Norman Kings
(see also “Saxon”
section for earlier English Hammered coins)
William The
Conqueror (AD 1066 - 1087). Norman King Read
about William I
WMH-9069: William 1st Hammered
Silver Norman Penny – Rare Mint. B.M.C. VIII – PAXS
type, 1083-86. Rare Exeter mint. This is the final issue under William 1st
with some current debate as to whether this issue overlaps into the reign of
William II. +LIFPINE ON IEXE. Toned and VF for issue with clear
legends. S.R. 1257, North 850. Very rare.
£1,475 RESERVED (J.K.20-1-25 Lay-Away)
WMH-7949:
William 1st
Norman Kings Hammered Silver Penny. B.M.C.
II, Bonnet type issue of 1068-70.
1.28g. Obverse: +PILLEMV REX A,
reverse: +BRAND ON PALLIG – Brand of Wallingford (Oxford).
S.R. 1251. A rarer type and a
rare Norman mint. Only three different
moneyers recorded on the EMC / SCBI database for BMC II / Wallingford, with Svertingr
being the most frequent moneyer by far.
VF with attractive steel-grey toning.
See here and
here for images of
the old tickets. With its provenance,
this is an impressive coin, being just what the market is searching high and
low for these days. £1,850
Provenance:
Ex Baldwins (sold for £55)
Ex
J.D.A. Thompson collection
Purchased
from Spink's dispersal of the J.D.A. Thompson
collection in 1972
Remaining
in the same collection from 1972 for the last 52 years.
WMH-7946:
William 1st
Norman Hammered Silver Penny. Canopy
type, 1070-72 - B.M.C. III: +BRITHMAER ON PIIL – Beorhtmaer
of Wallingford (Oxford).
S.R. 1252. A rare Norman mint
(much rarer for Norman compared to Saxon) and a rarer
early type for William 1st. £1,275
WMH-7350:
William 1st
Norman Kings Hammered Silver *Rarer Mint* Penny. B.M.C. V, Two Stars type: +PVLFPINE ON
PERIC – Wulfwine of Warwick.
S.R. 1254. A rare Norman mint
with the very commonest of all the Warwick mint Norman coins starting at £1,250 in S.R.
2022. This is clearly not a common type
coin. Only one example recorded on the
EMC / SCBI database, making this the second.
£1,850
WMH-9172: William 1st Hammered Silver
Norman Penny. B.M.C. V,
Two Stars type: +GODPINE ON LVN – Godwine of London.
S.R.1254. Not a particularly rare
mint or moneyer but a nice, clear example of this much rarer type - obviously
all Norman pennies are much, much rarer than their Medieval and Tudor
counterparts, and in a lot of cases, rarer even than the late Saxon pennies,
but when you do come across a William 1st penny, it's invariably B.M.C. 8. £995
WMH-7262:
William 1st
Hammered Silver Norman Penny – Rare Mint.
B.M.C. VIII – PAXS type, 1083-86.
Rare Bristol mint. This is the final issue under William 1st
with some current debate as to whether this issue overlaps into the reign of
William II. +BRIHTPORD ON BRI. Toned and graded VF on the modern
ticket. S.R. 1257, North 850. Ex Seaby. Old tickets here. Very rare.
£1,195
WMH-9179: William 1st Norman
Hammered Silver Penny. B.M.C. VIII – PAXS type, 1083-86. +ÆÐLPINE.ON[.---]. Moneyer Aethelwine out of either Wallingford (Oxford), Ipswich or Hereford - there is a flat
strike over the entirety of the mint town signature. The portrait is not without it's unusual key
features and there are two pellets on the sword (pommel and chappe),
whilst the reverse legend has a most distinctive form of theta (for "th"), meaning it should be relatively easy, given
time, to die link this coin successfully to one of those three possible mint
towns. This is the final issue under
William 1st with some current debate as to whether this issue
overlaps into the reign of William II. S.R.
1257, North 850. A better mint,
whichever it turns out to be. £735
Provenance:
ex Tim
Owen (incorrectly attributed to Chester)
WMH-9191: William 1st Norman
Hammered Silver Penny - Excellent Provenance. PAXS
type, B.M.C. VIII, c.1083-86. +IEGLPINE.ON.PAL. Moneyer Æthelwine out of the Wallingford (Oxford) mint. This is the final issue under William 1st
with some current debate as to whether this issue overlaps into the reign of
William II. S.R.
1257. A most interesting example of a
coin struck very, very late in the lifespan of the obverse die, so much so that
the die had actually fractured, along the lines of the famous milled Cromwell
crowns. A coin with an excellent
provenance - see old tickets
here. A rarer mint. It wasn't that long ago that common mint
William 1st PAXS pennies had a very firm ceiling of £500 but, along with
virtually everything post Covid, that ceiling has
crept up to nearer £1,000. Here you get
a rarer mint coin, with interesting features, with outstanding provenance, all
for under the going rate of a common mint PAXS penny! £895
Provenance:
ex
Seaby 1968 (original ticket), sold to...
ex
Royal Berkshire Collection, 1969
WJC-9335: (3) William 1st :
1616-38 Silver Simon de Passe Token. Machine-pressed silver tokens or counters
depicting the monarchs of England, issued in sets (thought to be thirty six),
composed either of pieces of different monarchs or repetitions of the same
type. Thought to be primarily used as
markers or counters "for reckoning and for play". The dies were very cleverly sunk to give the
impression of a hand-engraved silver token.
Some of these counters were executed early in the 1616-38 period by
Nicholas Hilliard, jeweller; goldsmith and engraver to Elizabeth 1st and
afterwards to James 1st. In 1617,
Hilliard received a patent granting him the monopoly for twelve years of all
the engraved portraits of the King and the Royal Family. He subsequently sold licences to other
engravers to execute these counters, one of which was to Simon de Passe and his brother, both of whom excelled in the art of
engraving. This sub-licence to the de Passe brothers was issued late in the reign of James
1st. Collectively, these tokens are all
termed De Passe tokens for convenience. £185
Provenance:
From
a collection put together over a great many years; dispersed by Spink.
William “Rufus”
II (AD 1087 - 1100). Norman King Read about William II
WMH-9212: William “Rufus” II Norman
Hammered Silver Penny. Right facing bust issue (B.M.C.
I) of 1086–89 only. +P[IG]MVND ON P[IN]C – Wigmund
of Winchester. Only x6
recorded examples of any William II for Winchester on the EMC / SCBI database (all of which are Wigmund) but only x2 for BMC 1. Interestingly, although those x2 EMC coins
are poor grade coins, both have the PINC mint signature as
opposed to the usual PIN mint signature seen on the other x4 EMC coins. 1.28 grams / 12h. Pierced in antiquity. The new Sovereign Rarity (old Spink) price
guide rates this right facing bust type as the rarest of all the William Rufus
types. Found Bristol. £1,545
Provenance:
ex Jon Mann ( a well
respected numismatic researcher), sold January 2014
ex Tim Owen
WMH-7689:
William “Rufus” II Norman
Hammered Silver Penny. Cross in quatrefoil issue (B.M.C.
