some hoards of crusader bezants / [george c. miles]

8/9/2019 Some hoards of Crusader bezants / [George C. Miles]

1/25

SOMEHOARDS

OF

CRUSADER BEZANTS

P L A T E S

XLI-XLIV) G E O R G E

C .

MILES

Probably

the only

hope of

assigning approximate

dates to

the,

various

types

of Ugancii attri samcenati,or

bezants

of

Arab type,

issued

by the

Crusaders

previous

to

A.D.

1251,and of

localizing

the

mintsat

whichthey

werestruck, liesin the cumulativeevidenceof

well

documented

hoards.

1

Unfortunately

very

few

hoards

of

these

gold

coins, whether well documented

or

not,

have

hitherto been

published.2This contribution to the

problem

summarizesthe con^

tentsof the

published hoards

and

describes some

new

ones.

The

only

published

hoards,

so farsI

know,

are the following:

1

Ahoard

(evidently)

found in the

excavations

of

Emmaus

el-

Qubeibeh and environs (northwest of Jerusalem), published by

P.

Bellarmino

Bagatti

in J

monumenti di

Emmaus

el-Qubeibeh

e

dei

dintorni

(Pubbticazioni

dello

Studium

BiblicumFranciscanuin,No. 4).,

Jerusalem,

1947, pp.159-160,165.The lot

contained eight

imitations

of al-mir

(nos.

70-77),all of the

type

of B Y 27.

Seven

obverses

and one

reverse

areillustratedinpl.46.

Several have points

above

the

elongated

dd sand sd sof the mint-date

formula.

Found

with

these

saracenati ,or at

least

in the same

trench

( vano

43), were

seven

cuttings of

gold coins with

Latin

legends (nos.

60-66,

also

Themost

recent,

an ddefinitive,classificationof

C rusader coins

of

Arabtype

is .

to be found in an

article

by P. Balog and J.

Yvon entitled

Monnaies

legendes

arabes de l'Orient Latin, in RN

1958,

pp.

133-168 (hereinafter

abbreviated B &

Y).

In generalthenumerationoftypes

employed

byBalog

and

Yvon

willbe used in the

description

of the

coins listed

in the present

article.

2

Philip Grierson'sstatement

in

ANSMN

6

(1954),

P- I

7

I

> n-8,

to the

effect

that

the B-T

bezants{B

& Y

types13-16)

are foundin

hoards

of too

late

a

date

(mid-i3th

Century)to

justify

theirattributiontoBohemundofAntioch

while

Tancred

was

acting s regent,

implies

a

knowledge

of

hoards

of

bezants

otherthanthose listedhere.Mr.Grierson's

recollection

is

un doubtedly

correct

but

such hoards appear

not to

have

been

published. Balog

and

Yvon (op. cit.,

pp. 140-141) repeat

Grierson's statement.

189


2/25

190

GEORGE C MILES

illustrated in pl. 46 andherePlate XLIII),similarto those inhoard

no. 9, below.Noneof the coinsshowsany

sign

ofwear.

2. A

lioard

reconstructed by Philip Griersonin A rare Crusader

bezant

with

Christusvincit

legend,

ANSMN 6(1954),p.

174.

The

integrityofthishoardis by nomeans certain.

t

isreportedtohave

contained

at

least 31

coins: eight of B&5; nine of B & Y

14;

threeof B & Y15;six of B Y 27;four of B & Y 40; and one of

AgnusD

ei

type.

The

two coins

of

thishoard

in the ANS

show

no

signsofwear.

3.Another much more

doubtful

hoard ,

consisting ofonly three

pieces

andalso reconstructedbyGrierson loc.dt.}:one of B & Y

14;

one of B & Y 40; and one ofAgn-usDei type.

4. A hoard of41pieces

acquired

by the American Numismatic

Society (acc. no.57.114),said by the Beirut dealerfromwhomit was

purchased to have beenfoundin

Lattaqiyah (Laodicea).

This hoard

waspublishedbyBalogandYvoninANSMNn

(1964),

pp. 295-

301,

Deux tresors de

monnaiesd'or

des

Croises.

