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Anglo-Saxon penny: re-post of a newp from June

I had posted this previously, but with a lousy image and wrong attribution. This is S-919 (not S-920!), minted in Mercian-occupied East Anglia. The monarch is Coenwulf, who ruled Mercia from 796-821. After the decline of Northumbria, and before its conquest by the Danish Vikings, Mercia was pre-eminent among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Mercian coinage from East Anglia are known for its crude workmanship, of which this piece is a happy exception.

Portrait pieces of the early Anglo-Saxon lords (and a lady!) are generally rare and expensive. (Burgred of Mercia is the lone exception!) Actually, even the non-portrait pieces are rare and expensive.

This present piece is fairly well-made, with good detail. It's also been well-preserved, of good metal, and with medium even gray toning. It was graded almost EF by the seller, which seems fair to me. For the series, I consider this a trophy coin.

* The image was done by TomB, our esteemed colleague from the light-side.

image

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Comments

  • JCMhoustonJCMhouston Posts: 5,306 ✭✭✭
    Much better image, Tom does a grade job.
  • OriginalDanOriginalDan Posts: 3,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What a sweet coin, I imagine most examples are nowhere near this nice.
  • EVillageProwlerEVillageProwler Posts: 5,859 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>What a sweet coin, I imagine most examples are nowhere near this nice. >>



    Thanks. Probably. It's pretty pricey, but also rare. I don't know the average condition of the survivors.

    For the series, the pennies are roughly divided into an early period and a late period. For the early period, there was a hoard of Burgred of Mercia. Besides that, the rest are rare. Many (most?) come with problems: chips, cracks and heavy environmental damage. For the late period, due to the habit of tribute payments to the Vikings, vast Viking hoards in Scandanavia and Russia surfaced containing many really nice survivors: Aethelred II, Cnut, and Edward the Confessor.

    Recently, CNG auctioned an S-919 that they graded a full EF (which by PCGS standards would be something like AU55 to MS62/63). The estimate was $10,000, but hammered for $7750. Yes, it was better than my piece. I viewed it at the Phila ANA.

    Coenwulf in CNG 91

    EVP

    How does one get a hater to stop hating?

    I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com

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