II) of 1089–92 only. COLBERN ON PALI – Kolbjern
of Wallingford. Only x4
recorded examples on the EMC / SCBI database.
This coin from the same dies as SCBI Ashmolean 186, BMC 160 and Locket
1017, which I think must be a first for a coin with so few recorded
examples! 1.39 grams / 9h. Mis-struck on the
obverse, as is at least one of the four EMC / SCBI coins. Good provenance (see tickets). £1,950
Provenance:
ex A. Byde
collection,
ex C.J. Martin (1981),
ex Royal Berkshire
collection.
WMH-9323: William II NORMAN Hammered
Silver Cross Voided Penny - THE REFERENCE BOOKS WILL NEED TO BE RE-WRITTEN. B.M.C.
III,
1092-95: +BRVNIC.ON TAM (AM ligated) – Bruning of Tamworth.
S.R. 1260. Cross Voided
type. The Tamworth mint (Staffordshire, on the banks
of the River Tame) was once the capital of Mercia but by the time of the Normans, numismatically at least, Tamworth was somewhat out in the
wilderness. There is only x1 recorded examples of a Tamworth mint B.M.C III
coin on the excellent & comprehensive E.M.C. database... this one! Prior to this coin, it was thought that
the mint stopped issuing coinage at the cessation of the BMC II issue (circa
1092), then went into a hiatus for the remainder of William II's
reign (including this BMC III coin), and for most of the following reign of
Henry 1st, not starting up again until the late BMC 13 issue in 1121, a break
of some 29 years. This coin is the only
recorded example of any B.M.C. III Tamworth penny, for any moneyer. This single coin - a numismatic "Black
Swan" - now extends the life of the Tamworth mint under William Rufus by a
further three years; originally thought to have stopped at BMC II but now
proved to stop after BMC III, thereby shortening the hiatus from 29 to a mere
26 years! Needless to say, the record
books, including the excellent J. J. North, will tell you that William II, Tamworth, B.M.C. III does not exist. And yet here it is. Full flan, exceedingly well centred obverse
and reverse, and resplendent with strong, full legends. Problem-free, other than the weak portrait. There are very few Norman mint towns rarer
than Tamworth but when you consider not only the unique nature of this coin,
but the fact that it literally redefines what we thought we knew about the
Tamworth mint under William Rufus, well, "a rare coin" doesn't really
do it justice! £3,895
Provenance:
Found Thetford 2021 (see EMC 2024.0447)
WMH-7437: William II NORMAN Hammered
Silver Cross Pattee & Fleury Penny. B.M.C. IV, 1095-98: +AEG(ELRIC ON) LNDI – Aegelric of London.
S.R. 1261. There are only x5
recorded examples of London mint B.M.C IV coins on the EMC
database which is entirely to be expected bearing in mind the rarity of this
type. Of all William II coins recorded,
including fragments, B.M.C IV and B.M.C V are the rarest with only 9% of the
population each. B.M.C I, which S.R.
rate the rarest, accounts for 19% of the population. If you go back to 1919, so disregarding all
finds from the previous 100 years, B.M.C IV was 10%, B.M.C V was 8% and B.M.C I
was 23%. The numbers do not lie. A rare
coin. £1,995
WJC-9336: (4) William II :
1616-38 Silver Simon de Passe Token. Machine-pressed silver tokens or counters depicting
the monarchs of England, issued in sets (thought to be thirty six), composed
either of pieces of different monarchs or repetitions of the same type. Thought to be primarily used as markers or
counters "for reckoning and for play". The dies were very cleverly sunk to give the
impression of a hand-engraved silver token.
Some of these counters were executed early in the 1616-38 period by
Nicholas Hilliard, jeweller; goldsmith and engraver to Elizabeth 1st and
afterwards to James 1st. In 1617, Hilliard
received a patent granting him the monopoly for twelve years of all the
engraved portraits of the King and the Royal Family. He subsequently sold licences to other
engravers to execute these counters, one of which was to Simon de Passe and his brother, both of whom excelled in the art of
engraving. This sub-licence to the de Passe brothers was issued late in the reign of James
1st. Collectively, these tokens are all
termed De Passe tokens for convenience. £245
Provenance:
From
a collection put together over a great many years; dispersed by Spink.
Henry
I (AD 1100 - 1135). Norman King Read
about Henry I
Upon Henry’s death
at Rouen in 1135, Stephen, perhaps unexpectedly,
was pronounced king and immediately seized the royal treasury at Winchester.
William of Malmesbury stated it contained
£100,000 of “exquisitissimi denarii” – extremely
carefully chosen pence (although Latin scholars will be aware that denarii does
not equate to pence), which was a comment on the dreadfully low standard of
Henry 1st coinage.
Excessively
Rare ROUND Halfpennies
WMH-9367: OF GREAT RARITY: Henry 1st
Norman ROUND Hammered Silver HALFPENNY.
Obverse: facing uncrowned head of Henry 1st, hair made up of seven
fleur-like ringlets; inner and outer beaded circles with legend
surrounding: +hENRIC
REX. Initial mark Cross with orbed base.
Reverse: +AILPINE ON PI - Ailwine of Winchester, recorded
on the Fitzwilliam EMC/SCBI Corpus: 2002.0013 (only the fifth ever recorded Winchester halfpenny, the majority being permanently ensconced
in the Fitzwilliam or other museums).
Central Cross Potent with groups of pellets in angles. Dark uneven tone
with light porosity, fine and clear with distinctive style of head and fully
readable. Very little is known about
this denomination - it doesn't even have a BMC number as yet. There are two different halfpenny reverse
types, one being of a type 9 penny reverse, the other this Cross Potent. BMC ix pennies are c.1109 only and whilst we
can't attribute that date to this coin (it being a Cross Potent reverse as
opposed to the Cross Pattée) with any degree of certainty, we can probably
assume that it would be very close.
Saying that, the only full penny for Winchester and AILPINE is a single BMC x example recorded
on the EMC database. At first glance,
this would seem to make perfect sense as BMC x seemingly follows on from BMC
ix. However, the BMC numbering system was
devised in 1916 and in recent years has been amended. The date order is now: 1,2,3,4,5,6,9,7,8,11,10,12,13,14,15,
meaning that we have one of the two halfpenny types at BMC ix (c.1109) and the
Winchester / AILPINE full penny at BMC x (c.1117). With an eight year gap, that begins to look
far less likely. Either the order of the
Henry 1st BMC system needs further research or, and this is probably the more
likely scenario, the BMC ix halfpenny is not tied to the BMC ix issue of
pennies in c.1109, rather the halfpennies were struck closer to c.1117 and the
BMC ix Cross Pattée reverse was simply resurrected, it being a good fit for a
small coin. Halfway through B.M.C. xi
(c.1107) and continuing until B.M.C. xiv (c.1123), officials ordered that some
coinage leaving the mint should be officially cut or nicked to expose the
silver. This was a device to give the
public confidence that the coin in their hand was solid silver and not a plated
forgery. Some halfpennies have the
official test cut, thereby firmly placing them within the period c.1107 -
c.1123. An extremely rare denomination; the
only known example of this moneyer - Godwine
A and Wigmund being the other examples. S.R. 1277, North 872. Of the greatest rarity - one of the only
examples of a Winchester round halfpenny available to the public, and the
icing on the cake - a completely unique moneyer for this excessively rare
denomination. £7,995
Provenance:
Found near Marlborough,
Wiltshire, October 2001 (see The Searcher magazine, March 2002, p.41-3, this
coin).
