Spink Sells Rare Gold Solidus
British
treasure hunters continue to strike it rich. The latest significant find consists of an extremely rare ninth
century Anglo-Frisian gold solidus.
It
was brought into Spink earlier this year by a lady who uncovered it in a field
near Salisbury, England, in March. Once the earth had been dusted from the coin's face, she knew she had scored
something special. On June 25 it was sold by Spink for a tidy £9,300.
Most
of the coinage struck in Northern Europe and England in the ninth century was
silver. Back in 793 C.E. Charlemagne had put the finances of his empire on a
silver standard and introduced his new heavy penny. This and its imitations
became the coin of choice in ninth century trade and commerce.
Charlemagne's
son, Louis the Pius, reintroduced the gold
solidus c. 816 C.E., although quite why is still debated. Nonetheless, his
new coin became widely copied, particularly in northern Europe where its
imitations joined the other relatively few gold coins produced.
Today
about 100 examples of ninth century European gold coins are known. Most come
from finds on mainland Europe. Examples from England are extremely rare but
include two specifically struck in the name of English rulers Coenwulf of
Mercia and Archbishop Wigmund of York. However, the majority of these coins are
imitations of Louis' gold solidus and the present coin is the seventh such
example found in England.
In
some respect the new coin resembles the Coenwulf
mancus sold in 2006 for £357,832. They have similar weights: 4.42 grams for
the solidus and 4.33 grams for the mancus. Other English-found imitation solidi
range from 4.30 to 4.56 grams in weight. A gold mancus, by the way, was worth 30
silver pennies.
Among
the English finds of gold solidi imitating those of Louis, three share the same
dies, suggesting they were produced in England. The new coin has similarities
to these three English coins but differs insofar as the wreath, bust and
inscriptions are far better executed. But, it too may well have been struck in
England.
The
Spink catalog entry reads: "Anglo-Frisian,
Solidus, 4.42g, c.825-850, imitating a Solidus, c.816, of Louis the Pious
(814-840), laureate, draped bust right with long vertical bar for nose, fine
hairlines, inverted trefoil for eye, dn lvvdovs inii avg, (dn lvdovicvs imp
avg), rev. suspended wreath containing a large cross pattée linked to wreath on
vertical axis, nivnivio ivnvm (mvnus divinvm) (Grierson Group III- cf Paris,
Bibliotheque Nationale, Prou, no. 1075- different dies), in good style, with
high gold content, creasing from coin having been straightened, very fine, an
example of a ninth century gold coin
from Anglo-Saxon England, only one other known of this type, extremely
rare."
The
term Anglo-Frisian, by the way, refers to a group of Germanic people who spoke
closely related languages that include Old English and Old Frisian. They lived
around the coasts of The Netherlands and Germany. Many migrated to England in
the middle ages, bringing words like "cheese" and "church,"
as well as a penchant for gold coins imitating those of Louis the Pious.
Source: numismaster.com