Copper-alloy, 27.15 grams, 74.90 mm. Circa 6th-7th century AD. A cast copper-alloy die formed with an elaborate serpent motif executed as a series of recurring loops with solid outlines and pelletted fill. The serpent features a small eye-and-brow in the upper (narrower) corners, a loop in the lower left and a simple knot in the lower right. The design is surrounded by a pelletted border. The construction and design of the die is similar to the famous examples from Icklingham, Suffolk, but the present piece has a curved profile which suggests that it was for application to a curved surface, such as the shoulder of a drinking vessel, or possibly laid flat around the boss of a shield: pressed foil plates (Pressblechs) are found in these positions in the burial goods from Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo, with parallels elsewhere. Reference: cf. the Icklingham dies in West, S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 items 56.1,2. Extremely fine condition. Provenance: found East Anglia in 1972, ex Lord Mc Alpine collection.