This week’s fresh listings:
This page is to be updated every
Tuesday and will contain all the latest Coin,
Medal & Token listings for that particular week.
The more observant of you may have realised that I no
longer keep previous "Fresh Listings" coins on this page.
All for sale coins can be
found via the category grid on the front page.
Most sold
coins are now accessible via a
new link on that same category grid.
Additions to www.HistoryInCoins.com
for week commencing Tuesday 11th November 2025
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-9222:
Edward II
Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Class 11a (circa 1310-14), London mint.
S.R. 1455.
Part of the famous Scottish Berscar
Hoard of 2014. Edward II
coins are much rarer than those from the reign of Edward 1st. Excellent provenance.
£145
WMH-9223:
Extremely Rare
Mint Edward 1st Medieval Hammered Silver Penny. Star on breast - class 9b, circa
1299-1300. VILL KYN
GES TON - the very rare Kingston
upon Hull mint. There
were three reverse dies: VILL, VILL' and VIL' so this would be the first die,
class 9b1. Chester, Kingston-upon-Hull and Exeter are the rarest of all the Edward
1st provincial mints (Kingston-upon-Hull and Exeter also being the only Edward 1st
pennies issued over a single class). Out
of the 12,236 pennies found in the Aberdeen Hoard of 1886, over 12,000 were
English with only 2 being from the Chester mint (both class IIIg),
a single coin from Kingston (IXb) and only two
from Exeter (IXb).
To give some context, Bristol is far from common and yet there
were x52 Bristol mint coins in the hoard; London mint from that hoard was well over
5,000 coins. The few coins you do see
from these three rare mints are nearly always worn. This is a particularly nice example. An extremely rare coin.
£385
WJC-9224:
Rare and
Singular Charles 1st Civil War Hammered Silver Halfcrown - Royalist's Mount. Tower (London) mint under the king, initial mark
Tun (1636-8), group III,
type 3a2 with the king's cloak flying from his shoulder - S.R.2775. A fairly standard
halfcrown, although clearly better than the slightly later Gp.
4 types. The king's flying cloak
adds drama and the lack of ground under the horse makes for a cleaner, less
cluttered depiction, both of which I'd imagine were traits chosen
intentionally: this coin has been
modified in antiquity as a Royalist mount.
Based on the above, and the fact that it was a
single field-find by a metal detector, this was almost certainly a Royalist's
mount for the tail-end of Charles 1st's reign or, perhaps more likely, the
stark Commonwealth years of 1649-60. The
coin would originally have been struck on an irregular flan, as they all were,
but has been carefully clipped down to make it a very near perfect circle -
ideal for mounting. We occasionally see
Charles 1st silver medals used as touchpieces - these had the king's portrait
and so were ideal as "pocket pieces" for the king to be fondly
touched during those austere years when the British monarchy was in
hiatus. We also know that smaller medals
were sometimes sewn into the lapels of clothing - hidden from everyday site but
upon meeting a fellow Royalist, easily flipped over to show allegiance. I've even seen Cromwell shillings worn
smooth, presumably as a touch-piece for those anti-monarchists who were not
best pleased at the 1660 Restoration.
Here we have something that, if you think about it (as the Royalist
supporter who fashioned it all those centuries ago surely did), is better than
just a portrait of the king - it is the king in full, atop his charge, sword
drawn, ready for battle. Surely this
coin, mounted, was symbolic of the battle for the Royalist cause? At 11.93g we can see that the individual who
fashioned this had very little thought for its future use as currency - it was
all about the cause. It is perhaps
difficult for people today to appreciate just how polarised people were over
this back in the day: you literally picked your side, performed your duty
enthusiastically because you believed whole-heartedly in what you were fighting
for and, ultimately, you really would have been willing to die for what you
believed in. High
grade, cleaned but beginning to re-tone.
Such an important piece of British history!
£395
Provenance:
Single
metal detecting field-find
Sold at
auction
ex
Alan Cherry