Kings of Mercia Archbishop Aethelheard 798-800AD Silver Penny

Kings of Mercia Archbishop Aethelheard 798-800AD Silver Penny, Coenwulf as overlord.

S886, 18mm, 1.26g

Provenance will be provided. Minor edge loss and surface cracking but coin stable and pleasing in hand.

Æthelheard (793-805) – little is known of Æthelheard’s early life, but he appears to have been Bishop of Winchester before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. His occupation of this post is nothing if not dramatic – in 796 he was forced to flee for his life when Eadberht Praen’s insurrection briefly re-asserted the independence of Kent. On returning to the See in 798, Æthelheard’s efforts were primarily put into helping with the de-construction of the Archbishopric of Lichfield, travelling to Rome personally to mediate between King Coenwulf of Mercia and the Pope. Canonised after his death, his cult actively survived until the 11^th century.