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Sicily (Norman Kings): gold tari of Guglielmo I ("William the Bad"), ca. 1154-1166 AD
lordmarcovan
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Though I could have pursued rounder examples with better strikes and flans, this one "spoke" to me, and I had to have it. And I'm going to leave most if not all of the dirt on it when I send it off to PCGS. (Might give it a very light brushing with a soft brush, at most.)
This is an interesting cross-cultural coin with both Islamic (Kufic) inscriptions and Christian iconography. The collision of these cultures during the Crusades produced some interesting hybrids like this, with Christian rulers imitating Islamic coinage. (In this era, the Muslims were often the more technologically advanced culture.)
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
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Not being perfectly round gives it character. Neat coin, is that brown dirt from being dug?
Yep. Original dirt. (Sicilian dirt, one presumes.)
I kind of like the dirt, as mentioned, but might brush a little of it off (also as mentioned), since I do wonder if PCGS would zing it for "deposits" if I don't.
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
Did you consider soaking the coin in distilled water so some of the soil can fall away from the surfaces? Peace Roy
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Nice one!
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Interesting historic piece.
Be sure to post results when it returns from the mother ship.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Very cool.
Hoard the keys.
Very nice !!!
I have to add i generally don't go for coin images presented in that fashion but this image makes me appreciate the technique
Nice
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
An interesting coin, but what made William so bad?
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He was called "bad" because he wore studded leather motorcycle jackets (though motorcycles wouldn't be invented for another 750 years or so), he slicked back his hair with grease, and called everybody "Daddy-O". Except the ladies, whom he always addressed with the greeting, "Yo, Toots!", always with the toothpick in the corner of his mouth at a 45° angle.
Seriously, the opening of his Wikipedia page says,
"William's title "the Bad" seems little merited and expresses the bias of the historian Hugo Falcandus and the baronial class against the king and the official class by whom he was guided."
So it seems this William I had the misfortune of having a biased chronicler, and went down in history with a nickname like "The Bad" or "The Wicked" instead of something more impressive like "The Conqueror", which a different Norman named William I had acquired in England about a century earlier.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I_of_Sicily
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
On the opposite end of the good/bad ruler-nickname spectrum is my previous newp:
France (Duchy of Lorraine): silver "sword" type demi-gros of Antoine the Good, ca. 1508-1544
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
Really interesting coin thanks for posting .
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.