ex Dix Noonan & Webb, 19th June 2002, lot 135
ex Spink Auction 183, 26th September
2006, lot 19
ex Spink Auction, 26th September
2018, lot 370
ex HistoryInCoins
stock (sold £7,950), 2024
Summary of extant
halfpenny population:
The round Halfpenny
denomination of King Henry 1st initially came to light only 76 years ago, when
respected professional numismatist Peter Seaby
exhibited a coin of Winchester by the moneyer Godwine
A at the British Numismatic Society on 1 March 1950 (available to view on
EMC database and North pl. 16, 36 and Spink Standard Catalogue, p. 135; coin
now in the Fitzwilliam Museum). It took until 1989 for four more halfpence to
emerge:
Sandwich, Aethelbold (reverse struck
from a type IX Penny die - now in Fitzwilliam Museum)
Hereford, Airled (now in British Museum), both found together in spoil from Thames Exchange
Norwich(?), Thot, found in Norfolk (now in Fitzwilliam Museum)
York, Othbeorn, found near
Newbury
The other mints and moneyers
discovered since include examples of:
Oxford, Agelnoth
Wallingford, Osulf
Wilton, Ailward (all four in the Fitzwilliam Museum); Sandwich, Athelbold, of regular
type, found at Little Mongeham, Kent, September 1992
Winchester, Wimund, ex Baldwin Auction
7, 2nd
May 1996, lot 517 and now also
in the Fitzwilliam Museum
Lincoln, uncertain moneyer (only half a coin), found Newark
2004
Lincoln, Aslakr, an unrecorded
moneyer for type (obviously, seeing as how it's the only extant Lincoln round
halfpenny!) being probably the best known example of all 22 known coins, with
provenance as "found near Lincoln 2018"
Norwich, Thorstein, found Sutton
Bridge 2009 (was for sale in the US at $15,000)
York, Forni, found north east
Lincolnshire 2009
London, --DRED, a fragmentary coin found Kent 2013
London, Thorreaed, found Tilbury
2014
Canterbury, Winedaeg, found Wherwell - pierced in three places
as well as three uncertain
pieces.
The EMC database shows twenty
four examples recorded (including this coin) with around half either in museums
or fragmentary.
Pennies
WMH-9143:
Unique Henry
1st Hammered Silver Norman Penny. B.M.C.
I, the Autumn of 1100 only: +PVLEPOLD ON NE. Tentatively attributed to Newark (Nottinghamshire). It is worth noting that the first letter of
the moneyer does resemble an M but MVLEPOLD is not a recorded moneyer. Taking the moneyer (tentatively attributed to
WVLFWEARD on the old tickets) only, we see that during the early Henry 1st
issues, he was active at London and Sandwich only. The mint signature of NE could not be
clearer, it clearly being neither of those two towns. Going earlier, into the reigns of William II
and late William 1st, we find WVLFWEARD also active at Stamford and Colchester but again, neither of those
remotely match the clear NE mint signature on this coin. Now we look at the mint signature itself: an
unambiguous NE. Hereford, Newark and Newcastle are given on the old tickets (here and here) as
possibilities. There were no B.M.C. I
Henry 1st Hereford coins, of any moneyer, nor B.M.C. II. Further, Hereford has a mint signature of HEREO /
HEREF or occasionally HIR with minor variations therein. I think we can dismiss Hereford.
We now come to the obvious candidates, Newport Pagnell,
Newcastle and Newark.
Newport Pagnell was a Saxon mint that operated
from 960-1059 and is located in Buckinghamshire. This mint produced coins
during Edward the Confessor's reign only, thus we can rule that location
out. Newcastle had a castle built by Robert,
eldest son of William 1st, in 1080. It
was later replaced with a great stone keep, erected in 1175 which would have
been the site of the mint. Stephen is
recorded as the first example of Newcastle being used as a mint, gaining in
popularity as a mint under the Henry II issues, but clearly Stephen is sometime
after the very first Annulet issue of Henry 1st. The Newcastle mint signatures for Stephen are
invariably CAS or CIS, only moving to NE for the Tealby
issues of 1158-80, some 58 years after the Henry 1st Annulet issue. We can also safely rule out Newcastle.
Finally, we come to Newark.
Saxon coins from Edgar and (mainly) Cnut are recorded
as being minted at Newark, along with a single recorded
Norman Midland's type penny of Stephen.
Henry II is mentioned as having an example minted at Newark but I can find no evidence for
this coin and anyway, it's too modern a coin to be of interest here. There is a clear timeline going from Cnut to Stephen which implies that if the mint remained
active throughout that period, as most mints did unless there was a local
disaster or a war, Henry 1st should have had coins minted from Newark.
The Saxon (Cnut) Newark pennies all have a NIPOR mint
signature but unsurprisingly, as we move out of the Saxon and firmly into the
Norman period, the Stephen penny changes to a much more recognisable mint
signature of NWERCA, which certainly fits this coin's mint signature. Finally, there is the find spot: the coin was
found in South
Lincolnshire
around the time of the Millennium. Newark is located on the extremities of
Nottinghamshire, on the border of Lincolnshire on the River Trent (famous for
Charles 1st being besieged at Newark Castle) with the River Trent actually
forming part of the Nottinghamshire Lincolnshire border - it is that close to Lincolnshire.
Ask the residents of Newark and a lot of the old-timers will
actually say that they're more Lincolnshire than Nottinghamshire! When found, the coin was cracked so was
expertly repaired. The coin is
unpublished, unique, and obviously excessively rare. £1,850
Provenance:
Found South Lincolnshire, circa 2000, purchased by...
ex Mike
Vosper (his ticket)... purchased by...
ex Royal
Berkshire Collection (their ticket) ...
Dispersed
2024
WMH-8126:
Henry 1st Norman
Hammered Silver PAX Penny. B.M.C.
III, PAXS type1103 only: +GO[DPI]NE ON GLEAL – Godwine
of Gloucester.
S.R. 1264. There are only x25
results for all Henry 1st types minted at Gloucester on the EMC
database - including cut halves, quarters and historical entries with no images
- with a full 80% of those being types 14 and 15. There are no recorded type III pennies for Gloucester, of any moneyer, on the
excellent EMC database, meaning that this coin changes
everything for Gloucester.
We already had B.M.C. II and B.M.C. IV pennies recorded at
Gloucester (See J.J. North) and now we have
this B.M.C. III penny bridging the gap that everyone suspected shouldn't
be there. Sold with an old auction
information slip which is unfortunately incorrect - auction houses are very
busy places so an easy mistake to make, especially on a coin where the mint and
moneyer combination is completely unrecorded.
Special thanks to John Cross and Dr Martin Allen for the research. An exceptionally rare coin, unique at this
point in time. £2,725
WMH-7438: Henry 1st NORMAN Hammered
Silver PAXS Penny. B.M.C. III, 1103 only: +S(PROT)ONSIIDPIR – Sprot
of Southwark. S.R. 1264.
