Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Obol - Richard I
| Issuer | County of Poitou (French States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1189-1196 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Obol (1⁄480) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | A plain cross pattée occupies the central field, dividing the flan into four quarters each containing a pellet or annulet ornament. The cross is rendered in a bold, archaic hammered style typical of Angevin feudal coinage. A circular legend in Latin characters surrounds the design, enclosed within an inner beaded circle and an outer toothed border. The overall fabric is irregular, consistent with hand-struck billon coinage of the late 12th century. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Richard I held Poitou as count before and during his English kingship, and the county's coinage operated largely independently of the English crown — a feudal arrangement that meant these billon issues were struck for local Poitevin commerce rather than for any realm-wide monetary policy. Richard spent almost none of his reign in either England or Poitou, yet the mints continued producing in his name throughout his Crusade and his imprisonment in Austria following capture by Duke Leopold in 1192.
At 0.42 g, the obol is the half-denier denomination, struck in debased billon characteristic of Poitevin feudal issues of the period.