Penny of King Coenwulf of Mercia

The finder of this coin, Margaret Hamilton, knew it was a penny of King Coenwulf of Mercia but she asked for my comments on it and a valuation figure.

On the obverse the bust of Coenwulf reaches the edge of the coin. There is no diadem on the head, which faces right. Starting at about 7 o’clock, the legend reads +COENVVLF REX M.

Within the inner circle on the reverse is a cross crosslet with pellets in the angles. On this side the legend reads DEALLA MONETA; it is divided up into section by three long cross pattee springing from the inner circle. Therefore, the moneyer is Dealla and the mint is Canterbury.

In J. J. North’s English Hammered Coinage this type of Coenwulf penny is listed as number 345. It would be easy to confuse it with N. 356 but the way that the legend is divided up on the reverse confirms it as N. 345.

Valuation

This is a very rare coin and I failed to trace another example on the market. In the images I received the coin looks to be flat and I can see none of the defects so often found on early Anglo-Saxon pennies. I’d grade the coin as VF and if it was offered for sale at auction I would expect the pre-sale estimate to be no lower than £2,000-2,500.

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