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Moderator
 United States
34413 Posts |
I've been thinking quite a bit about the Crusades recently and in fact posted a crusades-related coin thread last August http://goccf.com/t/266922). Starting around Easter seems to be as good a time as any for this new thread. I recently purchased Coins of the Crusader States (CCS), by Malloy, Preston, and Seltman and this has inspired me to create a weekly thread of Crusader coins, much in the same format as I did for the dated coins of Europe with Levinson's book http://goccf.com/t/269713).I plan that we will follow the 11 relevant chapters of CCS thusly: 04/15 through 04/21 Kingdom of Jerusalem 04/22 through 04/28 Gold Coinages of the Crusader States 04/29 through 05/05 Crusader Imitations of Ayyubid Dirhams 05/06 through 05/12 Baronial Coinages of the Latin Kingdom (including Tyre, Jaffa, Beruit, and Sidon) 05/13 through 05/19 County of Tripoli 05/20 through 05/26 Principality of Antioch 05/27 through 06/02 County of Edessa 06/03 through 06/09 Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus 06/10 through 06/16 Latin Pseudo-Byzantine Coinage (including Constantinople and Thessalonica) 06/17 through 06/23 Frankish Greece (including Achea, Carytaena, Damala, Athens, Salona, Negroponte/Euboea, Epirus, Neopatras, Naxos, and Tenos & Mykonos) 06/24 through 06/30 Knights of Rhodes Soon after the start of each week, I'll provide a summary of the information from CCS to help get us started. I have chosen this format over the one that I was originally envisioning (First Crusade-specific coinage one week followed up by coinage specific to the Second Crusade, etc.) as I feel that Malloy's geographic partitioning makes more sense than my temporal partitioning. Despite my interest, I actually don't own a ton of these coins. Please post coins from your own collection as we circle around to the appropriate week. It would be super cool for you to include attribution and inscription, but please feel free to ask for help if you aren't sure. I'll do the best I can to help and I'm sure others here who are more knowledgeable will be willing to chip in with their opinions as well. This will definitely be a group effort! I've been somewhat wordy in this post so far, so let me get down to the rules for this thread now: 1. You must own the coin and post photos of your coin. 2. New finds notwithstanding, if it isn't in CCS, you shouldn't be posting it here. There are tons of cool coins that do not meet one of these requirements. I know that we'd love to see them, just not in this thread. 3. Please only one coin per post (to ease page loads). Post as many of your coins that fit into that week's region. 4. At midnight CCF time each Saturday night, we will shift to the next geographic region as outlined above. A week seems like a pretty reasonable length of time to post your coins. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
Sounds like fun, got to see if I have anything that will fit.
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Moderator
 United States
34413 Posts |
Week #1: The Kingdom of Jerusalem
First up, we have the Kingdom of Jerusalem. According to CCS, this kingdom lasted roughly from July 15, 1099 AD through 1284 AD. In that year, Jerusalem and Cyprus were joined into a single kingdom, although Frankish domination of this region only lasted for another 7 years until about 1291 AD. Over most of this time period, several mints were operating in Jerusalem and coins were struck in copper, silver, and gold. These included both Latin and Arabic inscriptions. For this first week, we are mostly focused on coins made from copper and silver with Latin inscriptions. The others will follow soon enough.
Coins of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were struck under the following kings:
Baldwin I (1100-1118 AD)
Baldwin III (1143-1163 AD)
Amaury (1163-1174 AD)
Guy de Lusignan (1186-1190 AD)
Henry of Champagne (1192-1197 AD)
Aimery de Lusignan (1197-1205 and ~1220 AD)
John of Brienne (1210-1225 AD)
Also, included in this first chapter are some anonymous coins, pilgrim coins, Acre Commune coins, combination Latin/Arabic inscription coins, and cut gold coin fragments. I count a total of 81 types listed in CCS. Unfortunately, I don't have any examples to post.
In looking at the price list, the bulk of these coins are available in a reasonable grade for $200 or less, but there are a dozen or more that are over $1000. A few of the coins (including the follis minted under Baldwin I) are unique. On the other hand, I see several examples from Baldwin III available for sale right now on vcoins.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
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Valued Member
Netherlands
91 Posts |
Sweet idea for a topic! I find crusader coinage to be rather interesting, in particular those groats/gros from the different 'Latin' kingdoms and principalities. The first medieval I actually ever got was a copper denier from one of the Cypriotic Crusaderkings. Grossly overpaid, for the terrible condition it was in, but I still keep for nostalgia reasons.
I can't wait to see what you might dig up from your collection!
Mika
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
Well I'm glad to have stoked some interest in this area of numismatics. @AYM, we will get to Cyprus in several weeks. I hope that you will post yours then.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Valued Member
Netherlands
91 Posts |
Can do - just don't expect too much quality wise. If there would be a grade below poor, this copper would probably earn it ;).
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
Hi everyone. Yesterday was the end of week #1 and today starts week #2. I'm a little bummed that we didn't get any posts last week, but I know that as we get deeper into this, we will have some contributors posting their coins (including me!).
Week 2: Gold Coinage
Again, borrowing profusely from Coins of the Crusader States for my research: the Crusaders found a mish-mash of gold coins when they arrived, many high quality Islamic dinars mixed in with debased nomismata, minted in Antioch and Edessa. Their common moniker for these coins was "bizantii saraceni" or "bizantii saracenti", from which we get our word Bezant. At the earliest of their victories, the crusaders continued minting Islamic dinar with no modifications, but this practice quickly changed and coins with at least partial Christian themes were struck. In many cases, the Kufic script is degenerate to the point that the inscriptions are not only is it unreadable, but "are composed of small annulets and bars".
