+ DAVE'S : RARE : COINS

II.IVa Pennies of the Saxon kingdoms. [My "wants list" part one !!]

Beginning in the 760's the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, under king ◊ffa, began to replace the phased out sceat coinage and issue another type of coin, the penny. The penny was broader and thinner than the sceat but weighed approximately the same. Its method of manufacture altered only slightly up to the time of the Norman conquest. Three other kingdoms followed with pennies of their own rulers. Only Northumbria kept its original sceat coins, and then debased its coinage with poor quality, mostly copper styca's. The following kingdoms and monarchs issued pennies (until England united under king Edgar (of the famous monetary reform) of Wessex, 959-975) :

KENT

Heaberht c.765, Ecgberht c.780, Eadberht Praen 796-798, Cuthred 798-807, Anonymous 822-823, Baldred 823-825.

MERCIA

◊ffa 757-796 [3], Cynðryð (wife of Offa), Eadberht (bishop of London), Cœnvulf 796-821 [2], Ceolvulf I 821-823, Beornþulf 823-825, Ludica 825-827, Wiglaf 827-829 (first reign) and 830-840 (second reign) Berhtvulf 840-852, Burgred 852-874, Ceolvulf II 874-c.880.

EAST ANGLIA

Beonna c.758, Alberht 749-?, Æðelberht d.794, Eadwald 796-798, Æðelstan I c.825-840, Æðelweard c. 840-855, Eadmund 855-870 [2].

WESSEX

Beorhtric 786-802, Ecgberht 802-839, Æðelvulf 839-858 [2], Æðelberht 858-865/866, Æðelred I 865/866-871, Ælfred 871-899, Edward the Elder 899-924. Æðelstan 924-939, Edmund 939-946, Eadred 946-955, Eadwig 955-959. Eadgar 959-975.

There are many gaps and inconsistencies in the above record. This is because at times certain monarchs ruled more than one kingdom directly. Otherwise their relations ruled as sub-regents. For example Cœnvulf of Mercia ruled his own dominion from 796-821. He also directly ruled East Anglia from 798-821 (and had his own coinage minted there). He installed his brother Cuthred as king of Kent 798-807, and after Cuthred's death ruled Kent directly until his own death (minting his coins at Canterbury). He therefore had more or less total control of three of the five kingdoms for most of his long reign. All five kingdoms were ruled by foreign kings or ealdermen at some stage during this period, (760's-950's).

Each kingdom ceased to produce pennies issued by native Saxon kings after the last monarch on the above lists. For example East Anglia produced coins for its last king St. Eadmund, and after his martyrdom, coinage for the Viking invaders. Later still it reverted back to Anglo- Saxon coinage under the later kings of Wessex. Similarly the Vikings deposed Burgred and installed Ceolvulf II (a kings thane, he was permitted to mint his own coins) as a puppet monarch under the rule of their leaders, and Wessex directly ruled Kent from 825.

All of the above kings are rare enough to warrant inclusion in my collection. I hope within the next few years to have examples of coins issued by most of them. My Cabinet contains examples of those in bold italics.

I shall be posting part two of this post in the near future, detailing Viking and Norman coinages, issues of the archbishops and Northumbrian rarities.

Sources : The British Museum website. BBC Schools website. Spink Coins of England. English Hammered Coinage, Volume One. J.J. North. English Coins in the British Museum, Volumes One and Two. Charles Keary and Herbert Grueber.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 26/07/2006.
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II.III Power and politics in ninth-century Northumbria.

Ælfwald II (806-808). The coins of this monarch are extremely rare. Only ten examples Of N 183 (his only type) are known. Until very recently it was thought that Aelfwald II had no known coinage or minted only poor quality Stycas, and these coins (N 183) were ascribed (in North for example) to king Ælfwald I (779-788). All were struck at York by the same moneyer, Cutheard. +CVDhEART. The kings name is read around the inside of the obverse with some letters retrograde and/or inverted, and in some cases the initial 'ael' is runic. Eg. FΓEVALDγ∫. All of the extant coins have been found in Yorkshire.

