2015- my ten coin year in review (British Anglo-Saxon coins)

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by Nap, Dec 8, 2015.

  1. Nap

    Nap Well-Known Member

    My additions for the year. It's been a productive year and I'm fortunate to have been able to make some acquisitions.



    Aethelred, king of Mercia (?)
    [​IMG]
    Early Anglo-Saxon coins are called sceats, or sceattas, a term that loosely means treasure. It's a modern invention; ancient people would not have used the word sceat to describe their coins. This coin depicts the "porcupine" design, which is probably meant to represent a face with a headdress but has degenerated into an abstract thing with quills, called by modern observers a porcupine. The reverse is, in great contrast, an extremely legible inscription of the name Aethelred (in runic, and going clockwise). These coins may have been struck for King Aethelred of Mercia. They have mostly been found in Kent, and may have been struck for the king's invasion of this territory.


    Aethelred I, king of Northumbria, moneyer Cuthgils
    [​IMG]
    O: ED+LRED R: CVD CLS, shrine in center
    A sceat of Aethelred I. Lord Grantley, the famous British numismatist of the early 20th century, believed the reverse of the coin was a tribute to St. Cuthberht, a major saint of the early Northumbrian church, and misinterpreted the reverse as stating "SCT CVD". Later research has shown that rather it was the name Cuthgils, who was a moneyer. The simplistic 'triangle with a cross on top' has been interpreted as a shrine, and may have some religious meaning that has been lost to history. The design is about as creative as Northumbrian coins of this era could be. Quite rare, probably <25 known.


    Aethelred I, king of Northumbria, with Archbishop Eanbald I (or moneyer Eanbald)
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    O: +AEDILRED R: EANBALD
    Another sceat of Aethelred I, this time with the name Eanbald on the reverse. Eanbald was the name of two successive archbishops of York, and this coin is typically assigned to the first. However there is no mention of title or rank to be found on the coin. There is a single coin of this type with the reverse reading "EANBALDA", which might mean Eanbald A(rchbishop). Quite rare, probably <40 known.


    Eanred, King of Northumbria, moneyer Wihtred
    [​IMG]
    O: +EANRED REX R: +PINTRM|X|
    9th century copper coins of Northumbria are called stycas, a term that is not at all contemporary, but was used by early numismatists in the 18th and 19th century. Kings and religious leaders had these coins struck in their names.
    This particular example is unusual in that the moneyer wrote his name in runic letters, a style of writing that had mostly gone out of favor by this time.


    Herreth, moneyer to the kings of Northumbria
    [​IMG]
    O: XHERRED R: XHERRED
    A double reverse Northumbrian styca of King Eanred's moneyer Herreth. Northumbrian stycas are well known for being crude and, especially in later years, having nonsensical legends. In fact, Spink/Seaby #S.872 is given to all of those coins fitting into the "irregular series." But this is not a 'typical' blundered styca. In fact it is a mule and presumable deliberately produced "double reverse" coin, depicting the moneyer on both sides, of good style, and from an earlier period than the later civil wartime irregular stycas.
    The manufacture of coins was presumably a structured process, given the many thousands of coins produced. The lower die is presumed to have been mounted on some solid piece of wood or anvil, thought to perhaps be via a spike that could be driven into the wood, holding it fast in place. The obverse die would be held with one hand, the hammer with the other. It's not known for sure if this is how manufacture took place, but it is a reasonable assumption that both dies would not be loose and subject to considerable movement during striking. So for a double-reverse pairing to take place, a reverse die would have been mistakenly manufactured as an obverse die (without the spike), then paired with a normal reverse for striking. This makes some sense, as double obverse pairings are exceedingly uncommon in the styca series, and quite rare overall in medieval and ancient coins. Or this could have been a deliberate act of manufacture by a moneyer who believed the king held no authority over him. Certainly the true meaning will never be known.


    Wigmund, Archbishop of York, moneyer Coenred
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    O: +VIGMVND IREP R: +COENRED
    This particular coin is not rare, but in quite a nice state of preservation.


    Wiglaf, king of Mercia, moneyer Redmund
    [​IMG]
    O: +VVIGLAF REX M R: N/+REDMV/D
    An obscure king of Mercia. Not much is known about him. He was briefly deposed by the most powerful king of that time, Ecgberht of Wessex, but managed to re-take his throne. His interrupted reign lasted a good 10 years, but yet his coins are excessively rare. I can track 10 others besides this one, most in museums.
    The name Wiglaf has always appealed to me; like most Anglo-Saxon names, it is a two part name. Wig- means war, -laf means one who remains. It probably means 'one who would stand by your side in battle'. It is the name of Beowulf's loyal thane, and because of the name's meaning it is probably meant to be a character actor, as Wiglaf is the only subordinate who stays loyal to Beowulf and helps him in his battle against the dragon.
    I like to think that King Wiglaf's parents were familiar with the Beowulf story, and chose this name in honor of the character.
    Name parts often ran in families, and Wiglaf had descendants with names like Wigmund and Wigstan. It's possible he was related to the Wigmund of York, although people in this time did not frequently travel outside of their kingdoms.


    Alfred (the Great), king of Wessex
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    O: AELFRED REX R: London monogram
    The greatest of all Anglo-Saxon kings, and the only British king to retain the moniker 'the Great'. He saved his kingdom and people from destruction at the hands of the Vikings.
    This coin features the monogram of the city of London, which copies earlier monograms seen on Roman, Gothic, and Frankish coins. It is believed to have been struck in the city to commemorate the retaking of London from the Danes, ca. 880.
    This particular coin was double struck about 10 degrees off, and as such the imagery is a little muddled, but still quite readable.


    Henry, prince of Northumberland
    [​IMG]
    O: +N[ENCI COM]I R: [ ]ON:C[ ]
    A cut halfpenny of Prince Henry of Northumberland. Henry was a grandson of Malcolm Canmore, famous from Shakespeare's Macbeth. He was heir to the Scottish throne, but never became king. He was something of a pawn in his father's plotting against king Stephen of England. As part of a peace settlement, Henry became Earl of Northumberland, which made him nominally subservient to Stephen. Stephen had bigger problems, his cousin Matilda from Germany also claimed the English throne and went to war, starting the period of English history known as the "Anarchy", so Stephen was probably happy to make peace with the Scots. Prince Henry was not a well person, and predeceased his father.


    John, king of England
    [​IMG]
    Pennies of king John, of Robin Hood fame, are by no means rare, but this particular example displays a rather unusual flip-over double strike, with heads on tails and tails on heads. What is even more unusual is that both sides have well defined features of both the obverse and reverse.
     
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  3. Mat

    Mat Ancient Coincoholic

    Those are some excellent coins. I especially like the Aethelred I's & and the Alfred.

    Congrats on some great acquisitions in 2015.
     
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