England Penny Cnut, 1016–1035, Quatrefoil type, Bath (Aelfric) AU/AU

Prijsbieding

Obv: +CNVT REX ANGLORVM
Rev: +EL FRIC ONB ADA
Moneyer: Aelfric

England / Bath Cnut the Great (1016–1035) Quatrefoil Type Penny – A Numismatic Treasure

Introduction
On offer is this Bath Quatrefoil penny, a characterful piece for the discerning collector. It is catalogued as S.1157 N.781 and weighs 1.12 g. The Quatrefoil type opened the English coinage of the first Danish king of all England. It would make a fine addition to a collection of medieval or regional coinage.

Description
Anglo-Saxon silver penny of Cnut the Great (1016–1035), Quatrefoil type, struck at Bath (BADA) by the moneyer Ælfric (ELFRIC). The obverse presents the crowned bust of Cnut to the left within a quatrefoil, with the royal legend outside it. The reverse shows a long voided cross laid over a quatrefoil, the legend around naming moneyer and mint. As usual, the obverse legend gives the king's name and title, and the reverse the moneyer and the mint. As with all hammered coins, the shape of the flan and the centring give the piece its own individual character. An appealing, honest example whose characteristic design is easy to recognise.

Historical Context
After the deaths of Æthelred II and Edmund Ironside in 1016, the Danish prince Cnut became king of all England, and he later added Denmark (1018) and Norway (1028) to his realm. He kept the English administrative and monetary system and placed his own name and portrait on the coinage. The Quatrefoil type, his first English issue (c. 1017–1023), was struck at a large network of mints. The enormous Danegeld of 1018, over 80,000 pounds, explains why such coins are so frequently found in Scandinavia. Bath in Somerset was a small but steady mint.

Numismatic Details
Like all English coins of the period, this is a silver penny, the only denomination struck in late Anglo-Saxon England. The reverse names the moneyer Ælfric, written ELFRIC on the coin, together with the mint. The reference S.1157 N.781 refers to Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom and North, English Hammered Coinage. Quatrefoil pennies form Cnut's first English type, c. 1017–1023. It is a well-documented type and a fine representative of its series.

Cultural and Political Symbolism
Few medieval coinages expressed royal control as clearly as the English penny around the year 1000. The king's image and name were the same from Cornwall to Northumbria, an everyday reminder of who held power. At the same time, the coins travelled far beyond England, and a penny paid as tribute became a symbol of wealth and prestige in Scandinavia, sometimes worn as jewellery or tested with knife-cuts. The coin is therefore a symbol of both English statecraft and the Viking world that sought its silver. On Cnut's coins a Danish conqueror presents himself fully in the guise of a traditional English king.

Conclusion
We warmly recommend this Bath Quatrefoil penny to every collector of Anglo-Saxon coinage. It tells a story of rulers, towns and trade that still fascinates today. It represents its type in a pleasing and honest way. An opportunity not to be missed.

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