Archbishop of Canterbury Ceolnoth AD 833-870 Silver Penny

Archbishop of Canterbury Ceolnoth AD 833-870 Silver Penny

Group II

Inscribed Cross type. Canterbury mint; Hebeca, moneyer. Struck circa 854-864. + CEOLNOÐ ΛRCHIEP–, tonsured and draped facing bust / + HEBE :· CΛ MO N E T Λ arranged on limbs of, and around, beaded cross. Naismith C154k = SCBI 20 (Mack), 667 (this coin); North 245; SCBC 894. 21mm, 1.21g. Rich old cabinet toning, minor edge chip. Near EF. Rare.

This coin comes with previous collectors labels and extensive provenance with the pedigree of being a part of several major collections. ex Spink, December 1976. Ex R.P. Mack Collection (Part I, Glendining, 18 November 1975), lot 97; R.C. Lockett Collection (Part IV, Glendining, 26 April 1960), lot 3555; Frank McClean [“Astronomer”] Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 13 June 1906), lot 128; H. Durden Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 20 December 1892), lot 21.

Ceolnoth (833-870) – the longest-active Archbishop at some 37 years in office, at his accession in 833 Ceolnoth possessed the unenviable position of having two major problems to deal with. Firstly, the increase in Scandinavian attacks on both Kent and Canterbury itself. Secondly, how to move forward with Kent’s new overlords – the Kingdom of Wessex. Working in co-operation with Egbert, the King of Wessex, Ceolnoth brokered an agreement that in return for military protection and the ceding of control regarding minsters to the crown, he would support the succession of Egbert’s son to the throne. Despite this diplomacy, raiding continued largely unabated – and many monastic communities were wiped out as a consequence.