Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 43 25 Mar 2020
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British Coins, Aethelred II (978-1016), penny, Agnus Dei type, Leicester, Aethelwig, + æÐELRæD REX ANGLORVM, Agnus Dei standing right, AGN (GN ligate) on tablet below, rev. + æÐELPI LEHERACESTR, dove with wings outspread flying upwards, wt. 1.46gms. (BMC type X; Hildebrand type G; Keynes and Naismith no. 13; S.1156; N.776), small chip to edge, fine to very fine, very rare
The property of a Suffolk gentleman
Only twenty one Agnus Dei pennies are recorded in the Corpus, and of the entire corpus only three are in private hands. This is a coin of extreme rarity and immense historical importance.
The most recent review of the Agnus Dei coins of Æthelred is by Simon Keynes and Rory Naismith: 'The Agnus Dei pennies of King Æthelred the Unready', in Anglo-Saxon England, vol. 40 (2011), pp.175-223. This includes an illustrated listing of the 21 known examples. There is one other coin in the corpus by this moneyer (Æthelwig at Leicester) - a pierced example in the Estonian History Museum - making this coin the second known example.
There have been two Agnus Dei pennies offered at auction in London recently, one sold in Spink Auction 124, 18-19 November 1997, lot 2197, for a total of £9,680. The second, also at Spink (3rd July 2018, lot 179), is a pierced example which sold for £18,000 (hammer price). Both examples can be viewed in the literature from Keynes and Naismith detailed below, numbers 20 and 4 respectively.
The Agnus Dei pennies present a significant change and alteration in the style of both obverse and reverse. They differ considerably from previous types, which commonly featured a portrait to one side and religious symbolism to the other, in the form of a cross. Instead you see a shift to total religious iconography. Why such a shift occurs is difficult to confirm, whether such coinage was meant as a 'special type' or an introduction to a new coinage. What can be said however is that the Agnus Dei pennies were a manifestation of the wide-set political troubles of the time, combined with underlying religious justification. The widely accepted date of their formulation has been given as 1009.
The rarity of the Agnus Dei pennies is two-fold, both for the scarcity of finds recorded but also for its departure from standard imagery. On one side we see a depiction of the Lamb of God and to the other, a dove; a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The two symbols were familiar to the larger consensus, appearing in the Gospel passage of St. John (chapter 1, verse 29) and repeated within the Roman Mass. The important passage reads: 'The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
The Lamb of God represented the sanctified image of Christ's sacrificial death, his saving of the Christian world. The dove, in turn, represented the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the symbol of peace. The image of the Lamb of God, whilst familiar, was not produced iconographically on a widespread scale until the end of the 10th century, meaning a shift in the religious and cultural landscape had taken place. It has been argued and viewed on favourably, that the approaching Millennium, at the end of the 10th century, likely caused such a shift. Likewise, political instability and a time of great uncertainty had also added to the upheaval. The threat of Viking expansion and conquest had been active since 991 with a brief respite in 1005 when the invading force departed back to Scandinavia. This relief was short-lived when another invading army arrived in 1006, known as 'Thorkel's army'. A period of raiding, pillaging and ravaging followed, with the Viking army moving across England to Kent. The struggle came to a head in 1011 when the Archbishop Ælfheah, Archbishop of Canterbury, was captured and later murdered in 1012 by the Viking army. He died, having refused ransom, beheaded as a martyr for his country and people. The image of the sacrificial lamb compares significantly. Furthermore, it could be suggested that the lamb of God, cast upon the Agnus Dei penny, was a resonant message of sacrifice. A perfect metaphor for Æthelred and by expansion, the English army. The end result - a lasting peace, again symbolised by the fluttering wings of a dove.
Mention of the approaching Millennium has already been made. The resulting rise in the Lamb of God iconography is evident not only in the pennies, but also in other artistic outlets. Examples of brooches bearing the symbol have been found in England and show a progression of its use. The Lamb of God, in a time of cultural significance, was being used as a symbol of deliverance. This alteration is significant when one looks at the number of Agnus Dei pennies found. No fewer than 10 of those found have been pierced, meaning they were intended to be worn and not just simply used as monetary value. Whilst making coins into jewellery is not unusual, the proportion of damaged or mounted examples is beyond parallel in the Saxon series. Well over half the extant examples are mounted, pierced, broken or chipped. The symbolism attached to the penny shows a far greater importance than simply being a rare coin type. This can also be supported by the fact that Agnus Dei type imitations have been found in Scandinavia, Sweden and Denmark. And whilst the legends of such imitations were for the most part nonsense they show that the symbolism had profound devotional meaning, just as the original had been intended.
