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Sceat Series J ('York'), Type 85
| Issuer | Early Anglo-Saxon |
|---|---|
| Year | 710-760 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 12 mm |
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| Reverse description | A stylised bird depicted in outline faces right, perched above a cross pommée. A pellet within an annulet is placed to either side of the central design, and a quatrefoil of berries appears before the bird's beak. Three tail feathers are rendered below the bird's body, while trefoils occupy the lower angles of the composition, filling the field in a manner typical of the ornate interlace-influenced decorative vocabulary of Northumbrian sceatta coinage. |
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| Mint | York (attributed) |
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| Additional information |
Series J sceats are associated with Northumbrian production, almost certainly York, during a period when the archbishopric there was consolidating ecclesiastical and economic influence simultaneously. The type sits within a broader sceat tradition that saw regional mints operating with considerable autonomy from any central royal authority — which is precisely why attribution has remained contested for decades. Metcalf's numbering reflects successive attempts to organize a chaotic series by die linkage rather than provenance.
These are notably light even by sceat standards, and the silver content drops across the series as the eighth century progresses — a debasement pattern documented across multiple Northumbrian types of this period.