It

consisted

of:

nve Ftimid dinars of

al-mir

struck

at Misr, al-Mucizziyah al-

Qhirah andal-Iskandariyah,

ranging

in

date

from

508-518

H /A D

1114-1124;12of B & Y 25;thirteenof B & Y 27 and 30; andeleven

imitations of

Sulayhiddinars

of Yemen,

dated

451H /A D I059.3

None of the ^coinsinthishoard showsany signofwear.

5. Ahoard of 15 pieces acquired by the American Numismatic

Society (acc. no. 59.203), ofunknown provenance.

This

hoard also

was

published

by

Balog

and

Yvon

in

ANSMN

u

(1964),

pp.

301-

302. It consisted of: ten of B&Y 25; ftve ofB&Y27(withsome

combinationsofB&Y25 and 27obverseandreversetypes). None

of the

coins shows

any

sign

of

wear.

These are,tomyknowledge,theonly published hoards containing

saracenati.Tothislistnow may be added five more: one in the pos-

session of aEuropean

collector,

threein the collection of Dr.

Paul

Bedoukian,and onerecently

acquired

by theAmerican Numismatic

Society.

31suspectthat

theseimitationsare

ev entually

to be

classed

sCrusadercoins


3/25

HOARDS

OF CRUSADER BEZANTS 191

6. The

hoard

in the

possession

of a

European collector

consists of

24piecesand issaid tohave beenfoundnear Aleppo.The

owner

h

s

kindly

permittedme to examine photographs

w hich

have enabled

nie

to summarizethe contentss

follows:

oneAyybid dinar ofal-'Aziz

'Uthmn,struck at

al-Qhirah

in 594

H./A.D.

1197-8;eightof B & Y

20 simulated date 506 ); seven

of B & Y 25;

eight

of B & Y 27

several varieties). The weight of the Ayybid dinar is

5.41gr. ( ) ;

the

weights

of the

Crusader pieces rnge between 3.38

and

3.98

grams.4 To judge by the photographs the coins are virtually

un-

circulated.

Fll

descriptions

follow

of the three hoards owned by Dr. Be-

doukian,to whom I am greatly indebted

for permission

to publish

them,and of the hoard recently acquiredby the AmericanNumis-

niatic

Society.

7.Bedoukian

hoard

A:

Nine

specimens, all imitations of dinars of al-mir. Provenance

unknown.

1-4. Imitations ofMisr,506H ., ending ^> -

& ^ .^&

The letters

dd and s d of

J

and

j j*

take the

form

Allspecimensof

identkal obverse and reverse dies.

Cf

B & Y 20.

1.22

mm.,3.83

gr. ~>(PLATEXLI,

i)

2. 22mm .,3.96gr.

3. 22mm.,

3.91

gr.

-

4. 22mm.,3.92gr. ->

5.

Imitation

of

Misr,516

H.,

reading:

s P C-* ^aC J I S O A


4/25

192 GEORGE C.MILES

6.

Well

formed characters but latter part of

mint-date

foramla

meaningless: 4JU-.?- 4~**J

*

e b J I

1JU

< ^ j ^ > ^>-J\i ~ >

Cf.B Y23-24.

22mm.,

3.74

gr.

(PLATEXLI,3

7. Reasonably well formed letters

but

most

of the

legends un-

intelligible.

Type

of B Y 26.

2i

mm.,

3.95gr.

(PLATE

XLI,

4

8.Heavy, debasedletters,longexaggerated

dd

and

sd .

Typeof

B Y

27b.

23

mm.,3.53

gr.

-

(PLAT E

XLI,

5)

9.

Similar

to no. 8, but beneath

Type

of B Y 29.

23mm.,3.53gr. -

(PLATE

XLI 6)

Severalof thecoinsin

this

hoardare

weakly

struckbut thereare

practically

no

signs

of

wear.

8.Bedoukian

hoardB:

Fifteen

specimens,allimitationsofdinarsof

al-mir.

Saidtohave

been

foundin asmallvillage near Tyre in December

1965.

1.ImitationofMisr,506H.,ending 4

L-

Z C >

4 .

Cf. B Y 20.

22mm.,

3.87gr. f

(PLATE

XLI, 7)

2.