My example, the tenth coin, was found broken and has subsequently been expertly repaired. It reads (conventionally) †FLEVALDUS. †CVDHEART. It is not as yet registered with the EMC. This is one of my rarest coins.

In 796AD, in the abscence of a suitable candidate, the Northumbrian Ealdormen chose from amongst their ranks one Osbald to be crowned king. Twenty seven days later the oaths were broken and he was deposed and abandoned. In his place they crowned Ealdorman Eardvulf, on 26 May 796 (although his descent is uncertain). Osbald and his few followers journeyed to Lindisfarne, and from there by sea to the court of Caustantin mac Fergusa (789-820) king of the Picts and a patron of Northumbrian monasteries. He retired to Lindisfarne where he eventually ruled the community and died peacefully. In his days he had been Duke, Patrician, Abbott of Lindisfarne and King of Northumbria. He died in 799 and was buried in York Minster.

Eardvulf was resilient. He reigned undettered for ten years (his first reign), during which time he killed several rival claimants including prince Ealmund, son of the late king Ealchred and Ealdorman Moll, probably a relative of the late king Æðelwald Moll. Eardvulf himself, when an Ealdorman, survived execution during the viscious purge of king Æðelred I in 791. He was captured, brought to Ripon and ordered to be killed outside the gates of the monastery. The executioners botched the job (possibly intentionally) and Eardvulf recovered.

Then in 806 Ealdorman Ælfwald, (who was probably a relative of the deposed Osbald, and may even have been his son), found himself in a position to challenge for the throne. Eardwulf was ousted and Ælfwald was crowned as king Ælfwald II. Eardvulf was exiled to the court of Charlemagne in Nijmegen, north west of Aachen. He later travelled to Rome to visit Pope Leo III (reigned 795-816). Almost nothing is known of the two year reign of Ælfwald II. Meanwhile Eardvulf marshalled his resources and in 808, with the support of the Imperial and papal legates, was able to regain the throne of Northumbria. Incidentally on the return journey in 809 one of the papal legates, deacon Aldvulf (a Saxon from Britain) was captured and ransomed by pirates (undoutably Vikings). His freedom was secured by an Ealdorman of king Cœnwulf of Mercia. Eardwulf reigned for another two years (his second reign), dying in 810. He was the first Northumbrian king in over sixty years to pass the throne on to his son. His son, king Eanred, reigned for over thirty years.

Of these monarchs Osbald has no known coinage, Eardvulf's coinage is excessively rare, Æðelred I coins are rare. The coinage of Ælfwald II is extremely rare and that of Eanred is common. The Northumbrian coinage differed from that of the other kingdoms. It had no portrait, was thicker than the recently introduced penny and had more in common with the early sceat coinage. The obverse had the name of the king or archbishop in whose name the coin was struck, and the reverse the name of the moneyer. These coins are known as Stycas (pronounced Stucca) by numismatists today, but this is unlikely to have been their original name. The coins originated in the late seventh century and until the reign of Eanred were minted in good silver. Base silver was then substituted and finally bronze, (occasionally copper or brass), degenerating further in condition . They continued to be struck until the Vikings captured York in the late ninth century.

Our knowledge of Ælfwald II (his name means Elf-Ruler, the modern surname equivalent is Ellwood) remains slim. The chroniclers dismiss him in a few lines. He was of the royal blood, and an Ealdorman. Possibly the son of the deposed king Osbald, he had powerful supporters, and was probably exiled for at least part of Eardwulfs reign. He was crowned king of Northumbria in 806. He was deposed and exiled again in 808, and died in 810.

The coin was registered in person at the Fitzwilliam Museum in June 2007.

Sources : Anglo-Saxon Royalty website. Timeline of Anglo-Saxon England website. Reference.com website. Angles, Saxons and Jutes website. The Heroic Age website. Stephen Murray, Northumbria website. Wikipedia website. English Hammered Coinage, volume one. J.J. North. Coins of England. Spink. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Anne Savage.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 16/07/2006.
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II.II Ornamented 'York Group' coinage of king Stephen.