This is a unique coin – a new type for the moneyer with Sprot only recorded as money in Southwark under William II and
Henry 1st types I and II.
There are 488 results for all Henry 1st types minted at
Southwark but only x12 are Henry 1st type III Southwark so this coin
alone clearly shows Sprot continued his trade beyond
1102 and into 1103. Sold with an old
auction information slip. An
exceptionally rare coin. £2,325
WMH-7864:
Henry 1st
Hammered Silver Norman Penny. B.M.C.
VII, 1111 only: +EDPINE ON CATN – Edwine of Canterbury.
S.R. 1268. Only one other
example (x2 entries but actually the same coin, and a particularly grim example
at that!) recorded on the EMC and SCBI database. Type 7 coins were actually struck after
type 9 coins but were still very much within the period where the mint was
required to officially test cut all coins (this practise commenced 1105). A very rare coin. £645
WMH-9221: Henry 1st
Hammered Silver Norman Penny. B.M.C. IX, cross in quatrefoil type,
1109 only. Mint and moneyer: DEREMAN of London. Official test cut done before the coin left
the mint - The reign of Henry 1st,
though stable and successful in many ways, coincided with a period of monetary
crisis, to the point where the general public had genuine concerns over the
quality of the coinage leaving the mint.
As a result of this, some of the public physically started to test the
coinage themselves which obviously hindered the acceptance of what was genuine
coinage even further. In a bold and
unprecedented move, the government ordered ALL coinage to be mutilated at
issue, thereby forcing the acceptance of damaged coins. This practice was ordered halfway through
B.M.C. 6 and it continued until B.M.C. 14.
It took the form of an edge incision or “snick”, as seen in this
coin. For those that are interested, the
government finally sought to put this problem to bed in 1124 by ordering a
“purge of moneyers” throughout England. From this we
get that the coinage of Henry 1st was not great in quality (even type
15 coins, post purge, are generally poor) and that all coins from BMC 7-14 will
have edge snicks. Creased and lightly cracked in part but
stable: extra image
here. Rare coin. Was listed at £665, now reduced to the exact
same price that I purchased it for February 2013! £450
WMH-9039: Henry 1st Norman Kings
Hammered Silver Penny. Facing bust /
cross fleury type: B.M.C. X, circa 1117 only. +ALGAR:ON:SVT - Southwark (Surrey - on the south bank of the River Thames) mint
town. Only x1 recorded Southward type 10
penny recorded on the EMC database with this example (not a die match) being
the better coin. There are only x69 Henry
1st Southward pennies listed on the EMC database with just under half that
cohort being B.M.C. Southward is a rarer
mint for Norman coinage. Unusually,
there is no official test cut on this coin, adding credence to a recent theory
that not all coins were "snicked" at the
mint; rather just enough to get the message across to the counterfeiters that
they were very much aware of what was happening. Ask yourself this: when was the last time you
saw a counterfeit Henry 1st penny? Maybe
only one or two in several decades for me.
They were either very good at withdrawing counterfeits from circulation
back then or it wasn't nearly the problem that we think it was today. S.R. 1271.
A rare coin. £965
WMH-7885:
Henry 1st
Hammered Silver Norman Penny. Facing
bust / cross fleury type: B.M.C. X, circa 1117 only. +BRAND ON CICES - rarer Chichester mint town. Only x3 recorded Chichester type 10 pennies recorded on the EMC
database and only x2 of those are BRAND.
There were only three moneyers working from this mint under Henry
1st. Chichester is a rare mint for
Norman coinage - interestingly the entire city, complete with minster, burnt down in 1114, which is somewhat at odds with
the coinage production - a trial run in 1105 with nothing until the type 8
coinage in 1113 where production was continuous through the types until 14
(c.1123). To further muddy the waters,
type 8 postdates type 9! Official test
cut at 3 o'clock, as they all should have, and beautifully toned. S.R. 1271.
See old
tickets here: ex Royal Berkshire collection, purchased from Mike Vosper in
1999. A remarkable, attractive ad very
rare coin. £1,075
WMH-9248:
Outstanding
Henry 1st Norman Kings Hammered Silver Penny. Facing bust / cross fleury type: B.M.C. X,
circa 1117 only. +SPERLIG:ON:LVN - London mint town. Official test cut at 9 o'clock.
There is a recent theory that not all coins were "snicked" at the mint; rather just enough to get the
message across to the counterfeiters that they were very much aware of what was
happening. Not a particularly rare mint-moneyer
combination but in this grade, very rare and desirable. In fact of the x13 examples recorded on the
excellent Fitzwilliam EMC database, this coin is superior to all of them. Annulet eyes, dimpled chin, full flan only
slightly off-struck. S.R. 1271. A superb coin. £1,695
Provenance:
ex Preston collection, purchased from...
ex Alan Cherry (his original
ticket)
WMH-7442: Henry 1st NORMAN Hammered
Silver DOUBLE INSCRIPTION Penny. B.M.C. XI, 1116 only: +ALDRED O / N LVNDE – Aelfred
of London.
S.R. 1272. The wavy flan made
this a challenging coin to photograph.
Only fourteen London Double Inscription coins recorded on the EMC database
with NO examples of this moneyer. A rare
type and a rarer still moneyer. £1,450
WMH-8166: Henry 1st NORMAN Hammered
Silver DOUBLE INSCRIPTION Penny - CHOICE.
B.M.C. XI, 1116 only: + ÐEORIAE ON LVNDI – Thured of London.
Official test cut at 4 o'clock which all coins of types 7-14 (and
some for type 6) had in order to convince the public that the coin in their
hand was genuine and did actually contain silver. S.R. 1272.
There are x410 Henry 1st coins on the EMC database with x17 being B.M.C.
XI (most will be B.M.C.XV). Of those
seventeen, x6 are cut halves or quarters and of the remaining x11, I'd go as
far as to say none are better and most are a lot worse. If that's not rare enough for you, I can tell
you than none of those x17 coins are from this moneyer because Thured is an unrecorded moneyer for B.M.C. XI, although he
is present in North as a moneyer for other Henry 1st London mint types. A plethora of old tickets - see here -
demonstrating sound provenance over the years with names such as Tim Owen, CNG,
Hammered British Coins, etc, etc.
Unambiguously Choice. £4,435
WMH-7703:
Henry 1st
Hammered Silver NORMAN Penny. Small
profile / cross & annulets type, B.M.C. XII, circa 1119 only. S.R. 1273.
Mint and moneyer uncertain – if it wasn’t for the questionable slabbing on this
coin, I suspect something could be gleaned.
Ex B. Tregen collection, ex Mike Vosper (that
ticket originally lost but now found and thus sold with the
coin). Hard to photograph but actually
good central detail with peripheral weakness in the strike. I’m told it’s easy to remove the plastic
slab. £985
WMH-8003: Henry 1st Hammered Norman
Silver Penny. Star in Lozenge
Fleury, B.M.C. XIII type, circa 1121 only. Crowned bust left, holding sceptre;
+NORTHMAN:ON[ ]TF. Northman moneyer minting at Thetford
in East Anglia.
