ANGLO-SAXON. Harold II. 1066. AR PAX penny. 1.36 gm. 19 mm. BMC i. PAX type. London mint, Swetman moneyer. Struck 6 January-14 October 1066. Crowned head left, a scepter in front; +HΛROLD REX ANG / PAX across center between two lines; +LEOFSI ON LVND. S. 1186. N. 836. Near Extremely Fine; attractively toned; bold portrait with some double striking; some flatness in strike, not unusual with this issue.

The Freeman Craig Sr. Collection. Ex C. Wolfe 1983.

Harold died at the Battle of Hastings after having been king for only a few months. He was defeated on the south coast where William of Normandy had landed. This coin was struck in the few months prior to Harold's defeat and death at Hastings and signifies the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England. It would be centuries before England's own ruling class would even consider itself English again. A Norman-French elite ruled over a conquered foreign land, also giving rise to a new style of coinage.