+ DAVE'S : RARE : COINS

VI.III Some observations on methods employed to strike Class XV pennies of Henry I.

                      Government officials weighing money at the Exchequer. Early 12th century.

The standard of striking the coinage of the realm fell sharply in Class XV of Henry I. The infamous purge of the moneyers in 1124 caused the weight and silver fineness of pennies to be improved, and the dies for the new coinage were cut with style and precision. At the same time, European minting techniques, which left a lot to be desired, were in vogue and England shunned its tried and tested [and more expensive] method, adopting the new system. If the purge corrected many past errors, why was this permitted ?

Class XV is notoriously badly struck, the worst of all the types of Henry I. Many hundreds of surviving examples testify to this fact. The kings bust is generally a partial strike, mint and moneyer legends have to be deduced using educated guesswork and worst of all the flans of these coins were produced in all manner of shapes and sizes but round !! In fact round coins of this class are decidely rare ... And far from being a learning experience, this parody continues for the final ten years of Henry's reign [much longer in fact than each of the fourteen classes that preceded it] through all of Stephen's reign and for most of that of Henry II. A total of over fifty years [c.1125-c.1180] !! Why was this not halted much sooner ? The Short Cross reform of Henry II brought the currency a degree of respect, but the preceding fiasco was unnecessary, especially considering that boldly struck round coins were possible, and many were produced by Henry's moneyers - but they are a very small minority in Class XV.

Of course some types were poorly struck [although round !!] prior to the reform of 1124, and probably contributed towards it, but why was this issue not addressed and improved within the respected English minting practice, rather than scrapping the system and beginning afresh ?

Was the drop in standards due to the fact that many moneyers were replaced in the purges during Class XIV ? Did it drop because established moneyers who could strike good coins [the controversy that led to the purges was caused chiefly by the production of underweight and debased coins] lost their positions ? And why did this happen at some mints but not others ? Several smaller mints were closed, and the moneyers moved to the cities in some cases. These men would then work under the city moneyers and make coins to their standard. But it is evident that it was often the provisional mints that produced the better work. London minted coins for example are generally very poor strikes, with uneven flans. Thus the re-organisation of the entire minting system and personel in 1124, although superbly administrated, was arguably the worst thing that could have happened to the English currency.

To sum up then we have lax moneyers using a sub-standard system at the surviving mints, better moneyers placed in their charge, orders to produce coins of the correct weight standard and fineness only, and officials who didnt care for aesthetics but simply that enough coin was minted. English coinage was internationally respected, and much imitated, in late Anglo-Saxon to early Norman times, but would not be so again until the closing decade of the 12th century.

Sources : This article is based largely upon conversations with numismatists and personal study of the coinages in question, also various published articles. One in particular deserves mention. Coinage And Currency Under Henry I : A Review, Mark Blackburn 1990.

Any mistakes herein are my own. All unsubstantiated theories herein are also my own.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 11/03/2008.
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VI.II Two years and still going strong !!!

Well, my website is two years old this week, and from the positive feedback I regularly recieve evidently still achieving its objective of showcasing my personal coin collection, with as much information as I can provide on the coins themselves. Many people comment on my historical and numismatic researches in the articles I publish here, and as ever constructive criticism is always appreciated. If something can be improved please let me know !! This coinage gives me great pleasure - and I like to try to pass some of that on to others.

I would like to offer my appreciative thanks to everyone who visits my site, those who allow the publication of new coins from their own collections, the various coin experts that sometimes assist with otherwise unobtainable material [!!], the friendly dealers who sometimes wait patiently for months on end while I purchase a particularly rare coin ... the many friends I have made in the ebay hammered coin community both in the coin groups and otherwise, my friends and aquaintances at the British Numismatic Society, metal detectorists [because without you lot finding it I would not be able to collect the coinage that I do], and last but certainly not least anyone else who contacts me regarding early Medieval hammered coinage whether for an ID, a chat or any other reason.

Regular visitors will have noted that some coin albums are now missing from this site. There are no longer albums for 'Norman Kings,' 'Anglo-Saxon Kings of all England' or 'English Viking Coinage,' as I have now decided to focus on pennies of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms c.750-900, including associated ecclesiastical coinage. I shall still occasionally publish on later eras to the reign of Stephen as before. 

Very Best Regards,

Dave.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 08/02/2008.
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VI.I Early Medieval fractional coinage.

   popular misconception is that cutting a penny in half to produce two half pennies was succeeded by the more sensible method of minting round halfpennies [and in fact I have seen it in writing that round halfpennies did not appear until introduced by Henry I early in the 12th century !!]. In fact the opposite is true. Round halfpennies were introduced first, long before anyone thought of chopping up coins to produce much-needed small change. This development probably occured in direct response to the changing economy, moving away by degrees from barter to cash payments. There is some documentary evidence for this change in the surviving law codes of the Anglo-Saxon kings. 