S.R. 1274. There are only ten
examples of B.M.C 13 recorded for Thetford, whish is
not a lot. Further, there is only a single
example of this exceptionally rare moneyer listed on the EMC database: EMC/SCBI
NUMBER:2008.0309. This coin is that
listed example, thus making this coin unique.
Found 2006 in Buckinghamshire. A
very rare coin indeed. £1,450
WMH-7444: Henry 1st NORMAN Hammered
Silver STAR IN LOZENGE Penny. B.M.C. XIII, 1121 only: +O(TER) ON BERDESTA – Otarr of Barnstaple.
S.R. 1274. A rare mint for
monarch with only seven Barnstaple coins of all Henry 1st
types recorded on the EMC database with only two examples of Star
in Lozenge coins recorded, both of which were found in a Lincolnshire hoard a
long time ago so I doubt they are in public ownership. £2,150
WMH-9190: Choice and Rare Henry 1st
Hammered Silver NORMAN Penny. Star in Lozenge Fleury, B.M.C. XIII type, circa
1121 only. London mint. Crowned bust left, holding sceptre;
+EDP[INE:]ON: LVNDE. Edwine
moneyer. S.R. 1274. There are only three examples of this moneyer
issuing Star in Lozenge Fleury coinage,
all of which are from an old Lincolnshire hoard and probably in permanent residence in some
museum basement, meaning this could be the only example in private hands. On a
slightly wavy flan but an exceptional portrait for issue, coupled with the rare
moneyer. £1,885
Provenance:
Found
Polebrook, Northampton, February 2024
Recorded
with the British Museum
ex
Spink
WMH-7719: Henry 1st Norman
Kings Hammered Silver CHOICE Penny.
Pellets in Quatrefoil type, B.M.C. XIV, dating to AD 1123 only. S.R. 1275, North 870.
+ALFPINE(.ON.L)VN – Aelfwine out of the London mint. One of the rarer moneyers for type, there being
only x3 recorded examples (the excellent EMC / SCBI database), one confirmed (a
very good coin but not a patch on this one), one with only a partial moneyer
reading but it will be Aelfwine (a lovely coin but
again, not as good as this example) and a third with no image so likely to be
from an early Lincoln hoard as that was the find spot. That hoard contained several London type 14 pennies (the bulk
being Sigegar as moneyer) but only a single Aelfwine. A further
point of interest with this coin is the unusual orientation of the reverse
quatrefoil – it is most unusual to have one of the Lis
below the initial mark; in nearly every other recorded example, it’s the point
of the quatrefoil pointing to the i.m. To find any presentable type 14 or 15 coin is
hard (type 15 coins are more prevalent and remember, type 14 was only a single
year issue) – this is nothing to do with grade, rather that they put little
effort into both die cutting and the actual end product because they were
churning these issues out at pace, seemingly against the clock. This coin is simply stunning in every
aspect. It’s attractively toned, full of
flan, from excellent dies and particularly well executed for type. I draw readers attention the type 14 S.R. use as their plate coin (2023). It has the usual reverse quatrefoil
orientation but importantly, it’s clearly an inferior coin when compared to
this one and although it’s a lovely coin, that’s the very best example S.R. could find with their huge resources and
contacts. Only one word sums up this
coin – choice. £2,885
WMH-7865:
Henry 1st
Hammered Silver Norman Penny. B.M.C.
XIV, 1123 only: +ESGAR ON GLOCESE – Esgar of Gloucester.
S.R. 1275. No examples
recorded on the EMC and SCBI database, although the accompanying
literature states two other coins known: one in the Gloucester Museum and the
other a cut half out of the 1987 Beauvais Coin Hoard
- the former will never be in public hands; the latter's whereabouts are
unknown. Sold with old tickets - the
detailed ticket looks to be 1980's with the Baldwin ticket (with Baldwin coin envelope) more recent. It is interesting to note that Baldwin's rate this coin as RRR. An exceptionally rare coin. £1,065
WMH-9220:
Henry 1st
Hammered Silver Norman Penny - Choice Portrait. Quadrilateral on Cross Fleury, B.M.C. XV
type, S.R. 1276. +RODBERD:ON:CANT - Canterbury mint with Rodbert
as moneyer. Apologies for my reverse
image being rotated 180 degrees in error.
There are fourteen B.M.C. XV types recorded for this moneyer on the
excellent EMC database, split between Gloucester, Thetford
and Canterbury only. non (from any mint) better
than this coin. Attractive dark toning
and a spectacular portrait of Henry 1st 'Beauclerc'
who was actually only the fourth son of William 1st. The Empress Matilda was Henry's daughter
(along with many illegitimate children), thus the blood line is obvious,
although with Henry seizing the English throne over his elder brothers, the
precedent was perhaps already there for Stephen?! An outstanding Norman penny. £975
WMH-9339: Henry 1st Norman Kings
Hammered Silver Penny. Quatrefoil on
cross fleury, B.M.C. XV, c.1125-35. S.R.
1276. [+VLF:O]N:EVERPI – York mint with Ulfr as moneyer (die matched by David Walker). There are only thirteen type 15 York coins recorded on the
EMC database, with only two being ULF.
This type has an interesting depiction in that the king's face is well
to the left of the crown, allowing for the pellets "hair" to the
right, presumably an attempt at a slightly left facing king, looking subtly
towards his sceptre. Struck on a generous
full flan, albeit off-struck on the reverse.
These late Henry 1st issues were invariably derived from indifferent
dies with perhaps less care taken in the minting process compared to earlier
issues. Saying that, this coin is
certainly much better than average for issue.
£645
Provenance:
ex
Tim Owen - his ticket together with an unidentified earlier blue ticket
HALF
pennies
WMH-9339: Henry
1st Norman ROUND Hammered Silver HALFPENNY.
Obverse: facing uncrowned head of Henry 1st, hair made up of seven
fleur-like ringlets; inner and outer beaded circles with legend
surrounding: +hENRIC
REX. Initial mark Cross with orbed base.
Reverse: +AILPINE ON PI - Ailwine of Winchester, EMC/SCBI NUMBER:2002.0013
(only the fifth ever recorded Winchester halfpenny, the others being permanently ensconced in
the Fitzwilliam or other museums).
Central cross potent with groups of pellets in angles. Dark uneven tone
with light porosity, fine and clear with distinctive style of head and fully
readable. An excessively rare
denomination being the only known example of this moneyer - Godwine
A and Wigmund on the other examples - although this
moneyer is recorded as issuing full pence at Winchester. S.R. 1277,
North 872. Of the greatest rarity - the
only example of a Winchester round halfpenny available to the public, and a
completely unique moneyer for the denomination. 
