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Auction: 22004 - The Jean-Marie Vanmeerbeeck and Simon English Esq. Collections of English Hammered and Milled Coins
Lot: 2

The Anarchy, Baronial Magnates, Unattributed (c. 1140-1153), Penny, in the style of Henry I (BMC XV), Uncertain South-Western Mint, Bristol [?], crowned bust facing, wearing segmented drapery with trio of pellets in spaces of hem, vestigial traces of inner 'toothed' border and legend in the style of Stephen, rev. [....] RI [....] and indistinct legend surrounds, lobed double-saltire at centre of voided octagram tipped with fleur de lys on cusps, 1.04g, 12h [?] (BMC -; North -; Spink -), of competent and finely executed style, heavily crimped and wavy with faint scuffing to peripheries, otherwise struck details a bolder very fine, a discovery type and remarkable addition to the Baronial series, the reverse 'Radstock Roundel' design previously unrecorded, of the highest rarity and of numismatic interest thus

Provenance
Found near Radstock (Somerset), 18 April 2021

~ Recorded with the Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge), EMC 2021.0115


At present no parallel can be found across the Angevin corpus for this reverse 'roundel' design, and its legend whilst vestigial remains tantalising obscure. Stylistically however it is a close parallel for the late facing issues of Henry I and must therefore be considered with the sub-varieties of Baronial Magnate issues emanating from around the country in the chaotic middle decades of the 12th Century, albeit as a previously unrecorded type. A tentative further connection could be drawn to the wider series of specie produced in the name of Henry of Anjou, the future King Henry II for whom a number of coins are now known also clearly modelled on the same BMC XV type. Interestingly those predominantly reuse the reverse die for inspiration, where clearly this is an entirely separate and free artistic design. Similarly emissions from the Earls of Gloucester and Patrick of Salisbury, the South western find spot is a diagnostic clue, particularly for our historical record of the Anarchy.



In 1147, Henry, Count of Anjou returned to England aged fourteen. His retinue included his immediate household and a few mercenaries, and upon landing in England, he immediately moved on Wiltshire. Despite initial panic, his expedition had little success, with Henry finding himself unable to pay his forces and also unable to return to Normandy. Neither his mother nor his uncle were prepared to support him, but surprisingly, King Stephen himself would pay his aggressor's outstanding wages and thereby allow him to withdraw from England with dignity.



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Sold for
£4,000

Starting price
£4000