Kings of Wessex Edward the Elder AD 899-924 Silver Penny East Anglian Portrait type Extremely Rare

Kings of Wessex Edward the Elder AD 899-924, East Anglian Portrait type. Extremely Rare

Silver Penny

Bust left / Moneyer

S1084, 23mm, 1.58g. Struck on a large and complete flan of good metal, minor softness to striking on chin and above diadem

This coin is a part of the Quidenham Hoard, an amazing find of 7 East Anglian portrait type pennies of Edward The Elder, declared treasure then disclaimed and returned to the finder. The full reports (split in to two entries on the database as coins were found a few years apart) can be viewed on the Portable Antiquities website here: Search results from the database Page: 1 (finds.org.uk)

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