Throughout the long and turbulent reign of king Stephen (1135-1154) a wide variety of, mostly inferior, coinage was struck. Regular issues in Stephens name (much of it below standard and therefore unlawful), several Baronial issues (both with and without royal warrant), a brief Maudian coinage (of the Empress Maud, Stephen's rival for the throne during the civil war), Scottish Border variants (struck by Scottish royalty) those struck using defaced dies (by moneyers unable or unwilling to support one particular claimant), coinage issued by queen Matilda (Stephen's wife) and much local, irregular and uncertain coinage. (Some issues even copy reverses of the previous reign). One rare and beautiful coinage produced at this time stands out as vastly superior to all of these in almost every respect. The 'York Group' and loyalist Baronial issues of Stephens camp.

In terms of die engraving these coins place the others in the shade. They are boldly struck, detailed and central on the (almost perfectly round) flan. As opposed to regular coinage which is often struck flat on irregular shaped discs. In terms of design they bear no resemblance to any known contemporary coinage, foreign or domestic. All but two varieties (that perhaps do not belong in the series at all ?) have ornaments in the legend, or ornaments that replace the legend completely. These coins are known collectively as the Ornamented Series. All of them are believed (with good reason) to be Royalist issues.

The York Group are all struck in the name of Stephen. (Maudian Baronial coins are of a low quality similar to the regular coinage). On these coins Stephen's name is spelt a variety of different ways, eg. STIEFNET and NSEPEFETI. The association of the York mint with this group stems from the name EBORACUM spelt out in full or abbreviated on certain Baronial coins and EVERWIC abbreviated on the 'York Group' Flag type. (The Romans named York Eboracum, the Latin name is probably taken from seals or charters of the period. York in Norman times was known by its Anglo-Saxon name of Everwic. Many different abbreviations of this name appear on countless coins from the middle ages, although very rarely without the moneyers name preceding it. Some Flag type coins read VIDNESI ON EV, although VIDNESI is unlikely, in my opinion, to be the name of a coiner). One York type, N 918, reads WISNEGE-TA (apparently a much-abbreviated Baronial name and title) with ornaments between the legend. This is probably a very early Baronial (York) issue as it is minted with Stephen's name on the obverse. N 920, N 922 and N 922/1 each have ornaments in place of the legend (the guarentee of mint and moneyer) on the reverse. N 918 - N 921 have busts similar in style to the Cross Moline (Watford) first type of Stephen. N 919 is the Flag type, already spoken of, in which the king holds a lance with triple pennon in place of the usual lys-headed sceptre. N 922 has Stephen and Matilda standing facing, supporting a tall sceptre and N 922/1 has the king standing facing, holding a triple standard in his left hand. These also exists a unique cut half featuring a bearded profile (otherwise a very rare feature on Norman coins) and a new reverse cross design, also a certain cut quarter with a reverse similar to the 'Eustace' Baronial issue, and again believed by this author to be unique. These are the known 'York' variants.

The coins may not have been struck in York at all, one author has advanced the theory that they were minted in Northern France, although this has now been all but discounted. My own opinion is that they were struck closer to Lincoln than York. Various reasons, dates and events have been suggested to account for the striking of this series. For example N 922, king and queen standing was almost certainly struck to commemorate the unyielding support of queen Matilda during Stephen's captivity following the Battle of Lincoln. (She formed an army, and marching to London, inspired the citizens to eject the Empress Maud). The Flag type is said to correlate to Stephens second Great Seal, adopted in June 1139, in which he is shown on horseback with the pennon. One theory states that the whole series was minted to pay the Flemish mercenaries that formed the backbone of Stephens army, who were suspicious of the quality of regular circulating pennies. I am not sure of the truth of this theory, but what does seem certain is that these coins never entered normal circulation. The silver content of the 'York' coins is excellent but the weight of some examples is below that required by law at that time, although they were certainly minted lawfully. This is practically the only negative thing that can be said about them.