£7,995
Provenance:
Found near Marlborough, Wiltshire, October 2001 (see The Searcher magazine,
March 2002, Pp.41-3, this coin).
ex Dix Noonan & Webb, 19th June 2002, lot 135
ex Spink Auction 183, 26th September
2006, lot 19
ex Spink Auction, 26th September
2018, lot 370
ex HistoryInCoins
stock (£7,950), 2024
Research:
The round Halfpenny
denomination of King Henry 1st initially came to light only 76 years ago, when
respected professional numismatist Peter Seaby
exhibited a coin of Winchester by the moneyer Godwine
A at the British Numismatic Society on 1 March 1950 (available to view on
EMC database and North pl. 16, 36 and Spink Standard Catalogue, p. 135; coin
now in the Fitzwilliam Museum). It took until 1989 for four more halfpence to
emerge:
Sandwich, Aethelbold (reverse struck
from a type IX Penny die - now in Fitzwilliam Museum)
Hereford, Airled (now in British Museum), both found together in spoil from Thames Exchange
Norwich(?), Thot, found in Norfolk (now in Fitzwilliam Museum)
York, Othbeorn, found near
Newbury
The other mints and moneyers
discovered since include examples of:
Oxford, Agelnoth
Wallingford, Osulf
Wilton, Ailward (all four in the Fitzwilliam Museum); Sandwich, Athelbold, of regular
type, found at Little Mongeham, Kent, September 1992
Winchester, Wimund, ex Baldwin Auction
7, 2nd
May 1996, lot 517 and now
also in the Fitzwilliam Museum
Lincoln, uncertain moneyer (only half a coin), found Newark
2004
Lincoln, Aslakr, an unrecorded moneyer
for type (obviously, seeing as how it's the only extant Lincoln round
halfpenny!) being probably the best known example of all 22 known coins, with
provenance as "found near Lincoln 2018"
Norwich, Thorstein, found Sutton
Bridge 2009 (was for sale in the US at $15,000)
York, Forni, found north east
Lincolnshire 2009
London, --DRED, a fragmentary coin found Kent 2013
London, Thorreaed, found Tilbury
2014
Canterbury, Winedaeg, found Wherwell - pierced in three places
as well as three uncertain
pieces.
The EMC database shows twenty
four examples recorded (including this coin) with around half either in museums
or fragmentary.
Stephen
(AD 1135 - 1154). Norman King Read
about Stephen
The fabled
TRANSITIONAL CORONATION ISSUE, bridging the coinage of Henry 1st and Stephen:
WMH-7912:
Extremely Rare Stephen
Hammered Silver Penny Utilising an Altered Henry 1st Die. Termed the "Transitional Coronation Issue",
struck with an altered Henry 1st obverse die (STEFANVS REX over HENRIC) - a
substantive class XV penny of Henry 1st Watford (B.M.C. 1) type, struck
December 1136. [LIEF]RED : ON :
LVND. Issued under the direction of the
Abbot of Reading, Hugh Miens. Only one London moneyer allowed, according to the
literature. This reading of Stephen's
regnal name (STEFANVS as opposed to the ubiquitous STIEFNE) was completely
unknown prior to the discovery of this issue.
Only six extant examples known, including this one. Old tickets here and
a marvellous numismatic
information sheet here. As you might
expect, there is a rather impressive provenance accompanying this coin:
Ex Spink
Ex Lord Stewartby 2016
Ex Baldwins 1972
Ex F.A.
Walters 1932
Reportedly
found in the River Witham, Lincs. pre 1875
One of the
most significant and interesting Norman coins you're likely to see for sale on the open
market. £2,950 RESERVED (M.S.20-11-23
Lay-Away)
York Flag Type - Battle of Northallerton
WMH-9199: Stephen Hammered Silver
Norman Penny - York Ornamental Group, Flag Type - Battle of Northallerton. Obverse: +STIEF N E R, crowned bust of
Stephen, right, holding lance and pennant (or flag standard) with mullet or
star in field; reverse: cross moline with
fleur-de-lis in each angle, linear circle and legend surrounding with symbols
and the odd letter interspersed and interestingly, an apparent Cross Pattée as
a reverse initial mark (similar to the obverse initial mark), as opposed to the
usual reverse Cross Moline initial mark.
Attributed to the "Ornamented Group of York mint": the lance and
pennant is thought to represent the Battle of the Standard, sometimes
called the Battle of Northallerton. On the 22nd
August 1138, the English forces, rallied by the Archbishop of York, defeated the invading
Scottish army (led by King David I) at Cowton Moor,
near Northallerton.
The battle was a result of King David's support for his niece, Matilda,
in the English succession dispute following the death of King Henry I. The
English army carried the sacred standard of St. Cuthbert on a cart. Mack listed sixteen examples of this type, at least eight
of which are now in museums - this coin is not a die-match to any of those
sixteen. More recently, Dr Martin Allen
has published a paper in the Numismatic Chronicle, Volume 176, 2016 titled
"The York Local Coinage of the Reign of Stephen (1135-54)",
where the flag types are listed as Phase 3. Dr Allen lists x36 examples of flag
types across x21 different die varieties.
This reverse die is
unlisted in that seminal research publication. Reference: Allen York 31var (the unlisted
reverse die), Mack 217p, S.R.1313, North 919.
1.21g. Toned, Good VF with
excellent metal and completely problem-free.
Choice and clearly very rare indeed, particularly so in this grade. Find better!
£8,995
Provenance:
ex Baldwin's 40 sale, lot 145, May 2005
Rare Southern
Variant
WMH-6956: Unique Stephen Norman
Penny – Tutbury Castle, family seat of Robert de Ferrers, second Earl of Derby. Unique Tutbury mint
coin. Obverse: [STEPH]ANVSX, crude
crowned bust right holding sceptre.
Reverse: WALCMI.[INVS] TVT, voided short cross with annulet in centre, martlets in angles, reminiscent of the Edward Confessor
Saxon Sovereign / Eagles B.M.C.9 coin.
Struck in the summer of 1141 when Stephen was held in captivity, at a
time when royal control had all but broken down and chaos (anarchy) prevailed,especially amongst the King’s supporters. S.R. 1298 var
and Mack 175 var. Listed as a Southern
Variant in S.R. and not an East Midland’s variant – Derby is in the East Midlands and Tutbury Castle is a short distance
south east of Derby in East Staffordshire. Mack (the definitive work on Stephen coinage)
states that “…all known coins are from the same die pairing” with
the reverse having the legend: +WALCHELINVS DERBI. There were three coins and a cut half of this
type found in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in 1788 and one other found in London at a
similar although unspecified date. The
obverse and reverse of this coin are definitely not a die pair to the
other 4 ½ extant “DERBI” examples. This
is a unique coin, from the hitherto unrecorded mint of Tutbury. Walkelin, the
moneyer at both Derby and Tutbury, was a family name
of the de Ferrers and so it is likely that the family
itself struck this coinage. The dies
were local, in their crudity and workmanship, and were cut by the local seal
cutter (see BNJ, v, p.439 and Carlyon-Britton sale
catalogue note under lot 1482). There is
obviously no research as to why the family changed the mint town on the coins
from Derby to Tutbury (or vice versa) – Tutbury Castle was in the hands of the Earls of Derby
throughout this period – as this is the first and only example of a Tutbury coin known. There is only a single coin of this type
listed on the E.M.C database, it being this exact same coin. This coin made the news some 10 years ago
when it was found as a “£10K coin find”, which is remarkable in itself but
possibly more so that I can actually remember it making the news, even though I
can’t remember what I did last week, never mind what happened ten years
ago! 0.97g / 90 degree die
rotation. Ex DNW auction 2014 and ex
another auction (see later entry here). The coin is described as VF in that
entry. The coin has been professionally
repaired at 6 o’clock to a remarkably high
standard; only apparent under a loop, or the all-revealing camera / lighting
setup that I employ for photography. The
Dr Irving Schneider collection, dispersed May 2025, contained this coin (see here). The same type, same moneyer but the mint town
on the Schneider coin was the less rare Derby mint. The coin for sale here is the much rarer Tutbury Castle mint. That coin sold for £22,500 after
commissions. I think that puts this coin
into context rather nicely, especially as any discount you may have been
awarded previously will be valid on this coin.
