YeOldeCollector Posted August 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 A fair few Anglo-Saxon pence for me, hence me parting with several of my spares. Aethelred II Helmet Type Penny. Brihtnoth on York. c.1003-9. Aethelred II Last Small Cross Penny. Leofred on London. c.1009-17. Cnut Quatrefoil Penny. Aefic on Norwich. c.1017-23. Cnut Shortcross Penny. Thurstan on Stamford. c.1029-35. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted August 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2009 Cnut Shortcross Penny. Swartinc on Lincoln. c.1029-35. Edward the Confessor Small Flan Penny. Godwine on London. c.1048-50. Edward the Confessor Sovereign/Eagles Penny. Oswold on Lewes. c.1056-59. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted August 23, 2009 Report Share Posted August 23, 2009 Beautiful coins and the photos are also excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted August 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2009 Thanks Art! They really are nice designs and I've been working on my photography skills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted September 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 My signed copy of this just arrived from Virginia. A friend also sent me a new copy of this. Good time for books but no coins as of late, although that should change soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Very interesting looking books. Sometimes a good read is more important than a new coin. (I cannot believe that I said that and actually mean it. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted September 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 They are indeed very interesting books. I also received an off-print entitled "The Nottingham Find, 1880: A Stephen Hoard Re-examined" recently which is exceedingly interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 The usual splattering of hammered for me this week but my favourite is this one. King Eadgar Circumscription Cross penny. Very rare and thought to be only the second known example of the moneyer. Martin/Marin on Pintonia which is Winchester. It dates to about 963 A.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 More great looking hammereds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Cheers Art, here's two more. Aethelred II Longcross penny, Leofwold on Winchester. Cnut Quatrefoil penny, Leofsige on Cambridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted September 10, 2009 Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 Something looks oddly clean and shiny about those coins. Wonderful nonetheless. I'm finally able to decipher some of the legends! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted October 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2009 These three certainly do not have eye appeal but they are interesting nonetheless. This has been doublestruck... twice! So, quadruplestruck? Both sides features both dies which is most unusual. It is a penny of Henry III the moneyer is Renaud and the mint is London although the legends are completely mixed up. This, although off-struck, is a superb example of a King Stephen penny. This is a rare example as it appears to be of Winchester mint although the mint name begins with a W which is interesting as the mint usually begins with a P for Winchester. A very shiny coin that is difficult to photograph. This Stephen penny dates to around 1139. This coin is still in one piece but it doesn't look like it will stay that way for long... This is an extremely rare penny of King Offa, not in the usual condition I would go after but I could not say no at the price I got it for. It is well struck and dates to around 790, Offa was King of Mercia. These are very scarce coins and without the cracks this coin would be worth much, much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Henry VIII Groat. Very scarce in this condition as it has a remarkable portrait. The photographs really do not do it justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Love the portrait. The angle in that first HVIII photo really makes it come to life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 This just arrived by courier: I look forward to dipping into it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Love the portrait. The angle in that first HVIII photo really makes it come to life Yeah, it is a good portrait for the issue. The first photo works quite well, even if it is a tad artistic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoRnholio Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Henry VIII Groat. Very scarce in this condition as it has a remarkable portrait. The photographs really do not do it justice. Wow, very nice. That would look great in my collection, I am jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted November 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 Aethelred II Crvx penny. Aelfric on Sudbury. Henry III Class Vc penny. Ricard on Durham. Edward the Confessor Pyramids penny. Earncil on York. One of the best portraits I've seen on this issue, must be in-hand to be truly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 Great coins as always, YeOldeCollector. Whenever I see you post a new hammered, I try to read the legends before reading the caption. I just realized why I have such a hard time reading the legends: the letters are all shaped with a curious pinch in the middle, sharp serifs, and concave bases. Why? What tools did they use to create these legends? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 In your experience, are most hammered coins pretty good for weight accuracy, or is there some variance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted November 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 Great coins as always, YeOldeCollector. Whenever I see you post a new hammered, I try to read the legends before reading the caption. I just realized why I have such a hard time reading the legends: the letters are all shaped with a curious pinch in the middle, sharp serifs, and concave bases. Why? What tools did they use to create these legends? The designs were created using graving tools, so it was carved into the die whereas the legends you see here were imprinted using punches into the die. So you would have had sharp engraving tools to literally carve the design into the die and then you would have had little punch tools, (like a blunt screwdriver), which would have been hammered into the die to create a series of wedges and lines which would result in the weird letters which you see. Why? You ask me. Well, it was much quicker to create a die if you just punched a series of wedges into it. They took colossal amounts of time to make using this technique, imagine how much longer it would take if you had to hand carve every single detail. You could use the same wedge for an I, an R, an H, an M etcetera. You can see this on the reverse of the Henry III above where the same wedge shape has been used for multiple letters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted November 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 In your experience, are most hammered coins pretty good for weight accuracy, or is there some variance? There is a lot of diversity within weightings for hammered coins whether due to debasement, clipping, forgeries and so on. However, I would argue that most conform to the 'expected' weight, but there are a fair few anomalies but that is to be expected in such a time when even the moneyers were corrupt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 The designs were created using graving tools, so it was carved into the die whereas the legends you see here were imprinted using punches into the die. So you would have had sharp engraving tools to literally carve the design into the die and then you would have had little punch tools, (like a blunt screwdriver), which would have been hammered into the die to create a series of wedges and lines which would result in the weird letters which you see. Why? You ask me. Well, it was much quicker to create a die if you just punched a series of wedges into it. They took colossal amounts of time to make using this technique, imagine how much longer it would take if you had to hand carve every single detail. You could use the same wedge for an I, an R, an H, an M etcetera. You can see this on the reverse of the Henry III above where the same wedge shape has been used for multiple letters. Thanks. Why a wedge shape to the punches? A blunt screwdriver could leave a straighter impression. I can't think of an instrument that would impart a wedge/concave shape like those punched legends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted November 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 Thanks. Why a wedge shape to the punches? A blunt screwdriver could leave a straighter impression. I can't think of an instrument that would impart a wedge/concave shape like those punched legends. Why? It was Medieval England where the languages were barbaric Latin, Old English and elements of French and various other regional dialects. If you look at the letters of the Old English alphabet you will see that it is nothing like the Romanesque lettering you see nowadays. The instruments have been lost to antiquity but there were punches created, designed especially for creating such letters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 Wowee! thanks for the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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