Medieval Monday

[JeandAcre]

Finding more pics that only exist in an old, lengthy, correspondingly unfinished document.  Sorry for the quality.

Cnut, King of 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).
 

Edited July 18, 2022 by JeandAcre

[Prieure de Sion]

Once again beautiful coins. Did I miss something - was there already an Ecberth? 🙂

[John Conduitt]

Archbishop Eanbald II Sceat, 795-808York. Silver, 13.5mm, 1.10g. EA • (NB) A • LD • (retrograde) around central cross pattée. + EDILVARD (Æthelweard, moneyer) around central cross pattée (EMC 1997.0430, same obv. die).

[ChrisB]

Augsburg ca. 1288

Besancon 1540

 

I would provide more details, but I recently lost most of my inventory database. It's going to take a while to rebuild it. 

[ewomack]

Italy, Republic of Genoa, 1139 - 1339 AR Gross ND
Obv: +.IA.NV.A. Castle view
Rev: CVNRADIREX, Maltese type cross.
Ref: Biaggi 895

[Severus Alexander]

2 hours ago, ChrisB said:

I would provide more details, but I recently lost most of my inventory database. It's going to take a while to rebuild it.

Oh no!!!  😳 You have my deep sympathy!

For my Medieval Monday contribution I’ll refer everyone to my latest Islamic score that I posted about here:

Even those less interested in Islamic coins will probably find it intriguing because it is a special issue linked to the Crusade of Clement V, Philip IV “The Fair”, and Edward II… one of those late crusades that never happened. 

Plus the coin is huge and has possibly the most text I’ve ever seen:

Edited July 25, 2022 by Severus Alexander

[John Conduitt]

3 hours ago, ChrisB said:

I would provide more details, but I recently lost most of my inventory database. It's going to take a while to rebuild it. 

😱 I think I'd have to take a break from collecting to rebuild my enthusiasm. Thank you for reminding me to back up mine. Perhaps you'll rediscover some coins you'd forgotten.

[John Conduitt]

1 hour ago, Severus Alexander said:

Plus the coin is huge and has possibly the most text I’ve ever seen

That's a great coin. It would've given people something to read during a protracted Mongol siege!

I'll post one of my (less impressive) Ilkhanate coins, also from Öljaitü ibn Arghun.

Öljaitü ibn Arghun Fals, 1304-1316

The Ilkhanate. Bronze, 23mm, 2.55g. Sun-face with eight rays within square. Three-lined and marginal legends citing Muhammad Khudabanda and title al-Sultan al-Azam (cf Mitchiner 1620).

[JeandAcre]

@John Conduitt, please allow me to second @Severus Alexander's condolences.  Especially for medieval, you're one of the shining lights here.  Hope you recover from the blow, sooner than expected.

...I just found out that I'm missing a bunch of pics for my Anglo-Saxon stuff.  Argh.  But here's a more recent one that hasn't been posted here yet.  It was kind of an event.

AEthelred II, 978-1016.  Helmet penny of (I'm pretty sure) Cambridge, c. 1003-1009.

Aethelred helmeted, with radiate crown (imitating an extensive issue of Probus), wearing mail (riffing on Probus' original shield).  .+/E ['AE,' ligated]-D-[thorn]ELR/ED REX ANGL.

Rev.  Elaborate variation on the the earlier 'Long Cross' type.

 +PVL / FSIG /E M'O / [G?]RANT  Wulfsige, moneyer on (?) "Grant; Grantebrycge."

And here's my example of the prototype of Probus; as Samuel Johnson would say of cows and sheep in his Dictionary, 'a beast well known' (apologies to fans of Probus).

[Severus Alexander]

20 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

@John Conduitt, please allow me to second @Severus Alexander's condolences.  Especially for medieval, you're one of the shining lights here.  Hope you recover from the blow, sooner than expected.

It was poor @ChrisB who lost his database rather than John. 😉 So I'll take the liberty of redirecting your condolences to the right person.  Let us know if you could use any help, Chris!

1 hour ago, John Conduitt said:

Öljaitü ibn Arghun Fals, 1304-1316

The Ilkhanate. Bronze, 23mm, 2.55g. Sun-face with eight rays within square. Three-lined and marginal legends citing Muhammad Khudabanda and title al-Sultan al-Azam (cf Mitchiner 1620).

This is a very cool type!  Continuing the theme a bit, here's Olly's dad:

Ilkhan: Arghun (1284-1291) AR dirham, 1288-89  (AH 687), Tabriz mint.

Also calling @DLTcoins who wanted to see more Islamic around here.  Let's post some more cool Ilkhanate coinage!

Edited July 25, 2022 by Severus Alexander

[John Conduitt]

6 minutes ago, Severus Alexander said:

It was poor @ChrisB who lost his database rather than John.