£9,500
WMH-7448: Stephen NORMAN Hammered
Silver SOUTHERN VARIANT Penny. B.M.C. I var, c.1148: +SANSON ON ANT – Hanton of Southampton.
S.R. 1295. A rare Stephen penny
struck, out of necessity for this was during the Civil War period, from local
and irregular dies. These Southern
Variant Civil War coins, when they do turn up, are predictably grim. This coin, however, is anything but
grim. As you’ll see from the ticket, Jon Mann,
the esteemed researcher, rates this as not only being high quality silver as
opposed to the usual billon material they used in this issue, but one of the
top five extant examples. Brooke (B.M.C. introduction, pp.xcl-xclv)
appears to have been the first researcher to postulate that not just the
acceptance of Southampton as the physical location of where these coins were
minted was questionable but, more generally and not just focusing in on this
issue, that "...coins may not have been issued from the place which the
(reverse) inscription were intended to signify", the suggestion being that
place of issue which the die sinker intended should be implied. Why Hanton possibly
sought to imply Southampton as the location of his
coins remains a mystery. Elmore-Jones
(B.N.J. xxviii, p.541) and R.P. Mack (Stephen and the Anarchy 1135-1154) go
further and suggest that Canterbury is a much more likely
mint location. Brook goes further still
in suggesting that due to the irregular nature of the issue - lettering, light
weight billon silver, crudeness and overall dreadful condition of most extant
examples - that the entire issue was organised forgery on a considerable scale.
R.P. Mack tempers this hypothesis by suggesting that if Brook was right, it
would have to have been at the very least on a semi-official basis due to shear
scale and quality - at least x8 different die pairs are known. Mack also points out that the Southern
Variant Sanson (Hanton)
type reverse is a combination of both types 1 and 7, which is precisely the
same as that of a coin of Henry of Anjou (#246 from the Winterslow
hoard), struck at Gloucester. To add
even more confusion to the mix, this issue has distinctive similarities
characteristic of the Hereford coins in Stephen's
name from the so-called "local" dies!
£1,750
WMH-7981: Stephen NORMAN Hammered
Silver SOUTHERN VARIANT Penny. B.M.C. I var, c.1148: [+SAN]SONI [ON] ANT – Hanton of Southampton. S.R.
1295. A rare Stephen penny struck, out of necessity for this was
during the Civil War period, from local and irregular dies. These
Southern Variant Civil War coins, when they do turn up, are predictably low
grade, misshapen and generally problematic. This coin, however, is
anything but that. Another ex Jon Mann, the esteemed numismatic
researcher, coin. Brooke (B.M.C.
introduction, pp.xcl-xclv) appears to have been the
first researcher to postulate that not just the acceptance of Southampton as
the physical location of where these coins were minted was questionable but,
more generally and not just focusing in on this issue, that "...coins may
not have been issued from the place which the (reverse) inscription were
intended to signify", the suggestion being that place of issue which the
die sinker intended should be implied. Why Hanton possibly
sought to imply Southampton as the location of his
coins remains a mystery. Elmore-Jones
(B.N.J. xxviii, p.541) and R.P. Mack (Stephen and the Anarchy 1135-1154) go
further and suggest that Canterbury is a much more likely
mint location. Brook goes further still
in suggesting that due to the irregular nature of the issue - lettering, light
weight billon silver, crudeness and overall dreadful condition of most extant
examples - that the entire issue was organised forgery on a considerable scale.
R.P. Mack tempers this hypothesis by suggesting that if Brook was right, it
would have to have been at the very least on a semi-official basis due to shear
scale and quality - at least x8 different die pairs are known. Mack also points out that the Southern
Variant Sanson (Hanton)
type reverse is a combination of both types 1 and 7, which is precisely the
same as that of a coin of Henry of Anjou (#246 from the Winterslow
hoard), struck at Gloucester. To add
even more confusion to the mix, this issue has distinctive similarities
characteristic of the Hereford coins in Stephen's
name from the so-called "local" dies!
Moving
away from theories, albeit from most eminent contributors, we see that in the
obverse field, right of sceptre, there is a cross below some other, as yet
unidentified mark. Unique from what I've
seen of this issue, and I have handled quite a few over the years. You will be aware of the star before the
sceptre in the Northern Variant, Durham issue (S.R.
1304-7) although I'm of the opinion that it's something entirely different on
this coin. Many of the "Irregular
Coins of Stephen", although issued in the name of the king, at least up
until the end of 1141, were almost certainly issued by Barons and Bishops
throughout the country. As such,
resources would have been on a much more limited scale compared to official
outlets. Inevitably all coinage runs its
course and new dies are prepared. To
stop the theft of the old dies and subsequent counterfeiting, the expired dies
were defaced - S.R. 1283-86A illustrates the
point. I suggest that the cross below
and the other unidentified mark is just that; marking the die and thus any
subsequent coins as retired by defacement.
However, because resources were restricted by the Barons and Bishops,
and the brutal and ongoing Civil War could, and often did change things in the
blink of an eye, sometimes they were forced to bring out of retirement certain
dies and reissue more coin. A fairly
rare Stephen Southern Variant but rarer still by the grade and especially the
marks to the obverse field. £1,750
Cross Moline “Watford” issue (B.M.C. i) - a nationwide
issue:
WMH-7353:
Stephen Norman
Kings Hammered Silver *Rarer Mint* Penny.
B.M.C. I, Cross Moline “Watford” type: +[S]AMAR.[ON.]LEI – Samar of Leicester.
Toned. A rare coin. £1,475
WMH-7364:
Stephen Norman
Kings Hammered Silver *Rarer Mint* Penny.
B.M.C. I, Cross Moline “Watford” type: [+EVER]ARD [O]N PAR – Everard of Warwick.
S.R. 1278. Dark toning, full
flan, well centred, strong portrait – a very rare coin, and for once
S.R. agree as they rate Warwick Norman pennies at £1,250, and that’s for the
commonest type, which this coin is not.
£1,475
Cross & Piles issue (B.M.C. vi) - an
East of England issue only:
WMH-7793:
Stephen Hammered Silver
Norman Halfpenny. Cross & Piles: B.M.C. VI, circa
1050-54. Norwich mint - only issued in the Eastern
part of England which was under Royal
control. Obverse crowned bust left,
+S[TIEFN]E RE; reverse: [+STAN]hIL: ON NO[R]. 0.79g.
