May 1, 1896. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



101 



history of this period it is impossible to go in detail here, 

 and we can only briefly instance coins of a few of the 

 better Imown rulers of the time. 



In 87-4 the Viking army under Halfdan deposed Burgred, 

 King of Mercia, and England was now practically divided 

 between Wessex and the Danish power. One of the most 

 remarkable coins issued by the invaders is the penny of 

 Halfdan, when he was in London after the deposition of 

 Burgred. The obverse type (No. 31) is similar to that 

 of the reverse of the gold sceat described above (No. 12), ■ 

 while the reverse bears the monogram of London. 



-•Elfred the Great succeeded to the throne of Wessex in 

 871, and reigned till 901. By 878 (when he won the 

 victory of ^Ethandune) he had succeeded in getting rid of 

 the Danes from England west of Watling Street and the 

 Lea, and consolidating his kingdom ; his coins probably 

 date from after this year. 



The following penny (No. 32) was struck at Oxford : 



obverse, /ELFRED OHSNAFORDA (for ORSNAFORDA); 

 reverse, BERNVALD MO(for MONETARIVS, moneyer). Under 

 Eadweard the Elder, who succeeded .Elfred, we find a great 

 variety of types, including one which may be meant for 

 Canterbury Cathedral (No. 33). The workmanship of the 

 coins of this king is neater than any since the time of Offa, 

 and there seems to have been some attempt at portraiture. 

 Eadweard's successor, ^Ethelstan, also struck a fine series 

 of coins, but of less varied types. The number of mints 

 (the names of which it had become not unusual to place on 

 the coins in the time of Jillfred) begins to increase in this 

 reign, and the new places from which coins were issued are 

 evidence of the steps by which England was gradually 

 recovered from the Danes. .Ethelstan sometimes calls 

 himself King of all Britain (REX TO BR on No. 31). From 

 this time to the reign of Eadgar (959-975) there is no im- 

 portant change in the coinage to be chronicled. 



We may now, before passing to the coinage of unified 

 England, look briefly at some of the exceptional issues 

 of the period just described. Beginning with the archi- 

 episcopal coinage, we illustrate (No. 35) a coin struck at 

 Canterbury in 832-833 during the interval between the 

 death of Wulfred and the appointment of Ceolnodh. On 

 the obverse is a head to the right and the name of the 

 MONETArius SVVEFNERD; On the reverse DOROBERNIA 

 CIVITAS. The coins struck by the archbishops them- 

 selves are not of any unusual interest ; but there are 

 at least two remarkable series of quasi-ecclesiastical 

 coins which must be mentioned here. These are the 

 memorial pennies of St. Eadmund, struck in East Anglia 

 chiefly during the end of the ninth century, and a some- 

 what similar series with the name of St. Peter, struck 

 probably about the middle of the tenth century. The 

 former series is represented here (No. 30) by a coin which 

 reads sc ('-i'., Sanctus) EADMVND r on both sides, but 

 the reverses are more commonly occupied by moneyers' 

 names, sometimes of a very strange character. Most of 

 them appear to be Frankish, and the coins may have been 

 issued by Frankish traders settled in the district. The St. 

 Peter coins were struck at York during the Danish occu- 

 pation, and probably under the direction of the archbishops. 

 The type of the obverse of the coin figured (No. 37) is a 

 sword, the legend sci PETR mo, i.i'., Money of St. Peter. 

 These coins have of course no connection with the Peter's 

 Pence, which were a tribute paid into the Papal Treasury 

 on St. Peter Mass. The other subsidiary coinages of this 

 period we must pass over unnoticed. 



Under Eadgar, the first King of all England, there is a 



• It also occurs on coins of Ccolwulf II. of Mercia iwho was set 

 up by the Danes in 874) and of yElfrod the Great. 



great increase in the number of mints, but otherwise 

 nothing remarkable to chronicle. .Ethelred II., the 

 Unready (i.e., devoid of counsel), issued a very large number 

 of coins, in spite of the distressful state of his kingdom. 

 He is occasionally represented wearing a helmet (some- 

 times combined with a crown). The combination is seen 

 on the gold piece here illastrated (No. 38), which was 

 made at Lewes <L/EPEi by the moneyer Leofwine 

 iLEOFPiNE'. This piece is usually regarded as a proof or 

 pattern ; but it may equally well have been struck as 

 an offering; penny or presentation piece. A similar gold 

 piece of Edward the Confessor exists. This coin also 

 gives us an instance of the double cross, which now 

 becomes common, owing probably to its convenience 

 with a view to cutting the penny into halfpennies or 

 farthings. 



During the reign of .Ethelred II. the English coinage 

 had an enormous circulation all over the Scandinavian 

 world, and the later coinage of these parts was modelled 

 on the English money. The English coinage presumably 

 travelled abroad as ransom or plunder, though, did we 

 not know the facts, we should naturally conclude from the 

 numismatic evidence that .Ethelred's reign was one of 

 great prosperity. 



The remaining rulers of England previous to the Norman 

 Conijuest must be briefly dismissed. Under Cnut we 

 notice the occurrence of the crowned bust (No. 39, reading 



CNVT REX ANGLORVM and /ELFNOD MO LINO, a 



Lincoln penny, therefore), which Cnut adopted from the 

 German emperors. The legend pacx (common enough 

 on later coins) now first occurs on some of Cnut's coins, 

 having reference probably to the peaceful settlement 

 of English affairs in 1017-18. Cnut also sometimes 

 wears a pointed helmet, like that found on the Bayeux 

 tapestry. 



Passing over Harold I. and Harthacnut we come to 

 Edward the Confessor. In this reign two interesting types 

 are introduced. The king is sometimes represented seated, 

 holding sceptre and orb surmounted by cross — the symbols 

 of sovereignty. (No. 41, EDPAD RX ANGLOR and DORR 

 ONN EOFRPQ. i.e., Dhorr at York. ' On the reverse are 

 four martlets in the angles of the cross, generally supposed 

 to be the heraldic device of the !;ing, though there is doubt 

 as to their true character.) Another new type, so far as 

 the regal series is concerned, is the facing bust, which 

 occurs, e.i/., on the coin struck at Cricklade (No. 40, 



LEOFRED ON CRECLA). 



We close the English series with a coin of Harold II., 

 who seems to have adopted only one type. The coin we 

 give (No. 42) was struck at Chichester, and reads harold 

 REX ANG and /ELFPINE ON CiGEi, with the legend pax 

 in the centre of the reverse. 



The Scottish coinage does not commence till the reign of 

 David I. (1124), nor the Irish until the period of tlie second 

 Scandinavian invasion of England, at the end of the 

 tenth century. At that time we find a number of coins 

 bearhig the names of .Ethelred II. and Cnut. These were 

 only imitative coins, and do not imply that these kings 

 ruled in Ireland. They preceded the coinage of the Norse- 

 man Sihtric, who reigned in Ireland, dying in 1012. Ills 

 silver pennies (No. 43) are copied from those of .Ethelred 

 II. ; the objects in the two angles of the cross are probably 

 meant for hands. The name of Sihtric is generally more 

 or less blundered. From this period till the time of the 

 English conquest, under Ileury II., there is no Irish 

 coinage. 



• ON or ONN has been explained as a corruption of mon. but this 

 is improbable. 



