Kings of Kent Baldred Silver Penny 823-825AD Swefnerth, Canterbury

Kings of Kent Baldred Silver Penny 823-825AD Swefnerth, Canterbury

20mm, 1.39g, S880

A rare and high grade coin from the kingdom of Kent, seldom offered.

Provenance – The Kent Collection. This coin comes with a hand written collector’s ticket

Baldred (823-825) – the last specifically named ‘King of Kent’, Baldred’s affiliation is actually uncertain. Although some see him as a Mercian vassal, before his reign Kent was ruled over directly by the Kings of Mercia – coins being somewhat abruptly struck in his name from c. 823 onwards. For this reason, some see him as an independent opportunist in a similar (though more successful) light to Eadberht Praen. Irrespective of his loyalties, he was deposed in c. 825 after Wessex annexed Kent following its victory over the Mercians at Ellandun.