I am very proud to state that the coin above, N 920, Lozenge Sceptre type, is a recent addition to my collection. It is rated by North as Extremely Rare. With good reason as only five examples exist, two whole coins, a fragment and two cut halves. Mine is one of the cut halves. Three of the others are in museums, the other cut half was spotted on Marshall Faintich's excellent website, under the 'Coins of the Anarchy' section. It differs from my coin in that the other half (where the lozenge sceptre can be clearly seen) is shown. Mainly unprovenanced, my coin was formerely of the cabinet of Ivan Buck. (It is not poorly struck, it is a worn example). It is also unrecorded, although the Fitzwilliam museum are aware of its existance. The Lozenge type apparently shows French influence in that the seals of three French kings of the period show sceptres tipped with the lozenge (containing a lily, although it is a ringed pellet on the coins). It was supposedly struck to remind the populace of the fact that Stephen had done homage to the French king for Normandy (or probably not in my humble opinion) and to imply tacit French support for the Crown (which seems more likely). The reverse of the coin shows a saltire fleury over cross patee with ornaments around and is similar in this respect to some reverse designs of the Baronial coinage. The obverse has Stephen's name spelt STIEN with more ornaments. STIEN may be an abbreviation of the French ESTIENNE. A date of 1141 has been suggested for the minting of this type.

An update to this post. April 'o7. I came across a supposed fragmented example of N 920 on a dealers website recently. I requested pictures, but was informed that the coin had already been sold. And so I cannot confirm this coin as a Lozenge Sceptre. So we are still officially at five coins !!

Sources : English Hammered Coinage Volume One. J.J. North. Coins of the Anarchy. George C. Boon. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Anne Savage. E.M.C. website. S.C.B.I. website. Mike Vosper Coins website. Astronomical Symbols on Coins, Marshall Faintich website. Probert Encyclopedia website.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 05/07/2006.
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II.I Status : A self assessment of where I am at the moment.

My Life.

Well my wife Amanda, who I love very much, and I are expecting another baby. Only six weeks to go. That will be four kids (five including my daughter Katherine, who was born asleep in 1999 and seven for Amanda, who also has two teenage children). My eldest son Daniel, who is 10, is a bit of a maths whizz for his age, my youngest son Damian, 5, is ahead of his class with his reading and writing abilities, and my 13 month old daughter Erika is taking lots of toddling steps and can almost walk. So I'm a very proud dad. I have recently given up my career as a supermarket duty manager to become full time carer to my disabled grandmother. In some respects this is every bit as challenging as junior management !!

My Cabinet.

My cabinet comprises pennies of the Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman eras. I predominantly collect rare Saxon pennies and my cabinet reflects this. Alongside this coinage I also obtain certain choice Anglo-Saxon and medieval antiquities, some of which I will post from time to time. Most of my coins and some of my antiquities are fragmented. These are more affordable and it is easier to purchase the much rarer items in this form. I would like to add my personal endorsment to metal detecting and dectectorists....without you guys my cabinet would not be as it is today. I would like to thank my dealers, who allow me to buy using a layaway system. Without them I could not hope to purchase the coins I require for my collection. (Thanks to Keith for sponsoring me with the B.N.S. and congratulations to Andy and Neelam on the recent birth of their son). The British Numismatic Society voted me a member at a meeting some months ago, and my ongoing research involves privvy marks on early Saxon pennies and the 'York' and Baronial coinage of king Stephen. My family dont understand me !! or my obsession at least, although I have Amanda's full support (I really dont understand her obsession with the online game Neopets !!!) and Daniel is beginning to show a fledgling interest in antiquities.

My Website.

I chose to post my collection on the web for a number of reasons. To share some very rare coins with anyone interested, because I am proud of my cabinet and wanted to show it off, because I love researching the coins and the historical personalities behind them etc....Basically because I really enjoy creating the posts and galleries, and I have fun with my 'serious' hobby !! For the same reasons I manage my own group on ebay called 'Early Medieval Hammered Coinage.' This differs from my website mainly in that the period specified is from the earliest Saxon coinage, c.600, to the end of the reign of king Stephen, 1154. This includes the pre-penny sceat coinage also as many of my members collect and admire these early coins. I am also a member of two other related ebay groups. Many google searches will now bring up my website, mainly in relation to obscure Anglo-Saxon kings - of whom many are mentioned on my site !! And last but by no means least, a big thankyou to everyone who has linked my site, this helps us all in the long run. Put my link on your site and I'll put yours on mine, simple !

