ANGLO-SAXON, Pale Gold Phase. Circa 645-665/70. Pale AV Thrymsa – Shilling (12mm, 1.24 g, 6h). Trophy (Constantine variety/‘Oath-taking’) type, Star and Annulets group. Mint in East Anglia.

CNG Feature Auction 114
Lot: 1182. Estimated: $ 5 000

British, Gold

Sold For $ 12 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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ANGLO-SAXON, Pale Gold Phase. Circa 645-665/70. Pale AV Thrymsa – Shilling (12mm, 1.24 g, 6h). Trophy (Constantine variety/‘Oath-taking’) type, Star and Annulets group. Mint in East Anglia. Diademed bust right; cross to left, star-with-annulets [and cross] to right / Roman trophy and captives scene devolved into a trapezoid containing vertical lines, surmounted by pellets, with two crosses below; garbled Latin legend around. Marsden 16–20 (dies 1/S); cf. Sutherland Class IIT.ii; A&W Type V.xxv; MEC 8 table 3, 26a; cf. North 17; SCBC 766. Lightly toned, slightly weak strike on reverse. Good VF. Extremely rare.

From the James & Martha Robertson, purchased from Spink, January 2007.

This coinage was previously classified as the Constantine or ‘Oath-taking’ type, based on a supposed derivation of the obverse type from certain coins of Constantine the Great (cf. Sutherland pp. 39 and 80, and A. Gannon, The Iconography of Early Anglo-Saxon Coinage (Oxford, 2003), p. 65). However, Marsden conclusively argues that the obverse type here is novel, and that the reverse, in fact, is the derived type, taken from late Roman bronzes showing a trophy with two captives below that were struck in London, Lyon, and Trier under Constantine, circa AD 320. These Roman bronzes were still common objects during the 7th century in Britain, and frequently used as pendants. Thus, this coinage should properly be called the Trophy type.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 114 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 13-14 May 2020. This lot is in Session 4, which begins 14 May 2020 at 2 PM ET.

UPDATE: As the CNG staff and many of our clients remain under social distancing and other restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CNG 114 will be held as an internet only auction. The sale will take place as scheduled on 13-14 May 2020.

Winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 22.50% for all others.

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