This cast copper-alloy die was used in the process of making filigree pendants of the Hiddensee-Rügen type, more specifically, to create  pressed silver or gold sheet appliqués, which were applied to a pendant back-plate and used as a base for filigree and granulation work. The ring in the centre creates a closed ring-knot motif related to the Scandinavian Borre style. The Hiddensee-Rügen style is named after the gold jewellery hoard discovered in the late nineteenth century on the island of Hiddensee, off the Baltic coast of Germany. The Swinhope die is one of a small group of recorded objects used in the production of Hiddensee-style cruciform pendants. No finished pendants of the type represented by the Swinhope die are known, either from England or Scandinavia.