I'm just having nightmares about it 😂

[JeandAcre]

Many thanks for the redirect, @Severus Alexander!  Don't think I was through with the morning coffee ration.  And the Ilkhan stuff is Really cool.  All I do anything with are the usual suspects, from an embarrassingly Eurocentric angle; Samanid, Andalusian, and Ayyubid.  Everything else is still exotic for me.  ...Just found a gratifyingly well-done Wiki article on them.  Wow.  How did I miss this?  Right, never made the connection between them and the Frankish attempts at an alliance during the later 13th century.  

Edited July 25, 2022 by JeandAcre

[John Conduitt]

57 minutes ago, JeandAcre said:

Aethelred helmeted, with radiate crown (imitating an extensive issue of Probus), wearing mail (riffing on Probus' original shield)

Nice coin. I think it has to be Cambridge. (Which was destroyed by the Danes in 1010, just after they made that coin).

Although his armour is way too big for him, your shield actually looks like a shield. My version of the same coin from London is more shoulder than shield. Neither does the helmet (cap?) on either coin much resemble something either a Roman or a Saxon would wear.

Æthelred II the Unready First Reign Helmet Type Penny, 1003-1009

London. Silver, 1.46g. Helmeted, armoured bust of Æthelred right; +Æ Ð ELRÆD REX ΛNGL. Long voided cross with tri-crescent terminals, central lozenge with beaded finials, pellet at centre; +EADPOLD M.Ω.D LUND (Eadwold moneyer of London) (S 1152). Ex Mack.

Edited July 25, 2022 by John Conduitt

[JeandAcre]

Many thanks for the elucidation, @John Conduitt.  ...Yeah, adding to the ambiguity, Probus' shield, on my example of the ostensible prototype, looks as if it's covered in, what, they almost look like scales.  And your point about the helmet is well taken as well.  Do you think the identification of Probus as the model is just off?

Cool background about Cambridge, too --well, from a safe historical remove....

[John Conduitt]

1 hour ago, JeandAcre said:

Many thanks for the elucidation, @John Conduitt.  ...Yeah, adding to the ambiguity, Probus' shield, on my example of the ostensible prototype, looks as if it's covered in, what, they almost look like scales.  And your point about the helmet is well taken as well.  Do you think the identification of Probus as the model is just off?

Cool background about Cambridge, too --well, from a safe historical remove....

There were a lot of Roman coins that could've been the inspiration. Maybe it was a few together. Some early Saxon thrymsas (also copying Roman coins) had similarly strange helmets (but no shield) like the CRISPUS type or CONCORDIA.

The only thing I think I can say is not from the Probus coin is the clasp at the front. Probus is curiassed, and doesn't have a clasp. On a Roman coin, that is usually a shoulder clasp for 'draped' or 'draped and cuirassed' busts (i.e. to hold the drapery together). The triangular section of armour on Aethelred's chest (under the clasp) would actually be the shoulder, and usually covered in stripes (not dots) to represent the pteruges.

On this coin, Delmatius is draped and curiassed. The drapery is worn over the cuirass, and held together by the clasp on the shoulder. The pteruges can be seen on the shoulder below the clasp (in a triangle under the drapery).

Delmatius Follis, 335-337Treveri (second officina). Bronze, 15mm, 1.64g. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right; FL DELMATI-VS NOB CAES. Two soldiers standing facing, holding spear and shield; standard between with O on banner; GLOR-IA EXERC-ITVS; mintmark dot TRS dot (RIC VII, 594). From the Nether Compton (Dorset) Hoard, 1989.

But sometimes, it can look like the clasp is on the chest. Here, Constantine II is seen from the back, so that the clasp is under his chin and yet also on his shoulder. We know the clasp is on his shoulder because right at the bottom, you can see the top of the pteruges (again, in a triangle under the drapery).

Constantine II Follis, 324-325

Londinium. Bronze, 18mm, 3.04g. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; CONSTANTINVS IVN NOB C. Campgate with six layers, two turrets, star above; PROVIDENTIAE CAESS; mintmark PLON (RIC 296).

Perhaps there is, somewhere, a coin with a peaked helmet, a shield, no spear, with the emperor draped and cuirassed and seen from behind...or maybe the Aethelred II coin is a product of evolution from several Roman coins, including the Probus.

Edited July 25, 2022 by John Conduitt

[JeandAcre]

Of Course, @John Conduitt, multiple prototypes make immediate, intuitive sense!  Another obvious collective example, along with thrysmas, are the sceattas that combine radiate crowns and LRB reverse motifs.

[ChrisB]

19 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

It was poor @ChrisB who lost his database rather than John. 😉 So I'll take the liberty of redirecting your condolences to the right person.  Let us know if you could use any help, Chris!

The bad part is it was all my own fault. I recently had to get a new computer, which is great. I reset my old computer to factory settings so that I could give it to a family member. I realized pretty quickly that I had not downloaded everything I needed from the old one. 

