Kings of Wessex Ecgberht AD 802-839 Silver Penny, Portrait type, Canterbury Extremely Rare

Kings of Wessex Ecgberht AD 802-839 Silver Penny, Extremely Rare

Bust right/DORIB C in centre

Canterbury mint

S1035, 20mm, 1.35g

Minor edge crack at 8 o’clock on the obverse and slight bend to flan, does not detract from a splendid coin. Recorded with the Early Medieval Coinage Database held at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Ref 2024.0033

Ecgberht (802-839) – An exile of Kentish descent who returned to rule after the death of Mercian-backed Beorhtric, Ecgberht has become better known to popular history in recent years – perhaps as a result of his depiction (though somewhat inaccurate) in the TV series ‘Vikings’. A strong ruler, he secured his western borders against the Cornish through two campaigns in 815 and 825. Emerging victorious after the Battle of Ellandun against Beornwulf of Mercia, his reign marked the end of the so-called ‘Mercian Hegemony’ over the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. He can be effectively seen as the founding member of the so-called ‘House of Wessex’.