Whence Series H, type 48 (SCBC 801B) sceatt?

EVillageProwler

I recently acquired this specimen during NYINC 2017. It is rare, with a couple dozen specimens known and a wide find distribution pattern.

The seller, CNG, marked this as being from Hamwic (Southampton), the royal mint of the Kingdom of Wessex. On page 340 of Metcalf's 1994 book 'Thrymsas and Sceattas in the Ashmolean Museum Oxford, volume 3', he wrote: "The best guess one can make, in the absence of definite evidence, is that it is from a small mint on the south coast, perhaps in the Portsmouth area."

A quick look on a map confirms that Southampton and Portsmouth are near each other.

Does anyone know of any more recent research on this matter?

A bit of background on this stuff for those, like @Zohar, who are curious but haven't had the time to take this on:

These tiny Anglo-Saxon pieces of currency, called sceattas (plural; singular 'sceatt') are mostly made from silver but with varying purity and usually in the 50% to 75% purity range. The classification 'Series H, type 48' means two things: from Hamwic (hence the 'H' for the Series) and in group '48' as it pertains to some internal organizational scheme used by the British Museum Collection.

Absent good records, how a sceatt type is classified is based on find pattern, metallurgical analysis, die analysis as well as other bits of detail. The question why the BMC type 48 is thrown into 'Series H' is a good one, and Metcalf (in a nutshell) feels that it is an accurate assignment based on the other coins associated with the type 48 finds: when found as part of a hoard, it contains significant numbers of other Series H coins (types 39 and 49 are the other two).

I feel I am not less intelligent than the typical coin enthusiast around here, but I am likely sub-par as a researcher. I ask the folks here to help me do some research and dig up current research data on BMC 'type 48' and whether it should still be 'Series H' or not (and if so, should it still be from Hamwic or changed to 'uncertain south coast mint' within Wessex).

SaorAlba

I wish I could help you, but I am only learned on the Northumbrian sceattas myself. That is a very lovely example though, love the whorl design of the obverse.

laurentyvan

Charming little coin-reminiscent of a shield somehow.

Stork

Totally outside my knowledge base...

Two questions: How do you pronounce 'sceatt', and are those stylized sighthounds? I see a little knobby bit that looks like a head and a long skinny nose with teeth.

Extremely interesting look to it!

EVillageProwler

@Stork said:
Totally outside my knowledge base...

Two questions: How do you pronounce 'sceatt', and are those stylized sighthounds? I see a little knobby bit that looks like a head and a long skinny nose with teeth.

Extremely interesting look to it!

Prounced "skeet", plural is spelled "sceattas" and pronounced "skeets".

Those creatures are a whorl of three wolves heads.

Stork

Nap

A review of the Early Medieval Corpus reveals 18 examples. Two have unknown findspots. Of the remaining 16, 5 were found in Hampshire (around Southampton/Hamwic). Other finds include Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, and the Isle of Wight, which are near to Hampshire. Scattered finds in Lincolnshire and Kent suggest that the coins got around a little, but they are still mostly found in and around Hamwic.

Of note, there are two examples in which the whorl design has been muled to the type 49 obverse with the face and pellets. This suggests local production of the two types. Probably at Hamwic. I don't see any clear evidence to suggest its manufacture was elsewhere. Since Hamwic was a major trading center, I would expect the majority of its coins be found locally, with scattered examples found in distant places- exactly what the distribution suggests.

If there is hoard evidence (not too likely since the number of extant specimens is so small), that would be helpful in drawing a conclusion.

I do not have a copy of "Thrymsas and Sceattas in the Ashmolean Museum", it's on my list of things to pick up, but it's typically sold for ~$300; I'm waiting for a sale.

Nap

Also, I have been pronouncing the word sceatta as "shatter without the R"

TwoKopeiki

Thanks for showing it to me at the show. These are neat little buggers. And now I also know how to properly pronounce the name!

EVillageProwler

@Nap said:
A review of the Early Medieval Corpus reveals 18 examples. Two have unknown findspots. Of the remaining 16, 5 were found in Hampshire (around Southampton/Hamwic). Other finds include Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, and the Isle of Wight, which are near to Hampshire. Scattered finds in Lincolnshire and Kent suggest that the coins got around a little, but they are still mostly found in and around Hamwic.

Of note, there are two examples in which the whorl design has been muled to the type 49 obverse with the face and pellets. This suggests local production of the two types. Probably at Hamwic. I don't see any clear evidence to suggest its manufacture was elsewhere. Since Hamwic was a major trading center, I would expect the majority of its coins be found locally, with scattered examples found in distant places- exactly what the distribution suggests.

If there is hoard evidence (not too likely since the number of extant specimens is so small), that would be helpful in drawing a conclusion.

I do not have a copy of "Thrymsas and Sceattas in the Ashmolean Museum", it's on my list of things to pick up, but it's typically sold for ~$300; I'm waiting for a sale.

Thanks, Nap, for the research. Perhaps this is much ado about nothing, since Hamwic is arguably considered in the Portsmouth area, and the suggestion of another small mint is just a suggestion.

@TwoKopeiki said:
Thanks for showing it to me at the show. These are neat little buggers. And now I also know how to properly pronounce the name!

My Italian dealer is quite intrigued by these little pieces as well, but he is even more amazed at the range of my collecting interests because I buy nice Italian States type pieces from the late medieval period from him. After we finish our business together, he always pulls out his loupe and examines my Anglo-Saxon newps. So, yeah, I love these little buggers and am pleased that you got a kick out of seeing them too. If you ever have enough free time to look at them in greater detail, let me know and I'll gladly sit with you when we are next at NYINC together.

Regarding the pronunciation, FYI, Nap is the only person I know who says it his way. Who is right? Not like we can ask a native Anglo-Saxon person anymore, but I would like to offer this for some insight: Latin and early Germanic languages tend to use hard sounds, so that supports the 'k' sound. But, as the languages got debased and became more colloquial, their 'base' forms used more soft sounds which supports the 'sh' pronunciation. As for why I am talking about Latin when dealing with an Anglo-Saxon word, it's because Anglo-Saxon Britain is a multi-ethnic land with Romanized Celts, Germanic tribes as well as many others. Absolutely that there would be Latinization of the various languages.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone here know if the modern day Popes speak High or Base Latin?