Kings of Mercia Offa 757-796AD Silver Penny Light Coinage

Kings of Mercia Offa 757-796AD Silver Penny Light Coinage. Moneyer Babba

S889, 17mm, 1.03g

Found in Dorset in 2021 and recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Offa (757-796): The first King of Mercia to strike coins, Offa is perhaps one of the most famous Anglo-Saxon kings – and certainly the longest-ruling (c. 39 years). Although he probably was not the original builder of ‘Offa’s Dyke’ and his attempts to ingratiate himself with the Frankish King Charlemagne ultimately failed – by the time of his death he had built Mercia into Anglo-Saxon England’s powerhouse kingdom. J J North’s ‘English Hammered Coinage vol. I’ encompasses Offa’s coinage within c. 80 different types, which perhaps illustrates best the complexity of his various issues struck during his reign.