The detail isn’t altogether clear in places but this looks to me like a genuine product of the Rhuddlan mint. On the obverse there is a stop before the R of REX. On the reverse there is a cross pommee at the start of the legend, which reads TOMAS.ON – – LA.  The style of the cross pommee points towards this penny being an example of Rhuddlan class iic.

This is a decent example of quite a rare mint so it would count as a welcome addition to any collection of voided short cross pennies.

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On the obverse the legend reads EDWARD DEI GRA REX AnG with no punctuation marks. The mark at the start of the legend is a halved sun and rose. On the reverse the legend reads CIVI TAS LON DON. Leading on from all this, I can say that this London penny is the type listed as number 2147 in the Standard Catalogue.

The halved sun and rose mark was first used very late in the reign of Edward IV and continued to be used during the short reign of Edward V. For that reason silver coins with this mark are usually listed as Edward IV or V. Halved sun and rose groats and halfpennies are very rare but pennies are excessively rare.

Valuation

A specimen was sold at auction during 2020, which was described as being VF but with some ghosting on the obverse. Both sides were somewhat off centre but this wasn’t mentioned in the description. The pre-sale estimate was $3,000 but the final hammer price was $11,000.

On the obverse of Darren’s find the king’s face is weak but everything else is sharp, clear and well struck. Sadly, the reverse is badly double struck. However, the obverse is the most important side. If I was cataloguing this coin for sale at auction the because of its great rarity and the attractive obverse I would set the pre-sale estimate no lower than £3,500-4,000.

Valuation Service

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Siliqua of Constantius II

The first is a siliqua of Constantius II, whose dates are AD 337 to 361.

On the obverse is a bust of the emperor facing right and the legend on this side reads D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG. On the reverse is a wreath, within which is VOTIS XXX MVLTIS XXXX in four lines. Beneath the wreath are the mint letters for Lugdunum.

In volume V of David Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values this type of siliqua is listed as number 17931. It was struck between AD 353 and 355.

The coin is rather dark in colour and collectors tend to prefer Roman silver coins to be their more natural colour. However, I’d grade the coin as about VF so it should still be worth around £60 to a Roman enthusiast.

Siliqua of Arcadius

Coin number two is another siliqua but this was struck for Arcadius, whose dates are AD 383 to 408.

On the obverse is a bust of the emperor facing right and a legend reading D N ARCADIVS P F AVG. On the reverse is the seated figure of Roma, who has one hand on an inverted spear whilst the other hand holds the figure of Victory resting on a globe. Beneath Roma are the mint letters for Milam (MDPS).

The legend on the reverse reads VIRTVS ROMANORVM. This type of siliqua is dated by Sear to AD 397 to 402

The flan is oval in shape with a small striking crack but it is otherwise in better than Fine condition. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have much eye appeal so I would price it not higher than £30.

Valuation

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It was found near Billesdon, Leicestershire by an 81 year-old detectorist who has preferred to remain anonymous. Over the 60 years, that she has been detecting, the finder has found many Medieval and Roman coins. When she started detecting in the 1960s people asked her what she was doing, and she told them she was looking for bombs.

She tells the story of the find ““It was the 8th of July 2021 at a local detector meeting while searching a field, that everybody said had nothing in it, that I had a signal from my Minelab Deus 2. After digging to a depth of 7 inches, I discovered a gold Saxon sword pommel dating to the early 7th century AD decorated with a filigree pattern.”

The find was recorded at the PAS as LEIC-C615C9 went through the Treasure process and was disclaimed. The PAS record says “ This pommel can be categorised as Menghin’s (1983) Typ Beckum-Vallstenarum …dating to the later sixth to seventh centuries.“

Nigel Mills, Artefact and Coin expert at Noonans, explained: “The sword pommel is a beautiful example of fine Anglo-Saxon gold measuring 4 centimetres by 1.5 centimetres and weighing 20.5 grams. It is of cocked hat form using beaded wire filigree ornamentation. On one side are two dragons or beasts facing each other with their heads and front paws touching. The other side has an interlaced snakelike pattern. It compares with the detectorist-found Staffordshire hoard of gold jewellery, while the motif of the confronting beasts on the sword mounts can be seen on a shield from the Sutton Hoo ship burial. The pommel would have been fixed to the end of the sword handle both as a counterbalance and to stop the hand slipping. The imagery displayed would have imbued a mystical power to the sword.“

The £18,000 hammer price was at the top end of the pre-sale estimate. The finder will be sharing the proceeds from the sale with the landowner and will be using her half to buy a replacement vehicle.