S.R. 1281. Toned, rarer type,
rarer mint but the main highlight is the virtually full portrait. B.M.C. VI is one of the rarest of the
standard Stephen issues – S.R. 2023 rate it as £1,100 in VF. This coin is at least VF for issue, if not
slightly better. The Scandinavians
charge a standard, flat 50% of the price of a full coin for a cut half. It’s unusual to get both mint & moneyer
from halfpennies (without die linking) but it is incredibly rare to get this
much detail in terms of the king’s portrait on a cut half. These coins were officially cut at the mint
immediately after striking in order to integrate small change into circulation
at a time when there were no round halfpennies.
The value of the coinage, and therefore the purchasing power, was
entirely in the silver content so this cut half should have literally been
worth half a penny. At 0.79 grams, it is
virtually impossible that the other half of this coin was the same weight. I’d postulate that this coin was cut very
generously at the mint with the other half coin back into the melting pot to
make planchets to be used for later coinage.
Sold with an old ticket stating that the coin was found in the Southampton area. A very rare find indeed. £685
WMH-7872:
Norman Civil
War Stephen Hammered Silver UNRECORDED Penny. Cross & Piles: B.M.C. VI, circa
1050-54. London mint - only issued in the Eastern
part of England which was under Royal control. +IOhANNES ON LV - a completely unrecorded moneyer
for type and mint, including North and the EMC / SCBI database - in fact London
BMC VI pennies barely get into double figures on the EMC / SCBI database which
illustrates just how rare they are. This
is clearly much rarer with the unrecorded moneyer. Ex Spink (their tickets), ex AMR Coins. £895
WMH-8078:
Stephen NORMAN Hammered
Silver Eastern England Issue Penny. Cross & Piles: B.M.C. VI,
circa 1050-54. Norwich mint - only issued in the Eastern
part of England which was under Royal
control. Obverse crowned bust left,
+STIEFNE [RE]; reverse: +R[AVDV]L: ON NOR, being Radulf
/ Raulf / Raul of Norwich. EMC 2023.0391 and die paired to EMC 2013.0321
to see exactly the reverse moneyer legend.
A very healthy 1.32g. S.R. 1281. Toned, rarer type, rarer mint, virtually full
portrait. B.M.C. VI is one of the rarest
of the standard Stephen issues – S.R. 2023 rate it as £1,100 in VF. Sold with old tickets. Fund Stanfield. A very rare find indeed. £1,085
Cross Pommee (Awbridge) issue (B.M.C. vii) - a nationwide issue:
WMH-7783: Stephen NORMAN Hammered
Silver AWBRIDGE / CROSS POMEE Penny.
B.M.C. VII, 1154-58: +NICOLE ON DVNE – Nicol of Dunwich. S.R. 1282.
From the entire Middle Ages, the only coins attributed to the mint at Dunwich were struck in the reign of Stephen during the
decade c.1145-55. These were BMC types
II, VI and VII. EMC lists in total only
fourteen coins for Dunwich, of which x5 are cut
fractions. Of the nine remaining
pennies, two are BMC II, six are BMC VI (there are also another seven BMC VI Dunwich coins from the 1989 Wicklewood
Hoard that have not made it onto EMC) and only two BMC VII coins, of which one
is this coin (EMC/SCBI NUMBER:2022.0037).
It is a different die to the other example. Struck on a squarish
flan, virtually VF and as rare as they come.
£3,575
WMH-9322: Stephen
Norman Kings Hammered Silver Penny - a very rare and interesting coin!! B.M.C. VII, Cross Pommée or Awbridge type, 1154-58: +IOhAN:ON[:---]
– Iohan of Bedford.
There is enough of the mint signature lettering extant to get to Bedford, which this coin definitely has to
be because Iohan only issued B.M.C.VII coinage from Bedford.
S.R. 1282. EMC lists in total
only four B.M.C.VII coins for Bedford, which is testimony in itself as
to just how rare a mint town this is.
The Cross Pommée or Awbridge issue was largely
posthumous, being struck in the first four years of the reign of Henry II
(Henry of Anjou). Now in this
coin, we are privileged to see not one portrait but two!! Clearly this is a most impressive double
portrait strike but for those that know their history and enjoy a bit of a
ghost story, I like to think that this somewhat spurious but fun explanation
was what was really going on back in the day!!
Empress Matilda was the rightful heir to the throne from day one, agreed
upon by Henry 1st (Henry 1st did not father a son to live long enough to
inherit the throne and his x22 illegitimate offspring were not part of the
equation) and the bishops. However, the
public weren't really behind this and Stephen, a cousin, had very different
ideas as to who was to rule the country... thus the Civil War, Anarchy and
Stephen as usurper King. Eventually, in
an attempt to bring the bloody period of division to an end, after the signing
of the Treaty of Wallingford it was officially declared that the Empress
Matilda's heir, Henry of Anjou, was to be the heir to the throne upon the death
of Stephen. A win-win for Stephen
nothing really changed for him in that he got to be king until he died, but
also a long-game win of sorts for Matilda, who saw her son take the throne in
1154 - she didn't die herself until 1167.
And yet here we have this Stephen coin, struck 1154-58, being very much
in the reign of the Empress Matilda's son, the now King Henry II, was still
depicting Stephen, the dead usurper king!
Thus, with an awful lot of imagination and tongue firmly in cheek, the
second image is actually Stephen himself, or rather the ghost or spirit of
Stephen, looking down at his own portrait, on a Henry II coin, finally seeing
the error of his ways, asking himself what on earth he was playing at when he
was alive? The throne was never his to
take; many, many thousands died because of his greed; the rightful heir,
Empress Matilda, not only never became queen but had a really unhappy time of
it all, etc, etc. And to top it all,
there was his face on a coin of England that even he, Stephen, had agreed
should have been Henry's. Mind you, it's
very easy to be sorry after the fact; after you've had all your cake and really
enjoyed eating it, crumbs and all!!! A
slight edge chip has been professionally repaired (easily discernable in the
image) and is quite stable. As I said, a
very rare and most interesting coin, not to mention one of the rare key mints
under Stephen - and if you take this to be a Henry II penny, as chronologically
it is, Bedford becomes stratospherically rare - hens' teeth territory! £1,450
Provenance:
ex Spink
Other
WJC-9337: (5) Stephen : 1616-38
Silver Simon de Passe Token. Machine-pressed silver tokens or counters
depicting the monarchs of England, issued in sets (thought to be thirty six),
composed either of pieces of different monarchs or repetitions of the same
type. Thought to be primarily used as
markers or counters "for reckoning and for play". The dies were very cleverly sunk to give the
impression of a hand-engraved silver token.
Some of these counters were executed early in the 1616-38 period by
Nicholas Hilliard, jeweller; goldsmith and engraver to Elizabeth 1st and
afterwards to James 1st. In 1617,
Hilliard received a patent granting him the monopoly for twelve years of all
the engraved portraits of the King and the Royal Family. He subsequently sold licences to other
engravers to execute these counters, one of which was to Simon de Passe and his brother, both of whom excelled in the art of
engraving. This sub-licence to the de Passe brothers was issued late in the reign of James
1st. Collectively, these tokens are all
termed De Passe tokens for convenience. £245
Provenance:
From
a collection put together over a great many years; dispersed by Spink.
