'm happy I managed to do ok with this one. I also find English medieval surprisingly expensive on eBay - a lot of knowledgable collectors keep an eye on it, I think. Most of my English medieval comes from dealers, who are cheaper and have a better range even than the major auctions.

[JeandAcre]

Many thanks for the elucidation!  I need to take an appropriately wide look at UK dealers; something I've never gotten around to.

[JeandAcre]

...Here's how desperate I'm getting these days.  This got paid for this very morning.

 

Abbey of Remirement (modern Lorraine).  Petit denier; anonymous, c. 1150-1220.

Obv. St. Peter facing left, holding a key.

Rev.  Cross; pellets and tips of sceptres in the angles.  (From 9 o'clock:) [.R]OMARII.

Boudeau 1599.

Lately I've been branching out into petit deniers from Lorraine.  On esthetic grounds, I like the denomination, common to a swath running from Picardy and Flanders in northeastern France, to the Low Countries; dipping down into ducal issues of (upper) Lorraine.  These other ones from Lorraine have been running heavily to ecclesiastical issues, including some engaging motifs.  ...Especially as long as you're okay with the religious imagery.  

For Americans looking for references, the Achilles' heel of Lorraine is that, until Duplessy gets past Tome II of his update, most of what we get is the century-old Boudeau reference, which he's ostensibly replacing.  Beyond that, .cgb's archives cite a more recent, French study, specifically of ecclesiastical issues of, wait for it, Lorraine.  Here's one of their listings, for an example on a different level entirely.

https://www.cgbfr.com/lorraine-remiremont-denier-sup,bfe_323516,a.html 

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by JeandAcre

[Redaz]

Not here yet but excited. Eric of Pomerania Sterling of the Naestved mint of Zeeland. A bit underweight (i assume from the chip) at .45g

[JeandAcre]

This is Philippe I (1060-1108), from Orleans.  I'm all out of new coins, but this hasn't been posted in a while.

+PHILIPVS X [REX D-I]; gate.

+AVRELANIS CIVITA; cross with 'S's in the angles.

[Cordoba]

got this fun artuqid bronze recently

Artuqids of Amid and Hisn Kayfa. Qutb al-Din Sukman II, AD 1185-1200. Dirham
(Bronze, 25 mm, 8.34 g, 6 h), Hisn Kayfa. AH 594

Obv: Nimbate half-length male bust facing slightly right, wearing sharbush and
holding scepter and globus; AH date around.
Rev: Name and titles of Sukman II in four lines; marginal legends citing the
Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir.
Reference: Spengler & Sayles 14; Album 1822.3.

Ex JP Righetti collection

[JeandAcre]

That's an awesome example, @Cordoba.  Can you venture a better guess than I can what the prototype for this obverse would be?

[Cordoba]

15 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

That's an awesome example, @Cordoba.  Can you venture a better guess than I can what the prototype for this obverse would be?

Thanks! I probably don't really have a better guess on the prototype of this. There isn't really something strikingly obvious as the prototype, so I think any guesses is just speculation. Spengler & Sayles says the hat resembles a sharbush, which is a furry hat that was often depicted in Turkish art. They seem to believe it is another representation of the planet Jupiter.

Edited June 12, 2023 by Cordoba

[JeandAcre]

...Aha, so there might not even be a prototype, at least numismatically.  Never thought of that.  The plot thickens!  From here, that would make it only more distinctive as an issue.  But yeah, it registers; we're pretty deep in the weeds already.