Penny of Ecgberht

The finder of this coin wished to remain anonymous but asked if I could let him have a valuation. The coin is a penny of Ecgberht, who was King of Wessex from AD 802 to 839. The number of pennies on record of this king has increased significantly over recent decades through a steady stream of detecting finds.

Within the inner circle on the obverse of this coin is a cross potent  and the surrounding legend reads +ECGBERHT REX M. In the centre of the reverse is a letter A with a bar across the top and the legend on this side reads + REDMVD – (the last letter isn’t clear), which is the name of the moneyer. There is no inner circle on the reverse.

This penny will have been struck at London and a mint official named Redmund will have been responsible for its issue. The basic type is nearest to number 585 in J. J. North’s English Hammered Coinage and number 1037 in the Standard Catalogue. However, in having no inner circle on the reverse and only a single letter A in the centre it is a new variety for the reign of Ecgberht of Wessex.

Valuation

The obverse would grade good Fine, the reverse about VF. Sadly, the edge is chipped, there is a flan crack and a number of areas, particularly on the reverse, appear to be rather bright. It cannot be stressed too strongly that the main factor in relation to the value of any coin is its state of preservation; whilst there is a ready market for specimens in good condition, the same coins in the lower grades can struggle to attract a buyer, even when catalogue and previous sale prices are heavily discounted.

Using the images I received as a guide, if I was cataloguing this coin for sale at auction I would set the pre-sale estimate at £1,200 – £1,500. However, this estimate is without being able to examine the coin itself. If I was able to see and hold the coin my price range might go down, stay the same or go up.

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