It's been a while since I have been able to add the coin of new British king to my collection. I bought this at auction, and probably paid too much, as usual, but it's a decent piece. It's been lightly clipped, which was probably the reason I could afford to buy it. Oddly enough NGC gave it a grade of "Clipped" on the sharpness grade was something better than that, EF. Why they didn't give it details grade is beyond me. Here is the text from my notebook on this this king. Crowned, Draped Bust Portrait, Unusual Style S - 1094, North — 673, Moneyer—Manna · Æthelstan (ruled 924 to 939) was said to have had the combined qualities of Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder. He was scholarly, cultured, charismatic and a skilled warrior who was able to build a strong, secure kingdom. He was probably the most powerful of all the Saxon kings. · Æthelstan may have been born illegitimate. There were claims that his father, Edward, was not married to his mother, Egwina, when he was born. He was raised by his aunt, Edward’s sister, Æthelstan, in her court in Gloucester in Mercia. The fact that he was raised in Mercia gained him the trust of the people there, which his predecessors never received. Æthelstan was a favorite of his grandfather, Alfred the Great. · When Æthelstan became king, the Norse king of York, Sitric Carch, endorsed him immediately. Carch recognized that Æthelstan ’s popularity in Mercia give him a much greater ability to attack Northumbria if that became necessary. Carch was married to Æthelstan ’s sister, Eadgyth, but he would not accept Christianity. · Carch died not too long after he made his peace with Æthelstan . His brother, Gothfrith, who was king of Dublin, claimed the York crown, but Æthelstan defeated him, treated him with respect and sent him back to Ireland. · Æthelstan summoned the kings of Scotland and Strathclyde in June 927 and made them swear not to support Gothfrith if he had any more designs toward York. Æthelstan entered York as the first Saxon king of that province. All previous kings had been Scandinavians or the native Angles. · Æthelstan settled to borders with the Welsh. Previously Edward had forced them to pay homage to him, but they had supported a Norse uprising. Æthelstan ’s aimed to stop Welsh incursions into Mercia. The Welsh may not have fully complied with Æthelstan ’s demands, but they respected him. · Æthelstan went to Devon where the Cornish were in revolt under their king, Hoel. He expelled the Cornish from Exeter, driving them back beyond the Tamar River which formed the boundary between Cornwall and England. He fortified Exeter to help maintain that boundary. · One Welsh king, Hywel, was so impressed with Saxon court that he put into practice many of the procedures that he had seen. · Æthelstan was able to maintain his alliance with the Scots for seven years, which was a remarkable achievement for the time. He made alliances with other kings in Europe by arranging the marriages of his sisters and aunts to various leaders. These marriages would help form bonds that would make Æthelstan a key player on the international scene. · Æthelstan became such a friend of the King of Norway, Harald Fairhair, that he sent gifts to the Saxon king and sent his son, Haakon, to be fostered in the Saxon court. This was a common practice at the time. When Haakon returned to Norway he was so welcomed that the elders deposed his brother, Erik Bloodaxe. Erik would cause trouble for Æthelstan ’s successors. · Æthelstan ’s alliance with Scotland broke down when the Scottish king, Constantine, arranged a marriage of his daughter to Olaf Gothfrithson of Dublin. Æthelstan viewed that as a violation of the agreement he had with the Scots. · Æthelstan raised a large army, marched into Scotland and laid waste the country as far north as Fordun. · Constantine combined his army with Olaf’s forces and marched to Mercia. Æthelstan ’s forces met them at Brunanburh near Nottingham and defeated them decisively. It was one of the greatest victories in Saxon lore. · Æthelstan ruled peacefully over his last two years. His reign would be remembered as a golden age. He never married and died at age 44 from the digestive issues that seemed to affect his family.
Great write up and the coin itself doesn't seem to be clipped too bad. Great addition. I've yet to venture to this area of Britain, seems too expensive.
Congratulations! A great new addition, and thanks for a good write-up. Here’s an image of known coin types from Eirik Bloodaxe: http://www.emsoy.com/numismatikeren/galleri/eirik_blodoks.htm To my knowledge, they’re all extremely rare.
