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Additions to www.HistoryInCoins.com for weeks commencing Tuesday 29th September 2026

WMH-9424: Outstanding Stephen Norman Civil War Hammered Silver Penny. B.M.C. I, Cross Moline “Watford” type, no obverse inner circle: [+BALD]EPIN.ON.LV[N] – Baldewine (Baldwin) of London. Full flan, excellent weight at 1.25g (19.2 grains), attractive dark toning. An exceptionally strong, almost unprecedented strike both sides albeit an angled strike. This angled strike phenomena for Stephen coinage has been suggested as deliberate (R.P. Mack, Stephen and the Anarchy, 1135-54 is one who states this) - a device for anonymity: Mack postulates that a moneyer working for Stephen would be all too aware that Matilda could well have become queen at any time during the Anarchy and that if that had happened, that moneyer would automatically be seen as a Stephen supporter by the new monarchy, having freely placed his name on Stephen coinage. The penalties would have been severe so a simple yet deliberate angled strike, obliterating part of the moneyer's name (here we have only the very ending of the moneyer's name extant) which although perhaps not ideal in the above scenario, would be enough to keep Stephen and / or Matilda happy and at the same time ambiguous enough to avoid repercussions on the event of a change of monarch for friend Baldwin of London. The coin is accompanied by some research where the previous owner had tried to work out the moneyer, but failed (music to the ears of moneyer Baldwin of London 900 years ago!!!) It was down as an unpublished coin but it's not - it is as described above. I've added that to the research notes. One of the best grade examples of a Stephen penny that you're ever likely to see. Rare thus. £975

WTH-9425: 1599/6 Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Initial mark Anchor, Sixth issue, bust 6c, S.R. 2578B. 1599 as a date represents a frequency of 0.2% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. *** 1599 is the third rarest of all forty two dates *** If you get into any kind of discussion with experts in this field, they'll often tell you (with some degree of enthusiasm!) that actually 1599 is the rarest date. Anecdotally, I can see where they're coming from, but we have to follow the data and the numbers say that 1599, as a date (ie ignoring the rare overdates) is third rarest. There was an economic depression during the final years of the sixteenth century, a factor hugely relevant in the rarity of this coin. This led to a situation where there was an oversupply of dies, resulting in date alterations (we see 1599/8/6, 99/8 and 99/6, this coin). This scenario only started in 1598 as prior to that date, we see very little, if any overdating – even 1597 was a straight date. This 1599 over 1596, whilst we can't say with certainty that it was the first run of 1599, is certainly one of the first. The old dies were kept loose in boxes, not in any kind of order. Because we know for a fact that straight 1599 reverses were left over at the end of the year (1600 used old 99 dies as well as old 96 and even old 95 dies), that means that this 1599/6 overdate had to come first, perhaps alongside the 1599/8, with the straight 99 coming last, simply because the dies were still serviceable when the clock ticked over to 1600. 1599/6 is a rarer coin than the 1599/8 although it's so technical that probably under a dozen people in the world will care!! The Anchor initial marks are rounded. A particularly pleasing coin considering the downhill trend in quality of Elizabeth 1st sixpences, especially towards the end of the reign. A cheap camera phone extra image here as the main image, for all my efforts, is a poor representation. I've never seen a better example, not that I've seen that many of this date anyway. Very rare. £695

Provenance:

