This exclusive article focussing on an item held at the British Museum looks at one of the more beautiful pieces from the period following the Norman Conquest, when coins were struck for those other than the king. By Richard Kelleher
The Norman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England is notably absent from the currency of the period. This is unsurprising given that William I inherited one of the best controlled and managed currencies in Europe. One of his only acts, other than to alter the inscription and portrait to his own, was to centralise the production of the dies used to strike the coins. However, two generations later the struggle for dominance over the kingdom was contested by two of William’s grandchildren, and brought about a period termed by some historians as the ‘Anarchy’. For the only time in English history coins were struck for those other than the king.
When Henry I of England died in 1135, he left no surviving legitimate sons. Before his demise he had the leading barons swear fealty to his daughter Matilda (1102-67). Matilda had been married to the German Emperor Henry V and after his death retained the title Empress. When Henry I died in Rouen in 1135 it was Stephen Count of Boulogne who acted more swiftly, rushing to England and securing the Treasury at Winchester. Stephen was crowned in December of that year. It was another four years before Matilda arrived in England and set up her headquarters in the south-west. From this date until a treaty in 1153, which allowed Stephen to die on the throne provided Matilda’s son (the future Henry II) succeeded, there was civil war. An aspect of the conflict visible in the writings of contemporary chroniclers was the role of the nobility in monetary affairs. William of Newburgh’s complaint that ‘each tyrant minted his own coinage’ is reflected in the wide variety of coins which survive today.
The coin discussed here is a ‘two-figure’ type silver penny of Stephen. The obverse depicts two standing figures facing one another with a long sceptre between them and the inscription ‘STIENER’. The figures are clearly gendered with a helmeted and mailed man on the left and a female figure on the right. These are generally accepted as representing Stephen and his queen (also called Matilda) who may have struck these coins during the king’s captivity in 1141, with the sceptre symbolising the nation being supported by king and queen. The reverse bears a cross pattée with ornaments
