Northumbria Aethelred I Silver Sceat 1st Reign 774-780AD rare

Northumbria Aethelred I Silver Sceat 1st Reign 774-780AD rare, Stylized stag

S850, 13mm, 0.91g

Provenance will be provided

Æthelred I (774-779, 790-796) – a king with two reigns, Æthelred was deposed in 779 but returned to rule in 790. In 792, he achieved a substantial act of diplomacy by allying with Mercia through marriage to King Offa’s daughter Ælfflæd. However, the next year Lindisfarne was raided for the first time by marauding Vikings – Æthelred’s popularity subsequently tumbled, as many saw this event as God punishing his brutal habits of murdering potential rivals. Chroniclers record that he was killed by a group of his own nobles at Corbridge in 796.