Kings of Northumbria Aelfwald I AD 779-788 Silver Sceatta

Kings of Northumbria Aelfwald I AD 779-788 Silver Sceatta

Cross / Stylized stag with various ornaments

S851; 13mm, 1.02g

ex T Abramson collection, with labels and find spot provenance. Recorded with the EMC database.

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Ælfwald (c. 779-788) – one of King Eadberht’s grandsons by descent, little is known of Ælfwald’s reign except how it ended – with the murder of both himself and his two sons. Buried at the Abbey of Hexham, he was the subject of a local saint-cult. His coins are some of the last to depict the Northumbrian ‘fantastic beast’ before it disappeared from the numismatic record as a motif.

Kingdom of Northumbria

The end of the 7th Century sees the establishment of an advanced monetary system in Northumbria with Kings and Archbishops being named on silver sceats, also the introduction of a bronze coin called the Styca. The silver coins of this series vary in rarity and price, some kings who ruled for very short periods are extremely rare, other, more successful rulers produced far more coins.