+ DAVE'S : RARE : COINS

I.II Thoughts on the life and coinage of Eadwald of East Anglia.

Almost from the start of his reign, ◊ffa, the mighty and oppressive king of Mercia, 757-796, claimed precedence over several neighbouring territories. Client kingdoms and puppet monarchies were created almost at will, and any sign of dissent in any form, was punished mercillessly. Æðelbert, 779-794, a sub king of East Anglia recognised ◊ffa as Overlord for most of his reign, and was permitted to mint his own coins. His moneyer LUL, a resiliant man, minted coins for Æðelbert, Offa, Eadvald of East Anglia, and Cœnvulf of Mercia in turn. But in 794 in the wake of a renewed bid for independence, Æðelbert came to Sutton near Hereford, probably to contract a marriage with one of ◊ffa's daughters. ◊ffa captured him there and had him beheaded. He was later canonised and Hereford Cathedral dedicated to him. ◊ffa then directly ruled East Anglia from Mercia for the next two years, until he died, probably campaigning against the Welsh, something he did on a regular basis. This created a better oppurtunity for independence in East Anglia. Eadvald exerted himself in a push for the throne, but was stopped by King Ecgferth, son of ◊ffa, who ruled for only five months before he was killed fighting the Welsh. Eadvald did not attempt to take the throne directly again. 

We know next to nothing about King Eadvald or his reign. He was obviously of East Anglian royal blood and may have been in exile during ◊ffa's lifetime. He then probably became sub king under Coenvulf of Mercia. However the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle lists several kings under the year 796, such as Eadberht Praen of Kent, 796-798, (whose reign roughly coinsided with that of Eadvald, and who was also in exile during ◊ffa's lifetime,) but omits any mention of a monarch in East Anglia. Perhaps seen as an insignificant puppet, the chronicler does not think his actions worthy of mention. It seems probable that he was either elderly or diseased as his reign, though difficult to date definately, lasted only a couple of years - three at most. Coenvulf then ruled East Anglia directly from c.798-821 when he died. After him the Mercian kings Ceolvulf I, Beornþulf and Ludica also directly ruled East Anglia. This ended when King Ludica was killed by Æðelstan Of East Anglia in 827. East Anglian independence was then assured until 869 when the Viking Great Army captured King (Saint) Eadmund and executed him. History is also silent concerning the end of Eadwald. He either died or was deposed c.798. As opposed to Eadberht Praen of Kent, also a client king of Mercia under Cœnvulf, who, the chronicle boldly tells us, was led bound into Mercia to have his eyes put out and his hands cut off. Probably in return for backing a rebellion or uprising of some kind.

Pretty much all that we know of Eadvald comes from his coins. Four separate types were minted, all in East Anglia, at an unknown location, possibly Ipswich. (Based on evidence of coin finds at Ipswich there was probably an economic decline during Mercian rule, which did not improve until the time of the Viking invaders.) There are only NINETEEN coins of Eadvald in existance. It is virtually impossible to obtain one. (In 1985 there were fourteen, and in 1982 only seven. But in 1845 there were only three.) Nine are whole coins, four are fragments, four are chipped (including my example) one is unknown and one is a contemporary forgery. As expected most of these were found in and around Norfolk and Suffolk. My coin was found near Kings Lynn. Types for this coinage are as follows, Three line quatrefoil : twelve examples. Cross and Pellets : one example. Circumcision Cross : two examples. Cross Fourchee with Lozenge centre : two examples. Of the twelve examples of the Three line quatrefoil, SIX coins are from the same pair of dies. Almost unheard of in this early period. My coin is one of these six.

The six coins from the same dies of course have the same moneyer, Eadnoð, who also minted the Cross and Pellets and the Circumscription Cross types. The forged coin is in his name. Eadnoth also minted coins for Offa of Mercia prior to Eadwald, the Runic type North 336/1 is his.

Another moneyer for the Three line quatrefoil type is LUL. His coinage for Eadvald differs from Eadnoð's in that it has a cross before † EADV, ALD is on the bottom line and REX on the top line. The quatrefoil is different also and has rosettes of pellets around the edge. Four examples are known. This East Anglian moneyer appears to have been quite flexible, and apparently indifferent to whom he minted coins for. He began by minting coins of Æðelbert, then coins for ◊ffa of Mercia, then coins of Eadvald and finally coins for Cœnvulf of Mercia [image here http://etribes.com/node/87568?size=_original]. All of these are extremely rare.

Three other moneyers minted for Eadvald. These are Vintred, who minted the Cross Fourchee and Lozenge type, and also coins for Offa and Cœnvulf of Mercia. Wodel, represented by a single Eadvald fragment, who was also moneyer under Cœnvulf and his successor Ceolvulf I of Mercia. And finally Botred, also represented by a single Eadvald example. He also minted for ◊ffa, Cœnvulf and Ceolvulf I of Mercia. Some coins of these moneyers are runic in style.

This study is not exhaustive of course, other information can be deduced or surmised, and hypotheses produced. Many of these extremely rare coins are in museums and universities. Excavations reveal exciting new variations on existing Eighth century coinage from time to time, and through the blessing of metal detectors more often still. This was an exciting time for the English coinage. The penny had been introduced in the 760's and was still in its infancy. Many moneyers minted for several monarchs and bishops, and diversity of design was common. Silver resources were plentiful and some later kings such as Æðelvulf of Wessex 839-858 controlled vast amounts. It is perhaps fitting that Eadvald, whom the chroniclers ignore, is today best known and remembered for the rarity of his coinage.

Sources : EMC database website. SCBI database website. Kessler, Kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons website. Anglo-Saxons, timeline website. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Anne Savage.  English Hammered Coinage, Volume One, J.J. North. Keith Chapman at Anglo Saxon Coins.

• Posted by dragonbloodaxe on 19/03/2006.
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