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Recent finds sold well at auction in the last couple of weeks; a gold sword pommel sells for £18,000, George Grenville’s ring for £9,500 and Nobby makes £3,000. I suspect many detectorists will have thought about what they would do with the proceeds of that big find but probably wise to listen to the words of Tom Clark, finder of George Grenville’s ring, who said after the auction “I am sure that my wife will have ideas of how to spend it“.

In PAS Finds we have the story of how a Edward VI shilling came to be stamped with a portcullis. Plus, there’s a unique Crondall Thrysma. In Readers’ Finds we have a penny of Offa.

Gold Sword Pommel sells for £18,000

This Anglo-Saxon sword pommel was found in July 2021. It sold in this week’s Noonans auction for £18,000

George Grenville’s ring sells for £9,500

A gold seal ring, belonging to George Grenville, British Prime Minister between 1763-65, sold for £9,500. It was found by detectorist, Tom Clark.

Nobby sells for £3000

A Celtic fertility symbol, nicknamed “Nobby” sells for £3,000.

Identification and Valuations

6 more readers finds from the last couple of weeks. Thanks to all those who have sent them in.

Find of the Week

Penny of Offa

Robert Wittingham said he found the coin pictured here on one of his permissions

Runner up

Half sovereign of Queen Victoria

A detectorist we know as Steve unearthed this gold coin on a site somewhere in Cumbria

Elizabeth I threepence piece

Rob Warwick described this as being one of his better looking finds dating from the Tudor period

Penny of Elizabeth I

Geoff Morris believed this coin was a penny of Elizabeth I but asked for more information and a valuation.

Barbarous Radiate of Tetricus I

Mike Ruczynski said this 17mm in diameter base metal Roman coin turned up on the 11th of June

Durham mint penny of Edward IV

This coin was found very recently by a detectorist we know as Steve

George III half penny forgery

David Walker said this coin was found with three others above a sash window he was taking out

PAS Finds – Edward VI shilling with portcullis

This is a great find. The story of why an Edward VI shilling is counter-stamped with a portcullis.

PAS Finds – Crondall Thrysma

The first of its kind to be found as a single find. The only other example was part of the Crondall Hoard

Previous Website Updates

You can find all previous website updates in News

Next week

Help with the next edition

Please help me with next week’s edition. If you’ve been out detecting again or taking the time to go through your collection, please contact me with anything you find of interest or would like me to identify.

The post Friday Update: 21 June 2024 appeared first on Detecting Finds.

Featured Find

Edward VI shilling with portcullis counterstamp

Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By SA2.0

PAS record: NMS-042BCB

Period: Post-Medieval

Date found: 28/05/2024

Location: Breckland, Norfolk

A base silver shilling of Edward VI with a portcullis counterstamp on the obverse. The portcullis was added in the reign of Elizabeth I to revalue the coin to four pence.

Henry VIII – Debasement

Towards the end of Henry VIII’s reign, England found itself in financial difficulty. This had been caused by excessive spending on Henry’s lavish lifestyle and wars with France and Scotland. Henry had already sold off some of the Crown’s land and raised taxes but more money was still needed.

In May 1542, Henry ordered that the amount of silver and gold in the coinage be reduced and the previously unpopular Testoon be produced again. These were held in storage for two years until the lack of bullion prompted their release into circulation.

Between 1544 and 1551, the silver content of coins dropped numerous times. By 1551 it was only 25%; the previous fine silver content was 92.5%. It is estimated that this generated a profit of £1.27 million for the Crown.¹

The debasement of the coinage caused discontent and confusion amongst the population.

Edward VI – Return to fine silver

The advisers to Edward VI understood how the reputation of the coinage and the crown were inextricably linked. The king’s face on the coins was a guarantee of their worth. They sort to manage public opinion with a series of proclamations. Between 1542 and 1547, at the end of Henry’s reign, there had only been one proclamation related to the coinage. Between 1548 and 1565 there were 36.²

However, in the early year’s of Edward’s reign, the desperate state of the country’s finances dictated that coinage continued to be debased. His first issue continued to use the image of his father, Henry VIII. These included Testoons.

His second issue was in his own name and reverted to a profile image of the king. The Testoon was renamed as the Shilling. It was produced in two different weights and standards, which caused further confusion amongst the populace.

In 1551, Edward’s third issue returned to the fine silver standard of 92.5%.

In preparation for this, a declaration was issued to reduce the value of the previous shillings to nine pence and then to sixpence.

