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Penny - Civil War Ornamented group, King Stephen
| Issuer | England |
|---|---|
| Year | 1140-1149 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Penny (924-1158) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crowned facing bust of King Stephen turned to the right, with a sceptre positioned before the face; the sceptre tip is adorned with a pellet within a lozenge. Ornamental devices appear in the legend to the right of the sceptre, characteristic of the Ornamented group of the Civil War period. The style is rough and provincial, reflecting the breakdown of centralised mint control during the Anarchy. The abbreviated royal name appears in the surrounding legend. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | + STIEN |
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| Additional information |
Stephen's reign produced some of the most chaotically minted coinage in English history. The civil war with Empress Matilda — the period known as "The Anarchy" — caused royal authority over the mints to collapse almost entirely, with local barons and ecclesiastical authorities effectively running their own coin production. The Ornamented group falls within this breakdown, struck by moneyers working with varying degrees of royal sanction.
North 920 encompasses considerable variation in execution — a direct consequence of decentralized production rather than deliberate design latitude.