Kings of Wessex Aethelwulf AD 839-858 Silver Penny Portrait type

Kings of Wessex Aethelwulf AD 839-858 Silver Penny, Portrait type

New portrait right / Cross crosslet.

Mint Canterbury, Moneyer DAEGHEAH

S1047, 20x21mm, 1.28g

A good portrait example of this early king of Wessex, extensive pedigree, a part of several major collections to include Mack & Carlyon Britton.

This coin is part of the Fort collection, a carefully assembled group of English Anglo-Saxon pennies collected for their historical importance and condition. Coins were sourced from reputable dealers and auction houses over some 25 years. Each one comes with the collector’s label, along with any other previous tickets and are sure to sell quickly given their overall high grade and rarity. FortA

Æthelwulf (839-858) – The son of Ecgberht, Æthelwulf’s tenure of rule technically began earlier in the 830’s – when his father appointed him the sub-king of Sussex, Essex and Kent. The advantages of this division of power were not lost on Æthelwulf, enabling better administration over the rapidly expanding Kingdom of Wessex against a backdrop of widespread Scandinavian raiding. On taking the throne, he thus appointed his first son Æthelstan to be the sub-king of the areas he himself had previously governed. Æthelwulf is perhaps best known for his successful statesmanship, allying Wessex and Mercia through the marriage of his daughter Æthelswith to King Burgred, as well as travelling to Rome on a lengthy diplomatic mission. On his return to Britain, his second son Æthelbald (who had been appointed to rule in his absence) refused to give up the throne – the rule of Wessex being subsequently divided between them.