Mints and monneyers

[Matteo95]

Hi all

sometimes on the auction catalogues , for the short and long cross pennies ,there is written : a rare monneyer for this mint ...but where did they find this information ? I mean of course they can see the singles presence in hoards and collections ... but is there a book or a website where you can find the rarity of every monneyer for all mints ?

Matteo

[Matteo95]

anyone?

[Paulus]

If anyone would know it would be Rob I think?

[Coinery]

Agreed! Though this information mostly arises out of ones own experience in collecting a series! Very often, when looking for a particular mint, moneyer, or denomination, you very quickly get to recognise the varieties that are available as box standard items and, at some point, come to realise 'hang-on, I've only just realised that I've never even seen one of these before, despite the fact it's lumped under S12**A with those other communal garden issues!

I've come to learn that very few books are up to speed with rarity! How could they be? Take Withers and BCW, for example, they've opened up the medieval world of coins for everyone, yet you will find unrecorded examples within 20 minutes of collecting within that series.

It really only comes down to experience!

In all honesty it wouldn't be what it is as a pastime otherwise!

[Peter]

It is the case that what turns up for sale and what doesn't.

London and Canterbury seem to be everywhere.

Whereas Bury mint in a nice condition seem to be rare (the moneyers on Abbot ale?)

Rarer mints...a few to consider....Bristol.Lincoln.Newcastle.

BUT the rarer mints just didn't produce the quantities.

Look at some of the premier hammered dealers sites and make your own decision.

Until 50.000 coins are found in a hoard.

Maybe Clive from Historic Coinage can help.I assure you there isn't a better dealer or bloke out there.

[Peter]

I forgot Exceter....Geordie had problems tracking this one down.

Best to do your own research.

[Coinery]

I forgot Exceter....Geordie had problems tracking this one down.

Best to do your own research.

And that's just the mint, matteo, not even the varieties! Clive's a great bloke, 100% with Peter on that!

Rob's also got a halfpenny (which don't show up at anything like the frequency of the pennies...I don't even have a halfpenny in my 9-coin collection myself!)

I'd buy it if I were not with child and skint at Christmas, have you spotted it?

It's a great game to play, matteo! See it that way and you'll be fine! Don't get burdened by what's 'recorded' as a rarity in hammered coinage because, for the most part, it hasn't been covered yet...that's what you and this forum are all about, exposing those latest varieties!

Edited December 18, 2015 by Coinery

[Rob]

There is no 'complete' volume of mints and moneyers. what you have to do is buy the relevant specialist volumes for a particular issue or series and make your own list if you want a full one. It is however, still going to be out of date, though incrementally a little better than the one you made a decade ago, and the one ten years before that.

Half of all Saxon/Norman (and for the most part the Plantagenet) coins come from the five main mints of London, York, Lincoln, Winchester and Canterbury. However, there are still rarities withing these mints as a result of fire/plague etc or mint closure and relocation on account of invasion.

[DaveG38]

Stayed recently down in Rye at the Mermaid. Strolling out from the hotel it was interesting to find myself outside a private house called 'The Mint' in a stretch of road called 'The Mint,' which I guess is a bit of a clue to the location of the Rye Mint. Kept my eyes peeled, but couldn't find any hammered pennies lying around, apart from the odd new pence lying in the road and presumably 'hammered' by passing traffic.

[Rob]

Stayed recently down in Rye at the Mermaid. Strolling out from the hotel it was interesting to find myself outside a private house called 'The Mint' in a stretch of road called 'The Mint,' which I guess is a bit of a clue to the location of the Rye Mint. Kept my eyes peeled, but couldn't find any hammered pennies lying around, apart from the odd new pence lying in the road and presumably 'hammered' by passing traffic.

That's because it is currently touring the UK and being held hostage by a supporter of Matilda.

[Matteo95]

thanks you all for yours replies ....

There is no 'complete' volume of mints and moneyers. what you have to do is buy the relevant specialist volumes for a particular issue or series and make your own list if you want a full one. It is however, still going to be out of date, though incrementally a little better than the one you made a decade ago, and the one ten years before that.

Half of all Saxon/Norman (and for the most part the Plantagenet) coins come from the five main mints of London, York, Lincoln, Winchester and Canterbury. However, there are still rarities withing these mints as a result of fire/plague etc or mint closure and relocation on account of invasion.

I thought that Lincon and Winchester were quite difficult to find in general ... I considered Durham and Bury St. Edmund more common ....

[DaveG38]

Stayed recently down in Rye at the Mermaid. Strolling out from the hotel it was interesting to find myself outside a private house called 'The Mint' in a stretch of road called 'The Mint,' which I guess is a bit of a clue to the location of the Rye Mint. Kept my eyes peeled, but couldn't find any hammered pennies lying around, apart from the odd new pence lying in the road and presumably 'hammered' by passing traffic.

That's because it is currently touring the UK and being held hostage by a supporter of Matilda.

Drat, I saw one of those but I thought it was a crushed milk bottle top!! Nice for a Stephen coin.

[Rob]

thanks you all for yours replies ....

There is no 'complete' volume of mints and moneyers. what you have to do is buy the relevant specialist volumes for a particular issue or series and make your own list if you want a full one. It is however, still going to be out of date, though incrementally a little better than the one you made a decade ago, and the one ten years before that.

Half of all Saxon/Norman (and for the most part the Plantagenet) coins come from the five main mints of London, York, Lincoln, Winchester and Canterbury. However, there are still rarities withing these mints as a result of fire/plague etc or mint closure and relocation on account of invasion.

I thought that Lincon and Winchester were quite difficult to find in general ... I considered Durham and Bury St. Edmund more common ....

Depends on which issue you are talking about. Not all mints struck all of the time.

Durham is quite common in later years where the local bishop was granted powers to strike coins, but quite scarce in the Norman period. Bury St. Edmunds comes and goes throughout a 300 year period. Winchester was the old capital of Wessex and a major centre. A few kings were crowned there, and unsurprisingly a good number of coins struck too. Lincoln is for the most part common, but there are still periods when the output reduced in size, leading to scarce issues and corresponding moneyers. Even London has its rarities

This is the big drawback with the standard general references. There are many instances where the general description doesn't reflect the populations of the various issues concerned. Take Cissbury for example. In a collecting sense it is a single issue mint. 39(?) coins known, all bar one of which is a Last Small Cross with a dozen or so in private hands. The price given in Spink for a VF example from the mint is £3K, which reasonably accurately reflects the prices of recent transactions.There is a single Cnut Quatrefoil known which is in the BM, so what price a Quatrefoil should another one appear? Guarantee it will be more than £3K.