Penny of Stephen
A detectorist signing himself as Trevor B asked for valuations on the two Norman period coins that follow on. Both coins have been recorded on the Early Medieval Corpus. The first was found during 2022 and the second back in the 1980s.
Cut halfpenny of Stephen
Coin number one is a cut halfpenny of Stephen.
It’s an example of type I, otherwise known as the Watford type. The moneyer has been identified as Aelfred and the mint as Taunton.
This cut halfpenny was struck at a mint that is extremely rare for Stephen. Both sides have been struck off centre but the coin is otherwise about VF for the issue. As I’ve said on many previous occasions, cut halfpennies are worth far less in cash terms than whole pennies. Even though this is a great rarity, my price range would be no higher than £300-400.
Penny of Stephen
Coin number two is another coin of Stephen.
However, this is a full penny, which is an example of type II (voided cross and mullets type). On this coin the moneyer has been identified as Rodger and the mint as Dunwich.
During the Anglo-Saxon period Dunwich was the capital of the Kingdom of the East Angles and it was a very important port in the 11/12thth centuries. Whether or not there was an Anglo-Saxon mint there is uncertain but one was in operation during the reign of Stephen. Due to severe coastal erosion the majority of Dunwich gradually disappeared into the sea and today very little is left of it.
I traced a few Dunwich coins of Stephen that have been sold over recent years. Given that this mint is of great rarity one would expect its coins to be eagerly sought after. This, though, isn’t always the case and at least one specimen failed to reach its reserve price when offered for sale at auction.
The obverse on this example of Stephen type II has a flat area in the legend but is otherwise in good VF condition. The reverse has a larger flat area and this side would grade no higher than about VF. After doing some research I failed to trace another example of this reign, type, mint and moneyer combination. The only real minus point is the slight loss to the edge by DVN on the reverse.
Basing my figure on the state of preservation and the great rarity of this coin, if I was cataloguing it for sale at auction I would set the pre-sale estimate at £1,800-2,200.
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