Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3053 17-18 January 2017
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Ireland
Viking Period. Penny (1035-60) MS65 PCGS, SCBC-6132; Dowle/Finn 24. Long voided cross with triple crescent ends, a hand symbol in the first and fourth quarters.
Coinage originated in Ireland around the end of the first millennium, when the king of Dublin, Sihtric III Olafsson, authorized small silver coins to help pay for the town's defense, and the designs of these coins all but copied those from the contemporary Anglo-Saxon kings just to the east, Æthelred II and Cnut, the only real difference being that they were inscribed in Sihtric's name instead. The popularity and recognizability of these issues led to their further production under successive kings of Dublin for the better part of the next two centuries, though the style and production became more schematized and eccentric, with heads turning into virtual stick figures, and inscriptions turning into token slashes and circles, with no attempt made to convey and intelligible message---the public knowing exactly what they were. These pieces emanate from one of the earlier periods during which artistry and design was still desired, a concept which the finished product clearly embodies.
Estimate: 1000-1200 USD
Viking Period. Penny (1035-60) MS65 PCGS, SCBC-6132; Dowle/Finn 24. Long voided cross with triple crescent ends, a hand symbol in the first and fourth quarters.
Coinage originated in Ireland around the end of the first millennium, when the king of Dublin, Sihtric III Olafsson, authorized small silver coins to help pay for the town's defense, and the designs of these coins all but copied those from the contemporary Anglo-Saxon kings just to the east, Æthelred II and Cnut, the only real difference being that they were inscribed in Sihtric's name instead. The popularity and recognizability of these issues led to their further production under successive kings of Dublin for the better part of the next two centuries, though the style and production became more schematized and eccentric, with heads turning into virtual stick figures, and inscriptions turning into token slashes and circles, with no attempt made to convey and intelligible message---the public knowing exactly what they were. These pieces emanate from one of the earlier periods during which artistry and design was still desired, a concept which the finished product clearly embodies.
Estimate: 1000-1200 USD