Very nicely preserved coin, struck well centered and with just enough force. Congratulations.
The first name Gocelm is unusual. However, I found a contemporary troubadour from the Limousin area by the name of
Gaucelm Faidit. Richard must have known him, because he lived most of his life in Aquitaine, his first language was Occitan and he fancied himself something of a poet. He must have wanted to meet the (younger) man who was considered one of the best poets of the area. Moreover, Richard is presumed to have been bi-sexual (see
Wikipedia).
So how did a man with the same, highly un-English first name end up as the moneyer of Winchester? Maybe we'll never know, but could it just be that after Richard confessed to sodomy, he moved his "partner" to England to protect him from local justice and gave him a well paid job far enough away from his detractors at the court in London?
Peter
