Continental sterling of John I, Duke of Brabant
Michael Gallon is based in Scotland and has been detecting there for around 30 years. He has been fortunate enough to have gained permission to search some productive sites in his locality. However, over recent years sites have been developed and are now covered in new houses. A few piles of soil are still available to detect on and the pair of coins featured here are very recent finds.
Continental sterling of John I, Duke of Brabant
The first coin is a Continental sterling of John I, who was Duke of Brabant from 1268 to 1294.
On the obverse is a shield bearing a rampant lion and the legend (starting at the top) on this side reads I+DVX BRABANTE. On the reverse is a voided cross with W A L T (the name of the moneyer) in the inner angles and in the outer angles the legend reads ID EIG RAT IA accompanied by a range of punctuations.
Quite a number of these sterlings have been found in the UK and back in the 13th century they were known as ‘Brabantini’ because of where they originated from. In its present condition this example should be worth around £30-35.
Penny of Alexander III
Michael’s second coin is a Scottish silver penny, which was struck during the first coinage of Alexander III.
On the reverse the legend is difficult to decipher but it appears to be RO BE TO NB, which adds up to the moneyer being Robert and the mint Berwick.
This moneyer and mint reading makes it most likely that this is a penny of class III. In its present condition I’d price the coin at £50 to £60.
The above two coins are really nice finds that have come off spoil heaps. If these are the last two finds from this housing site I’m left wondering how many hammered silver coins will end up in the gardens of the new houses.
Valuation Service
If you would like your coin identified or valued, please read about my valuation service and contact me