The first research note on this new blog site has been provided by Hugh Pagan – take a look at it … and please leave any comments regarding the article by clicking on the comment icon below.
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Hi,
The Northumbrian coin of Aelfwald I in that collection might shed some light on the destination of some of the Anglo-Saxon coins, as this is was a very rare type in the 19th century. Edward Hawkins, writing in the late 1830s, noted a coin of this type in the collection of John Brumell, with the same legend (partly retrograde). If it is the same coin, and if Brumell bought the coin from the Aspull collection, he might have purchased others. I don’t have a copy of the 1850 Sotheby sale of Brumell’s coins, but I suppose it might be easier to find than the Aspull.
Regards,
Artie
Yes, the Aelfwald coin in Aspull’s collection must indeed have been rare at that point in time (and I have drawn attention to it again in footnote 44 (on p.26) of my article on ‘SCBI 68 and the coinage of Northumbria c.685-867’, BNJ 88, 2018). The suggestion that it might have been the specimen subsequently owned by Brumell is a good one, but, like you, I do not possess a copy of the Brumell catalogue. What of course we really need to locate is a named copy of the Aspull sale catalogue itself.
Best wishes, Hugh Pagan