Round halfpennies are thought to have been introduced in the 870's, during the reign of Ælfred [they were concieved in Carolingian Frankia a little earlier]. An important recent find is that of a round halfpenny of the Mercian king Ceolvvlf II [this is the earliest yet discovered]. There are a couple of types known from Aelfred's reign, and one consensus is that some or all of them were not produced by Ælfreds moneyers at all, but by the Viking settlers who imitated his coinage. That the settlers minted halfpennies alongside pennies is undisputed. At any rate they first appear in the closing decades of the 9th century. They are certainly well established in the reign of his son Eadweard the Elder. At this time the issues do not seem to have been substantial, all surviving specimens are exceptionally rare and most are housed in museums. Some types seem to follow the pattern of pennies issued from provincial mints, and have the same or a similar motif on the reverse. Others are minted in the same style as the mainstream issues and presumably were issued from a central authority in order to be accepted as currency over a much wider area. It is certain that most were minted on an experimental basis, sometimes concurrently in different areas of the kingdom, and as a whole were not readily accepted for reasons that will soon become clear. In fact round halfpennies were only released intermittently throughout most reigns up to and including that of Eadgar.

Round halfpennies were minted under all of the pre-reform 10th century kings ; Eadweard the Elder, Æðelstan, Eadmvnd, Eadred, Eadþig and Eadgar. The cutting of coins to produce fractionals seems to begin in the reign of Æðelstan [although it may of course have been earlier - possibly even as early as an ambiguous coin of Coenvvlf, which may be a cut halfpenny], and continues unabated right up to the reign of Edward I, ending sometime around the year 1280.

It seems that the populus could not come to terms with the round halfpenny which was supposed to be roughly half the size of a standard penny, especially as flan sizes fluctuated quite a bit in the 10th century and the two denominations often closely resembled each other. There would have been instances where it would have been difficult to tell a penny from a ha'penny !! People were on much firmer ground with pennies that were purposely cut to form halfpennies and farthings. A cut halfpenny was exactly that, half of a penny - with no ambiguity. Beginning with the reign of Aethelstan round halfpennies were produced concurrently with cut halfpennies - presumably to alleviate acceptance issues.

Round halfpenny and cut halfpenny of king Eadgar. Floral type round halfpenny, an excessively rare provincial issue. Reformed Coinage cut halfpenny.

It is often believed that the general population could hack coins in half to produce small change as desired. It is very doubtful that this would have been the case [although there may have been a local official who would cut them when smaller denominations were needed]. Pennies were usually fractionalised at the particular mint of issue, cut perfectly in half, or quartered, often [but by no means always] with the central reverse motif or line used as a cutting guide. Penalties were severe for anyone caught unofficially defacing the currency.

Farthings [literally 'forthings' - one fourth of a coin] dont seem to make an appearance until much later in the Tenth century [perhaps in the reign of Eadgar ?], again as a direct result of the economy shifting, neccessitating smaller denominations of change.

There is a very small possibility that other basic denominations were struck in this era. Some coins struck during Ælfreds reign were once thought to be third-pennies, but this theory is no longer generally accepted. And a well known numismatist, in correspondence with myself, postulated that cut eighths of pennies may have circulated in the reign of Henry III, but this is speculation based on a single coin in his possession. Of course there were larger denominations minted, the gold mancus was worth thirty silver pennies, and the Offering Pieces of Aelfred it is thought were more valuable than standard pennies. This is probably only the tip of the iceberg - and illustrates just how fragmentary our knowledge of the currency of this era really is.

Following the monetary reforms of king Eadgar in 972 cut coinage became much more popular, indeed surviving examples are very rare from before this time. All of the post-reform Anglo-Saxon and Norman kings of England employed cut fractions extensively. They are in fact fairly common [at least the mainstream issues] from Class XV of Henry I onwards. Cut farthings are standard from early in Aethelred II's reign, and large numbers of cut coins are known from this and the following reign, that of Cnut.

Anglo-Saxon round halfpennies end with the reform of Eadgar, and do not make another appearance until Henry I re-introduced them early in his reign, again alongside cut coins, during the minting of pennies of Class VI [c.1106]. They can be precisely dated as some have the official 'edge snick' ordered by Henry to combat the unnacceptability of underweight and conterfeit coins. [Some Anglo-Saxon round halfpennies can be tenatively pinned down to a particular period within a reign by comparison with pennies, through moneyers, mints, reverse motifs and style]. They were not a success and were minted for a [numismatically] short period only. More than a century passed until they were again re-introduced [again unsuccessfully] alongside cut coins, by Henry III in the first half of his reign [1216-1247, king John actually minted them prior to this, but only in Ireland]. Henry also introduced, for the first time in England, round farthings, which were even less of a success.

