Northumbria Aethelred II 1st Reign AD 841-844 Bronze Styca

Northumbria Aethelred II 1st Reign 841-844AD Bronze Styca,

Special central motif/ LEOFDEGN around cruciform central device.

S866, 13mm, 0.93g

Æthelred II (c. 840-848 or 854-862) – one of the most commonly encountered issuers of stycas, Æthelred was briefly deposed halfway through his reign by Redwulf, but quickly regained power. His dates of reign are hotly debated, though historians largely agree that he was assassinated rather than abdicating or dying peacefully.

This coin is a part of the ‘John Cross Collection’ of Anglo Saxon coins. John was an avid collector of coins from across the Anglo Saxon period for many years, he sadly passed away in 2020. His coins were recovered by executors who appear to have destroyed all paperwork relating to them meaning that there are no tickets or provenance prior to his collection. Tony Abramson has compiled an inventory of his early coins, a copy of which is available on request and individual numbers on the back of our tickets relate to this. The collection contains many rarities, seldom offered on the open market so this is a good opportunity for collectors to obtain rare coins which are usually unavailable.