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JAARBOEK VOOR MUNT- EN PENNINGKUNDE The Monetary Economy of the Netherlands, c. 690 - c. 715 and the Trade with England: A Study of the Sceattas of Series D. 90 2003 KONINKLIJK NEDERLANDS GENOOTSCHAP VOOR MUNT- EN PENNINGKUNDE AMSTERDAM commissie van redactie drs N.L.M. Arkesteijn, Delft E.J.A. van Beek, Sint-Michielsgestel drs M.L.F. van der Beek, Het Geldmuseum, Utrecht dr W. Op den Velde, Elim drs A. Pol, Rijksmuseum, Het Geldmuseum, Utrecht redactieadres P/a Het Geldmuseum Postbus 2407 3500 GK Utrecht 030-2910492 kopij-richtlijnen op te vragen bij de redactie ISSN 0920-380-X uitgave © 2007 Koninklijk Nederlands Genootschap voor Munt- en Penningkunde, Amsterdam illustratieverantwoording Tenzij anders vermeld, zijn foto's beschikbaar gesteld door Het Geldmuseum. druk Peeters, Leuven The Monetary Economy of the Netherlands, c. 690 - c. 715 and the Trade with England: A Study of the Sceattas of Series D. W. Op den Velde and D.M. Metcalf Table of contents Foreword vn INTRODUCTION The place of Series D in the sceatta coinage 1 The development of the designs in Series D 4 Imitations and counterfeits 9 Modern forgeries 17 Overview of earlier studies 20 THE STUDY Compilation of a die-corpus 28 A stylistic classification of Series D 29 Die-estimation 44 Metrology 46 The metal contents of Series D 55 Overview of the finds of Series D 59 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Chronology 70 Estimation of the volume of the Series D coinage 74 The obverse/reverse die ratio 76 The survival rate 79 The mint-place(s) of Series D 82 Regional analysis and regression analysis of single finds of Series D in England 97 Export coinages for the trade with England 109 Historical perspectives created by the sceattas of Series D 113 Literature 120 Appendices I Die-corpus 125 II Alphabetical listing of provenances 154 Acknowledgements 158 The authors 159 Summary 160 Samenvatting 162 Table of contents Plates 1-33 Drawings of die-linked specimens 164 34-46 Photographs of Series D coins in the Remmerden hoard 197 47-48 Photographs of Type 2c sub-varieties 3g - 4c 210 Foreword In an enjoyable collaboration spread over three years we have exchanged ideas, back and forth, and have gradually clarified our judgement about the interpre­ tation of the very plentiful sceattas known to numismatists as Series D. The heart of the project, on which all our analyses depend, is a die-corpus of more than a thousand specimens, gathered from museums and collections far and wide. Classifying all these coins into varieties and sub-varieties was a daunt­ ing task, calling for determination and persistence. Checking them all against each other in order to establish exactly how many were die-duplicates, and how many different dies were known, was even more exacting. Once all this basic work was completed, many possibilities for analysing the data were opened up. In particular, the numerous specimens that have been recovered in the last twenty years or so by metal detectorists, and kindly reported to the curatorial staff of national and other museums, have created a large random sample of single finds - coins that were accidentally lost by their owners, no doubt much to their exasperation. These single finds of Series D are scattered all over the Netherlands, and all over England too. Just because they are random losses, they can be used to reconstruct the composition of the currency from which they fell out. They make possible regional comparisons, both within the Netherlands, and between the Netherlands and England. We cannot over-emphasize the sci­ entific importance of randomness of the database. The coins are evidence, first and foremost, of economic activity and of inter­ regional trade. They add a new and completely independent perspective to what (little) is known about the history of the Netherlands in the time of Radbod. The sceattas of Series D were no respecters of political frontiers. They are found in abundance in both Frisian and Frankish-controlled territory - and our classification into varieties allows us to establish as a fact, that the coins from the same mint-place circulated both in Friesland and in the region of the big rivers. The emporia of Domburg and Dorestad have usually figured prominently in the comments of general historians of the early middle ages. Our analysis of the single finds creates a wider and much more detailed geographical perspective. Wijnaldum and Katwijk come into consideration, but above all a thick carpet of accidental losses in small settlements through the countryside. The question of the place(s) of production of the Series D varieties proved to be far from simple, and it may be approached in two ways. One is to be very reticent, and to avoid or postpone most conclusions, because the