ex Spink, September 2014

WTH-9426: Outstanding 1600 over 159- Elizabeth 1st Hammered Silver Sixpence. Sixth issue, initial mark 0, bust 6B - S.R. 2578B. For the vast bulk of Elizabethan coinage, little or no foresight had been used regarding dates and initial marks, resulting in glaring overdates when the old dies were used again (recycled) in subsequent years, for example the famous 1578/7/6. There are many others. The penny dropped at the mint, eventually, that perhaps sinking dies but omitting initial marks and with only partial dates (those to be added when the dies were brought into use), might be a good idea. Amusingly, this practice was adopted in, wait for it, 1599 - the most inappropriate time possible because the following year was 1600 with three digits changing as opposed to usually one and rarely two! Rather than throw away the prepared 159- "future-proof" dies, they decided to alter the middle two digits from -59- to -60-. The first digit (thankfully!) didn't need changing and all they had to do was add the 0 to the end of the date, as well as add the initial mark in the gap provided. Thus we have 1600 over 159- coins. Interestingly, these 159- dies were also used in 1601 but even after adding the final digit and changing the middle two, they discovered that the first and last digits were so far apart in time that they were actually from different punches and so different! This is a truly amazing grade coin, considering the downhill trend in quality of Elizabeth 1st sixpences, especially towards the end of the reign. A cheap camera phone extra image here as the main image, for all my efforts, is a poor representation. Demand for English coin was much in decline at this period so these were tiny mintages: 1600 as a date represents a frequency of 0.4% for the 2,716 recorded single finds of Elizabeth 1st coins and 0.1% for all 5,588 recorded Elizabeth 1st hoard coins. 1600 is the fifth rarest of all forty two dates. I have to say that I don't see 1600 as being as abundant as that, and I'm far from the only person saying that. A rare coin indeed, not least because of its exceptional grade. Find better!! £795

WJC-9427: Charles 1st Hammered Silver "In Readiness for Civil War" EBOR Halfcrown. Type 7, horses tail firmly in between its legs. York mint, initial mark Lion, 1643-44. S.R.2869, Brooker 1086 but a better grade example that the Brooker plate coin. Of particular interest is the facial detail of the horse - the three quarter faxing head shows both eyes, something none of the Brooker examples do other than the rare HIBA example (ex Locket, Brooker 1088). During the first Civil War, when the London mob made life too dangerous for King Charles I in the capital, he moved to York, bringing his family and court with him. Foreign ambassadors, members of the nobility and officers of the state were compelled to come to the city too. For six months York was, in effect, capital of the kingdom again. York council hoped for a peaceful settlement. It put the city's 600-strong militia at the king’s disposal but asked that it were not called away from the city to fight. In July 1642 the authorities started strengthening York’s defences. The walls were repaired and sentry boxes set up. After the king made an unsuccessful raid at Beverley, it was clear that war was on its way. In August 1642, Charles grew tired of Parliament’s demands and left York. Just six days later, he raised his standard at Nottingham and hostilities officially began. Intermediate coinage struck at York is unique to the Civil War. Excellent grade, attractively toned, although may have been cleaned at some point in antiquity. Minor reverse graffiti by the horse's flank and some clipping. Cheap. £775

Provenance:

ex Tim Owen, much older ticket

WI-9428: Irish Edward 1st Hammered Silver Round Farthing. Second coinage, first early issue of 1279 - 1302 with a very clear obverse open E. S.R.6255. Dublin mint. Edward 1st Irish coinage, all issues, all mints, represents about 12,000,000 pennies with only a very small proportion being struck into halfpennies and a miniscule fraction into farthings. £50,000 face for the entire reign. Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 to 1306 ruled Gascony as Duke of Aquitaine in his capacity as a vassal of the French king. Before his accession to the throne, he was commonly referred to as the Lord Edward. Edward joined the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land in 1270. He was on his way home in 1272 when he was informed of his father's death. Making a slow return, he reached England in 1274 and was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Edward inevitably found himself at war with France (a Scottish ally and no fan of England - some say still!) after King Philip IV confiscated the Duchy of Gascony. The Duchy was eventually recovered but the conflict relieved English military pressure against Scotland. By the mid-1290s, extensive military campaigns required high levels of taxation and this met with both lay and ecclesiastical opposition in England. In Ireland, he had extracted soldiers, supplies and money, leaving decay, lawlessness and a revival of the fortunes of his enemies in Gaelic territories. A tiny coin and a denomination not often offered for sale. Sold with old tickets. £235