Hardicanute (ruled 1040 to 1042) was the last Viking king to rule England. As you wiil see from my "bullet book" notes, he was not morned when he died. There are English made Hardicanute pennies, but all of them are expensive. The Danish made pieces are a little cheaper and even got an entry in the Spink book as S-1170. Here is an example and my notes: · Hardicanute claimed his English crown upon his arrival from Denmark on June 17, 1040. Since his half-brother, Harold I had died, he faced no opposition. · Hardicanute arrived in England with a large force of sailors and raised taxes to pay for his expedition. He levied a tax of 32,147 pounds for the payment of his ships’ crews. His handling of the situation was clumsy and dictatorial. · Two of his house-carles, who were sent to collect the money, were murdered in Worcester. In retribution, the town was burnt to the ground. · Hardicanute suffered a seizure and died while drinking at a feast on June 8, 1042. He was only 25 years old. Poison may have been involved. · Hardicanute’s English coins are rare and expensive. A reasonable alternative is to acquire of his Danish coins, shown above, which are much less costly. This piece is listed in the Spink Coins of England guide. Hardicanute's half brother, Harold Harefoot or Harold I, served a regent until Hardicanute could claim his crown. This is the Fleur-de-Lis type of the Harold I penny, S-1164, which was issued from 1038 to 40.
Everyone who was in college knows for a fact that you cannot die from just binging at 25, so it must have been poison.
There has been some recent thought that Harðacnut and Edward the Confessor were reigning jointly or had some joint agreement Arranged by their mother Emma (and thus Emma May have had a hand in the ‘poisoning’). Why Edward would have been favored is a bit of a mystery to me. lovely coin as always!
Here is my Harold Harefoot piece. I posted a thread on it recently in the world coins folder. ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of All England. Harold I Harefoot. 1035-1040. AR Penny Diameter: 17mm Weight 0.87 gr Jewel Cross type (BMC i, Hild. A). Suðgeweorc (Southwark) mint; moneyer, Leofric. Struck 1036-1038. + Obverse: HAR OLD RE, diademed bust left Reverse: + LEORIC O ((NN) SVÐG:, cross composed of four ovals united at base by two concentric circles enclosing a pellet. SCBI 40 (Stockholm), 532 var. (Rev. Legend); Hild. 924 var. (Same); BMC -; North 802; SCBC 1163
