Aethelred II 'Small CRUX' Silver Penny - London
Aethelred II Silver Penny
Small CRUX
Leofing on London
Extra pellets in C and X quarters
1.35g 18.5mm
Spink - 1149
North - 770 Var
Obverse:
ÆÐELRÆD REX ANGOX. Bust l. sceptre in front, which breaks the drapery.
Reverse:
LIFINC M¯O LVND. Voided short cross, CRVX in angles, extra pellets in C and X quarters.
A few peckmarks otherwise about very fine, toned and very rare.
Of the near 9,250 coins of Aethelred II listed between the EMC and SCBI, only 7 are of this small CRUX issue and no examples of this moneyer. This is in stark contrast to the standard CRUX type with 1,965 examples listed.
For an detailed study of the small CRUX type see:
B, Stewart. (1955-57) ‘The Small Crux issue of Æthelræd II’ British Numismatic Journal, Volume 28, pg 509-17.
"It seems to be worth demonstrating that even in so homogeneous and peculiar an issue as the rare "Small Crux" type, separate (and consistent) die-cutting styles can be distinguished. Coins of this type, identified by Hildebrand as variety Ca, are by no means common, and apart from London and the Kentish mints, they are very seldom met with in this country."
"There is one further peculiarity worthy of remark, viz. the two pellets, in the C and X quarters of the reverse, confined to, I think, and almost invariable on London reverses of the "Small Crux" type. In the British Museum Catalogue, No. 213 appears to be the only one of the type, and has the pellets. Hildebrand, in his later edition, gives 28 London pence of his type Ca, but does not mention any pellets; seven of these are certainly the same as the seven London Ca coins listed in his 1846 edition, all of which have a footnote indicating the two pellets. So presumably, although Hildebrand omits all mention, most of the others in the later edition, or all of them, have the pellets. All the London moneyers listed by H. A. Parsons as issuing "Crux" type coins' with two pellets in the reverse field are to be found in Hildebrand as moneyers of type Ca. The conclusion, I think, is that the two pellets are a deliberate part of the reverse design of London "Crux Ca" dies."
Data sheet
- Metal
- Silver
Specific References