Penny of Stephen, Awbridge type

The finder of this coin, Bill Byford, had already had it fully identified as a penny of Stephen. However, he asked if I could provide him with a valuation.

The coin is an example of BMC VII, the Awbridge type, but as is often the case with pennies of Stephen it isn’t well struck. On the reverse what can be seen of the legend reads +hA-V——EFO, which doesn’t leave much to go on. However, if the full legend was visible then the most likely reading would be +hACVN ON TETEFO, so Hacvn will be the moneyer and Thetford the mint.   

Valuation

A specimen, probably struck from the same dies, was sold by Glendinings in 1983 for a hammer price of £520. At the time it was the fourth known example of the reign, type, mint and moneyer combination. The same coin was sold again during 2019 and this time the hammer price was £450.

The coin found by Bill is the fifth example of the reign, type, mint and moneyer combination. The overall state of preservation is very similar to the coin sold in 1983 and 2019. If I was cataloguing it for sale at auction I would set the pre-sale estimate at £350 to £450 and would hope that the hammer price would be nearer the higher figure than the lower one. You never know: there could be two Thetford enthusiasts in the saleroom.

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