HOOKED TAG

The object is a silver hooked tag, commonly used as a dress fastening in the later Anglo-Saxon period. This particular example has been made by re-using a coin of the Short Cross type of Cnut (1016-35), issued in the latter part of the reign. The coin appears to have been struck in Derby, since the only letters visible are __NDE__, which I take to be the part of the form ON DEORABY ('at Derby'). Another possibility would be that this represents the middle of LVNDENE for London, but what little is visible of the letter following the E appears to be curved, suggesting an O. The majority of the outer part of the coin, where the remainder of the inscription was located, has been broken off. Most if not all of this loss apparently occurred comparatively recently, to judge from the difference in colouration between the broken edge and the rest of the object. The coin has been riveted to a hooked attachment with two rivets, and was pierced to allow the fastener to be sewn on to a garment. Only one hole survives, but it is likely that a further hole or holes were located in the missing outer section of the coin. The fastener would have functioned with the reverse of the coin visible, displaying a cross, in common with a wider trend in coin-jewellery of the 11th century.

The object has not been subject to metallurgical testing, as the surviving part of the coin represents more than half of the coin, and sufficient coins of this period have previously been tested to establish that the total silver content of the object would exceed the threshold of 10% stipulated by the Treasure Act (1996), even in the event that the hook and rivets are of base metal. In fact, the colouration and general appearance of the metal suggest that both hook attachment and rivets are of a similar silver content to the coin itself.

There is now a substantial body of precedent establishing that single coins re-used as jewellery/ornaments are considered as objects for the purpose of Treasure, rather than as coins, and the normal requirement for two or more coins does not therefore apply. Both the dating and the apparent silver content of the object conform to the terms stipulated by the Act, and it is therefore my opinion that this object represents a prima facie case of Treasure under the terms of the Treasure Act (1996).

Gareth Williams Curator of Early Medieval Coinage The British Museum