A Hiberno-Norse Viking penny is among the highlights of Spink's sale of the Eboracum hoard (a major collection of Anglo-Saxon and Viking coinage) in London on March 25.
 The penny was issued shortly before the expulsion of the Vikings from York |
It's valued at £7,000-9,000 ($10,372-13,336).
The lot dates from 921-927 AD and bears the name of Sihtric Chaoch - a well known Norse king of York.
It dates to a transitional period in British history, when Aethelstan (considered the first king of Britain) was kicking the Vikings out of the North.
This is shown by many of the other coins in the auction, which display the Christian cross alongside Norse symbols.
Spink explains: "In July 927 Aethelstan took the kingdom of Northumbria and styled himself Rex Totius Britanniae; King of all England.
"At York a significant effort was made to remove all trace of Viking coinage and replace it with Aethelstan's own. The 'Church' type is the first to be struck at the northern stronghold of York…
"It is generally accepted that this type depicts an Anglo-Saxon church but some believe that it may even be the earliest depiction of York minster itself. It is these impressive 'Church' type coins which give the name of York in its Latin form; 'Eboracac' rather than using the Saxon name 'Eoferwic'."
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