Penny of Offa

The detectorist who sent in this coin asked to remain anonymous. I was asked to provide further information and a valuation.
The coin is a penny of Offa, King of Mercia from AD 757 to 796. It’s an example of the light coinage and was struck at London. On the obverse is a draped bust facing right, which is set within a beaded circle. The legend on this side reads +OFFA REX.

On the reverse is a lozenge, which has incurved sides and a large annulet inside with a cross in the centre. Around this is +E AL MV ND, which is the name of the moneyer (Ealmund).

In Coins of Offa and His Contemporaries (by Derek Chick, edited by Mark Blackburn and Rory Naismth) this type is listed as number 48. There are minor varieties of the type. In volume I of J. J. North’s English Hammered Coinage it is listed as number 307 and in the Standard Catalogue it is number 905.

Valuation

The edge on this coin is looks to have a number of small chips but it is otherwise strong and would grade VF. It’s a very rare type with some eye appeal so if I was cataloguing it for sale at auction I would set the pre-sale estimate at £2,200-2,500.

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