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Auction 15006 22-23 September 2015
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Cnut (1016-35), Penny, 1.32g, Quatrefoil type, Torksey, Thorcetel, +cnvt rex anglorvm:., crowned bust left within quatrefoil, rev. +Ðvrcetel o tor, long cross voided on quatrefoil with pellets on cusps, (Blackburn & Lyon York 'e/main group' style - reverse copula rendered as 'o' known to B&L at York; SCBI 15 Copenhagen, No 3880 - same dies; N.781; S.1157), pecks and with areas of weak striking but a full piece with a well-presented and archetypal North-Eastern style portrait, lightly toned and the Torksey mint signature on this fully legible, nearly very fine and an excessively rare Scandinavian striking from 'English' dies.
Scholars such as Blackburn, Dolley and Malmer have long argued that dies were removed from English mints and employed abroad. It is well documented that dies from the York mint were taken to Dublin and vice versa. Indeed dies from Watchet, Worcester and Chester were also known to have been taken to the Irish sea port. However, taking York as a case in point, evidence shows that irons cut at this die-cutting centre were removed and utilised in southern Scandinavia. Blackburn & Lyon (1986) elucidate; 'A number of dies used in Scandinavia were official English ones which had been transported from mints or die-cutting centres in eastern England. They include dies of York, Lincoln, Thetford, and London styles, and the Lincoln die-cutter even produced special dies with Cnut's Danish title.'. During Cnut's reign dies intended for use at the Lincolnshire mint of Torksey were cut at both the York and Lincoln centres. However, due to the predominance of Scandinavian finds, certain die-links, and variations in weight, it appears that the York-cut dies intended for the Torksey mint were never utilised there. In an article entitled 'Some Scandinavian coins in the name of Aethelred, Cnut, and Harthacnut' (BNJ1960-61) Michael Dolley noted multiple die links involving this solitary pair of York-cut dies of Torksey with other dies of undoubtable Scandinavian origin. Therefore, these dies, originally intended for the Torksey mint and of archetypal York style and epigraphy continued to be used indiscriminately after becoming separated. Only a handful of specimens were struck from this single pair of dies before they were dispersed and thus they are excessively rare to the market. Indeed the insight into travelling die-cutters in the North East of England during Cnut's reign, as provided by these coins, is remarkably valuable to the numismatist and academic alike.
Further reading:
M.A.S. Blackburn and C.S.S. Lyon 'Regional die-production in Cnut's Quatrefoil issue', in M.A.S. Blackburn and M. Dolley (eds), 'Anglo-Saxon Monetary History, 1986, Leicester University Press
R.H.M. Dolley, C.S.S. Lyon, and G Van Der Meer 'Some scandindinavian coins in the names of Aethelred, Cnut, and Harthacnut attributed by Hildebrand to English mints' in British Numismatic Journal, 1960-61, Vol.XXX, British Numismatic Society
(£2,000 - £3,000)
Scholars such as Blackburn, Dolley and Malmer have long argued that dies were removed from English mints and employed abroad. It is well documented that dies from the York mint were taken to Dublin and vice versa. Indeed dies from Watchet, Worcester and Chester were also known to have been taken to the Irish sea port. However, taking York as a case in point, evidence shows that irons cut at this die-cutting centre were removed and utilised in southern Scandinavia. Blackburn & Lyon (1986) elucidate; 'A number of dies used in Scandinavia were official English ones which had been transported from mints or die-cutting centres in eastern England. They include dies of York, Lincoln, Thetford, and London styles, and the Lincoln die-cutter even produced special dies with Cnut's Danish title.'. During Cnut's reign dies intended for use at the Lincolnshire mint of Torksey were cut at both the York and Lincoln centres. However, due to the predominance of Scandinavian finds, certain die-links, and variations in weight, it appears that the York-cut dies intended for the Torksey mint were never utilised there. In an article entitled 'Some Scandinavian coins in the name of Aethelred, Cnut, and Harthacnut' (BNJ1960-61) Michael Dolley noted multiple die links involving this solitary pair of York-cut dies of Torksey with other dies of undoubtable Scandinavian origin. Therefore, these dies, originally intended for the Torksey mint and of archetypal York style and epigraphy continued to be used indiscriminately after becoming separated. Only a handful of specimens were struck from this single pair of dies before they were dispersed and thus they are excessively rare to the market. Indeed the insight into travelling die-cutters in the North East of England during Cnut's reign, as provided by these coins, is remarkably valuable to the numismatist and academic alike.
Further reading:
M.A.S. Blackburn and C.S.S. Lyon 'Regional die-production in Cnut's Quatrefoil issue', in M.A.S. Blackburn and M. Dolley (eds), 'Anglo-Saxon Monetary History, 1986, Leicester University Press
R.H.M. Dolley, C.S.S. Lyon, and G Van Der Meer 'Some scandindinavian coins in the names of Aethelred, Cnut, and Harthacnut attributed by Hildebrand to English mints' in British Numismatic Journal, 1960-61, Vol.XXX, British Numismatic Society
(£2,000 - £3,000)