[JeandAcre]

@ChrisB (with thanks again to @Severus Alexander), just, Ouch.  Serious condolences.

[ewomack]

France ARCHBISHOPRIC OF VIENNE - ANONYMOUS AR Denier, 11th - 12th Centuries; Obv: .+. S. M. VIENNA. (Saint Maurice of Vienne), profile of Saint Maurice, facing left; Rev: MAXIMA. GALL (Grand Gaul)

Edited August 1, 2022 by ewomack

[John Conduitt]

8 minutes ago, ewomack said:

France ARCHBISHOPRIC OF VIENNE - ANONYMOUS AR Denier, 11th - 12th Centuries; Obv: .+. S. M. VIENNA. (Saint Maurice of Vienne), profile of Saint Maurice, facing left; Rev: MAXIMA. GALL (Grand Gaul)

Great coin. I don't think Saint Maurice looked like a cartoon caveman, though.

Edited August 1, 2022 by John Conduitt

[John Conduitt]

Edward IV Second Reign Type XIV Groat, 1471-1472Tower. Silver, 26mm, 2.87g. Crowned facing bust in tressure of arches; trefoils on cusps, no marks by bust. Long cross pattée, three pellets in angles. Mintmark small annulet both sides (S 2096).

[Oldhoopster]

17 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

Great coin. I don't think Saint Maurice looked like a cartoon caveman, though.

Some early engraver is going to hell with that portrait of a Saint.  ☠️👿 👺

[JeandAcre]

Just won this, in an auction by a dealer who’s relatively new to the platform I used.  There’s nothing to preemptively put their ethics in question.  But for this, listed in the company of numerous, less ambiguously ‘Crusader’ issues (including lots of early folles of Edessa and Antioch), ‘underattributed’ would be an understatement.  The really fun part is that I’m hoping it’s a ‘Crusader’ imitation, struck in the Frankish Levant.

It’s ostensibly a very common denier of the bishopric of Valence, corresponding to the principal type listed in Duplessy 2255.  He dates the issue to c. 12th-13th centuries.  But the Cgb archives, citing a regionally focussed work in French from 1999, provide the earlier date range of c. 1090-1225.

https://www.cgbfr.com/dauphine-eveche-de-valence-anonymes-denier-ttb,bfe_260455,a.html

This is of some moment, since, according to a contemporary chronicler, this was one of the principal coinages first brought to the Levant in quantity by participants in the First Crusade.  (Porteous, “Crusader Coinage With Greek Or Latin Inscriptions.”  In Stenton, gen. ed., A History of the Crusades.  Vol. 6.  See esp. 358-9.)

In Duplessy’s main example (noting only two, relatively minor legend variants), the legends are

(Obv., from 7 o’clock:) +VRBS V/\LENTI/\I; (rev.:) +S /\P<>LLIN/\RS.

(‘Urbs Valentia[rum];’ 'S[anctus] Apollinaris' –the patron saint of Valence.)

In this example, the legends go well beyond the occasional retrograde letter, to full-blown blundering.

(Obv.:) +VIS/\yLEIITI/\I; (rev.:) +S/\I<>LIIIV\IS.

Beyond that, from the dealer’s pics, the coin looked (um, to me) AE rather than the typical, relatively high-silver billon of conventional issues.  Alarm bells went off.  This page of the venerable Maskukat Collection website shows examples of the true Valence prototype, next to a purported Frankish Levantine imitation, unmistakably AE.

   

http://medievalcoins.ancients.info/crusader_kingdoms_of_the_levant.htm

One listing in the CNG auction archives goes some distance toward confirming what, to the folks at Maskukat, would likely have been intuitively obvious, on the basis of the circumstances of the original find.  

“Valence deniers are found in significant quantities in coin hoards from the Crusader possessions in the east. It is possible that some of the cruder varieties, such as Metcalf’s Group D are in fact eastern imitations of the French issue.”

I don’t even know if the Metcalf in question is his study of Crusader coins, or something else.  Here’s the listing.

https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=106816

In reference to my example, it can’t be overemphasized that, despite every stereotype you can fling at the French feudal series, this level of legend blundering (not least in an ecclesiastical issue –where you’d like to think they’d be paying more attention than in any number of secular ones) is Not Normal.  It’s too bad the example from Maskukat is too worn for much in the way of comparison.  But I’m hoping I’m right.

Edited August 1, 2022 by JeandAcre

[seth77]

I also think its a Crusader imitation and very likely done in Syria.

[Severus Alexander]

Very cool new stuff @ewomack(love the portrait!!, @John Conduitt(2nd reign, excellent!), and @JeandAcre(wow, nice analysis!)

Here's my newest whatsit (1g, 18mm).  Any ideas?