Anglo-Saxon silver sceatta

Paul Marland said he found this coin whilst detecting in North Yorkshire. I’ve done quite a lot of detecting in North Yorkshire but have never unearthed a coin like the one found by Paul. I’ve been with detectorists who have found one but my search-head has never located an example

This is an Anglo-Saxon period silver sceatta. However, it was made on the Continent rather than in England.

On the obverse is a quilled head, which is sometimes referred to as a porcupine. On the reverse is a square standard with symbols in the angles. In the Standard Catalogue Continental sceattas of this type are listed as number 790A.

    

Valuation

The reverse of Paul’s find has been struck off centre but the coin is otherwise in good VF condition. The type isn’t scarce but this is quite a nice specimen so it could be worth up to £80 to a keen collector.