Cut coins were perhaps open to abuse even more than whole coins, and the illegal practice of edge clipping became so bad that in some reigns three halfpennies were equal to one penny [measured by weight]. But cut coins had widespread appeal as is evidenced by the fact that they were universally accepted throughout England. Not only the standard types issued from the main mints were cut, but also very rare provincial issues too. No class or type of penny seems to have been minted that was not cut to produce smaller denominations. Some exceptionally rare types exist today in, or even only in, cut fractions. This is nowhere more evident than in the coinage of king Stephen.

Sources :

Books : Coinage in Tenth Century England, Blunt, Lyon, Stewart. Coinage and Currency : The Anarchy of King Stephen's Reign, Blackburn. Coins of the Anarchy, Boon. The Coinage of Henry I : A Review, Blackburn. English Hammered Coinage, North. Coins of England, Spink. English Coins in the British Museum : Anglo-Saxon ; Two Volumes, Greuber, Keary. British Numismatic Journal ; several editions. Spink Numismatic Circular ; several old editions. Various auction catalogues.

Websites : EMC/SCBI database. Coins of Britain. Wikipedia. ebay.

Please note only the coins featured above the article are from my personal collection.

I would like to thank Rory Naismith for his assistance with certain questions and information pertaining to this article.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 21/01/2008.
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VI. Merry Christmas !!

I would like to wish everyone who has visited my site a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

Thankyou all for your continued appreciation and support.

With Kindest Regards,

Dave.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 24/12/2007.
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V.IX Faking Ashmore fakes ........

    Trevor Ashmore fake of Eadþig 'Flower' Halfpenny. With 'doctored' flan.

This article will show the most common method employed in faking very rare Anglo-Saxon pennies. But hopefully my identification of the flaws in the coinage and the subsequent tricks used to age the coins will prevent collectors wasting money on these coins - unless to purchase them as replicas.

The coin shown above is a Trevor Ashmore reproduction. Ashmore, working in his garden shed, hand cut his own dies and struck his own unmarked copies of Anglo-Saxon and other coinage. Originally from Nottingham, he founded his own company, which eventually failed, selling these coins mainly to American collectors.

Most of Ashmore's coins are reasonably easy to identify. Catalogues have been released listing those that have been recognised, although some have fooled experts, and even been published in widely respected journals. Ashmore did not fake the more common coins, he specialised in rarities .....

The Ashmore fake above [from my collection] is a copy of an exceptionally rare round halfpenny of king Eadþig of England, struck from regional dies. Less than ten of these 'Flower' halfpennies exist as the issue was short-lived. Round halfpennies [as opposed to pennies that were cut in half to provide the denomination] from the Saxon era are very rare indeed, even the standard issues. This regional issue is a Great Rarity. So much so that we know exactly which coin it was copied from. This coin, in the British Museum, is shown below for comparison.

            Genuine Eadþig 'Flower' Halfpenny. SCBI 34 - BM 857.

Fakes such as these have usually have tell-tale signs that the coin is not genuine. For example Ashmore does not seem to have been able to cut a near-perfect freehand circle, such as those on genuine coins. His are generally more ovoid in shape and sometimes the ends do not join together [a feature very occasionally seen on the real thing]. Whilst his copying of period style coin legends is usually near accurate, his sizing is not, and his spacing is poor. Also on genuine coins the positioning of the letters follows the diameter of the inner circle exactly, Ashmore could not perfect this - and it is a giveaway. For example note the 'R' in REX, on Ashmores coin it tilts backwards slightly at its 9 o'clock position, on the genuine coin it is perfectly aligned. His lettering is also much thinner than usual, and does not flair into the wedges as it should. It is not executed with the confidence of the original die-sinkers.

The reverse of the coin is rather good. When circles were not involved, Ashmore was in his element. Although one or two warning signals flash up here too. The foliage of the 'flower' on the genuine coin is absolutely symetrical. Ashmore's die is not as perfect. The small semi-circle below the groundline joins the outer leaves of the plant on the real thing, Ashmore's is way out and a little small. The foliage should also flow in perfect arcs from the groundline. The moneyers name, EADþINE [EADWINE] should be evenly spaced beneath the groundline, Ashmore's moneyer legend slopes down and to the right. The major mistake he made here though is that he did not align the two rosettes of pellets. On the tenth century coin they are perfectly aligned.