Elizabeth I – Currency reforms

When Elizabeth was crowned in 1558, she made reform of the currency one of her top priorities. As well as the issue of prolific counterfeiting the circulation of debased coins was still a problem. The worst affected coins were shillings because some were worse than others.

It was decided that the “worse” type should be valued at 2¼ and the “better” at 4½ pence.

In September 1560 a proclamation, with images, was issued to enable people to identify which was which. However, this relied on the details on the coin being identifiable, in particular the mint mark. Also, some of the information in the proclamation was technically incorrect.

This all served to create more confusion and so the government decided that all shillings would be countermarked to show their current value; the “worse” ones with a greyhound and the “better” ones with a portcullis.

Because of the widespread distrust of mints and mint officials, it was decided that the stamping should be carried out in public. Stamping irons were sent out to the mayors of towns throughout the country. Along with a goldsmith, who would determine which type of shilling it was and stamp the coin, they would sit in an “open place” and countermark shillings.

References

1. The debasement of the coinage, 1542-1551, C. E Challis, 1967
2. Currency, conversation, and control: political discourse and the coinage in mid-Tudor England. Jennifer Bishop, 2016

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He was found by Bob Jemmett, a detectorist for 30 years, during an organised rally in South Cambridgeshire almost six years ago.

Bob recalls the find “It was on the 12th of September 2018 that I was metal detecting in a ploughed field at Little Chishill, near Royston in South Cambridgeshire on an organised rally. The weather was appalling with the rain lashing down, but I persevered and received a lovely signal from my Minelab 3030 detector.”

He continued: “Digging down four inches, I uncovered a small bronze nude male figure which featured a prominent erection similar to the Cerne Abbas Giant that is carved into a hill in Dorset. The figure was identified as a Celtic fertility figure and published on the Portable Antiquities website and subsequently used as a logo by the rally organisers in their promotions. As a result, detectorists from all over Europe at Rallies would ask me if they could see ‘Nobby’ who I always keep in my pocket as a constant companion!“

Nigel Mills, Artefact and Coin expert at Noonans, explained: “This unique figure dates from the 1st century BC, he has an oversized bald head with deep sockets for eyes, wedges for arms and short legs. There is a loop behind for suspension.”

After a recent local house burglary, Bob decided it is time to let ‘Nobby’ go and send him to auction .He fetched twice the pre-sale estimate and Bob intends to spend his money on home improvements.

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The ring was found by detectorist, Tom Clark. After the auction, Tom said “I didn’t watch the sale as I was out metal-detecting, I only stopped as it began to rain! I am very pleased with the result, which is fantastic. I would like to put the money in my bank account, but I am sure that my wife will have ideas of how to spend it!“

Finding the ring

In May last year, Tom went out detecting with his brand new Minelab Manticore in a filed near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. He had a good start, finding a Roman bronze coin and a Georgian gilded brooch.

About three metres away he got another signal and, on digging down 10 inches, unearthed what appeared to be a Medieval gold seal ring. Reading the name around the edge he saw the name ‘Grenvil’ and immediately recognised it as one of the ancestral surnames of the nearby manor house.

Tom said “I have been detecting since the age of 30, and over the years I have been lucky enough to find a Bronze Age gold armlet, a Roman lead coffin and many other treasures which are now in museums“

George Grenville

Nigel Mills, Artefact and Coin expert at Noonans, explains “The ring dates from the 18th century and originally belonged to George Grenville who was Prime Minister from 16 April 1763 to 10 July 1765.”

Stamp Act

Nigel continues “He tried to reduce Britain’s growing debt by raising revenue in the American colonies with the introduction of the Sugar Act, the Currency Act, and the Stamp Act. These new laws, especially the Stamp Act, were strongly objected to by the colonists and stirred up protests, which resulted in George III dismissing Grenville. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, but concerns over taxation ultimately led to the American Revolutionary War of 1775-83.“

The ring

The arms on the bezel of the ring are those of Grenville, of Wotton Underwood and of Stowe in the county of Buckinghamshire.

This is a shield quartered with a central cross bearing five roundels, a helmet placed above the shield has a crest of a sheaf of corn. An inscription around reads “Sigillum Georg de grenvil’”

This seal ring appears to have been handed down to his second son, also named George, as the find spot is close to the son’s residence near Aylesbury.

The ring presumably became a family heirloom passing from father to son and remained hidden in the ground until now.

The auctioneer described it as “a truly exciting discovery!“

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Featured Find

LEMC type of gold thrymsa

Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By SA2.0

PAS record: KENT-738EAB

Period: Anglo-Saxon

Date found: 27/08/2023

Location: Maidstone, Kent

A gold thrysma, dated to c. AD 600-750, with “LEMC” in the quarters on the reverse. The PAS record says “This coin is the first of it’s type to be found as a single find, with other examples recorded in the Crondall Hoard“.

