Cloth Seal, Taunton, Alnage, 81, Portcullis with Lion

Cloth Seal, Taunton, Alnage, 81, Portcullis with Lion, Image by StuE, Found by Nasher.
Found near Baldock, Hertfordshire, 15mm (overall length 32mm), 7.2g.

Blank // 8.1, TAVTON around (both N's retrograde) // portcullis inverted with lion couchant on spikes, 8 1 to sides // blank

Two alnage seals bearing a lion couchant on an inverted portcullis have been described for Devon [Egan's PhD, p.69] and another specifically for Exeter [ibid, p.74]. This is the first known for another County, Taunton in Somerset.