Hammer cross type penny of Edward the Confessor

The coin featured here was unearthed by Steve Bartlett on 2 January of this year. It turned up in Cumbria and Steve believes it is a penny of Edward the Confessor. He asked if I could confirm his ID and provide him with a valuation, as he has a 50/50 agreement with the owner of the land on which the coin was found.

Steve’s coin is a hammer cross type penny of Edward the Confessor, which is listed in the Standard Catalogue as number 1182. This counts as a great find, especially so as very few Anglo-Saxon pennies have been discovered in Cumbria. And, it also represents a wonderful start to 2023.

On the reverse the legend begins with +VL, which is the start of the moneyer’s name but the other letters are blurred. The legend ends with ON EOFRI’. If the full legend was visible then it would read +VLFCETEL ON EOFRI’, so Ulfcetel is the moneyer and York is the mint. As is usually the case with pennies from the York mint, there is an annulet in one quarter on the reverse.

Valuation

The obverse would grade about VF. The reverse isn’t as good and there is an edge flaw about two-thirds into the moneyer’s name. In its present state of preservation my valuation range would be £150 to £180.

Valuation Service

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