Cut halfpenny of Cnut
David Woodhouse said this Anglo-Saxon cut halfpenny was unearthed on the 15th of September. It has been reported to the EMC (at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) and the legend on the reverse is said to be unusual for the type.
The coin is an example of the short cross type of Cnut. On the reverse what is left of the legend reads ER-E ON L; the dash before the second letter E turns it into AE so the legend is meant to be ERAE. On the basis of what can be seen, it has been suggested that the moneyer could be Goderae and the mint might be London.
Valuation
Coincidentally, we have two cut coins this week, the other being a halfpenny of Edward the Confessor. The halfpenny under discussion is dark in colour but it would grade VF. Cut coins of Cnut are much scarcer than whole pennies but they sell for much less. My price range on this one would be £70-80.
After the above had been written David Woodhouse sent some more information. After doing further research he traced a whole penny from the same dies in the Lenborough hoard, which contained 4,260 short cross coins of Cnut. That there was only one example (coin number 323) in such a huge hoard is an indication of its rarity. Therefore, I would increase my valuation figure to £80-100.
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