Imitation

of

Misr,

506

H .,

ending

*,

4JLJ-

C~*

4 ..

Cf. B Y 20.

22

mm.,3.78gr.

(PLATE

XLI,8)

3.

Imitation

of

Misr,

506

H.,ending j J L U w ? -\

4

nnulets

at 4

and 8

o'clock

in

double border enclosing inner margin.

Cf

.B Y 20.

23mm., 3.85gr. \EXLI,9)

4 .Imitation of

Misr,

506

H.,

ending

0 C ~ > 4 X - . Cf.

B Y 25.

23

mm.,

3.71

gr. \E

XLI, 10)

5. Similar to no. 4, same obverse die, differentreverse die.

22mm.,

3.85gr. 4 ,

(PLATE

XLI,

n


5/25

HOARDS OF CRUSADER

BEZANTS 193

6.Imitation ofMisr,506

H .,

ending 41* L*. Leiters dd and s d

take the

form:

Cf. B Y 25.

22mm.,3.94gr. aniends

o . l l

U

o

C f .B Yao.

2i

mm.,3.83gr./ (PLATEXLII,3]

11.

Imitation ofMisr, 516 H., ending j^v.^-jS C 4 X * . Cf,

B Y20.

21 mm.,3.88gr.\EXLII,4)

12.Imitation

of

Misr,516H.,ending

j

^

^^

t

-

Cf.B Y20.

22

mm.,3.67gr. \EXLII,5)

13.Imitation

of Misr,

date

?,

ending

**. Cf

.

B Y 25.

Ddancj

sd:

li3

22mm.,3.70

gr. \E

XLII, 6)

14. Imitationof

Misr,

date?,ending (no

word

*).

Cf. B

Y25,

Dd

and

sd:

m

22mm.,

3.81

gr./ (PLATEXLII,

7)

15.Imitation

of

Misr,date ?,ending

(no

word 4X * ) .Cf.B

Y25,

D d

and

sd:

ll

23

mm.,3.40

gr. \E

XLII,8}

Theentire hoard appears to be virtually uncirculated.

3

otes

3


6/25

I

9

4

GEORGE C.

MILES

9.Bedoukian hoard

C :

This hoardis of particular interest

s

it contains, in addition to

15 saracenati

10

cuttings ofgold coins

with

Latin legendsof a type

knownonly

from

seven specimensin the Conventof the Flagellation

in

Jerusalem (see hoard no.i,

above).

The dealer from whom Dr.

Bedoukian obtained

the

hoard reported that

it was found

near

Marash

in

December

1965 and that the 25

pieces constitute

the

entire

hoard. The saracenati all imitations of al-mir, are the

following:

1. Imitation,probably of adinar ofal-Iskandariyah,with

many

errorsin the

mint-date

formula,ending >j u*?

Cf.

B Y23-24.

2i

mm.,

3.88

gr. 4

(PLATEXLII,

9)

2.Crude Imitation

of

al-mir, without recognizable mint

ordate.

Cf.

B Y

27-33.

22mm., 3.36

gr.

-> (PLATEXLII,10)

3. Similar to no. 2, but beneaththe reverse:

.

Cf. B & Y 32.

23

mm., 3.39

gr.

4 (PLATEXLII,

n)

4. Similar

to no.

2,

but

beneath

the

reverse

. ..

Cf.

B & Y27-33

22

mm.,

3.27gr. \EXLII,

12)

5-12.Similar to no. 2, but beneath the obverse *.Cf. B & Y 28.

5.

24

mm.,

3.37gr.

\ 23

mm., 3.38

7.

23 mm.,

3.50

gr.

f

8.

23mm., 3.22gr.

9 .23

mm.,

3.40gr. (PLATEXLIII,

i)

10.

22

mm.,

3.45 gr.

f

11.23mm., 3.35gr. ->

12.

23mm., 3.36

gr.

\.Similar to no. 2, but be

13.23mm.,3.56

gr.

\23

mm., 3.30

gr.

->

15.

23mm.,

3.45

gr.

4 (PLATE

XLIII, 2)


7/25

HOARDS OF CRUSADER BEZANTS

195

Nos.

5-12

and

13-15

are so

poorly

struck

thatcomparison

of

dies

is

virtually

impossible. Allthe

coins

sliow

a

littlewear.

