THE COUNTY OF TRIPOLI. ANONYMOUS. Copper coin, after 1266? Stylized building, a cross above, an annulet below. Rv. Cross with a pellet in each angle. Both legends are illegible. 0.49 g. Metc. 560, Schlumb. IV, 24, MPS p. 175, 28, Sabine 332-342. Edge chipped.
Fair
Ex A. H. Baldwin & Sons, London, List 6, July 2004, Nr. 87. Annotation by E. Wäckerlin: The condition of this interesting coin is deplorable. Metcalf is not certain about the attribution to Tripoli: "Unattributed copper coin, possibly Tripolitan". He takes the image to be an "M", an annulet above, a cross below. And so the coin is depicted on Metcalf plate 21. I think that is wrong. The image of the obverse in Metcalf is upside down. The note in Malloy/Preston/Seltman, too, "this uncertain late type also exists with cross below and annulet above" seems to rest on an error. So far no clearly legible example of this type has been found, and therefore, of course, the coin can be positioned both ways. Schlumberger read on the two examples in his collection remnants of the word TRIPOLIS (in both cases on both sides). To me there seems to be no reasonable possible doubt that the coin belongs to Tripoli. Schlumberger takes the image on the obverse to be a degenerated châtel tournois which reminds him of the Genoese castle. However, there is hardly any resemblance to the châtel tournois. Much more probable is the interpretation as a stylized rendering of the three towers of Tripolis. The low weight is probably the reason for the late dating (the Schlumberger coin: 0.65 g; Metcalf 560: 0.47 g; this coin: 0.49 g). In Malloy/Preston/Seltman's Price Guide is written, "AE Pougeoise, anonymous, after 1266". But the name for the nominal is probably speculative.
Price realized | 160 EUR |
Starting price | 80 EUR |
Estimate | 100 EUR |