Fraudsters are known to take Ashmore reproductions and doctor them to make them look old and worn. This is particularly effective if selling through pictoral media such as ebay, or a dealers website. The coin is taken and beaten around the edges with something blunt and heavy, this causes chips and wearing to the flan as if it has been damaged in the ground. Sometimes corrosive chemicals are used on the coin to age it artificially, and manufactured 'patina kits' are also employed for this purpose. Coins are repeatedly heated and cooled and 'rusted' through contact with iron. Some even bury the coins in awful conditions to try to replicate the look of a long buried genuine example. The Ashmore above has been heavily 'doctored.'  In pictures, especially slightly blurred ones, the coins can look indistinguishable from the real thing. And then, once purchased the real shock comes ...

Two things cannot be determined from a picture. One is weight, the other is flan thickness. The fake above is almost a millimetre thick, far too thick to be genuine, as these coins were of wafer-thin silver. At 2.0g it is also far too heavy. The genuine Eadþig above weighs 0.6g. It is extremely difficult to replicate correct flan thickness, and thus, as is normal, fakes are almost always heavier than genuine coins. I should also add that the flan diameter measurement is not accurate. It is slightly too big, and coinage of this era was, as a rule, evenly struck on the flan.

I purchased the Ashmore above specifically as a teaching tool. The more that can be done to make people aware of this kind of fraud the better.

If in doubt about the genuiness of a prospective purchase, please ask an expert for advice. Although by no means an expert, I have considerable experience and can be contacted here for any reason.

Images taken from the EMC/SCBI database. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 11/12/2007.
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V.VIII Ecgberht and the elevation of the see of York.

Upon the resignation of bishop Vilfrid II of York, in AD732, a new bishop was chosen in his place. Eadberht of the royal line of Bernicia was renowned as a great scholar and administrator. A former pupil of Beada [672-735], he was ordained a deacon whilst on a visit to Rome, and later created bishop of York in 732 by his cousin king Ceolvulf of Northumbria [to whom Beada dedicated his Ecclesiastical History]. He held this office for three years until the see of York was formally elevated to the status of an archbishopric in 735. He became its first archbishop, recieving his pallium from Pope Gregory III [731-741] in Rome, and continued in this role until his death in 766. He was the first Northern archbishop, and the first to recieve the pallium, since St. Paulinus of York [died 633 at Rochester].

His learning was prodigious and the school and library he founded at York were famed across Europe and attracted scholars from the most noble families. Among his proteges were Alcuin, the biographer of Ælfred [the Great] of Wessex, whom he educated as a child. Several ecclesiastics graduated from York and were later created bishops and archbishops throughout Europe, including Liudger, first bishop of Munster. Ecgberht himself wrote prolifically on canon law and clerical matters, and some of his works survive, though with later additions. He corresponded with the Holy See, recieving letters from the bishops of Rome including Gregory III and Paul I [757-767], and also with St. Boniface, [Vynfrið of Wessex, c.672-754] the Apostle of the Germans, who asked Ecgberht to support his censure of king Æðelbald of Mercia. He is known to have been in contact with archbishop Cuðbert of Canterbury, and remained a lifelong friend and correspondant of the Venerable Beada, who visited him at York in 733 shortly before his death and who always wrote of Ecgberht in his letters with the deepest love and respect. 

When king Ceolvulf abdicated and entered a monastary in 737, Ecgberhts brother Eadberht became king of Northumbria. He ruled this kingdom for twenty one years and later scholars refer to the period when the brothers had control of both church and state as a time of unparalleled peace and stability. This is nowhere more evident than in the coinage issued jointly in their names.

Archbishop Ecgberht issued a joint AR sceatta coinage with three different kings of Northumbria during his incumbancy. After Ecgberhts death a short-lived and excessively rare issue was struck with king Æðelvald Moll [759-765], and following this another very rare coinage with king Alchred [765-774 - issue dated 765-766, the year of Ecgberhts death]. Both of these issues feature the kings name around a small cross on one face and the archbishops name around a small cross on the other. But perhaps his best known coinage, numismatically, is the issue struck in collaboration with his brother king Eadberht of Northumbria.

The Ecgberht/Eadberht coinage was struck in some numbers throughout the reign of king Eadberht [737-758], who also struck a sceatta coinage in his own name with a heraldic beast motif on the obverse. These early named silver sceats are very rare. Ecgberht was the first English archbishop to openly proclaim his name and title on the currency. He was also the only Anglo-Saxon bishop to employ a full-length figure of himself on any coinage. Although the Church had arguably had minting rights since its establishment in England in 597, if these rights were endorsed then only anonymous sceats were issued under the previous bishops. Later archbishops of York, to Eanbald I [issue 779-780], struck a joint coinage with the reigning kings of Northumbria, and from Eanbald II [796-835] to the incumbency of archbishop Wulfhere [849-900, issue to 867] issued coinage in their own names with the names of moneyers on the reverse.

