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Sceat Bust type - Series D, type 2C
| Issuer | Frisia |
|---|---|
| Year | 690-720 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylized, debased bust facing right, rendered in bold relief characteristic of Frisian sceat coinage. The head is adorned with a crown or diadem indicated by a row of pellets or hatching along the upper border. The facial features are schematically executed, with a prominent crescent-shaped element suggesting the eye or cheek, and a runic inscription reading 'p a' disposed in the field around the effigy. The overall style reflects the degenerate classical portrait tradition transmitted through Anglo-Saxon and Frisian workshop practice of the late 7th to early 8th century. |
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| Obverse lettering | p a |
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| Additional information |
Series D sceattas were produced in Frisia during a period of intense North Sea trading activity, when Dorestad functioned as the dominant emporium connecting Frankish, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian commercial networks. The type 2C classification within Series D reflects die-study work that has progressively disaggregated what earlier scholars treated as a single, undifferentiated issue. Rigold and Metcalf's foundational framework placed Series D firmly in Frisian rather than English production — a attribution that remained contested for decades before hoard evidence from the Rhine delta region settled the question.
These coins circulated almost exclusively within the wic trading sites of the North Sea zone rather than through general commerce.