John short cross Penny, class Vc, Canterbury, Moneyer Iohan M rare double name

John (1199-1216),silver short cross Penny, class 5c, in the name of his Father, Canterbury Mint, moneyer Iohan M, facing crowned head with linear collar, hand holding sceptre at left, Latin legend and beaded borders surrounding both sides, commences upper left with round top Rs, hENRICVS. R EX,with rippled X, rev.short voided cross pommée, small cross pommée in each angle, +IOHAN. M. ON. CA, weight 1.39g (Mass 1675; N 970; S 1351).Struck with some weakness in parts of legend, otherwise toned, very fine and a rare issue.

"Iohan M" issues concurrently with "Iohan B" in classes Vb and Vc at Canterbury only, when seemingly for a short time two Iohans were working at the Canterbury Mint. We note that the Mass Collection S.C.B.I. 56 in the sylloge series contains only six examples in total of Iohan M, three of each class, one of each are pierced. Therefore we conclude this is a particularly hard issuer to find in decent state of preservation.

The cathedral City of Canterbury lies on the River Stour in Kent some sixty miles from London and sixteen miles north west of the port of Dover. Early Anglo-Saxon gold Thrymsa coins are known bearing its name and became one of the most important mints in Southern England in the 8^th and 9^th Centuries. The Danes were bought off for £3,000 in 809, but later took the city in 839 and again in 851, also circa 981 and finally in 1011. The first Archbishop was St Augustine who arrived in 597 on a mission from Pope Gregory and accepted by King Aethelberht in 598 on his conversion to Christianity. The Archbishop later had the right to two moneyers which increased to three in 1189. The abbot of St Augustine had the privilege to one die in eight at Canterbury until 1161 although the coins do not seem to bear any specific mark. The only issue which could be demarked as for the abbot being the Henry I type XIV issue with an annulet on the shoulder for moneyers Algar and Willem, and it is known that his moneyer in the Tealby coinage was Alferg.