An Anglo-Saxon Gold Coin - So?
Ninth-century gold coin depicting King Coenwulf (796-821) of Mercia (British Museum)
I was wondering why I got so excited reading a piece by Anita Sethi on a medieval coin in The Guardian, Feb 9th 2006. After all, we are only talking a coin, abet a gold one.
Then I thought of diamonds ... and the four C's that so seriously excite - colour, clarity, carats and cut.
So I decided there must be something similar for gold antique coins - perhaps four R's:
- Rarity - only eight British coins are known between 700-1250 and this one has the added excitement of being the oldest known example of gold currency showing a British monarch, with the added bonus of being in near mint condition
- Reference - to a particular historical figure, that is King Coenwulf, the ruler of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia from 796 to 821
- Romance - of gold treasure lost - in antiquity - and found - in Bedford in 2001
- Record - the coin was sold to the British Museum for a world record £357,832
With such high ratings in the four R's, no wonder I was so intrigued by the article!
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