The joint issue of the brothers features the kings name on one face around a small cross, sometimes in a pelleted circle. This is the regal die and was the responsibility of the royal moneyers at York. This face is often refered to as the reverse of the coin, but this is disputed. The ecclesiastical die, of the archbishops moneyer, features the standing figure of archbishop Ecgberht with arms outstreched on the left of the die, with his name and [sometimes his] abbreviated title around the right-hand side. The symbols the archbishop has on either side of him vary. He is pictured with the cross, the pastoral staff, and the crozier in various combinations, and the variant symbols can be on either side of him. He is often refered to as holding these objects, and that may be true of a few coins, but in the majority of cases his arms reach out beyond them, indeed the objects are often joined by a horizontal line at their bases, which does not pass beyond the base of each, and so is not a 'ground line'. In fact the combination of joined symbols and base line may represent a stylised building, probably a church, an early York Minster being the obvious conclusion. The design of the archiepiscopal mitre also varies on some coins, as do the vestments worn. Some coins may show the pallium.

The legends vary on this coinage as no names were standardised at this time, and were generally written phoenetically. The most commonly used variant seems to be +ECGBERHT, sometimes followed by A, R or AR. Thus his name is given in the Old English, whereas Eadberht's is most commonly given in a Latinized form with a runic 'S' ; +E◊TBEREHTVΓ REX. The variant renderings of these names freely add some letters and omit others.

The weights and silver content of these coins vary considerably, by up to one gram in some cases. It is usual for lighter coins to be regarded as later than those of good weight and silver. As to be expected most have been found in and around Yorkshire, but several, such as my own, a very light example found in Cambridgeshire, have been discovered further afield.

Sources : [books] An Ecclesiastical History of the English Church and People. Venerable Bede.  A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain, various authors. Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England etc... various authors. [websites] Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England. Classical Numismatic Group. NNDB : The Venerable Bede. Classic Encyclopedia. Zenbulogy.com.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 10/12/2007.
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V.VII A new and unpublished penny of David I of Scotland.

                  Newly discovered David I penny.

A recent metal detecting find in plough soil in Yorkshire has revealed only the third Cross Moline [Type I] coin of king David I of Scotland [1124-1153] to be found in England. I am honoured to be the first to publish details. The coin may be described as follows :

Obverse. Crude crowned bust right holding sceptre, and breaking inner circle. +DAVID : RE : around.

Reverse. Cross Moline with fleurs in angles [as Stephen, 'Watford' Type I] +DER ... G : ON : EDEN :

When found the coin was covered with a deposit of iron. Months of careful initial cleaning by the finder, an experienced and successful detectorist, have uncovered a beautiful and extremely rare coin. The finder hopes to have the coin cleaned further, professionally, in order to reveal more of the portrait and further lettering.

All coinage of David I is very rare, there being four known types [N 909, N 910, N 911 & N 915]. This is a Type I [N 909], which closely resembles, and is in fact based upon, the initial type of king Stephen. Early examples of the type feature blundered legends in Stephen's name and later in David's name, but this coin is later still [c.1140 ?] as the coin is struck in David's own name and the legends are clear. David I was maternal uncle to and a strong supporter of the Empress Maud during the Civil War. Production of Scotlands first coinage began, with English moneyers, in 1136/7, following David's capture of the recently created English mint at Carlisle in 1136. It was made possible through the revenues of David's English Earldom and the proceeds of the silver mines below Neatshead near Alston in Cumberland, which fed the main mint at Carlisle, plus other Northern English & Scottish mints. Because there was no shortage of silver, most Scottish coinage issued during the Norman era was struck to the full internationally accepted 22 grain standard.

Martin Allen, in correspondence with the finder, confirms that the English finds of this type have all come from Yorkshire, which seems to indicate usage confined to Scotland and Northern England.

David I's coinage was struck at only three mint towns, Carlisle [CARD], Edinburgh and Roxburgh [ROCE]. These were closely related mints which shared common moneyers. North in his seminal work on English Hammered Coinage lists the legend EDEN on David's coins as an uncertain mint town. We now know for certain that the legend refers to the then recently established mint of Edinburgh. This is a very rare mint town, but especially so for the initial Scottish hammered of the Norman period. Only three moneyers are known to have struck there, EREBALD, DERLIG [called DERIND by North, & DEOR(L)ING by EMC] and FOLBALD. From the visible lettering on the coin, which to me reads DER ... ... G, the best bet for the moneyer seems to be DERLIG. Dr. Allen [and others, in correspondence] disagree, and thinks the legend could be a blundered rendering of EREBALD, but admits he is uncertain, as am I. Moneyers names often exist in many different forms on the same coinage as no standardised spelling existed at the time. Dies were mainly engraved at regional centres and sent out to provincial and other mints, so no two were identical. The dies used to strike this coin were very worn, hence the obscured lettering.

