Solidus Cross on Steps type

Obverse description	Diademed and cuirassed bust facing right, derived from late Roman imperial prototypes of the 4th century. The effigy is rendered in a degenerate style characteristic of early Anglo-Saxon gold coinage, retaining the broad outlines of Roman imperial portraiture while exhibiting increasingly stylized facial features and drapery. A diadem is discernible across the brow, and the cuirass is suggested by schematic chest detailing. The surrounding legend, retrograde and garbled, reflects the gradual loss of literacy among die-cutters copying Roman or Byzantine prototypes.
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Reverse description	A stepped cross (Cross on Steps) occupies the central field, a motif introduced to Byzantine coinage by Emperor Heraclius in the early 7th century and subsequently adopted by Anglo-Saxon moneyers copying continental and Byzantine gold coinage. The cross rises from a three-stepped base (Golgotha steps), rendered in a bold but increasingly schematic manner. The surrounding legend is corrupt and largely unintelligible, reflecting the degraded epigraphic tradition of early insular gold coinage. The overall composition closely follows Byzantine solidus types circulating in western Europe during this period.
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Edge	Plain
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