Struck during the Anarchy — the civil war fought between King Stephen and Empress Matilda — this penny was issued by one of the numerous baronial or ecclesiastical moneyers who operated semi-independently when royal authority over the mints had effectively collapsed. The "Lincoln mint" designation places production at one of the more active provincial centres, but the broader "Eastern Variants" grouping reflects genuine uncertainty: many surviving pieces cannot be confidently attributed to a single moneyer or precise sub-type without die-link study.
Stephen's reign produced more irregular and locally-controlled coinage than any English period before or since.
Struck during the Anarchy — the civil war fought between King Stephen and Empress Matilda — this penny was issued by one of the numerous baronial or ecclesiastical moneyers who operated semi-independently when royal authority over the mints had effectively collapsed. The "Lincoln mint" designation places production at one of the more active provincial centres, but the broader "Eastern Variants" grouping reflects genuine uncertainty: many surviving pieces cannot be confidently attributed to a single moneyer or precise sub-type without die-link study.
Stephen's reign produced more irregular and locally-controlled coinage than any English period before or since.