From a timing standpoint, these coins were made between the second half of the 12th Century and perhaps into the second half of the 13th Century. Various mints producing these bezants inlcude: Acre, possibly Tyre, possibly Krak de moab, and Tripoli. About half of the 13 issues in this series are of uncertain attribution. All are pretty rare and retail for hundreds or thousands of dollars (when the come up for sale). A quick peek at vcoins shows nothing from this series currently in stock for the dealers there. That said, if you've got one in your collection, please post it to this thread this week!
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
Sorry, but I'm starting week #3 a little late (went skiing rather than spending time on CCF...)
Anyway, welcome to the Crusader Imitations of Ayyubid Dirhams. As described by Malloy, this series is generally thought to have been minted in Acre by the Crusaders starting as reasonable imitations of the Dirhams struck in Aleppo by al-Zahir Ghazi (Saladin's son). The overall design is an interior inscription surrounded by lines forming a square, along with an inscription in the four exergues. A couple other examples have a six-pointed start rather than the square design. From a timing standpoint, the first imitations were struck in 1244 AD (AH 641). Dates on these coins are all before 1259 AD, but it isn't known how late these were struck. The series is further sub-divided into three parts:
1. Imitations of Al-Zahir Ghazi (those have the six-pointed star design)
2. Imitations of Dirham of Damascus
3. Christian Arabic Dirhams
Of the 18 types in this series, all are reasonably inexpensive. And by "reasonable", I mean that the cheaper ones should set you back $30 or $40 in fine condition. The most expensive ones in the same condition are valued at about $300. There is at least one for sale right now on vcoins.
I'll post my imitative Dirham later this week.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
As promised, here is my imitation of a Dirham of Damascus minted in Acre. It can be attributed as CCS#9/ Bates Type V. According to Malloy, the obv margin inscription can be translated roughly as "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate" while the rev margin inscription is "Struck in Damascus year one thousand and two hundred and three and fifty". The weight is 2.9 g. Anyone else like to contribute their imitative dirham?   "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
And now on to Week #4: Baronial Coinages of the Latin Kingdom (including Tyre, Jaffa, Beruit, and Sidon). The time period covered by the Lordship of Tyre starts with 1124 AD, when Tyre was captured in a dual siege effort of Crusaders and the Venetian navy. It ends with Marguerite's capitulation to the Mamluks on May 19, 1291 (the 726th anniversary will be next week).
As the baronical coinage was minted in several cities, here is a brief run-down of the various mints and their output:
Tyre--four varieties of copper pougeoise, two under Philip of Montfort (1243-1270 AD) and two under John of Monfort (1270-1283 AD).
Jaffa--one variety of billon denier struck anonymously.
Beruit--13 varieties of copper and billon coins, including three under Raymond of Tripoli (1184-1186 AD), eight under John 1 of Ibelin (roughly 1198 to 1236 AD), and two anonymous pougeoise.
Sidon--eight varieties of copper and billon coins, including two under Girard Grenier (roughly 1125 to 1270 AD), one under Raynald Grenier (roughly 1170 to 1204 AD), one under Balian Grenier (roguhly 1204 to 1240 AD), and four anonymous pougeoise.
All of these coins are somewhat rare. According to the price guide, these coins are usually found in pretty tough shape, although Raymond's Beruit pougeoise can often be found in better condition. I don't see any for sale currently on vcoins, and have none in my collection. I would encourage anyone with a piece of baronical coinage to post theirs this week.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Valued Member
126 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
@MA, dude I'm posting the coins that I have, but would love to have broader participation. As we get a little deeper into the coins of the crusader states, I think that we will find some areas of less esoteric coins and our pic count should increase.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5174 Posts |
Quote:
As promised, here is my imitation of a Dirham of Damascus minted in Acre. It can be attributed as CCS#9/ Bates Type V. According to Malloy, the obv margin inscription can be translated roughly as "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate" while the rev margin inscription is "Struck in Damascus year one thousand and two hundred and three and fifty". The weight is 2.9 g. Wow. You actually have one of those? I had no idea. That must be your oldest AD dated coin. You should post it in your old "pre-1600 AD dated coins" thread (IIRC, it's ineligible for the pre-1500 thread, because it's not in Levinson - presumably because it didn't fit in any of his regions). (I'm considering posting some of my 16th century coins there, but I keep slacking on the photos, and the one coin I did want to post turned out to have an unfortunately placed slight scratch that kept sending glares into the camera...) |
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
Quote:
That must be your oldest AD dated coin I think that you are right! "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
34413 Posts |
Ok, sorry for the delay, but let's move on to the next chapter in Malloy: coins of the County of Tripoli. The 35 or so variations listed cover a couple hundred years as they range in date between 1109-1112 AD and 1275-1287 AD. As might be expected, these dates correspond quite well with the initial capture of Triploi by Bertrand in 1109 AD and the final loss to Mamluk Sultan Kalavun on April 26, 1289 AD.
They were issued under the authority of multiple rulers, including Bertrand, Bertrand or Pons, Raymond II, Raymond II and III, Raymond III, Bohemond IV, Bohemond V, Bohemond VI, Bohemond VII, and anonymous. As with some of the previous groups, the denominations were billon deniers and copper pougeoises. Interestingly, the County of Tripoli minted some of the first Frankish style coins of the Crusader States. These coins are easily identifiable by the cross pattee as the central design element.
Coins from the County of Tripoli are reasonably attainable and can be priced within the range of many medieval coin collectors (<$100 for many types). I see four for sale on vcoins currently, but alas have none in my collection. Please feel free to post one from your collection.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Replies: 41 / Views: 10,370 |
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Posted 04/15/2017 8:12 pm
