King Stephen

 

 1092/6 – 25 October 1154,

 He was the nephew of Henry I.  He is often referred to as Stephen of Blois. Matilda was Henry's choice as a successor,  and both had plenty of support.  They warred their way around England for some time before a compromise was agreed upon.  Stephen was to be king, but as his first son was dead, Matilda's son would succeed him.  That would turn out to be Henry II....my hero.
Read  "Pillars of the Earth"   by Ken Follett, to get a little taste of the time period.  His reign was little more than a series of struggles either with Matilda, her son Henry Fitzempress, the church, the Scots...Still he managed to mint some coins. Matilda was also known as the Empress Maud especially in Normandy.
His coins are not particularly rare, but they tend to be a bit on the expensive side. Plan on a minimum of 3 to 4 hundred dollars, though, again, you might find half coins to cut the costs.

Can you see the face...it is there, but hard to make out.  His upper lip is just about in the center of the coin.

 

 

Ok, so this coin is no Beauty!  It is either crooked on the blank, or heavily clipped for the silver over the centuries, but it is nicely patinated.  Also, this coin is severely lacking in detail, I suppose, from centuries of wear from handling or rubbing up against other coins.  This is a Stephen Penny 1135-1154 AD, and while these may go into the thousands of dollars, I felt very lucky when I was able to get this discounted at $326.00.  This price when compared to others forgives a lot of sins in the appearance of the coin.