Series K, type 32a. -

Anglo-Saxon England, Secondary Series (710-760), Sceat, Series K, type 32a, diademed and draped bust right, smooth folds, wreath knot behind, cupping cross pommée before, pellet at foot of cross, framed in beaded 'keyhole', rev. serpent headed coiled lion, priapic, curled fore and hind limbs, lines and pellets form fur behind, 0.87g, 90° (SL 40-20 plate coin; SCBI 69, 418 this coin; Abramson, 2012a, Fig 18; 2012b, plate; T&S pp. 395-402, 307-10; Gannon 35, 71, 72, 131, 137, 139-40, 175, 187-8, and Figs. 2.15, 2.48a, 4.44, 4.46b, 4.47, 6.1; Spink 803C plate coin).

Images and selected text reproduced by kind permission of Spink and Son Ltd, London, auction 21000, The Tony Abramson Collection of Dark Age Coinage - Part I, March 18th 2021, lot #191.  Provenance: A Gillis, 2006 ~ Found at West Rasen (Lincolnshire).

The smooth folds of the drapery are tactile, resulting in a masterpiece of early Anglo-Saxon art. The fully-formed reverse animal has a hint of the priapic.