Finally I would like to thank etribes. I chose the initial free LifeSite, from among many others, for its simplicity, ease of use and professional looking end result. I have had nothing but praise, help and support from the customer support team, (cheers Kieran) and I have now upgraded to an etribes LifePlus account. I would, and indeed have highly recommended etribes to anyone interested.

Very special thanks to : My family. My friends. My dealers. My group members. etribes. The B.N.S. and anyone I may have missed out.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 30/06/2006.
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II. Saxon era gold repousse mount.

This is an extremely rare example of an Anglo-Saxon period gold mount or applique, dating perhaps to the Middle-Saxon era (c.700 [or earlier]-850). It is 9cm x 3.9cm and made from pure hammered sheet gold. It is typical repousse work and has patterns consisting of geometrically arranged punched bosses, some surrounded by punched dot collars, with a single line of punch-dot around the perimeter. It is likely to have been a book or box mount, or maybe a piece of personal jewellery such as a pendant. It is possibly continental, or more probably Viking in style, but was almost certainly found in England.

Punched work such as this was manufactured during the entire Anglo-Saxon period, as it was during the Roman occupation, and later by the Viking invaders (a lot of Viking jewellery has punched decoration, much of it with shaped bosses). The large circular punched designs bear a marked resemblance to the circular bosses used on a few diverse examples of the Anglo-Saxon sceat coinage, and most notably on many 8th/9thc Northumbrian (predominantly silver) stycas, especially when employed with the punched collar. There are also many Viking disc brooches extant which are decorated with collared and uncollared punched bosses. This evidence is in all probability sufficient to date the mount to the late 7th to mid 9thc or a little later.

Gold during the Saxon period was virtually only ever used for jewellery (usually under royal patronage) and ecclesiastical paraphernalia, royalty and the church being practically the only clients that could afford such luxuries. Wooden covers of bibles were often liberally mounted with precious metals and stones, as were all kinds of reliquaries and shrines etc....

The gold mount above would have been made according to age-old principles (the Romans and other ancient civilisations knew repousse work). A sheet of gold was made by hammering part of an ingot across an anvil until it was flat. It was then cut and shaped. The design was produced on the sheet gold using hammer and punches. The gold was laid on a base of soft material (most likely bitumen or wax) to prevent it breaking. The bitumen was heated, the gold sank into it and as the bitumen cooled and hardened it held the gold in place so that work could commence. The smith then used punches to deform the metal into the required pattern. Annealing may have been necessary during the process. Once the work was complete the object was cleaned of bitumen and polished.

This gold mount is a recent addition to my antiquities collection. It is not executed perfectly. (A reasonable analogy would be to view the mount as made for the reliquary of a small church or chapel, as opposed to that of a cathedral, which would have been executed with consummate skill by a smith of a different class) It is not symmetrical, nor is it quite lozenge-shaped. One fixing hole overlaps the punched dots at that point and it is interesting to note that the punched collars around the bosses are on a matrix and are not single punches. It has a slightly marked and crumpled surface, from being buried in the ground, and is probably a metal detecting find.

Sources : Regia Anglorum website. Sheet Metal website. Saxon and Viking Artefacts Nigel Mills. Benets Artefacts of England. Various authors. The Vikings in England Various authors.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 05/06/2006.
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I.IX An extremely rare monarch.

We have very little knowledge of the reign of king Beornþulf of Mercia. We do know that he overthrew king Ceolvulf I of Mercia in 823, and thus succeeded to the kingdom of Mercia, and several sub-kingdoms as well, Mercia being the supreme power at the time in Anglo-Saxon England. We may infer by the different sounding name that he was not of the same family as the previous kings Cœnvulf (of Mercia, 796-821), Cuthred (of Kent, a Mercian and brother to Cœnwulf, 798-807), and Ceolvulf I (of Mercia, another brother of Coenvulf, 821-823) . Of his own family we know that his father was a Mercian prince, Beorhtveald (died 796, the same year as the infamous king ◊ffa of Mercia), he was probably a descendant of king Beornred of Mercia (enthroned 757 and deposed by ◊ffa, 757, died 769), and that he had two sons that ruled Mercia after him, Wiglaf (827-829, 830-840) and Berhtvulf (840-852).

