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LOT 1665
Viking Age Silver 'Currency' Ingot
CIRCA 9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D. OR LATER
1 1/4 in. (32 grams, 30 mm).
A hacked irregular hammered silver ingot, probably melted down loot creating a monetised piece of 'Hack' for Viking trade; X-ray Fluorescence analysis provides the following results: Ag (91.7%), Cu (4.09%), Fe (3.69%), Zn (0.19%), Au (0.19%), Pb (0.13%). [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx property of a UK gallery, early 2000s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
See Hårdh, B., Silver in the Viking Age. A Regional-Economic Study, Acta Archaeologica Lundensia no.25, Stockholm, 1996; Blackburn, M., Viking Coinage and Currency in the British Isles, London, 2011.
FootnotesIngots of gold and silver were regularly produced in the Early Medieval period when trade took place between monetised economies (Anglo-Saxon England, Francia, Frisia) and their non-monetised neighbours in southern Scandinavia (Blackburn, 2011). Ingots were a convenient means of storing wealth which could be converted into display items (weapon fittings, clothing fasteners, tableware) or used to gild silver and bronze items (Hårdh, 1996).
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Scandinavian Pre-Viking Bronze Patrix Die with God and Drinking Horn
4th-5th century A.D.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
Modelled in the half-round, advancing figure with bent legs and holding a drinking horn. 7.62 grams, 37 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Viking Bronze Scales Set
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
Comprising: articulated arms for a scale balance with spike gnomon and loop handle; two hemispherical bowls each with suspension holes at the rim, four short chains connected to a hemispherical distributor with triangular dangle below. 53.5 grams, 45 cm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Borre Style Strap End
Circa 800-1000 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Tongue-shaped with Borre style interlaced decoration in high-relief; Thomas Class E, Type 4. 16.6 grams, 41 mm
Found Belchamp Otten, Braintree, Essex, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.ESS-5F1A67. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
