Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
January 2022 NYINC Auction 14-16 Jan 2022
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GREAT BRITAIN. Penny, ND (ca. 1136-45). London Mint; uncertain moneyer. Stephen. PCGS EF-40.
S-1278; N-873. Cross Moline [Watford] (BMC i) type. Obverse: Crowned bust right, holding lis-tipped scepter; Reverse: Cross moline. Displaying the typically crude nature and irregular flans of the type, this specimen nevertheless remains quite charming and wholesome, and allows enough detail on the reverse to determine the mint attribution as London.
Rushing to fill the power vacuum left after the death of Henry, Stephen of Blois wrested control of the British throne away from Empress Matilda in a period that is known as “the Anarchy.” Stephen never fully legitimized his claim to the throne away from the line of Matilda, and though he controlled much of England, it was never all his. Stephen angered the Church by arresting a family of bishops and his attempt to have the Papacy recognize his son as an heir was unsuccessful. The threat of uprising ensured that Stephen was forced to accept Matilda’s son Henry II as his successor. His son’s death before his own made the question moot, and Stephen died in 1154 with a reputation of a usurper. To view all items from the Paul C. Runze Collection, click here.
From the Paul C. Runze Collection.
Estimate: $700 - $1000
S-1278; N-873. Cross Moline [Watford] (BMC i) type. Obverse: Crowned bust right, holding lis-tipped scepter; Reverse: Cross moline. Displaying the typically crude nature and irregular flans of the type, this specimen nevertheless remains quite charming and wholesome, and allows enough detail on the reverse to determine the mint attribution as London.
Rushing to fill the power vacuum left after the death of Henry, Stephen of Blois wrested control of the British throne away from Empress Matilda in a period that is known as “the Anarchy.” Stephen never fully legitimized his claim to the throne away from the line of Matilda, and though he controlled much of England, it was never all his. Stephen angered the Church by arresting a family of bishops and his attempt to have the Papacy recognize his son as an heir was unsuccessful. The threat of uprising ensured that Stephen was forced to accept Matilda’s son Henry II as his successor. His son’s death before his own made the question moot, and Stephen died in 1154 with a reputation of a usurper. To view all items from the Paul C. Runze Collection, click here.
From the Paul C. Runze Collection.
Estimate: $700 - $1000