The ten cuttings of irregulr shape, some

roughly rectangular,

others wedge-shaped, of uneven thiekness and ofirregulr weight

(ranging between 1.08 and o.34grams) all bear fragments of the

obverse and reverse types, and on some one or more Latin letters are

preserved. The types are reconstructed in Figs.

and 2. I have

arbitrarilycalledthe first ofthesetwo designs the obverse, and if the

Fig.i Fig. 2

tentatively proposed reconstruction of the legends has any validity

this would

appear to be the proper designation.

Surrounding

the

double linear borderare the traces of alegendonbothobverseand

reverse.

The

original diameter appears

to

have been about

24

mm.,

approximately

the

size

of the

bezant. None

of the

fragments joins

with

another.

The ten

fragments

are

described

on

page196.

These cuttings

are

similar

to the

seven pieces from Emmaus el-

Qubeibehdescribedandillustratedby

Bagatti

and nowpreservedin

the Convent of the Flagellation in Jerusalem (see hoard no.

i).

WhenDr. Bedoukianshowedmehiscuttings Irecalled havingseen

the

Emmaus pieces during

a

visit

t

o Jerusalem

in 1963, and inre-

sponseto

my

request

Father

Aug. Spijkerman OFM haskindly sent

me

photographs

of

these

cuttings.

Their

weights, respectively 0.57,

0.52, 0.69, 0.59, 0.54, 0.58 and 0.64grams,are more uniform than

those of the present hoard. Bagatti wrote (p. 158), Dalla parte

dellastella

abbiano

le

lettere:

+

A

J A 1C V |

S

L |A

N

|A |V S

3


8/25


9/25

HOARDS OF CRUSADER BEZANTS 197

Bagatti

suggested thattheobverse

might

carryaname beginning

with A,

such

s

Amalrico,

andthatthe

reverse might

be

intended

to

read De

Hierusalem.

Some

correspondences

between the letters

preservedon the

Emmaus

specimens andthoseon thespecimensin

thepresent hoardcan bediscerned,buttherearesomeconflicts.One

is

indeedtempted

to

reconstructA M A L R IC V SR EX

on the

obverse,

but

neither S-D on no. nor I ?) V on no. 8 of ourhoard fit. Nor, for

that

matter, does the S- Lon an Emmaus hoard fragment

PLATE

XLIII, 17).

A s for the reverse, D E

IERVSLEM

or the

like)

seems

quite possible, except for the embarrassmentof the X on no. 6 of our

hoard

and on one of the

Emmaus hoard

PLATE

XLIII,

18) and,

even

moretroublesome,the

clear

TA on our no. 8. ThelettersTA might

belong

to

C I V I T A S ,

but

that would

be

unlikely

on a

gold

coinand

furthermore

itwouldnotsuittheother preservedletters.

Quite obviously

w e are

dealing with

an

unknown type

of

C rusader

coin,but

who

issued the type andwherearequestions

that

cannot

be answered with any

confidenceuntil

more such cuttings or intact

coins

are

found.

If we are in

fact dealing with

an

Amalric,King

of

Jerusalem, the only possible candidate is Amalric, son of Fulk,

1163-1174.Theletterformsare notunlikelyfor theperiod,butsuch

an early date for an experimental gold Crusader coin with Latin

legends

would

be

really extraordinary.

The

similarity

of the

reverse type

to the

reverses

of two

copper

issues illustrated

by

Schlumberger (pl. III, 17

and 18)is

pointed

out

by Bagatti and also has been brought to my attention by Philip

Grierson.

Schlumberger suggested Antioch, or perhaps Tripoli, and

comparedthe headon theobverseto

that

ofBohemudIV and

R ay~

mond-Rupin first quarterof theI3thc.);hecited alsotwoprobably

related coinsillustrated

by de

Saulcy Numismatique des

Croisades,

pl.VIII,

nos.

8 and 9). The

design, Schlumberger

feit,was

probably

of

Islamic origin. Griersonhasdrawnmyattentionto the

resemblance

oftheletterKtothatletter atAntioch.

Anotherquestion is why these coins were cutinto fragments.