In a show of strength by the new king, the Mercians destroyed Degannwy, the capital of Gwynnedd in 823, invading Powys (a formidable enemy, who had had a love/hate relationship with Mercia and other Saxon kingdoms for some length of time) at the same time. They were only beaten back with some difficulty by king Cyngen (ap Cadell, 778-854). Beornþulf also decided the same year to rebuild the Abbey of St. Peter (later Gloucester Cathedral) in his capital city as a house for secular priests. It had been a decaying ruin for nearly a hundred years, since the death of its founder Osric in 729. Synods were held at Clofesho (an unknown location but thought to be in Mercia and near to London) in 824 and 825. Both were presided over by king Beornþulf, with the aging Archbishop Vulfred of Canterbury ruling and controlling. That of 824 decided the outcome of an inheritance suit, and that of 825 terminated a dispute between Archbishop Vulfred and Abbess Cwenðrytha. One charter of Beornþulf refers explicitly to his third regnal year, probably 825

Perhaps the best known event in the reign of Beornþulf was the battle of Ellendun. This was fought at Wroughton near Surrey (within the borders of Wessex) in 825, once Ecgberht of Wessex (802-839) felt able to challenge the Mercian supremacy. Beornþulf's defeat was catastrophic, with great slaughter, and Essex and Sussex were quick to pledge allegiance to the dynasty of Wessex (a dynasty, including Ælfred the Great, that incidentally would remain dominant until later Saxon kings ruled the whole of England).

After the defeat of Ellendun East Anglia rose against its Mercian overlords, and sought the protection of Wessex against Mercian reprisals. Beornþulf himself survived the battle but was killed by the East Angles (probably attempting to crush the rebellion) later the same year.

Only around twenty five coins of this extremely rare monarch are known to exist. (It is almost impossible to obtain an example). Most are recorded, a splendid example was recently sold by Mike Vosper and my fragment is a detecting find. They are separated into the following types : Type I = N 394, Type II = N 397, and Type III = N 396. (N 397.5, known from a single coin, is a type II). All were minted at an unknown location (maybe Ipswich ?) somewhere in East Anglia.

My coin, below, is a tiny fragment (in fact the smallest fragment I own) of Beornþulf Type II, N 397. It is part of a known larger chipped coin, owned by a museum in Baltimore, USA. Only about ten coins with the Cross-Crosslet reverse are known. North rates this type as Very Rare. In my opinion it is Extremely Rare. Moneyers for this type are Eacga (who had previously minted for Ceolwulf I) Eadnoth (who went on to mint for Ludica in the next reign) and Monna (Man, who struck my coin) These coiners sometimes employed Runic inscriptions on their dies.

We only know of a probable five Type II pennies minted by Man, (c.824). Mine is not a die match for any known coin. The dies are unrecorded, [the 'B' of Beornþulf is composed of a series of straight lines as opposed to a normal rounded 'B']. The privy marks are unique, and in this case are used to identify the reverse die - not the moneyer. The name Monna is struck on my example differently to any other. The unbarred Mercian 'Λ' is vertical. On others it is horizontal or inverted. The fragment was found at Great Bookham, Surrey in 1982.

Sources : Wikipedia website. Anglo-Saxons Timeline website. Everything2 website. World History Database website. Softdata, Gloucester Cathedral website. From kings of Powys website. Timeline of the Early British Kingdoms website. Catholic Encyclopedia website. Anglo-Saxon Resources website. EMC database website. SCBI database website. Britannia website. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Anne Savage. English Hammered Coinage Volume One JJ North. Anglo-Saxon Pennies Michael Dolley. Special thanks to P.A.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 28/05/2006.
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I.VIII From the same dies ............

Unregistered Eadred, Type HR 2. My Collection.

