England - 655-675 AD - EARLY ANGLO SAXON - Gold Thrymsa

Description: What is being offered here is quite simply on of the finest early Anglo Saxon gold coins in existance! Additionally, this particular specimen is the finest known of its extremely rare type. The two major grading services have reported to have only seen 6 specimens, 3 at each service. There is the possibility that there may be a duplication or two in these numbers further reducing the known pieces. Of all the 6 reported coins graded at both services, only one is in mint state...this piece! It is also our opinion that this magnificent specimen is conservatively graded and should have received a higher grade by as much as two points...however, with a rarity such as this piece, the level of mint state recognized by NGC is somewhat unimportant. This wonderful stands alone as the finest of its rare type. A true opportunity for the specialist in this area of numismatics. Early Anglo-Saxon. Post-Crondall Phase gold Thrymsa ND (655-675) S-767, N-20. 1.27gm. Two Emperors type. Diademed bust right. A superb Mint State example with admirable clarity to motifs and attractive mustard gold hue to the flan. A rare piece in general and particularly so in this advanced state of preservation, presently the sole Mint State certified example across the two grading services. NGC MS60 TOP POP! Gold coinage was an important part of late Medieval and early modern English coinage. Denominations such as nobles, angels, crowns, pounds, and sovereigns were produced from the 14th century until the modern era when precious metals were phased out of circulating coinage. However in the early medieval period, gold coinage was rarely produced. A few gold coins were tried, such as gold pennies of Alfred the Great, Aethelred the Unready and Edward the Confessor, and a gold penny of Henry III. But these were not widely used or successful coinages and these coins are known from only a minuscule number of rare survivors.However, in the misty past, there was a robust and diverse series of gold coins made in the early Anglo-Saxon period. From about 600 until 675, gold coins were produced in the fledgling Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, depicting a variety of imagery. At least a dozen types are known, with diademed busts, copies of Roman clasped hands and seated despots, and a variety of Cristian symbols.Gold was, and remains, highly desirable. The 6th century Sutton Hoo burial contains a number of gold coins, but all are post-Roman migration people and Frankish in origin. None are considered of English manufacture.However, in the next few decades, following the Christianization of England, a local coinage began to emerge. Initially a few gold medals, possibly meant to be ornamental, but then a series of coins known as “thrymsas” emerged. These are really a continuation of the late Roman tremisses that were copied and imitated by the migration people and permanent settlers of continental Western Europe, but made in England for trade at home and on the continent.In 1828 a large group of early gold coins was found in the south of England at a place called Crondall. This hoard of about 100 coins remains the largest find of early Anglo-Saxon gold coins ever found, and still comprises most of the known coins of this era. The entire hoard was ultimately acquired by the Ashmolean museum and remains intact in Oxford. It is composed of a combination of Merovingian and English types, but mostly English. This hoard of nearly 100 coins was once thought to be a weregild (a compensation for the injury or death of a free man), but that thinking has been abandoned. Like most old coin hoards, we just don't the exact function of the coins or why this hoard was buried. The date of the hoard however can be estimated around 620-645.Lord Stewartby classified the early Saxon gold coins as pre-Crondall (before 620), Crondall (620-645), ultra-Crondall (620-645 but not present in the Crondall hoard), and post-Crondall (645-680). This categorization has been challenged in recent years and I believe Gareth Williams is working on a new arrangement hopefully to be published soon. Still, the Crondall hoard is an important part of our understanding of these coins.These coins, not from the hoard of course, but found more recently, are two examples of the Crondall types and one example of a post-Crondall type. The first is the facing bust "LONDVNIV" type. The second is the bust left "EAN" type. The third is the "two emperors" type.The LONDVNIV type names the city of London on the reverse, with the obverse showing a crude and stylized representation of the facing bust. It has an unusual necklace with a U shaped half circle with crosses as both ends. A hundred years ago, Baldwin-Brown believed this representing a pallium. Possibly intended to represent a portrait of bishop Augustine, Justus, or Mellitus. Modern scholarship has questioned this, but it remains a possibility. The coin is uninscribed for a political leader but does have strong religious symbolism. An episcopal coinage would not be that surprising, with other gold coins of the early era also being made for church leaders (for example, bishop Leudhard). This coin is very rare, with only 8 known. It has different dies than the 7 others in the Ashmolean museum (from Crondall hoard), and is the only example known not in a museum.The EAN type is named for the legible retrograde letters on the obverse, which stand out from an otherwise garbled legend. Only one die for both obverse and reverse is known. Anna Gannon, in her book on iconography, notes that the bust on this coin features a Persian style bejeweled helmet, copied from the Constantinian era Roman coins, and likely represents a status symbol of old Roman glory rather than battle protection. Similar head adornments would also feature on later Anglo-Saxon sceattas. This coin is also very rare, with 5 or 6 known. Four of these coins were in the Crondall hoard and are all from the same dies, as is this one. A fifth was known from an engraving in the 1700s, but has not been seen in centuries. Its current whereabouts are unknown. This coin is likely the only survivor not in a museum.The two-emperors type is later than the other two, of paler/debased gold, and much more common. Some examples are entirely silver. The coin design copies imagery seen on late Roman coins, with two seating figures on the reverse with winged victory in between. This coin was later than the Crondall hoard and not found within, however many single finds are known. I would presume at least 50 specimens exist.Following the pale/debased gold coinage, coins in England would transition to a silver economy, with no circulating gold coins for many centuries to follow. A few rare examples are known from the late Saxon period but these were probably of very limited production. Afterwards, there is a gold penny of Henry III, of which only 8 or 9 are known (one recently sold), then no gold coinage until the time of Edward III (14th c.)The purchasing power of these gold coins is uncertain, but modern scholarship has preferred to call them shillings, rather than thrymsas.Collecting these coins is challenging due to extreme rarity, but a number of different types have been offered for sale in the past few years.

Price: 17500 USD

Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

End Time: 2024-11-17T22:29:37.000Z

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