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1/2 Penny - Alfred the Great London monogram type
| Issuer | Wessex, Kingdom of |
|---|---|
| Year | 880-899 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays the celebrated LONDONIA monogram, a complex interlaced cipher formed by the letters of the city name arranged in a bold, decorative pattern occupying the entire field. The design features bold strokes of the letters L, O, N, D, O, N, I, A interwoven into a single monogrammatic device, with groups of pellets filling the interstices. A small cross pattée appears above the monogram in the upper field. The whole is contained within a plain inner circle and an outer beaded border, referencing the importance of London as a commercial centre under Alfred's authority. |
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| Mintage | ND (880-899) |
| Additional information |
Alfred struck this monogram type during the period when he and the Carolingian-influenced moneyers of London were experimenting with a revived, more sophisticated coinage — partly as a political statement following his recapture of London from Viking control in 886. The city's return was formalized in a treaty with Æthelred of Mercia, and the coinage that followed was deliberately ambitious, echoing Carolingian prototypes in a bid to project legitimacy.
The halfpenny denomination is substantially rarer than the penny of the same type. Many surviving examples are irregular in flan, a predictable consequence of hand-cutting silver blanks to fractional weight.