A silver tankard presented to a Gunwalloe pub landlord by the King of Norway in recognition of his "brave and noble actions" has sold at auction for £8,100.

It was awarded to Henry Cuttance, the 19th century landlord of the Ship Inn in Gunwalloe, the old name of the Halzephron Inn. This was after he rescued a ship's master and three other crew members from the wrecked Norwegian ship Elizabeth, when she ran aground on the cliffs near Gunwalloe during a storm in 1846.

Mr Cuttance and a group of other locals subsequently came across three more men who had sought shelter in the rocks further down the beach. They lowered hot coffee and bread down to the marooned men while they got ready to winch them up by rope in a ten-hour rescue.

In appreciation of his valour, Mr Cuttance was awarded an engraved silver tankard from the King of Norway. When translated into English it reads: “Oscar, King of Norway, to Henry Cuttance of Gunwalloe, for brave and noble actions on the 20 Nov. 1846."

The tankard was only predicted to sell at a guide price of between £4,500 and £5,500 at the sale conducted by Penzance auctioneers WH Lane & Son. However, a spokesperson for the auction house described the bidding as "competitive," with many bids coming in by telephone.

She added that the buyer of the tankard was being kept anonymous.

The tankard was among a series of lots of memorabilia from Mr Cuttance's life, including glass decanters and a ledger detailing goods he had smuggled, including brandy, cotton and cheese.