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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Nap, post: 3269383, member: 73099&quot;]Tough to stop at 10 since I added over 30 coins to my collection this year.&nbsp; But these were among my favorites-</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861993[/ATTACH] </p><p>Anglo-Saxon secondary sceatta, series K (Kent), type 33 (720-750)</p><p>An iconic coin, with the reverse lion&#039;s head with coiled tongue.&nbsp; Not the highest grade coin I bought this year, but a miniature masterpiece of Saxon art, simplistic though it may be. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861994[/ATTACH] </p><p>Anglo-Saxon secondary sceatta, series K (Kent), type 42 (720-750)</p><p>Despite falling in the same &quot;series&quot; of sceattas, this coin and the above are considerably different.&nbsp; I actually acquired 4 series K (for Kent) sceattas this year, and two of them are in my top 10.&nbsp; The imagery of the reverse creature (a hound?) eating berries off a vine is mirrored in another coin from Northumbria featured later</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]862000[/ATTACH] </p><p>Aethelred I of Northumbria, first reign (774-779)</p><p>O: EDILRED</p><p>R: fantastic beast right, cross under tail, triquetra below</p><p>Beast-type coin from this little-known ruler&#039;s first reign.&nbsp; The &quot;fantastic beast&quot; was featured on coins of Aldfrith, Eadberht, Alchred, Aelfwald I, and Aethelred I.&nbsp; At some point, the design changed to a more basic design without the creature, with the king&#039;s name on one side and the moneyer on the other.</p><p>Once a great rarity, it is now a slightly-less-than-great rarity, still the most difficult of the &quot;beast types&quot; to find and the last one for me to acquire.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861995[/ATTACH] </p><p>Styca of Aethelred II, first reign (844-848), moneyer Leofthegn</p><p>O: +EDILRED REX</p><p>R: LEOF DEG N, fantastic beast with triquetra above forelegs</p><p>The most artistic of the least artistic coins, the only styca to feature a &quot;fantastic creature&quot; with a nod to olden times.&nbsp; Only one reverse die recorded for this rare issue, though at least a dozen of these are known.&nbsp; The creature is often called a dog.&nbsp; The similarity to the series K coin depicted above is uncanny and probably intentional.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861996[/ATTACH] </p><p>Penny of Offa of Mercia (757-796), by moneyer Aethelnoth</p><p>O: M OFFA REX</p><p>R: + EDELD NO</p><p>Offa was the first monarch to produce pennies, replacing the sceattas in southern England.&nbsp; This coin is ex-Archbishop Sharp collection with a provenance of some 300+ years</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861998[/ATTACH] </p><p>Penny of Coenwulf of Mercia (796-821), by moneyer Seberht</p><p>O: +COENVVLF REX M</p><p>R: +SE BE RHT</p><p>Coenwulf continued Offa&#039;s tradition of having portrait and nonportrait coinage.&nbsp; While by no means common, Coenwulf&#039;s coins are among the more prolific in the Mercian series (which contains a number of serious rarities!)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861997[/ATTACH] </p><p>Penny of Coenwulf of Mercia (796-821), by moneyer Wodel</p><p>O: +COENVVLF REX M</p><p>R: PO D E LT</p><p>The style is suggestive of the East Anglian type.&nbsp; Coenwulf was overlord over Kent and East Anglia, though his control of these areas was less absolute than his predecessor Offa&#039;s.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861999[/ATTACH] </p><p>Penny of Burgred of Mercia (852-874), by moneyer Guthere</p><p>O: BVRGRED REX</p><p>R: MON GVDHERE ETA</p><p>The only common coin in the Mercian series, coins of Burgred are remarkably prolific compared to his predecessors.&nbsp; He was also the penultimate Mercian monarch to issue coins- Mercia would be ravaged by Vikings then become part of Wessex.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]862002[/ATTACH] </p><p>Penny of Aethelberht of Wessex (860-865), by moneyer Aethelweald</p><p>O: AEDELBEARHT REX</p><p>R: +EDELVE ALD MO N E T A</p><p>Aethelberht was the son of Aethelwulf and one of the older brothers of Alfred (the Great).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]862003[/ATTACH] </p><p>Penny of Aethelred I of Wessex (865-871), but moneyer Aelfhere</p><p>O: +AEDELRED REX</p><p>R: .MON. ELBERE .ETA.</p><p>Another older brother of Alfred the Great.&nbsp; Aethelred should have been the hero of the important battle of Ashdown, but Alfred received all the glory in the only recorded history.&nbsp; Aethlred didn&#039;t live much longer.&nbsp; Aethelred&#039;s son Aethelwold would have a minor role to play later, as the leader of Vikings in revolt in Northern England against his cousin Edward the Elder.&nbsp; Aethelred I today is largely forgotten, as the second king of that name (Aethelred II- the Unready) is infamous.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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