Penny of Offa

The finder of this coin wanted to remain anonymous but I was asked to provide a valuation. It’s a penny of Offa, which has been reported and recorded as a significant find. The coin was struck in East Anglia during the light coinage of Offa.

Within a beaded inner circle on the obverse is a cross, the upright of which rests on a stepped base. The surrounding legend reads +OFFA+RE+. This obverse type is listed by Derek Chick in The Coinage of Offa and His Contemporaries (edited by Mark Blackburn and Rory Naismith) as number 176.

In the centre of the reverse is a quatrefoil, each segment with a pellet centre, from which spring arms that divide up a legend that reads OE dE LR ED. Therefore, the moneyer is Oethelred. This reverse is of a previously unpublished type.

Valuation

The reverse is slightly weak in one quarter but the coin would still grade good VF for the issue. Apart from the small weak area the coin is well and centrally struck and overall it has good eye appeal. As it is a new die combination it would certainly be of great interest to specialist collectors. If offered for sale at auction then I would expect the pre-sale auction estimate to be set at a figure no lower than £2,500 – £2,800.

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