This is one of the gems I picked up recently from AMCC 2. I do not have very many medieval coins but I always enjoy the posts from our medieval specialists. This was a fun coin to research and I owe @seth77 a big thanks for helping me better understand the way these are cataloged and providing me some suggestions for further reading.
Crusader Antioch
Bohemond III (Minority 1149-1163, Majority 1163-1201)
AR Denier, Antioch mint, struck ca. 1163-1188
Wt.: 1.06 g
Dia.: 17 mm
Obv.: +BOAHVHDVS; Helmeted head left marked with cross pattee, coif mail composed of crescents, five pointed star right, crescent left.
Rev.: +ANTIOCNIA; cross pattee, with crescent pointing downward in second angle.
Ref.: Malloy 65/Class A to B cf. Metcalf
Ex AMCC 2, Lot 289 (Nov. 9, 2019)Some Notes on the Coins of Antioch
Antioch was captured by the crusaders in AD 1098 under the leadership of Bohemond I. Within a few years Bohemond began minting bronze coins that closely resembled the Byzantine coinage of the time. Similar Byzantine style coins would be the standard at Antioch for about the next 50 years.
Bohemond III’s father, Raymond of Poitiers, began minting silver and billion deniers in the middle of the 1100s that drew stylistic inspiration from French coins. This was a major shift in design and introduced coins that were very unlike the currency that had previously been circulating in the near east.
Bohemond III continued to strike deniers but introduced a fascinating new obverse design; the helmeted crusader knight! This iconic design (the OP) was unique to Antioch from the reign of Bohemond III till the end of the Principality of Antioch in 1268.
The Crusader Armor Shown on the Coin
The coin shows the head of a crusader knight in profile wearing a mail coif under a nasal helmet.
The nasal helmet is characterized by the prominent metal nose guard and was a popular type of helmet in Western Europe from at least the Early Middle Ages. For most of the history of its use it featured a conical top. However, for a brief period in the 12th century the rounded top style became popular. This is the type of helmet shown on the coins of Bohemond III. Comparing this helmet design to contemporary artistic representations of crusaders in France shows how much cultural influence the Kingdom of France had on the crusader states in this period.
The left shows an illustration of a rounded nasal helmet from a French publication in the 1870s. Comparing the realistic representation to the coin is helpful (at least to me) in visualizing what the die engraver was attempting to convey through the coins.
This is an illustration that was made in France between 1190 and 1200. The circular plan view is meant to represent the city of Jerusalem. Along the bottom we see knights riding while wearing the distinctive helmet and chain mail armor.
This is a painting from the chapel of Cressac-Saint-Genis in western France. It shows mounted knights riding out from the magnificent castle at Krak des Chevaliers to fight in the Battle of al-Buqaia in 1163. The knights are unmistakably wearing the same type of helmet depicted on the coins. Bohemond III was one of the major players in the battle.I can’t help but think that the people looking out from the battlements in the above painting are just waiting for the battle to be over so they can have an opportunity to be like…
The Crusader caslte at Krak des Chevaliers.
Please post your;
Crusader coins
Coins showing helmets or armor
Your favorite medieval silver or billion coins!
