The patrice, also called a die stamp, is a complete copper alloy tool used to press Pressblech foils, thin decorated metal sheets, primarily used to decorate high-status helmets. It was found at Lynsted, Kent, and dates to roughly AD 550–650 based on its style.

The central image shows a human figure wearing a headdress with horn-like extensions ending in birds’ heads, with two smaller features beneath where the horns meet the head. The figure wears a belt but nothing else, with legs bent as if running or dancing. In its left hand it holds a sheathed sword, blade down, possibly a ring-sword though wear on the die makes the ring hard to confirm. In its right hand it holds what comparison with similar finds suggests are two spears, though they’re difficult to identify on this example alone.

The die belongs to a known find group: similar patrices and related imagery are known from other early medieval sites in England and Scandinavia, generally linked to the decoration of high-status helmets from the period.