Stephen 'Watford' Silver Penny - Bramber
Stephen Silver Penny
Watford Type
Willelm on Bramber?
1.23g 20.7mm
Spink - 1278
North - 873
Obverse:
[STI]E[FNE] RE. Crowned bust r. holding sceptre in right hand.
Reverse:
PIL[LEM ON B]RN. Cross moline with fleur in each angle.
Flat in part otherwise about fine. A very rare opportunity to own an example of this exceptionally rare mint.
Bramber mint is only suggested to have only operated under Stephen's reign. In Elmore Jones' opinion, it was unlikely to have been a mint under Henry I, and it is almost certain to have been closed during the introduction of Henry II Tealby coinage. At the time of his article, this mint was only known for Stephen's later 'Awbridge' issues, although he didn't "exclude the possibility of its having been a mint in the earlier issues of Stephen's reign" as this coin demonstrates.
The noted collector Allan Williams purchased an example of this type from Noble auction, 13 Nov 1996 - lot 1149, which was catalogued as "unpublished for this type", a reverse die match to this coin, which was later sold through CNG. The EMC/SCBI lists just 5 examples of this mint, all of the Stephen ‘Awbridge’ type, 3 of Willelm, 1 of Ordgar and 1 unidentified, no examples of this ‘Watford’ type are listed.
For a detailed paper on the possible mint attribution see:
F. Elmore Jones (1945) ‘The Stephen mint of BRAN ...: a new attribution’ British Numismatic Journal, Volume 25, pg 119-24.
Data sheet
- Metal
- Silver
Specific References