Can anyone help me identify these unknown medieval and Arabic coins?

ormandh

Thanks for any help you can provide. I am consigning these for someone and have no idea whatsoever how to list them. I am not spamming, I promise! I just do not know enough about these issues to know what I have. I am sorry for such large photos, but I do not know how to share smaller images via auctiva.

coachbedford

third coin is a 1474-1504 spanish reale of ferdinand and isabella. Fourth coin with two headed eagle is mid 1500s to early 1600s german states or maybe even french provinces silver coin.

sumnom

The one with the hole in it is a charm, not a coin. It is from China/Korea/Japan/Vietnam and is marked with the signs of the Chinese zodiac on one side. I can't tell what is on the other side.

DCH

1 Iranian Kran, AH1258 1842
2 Token or medal
3 Spain, Ferdinand & Isabel
4 Dutch state of Kampen, 3 or 6 Stuivers. ND but early 1600s
5 Token or medal
6 Mughal India. Rupee or fraction, looks like Tatta mint? AH1104/36 1692

tewcd

Fourth coin is a coin from the Dutch-German City of Campen, dating to the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias (1612-1619).

ormandh

Wow! It always impresses me how any given coins or tokens can be identified by anyone. I fully understand that everybody has their poison, but it amazes me that there are people out there that know more than myself! On a more serious note, I find it very comforting that there is someone out there to identify a series that others do not have the priveledge to know. Thank you for your help. Really. -Dan

tewcd

Here's your Campen (Kampen) coin: I don't read dutch, but these wooden-clog, dike-building chaps apparently have a lot to say about it:

http://www.muntstukken.be/forum/index.php?topic=16203.0

Here's an english site showing where one was sold on ebay:

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1619-netherlands-matthias-i-silver-coin-of

Apparently the work to consult for this type of Dutch coins (even though I consider it to be Holy Roman Empire) is something abbreviated "Verk.", and this is Verk. 165-2. Maybe someone who's more into Dutch coins can shed some light on this. I only collect them when they are, like this, representative of states of the Holy Roman Empire.

Dennis88

Verk. is Verkade, who published a book in 1848 on Provincial coinage (Muntboek bevattende afbeeldingen van munten) and whose numbering system is still used in auction descriptions and the like, although slowly it is becoming somewhat obsolete. It obviously does not give any valuation info but merely some historical information. No legends, weighs or anything like that are given either. The plates however, remain valuable for initial identification purposes, and the book is still regularly used.

The thread tewcd linked to is more a discussion of metal detectors than the coin itself, so that unfortunately does not provide much information.

Even though I do not specialize in Provincial coinage of this particular city (Campen is a city in the Hanseatic league that had a steady coinage for a few centuries and was a very important trading town throughout the middle ages) I do have some references works on it. The coin is a so-called Arendschelling or Eagle Shilling valued at 6 stuivers, meaning 30 cents. Here's a full description in English. Feel free to use it, I wrote it up myself.

Kampen, Matthias I, Eagle Shilling. N.D. Obv.Crowned Coat of Arms of Castillé-Léon-Granada, placed on a cross of old branches. Text MO.ARGEN - IMPERI - CIVITA - CAMPEN (Silver coin of the city of Campen). Variety with N in CAMPEN inverted. Rev.Crowned Double Headed Eagle. Text MATHI.I.D.G.ELEC.RO.IMP.SEM.AVGVS (Mathias, by grace of God Roman Elected Emperor, at all times enlarging the empire).

CNM 2.30.66, Verkade 896

CNM is the most recent catalog of Dutch Provincial Coins, (Catalogus Nederlandse Munten by Van der Wis and Passon)

Not a rare or even scarce coin, although somewhat popular. This is a variety with an inverted N in CAMPEN, which is about as common as those with a normal N or maybe even less scarce. In that condition I'd say that retail is probably around $50.

Wikipedia Page on Kampen
Wikipedia Page on Matthias

Hope this helps,

Dennis

tewcd

Thanks, Dennis! Is the Verkade book accurate? I may decide to expand into dutch early coinage, and if so, is that a good thing to try and get ahold of?

Andres

Passon catalog second edition

Verkade book is accurate, but as mentioned by Dennis, somewhat obsolete .

the latest Passon & van der Wis catalog (second edition) is a better option imho

starts just before the beginning, of the war of independence of the United Netherlands against Spain, and ends with the French occupation
of Napoleon in 1806.

Dennis88

I'll have to concur with Andres when it comes to literature on Dutch provincial coinage.

The Passon catalog is the most up to date reference work with a good indication of prices (although often on the high side) and great pictures. It includes cities not regularly included in other reference works (because, for instance, because they are now part of Germany but were earlier part of the Netherlands).

The main drawback of Passon as with virtually all work on Dutch provincial coinage is that it only starts in the late 16th century when the Dutch Republic came into play. The only true reference works that cover the coins prior to that is Van Der Chijs, which published a series of book in the mid 19th century. Delmonte (The Gold Benelux and the Silver Benelux + Supplements) covers some of the larger silver pieces from before this period and gold coins as well, but lacks the smaller denominations and many varieties.

Sometimes a lot of research is necessary to attribute any Dutch provincial coin, especially those from prior to 1600. Van Der Chijs's numbering system is obsolete, unclear and very hard to use, and his text is written in a mid 19th century Dutch that at times is hard to understand for even a native speaker of Dutch like me. It's the best we have, however.

Dennis

ormandh

Are any of these references printed in English?

Dennis88

<< <i>Are any of these references printed in English? >>



Unfortunately not. Passon is readable of you don't speak Dutch but for historical information the only references are in Dutch.

Dennis