- I got something here I think
you'll really enjoy seeing. - OK.
- It's a very old Viking coin. It was found in England. RICK: That's cool. And why do you call
it a Viking coin? Because it was
used by the Vikings. RICK: They were a really odd
culture because they really didn't care about taking land. It was all about let's get
in a boat, let's cruise somewhere and just take
everything they got. [laughter] ART: I bought it
when I was in England in one of the country fairs. It just looked interesting. It's commonly called
an English penny. Since my grandkids
don't want it, I think somebody else
might like to have it. RICK: Generally they
were just raiders. OK? It got to the point
where they didn't even have to invade anymore. The Viking ships would pull
into a harbor, the people in the town-- they would
take just out all the gold, and silver, and everything
else in the town, bring it down to the harbor,
and says, is this enough? And then it got to a point where
generally, yeah, we'll take it. We'll leave. And that is basically
the way the Vikings worked for a long time. Let me take a look at it. My big concern is there might
be a few small clips on there. But they're almost
always cut up. And this one's not cut up. It was actually a profession. People did this for a living. They would constantly get
coins, bring them home, clip a little silver
off, try to exchange them for some other ones. And before you know it,
at the end of the month, you had a big pile of silver. Even though the Vikings did rule
part of England at one time, I'm not sure how a coin
with English markings can be considered Viking. If a connection
is there, I think it might make it more valuable. I'm just not sure. What you want to do with it? I want to sell it. RICK: Well, how much
do you want out of it? - All I can get.
- OK. I mean, you want $50?
- No. No.
No. No. I do have a guy who
will probably know a lot more about it than I do. My big concern is you wouldn't
believe how many of these are faked. There's no law
against faking them. Well, that's
what these are for. This is the provenance. These aren't
telling me anything. Let me explain something to you. If people figure out a way to
fake something, they fake it. Always have, always will. So I'm gonna call a
friend, get him down here. He's gonna look at it. If it's legit, we'll
figure out a price, and we'll maybe make a deal. OK. Well, it definitely is an
old penny struck in England. Dates to around 900 AD which is
exactly when the Vikings were in control of the whole
area north of London all the way up into
Scotland after the invasions of about 865. RICK: All right. DAVID VAGI: And
this particular type shows how the Vikings
had adopted so many aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture. You notice the
cross on one side. That's a Christian symbol. By the time this was struck,
the Vikings, who were now in England, had converted. RICK: So you think
it's 100% legit? DAVID VAGI: You're both correct. It is a Viking coin
struck in England. ART: Wow.
- What's it worth? Well, this may help. Almost as interesting
as the coin-- this coin is-- is pedigreed
back to the 10th Duke of Argyle. RICK: OK. And when did he live? DAVID VAGI: Well,
he died in 1949. RICK: OK. DAVID VAGI: And about the last
decade-- at least of his life-- he kind of devoted himself to
his coins and his collections. This would have been
his ticket that he wrote with his own hand. So this is really interesting. This coin is in really
extraordinary shape. And I don't see any good
evidence of clipping. So this coin was
probably buried. Totally genuine, nice pedigree. I think it's probably
worth $1,200. Maybe a touch more.
RICK: OK. DAVID VAGI: It's a nice coin.
- All right. Thanks, man.
- Hey, no problem. Glad I could help.
- Thank you. - Congratulations.
- Thank you. DAVID VAGI: This particular
coin is quite popular because it demonstrates how
the Vikings had become invested into Anglo-Saxon culture which
gives it a little more esteem in the eyes of collectors. RICK: So how much
do you want for it? Well, he said
it's worth $1,200. And I know you have to--
you know, this isn't free. So how about $1,000? That gives you some room. And it is a super specimen.
- It's cool. I'll give you that. How about $700? I can't do $700. Would you go $800? Yeah. I'll do $800. - Sounds good.
- All right. It's a deal. I'll meet you right up there. All right. I think $800 is a right
price for that coin. I'm gonna take that $800,
and I'll find a place for it here in Las Vegas.
