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Cnut


Roerbakmix

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Last week, our fourth child - a son -  was born. Coincidentally, the package containing the coin below arrived at the moment we left to the hospital. It didn't really feel like the best moment to open the package (my wife was having contractions) so I left it unopened (which made me feel very responsible and adult). 

Two days later, I opened the package, and there was Cnut in all his Cnutness, with a lovely golden toning, perfect readable legend, and nice strike (with only one peck mark on the reverse, though I don't mind those).  image.jpeg.ae01bfc9bee7e504f0fd4f261074aa62.jpeg

ANGLO-SAXON, Cnut. Denomination: AR Penny (Short cross type), minted: England, Londen;
Obv: +CNVT . REX A. Diademed bust of Cnut to the left; scepter before.
Rev: +L.EOFPOL.D ON LV: Voided cross.
Weight: 1.17g; Ø:17.5mm. Catalogue: - . Provenance: Bought from J.T.M. van Bergen, who bought it as a lot of three Cnut pennies, which were (allegedly) part of a hoard found in 2014 near the Thames in London (though I couldn't find a PAS registration). ; acq.: 11-2022
 

When I started collecting in 2018, my main focus was Roman coinage. In 2019, I bought a group lot of (the descendants of?) a metal detectorist. This lot contained three anglo-saxon pennies: two of Aethelred, and one of Cnut. The latter turned out to be an extremely rare CNVT REX DAENORVM type. As I focussed on Roman coinage, these coins were of little interest, and I auctioned one Aethelred, and the Cnut (they sold for resp. 200 and 1900 USD, which was a bit less than expected). 

My current focus however is the ~650-800 AD Western Europe coinage (Anglo Saxon, Frisian, Merovingian). The Cnut would have served as a nice coin to mark the end of the collection. I've sold a lot of coins in the process of focussing - but I regretted selling the Cnut more and more, and was on the lookout for a decent replacement. 

Though not rare, this coin is certainly decent. It was offered me as early as 2019, but for a price of €450, it was a bit too expensive. In sept. 2022, I met the dealer in person, and he showed me the Cnut again. It was still €450, however, in hand the patina, strike, and overall sharpness of the coin was just perfect. I hesitated a while (€450 is a lot of money for a non-sceatta coin), but at a moment of weakness following a sleep deprived night, I bought it. 

 Still a lot of money though. 

Anyway, please share the coins that were in the back of your head for a long time until you bought it!

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I'm missing the celebratory-fireworks-like, as I think it would be appropriate for the birth of your son 🙂

Goes for your penny of 'Cnut' too, by the way (I wonder how one should pronounce it...). It's a lovely coin, with attractive (golden?) patina.

17 minutes ago, Roerbakmix said:

Anyway, please share the coins that were in the back of your head for a long time until you bought it!

There are a few coins that are top on my wishlist, that I've been hoping to acquire for a long time. I've missed out one a few of those this year, but mainly due to my own doing because the aureus I got earlier this years ate most of my budget away. But I was lucky to strip off a few nevertheless, one of them being a Galba with an attractive portrait "that does it for me". Ironically, I've been on the look out for a Caracalla denarius and a Hadrian sestertius for a long time. I have a very, very personal requirements; an interesting reverse, and an appealing portrait. Both the denarius and the sestertius are not rare, but finding the right one has proven difficult. In time, I will find one. 

By the way, while typing this, I found out how to pronounce the name: 'kəˈnjuː' with the 'u' as in goose. Thank you wikipedia 🙂

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Congratulations on the birth of your son.  I hope mother and baby are doing well.  

With considerable chagrin I am forced to admit that almost every single coin in my collection has been an impulse buy.  Even worse, many are coin types of which I had been completely or almost completely ignorant before purchasing them.  In my defense, I have generally followed the purchase by educating myself.  I approve the old adage, “Buy the book before the coin,” but in practice have more often reversed the order.                                                                                                                      image.jpeg.099c384cf55be022e3c9e5d281ff007c.jpeg image.jpeg.578f56954960fc362b2c0bd68ac48dc5.jpeg

Here is a coin type I desired for a long time, perhaps 20 years, before purchasing it.  And I had purchased and read the relevant literature long before.  

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@Roerbakmix...Congratulations on your 4th child....

1 hour ago, Roerbakmix said:

Last week, our fourth child - a son -  was born. Coincidentally, the package containing the coin below arrived at the moment we left to the hospital. It didn't really feel like the best moment to open the package (my wife was having contractions) so I left it unopened (which made me feel very responsible and adult). 

What a dilemma!....You did really well...

I would've taken the package just in case there was a pause in the contractions and maybe borrowed a scalpel just to have a quick peak😉..

Great looking coin!...Well centred with lovely toning and detail...

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Congratulations on the new guy, @Roerbakmix!  ...I'm enjoying the thought of you and the Mrs. being in Deep negotiations about whether to give him a numismatic middle name.

And the penny is Brilliant.  Never saw an example as good, on all points.  ...For a coin that took a long time to get, well, most of my best ones are like that.  I have a helmet Cnut along those lines, but between this and the other forum, I'm sure it's been posted a Godzillion times.  (I Really Need peck marks, for that whole extra dimension of, broadly speaking, social history.  Especially if the coin doesn't look like it was the target of a knife-throwing contest!)

This one, of your type, was one that I needed for the Scandinavian moneyer's name, Beorn, in the notoriously Norse and Danish center of York ('EOFER[WIC]').  Right, Siward ('Sigurd' Anglicised) 'the Dane' was Edward the Confessor's Earl here as late as 1055.

image.jpeg.4b47590781c86147c62d3593ded70c1e.jpeg

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Love the toning these pennies sometimes come with...although Stack's descriptions can be a bit over the top.

British Anglo-Saxon, Kings of All England. Cnut, AD 1016-1035. AR Penny (). Pointed Helmet type (BMC xiv, Hild. G). Lincoln mint; Leofwine, moneyer. Struck circa AD 1024-1030. Obv: +CNVT REX ΛN, bust left, wearing pointed helmet; scepter before. Rev: +LIFINE⦂ ON LINCOL.:; voided short cross, limbs united at base by two concentric circles with pellet in center; in each angle, broken annulet enclosing pellet. Ref: North 787; SCBC 1158. Good Very Fine. Stack's note: Shimmering and glistening with a glossy appearance, this specimen offers surfaces that are emblazoned with a mixture of wonderous yellow and red tomes. With bold legends and no die shift, the strike quality is of the highest quality. Only a few light pecks cause the designation, and are inconsequential to the overall beauty. PCGS 172583 Unc Details Gold Shield. Ex Runze Collection. Ex Stacks Jan 2022 NYINC (19 Jan 2022), Lot 7139.

image.jpeg.76d67e0ec26d2bd96be2e92f136adfec.jpeg

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Congrats on the birth of your son!!

The coin is very nice, has a natural patina free from the harsh cleaning so often seen with these late Anglo-Saxon pieces.

Hopefully you are getting a little sleep!  Congrats again!  Don't worry, in a few short years you'll be able to share the hobby with him.

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