The London World website has a report about the sale at auction of a halfpenny struck by King Edgar (Eadgar) who reigned in the years 959-75. It was found in Hampshire and the coin had been minted in Winchester.
What makes this tiny piece so important is that it is an actual minted coin, not, as was common at the time, a penny cut in half. In the 1839 another example was found in the City of London but subsequently lost, and indeed its authenticity questioned in consequence.
Some of the comments from the specialist at Spinks are a little curious. King Eadgar is a figure who should come to mind when we think about late Anglo-Saxon England. He can be seen as the ruler at the apogee of the tenth century English realm, and that it was after his death that problems arose and consolidated under his sons King Edward the Martyr and King Æthelred II the Unready. Furthermore regulating the currency through issuing new dies was a royal prerogative and indicator of the ability of kings to exercise their authority in a way that reached down to everyone in the country.
The man from Spinks was however right to draw attention to King Eadgar for his 973 Coronation at Bath - the first of which we have a detailed record and one that shows a direct link to what we shall see on May 6th.
No comments:
Post a Comment