Northwestern Europe, England, or Byzantium, Medieval period, ca. 13th century CE. A lovely Medieval era 95% silver seal from the time of crusades! This seal would have been worn suspended via the integral suspension loop handle surmounted on the neck of the bell-shaped and fluted stamp. The face of the seal shows a mounted crusader with a horse facing left brandishing a Templar Cross. Artifacts connected with both the Crusades and anything Templar, are exceedingly rare and desirable! Given its small size this was easy to conceal with simple iconography, it is almost certain this was a counter seal or "sigillum secretum." Counter seals were impressed into the verso of the large official seal that was affixed to documents, sealing both sides made detaching the seal more difficult which added a layer of security to sensitive documents. A sigillum secretum was a seal used for private or personal correspondence to indicate it was private and for the eyes of the intended reader only.! Size: 0.48" W x 0.86" H (1.2 cm x 2.2 cm); silver quality: 95%; weight: 10.6 grams.

Provenance: private Boynton Beach, Florida, USA collection; ex-Peter Szuhay collection, London, UK

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#170762

Dark toning and patina. A few surface nicks and abrasions commensurate with age and use, otherwise intact and excellent. Stamp face motif is clear and discernable.