The latest additions to my `portriat' coins collection which arrived in the post this am.

The first is a portrait denier (head facing right) of Stephen I (1093-1138) of Penthievre, minted at Quimperle in Brittany. In the hand and viewed from a slight angle, it is not so crude as it appears. Once your eyes adjust to it, the portrait becomes fairly obvious......honest! OK, it's not in exactly `purrfick' condition but then again, few of these are. Stephen alsdo had the title of `Lord Richmond', and was buried at St Mary's in York. Most accounts now place his death at 1135 as opposed to the 1138.

The second is a teston of Jeanne D'Albret (1528-72) Queen of Navarre and mother of Henri IV of France. This one is actually in good nick for the type, which is typically found with a flatter portrait and with weak legends.

Two nice additions.

Sometimes you have to wonder if early medieval coin die sinkers were the precursors of the avante garde movement in artistic impression. I notice with some early Scottish coins, you have to really think about what you are looking at to get an image of the monarch, this is decidedly the case with William I coins.

Nice pieces, I have to imagine both are scarce, I have never heard of either before.

I'm liking the Stephen, i found the portrait on that one straight off! I've been getting some practice with these 12th century pieces. How much did you get that for (if you don't mind me asking)? I fancy adding one of those to the want list.

Nice pieces
I really like the Stephen

I wouldn't say that either of these two characters are particularly scarce, just not common. This particular Stephen denier has a fairly readily determinable portrait. Usually the `portraits' are pretty non distinct. His coinage is out there though

True, Jeanne D'Albret isn't a name at the tip of everyone's tongue. Her silver coinage is out there though and available. However, it doesn't appear on the market in the same quantity as the testons of the Kings of France around that time. This one carries the last bust design used on her coinage.

....wait for it....That one cost me all of $10.50. IMHO the world must have been sleeping or just didn't see the portrait. I suspect the latter. Either way, I think I came out on top

I think you did.

Im collecting Medievals right now!

where did you get them from and for how much?
thanks!

Can anyone tell me good medieval dealers,
P.S. I know AndyBruce....so something else thats pretty cheap!

Thanks!

Are you looking for any medieval, or from a specific country or time?

A lot of dealers have some in stock. A few specialize, especially in English and French.

Start at Vcoins and browse the shops. You'll find many countries, types, condition, costs, etc. Some are quite common and priced as such. Of course, common is relative to demand. I have a few medieval coins that are extremely rare and cost in the range of $750 to $1,000. I have a few others of equal value that I bought for $25 to $50 because no one recognized them for what they were (neither would I had I not done a great deal of research on the series). I know others that I would like to have in my collection and have seen for sale four or five times in the last few years (very rare, but more obtainable than my rarities) that run in the $3,000 plus range because more people collect them. Many, many others run in the $20 to $100 range depending on relative rarity, condition, market interest.

Its an area where you can specialize in just about any price range you chose and still have a lot of fun collecting, researching, etc. It takes a while to train your eye to read the legends and the devices, but once you get the hang of it, its easy. I would suggest buying two or three inexpensive pieces to get a feel for them and determine if you really like them.

Check out:

http://members.tripod.com/~Charlemagne64/medieval.html

for a tour of one inexpensive collection.

If you want medieval kid you've come to the right place. I can answer most question on medieval English coins (or at least i'll give it a go). My trusty North catalogue* are at the ready.


*Which with say Edward III or the Lancastrian issues is akin to wading through mud


Henry III and Edward I are probably the best places to start with English.

If you want French then either GD or Ian will be of most use to you. Scottish then that would be Ian again. Ian is a really useful guy to have around actually.

Well, you've probably heard this before but a well known saying in numismatics is `buy the book before you buy the coin'. Then READ the book before you buy the coin. Doing both of these will make a big difference to how you go about your collecting. .

I know that I used to buy first and ask questions later (like `what is this that i've just bought'). Let's be honest, it's not exactly one of the best ways of collecting. More like `accumulating pretty metal discs' than focused collecting. Both are valid, but focused collecting is more likely to get more `bang for your bucks'.

In my opinion you would be far better to determine what your interests are, as `mediaeval' is a mighty big subject area and covers a mighty big time frame. You might want to focus in on a country / region, or particular rulers in a time frame....or whatever. That way you can get your hands on relevant books or web based information that will indicate the type coins that are `out there'.......thereafter you can either go down the `dealer' route or check out ebay (armed with the basics)....or both. I bought my first `mediaevals' via postal auctions in the UK and Europe.

Ian