Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 1350. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ANGLO-SAXON, Primary Sceattas. Circa 680-710. AR Sceat (1.21 g). Series BIIIA, type 27. Mint in Essex or East Anglia. Crude diademed head right; three pellets before; all within serpent-circle / Crude dove standing right on cross; annulets flanking; all within serpent-circle. Beowulf 23 (this coin); Abramson B500; Metcalf 156; North 125 var. (obv. symbol); SCBC 777B. Superb EF, toned. Excellent metal.

From the Beowulf Collection.

The serpent-circle device on the obverses of some Series B and J sceattas was indicative of the magical protective circle that served an apotropaic function (Gannon p. 36). Regarding the reverse, there are multiple varieties of types depicting birds and crosses, all reflecting Christian iconography: the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, and the cross. The diverse array of prototypes, both from numismatics and elsewhere, account for the many variations in their style and presentation (Gannon, pp. 107-112).