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William the Conqueror penny expected to sell for thousands Saxon and Norman coins sell for thousands
(about 5 hours later)
A rare silver penny made in Leicester more than 900 years ago is expected to fetch £3,500 at auction. Three rare silver pennies, two Saxon and one Norman, have sold for more than £11,000 at auction.
The coin, which belongs to a British collector, was created in the city by a moneyer named Friothekest between 1066 and 1087. The earlier coins, both made by a moneyer, Wihtred, in Ipswich between 757 and 800 AD, were found separately by metal detectorists in Suffolk.
Coins expert Jon Mann said the penny, which has William the Conqueror on one side and a cross on the other, is of a rare quality. One found near Eye in 2012 sold for £5,500, while another, discovered near Haughley in June, went for £2,200.
The coin is due to be sold by Spink auctioneers in London later. The Norman penny, made in Leicester between 1066 and 1087 and showing William the Conqueror, sold for £3,500.
Mr Mann said: "It is an exciting coin to have and we expect there to be some interest in the item when it comes to auction." The coin found near Eye was made during the reign of the East Anglian King Eadwald and was expected to fetch up to £4,000.
Friothekest, who was probably from Denmark, was a moneyer, a person who oversaw the production of coins. Dr Rory Naismith, author of The Coinage of Southern England 796-865, said the king was known "solely from his coins".
"Friothekest would possibly have been a merchant or an alderman who helped run various boroughs," said Mr Mann. The second penny is thought to have been made during the reign of King Offa, between 757 and 796 AD.
"He would certainly have been a man of some import." The Norman coin, created in the city by a moneyer named Friothekest, met its highest estimated price.
Mr Mann added that it was "rare to see a silver penny of such quality" because in the 11th Century they were cut in half, or even quarters, to make halfpennies and farthings. Coins expert Jon Mann said the penny was of a "rare quality".
About 1,500 people lived in Leicester around 1086, according to the Domesday Book. The coins were sold by specialist auctioneers Spink's in London.