THE COLLECTION
RESOURCES
DUCHÉ de NORMANDIE
RICHARD I Sans Peur (the Fearless)
943-996

                AR Denier (1.25 g, 21mm, 3).
      Mint: Rouen.
      Struck: Uncertain.
      Obv: +RICΛRDVS I
                Cross pattée; pellet in each quarter.
      Rev: +ROTOMΛGVS
                Temple façade; in center, cross of Saint André with
                pellets in quarters.
      Ref: Dumas pl. XV, 10; Legros 191; Poey d' Avant -;
                Duplessy, Féodales 17; Boudeau -; Roberts -.

Notes: Richard was the son of William I Longsword and grandson of the Viking chieftain Rollo, the founder of Normandy. He was a child when his father was murdered by Arnulf of Flanders in 942, and was nearly killed soon thereafter, when the Carolingian king of France, Louis IV d'Otremer, invaded his duchy with Hughes le Grand, count of Paris. He faced another crisis when Louis' successor, Lothaire, invaded with the counts of Anjou, Blois-Chartres, and Flanders in the 960s. Richard made peace with his neighbors at Gisors in 965, and thereafter concentrated on solidifying his rule in Normandy by making family alliances with the various Scandinavian tribes in the region. He also gained ecclesiastical support by promoting Christianity and rebuilding a number of churches. Richard was first married to Emma, daughter of Hughes le Grand, but she died young, and childless. He had a number of children with his second wife, Gunnor, including his heir, Richard II le Bon, and Emma of Normandy. Through Emma's marriage to two kings of England, Aethelred II the Unready and Canute the Great, Richard was grandfather of the English kings Harthacnute and Edward the Confessor. Through his son, Richard II, Richard was the great-grandfather of William 'the Conqueror.'

HENRI I Beauclerc
1106-1135

                AR Denier (0.76 g, 18mm, 11).
      Mint: Rouen.
      Struck: Circa 1108-1130.
      Obv: [no legend]
                Cross pattée with open center; top arm forming small
                cross pattée; pellets in upper quarters, annulets in lower.
      Rev: +N[ORMA]NN[A]
                Cross pattée; pellet in each quarter.
      Ref: Dumas pl. XX, 17 = Luneau 27; Legros 397; Poey d'Avant -;
                Boudeau -; Roberts 4487.

Notes: The most reliable analysis of the difficult early Norman coinage was that of F. Dumas ("Les monnaies normandes (Xe-XIIe siècles)," RN 1979), with an update conducted by J.C. Moesgaard ("Monnaies normandes dans les régions baltiques à l'époque Viking," RN 161 (2005)). Very few of this type exist, with only one found in a provenanced hoard (Dumas 66 = Moesgaard 83), which had a deposit date circa 1125, based on other the coins present. In addition to this hoard data, the style and types clearly placed the issue in Dumas' group C, which the authors dated to circa 1075-1130. Legros noted the strong similarity of the obverse design to a royal obol from the Senlis mint in the name of a king Louis (Duplessy 152 = Lafaurie 158 = Ciani 113). Ciani initially attributed the obol to Louis VI, but Lafaurie latter reattibuted it to Louis VII, which was echoed by Duplessy. Nonetheless, there is a total lack of firm evidence for attributing the obol to either king, but if the design does link these two coin types, the hoard and stylistic evidence for the Norman coin would suggest the royal issue should be given to Louis VI. Although Dumas & Mosegaard's group C extends back to 1075, the hoard date and similarity of the type to the royal issue (which cannot be earlier than the beginning of Louis IV's reign in 1108) led Legros to attribute these coins to the reign of Henri I. In sum, the evidence suggests an issue date circa 1108-1130.