Other similar examples of N 909 with the same moneyer & mint town are :

EMC 1200.0965 [below (a)] from the same dies as the Beauvais Hoard example [Glendinning #161, below, (b)], but different dies to this coin, they are almost worn out. Mint signature is EDE.

[a]

[b]

SCBI 48 - Northern Museums : 1893 [below] also from different dies, [compare the shape of the letter 'N' on these examples]. There is another in the British Museum struck from the same dies. Both coins from the Prestwich Hoard. Mint signature is EODEN.

No coins are known from the same dies as this new David I.

Recorded on the EMC/SCBI database as EMC 2007.0276.

References : Coinage and Currency under Stephen. Mark Blackburn [For The Anarchy of King Stephen's Reign. Ed. Edmund King.] The 'Beauvais' Hoard. Michael Faintich. Coinage of the Anarchy. George Boon. EMC/SCBI database. Wikipedia. About.com.

Many thanks to Neil for allowing me to publish his remarkable find.

Please note that I do not own this coin [unfortunately]. Nor do I have access to it.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 04/11/2007.
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V.VI A Visit to Coinex 2007.

Sat. 29th Sept.

               Clive's Aethered II 'First Hand' type : Aethelwald at London.

This year I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the biggest coin fair in the U.K. Coinex, at Earls Court in London. A friend Clive from my ebay group had kindly sent me a ticket and we had arranged to meet at the venue. So after a rather interesting train journey [during which I had to transfer to the Picadilly Line, as the Waterloo line had been closed for the weekend, and I had not been informed of this when purchasing my tickets !!] I finally met Clive, and introduced myself to his parents who had come along for a day out. This was my first visit to a major coin exhibition.

So upon entry we boarded the lift and headed for the coin rooms, of which there were two, a smaller one and a much larger main showroom. Clives parents left us to look around, meeting us periodically during our wanderings, as we browsed the stalls and had interesting conversations regarding the coins on offer. From time to time, when something interesting took our eye we asked for the coin trays to be released so that we could view them up close and even handle the coins. I was amazed that the dealers would allow just anyone to handle merchandise worth several thousands of pounds !! I was a little disappointed in the lack of early Anglo-Saxon pennies [I did spot one or two ◊ffa's], dealers preferring high-end Late Saxon pennies and top-end Norman coinage, in particular coins of William I. Some very nice coins I handled and scrutinised were an Eadred HR1 penny in possibly the finest grade I have ever seen, almost as struck, an extremely rare Ælfred 'London Monogram' penny and a very fine William II Cross Patee & Fleury type. During our look around Clive explained much about later Medieval coinage, pointing out rarer variants and nice coins in higher grades.

Clive had spotted an Æðelred II that he was interested in, a Good Very Fine 'First Hand' type with a slightly chipped flan. After asking my opinion on the coin, a deal was struck and the coin was his. The result was a lovely coin at a very reasonable price [please see pic above]. Alas I could not afford to purchase anything of this nature for my own collection, but I did manage to net two contemporary foreign coins, a Karloman I and an Otto I for very little money. The stallholder on this particular stall had many interesting foreign coins and was himself very knowledgeable. Clive left me to it as I stopped and chatted to him for quite some time !!

Later we lunched at a nearby cafeteria and Clive and I showed each other examples of some coins from our cabinets that we had brought along. An embarrasing incident at this time almost resulted in my losing one of Clives very rare cut quarter pennies !! I had a chance also to chat more to Clive and his parents, very nice folk with his dad, who has a great sense of humour, probably more interested in numismatics than his mum, a very nice lady who tried hard to take an interest, but was probably about as interested as my wife would have been if I had brought her with me .... !!!

Aside from coins, several stalls also had superior grade antiquities for sale. Many very nice Saxon items caught my eye, like rare filigree pins and enormous saucer brooches, but none so much as the zoomorphic silver box or book mount that jumped at me as I walked past. I had to stop and pick it up. The workmanship was some of the finest I have ever seen on any Anglo-Saxon object. I would add that although only perhaps 4cm square, it was museum-grade and probably 9th century, but at almost a thousand pounds [and worth every penny] it was beyond my meagre budget.

Many famous faces from the coin world were in evidence at Coinex, I had a chat to John who edits Coin News magazine, Clive spoke to Mike Vosper about an extremely rare Henry I Class I cut half he had brought with him [an enigmatic coin, with half of the experts he has spoken to saying the coin reads VVLFRIC, and the other half that it has a variant of the Leicester mint signature. Vosper guessed Wulfric]. Several members of the BNS were present, some of whom I knew. In all there were many friendly and helpful stallholders and collectors, most of whom were quite willing to talk about the hobby of numismatics.

