Gold Sword Pommel sells for £18,000
This gold Anglo-Saxon sword pommel sold for £18,000 in Noonans auction of Ancient Coins and Antiquities on Thursday, June 20, 2024.
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.