This coin is extremely rare. Coins of Eadred (946-955) are not particularly so. This is an uncommon type, HR (Horizontal Reverse) 2, which features a cross patee between two annulets on the reverse. North lists this type as VR. It is from an unknown North Western mint town. The moneyer is Thurmod. His name spelt this way on the reverse die makes the coin ER. Only three are EMC/SCBI recorded for Eadred (and another two for Edmund), the British Museum has one, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge has another, and mine is the third known example. My coin is broken into three pieces, the other two are whole. Mine is also the only single find of the five (although its findspot is unknown), and the only one not in a museum.

Thurmod is DRMODE MO(NETA) on only these three coins of Eadred. There are only seven known coins of his recorded, minted in the name of Eadred, and the style of his name varies on these coins. He also minted for Edmund (939-946), Eadwig (king of England 955-957) and Eadgar (king of England 959-975).

All three 'DRMODE' Eadred coins are a perfect die match. This means that the same reverse die, called a trussell (the obverse die is called a pile) was used to strike all three coins. This can be ascertained by a simple process of comparison. If two fixed points on the obverse or reverse of coins of the same monarch and coiner are identical then this is a match. If this process is repeated for several fixed points on both coins with the same results, then the likelihood is that they came from the same die or dies.

SCBI 1, 1958, coin 594. Fitzwilliam Museum. Same dies

SCBI 34, 1986, coin 662. British Museum. Same dies.

There are several fixed points on these coins that provide a perfect match :

The centre cross patee is slanted right.

The configuration and position of the rosettes of pellets.

DEMO, the bottom line on the coin, slants down and to the right.

The die has a flaw which causes the 'O' on the top line to be almost completely filled in.

The three 'O's on the right of the field are in an exact line downwards.

The initial 'D' (theta).

There is a small die flaw within the 'M' of MO(NETA).

The proximity of the 'E' of DRMODE to the cross patee.

I have listed only eight matches here, although there are others. The obverse die, the pile, I believe is also the same one used for all three coins. Both dies are slightly flawed but not worn.

Sources : SCBI database website. EMC database website. Wikipedia website. Spink, Coins of England. English Hammered Coinage, Volume One. JJ North.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 03/05/2006.
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I.VII Light Coinage fragments of King Offa.

The above fragments from my collection are examples of the Light Coinage (c.765-c.792) of King ◊ffa of Mercia. The first coin is North 287, Kings Name across Field obverse, 18 coins are on record at Cambridge, 13 struck by this moneyer, Æðelveald (with 'EX' obverse, and 'μA' reverse). The second coin is a mule. It consists of an obverse of North 300, Floriate Cross with Lozenge Centre, only two examples are recorded, both are portrait coins with the moneyers name (Ibba) around the portrait and this reverse (top left), and a reverse of North 267, Cross of Pellets with fleured ends on Linear Square, again only two examples are recorded. The moneyer for the recorded coins is Babba, as on my example. As far as I know this coin is unique. I cannot find reference to it anywhere. Both coins were minted at Canterbury (or possibly London) and have unrecorded privy mark configurations. The North 287 fragment is struck from different dies to the recorded coins. The mule is also struck from at least one unrecorded die.

An update. 28.02.07. The Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge has confirmed the latter coin as a unique example with the moneyer BABBA. It has no North or Blunt designation. On the Corpus of Coins Of Offa of Mercia at the Fitzwilliam this coin has the designation Type 91A. It is published with permission [D. Darrington Collection].

Sources : EMC database website. SCBI database website. English Hammered Coinage, Volume One, JJ North. Special thanks to Dr. Mark Blackburn and Rory Naismith of the Fitzwilliam.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 15/04/2006.
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I.VI Coins of Aelfred and Southern Danelaw Imitations.