To round off a great day we searched through the bargain bins on a couple of stalls, Clive advising me on cheap beginner coinage for the starter collections of my two sons. I bagged a George III coin brooch and Clive some interesting modern coins for his own collection, and to sell on his website. I also nabbed a couple of free auction catalogues and other paperwork. Alas it was over too quickly and  I bid farewell to Clive's family at the train station.

A thoroughly enjoyable day out, which has prompted me to look into visiting other coin fairs, large and small, as and when I can.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 12/10/2007.
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V.V Weights and findspots added !!

One of the most frequent constructive criticisms I recieve about my website is the fact that whilst I record the coins of my cabinet with as much information as possible, I have not included the weight of each coin. Scholars of early Medieval coinage find the weight of specific coins most useful in their research, and I myself prefer to have this information wherever possible. So in answer to these queries I have procured a coin scale and painstakingly weighed each coin in my collection [not so easy when the condition of some of them is considered !!]. The separate peices of a fragmented coin are weighed together to give a combined weight. I have not included the individual weights for each peice. If this information is required, please let me know. The weights are added to the obverse scans in the photo albums, following the North number of each coin.

Findspots are another specific that I have not recorded with my coins until now. Again this information is extremely useful in researching coinage, and many experts prefer coins with a recorded find area to those without. Please note though that I do not have a findspot for all of my coins, and am reliant on information supplied when the coins are purchased. Provenance is included where applicable, but the majority of my coins are metal detector finds and have none as such. Some of my coins have very specific findspots that the seller wishes to remain confidential. I do not release this information without permission, but simply publish a generalised area. If required, please let me know and I may be able to help. Findspot information is given following the weight of each coin.

I am also updating the photos in the albums with the information now presented in a standardised format, which I hope will prove easier to read and understand. This is an ongoing process [with considerable research involved, particularly concerning minting periods for individual types, as at the moment many simply have the total regnal years for the reigning monarch in whose name the coin was struck] and I shall be adding more information as it becomes available. Please bear with me as the end result will justify the disruption !!

I shall be adding coin flan diameters in the future too.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 23/09/2007.
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V.IV The Problem of fake coinage.

              Cœnwulf Tribrach Penny from my collection. And the fake sold by anglosaxoncoins.net.

I have added a new page to my site recently to showcase the amount of fake Anglo-Saxon coinage on the market. Companies such as www.anglosaxoncoins.net are notorious for the copies they sell as genuine rare Anglo-Saxon coins. Ebay is becoming a haven for sellers deliberately listing these fakes as genuine. The problem is reaching epidemic proportions, with prospective buyers willing to pay the inflated asking prices in order to get their hands on very rare coins. What they are actually buying is reproduction coins produced from Trevor Ashmore's and other dies, and roughed-up cast coins etc... These can sometimes be difficult to tell apart from the real thing, especially if the collector has never seen or handled the genuine coinage. Although with a little practice, the help of certain books and museum collections, the collector can learn how to identify the real deal.

There is a continual debate in the coin world on whether or not legally made and sold reproductions, should indeed be made or sold, be they marked as such or not, or whether restrictions should placed upon them. It is not my intention to enter this debate here. The fact is that you can buy these coins openly and honestly, but there are unscrupulous people out there that often carefully file off the reproduction marks and wear away the edge of the coin to hide the cast line. The coin could then [in a bad light, or a blurry pic on ebay] pass as genuine. This is deliberate fraud. I see this happening constantly. Sellers hawking this rubbish on ebay usually have a private ID bidding list, so that those in the know cannot warn the bidders. My ebay forum group, Early Medieval Hammered Coinage [please see favourites link], and I are attempting to combat this problem.

Some pointers when buying early Medieval coins :

Cast coins. These are all fakes. Saxon and Norman coins were hammered and as such are very thin. Cast coins are thick and have a 'cast line' around the edge.

Size. Certain books will provide the correct flan size. "English coins in the British Museum : Anglo-Saxon" Volumes one and two are ideal for this kind of info. For the Saxon/Norman era the average was around 20mm.

Weight. If uncertain always ask the seller. Some books will give the correct weight. Fakes are almost invariably heavier than real coins.

Material. Pennies of this era were ALL made of silver [in varying quantities]. Testing kits are available. Silver blackens with age [especially when debased], often has verdigris and sometimes oxidizes, [and becomes very dark, brittle and chalk-like. It also bends and breaks easily with the characteristics of thin lead], in extreme conditions. It is a comparatively soft metal. # I would not advise cleaning these coins under any conditions. #

Stamped Coins. This is done by the manufacturer to mark it as a copy. Often carefully filed off in an attempt to pass the coin as genuine. Generally made of pewter, or plated, ...... or similar.

