Penny of Alexander III
This hammered silver coin was unearthed on the 9th of February by Anthony Hopkinson.
On the obverse of Anthony’s find, facing left, is a head that is quite square in profile with a sceptre in front. The surrounding legend reads ALXANDER REX (note the first letter E is missing from Alexander).
On the reverse is a voided long cross with stars in the angles. The legend on this side reads IOh AN ON BER so Iohan is the moneyer and Berwick the mint.
The preceding information adds up to this coin being a class VIII penny, which was struck during the first coinage of Alexander III of Scotland.
The lettering on both sides is large and crude and includes a spelling error on the obverse. Whilst some of the dies used for class VIII are well cut, it is not unusual for them to be blundered in some way and the legends are sometimes retrograde. Therefore, the crude appearance if this coin does not necessarily point towards it not being an official issue.
Valuation
This Alexander III penny is somewhat rough looking but overall it would grade better than Fine. The condition could be better but the die pairing is very rare so my price range would be £150-180.
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