Article
9 August 2023
HAROLD II – A REIGN MARKED BY PAX IF NOT PEACE
The reign of Harold II as King of England was notoriously one of the shortest thanks to the Norman Conquest. At just ten months and nine days, it marked a seminal point in our island nation’s history as it brought Anglo Saxon rule to an end.
Its brevity also means that coins struck for Harold would have been rare to begin with – even more so now after almost 1,000 years. Even so, the reign managed to produce three main coin types, each ironically with PAX on the reverse, bearing in mind the warlike nature of the period.
Of these, one type of silver penny shows the crowned bust of Harold facing left accompanied by a sceptre.
Three examples are offered in this sale, one struck at Hastings by the moneyer Dunning, another minted in Lincoln by Gerefin, the other in Thetford by Godric.
The first has a distinguished provenance dating back to the E.J. Shepherd Collection sold at Sotheby's in 1885. The second is in better than very fine condition and has a strong portrait while the third is weaker about the king’s face but otherwise very fine. The estimates, accordingly, are £6,000-8,000, £3,400-4,000 and £3,000-3,600.
Other rare coins from the era on sale here include a Harold I (1035-40) Long Cross and Fleur-de-lis type silver penny struck in Bristol by Leofwine, guided at £2,000-2,600, and a William I (1066-1087) silver penny, of the Bonnet type, a detectorist find struck at Huntingdon by Godric, at the same estimate.
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