Copper-alloy, gilded, 3.27 grams, 16.91 mm. 5th-7th century AD. A cast disc in the form of a button brooch of Avent's Class L, unique in featuring a face in profile instead of a facing mask, with an everted surrounding rim. The reverse features the stub of an attachment peg, indicating that the item was not manufactured as a brooch but was cast from the same mould as a Class L button brooch. Studs of this kind occasionally appear on Anglo-Saxon shields, although the present example is smaller than is usual for such a purpose. The gilding on the upper surface is heavy and intact. Reference: Avent, R. & Evison, V.I. Anglo-Saxon Button Brooches in Archaeologia, vol.CVII, 1982, plate XVIOI item 6.3. Good very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.