Pre-

sumably they were traded

for

certain numbers

of

silver

or

billion

deniers,

but they would havehad to beweighed at

least

thoseof

thepresent hoard. Thoseof theEmmaus hoard wouldseemtohave

been

cut to

conformwith

a fixed

Standard.


10/25

198 GEORGEC.MILES

10. Ahoardof12

saracenati

20

grostournois

ofPhilip IV ofFrance,

9 grosof the CountsofTripoliand 4 demi-grosofCyprus. Acquired

by the

American

Numismatic

Society

in

1966

(acc.

no.

66.197).

Accordingto the

dealer,

the

pcrson

from

whom

the

hoard

was

ob-

tained

declared

thatit had

been

foundin a

broken earthenware

pot

near the walls of the

citadel

of Ras Shamra. The coins here described

are

saidto

have

constituted theentire hoard.

a)

Saracenati

The

saracenati

are all

imitations

of

dinars

of

al-mir.

i

ImitationofMisr,506

H .,ending

A I -

.

Annuletsat

12,

3 and

8

o'clock

in

double borderenclosinginner margin

ofobverse.Cf.

B Y 25.

23mm .,3.78gr. (PLATEXL IV,i)

2-7.

Crude

imitationsofal-mir, withoutrecognizablemintordate.

Cf.

B Y

27-33.

2.23mm.,

3.49

gr. f

(PLATEXLIV,

2)

3.

23

mm.,

3.45

gr \ 23mm.,

3.43

gr.

5.

23

mm.,3.50

gr. -

6.23mm.,3.55gr \ 23

mm.,

3.53gr

B Y 29.

8.22mm.,3.77gr.

(PLATE

XLIV,3)

9.23mm.,3.50gr

\

23mm.,3.77gr.

11.23

mm., 3.52

gr.f

12.

22 mm., 3.77 gr. ->

Nos.

2-12

are all so

poorly struck

that

comparison

of

dies

is

virtually impossible.

All the

saracenati

are

weakly struck

and

appear

to be

slightlyworn.

. .


11/25

BOARDS OF

CRUSADER BEZANTS

199

b)France Philip IV

A.

Gros

tournois

a

l'O rond,

datable

to1285,1302 and

April

1305.

x~2 0bv :

PbILIPPVS ?

B H I C Y V :S I Y S H O S B B S B H I IM IIIMI

IBV.XPI

Rev.:fi&YVKQHVSCIVIS

at12

o'clock.

1. 26

mm.,

4.08

gr./ (PLATE

XLIV,4)

2.26

mm.,

4.00gr.

/*

Cf .

J. Lafaurie, Les Mo nnaies des Ro is deFrance Hugues Capet

Louis XII (Paris,

1951),

no. 217.

3.O bv.

sno.i,but V X P I

Rev.: s

no.

i,

but W

KO NV

S and nopelletson

neur-de-lis

at 12o'clock.

26

mm.,

4.01gr.\.

O bv.

Rev.

5.O bv.

Rev.

6.O bv.

Rev.

7.O bv.

Rev.

8.

O bv.

Rev.

g.O bv.

Rev.

10.

Ob v.

Rev.

s

no. 3,

different die.

s

no. 3, but

Y V K Q N V S "

sno. 3, different die.

s

no. 4,

different die.

26

mm.,

3.99gr.

sno.but

BH1IICY.V.

andI f cV X P I .

sno.i,

different die.

26mm.,3.97

gr,\sno. 6,

s

no.

i,

different die.

26 mm.,4.04gr, \5mm.,

s

no.

i,

different die.

s

no.i,but no pellets on fleur-de-lis at 12 o'clock.

s

no.i,but Kf i - *

sno. 8,

different die.

s

no.

i,

but

PMMPPVS

+ K B X

s

no. 3, but

Y V K O N V S *

26mm.,3.92

gr,

25

mm.,

4.00gr,

24

mm.,

3.94gr,


12/25

200

GEORGEC.MILES

ii.

Obv :s

no.

i,butPbIfcIPPVS

Rev :s

no. 3, but

"SVKOHVS

27

mm.,

4.00

gr.

\Ob

Rev :asno.

