Raymond II/III of Tripoli denier with a legend in illuminated manuscript-like ornate lettering

[seth77]

It seems likely that the Western style coinage in the Crusader realms is introduced almost at the same time in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli and the Principality of Antioch, very likely on the close eve of the Second Crusade. Of the three coinages, the one struck for Baldwin III of Jerusalem is the most plentiful and well-researched, the one minted for Prince Raymond de Poitiers at Antioch was very rare until recently but is rather well-researched, while the deniers of Tripoli minted for counts Raymond II and III are scarcely encountered and just as scarcely researched. For Jerusalem an early date of the coinage of the 'smooth series' can possibly be advanced as around 1145, for Antioch the 'moon head' type c. 1147, while Tripoli might be around 1148-9. While the minting operation at Antioch might have been done by masters from Toulouse working with high-purity billon, and for a long time has been considered as small scale (proven false by the finds in the last 10 years), the coinages at Jerusalem and Tripoli were more "mundane" in their scope and use, while at the same time conspicuously fine-crafted and ornate. The coinage of Tripoli at this point is still rather scarce - I have seen around 10 offered in auction in the last 2 years, and another one was 'lost' en route at Charles de Gaulle CEDEX in 2020. 

Without further ado here is the latest. It was the cheapest of the specs offered in the last 2 years, while at the same time one of the better ones in terms of style:



AR17mm 0.94g billon denier, c. 1148/9 to 1164
+ RAMVNDVS COMS
CIVITAS TRIPOLI

One immediately notices the lettering style, carved in the ornate style used usually in the illuminated books of the period. The double and triple-barred letters are also familiar to the coinage at Jerusalem, possibly marking a common die manufacturing team for both realms. The dotted margins of the O in COMS is particularly clear while the alternation between double and triple bars and dots and chevrons adds a particular aspect and 'heft' to the legends. 

The research on the deniers of Jerusalem and most notably R. Kool's research and tentative sequencing of the AMALRICVS deniers shows that the distribution of ornate lettering might be used as means of separating varieties and possibly also establish a relative chronology of 'issues' in the case of Tripoli also. Unfortunately the research at this point is still centered around C.J. Sabine's The Billon and Copper Coinage of the Crusader County of Tripoli c. 1102-1268 (1980) and A. Malloy et al Coins of the Crusader States (ed. 2004) -- which is still heavily based on Sabine's material rather than newer discoveries. 

This coinage starts with Raymond II in 1148, around the time the crusaders from the Second Crusade began to arrive, under the general command of Alphonse Jourdain of St. Gilles-Toulouse, from the main branch of Raymond's own family. But this connection was not of good omen to Raymond, since he feared his kinfolk would try to seize his domain. Alphonse Jourdain dies soon after reaching the Holy Land in the spring of 1148. There's a distinct possibility that coining the first deniers of this crescent and star type starts around this time, both as a mean to support the crusading effort (Raymond himself steers clear of the crusaders campaign to Damascus for instance) but more likely as a sign of his own authority in Tripoli. The close relationship with Baldwin III of Jerusalem at this point could also provide the context for the similarities between the coinages of Jerusalem and Tripoli, if they were in fact the result of the same minting team. This is the time when the coins are at their most ornate and illuminated manuscript-like. Further issues start simplifying the letter forms, a process that goes on to the 1160s and further on with Amalric's coinage in Jerusalem and Raymond III's coinage in Tripoli.

In 1152 Raymond II is taken out by an Assassin hit squad outside the walls of Tripoli. Raymond III continues the by now favored coinage of the realm, but is this money issued continuously or on occasion? That is hard to say and the research is inconclusive. Scarcity of material could account for on and off striking, channeled by particular occasions, like the maritime campaign of 1161 against Byzantine emperor Manuel Komnenos. The Byzantines considered this an expedition of piracy, but Tripoli financed and trained both military and seafaring personnel so coin was certainly spent and so likely struck on this occasion. Another such occasion was probably in preparation for war before the battle of Harim, where Raymond himself was captured. At this point and pending claims for ransom the billon coinage of Tripoli is halted. Tripoli itself enters the bailliage of Amalric of Jerusalem, who likely starts the copper anonymous "pougeoise" in place of billon coins. 

One of the better buys of 2024.

Edited November 26, 2024 by seth77

[Anaximander]

I'll share three deniers from the Crusader states from this period, as mentioned in the OP: Tripoli (a similar type of Raymond II), Jerusalem (Baldwin III), and Antioch (Bohemund III). My examples are not so lavish in their style, or no more so than their European counterparts. Perhaps the example from Tripoli best fits the bill: letters with pellets and lines.  

   

  

  

 

[seth77]

Thank you @Anaximander for adding yours. The coinage of Raymond from Tripoli spans quite some time, but I think that, as in the case of the Baldwin coinage from Jerusalem, just the early issues of the 1140s to 1150s have these ornate legends. For the coinage of Amalricus, R. Kool has an interesting theory regarding the reintroduction of somewhat subtle decorated letters that can help thanks to sequencing the hoards found in Israel date the coins through the age of Amalric and to at least Baldwin IV, so well into the 1180s, as monnaie immobilise. 

For the coinage of Antioch though I had in mind the earlier forms of the Raymond denier, like this AR16mm 1.10g c. 1147, likely of the earliest emissions:

[Anaximander]

Quite an unusual M in RAIMVNDVS and T in ANTIOCHIЄ. 

Metcalf describes the most ornate lettering of Antioch bare-head deniers of that period (Raymond of Poitiers & minority of Bohemund III) as Class E. Rather scarce, those, as the 1160 reform suggests a recall and restrike into a plentiful -and debased- helmet type. Here's my Type B bare-head denier of Bohemund III.

 

[seth77]

The use of uncial letter forms is interesting but not unusual. In France for instance, after the adoption of the denier tournois as royal coinage under Philippe Auguste and the extension of the type to various mints of the kingdom with Louis IX, the uncial shapes and various stops and punctuations are probably marks of either mint or issue (or both). For Antioch at this time c. 1147-9 this is likely a design feature first and foremost, since the coinage was limited to one mint alone.