data are still inconclusive. The other approach is, on the basis of the limited facts, to describe the most likely possibilities at this moment. The first approach is scientific, safe and also very boring. The latter is more risky, but stimulating and also sound from a scientific point of view. We have deliberately chosen the second approach, and in the text the strong and weak points of the hypotheses we have generated are clearly discussed. New coin finds come to light year by year and, thanks to the cooperation of detectorists and archaeologists, they are being faithfully and reliably recorded. We have tried to be forward-looking, and to present our research in such a way that others can build on it in the future. The place of Series D in the sceatta coinage Around 670 in Merovingian Gaul as well as in England, the gold tremisses, which had been the standard currency for more than a hundred years, and which eventually had become severely debased, were replaced by coins of similar weight and module struck in fine silver. This major coinage reform thus saw the birth of the silver penny which became the standard denomination through­ out most of Europe in the Middle Age. In their earliest form these Merovingian, Frisian, and Anglo-Saxon pennies of small and thick module were the only denomination of coin in north-western Europe. They were abundant in north­ ern Gaul, the Low Countries and southern Britain, and they were carried as far afield as Switzerland, Scandinavia, Aquitaine, and the French Mediterranean coast. After this monetary reform the scale of the coinage grew substantially. During the first half of the eighth century there was a proliferation of coin types. What these silver pieces were called undoubtedly varied from place to place. In Latin it was simply denarius. Coin collectors and dealers used, long ago, to refer to the Merovingian silver pieces as saigas, a usage that has been aban­ doned. But they still refer to those from England and the Low Countries as sceattas (singular in English: sceat, in Dutch: sceatta). The name sceatta would also be better dispensed with, but it has become so entrenched in usage that we have retained it. The term "sceat" is a modern misnomer based on a misunder­ standing of the law of i^Ethelbert of Kent where it is used, just to refer to an equivalent weight of gold.1 The insights into the chronology of the sceattas are largely based on the pre­ sumed dates of concealment of some 25 hoards, both in England and on the Continent.2 A major breakthrough was the study by Stuart Rigold 'The two pri­ mary series of sceattas'.3 Instead of types, Rigold introduced the concept of series. He showed that the English sceattas fell into two phases, a primary and a secondary. This division is well-founded, but the picture of the emissions of sceattas is more complex. He considered that the small English Series Pa and Va antedated the primary phase, and were transitional types struck during the shift from gold to silver currency. They exist in both pale gold and silver, and belong to a preliminary phase. The following scheme gives the approximate dating: 1 Grierson & Blackburn (1986) p 157. 2 Grierson & Blackburn (1986) p 184. 3 Rigold (1960/61). preliminary phase c. 675-680 primary phase c. 680-710 secondary phase c. 710-760 The secondary phase may be subdivided in early-, mid-, and late secondary.4 Most sceattas of the primary phase are of very pure silver, with traces of gold. In the secondary phase an early attempt to maintain a similarly high standard of fineness was quickly abandoned, and in the course of time there was a gradual or stepwise decrease of the silver content. It is generally accepted that the various sceatta types were issued in many different regions. For example, archaeological evidence and the distribution of single finds clearly indicate that Series H (BMC Types 39 and 49) was struck at or near Southampton (Hamwic).5 There is little information on the back­ ground of the issuers or on the degree of official regulation. On the other hand, there is secure numismatic evidence for substantial trade between England and the Continent during the first half of the eighth century. BMC type 2c (belonging to Rigold's Series D) is called the Continental runic type because of its runic legend cepa and because of many finds on the European mainland. Together with the much scarcer Types 8 and 10 it forms Series D. The sceattas of Series D first appeared around 695-700, in the middle of the primary phase. Most specimens have, like the English primary-phase sceattas, a silver content of over 90 percent. The weight varies between 1.30 and 0.70 g, but the simultaneous production of whole and half sceattas, as some coin deal­ ers tend to suggest, is unfounded.

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