Anglo-Saxon silver sceatta
The finder of this coin, Damon Ward, said he believed it was Anglo-Saxon but wanted to know more about it.
Damon’s find is an Anglo-Saxon silver sceatta. On the obverse, holding a long cross pommee in each hand, is a half-length figure facing right. On the reverse is a cross crosslet with a pellet centre, which rests upon a plain cross.
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Valuation
This sceatta is an example of series W, which is listed in the Standard Catalogue as number 787 and is very rare. However, a number of specimens have appeared on the market during the last couple of years. The examples in the Abramson collection (sold during March 2021) fetched high prices. However, the prices achieved when a famous collection is sold are often higher than when similar coins with no provenance are sold at auction.
The high points on this sceatta are slightly flat but the coin is otherwise in about VF condition. A similar but slightly finer example was sold at auction in November of 2020 and the hammer price was £500. Therefore, if Damon’s specimen was offered for sale at auction it would be likely to sell for a slightly lower figure. The Standard Catalogue prices number 787 at £950 in VF but recent sale prices point towards that figure being far too high.