Islamic Silver Unveiled: Geochemical Insights Rewrite History
A groundbreaking study has shed new light on the sources of early Islamic silver coins, known as dirhams.
Medieval coin hoard sells for £325,560
An important hoard of 122 Anglo-Saxon pennies that were found by two metal detectorists, in 2019 near Braintree in Essex sold for a hammer price of £325,560 at an auction held by Noonans Mayfair. They had been expected to fetch up to £180,000 with the proceeds of the hoard being shared between the two finders and the landowner.
122 Anglo-Saxon coins could fetch £180,000 at auction
An important hoard of 122 Anglo-Saxon pennies that were found by two metal detectorists, in February of 2019 near Braintree in Essex will be offered for sale at Noonans Mayfair on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. They are expected to fetch up to £180,000.
New Medieval Books: Making Money in the Early Middle Ages
Why did people make and use coins at all in the early Middle Ages, if cash was so scarce that they were used to getting by without?
Nearly 500,000 Dirhams were buried in Viking-Age Scandinavia, study finds
A new study reveals that silver coins from the medieval Islamic world were incredibly prevalent in Viking-Age Scandinavia. In fact, Scandinavian museums possess almost 500,000 dirhams, more than any other place in the world and shows that the Norse had an intense desire for silver.
The Golden Coins of Chinggis Khan and the Early Mongol Empire
What coins can teach us about the Mongol Empire.
Medieval Gold Coin discovered in Canada
A gold coin dating back to the 15th century has been discovered on Newfoundland’s south coast. It is the oldest-known English coin found in an archaeological context in Canada.
Medieval gold penny could fetch up to £400,000 at auction
A very rare gold penny dating back to the reign of England’s King Henry III is expected to be sold for as much £400,000 during an auction happening this weekend.
Japan’s Medieval Economic Miracle
Mikael Adolphson on Japan’s economy between the 11th and 16th centuries
Medieval coin discovered in Canada
Archaeologists in the Canadian province of Newfoundland have come across a medieval coin, discovered on the site of England’s first attempt at the colony in present-day Canada.
Treasure hoard of sixth-century coins discovered in Russia
Russian archaeologists have discovered a cache of coins dating back to the sixth century, at Phanagoria along the Black Sea. The 80 coins, known as copper staters, were found in a layer of rubble from a fire that destroyed much of that city.
Viking Age treasure hoard discovered on the Isle of Man
A treasure hoard dating back to the eleventh century has been discovered on the Isle of Man. It includes 87 silver coins, 13 pieces of cut, silver arm-rings or “hack silver” and other artefacts.
Gold coins from the 10th century discovered in Jerusalem
Archaeologists working in Jerusalem have uncovered a small jug containing four gold coins dating back over a thousand years.
Medieval pennies could sell for thousands at auction
An auction starting Monday will be featuring rare coins dating back to the Middle Ages which will likely fetch thousands of pounds each.
Medieval hoard of gold coins discovered in Israel
A hoard of 425 gold coins dating back to the ninth century have been uncovered by a pair of teenagers in Israel.
Rare 12th century English coin to be auctioned
If you have about £10,000, you can buy an extremely rare silver penny next month.
‘The big problem of the petty coins’, and how it could be solved in the late Middle Ages
To the modern eye, late medieval monetary systems exhibit a number of baffling complexities
Gold coins dating back 1200 years discovered in Israel
Israeli archaeologists have discovered a set of seven gold coins stashed in small clay juglet. The coins date back to the ninth century.
The Shroud of Turin was in the Byzantine Empire before 1204 AD, researchers suggest
Could the Shroud of Turin have been displayed in the Byzantine Empire before the thirteenth-century? A pair of Italian scholars suggest so, basing their theory on micro-particles of gold found on the famous cloth
Huge Anglo-Norman coin hoard discovered in England
A massive hoard of over 2500 coins dating back to the eleventh-century has been discovered in southwestern England. It represents the largest discovery of coins from the period following the Norman Conquest in 1066, and preliminary estimates are valuing the hoard at £5 million.
Trans-Saharan gold trade and Byzantine coinage
This article suggests that minting at Carthage of the Byzantine gold coins known as globular solidi was related to the acquisition of metal through developing trans-Saharan contacts.
Viking Currency
Buying, selling and trading in the Viking Age, and how hoards are different over the centuries.
The Land of Darkness and the Global Middle Ages
Why do we find coins from Central Asia and silver from Iran in Lincolnshire? What prompted medieval people to pack up and look for opportunity and adventure elsewhere?
What does ice from the Alps tell us about coins in the 7th century?
A new study has found ground-breaking evidence from an ice core in the Swiss-Italian Alps that proves the 7th century switch from gold to silver currencies in western Europe actually occurred a quarter of a century earlier than previously thought.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Medieval “Fiscal Revolution”
So far in this series, we have talked about medieval “revolutions” in military power and judicial authority. A third great change in the late medieval era was in the control of money.