The coin is an Anglo-Saxon silver penny of Beornwulf, who was King of Mercia from 823 to 825 AD. Within the inner circle on the obverse is a crude head of the king facing right.

On the reverse, in three lines, is PER BALD MONE, so Werbald is the moneyer. Pennies of this type belong to Group I and were struck in East Anglia. In the Standard Catalogue it is listed as number 928.

Valuation

Pennies of this period are often brittle and susceptible to breakage. This specimen has lost some of the edge at the start of the obverse legend and there is a small striking crack at roughly 1:30 but it is otherwise in about VF condition. It is very rare so if it was offered for sale at auction I’d expect the pre-sale estimate to be set no lower than £2,000.

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This is another denarius of Hadrian.  On the obverse the laureate head of the emperor faces right and the surrounding legend reads IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG.

On the reverse the seated figure of Roma holds a spear and the tiny figure of Victory and the legend on this side reads P M TR P COS III. In volume II of David Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values this type is listed as number 3519. 

Valuation

I’d grade this denarius as VF and in its present condition my price range would be £50-60.

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The coin is a denarius of Hadrian, whose dates are AD 117 to 138. On the obverse the legend reads IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG around the laureate and partly draped bust of the emperor.

On the reverse the standing figure of Aequitas (or Moneta) holds scales and a cornucopia and is accompanied by a legend reading P M TR P COS III. In volume II of David Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values this type is listed as number 3520 and dated to 123 AD.

Valuation

This denarius has good surfaces and would grade VF so my price range would be £50-60.

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This is a coin of Trajan, whose dates are 98 to 117 AD. On the obverse the legend reads IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P around the laureate head of the emperor.

On the reverse the figure of Roma holds the tiny figure of Victory in one hand and an inverted spear in the other. The legend on this side reads COS V PP SPQR OPTIMO PRINC. This type was struck at Rome during 107 AD.

Valuation

The obverse is nicely toned; the reverse has a small area of black deposit but the coin is otherwise in better than Fine condition.  As it stands, my price range would be £35-45.

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Coin number one is a denarius of Domitian, whose dates are AD 81 to 96. On the obverse, around the laureate head of the emperor, the legend reads IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P followed by two Roman numerals that are not clear.

On the reverse, advancing to the right, is the figure of Minerva accompanied by a legend reading IMP XXI COS XVI CENS P P P. In volume I of David Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values this exact variety is not listed.

Valuation

Both sides have been struck slightly off centre but the coin is otherwise in good VF condition. It’s an attractive coin and if it was offered for sale at auction I would expect the pre-sale estimate to be no lower than £120-150.

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The coin is a shilling of Charles I and is of a type that was struck at Worcester or Shrewsbury during 1643 or 1644. On the obverse is a bust of the king but there is no mint mark of any kind. On the reverse is a fairly crude oval shield, the mint mark is a lion and the legend – CHRISTO AVSPICE REGNO – is punctuated by stars.

Volume 33 in the SCBI series focused on the massive collection of coins of Charles I formed by John G. Brooker. The obverse of catalogue number 1172 (a shilling from the ‘S’ or ‘W’ mint) was struck from the same die as the coin featured here. However, the reverse was a different die.

Valuation

When researching this coin I traced four or five specimens of Brooker number 1172 but only one specimen matching Michael’s shilling.

On the obverse there are scratches on the king’s face; on the reverse there is a scratch at the base of the shield and weakness in the second quarter. Therefore, it has a few slight defects but is struck on a full flan and would grade VF for the period.

Basing my estimate on past sales, if I was cataloguing the coin for sale at auction I would set the pre-sale estimate no lower than £7,000-9,000.

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The coin is a sixpence of Elizabeth I. It is dated 1600 on the reverse and the mint mark on both sides is a zero. Interestingly, beneath 600 of the date there are faint vestiges of 599. When the New Year started any dies that were still serviceable would have the date altered; quite often only a single digit would be changed but on the reverse die used to strike this sixpence three digits were over-struck.

Valuation

1600 is a scarce date and rare when over-struck. This specimen is unclipped and in better condition than usual, for it would grade good Fine for the issue. As it stands, my price range would be £90-120.

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The coin has the first bust of William IV on the obverse, it is dated 1831and has no stops between or after W W at the base of King William’s neck. Therefore, this is an example of number 3829A in the Standard Catalogue.

In having W W with no stops this is a rare variety. Indeed, I have seen this variety listed as extremely rare. However, after a short search I managed to trace a number of examples so I would suggest it is very rare but not extremely rare.

Valuation

The obverse would grade Fair, the reverse Fine. I traced an example that was sold at auction in December of 2025, which was graded as near UNC and the hammer price was £6,000. I traced another sold late in 2020, which was graded as Fine and the hammer price was £2,500.  The first figure seemed a bit low whereas the second seemed rather high.

Very recently the market for gold reached a record high but quickly dropped by about 10%. The volatility in the market is due mostly to global uncertainties. During times like these money often flows into gold. Therefore, the recent shift upwards in the price of gold coins is due not to an increase in the number of collectors; the rise in the price of gold coins is because of the upward shift in the price of gold bullion on the international market.

My valuation figure on this find would be £1,500-1,800. However, significant fluctuations in the gold bullion price could lead to an increase or decrease in my estimate.

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The coin is a groat of James I of Scotland, whose dates are 1406 to 1437. On the obverse is a facing bust of the king with a sceptre to the left. The legend reads TRACIA instead of GRACIA and ends with SCO.

The reverse is divided into four by a long cross. In two of the inner angles is a trio of pellets with a tiny central pellet and in the other two is a fleur de lis. The legend reads VILL ACE (this should be ADE) LInL IThGo.

All the preceding information adds up to this coin being struck at the mint situated in Linlithgow. Therefore, this is a very rare coin. In Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands it is listed as number 5199.

Valuation

The obverse would grade Fair to Fine but has some edge loss below the king and an upward bend from, about 7 o’clock to 8.30. The reverse is better and would grade Fine. A James I Linlithgow groat grading good Fine or better was recently sold at auction and the hammer price was £1,000. The specimen found by Warrick isn’t as good so it would sell for less. If I were cataloguing it for sale at auction then in its present state of preservation I would set the pre-sale estimate no higher than £300-400.

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This is a coin of Otho, who was one of the short-lived emperors during the Civil Wars of AD 68-69. On the obverse the bare head of Otho faces right and is accompanied by a legend reading IMP M OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P. On the reverse, holding a wreath and a long sceptre, is the standing figure of Securitas and a legend reading SECVRITAS P R. Denarii of this type were struck a Rome in January and February of AD 69. In volume I of David Sear’s Roman Coins and Their Values the type is listed as number 2162.

Valuation

The obverse would grade good Fine, the reverse Fine but both sides have been struck off centre. In its present state of preservation, recent auction prices point towards it being worth close to £200.

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