Continental sterling of Robert de Bethune

This rather unusual coin was unearthed very recently by Marcus Read. It’s a Continental sterling but of a type I have never seen before as a detecting find.

It’s a coin of Robert de Bethune, who was Count of Flanders from 1305 to 1322. Instead of being the usual type, with a facing head on the obverse, this has a profile head.

On the obverse the legend reads +ROB COMES FLAND.  The reverse has a long cross with three pellets in each angle and the legend on this side reads MON ETA ALO STEN. Therefore, this coin was stuck at the Alost mint.

The coin is very similar to those of Robert Bruce. When it circulated very few people could read so if this sterling ended up in Scotland it would have been accepted by the majority as a penny. 

Valuation

It took me quite some times to trace a similar coin being sold. However, I eventually pinned down a specimen that was sold at auction in Germany during 2018. The coin was in similar condition to the sterling recently found by Marcus and the hammer price was 1,200 euros. This very high figure highlights the fact that sterlings of this type are very rare indeed.

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