NORTHUMBRIAN COINS. 
13 
EDPIN REX A and reverse + SIEJEL ON EOFER surround¬ 
ing a central cross was read as a coin of Edwin, ihe great King of 
Northumbria, but Pegge in 1722 showed it to be a penny of 
Edward the Confessor. Four or five copper coins—two now in 
the British Museum—were found in Heworth chapel-yard, Dur¬ 
ham, and have on them + EEGFRID REX (670-685) and on the 
reverse xx The title Rex does not appear on other Northumbrian 
coins until a century later. A Mercian coin bearing OFFA REX 
(in two lines) has on the reverse LVL similarly arrayed as on the 
Heworth coins. The LV on the latter coin's may be an abbreviation 
of LVL or LVLLA, a moneyer of Offa, King of Mercia (757-796) 
and his successor Ccenwulf. It has been suggested that the 
Heworth coins are those of Offa's son Ecgfrid (796) who only reigned 
141 days. 1 Two copper coins found at Bolton Percy bore in¬ 
scriptions inverted + EEFRAIDE with reverse + EVDAINI 
(Eadvini). These blundered inscriptions have been attributed to 
King Ecgfrid of Northumbria, but Eadvini was a moneyer about 
a century later. 
Two coins, one silver and one copper, have been assigned to 
Aldfrid (685-705). They bear + MLDERIDUS, whilst the re¬ 
verse shows a curious quadruped. The attribution is not certain. 
There are no coins of the five successive Kings—Eadwulf (705, 
two months), Osred I. (705-716), Ccenred (716-718), Osric (718- 
729), and Ceolwulf. At the end of Ceolwulf’s reign, namely, 
in 735, Ecgberht, Bishop of York, became Archbishop of York. 
Two years later King Ceolwulf, to whom Bede dedicated his 
history, abdicated and retired to the monastery. He was 
succeeded by Eadberht, brother to the Archbishop. Under the 
rule of the King and the Archbishop Northumbria prospered. 
The King reigned 21 years and the Archbishop held office for 8 
more years. It may be that they introduced the Northumbrian 
coinage, each issuing coins, one as the secular head and the other 
as the spiritual head of Northumbria. The regal coins are of 
silver having the reverse occupied with a representation of a horned 
animal (stag ?) walking to left or right, or with forepaw raised or 
kicking with hind leg. The earlier Northumbrian coins were 
probably uninscribed. 
Silver sceattas (42-43-44) bearing the name of the King and 
with animal reverse were issued until the time of Eardwulf, who 
1 1904. 
