Date: c. AD 1000-1010

Description:

Hiberno-Norse, Phase I Silver Penny in the name of ‘Thymn’ , (c.), Penny, 1.27g., in imitation of the English, Aethelred II Long Cross type. S.6108. 

• Toned, with a small Viking peck mark on the reverse
  • Otherwise practically as struck
• Uncirculated (Unc)
• Extremely rare 

Obverse:

• Bare headed draped bust left, pellet behind head
• +ĐYMN ROE + MNEGNI

Reverse:

• Voided long cross
• +FIENEMIN MO DYMI
  • Translates as Faeremin, moneyer at Dublin

Country:

• Ireland

Category:

• Hiberno-Norse
  • Phase I
  • Class B (Long Cross issue)
    • Mint = Dublin
    • Moneyer = Faeremin
• Hammered

Additional Information:

A variety of hypotheses have been put forward to the explain the sudden appearance of the name Thymn on the Dublin coinage sometime just after the year 1000. The legend is clearly engraved and interrupts the legible series of issues in the name of Sihtric Silkenbeard and their imitative counterparts in the name of Aethelred.

In 1872 a small hoard of silver coins was found at Derrymore, Co. Westmeath which comprised:

• 2 x Long Cross pennies of Aethelred II
• 4 x Hiberno-Norse, Phase I imitations still in the name of Aethelred
• 1 x Hiberno-Norse, Phase I imitation in the name of Sihtric
• 1 x Hiberno-Norse, Phase I imitation in the name of ‘Ogsen’
• 3 x Hiberno-Norse, Phase I imitation in the name of ‘Thymn’

All of the coins were described as being in splendid condition, and obviously they were deposited within at most a few years of the introduction of the English prototype represented in the hoard. A date of deposit was recorded as c. 1000-2

• It therefore seems most likely then that it refers to an actual individual.
• Unfortunately, apart from his coins, the enigmatic Thymn is absent from the historical record
  • One theory is that Sihtric’s defeat by Brian Boru at the battle of Glen Mama in AD 999 may have led to an interim governor of Dublin during the negotiations surrounding the re-instatement of Sihtric as king of Dublin in AD 1000
    • This event and consequent ‘interregnum’ may provide a context for these issues
  • Another theory is that it may have been struck for a king outside of Dublin, perhaps an ally or supporter of Sihtric (as the moneyer is Faeremin of Dublin)

Further Reading:

• O’Brien Coin Guide: Anglo-Saxon Coins & Their Links to Ireland
• O’Brien Coin Guide: Who Introduced Anglo-Saxon Coins to Ireland and why ?
• O’Brien Coin Guide: Introduction to the Hiberno-Norse Coinages of the Late 10th & Early 11th C
  • Blog Post: The “life & times” of Sihtric Silkenbeard, King of Dublin