Lot 3783
Great Britain. Penny, ND. S.1147; N.769. Aethelred II, the Unready, 978-1016. Benediction Hand type (c.991). 1.66 grams. Moneyer, Leofwine. Lewes mint. Draped bust right, scepter terminating in cross in front, +AEDELRED REX ANGLORX. Reverse :; The hand of God coming down from Heaven and giving Latin Benediction. +LEFPINE M-O LAEP. Lightly toned, one small peck mark in front of face. Extremely Rare. NGC graded About Uncirculated, Details (Peck Marked).
Viking Age Hoards and Late Anglo-Saxon Coins, K. Jonsson, not recorded in the corpus. This interesting type is only known from c.140 specimens, with only three other examples recorded by Jonsson for the rare mint of Lewes.
It has been suggested that the Hand type, of which the Benediction is the rarest variety, was intended to invoke a very strong message to the populace and perhaps even to God. Struck in the last decade before the first millennium, when the shame of Aethelred's succession achieved through fratricide and regicide was still felt and millenarian fears about the end of the world found substance in ever increasing pagan Viking raids on the country, the type portrays the manus dei (hand of God).
This divine presence can be seen in many different ways: passing judgment on the sinful, foretelling the end of the world, in supporting the succession of Aethelred or in the case of the Benediction type in directly invoking the assistance of God. A Benediction in the Catholic liturgy (Latin: bene, well + dicere, to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of a service. The manus dei had of course been used as a coin type in England during the ninth century but in advance of the first millennium it was perhaps more relevant than ever.
Estimated Value $6,000-UP.
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| Realized $7,931 |