3, but

YVOHVS*

26mm., 4.09gr. N ^

13.Obv :s

no.i,

butP& ILIPPVS'-*and

H *V

J R w . :

sno. 3, but

VBONVSv

25

mm.,

3.96gr.

B.

Gros

tournois"

l'O

long,"

1290

1.Obv :

9 P f e I& IPPVSKBX

BHIICVVSI

I1HI

IIIKIIMI:H V.X FT

w.:

SVVKOHVSCIVIS

26mm.,4.00gr./*

(PLATE

XLIV,

5)

Ci.Lafaurie, no.218.

2.

O w .

and

Rev

:

s

no.

i,

different

dies.

25

mm., 4.08

gr.\O

26mm.,

3.93

gr. \.G ro

i.obv :*PM LIPPVS*KEX

BH1ICTV

SI

-H OHN

11HI

IIKI

III

IHAf.XFI

w.: d f VKOHVS*

CIVIS

26mm.,3.90

gr.

f (PLATEXLIV,

6)

Cf.Lafaurie, no.219.

2.Obv and

.Rev.

:sno.

i,different

dies.

26mm.,

4.02

gr.f

3.0 z > .and ew .:

s

no.i, different dies.

26

mm.,

3.98

gr.

j

4.Obv and .Reu.:sno.i,different dies.

25mm.,3.88

gr.

All

these gros toiwnoisarevirtually uncirculated.


13/25

HO RDS

OFCRUS DER BEZ NTS 20

c) Counts of

Tripoli

Bohevmmd VI

1252-1275

1.G ros.

Obv.:

Rev.: C I - V - I Y S Y E I P O L ' I

26mm.,4.15gr. 4 (PLATE

XLIV,7)

Cf.Schlumberger,Num ismatiqiie

de

l O rient

Latin

p.

105,

pl. IV,

19.

Bohemund VII

1275-1287

2.

Gros.

Obv. :S12PVIMVS BOMVHI5s COM .

and

J R e ; . :

s

no. 2, different

dies.

25

mm.,

4.12gr./ ,pierced

8.O bv :

S P V I M V S * B O C M V H 1 I V S . C : O M S

j?


14/25


15/25

HOARDS

OF CRUSADER BEZANTS

2

Hoard

No

2

3.

4.

5.

6

7.

.

9

10.

Provenance

El-Qubei-

beh

Unknown

Unknown

Latta-

qiyah

Unknown

Near

Aleppo

Unknown

Near

Tyre

Near

Marash

Ras

Shamra

Samcenati

Al-mir

type

B &Y 27

Al-Mustansir

types

B _ Y , 5 ,

14,

15

Al-Amirtype

B Y 2 7

St.Louis type

B

&Y 40

Al-Mustansir

type

B&Yi4

St.Louis type

B Y 40

Al-mirtypes

B Y 25, 27, 30

Al-Amirtypes

B Y 25, 27

Al-mirtypes

B Y

20, 25,

27

Al-mirtypes

B Y 20,

23,

24,

26, 27, 29

Al-mirtypes

B Y 20, 25

Al-rnir

types

B Y 23, 24,

27-33

Al-Amirtypes

B Y 25 ,

27-33

Associated

Coins

Crusader

gold

cuttings

Agmts Dei

type

Agmts

Dei

type

Ftimiddinars

None

Ayybiddinar

None

None

Crusader

gold

cuttings

Philip IV

Bohemund

VI

Bohemund

VII

HenryII

Dates

of

Assoc

Coins

I3th

c. ?

ca. 1253?

ca.

1253?

508 518 H./

A D III4 24

594 H./A.D.

1197

i3th

c. ?

1275-1324


16/25


17/25

XL

OIN GE OFB SIL II


18/25


19/25

XLI

Hoardno.7:1 6

CRUSADER HOARDS

Hoardno.

8:7 12


20/25


21/25

XLII

Hoard

no.

8:1 8

RUS DER

BOARDS

Hoard

no. 9: 9 12


22/25


23/25

10

11

12

13

17

14

18

CRUSADER HOARDS

Hoardno

9:1 12 Hoard

no 1:13 lSj


24/25


25/25

XLIV

some hoards of crusader bezants / [george c. miles]

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