Sale: CNG 75, Lot: 1390. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 May 2007.  Sold For $1900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ANGLO-SAXON, Secondary Sceattas. Circa 710-725. AR Sceat (1.08 g, 10h). Series J, type 85. Mint in Northumbria. Diademed head right; double border / Outline bird right on cross; quatrefoil before, annulets and trefoils flanking. Beowulf 54 (this coin); Abramson J110; Metcalf 293; North 128; SCBC 791. Superb EF, toned. Struck on a broad flan with great metal.

From the Beowulf Collection.

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).