Kings of Wessex Edward the Elder AD 899-924 Silver Penny

Kings of Wessex Edward the Elder AD 899-924 Silver Penny, Moneyer Berhtelm.

Small Cross / Moneyers name in 2 lines.  Moneyer BERHTELM

S1087, 22mm, 1.42g. Clearly struck, minor cracking at 3 o’clock on obverse

Edward the Elder (899-924): Son of Alfred the Great, Edward spent much of his reign retaking the Danelaw from its largely Scandinavian-descended inhabitants. By the end of his tenure, most of the territory had been re-absorbed and the Danish Jarls firmly subjugated by both force and diplomacy. A great soldier, his military exploits have somewhat dominated other important aspects of his reign – such as his socio-political re-organisation of Mercia and East Anglia into new administrative shires. Only recently has Edward been studied in depth, overshadowed to a degree by both his famous father and contemporary ally in the English fightback – Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia. His coinage is highly varied, including both portrait and non-portrait types as well as very rare ‘pictorial’ issues