Literature: Keynes and Naismith, 'The Agnus Dei pennies of King Æthelred the Unready', in Anglo-Saxon England, vol. 40 (2011)
(10000-15000 GBP)
The property of a Suffolk gentleman
Only twenty one Agnus Dei pennies are recorded in the Corpus, and of the entire corpus only three are in private hands. This is a coin of extreme rarity and immense historical importance.
The most recent review of the Agnus Dei coins of Æthelred is by Simon Keynes and Rory Naismith: 'The Agnus Dei pennies of King Æthelred the Unready', in Anglo-Saxon England, vol. 40 (2011), pp.175-223. This includes an illustrated listing of the 21 known examples. There is one other coin in the corpus by this moneyer (Æthelwig at Leicester) - a pierced example in the Estonian History Museum - making this coin the second known example.
There have been two Agnus Dei pennies offered at auction in London recently, one sold in Spink Auction 124, 18-19 November 1997, lot 2197, for a total of £9,680. The second, also at Spink (3rd July 2018, lot 179), is a pierced example which sold for £18,000 (hammer price). Both examples can be viewed in the literature from Keynes and Naismith detailed below, numbers 20 and 4 respectively.
The Agnus Dei pennies present a significant change and alteration in the style of both obverse and reverse. They differ considerably from previous types, which commonly featured a portrait to one side and religious symbolism to the other, in the form of a cross. Instead you see a shift to total religious iconography. Why such a shift occurs is difficult to confirm, whether such coinage was meant as a 'special type' or an introduction to a new coinage. What can be said however is that the Agnus Dei pennies were a manifestation of the wide-set political troubles of the time, combined with underlying religious justification. The widely accepted date of their formulation has been given as 1009.
The rarity of the Agnus Dei pennies is two-fold, both for the scarcity of finds recorded but also for its departure from standard imagery. On one side we see a depiction of the Lamb of God and to the other, a dove; a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The two symbols were familiar to the larger consensus, appearing in the Gospel passage of St. John (chapter 1, verse 29) and repeated within the Roman Mass. The important passage reads: 'The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
The Lamb of God represented the sanctified image of Christ's sacrificial death, his saving of the Christian world. The dove, in turn, represented the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the symbol of peace. The image of the Lamb of God, whilst familiar, was not produced iconographically on a widespread scale until the end of the 10th century, meaning a shift in the religious and cultural landscape had taken place. It has been argued and viewed on favourably, that the approaching Millennium, at the end of the 10th century, likely caused such a shift. Likewise, political instability and a time of great uncertainty had also added to the upheaval. The threat of Viking expansion and conquest had been active since 991 with a brief respite in 1005 when the invading force departed back to Scandinavia. This relief was short-lived when another invading army arrived in 1006, known as 'Thorkel's army'. A period of raiding, pillaging and ravaging followed, with the Viking army moving across England to Kent. The struggle came to a head in 1011 when the Archbishop Ælfheah, Archbishop of Canterbury, was captured and later murdered in 1012 by the Viking army. He died, having refused ransom, beheaded as a martyr for his country and people. The image of the sacrificial lamb compares significantly. Furthermore, it could be suggested that the lamb of God, cast upon the Agnus Dei penny, was a resonant message of sacrifice. A perfect metaphor for Æthelred and by expansion, the English army. The end result - a lasting peace, again symbolised by the fluttering wings of a dove.
Mention of the approaching Millennium has already been made. The resulting rise in the Lamb of God iconography is evident not only in the pennies, but also in other artistic outlets. Examples of brooches bearing the symbol have been found in England and show a progression of its use. The Lamb of God, in a time of cultural significance, was being used as a symbol of deliverance. This alteration is significant when one looks at the number of Agnus Dei pennies found. No fewer than 10 of those found have been pierced, meaning they were intended to be worn and not just simply used as monetary value. Whilst making coins into jewellery is not unusual, the proportion of damaged or mounted examples is beyond parallel in the Saxon series. Well over half the extant examples are mounted, pierced, broken or chipped. The symbolism attached to the penny shows a far greater importance than simply being a rare coin type. This can also be supported by the fact that Agnus Dei type imitations have been found in Scandinavia, Sweden and Denmark. And whilst the legends of such imitations were for the most part nonsense they show that the symbolism had profound devotional meaning, just as the original had been intended.
Literature: Keynes and Naismith, 'The Agnus Dei pennies of King Æthelred the Unready', in Anglo-Saxon England, vol. 40 (2011)
(10000-15000 GBP)