coin
- Museum number
- 1939,1003.27
- Description
-
Gold coin.
- Production date
- 605-615 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Weight: 1.23 grammes
- Curator's comments
- Merovingian, ecclesiastical tremissis
Webster & Backhouse 1991
The thirty-seven coins in the Sutton Hoo purse are all Frankish, and are the only large deposit of coins from the Anglo-Saxon period before the introduction of an English coinage. The lack of duplication in the group is not remarkable given the huge number of Merovingian mints and moneyers and the wide date range, c.572 - c.625, of the pieces represented. It does however suggest that they were not withdrawn from active circulation but were taken from a treasure store, apparently containing a limited number of coins as the total required to pay the forty oarsmen and helmsman of the burial ship had to be made up in blanks and bullion.
Bibliography: Kent, J.P.C. 1975, Catalogue of the Sutton Hoo coins, blanks and billets, in R.L.S. Bruce-Mitford, ‘The Sutton Hoo Ship-Burial’, I, no. 22.
- Location
- On display (G41/dc1)
- Acquisition date
- 1939
- Department
- Money and Medals
- Registration number
- 1939,1003.27
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: HSBC.255 (Money Gallery Exhibited)