The Viking invaders began to settle permanently in England in the late 9th century. Once established they naturally wished to become as civilised as their neighbours, and to this extent they began to mint coins. Lacking any experience or expertise in this field, the natural choice for imitation was the coinage of Ælfred (the Great) the most powerful English monarch. Many different types of Ælfred's coins were copied, and carried his name instead of that of the Viking ruler. These coins, minted at Lincoln, Leicester and other places are often identifiable by their crude style, low weight, and often blundered legends, although some coins are struck from beautifully engraved dies, the only difference then being the weight of the coin and, in some cases, the Danelaw moneyer. Some early Anglo-Viking coins copy the names of Alfred's moneyers, others carry the names of official Danelaw moneyers and several examples are badly blundered. Viking copies of Frankish and Byzantine coins, as well as Islamic dirhams, have also been found in England and elsewhere.

In the Southern Danelaw the 'Two-Line' coinage of Ælfred was copied extensively, including half pennies, (die links exist between English and Danelaw coins as might be expected) and dates from after c.880. The genuine pennies of Ælfred are Third Coinage, non-portrait issues c.880-890. The kings name is divided into four (or occasionally three) portions and is centred around a small cross pattee. The reverse of the coin has the moneyers name in two lines with pellets or crosses between and around. The mint at which these coins were struck can be determined from the style of the dies used to strike the coin. A substantial number of mints were in operation at this time.

The scan above shows a scarce Two-Line penny of Ælfred (top). The moneyer is Cuðbert. The thick lettering reveals dies from the Canterbury mint. There are Viking imitations of coins of Cuðbert, a moneyer active in the west Midlands (probably Chester or Shrewsbury) in the 880's and 890's, on record. This coin is also peck-marked, ie. it has been tested for silver content by scoring with a knife or dagger. This was a particular Viking practice and would only have been done by the Danelaw settlers (in this case) or invading Scandinavian armies recieving the Danegeld payments. The coin would then be weighed to determine its true value. The Scandinavian system of value depended heavily on weight. Basically only foreigners who were ignorant of the purity and standard weight of the English penny, (1.6g, as opposed to Danelaw coins which were minted to a standard of around 1.35g), would have any reason to do this at all.

The other official Ælfred coin above is the fragment in the centre. It is also a Two-Line penny, although this example is struck from Mercian dies and has the designation N 637. On this coin the die engraving is of superior quality.

The bottom coin has very crude workmanship, is much lighter than the Saxon standard weight, and the legends are very blundered. One 'R' on the obverse is reversed, and the moneyers name is nonsense. The letter 'Λ' is unbarred on this example, as on standard Viking coinage. It is North 475/1. The imitation coins are rarer than the Ælfred originals. They are shown together for comparison.

sources : BBC History, Viking Money website. English Hammered Coinage, Volume One, JJ North. Coinage and the Economy in Anglo-Saxon England website. EMC database website.

Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 15/04/2006.
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I.V Rare Cross and Wedges penny fragment.

This fragment unfortunately offers little clue to the identity of the monarch. We know that this Cross and Wedges type was produced only by King Cœnvulf of Mercia, 796-821, and King Cuthred of Kent, 798-807, his brother and a sub king under Cœnvulf. It was minted only at Canterbury, by Cœnvulf 805-810 and Cuthred 804-807. Therefore this coin was minted sometime between 804 and 810. It is either North 211 or North 344. The diademed bust right is copied from Roman siliqua coins.

I am fairly certain that the moneyer of this coin is Verheard. The two kings had this moneyer in common and this coin matches most closely his dies on the EMC. Coins minted by this moneyer are for the most part of good style. Other moneyers for this type were Beornferth, Eaba and Sigeberht, who minted for both kings, Duda and Heremod, who minted for Cuthred and Seberht who minted for Coenvulf. There are 41 Cross and Wedges coins recorded on the EMC/SCBI website, 26 for Cuthred and 15 for Cœnvulf.

Cuthred coins of this type have the name of the mint added, and often the legend is split by small moline ends. The legend reads +CUÐRED REX CANT. The reverse has the moneyers name followed by MONETA (this is the same for both kings.)

Coenvulf's Cross and Wedges type, which are Group II portrait coins, read +COENVVLF REX M(ERCIORUM). Cœnvulf king of the Mercians. With no mint name added, and a similar reverse to that above.

Sources : English Hammered Coinage, Volume One, JJ North. Coins of England 2004, Spink. EMC/SCBI database website. Timeline Originals website.