Collecting Templar Coins: A Beginner’s Buying Guide

If you have been searching for templar coins for collectors, the first thing to know may surprise you: the Knights Templar never minted their own coinage. There is no authenticated medieval coin struck by the Order itself. What you can genuinely collect are the Crusader-era coins the Templars would have handled as soldiers and bankers, alongside a huge modern market of commemorative tokens and souvenir medallions. This beginner’s guide separates real medieval money from fantasy pieces, explains what actually drives value, and gives you a practical checklist so you buy the coin, not the story.

Did the Knights Templar Mint Their Own Coins?

The short answer is no. Founded around 1119 by Hugues de Payens, the Order grew into one of medieval Europe’s most sophisticated financial networks. Templars stored coin and valuables in fortified preceptories, transported wealth safely across dangerous routes, extended loans, and issued early letters of credit so a pilgrim could deposit funds in Paris and withdraw them in the Holy Land. That is banking, not minting.

In the medieval world, striking coin was a regalian right reserved for sovereigns: kings, counts, princes, and some bishops. The Templars operated inside those existing coin systems, not above them. So when you see something advertised as an “authentic Knights Templar coin,” treat the claim with healthy skepticism. No such object was ever produced by the Order, and no reputable numismatic reference lists one.

This matters because the phrase “Templar coin” is doing a lot of marketing work. Understanding that the Order was a customer of medieval money, not a maker of it, immediately protects you from a whole category of misleading listings.

The Real Coins the Templars Handled

The genuine medieval coins connected to the Templar world are Crusader coins struck by the Latin states of the eastern Mediterranean. The Templars used, guarded, and moved these pieces, but the coins belong to the realms that issued them. The main types a collector encounters include:

• Silver deniers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem — small billon or silver pennies that formed everyday currency in the crusader states.
• The gold bezant (besant) — originally Crusader imitations of Fatimid gold dinars, later “Christianized” with crosses and Latin legends once church authorities objected to the Arabic religious inscriptions.
• Coins of the County of Tripoli — including distinctive deniers and later gros.
• Coins of the Principality of Antioch — notably the helmeted-bust deniers of rulers such as Bohemond.

Note the crucial distinction: these are Crusader coins, not Templar coins. They are authentic, historically rich, and collectible, but they were money of kingdoms and principalities. Genuine examples are affordable at the low end and can climb steeply for rare or high-grade pieces, and identifying them properly takes real expertise.

The gold bezant is the most storied of the group. Its very name comes from Byzantium, and the crusaders’ habit of copying Islamic dinars produced coins with garbled Arabic inscriptions – so convincing that, in the thirteenth century, Church authorities pressed for redesigns bearing clear Christian symbols. That single object tells you more about the tangled economy the Templars worked within than any modern “Templar coin” ever could. It is exactly the kind of piece a serious collector learns to attribute carefully, since imitations, worn strikes, and later forgeries all circulate in the trade.

What Is Actually Sold as “Templar Coins” Today

Walk through any online marketplace and you will find thousands of shiny “Templar coins.” The reality is that the overwhelming majority are modern products with no medieval provenance. They fall into a few groups:

• Commemorative tokens struck for collectors, often dated recently or not at all.
• Fantasy pieces that imitate an antique look but reproduce no real historical coin.
• Souvenir medallions featuring the cross pattée, two knights on one horse, Jacques de Molay, or mottos such as Non nobis Domine.
• Gold-plated novelties that carry the shine of bullion but only a whisper of its weight.

None of this is fraud in itself, and these items can be perfectly enjoyable as decor, keepsakes, or gifts. Many are handsomely designed, and a well-struck commemorative can look striking in a display case or make a thoughtful present for a history enthusiast. The problem arises only when a seller wraps a modern token in a medieval myth and charges an ancient-artifact price. Such pieces typically have little numismatic value and little bullion (or “melt”) value either. If you enjoy the imagery, buy them as souvenirs with open eyes, and browse our overview of rare Templar collectibles to see how genuine and novelty items differ.

A Beginner’s Buying Checklist

Whether you are chasing a real Crusader denier or simply a handsome commemorative, a few habits will keep your money safe and your collection honest:

1. Buy the coin, not the story. A romantic backstory adds nothing to metal, grade, or rarity. Judge the object itself.
2. Demand documented provenance for anything sold as ancient. Reputable ancient and medieval coins come with a paper trail, prior sale records, or dealer guarantees.
3. Learn grading and condition. Understand terms like Fine, Very Fine, and Extremely Fine, and know that strike, wear, and surfaces move value far more than any legend.
4. Use reputable dealers and auction houses. Established firms, professional associations, and recognized auctioneers stake their reputation on authenticity.
5. Understand antiquities and export laws. Genuine medieval coins can be subject to cultural-property and export rules; buying carelessly can leave you with an object you cannot legally keep or resell.

For genuine Crusader material, lean on specialists. If you want to compare trustworthy sources before you spend, our guide on where to find authentic Templar artifacts walks through what a credible seller looks like. Remember that commemoratives are affordable keepsakes, not investments – do not expect them to appreciate.

The Legend of Templar Gold

No article on Templar coins is complete without the treasure myth. Popular retellings describe vast hidden Templar gold hoards spirited away before the arrests of Friday 13 October 1307, or shipped off to some distant shore after Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burned in 1314. These tales are largely unproven. Legend says the Order’s wealth vanished; the surviving evidence suggests much of it was seized by the crown or transferred to the Knights Hospitaller.

Historians have found no authenticated cache of Templar coin, and no verified “discovery” supports the more dramatic versions. Treat any listing that leans on lost-hoard drama as marketing, not documentation. If the mystery fascinates you – and it fascinates most of us – explore it through our feature on Templar relics lost and found rather than through a dealer’s sales pitch.

Own the History, Not Just the Metal

Here is the honest appeal of collecting in this space: what you are really buying is a connection to a remarkable story – the discipline of the warrior-monks, the ingenuity of medieval finance, and the drama of the Order’s fall. A genuine Crusader denier carries that history in silver; a well-made shirt carries it in cloth you can wear every day. Both let you keep the legend close without pretending a souvenir is a relic.

To sum up: the Templars never minted coins, so “authentic Templar coins” do not exist in the medieval record. Collect real Crusader coins with expertise and provenance, enjoy commemoratives as affordable keepsakes, and hedge every treasure legend with a clear eye. Buy the coin, verify the story, and let the history – not the hype – be what you truly own.