★ Rare Mint ★

England. Aethelred II. 978-1016. AR Half Penny (10mm, 0.67g, 3h). Crux type (BMC iiia, Hild. C). Barnstaple mint; moneyer Ælfsige(?). Struck circa 991-997. + ÆÐE[LRED REX ΛNG]LOX, bareheaded draped bust left with scepter in front / [+__]M¯O BARDA, short cross voided, [C R] V X in angles. BEH 9(?); North 770; SCBI 9 (Copenhagen), 465. Very Fine, slightly wavy flan, peck marks. Very rare mint.

The cut along the cross line indicates that this coin was cut during its circulation. According to Jonsson and Van der Meer study in “Mints and Moneyers c. 973 - 1066” moneyers that worked at the Barnstaple during the Crux type period were Ælfsige, Beorhtsige, Wulfmær. Moreover, the the only moneyer recorded by Hildebrand and Galster that cut "BARDA" was Ælfsige. Therefore it seem plausible that the moneyer of the present coin is Ælfsige.