Superb Portrait Penny
ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of All England. Harold I Harefoot. 1035-1040. AR Penny (17mm, 0.99 g, 2h). Jewel Cross type (BMC i, Hild. A). Stamford mint; Eadwine, moneyer. Struck 1035-circa 1038. Diademed bust left / X GODPINE ON STAN, cross composed of four ovals united at base by two concentric circles enclosing a pellet. North 802; SCBC 1163. Lightly toned, lustrous. EF. A superb portrait. Struck on a full flan.
Harold I Harefoot, son of Cnut the Great and his first wife Aelgifu of Northampton, was acclaimed King by the Anglo-Danish nobility headed by Godwin, Earl of Wessex in 1037. Harthacnut was preoccupied battling Magnus the Good of Norway to secure his claim to the English throne until the premature death of Harold Harefoot in 1040. Harold’s pennies (with two successive types) were minted for a period of three years.