Myths. This involves coins and types that did not exist at the time ! I was once caught out in this manner and purchased a supposed cut half penny of Æðelstan I. Cut halves are exceptionally rare before the reform coinage of king Eadgar in AD973. My coin is a broken [genuine] penny of Æðelstan I, 'trimmed' to be sold as a cut half [this can be viewed in the East Anglian Kings photo album].

Aging and Roughing-up. This is done by sellers in an attempt to make the coins look older. There are several methods used, and you can even buy 'patina kits'. Roughing-up is when the fake is deliberately scratched, chipped and generally damaged to make it appear worn, as if it had been underground for hundreds of years. Also done to obscure repro marks and cast lines etc...

Some pointers when buying early Medieval coins on ebay.

No pics, or very blurred ones on the listing. Seller probably has something to hide, or isn't bothered if the coin sells. Ask for pics [genuine ones, not stock photos], or better pics, and certainly more info. Or avoid.

Bad Feedback. Dont simply trust the numbers to tell the story. Read the feedback, then decide whether or not to purchase.

Unwilling to Discuss. No answer to emails, too busy to talk etc.. something to hide ? Avoid. [Please note if the seller cannot discuss the coin through lack of knowledge - and makes this clear, then allowances must be made, similarly if they are away on holiday etc...].

Exaggeration. Coins described as Superb, Fantastic etc... when clearly they are nothing of the kind. Also includes overgrading. A notorious  practice on ebay. Several times I have seen coins from this era advertised as uncirculated [unlikely unless hoarded straight after minting] and even one described as a Fleur-de-Coin.

Trick Photography. This is frequently done when the seller offers a job lot of coins for sale at once. Some sellers will lay all the coins out evenly on a surface and photograph [and usually describe] the entire group....but most will simply photograph a small pile of coins [and offer a vague, or semi-vague, description]. The best few will be on top of course [these will usually be mentioned in the listing]. This is done to tempt the buyer into bidding on what is essentially a pile of scrap metal !! If selling poor quality coins, please sell them openly and honestly.

History Lesson. Far too much information on the monarch and historical period of the coin. Please do that amount of research on the coin itself and add that to the listing ! And keep actual history to a minimum.

Excessive Postage. Very annoying. Sellers trying to make extra money on top of the cost of the coin, by raising the cost of postage to ridiculous levels. I have seen this taken to ludicrous extremes at NINE POUNDS for standard postage. A hammered coin weighs next to nothing and will in fact ship on a first class stamp [although not recommended unless bought very cheaply]. Standard parcel post for this size and weight would be less than a pound. Recorded delivery is at around £1.25. Special delivery is £4.10 [your coin is insured for up to £500 with this option]. Add a pound at most for a padded envelope, bubble wrap and perhaps a capsule or similar. Enter into a conversation with the buyer and find out why their postage is so high. If you dont like the answer, or dont get one, dont bid.

May be genuine... This annoys me. Also listings with 'part of my late fathers collection', 'bought as part of a collection', 'estsate lot', 'bought from car boot sale' etc...If the seller cant be bothered to research it or have it authenticated, then dont buy it [unless you know something they dont] as the chances are that its a copy. I try to warn buyers [and sellers] if I can tell its a fake.

Shill bidding or 'shilling'. This can happen if the ID of the bidders is kept private on the sellers listing pages. It involves the seller [or another person or people in league with the seller] bidding on their own item to force the price higher for genuine buyers. I was actually asked by a seller to do this once. I did not even offer the courtesy of a reply. It is against ebay policy and many bidders [including myself] have strong feelings about the private ID system.

Note the bidders. Known collectors, experts and top coin dealers often buy and sell on ebay. They are generally easy to spot once their username is noted a few times. Experts will not buy rubbish. Watching who bids on a coin is sometimes a good indicator of its authenticity, and the reliability of the seller. A few quick examples : Mike Vosper trades as vivienne5592. Joe Linzalone is Wodan13. Andy Gillis is bi11ynom8s. Keith Chapman is anglosaxonandviking. Lance Chaplin uses ancient17.  Phil Elkins is elkinscoinsandantiquities.  Mark Blackburn is  MAB1001.

The notorious anglosaxoncoins.net trade on ebay as KingdomsPast. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Researching early medieval coinage.

Dealers literature, and websites, are definately worth a look as these usually provide accurate information on the coins they sell, as do auction catalogues. Sites that showcase collections [professional and amateur] are another avenue to explore. Single coins, detector finds and the like, can be identified by local museums and/or the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Their website is user-friendly too.

Research may involve specialist books, the internet, associations, societies, schemes, museums, dealers, experts, and so on, but I would recommend the following books and website as standard :

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 31/08/2007.
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