Silver gilt coin brooch, formed from a silver penny of Edward the Confessor, Anglo-Saxon, about 1053-1056AD, found by metal detector at Denmead Farm, Denmead, Hampshire. Now in four fragments, forming a nearly complete coin when reassembled, apart from a small sliver from the centre, and a further fragment missing from the edge. The reverse has been gilded, and brooch fittings attached by rivets. One end of the brooch fitting remains in fragmentary form, but only the rivets survive at the other end. The coin is a silver penny of the pointed helmet type, about 1053-56, issued by the moneyer Aestan of Winchester.
Coin brooch
Anglo-Saxon, about 1055AD
Found by a metal detectorist at Denmead, Hampshire in 2006
In the years either side of the Norman conquest it was fashionable to wear brooches made from the coins of the day. Four fragments remain of this brooch, which form a nearly complete coin when reassembled. The decorative cross on the reverse of the coin was gilded to form the visible face of the brooch. Only a small fragment of the backplate and several rivets remain of the brooch fittings. The coin used is a silver penny of King Edward the Confessor, which was minted in Winchester by the moneyer Aestan in about 1053-56.
Portable Antiquities Scheme reference SUSS-E28AA4.
