A rare silver penny made in Leicester nearly
one thousand years ago is to be sold at auction.
The coin, made during the reign of William the Conquerer, is expected to fetch up to £3500 when it is sold next week.
The coin, which belongs to a British collector, is to be sold by auctioneers Spink in London on December 18.
Jon Mann, a coins expert at Spink, said the solid silver penny was made in Leicester by a
'moneyer' named Friothekest
sometime between 1066 and 1087.
He said: "This coin is certainly in above average condition.
"There was a little uncertainty about whether the coin was from Chester or Leicester but it has been accepted that it is from the latter.
"It is an exciting coin to have and we expect there to be some interest in the item when it comes to auction."
Mr Mann said that Friothekest was a 'moneyer' - a person who oversaw the production of coins.
He said: "it is possible he was of Danish descent due to his name and that fact that at various time the Vikings were in charge in Leicester.
"Friothekest would possibly have been a merchant or an alderman who helped run various boroughs. He would certainly have been a man of some import."
The penny is solid silver and has the face of William the Conquerer on one side and a cross on the other.
He said: "These pennies were the lowest denomination of coin at the time but people got round that.
"People would often cut the pennies in half to produce a halfpenny or even into quarters to give them a farthing.
"Because of this it is rare to see a silver penny of such quality.
The silver penny is lot 526 in the ancient British and foreign coins sale.
History books record that, in the late eleventh century when the
penny was made, Leicester was a much smaller place than it is now.
At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086
Leicester was a small walled town, divided by two main streets leading to gates
at the four points of the compass.
There were about 1500 (people living in 322 houses in the town in those days.
The town was surrounded by open fields, except in the north, where woodland
began outside the town gate.
In 1086, according to the Domesday Book,
there were sixty five so-called burgesses - townsmen with certain privileges -
in Leicester.
It is possible Friothekest was one of these.
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