Date: c. 1000-1010

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 var.

Weight: 1.31 g

• Blemish free and choice mint state / no peck marks
  • Otherwise practically as struck
• Uncirculated (Unc)
• Extremely rare

Obverse:

• Bare headed draped bust left, pellets on lips, three pellets on neck and one pellet behind head.
  • Seaby’s list this as a variety of S.6108 and suggest that the mint signature is blundered. This opinion seems a bit , given all of the other subtle differences on obverse (and reverse).
• Legend:
  • + ÐYMNROE + MNEGNI
  • Translates as Thymn of ?

Reverse:

• Voided long cross, one small pellet in NW quadrant
• Legend:
  • + E.ÆMIEMN MO SEÐI
    • Translates as Faeremin, moneyer at ?
    • Spinks suggest that MO SEÐI is imitating the Sigtuna mint signature, therefore, by way of the mint, could Thymn have been placed in Dublin by order of someone from Sweden?

Country:

• Ireland

Category:

• Hiberno-Norse
  • Phase I
  • Class B (Long Cross issue)
    • Mint = Uncertain
    • 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