ANGLO-SAXON, Anglo-Viking (Hiberno-Norse Northumbria). Anlaf Guthfrithsson. 939-941. AR Penny (20mm, 1.23 g, 1h). York mint; Athelferd, moneyer. + A·NL··ΛF CVNVNC ·, raven with wings displayed, head left / + A·ÐEL·FERD MIHET, small cross pattée. CTCE group IV; cf. SCBI 34 (BM), 1237-43 (for type); North 537; SCBC 1019. Toned. EF. Very rare.
From the Sidney W. Harl & Kenneth W. Harl Collection, purchased from J. Linzalone. Ex St. James 24 (23 September 2013), lot 9.
A remarkable coin struck by Anlaf in York, after he seized the Northumbrian kingdom on the death of Aethelstan in 939. Described by Grierson’s protégé Mark Blackburn as ‘one of the most dramatic coin designs in the English series,’ on the obverse we find a raven with outstretched wings, a classic Viking symbol. This symbolism could, according to Blackburn, dually also serve in a Christian context. For, “the raven is [also] associated with Saint Oswald (a Northumbrian royal saint) ... [Thus one] can speculate whether the designers were subtly appealing to a dual audience.”
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