Crondall Hoard

In 1828, 18 year-old Charles Lefroy was out shooting with his gamekeeper in Crondall, Hampshire. In a letter to the Numismatic Chronicle, dated 13 June 1843, he described the find:

“The coins which you have received from me for the purpose of publication in the Numismatic Chronicle were found by myself in the autumn of 1828 on a heath in the parish of Crondall in Hampshire. This heath is a continuation of Bagshot Heath. The boundary of the counties of Surrey and Hampshire cross it in the parish of Crondall, skirting an old encampment, situated on the abrupt point of a hill called “Caesar’s Camp within about a mile of which or a little more on the flat waste below I discovered these coins. A turf had been pared off for firing in the usual manner, leaving a smooth “dished” surface on the centre of which I saw a little heap of apparently brass waistcoat buttons lying mixed with earth but with the bright edges just washed bare by the late rains

On picking them up they proved to be these gold coins and the two jewelled ornaments and chains. The coins must have been confined in a purse, though there was no trace of one left, as some of the stones set in the ornaments had fallen out but were found among the coins together with a little stone, since lost probably belonging to some other ornament which had perished.

They were lying altogether on the surface completely cut out by the turf-cutter’s spade and upon a slight search which I made I could find no trace of any more. The collection consisted of one hundred small gold coins, the two jewelled ornaments and chain one of which was perfect at the time of their discovery and one fragment of a forged gold coin of which the circumference was perfect but the centre decayed.“

The 100 coins consisted of 73 Anglo-Saxon thrysmas, 24 gold Merovingian or Frankish tremisses and three unstruck gold planchets. It remains the only large hoard of Anglo-Saxon thrysma ever found and is now on display at the Ashmolean Museum. The hoard is thought to date to 635-650.

There were 12 different types of Thrysma of Anglo-Saxon manufacture in the hoard. Until this find, 5 of the 12 types are only known from this hoard. That is now 4. Only one has an interpretable inscription, of Eadbald of Kent.¹ That coin has been dated to c. 620-630.² It is the first coin issued in the name of an English king.

References

1. The Anglo-Saxon gold coins of the Crondall hoard by Nap, 2 October 2022
2. The Crondall Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Gold Coins by Michael Shutterly, 27 October 2020

The post PAS Finds (w/e 31 May 2024) – Crondall Thrysma appeared first on Detecting Finds.

In the 18th Century, a Prime Minister introduced some new taxes to try to reduce Britain’s debt. It was very unpopular and he was sacked shortly after. George Grenville’s ring was found last year and is up for auction.

In PAS finds we have a Nationally Important new variant of a Henry I penny. Another coin that might by unique has been sent in by one of our readers, Phil Clark – a very curious penny of Edward I-II. Plus six more readers’ finds.

George Grenville’s ring goes to auction

A gold seal ring, belonging to George Grenville, British Prime Minister between 1763-65, will be offered at Noonans on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. It was found by detectorist, Tom Clark.

A curious Edward I-II farthing

Phil Clark sent this find in and said “I found this coin at the weekend but need ID on it as it is strange; the front looks ok but the reverse is not right at all for a hammered coin. Can you help please.“

Identification and Valuations

6 more readers finds from the last couple of weeks. Thanks to all those who have sent them in.

Find of the Week

Ancient British silver minim of the Regni and Atrebates

Mike Ruczynski said this silver coin was unearthed by his brother John on the 25^th of this month

Runner up

Irish penny of Edward I

This is the first of two hammered silver coins that came in from Robert Knight with a request for valuations.

London halfpenny of Henry VIII

This is the second hammered silver coin to come in this week from Robert Knight

Penny of Alexander III

Steve de Grey said this hammered silver coin was unearthed during an organised dig in Warwickshire

Continental Sterling of Jean II D’Avesnes

A detectorist named Aneta sent in the images of this coin

Denarius of Mn. Fonteius

This Roman silver coin was recently unearthed by Martin Depear

PAS Finds – Henry I penny

A new variant of a Henry I penny, which is considered to be of National Importance

Previous Website Updates

You can find all previous website updates in News

Next week

Help with the next edition

Please help me with next week’s edition. If you’ve been out detecting again or taking the time to go through your collection, please contact me with anything you find of interest or would like me to identify.

The post Friday Update: 31 May 2024 appeared first on Detecting Finds.