Grimulfr

A recent purchase for me (uncharacteristically) was also an Edward I penny. This won't grade as well as your Canterbury but it is from a rarer mint (Berwick-on-Tweed) where the coins were struck from local dies. It was the coin's provenance that really interested me - it is from J.J. North's collection (North wrote the book on English Hammered Coinage, as well as a book Edwardian silver)... anyone else like to collect collectors?

Thanks @Roerbakmix - I hadn't seen the detail of the subcategories from JMP 2003 previously, only references to them in catalogue descriptions so your post is very helpful. The only example I have from this series is the coin below from Tony Abramson's collection - the Spink catalogue lists this as Series D type 2c subgroup 4c, presumably on the basis of the decorative motif beneath the bust. The striking feature though is the elongated chin which reminds me of an iconic beard from ancient Egypt (c.f. the postiche from the mummy of Tutankhamun). Undoubtedly this resemblance is incidental but I would be interested if anyone has die match for this obverse.

No, it wasn't me but would be very interested in the post if you do find it. Are there any facing bust issues in the Ottonian series that pre-date this coin?

A very enlightening post - many thanks @JeandAcre. I'm intrigued by the Heinrich II coin of Strasbourg which has the magnificent facing bust on the obverse; there are some wonderful tenth century episcopal coins from Strasbourg - although no bishop is named on this coin, could this be a joint regnal/ episcopal issue?

I haven't often delved into this work but it is difficult to navigate. Clearly not as handsome as @Anaximander's hardbound set, @JeandAcre there is a 2002 reprint which CGB have for sale, with a short but interesting overview by Paul Delorme https://www.cgbfr.com/poey-davant-ii-les-monnaies-feodales-de-france-poey-davant-faustin,lp12,a.html

@Anaximander your "Guthrum' type is a very nice example. The early Anglo-Scandinavian coinage of York is a wonderful series - here's one of my best with a plain cross on the obverse and an 'Ebraice Civitas' reverse legend (S.989), formerly in the Andrew Wayne and Lockett collections:

Thanks @Anaximander - super useful, I'm going to bookmark this thread. There is also a newly-published SCBI 73 which I've not seen yet... SCBI 73: Manx Museum, Douglas, Isle of Man. Anglo-Saxon, Hiberno-Scandinavian, Hiberno-Manx and Other Coins and Currencies (to c. 1275). Kristin Bornholdt Collins

Thanks @Anaximander - that's a really good strike on your Phase III coin! Strangely, the Copenhagen plate coin 30 looks to display a pellet in the third quarter of the reverse which Blackburn doesn't list, he has it listed this as second quarter. I may have crossed wires though as to which quarter 1 is supposed to be - I presume it to be upper left quadrant but sometimes I see people refer to upper right quadrant as the first quarter (as on a clockface?)…

Some of the Hibero-Norse portraits really are very characterful! No @JeandAcre my coin not listed but it follows the coins of Reverse 3 which he noted. I've copied extract below from SCMB (https://archive.org/details/seabyscoinmedalb1977base_z7b6/page/348/mode/2up):

Great thread @JeandAcre. Following @Anaximander's wonderful Forkbeard Crux type penny, here's another that's not as pretty but which imitates Aethelred's Long Cross type. It too was struck using a York reverse die (moneyer Eadric): The following penny from across the Irish sea is far more handsome. Mark Blackburn speculated this may have been minted in York using a Hiberno-Norse obverse die but it is usually classed as part of the first phase of the coinage of Sihtric III Olafsson of Dublin (aka Siggtryg Silkbeard) and is thought to have been struck c. 1000-10. [both coins from CNG]

Wonderful collection @Nap - the designs of many Offa pennies are mesmerising. I love the uncial M that denotes Mercian coinage. I cannot think of another letter/ character on a coinage that is so indicative of its origin. My collection is sadly lacking in Mercian pennies - this Northumbrian styca of Aethelred II is the only coin I have with an uncial M and the Mercian coinage must have inspired the moneyer Leofthegn…

This is an interesting debate and I confess to not properly understanding the role of lead isotopes in the analysis - would the lead not have been sourced separately to the silver? - which clearly serves to confirm my lack of scientific understanding! The research was widely covered in the UK press and orginates from an article in Antiquity (open access here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/byzantine-plate-and-frankish-mines-the-provenance-of-silver-in-northwest-european-coinage-during-the-long-eighth-century-c-660820/EE2DE1D7955D055FA4225257755BF340) but the following abstract gives a clearer summary of the study: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3fba9aa7-163b-49f0-b883-d14c74a323c4/files/rp8418n97k. Obviously there was a lot of Byzantine silver plate, spoons et al in the Sutton Hoo burial (which tends to dominate public narratives around Anglo-Saxons in the UK!) and I think that there were similar treasures in the Prittlewell Hoard. I agree with @John Conduitt that in many respects, the analysis raises more questions than it answers - what would explain a large import/ stocks of Byzantine silver in the preceding period to fuel the mintage of the sceatta coinage? Could ecclesiastical plate from the Eastern empire really have provided such a large volume of silver given that Christianity had only been recently re-introduced to Britain? What happened to existing silver (including Western Roman silver) that may have been in circulation/ re-circulation? I don't have any suggestions but I am enjoying the questions it raises and the focus it places on early medieval coinage of nothern Europe.

Fyi - the Solidus Numismatik lot sold for €5k.

That's a lovely example @JeandAcre. The early Viking coinage from Scandinavia is stunning but I am concerned at some recent pieces - please take care. The following (spectacular and extremely rare) early Danish coin from Hedeby was for sale in Bruun Rasmussen's sale last weekend (Auction 916 lot 59 on 7 Nov 23): The coin had a starting price of 70,000 DKK (c. US$10k) but did not sell. Today, Solidus Numismatik list the following coin in their Auction 126 on 21 Nov 23, lot 1191 with a starting bid at EUR1800 : The coincidence of these coins appearing for sale in such proximity seems a red flag to me. These coins show signs of false distress and the similarities between the two seem incredible for hammered coins (even if struck from the same dies). I wonder whether some reputable auction houses may be offering these for sale without seriously challenging their origin; I do not mean to question any of the wonderful and provenanced coins in the Peter Preuss collection that were sold in the same BR auction.

Some of those Type J sceats are wonderful and the plumed bird Type E is very well stuck. The toning of these coins make it appear as if they have been in a collector's cabinet for a long time, not freshly dug from the ground. A continental collection? Congratulations Roerbakmix!