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

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

22mm, 1.62g, S1084

A pleasing coin, albeit struck from rusty dies. Portraits on this series are often weakly struck, on this example there is some weakness but all the important details are clear. Attractive in hand.

Provenance – The Kent Collection. This coin comes with a hand written collector’s ticket. Ex Stacks, 2008

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.